"The soul spirit's age is fixed, right?" Ning Fengzhi frowned. "Jing Ling's soul spirit is 4,799 years. Does that mean his fourth soul ring will also be… 4,799 years?"
Tang Lan nodded in confirmation.
But every disadvantage came with its own benefits.
"What if the soul spirit were from a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?" Tang Lan countered.
Ning Fengzhi froze.
Then his eyes widened in realization!
Right!
Hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were incredibly rare.
But if one could obtain a hundred-thousand-year soul spirit…
Wouldn't that mean getting 3-5 hundred-thousand-year soul rings?!
And unlike ordinary soul rings, the soul spirit would be intelligent, meaning it could use its skills more effectively!
Just then—
"I'm level 31!" Jing Ling exclaimed in surprise. "The little elephant told me its lifespan increased to 4,850 years too?!"
Huh?!
Soul spirits… can evolve?!
Tang Lan had to admit—Jing Ling was ridiculously lucky.
This was a Life-Bound Soul Spirit!
Just like Life-Bound Soul Rings, it could grow stronger along with its host.
However, this only applied to the first contracted soul spirit.
The chance of obtaining one?
About as rare as an external soul bone.
"This ability is similar to a Life-Bound Soul Ring, so let's call it a Life-Bound Soul Spirit." Tang Lan decided. "Jing Ling, try using your third soul skill."
The previous activation didn't count—
A soul skill's true power could only be seen when cast through the soul master directly.
Jing Ling's expression turned a bit strange.
Because his third soul skill… was very weird!
"Sect Master, my third soul skill can only be activated while in Martial Soul Possession."
"The effect is…"
Jing Ling summoned his Skeleton Martial Soul, causing a crude set of bone armor to appear over his body.
Then, his third soul ring lit up!
"Third Soul Skill—Giant Skeleton!"
The black bone armor suddenly expanded, transforming into a ten-meter-tall skeletal form.
So far, everything seemed normal.
But when Tang Lan's gaze traveled upward—
He saw a fully intact elephant's head, complete with ivory tusks and a trunk.
He was stunned.
This was basically Susanoo… but why did it have an elephant head?!
Did he accidentally buy a cheap knockoff skin from Pinduoduo?!
"Oh? Interesting." Gu Rong smirked. "Try attacking me."
Jing Ling attempted to raise a hand.
The half-skeleton giant mirrored his movement, clumsily swinging downward.
Gu Rong summoned a bone shield to test its strength.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The attack rattled the shield, causing loud echoes.
"Try using your first and second soul skills in combination." Tang Lan reminded him.
"Yes!"
Jing Ling's first soul ring lit up.
"First Soul Skill—White Bone Blade!"
The giant skeleton's hand transformed, forming a massive bone sword.
Not only did this increase his attack range, but the power was also multiplied.
"Second Soul Skill—Bone Demon Enhancement!"
Dark energy membranes appeared between the skeletal framework, connecting the bones like muscles and skin.
The bone sword's slashes became faster and heavier.
Oh ho!
Jing Ling really got lucky—even after switching combat styles, his first two soul skills still synergized perfectly.
Tang Lan pondered for a moment—
For Jing Ling's fifth soul ring, he should give him the ability to stand up fully.
The half-body transformation was still too limiting.
As for the fourth soul ring?
Since he had a Life-Bound Soul Spirit, it was obvious—
He'd continue using the Meat Mountain Giant Elephant!
That way, both his third and fourth soul rings would be just like Tang Lan and Zhu Zhuqing's—
They would grow stronger with each level.
By the time he reached level 95—they would automatically be hundred-thousand-year soul rings.
Tsk!
Who would have thought his first Soul Spirit experiment would turn out to be such an unexpected success?!
After ten more attacks—
Jing Ling's soul power ran out, forcing him to deactivate both his soul skills and Martial Soul Possession.
He bent over, panting heavily.
Gu Rong evaluated his performance—
"The base skeleton form is about level 35."
"With the bone blade, it reaches level 37."
"When fully enhanced, it's about level 39."
Then, he turned toward Tang Lan.
"Honestly, I can't believe you were originally an agility-type soul master."
"I didn't expect your transition to a power-type build to be this smooth!"
Gu Rong glanced at Tang Lan.
Jing Ling's transformation into a power-type fighter had gone so smoothly…
It was 99% thanks to this little genius here.
"Not bad at all." Ning Fengzhi nodded in approval. "Jing Ling is already considered elite among his peers."
"Of course, excluding little monsters like you guys, Dai Mubai."
After all, this was only a thousand-year soul ring.
It couldn't fully compensate for the differences in talent, martial soul, and foundation.
But—
Jing Ling was already very satisfied!
A Life-Bound Soul Spirit!
Just like Tang Lan's Life-Bound Soul Ring, it would grow stronger as he did!
For now, the difference wasn't obvious—
But in the long run…
It would become terrifying.
