If this keeps up, wouldn't our soul spirits...? Tang Wulin said in surprise.
Wang Jinxi gave a wry smile.
"Not quite. Our bodies each have a limit to how much they can handle. For us with two rings, it's not enough. Soul energy is absorbed equally across each soul ring.
With my spiritual power, I definitely can't sustain two thousand-year rings at once. I estimate that when both my rings are close to five hundred years each, that's probably my limit.
Zhang Yangzi should be about the same—maybe he could handle a bit more.
Ironically, you and Gu Yue, since you don't have your second rings yet, are the ones most likely to end up with a thousand-year soul ring."
Gu Yue asked,
"Have you guys estimated how much soul energy we've absorbed so far?"
Nan Fusheng responded calmly,
"Roughly between four and five hundred years per person.
For us with two rings, that's around two hundred-plus years per soul ring.
And that's not even counting the soul energy currently floating around us—it looks like there's still another hundred or two hundred years' worth lingering here.
But it'll take longer to absorb.
Once we leave this place, we'll have to worry more about other soul masters than soul beasts.
And for a while, we probably won't be able to reenter the Spirit Ascension Platform."
Their soul energy was now so dense and obvious that if other soul masters saw them, they would immediately become targets. After all, no one would pass up the chance to steal concentrated soul essence, especially during the Riot Period.
Moreover, if their soul spirits became fully saturated, they'd be unable to safely reenter the platform anytime soon. Continuing to kill and absorb soul beasts could risk overloading their soul spirits, which could lead to serious internal injuries or worse.
And there was another reason to leave: the Man-Faced Demon Spider's webs were starting to weaken. The once-vibrant yellow-green threads had faded significantly in color, becoming fragile and brittle, with visible breaks appearing throughout.
Even deadly poison had a limit. With no more webs to protect them, their current location was no longer safe—they couldn't risk stumbling into leftover threads themselves.
Nan Fusheng gave a small smile.
"Relax, everyone. First off, we've completed the final exam—and not only that, we've absorbed far more soul energy than normal, so we've profited multiple times over.
Even if we encounter a tough enemy and get forced out, it won't be a loss.
Everyone feeling recovered? Good—let's move."
Hearing him say that, the team quickly perked up again.
Nan Fusheng added a serious reminder,
"Watch your soul spirit tolerance levels. If you feel like you're nearing your limit, hit the emergency exit immediately.
Don't get greedy. If your spirit or body collapses, it'll be a huge mess."
He didn't feel the signs of oversaturation yet, but that might not be the case for the others. Based on his estimates, he could still absorb much more.
After all, the tolerance of one's soul spirit was directly tied to their physical and spiritual strength.
With his current body, Nan Fusheng was confident he could handle even two thousand-year soul rings.
As for his spiritual power? He was already at Spirit Sea Realm—capable of hosting three thousand-year soul spirits, or even a ten-thousand-year one. Easy.
But he wasn't in a rush. Outwardly, he had only revealed Spirit Connection Realm strength. And even if he absorbed all the soul energy in the area, neither of his soul spirits would quite reach the thousand-year level—unless he chose to focus all the energy into one.
Currently, his first soul spirit has a maturity level of around 600 years. The second, about 200. When he purchased it, it was barely over 100 years old—soul spirits get exponentially more expensive the older they are.
And he'd only had 1.2 million federation coins at the time—he couldn't afford any of the high-tier ones. Thankfully, Eastsea Academy had provided free access to the Spirit Ascension Platform, which helped make up for it.
But after buying that soul spirit? His savings had dried up.
Twenty-something thousand coins may sound like a fortune to ordinary people, but in the world of soul masters?
It was barely pocket change.
"Twenty grand? What could I even buy with that—maybe a few mecha parts?" Nan Fusheng thought helplessly.
Right now, he could only use one word to describe himself:
"Broke."
"Don't tell me I caught the 'poverty curse' from 'President Ke'…"
"No, no—focus!"
He shook his head and snapped his thoughts back on track. If Ke Ke was broke, it was because he had moral standards.
Nan Fusheng? He had something much more flexible:
"A dynamic sense of ethics."
There's a saying:
"To do business, you must have a conscience.
If you have one, you earn decently.
If you don't…
You earn a hell of a lot more."
That principle applied just as well to cultivating as a soul master.
—
The six of them carefully stepped over the spider silk and exited the once-impenetrable webbed zone, re-entering the main forest.
The moment they left, they were greeted by a chorus of sounds: crashing, roars of soul beasts, and even the occasional human scream. The area was chaotic.
But Class Zero had already made up their minds earlier: focus on absorbing what they had already gained.
Normally, to get this much soul energy, they would've had to kill who knows how many soul beasts.
Sure, the absorption rate was slower right now, but it was still a rare opportunity. As for actual combat experience?
They had Teacher Wu for that.
Right now, the top priority was still the soul spirit's evolution—that was the entire point of coming here.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a loud snarl came from up ahead. A flaming, serpentine creature with six arms slithered into view.
"Six-Armed Fire Serpent. Hundred-year level. Be careful," Nan Fusheng warned sharply.
But before anyone could respond, a brilliant flash of white light erupted ahead, and the fire serpent's body instantly became riddled with wounds.
A swarm of icy, spinning disks—ice wheels—had descended from the sky. Their razor-sharp edges sliced through the serpent like blades, shredding its defenses with ease.
The serpent wasn't particularly strong in terms of defense, but being cut apart so effortlessly by those disks still shocked the group.
Then, a figure stepped into view.
A youth, perhaps seventeen or eighteen years old, appeared in front of them. Three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—floated beneath his feet, marking him as a Soul Elder.
He held a staff entirely white, with only a blue crystal embedded at the top.
His expression was cold and haughty, and around him shimmered a dense aura of golden-yellow soul energy, no less powerful than the glow surrounding Class Zero.