Seven days later.
At the depths of the manor.
Under the bamboo pavilion, Lin Rong was reading a thin booklet in her hands:
The Ring Explosion is the ultimate secret technique of our sect's divine skill, the "Great Sumeru Hammer."
Once executed, the user can fully unleash the power of their soul rings, instantly boosting their attack power and generating a force far beyond their original strength.
The higher the quality and age of the soul rings, the greater the power released during the Ring Explosion.
As a cost, after using it once, the soul master will lose all their soul rings for three days, retaining only their soul power, which will gradually recover over the course of three days.
Moreover, after using the Ring Explosion, at least thirty-six days must pass before it can be used again; otherwise, the soul rings may be permanently damaged.
The heir of Haotian Sect must remember this.
The Ring Explosion is a desperate technique; it is extremely dangerous to use.
If not properly controlled, the user may be consumed by the energy generated by the Ring Explosion.
The stronger the user's physical constitution, the lower the risk.
For safety, it is recommended to have at least three soul bones that are over fifty thousand years old before using the Ring Explosion.
Finally, the Great Sumeru Hammer is our sect's secret technique and must never be leaked to outsiders. Remember! Remember! Remember!
Below are the methods for practicing the Ring Explosion...
Shhshh
The faint sound of flipping pages echoed through the tranquil courtyard.
The booklet was thin, and before long, Lin Rong quickly finished reading it.
"So this is the method for the Ring Explosion—simple and crude. It's truly no wonder that old man Tang Chen came up with it," she muttered to herself.
"A talent of such caliber, what a shame..."
In the original work, among all the natives of Douluo Continent, only Tang Chen and Bibi Dong truly stood at the pinnacle of martial talent.
Bibi Dong needed no further mention.
Just the fact that her daughter, Qian Renxue, who didn't fully inherit her martial talent, could still qualify for the Angel's Nine Trials, was a reflection of Bibi Dong's extraordinary cultivation talent.
Tang Chen, on the other hand, cultivated his soul power to the 99th level using his own strength, reaching this level at a younger age than the first Sea God. His talent was even greater than Bibi Dong's.
Unfortunately, such a figure, who could have created his own divine position and ascended to the divine realm, was born on Douluo Continent.
The "love-sick syndrome" was deeply ingrained in the hearts of most natives on the continent. Once the disease was triggered, it could ruin everything.
Tang Chen was no exception. He was unfortunate enough to meet Posey at the most inopportune moment, and they fell in love with each other.
In order to quickly ascend to godhood and earn the right to marry Posey, Tang Chen gave up the time-consuming and labor-intensive method of creating his own divine position and instead sought out an existing divine position to inherit.
When Tang Chen finally found the legacy of the Shura God, he was hindered by the interference of the Rakshasa God's consciousness. During the eighth trial of Shura, he lost his mind and was parasitized by the Dark Golden Nine-Headed Bat King, eventually falling into the path of the King of Slaughter.
If only Tang Chen had been like Qian Daoliu, valuing family legacy and inheritance over love, he would not have fallen to such a lamentable fate in the original work.
It was no wonder that the Tang family in Douluo Continent were all love-sick; they had a direct ancestor with an extreme case of "love-sick syndrome."
Returning to the present, Lin Rong resumed flipping through the booklet about the Ring Explosion.
"At least three soul bones over fifty thousand years old—only with this can the user ensure their safety," she thought aloud.
"I have three soul bones now, but only two of them are valid, and the two have only just reached the four-thousand-year mark, far from fifty thousand years."
"On the other hand, Grandpa has a hundred-thousand-year soul bone that is equivalent to two regular ones. He just needs one more soul bone over fifty thousand years to meet the requirements."
"Also, the mental focus skull... I won't be able to get that for another six years."
Sigh, the time still felt so long.
Lin Rong lifted her head and gazed into the distant sky, lost in thought.
Two and a half months later.
At the Tiandou Royal Soul Master Academy, Volcano Simulation Training Ground.
"I've finally broken through."
At the volcano's edge, Ma Hongjun finished his meditation, his face filled with excitement.
"At just nine years and one month old, breaking through to the thirtieth level of soul power—no one should be faster than me, except for Duke Lin!"
However, Ma Hongjun was unaware that Ning Rongrong had already broken through to the thirtieth level long before him, after absorbing two ten-thousand-year soul bones.
Even without Ning Rongrong, there were still the six-winged angel soul masters of the Wuhun Temple's successive generations.
Thanks to the innate full soul power of twenty levels from their six-winged angel spirit, even if their talent was somewhat inferior, after absorbing the first and second soul rings, their soul power could directly reach level 23.
The remaining seven levels could be gained by increasing soul power by a little more than two levels each year, making it very possible to break through to level thirty before the age of nine.
Take Qian Renxue as an example.
In the original work, at just over thirty years old, she had about seventy levels of soul power.
By subtracting her six-year awakening age and the innate twenty-level soul power from her six-winged angel spirit, and then removing the seven levels gained from seven soul rings, Qian Renxue had cultivated an additional forty-four levels of soul power in just twenty-four years.
This meant she had an average annual increase of 1.8 levels.
However, this was due to her undercover mission, which delayed her cultivation.
Without that mission, it would be impossible for Qian Renxue to have increased her soul power by less than two levels a year before the age of nine.
Thus, it was a certainty that she would break through to the thirtieth level by nine years old.
Even Lin Rong had been bold enough to claim a unique record when she broke through to level thirty at the age of seven and nine months.
"Level thirty... I can get my first thousand-year soul ring. What should I do, I'm kind of excited," Ma Hongjun muttered to himself with enthusiasm.
"But Duke Lin said that after I reach level thirty, he'll give me an important task. I wonder what it is?"
"Ah, I can't figure it out. Oh well, I'll know after I come back from hunting for soul beasts."
Scratching his head in his usual naive manner, Ma Hongjun left the Volcano Simulation Training Ground and headed to the academy's library to tell Xu Pan the good news.
"Level thirty already?" Xu Pan put down his military strategy book.
The library required silent communication, so Xu Pan used soul power to transmit his voice to Ma Hongjun.
"Good boy, a soul master of rank thirty at just over nine years old—you're really impressive!"
"Uncle Xu, look, I've broken through to level thirty. When will we head to the Soul Beast Forest to get my soul ring?"
"Don't be in such a rush, relax. Duke Lin is looking forward to your breakthrough even more than I am."
"So, the soul beast for your third soul ring has already been caught and is being raised at the Duke's estate."
"That's great! What kind of soul beast is it? What's its age?"
"Your third soul ring is a Seven-Colored Mystic Sound Bird, with a soul power of over two thousand two hundred years."
"A Seven-Colored Mystic Sound Bird? What kind of soul beast is that? Is it strong?"
"The Seven-Colored Mystic Sound Bird is an extremely rare avian soul beast, and it not only has a certain degree of Phoenix bloodline, but its ability is also an incredibly rare musical skill."
"Although it's not a fire attribute soul beast, the Phoenix's cry is a talent all Phoenixes possess, and your Fire Phoenix spirit is no exception."
"Therefore, even though the Seven-Colored Mystic Sound Bird isn't a fire-type soul beast, it has a very high compatibility with your Fire Phoenix spirit."