(Bonus Update – Thanks to "Guan Yi Yu" for the Reward!)
In the future, when everyone reached Contra or even Title Douluo—
Jing Ling's third and fourth soul rings would have reached 80,000 years or more.
That's when his true power would be unleashed!
"No rush." Tang Lan grinned. "My goal for Jing Ling is to make his third soul skill function as a permanent Martial Soul True Body."
Martial Soul True Body… as a normal state?
Hah?
That was a wildly ambitious idea.
But based on what they had seen, it was entirely possible.
"I want a Soul Spirit too!" Ning Rongrong eagerly said. "Uncle Tang, can you turn the Rampaging Earth Bear into a Soul Spirit for me?"
Neither Ning Fengzhi nor Gu Rong objected.
Unexpectedly—
Tang Lan, the one who introduced the Soul Spirit concept, shook his head.
"Why not?" Ning Rongrong was puzzled. "Are you worried the Rampaging Earth Bear won't cooperate?"
"That is a concern, but it's not the main issue." Tang Lan replied calmly. "Jing Ling, do you think you can absorb another Soul Spirit?"
Jing Ling immediately shook his head.
"When I absorbed my Soul Spirit, I felt like my spiritual world was on the verge of exploding."
"If not for you, Sect Master, I would've been overwhelmed."
"If I want to absorb another Soul Spirit…"
"I'd have to wait until I reach at least Soul Sage or even Soul Douluo."
Exactly!
For non-spiritual attribute soul masters, they could generally only absorb one Soul Spirit in a lifetime.
Tang Lan was well aware of this.
The reason he went through this entire process was to introduce the Soul Spirit concept—
And to pull Ning Fengzhi into the game.
"I only recently discovered this." Tang Lan said with regret. "Since Soul Spirits reside in the spiritual world, they require incredibly high spiritual power.
And the probability of getting a Life-Bound Soul Spirit? Still unknown."
"So Rongrong, I suggest you wait until your seventh soul ring to absorb a more powerful Soul Spirit."
"Even if it's not Life-Bound, it will still maximize your benefits."
Ning Rongrong nodded thoughtfully.
"I see… Okay then."
The Soul Ring Hunt
The next step was simple.
Hunt a soul beast, absorb the soul ring.
With Tang Lan and Gu Rong personally overseeing the process,
aside from Ning Rongrong nearly bursting from too much soul power,
there were no other issues.
She immediately tested her third soul skill—
"Nine Treasures Bestow Glory—Threefold Attack!"
The enhancement landed on Tang Lan and Dai Mubai,
instantly boosting their attack power by 40%!
The sudden burst of strength gave Tang Lan an illusion—
That he could straight-up punch Tang Hao into the sky.
But the next second—
Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda disappeared,
and she collapsed backward like a plank.
The enhancement vanished instantly.
The sudden event shocked everyone—
Except for Gu Rong and Tang Lan,
who immediately caught her from both sides.
After a quick check-up,
they exchanged odd glances.
"No major issue—she just ran out of soul power." Gu Rong reassured.
Ning Fengzhi let out a sigh of relief, but then glanced at Tang Lan with suspicion.
This soul power depletion…
It couldn't have been because of Dai Mubai, right?
Tang Lan felt a little awkward.
"Alright, even I didn't expect this."
"I may only be level 59, but my soul power reserves are ten times larger than others at my level."
"And as for my physical strength…"
"I'm basically at Soul Saint level."
"Rongrong's level 37 soul power could only sustain my buff for a single second."
"And that's with me not activating any of my own abilities."
Tsk!
This accidentally showcased just how ridiculous Tang Lan's current power was.
"Wait!" Ning Fengzhi suddenly shouted. "Did you just say Rongrong is level 37?"
"Yes, 37!" Gu Rong confirmed with a deep voice. "Her meridians are intact, her breath is steady, and her foundation is solid.
No signs of forceful advancement!"
Adding to the level she gained when breaking through to 30—
That meant the Beautiful Silk Tulip alone increased her by 8 levels?!
And with zero side effects!
Ning Fengzhi's eyes turned red as he looked at Tang Lan,
his lips trembling several times.
Finally—
All of his emotions condensed into one sentence.
"Eighty-thousand-year!"
"Brother must get you at least an eighty-thousand-year soul bone!"
Hearing this, even Tang San and the others couldn't help but feel envious.
An eighty-thousand-year soul bone?!
They had fought tooth and nail just to obtain a few thousand-year or ten-thousand-year soul bones.
Eighty-thousand-year?
That was on a whole different level!
Something people would kill for!
But Tang Lan only smiled,
neither accepting nor refusing the offer.
Instead, he smoothly changed the subject—
"Brother Ning, are you interested in co-developing this Soul Spirit system?"
Ning Fengzhi's eyes instantly lit up!
"Are you saying…"
"You want to collaborate?!"
(End of Chapter)