Oscar's left hand glowed with a faint sky-blue light, and a Jade Sword materialized within his grasp. Without hesitation, he plunged it straight into the Mirror Beast's head. The enormous body of the beast trembled violently for a few moments before falling completely still, its life extinguished.
Moments later, a pitch-black ten-thousand-year spirit ring slowly condensed above the Mirror Beast's corpse, releasing the oppressive aura unique to a ring of this level.
Oscar sat cross-legged nearby. After calming his breath and focusing his mind, he summoned his Supreme Sausage Martial Spirit. Two yellow rings and one purple ring rose around his body in sequence, spinning gently. Now, with his spirit power circulating, he began the process of absorbing his fourth spirit ring — the thirty-thousand-year-old Mirror Beast.
As the ring was drawn by Oscar's spirit power, it descended toward him. At once, a massive and terrifying pressure crashed down on his body, staggering him slightly.
Fortunately, Oscar quickly steadied himself. Sitting upright again, he used the immense torrent of energy to wash over his body, tempering his physique to fully assimilate the power contained in this spirit ring.
Meanwhile, Gai Yue kept watch over the surroundings, wary of any approaching soul beasts, while Dugu Yan's gaze never left Oscar, her eyes filled with concern as she observed his every movement.
Time crept forward. Though Oscar's body and spiritual strength were more than enough to handle a thirty-thousand-year spirit ring, this was still his very first ten-thousand-year ring, so the absorption process naturally required much longer than usual.
Thankfully, nothing unexpected happened.
A full day later, as night fell, the black fourth ring slowly locked into place around Oscar, aligning with his previous three.
The instant the ring settled, Oscar's body shuddered. A violent surge of soul power erupted from him, climbing instantly to the forty-second rank. But it didn't stop there.
When he fully refined the energy of the ring, his spirit power stabilized at rank forty-three.
After a long while, Oscar opened his eyes. Bright light flickered within his peach-blossom eyes, his excitement written plainly across his face. Even without him saying anything, both Gai Yue and Dugu Yan knew from his expression that his gains were extraordinary.
Once his spirit power stabilized, Oscar rose to his feet. Now, two yellow, one purple, and one black ring floated around him — the clear mark of a Spirit Ancestor.
Dugu Yan immediately threw herself into his arms and whispered,
"Congratulations, little Ao."
Gai Yue nodded approvingly.
"A ten-thousand-year fourth ring… Little Ao, once again, you've created history in the world of Spirit Masters."
Holding Dugu Yan's slender waist, Oscar replied earnestly,
"Teacher, I owe this to your help. Without you, this fourth ring would've been far harder to obtain."
But Gai Yue simply waved his hand.
"I only did what any teacher should. Your accomplishments are your own. If not for your effort, I could have done nothing."
Oscar chuckled.
"And just like you said, Teacher — I too have only done what any disciple should. Your current accomplishments are all thanks to your own hard work."
Both Gai Yue and Dugu Yan stared at him speechlessly, the latter rolling her eyes in mild exasperation.
Shaking his head with a sigh, Gai Yue asked,
"Alright then, tell us. What is the effect of this thirty-thousand-year fourth ring?"
Dugu Yan also released Oscar, curiosity brimming in her eyes.
"A spirit ring you value this much must surely have given you something incredible."
Hearing their anticipation, Oscar's grin widened even more as he thought of his new ability.
"Indeed. My fourth spirit ring is extremely powerful. With it, my future strength will leap forward — and not just me. Teacher, Yan-yan, and even all of my companions will benefit greatly from it."
Gai Yue raised an eyebrow, exchanging a glance with Dugu Yan.
"What do you mean? Could it be that this fourth ability grants some kind of permanent enhancement? You are a food-type Spirit Master — a prodigy, certainly, capable of producing mutated abilities… But this doesn't align with the Mirror Beast's characteristics."
Oscar shook his head, smiling.
"Not a permanent enhancement, no. But it is a combat-support ability of terrifying power."
Dugu Yan puffed her cheeks.
"Enough suspense, little Ao! Just tell us already — what's your fourth ability?"
Seeing her so impatient, Oscar finally stopped teasing. He activated his new ability.
As his fourth black ring glowed, a surge of soul power burst forth. In his right hand, a silvery-white sausage slowly condensed, shimmering like liquid mercury. But this single sausage had cost him nearly one-third of his total soul power.
The sheer consumption shocked Gai Yue. He knew Oscar too well. When Oscar had previously absorbed an overaged ring for his third ability, even fresh into the Spirit Elder realm, using it never consumed soul power on this scale.
Which only meant one thing — this new ability was on an entirely different level.
At most, Oscar could create three of these sausages in battle before exhausting himself.
Finally, he invoked the name of his new ability:
"Fourth Spirit Ability — Imitation Mirror Sausage!"
Handing the sausage to Gai Yue, Oscar said,
"Teacher, consume it, and you'll see for yourself."
Without hesitation, Gai Yue popped the mercury-like sausage into his mouth. It dissolved instantly, transforming into a warm current of energy that surged through his body.
A silver-white light flared in his eyes — and then, another Gai Yue appeared beside him, identical in every detail.
Dugu Yan gasped, utterly shocked. She couldn't tell the difference at all between the two.
Both Gai Yues looked at Oscar, twin sparks of light flashing in their eyes. Then they spoke in unison:
"Little Ao, this ability is indeed impressive… but surely this isn't all there is, right?"
Oscar smirked knowingly.
"The teacher truly is sharp. You already guessed there's more before I even explained."
Dugu Yan blinked, utterly confused by their cryptic exchange.
The two Gai Yues turned to her and explained together:
"Oscar's fourth ability creates a mind-linked clone. This clone possesses sixty percent of the user's strength, and it can wield the Martial Spirit, spirit abilities, and even spirit bone skills of the original body."
"What's more, the clone consumes no soul power from the original. It remains until it either exhausts its own energy or the user chooses to reabsorb it. If reabsorbed, the remaining soul power of the clone even flows back to the original, replenishing them."
Dugu Yan's jaw nearly dropped.
Teacher, how can you not be satisfied with this?! A clone with sixty percent strength, complete with soul bones — and it doesn't drain your power? That's already beyond top-tier