"Flender, you're amazing!"
In a room bathed in a faint red glow, atop a large red flower-patterned bed, Liu Erlong, her clothes tattered and her face flushed with coquettish charm, spoke tenderly to Flender.
"Haha~, Erlong, if I'm not amazing, who is?!"
Flender, shirtless and lying on the bed, wore a smug expression as he gazed at Liu Erlong nestled in his arms.
"By the way, Flender, isn't this unfair to Xiaogang?"
Suddenly, as if remembering something important, Liu Erlong's expression turned panicked.
"Erlong, it's fine. Xiaogang will understand us!"
Flender said earnestly.
Just then, a rapid knocking on the door interrupted them, along with the voice of Yu Xiaogang from outside: "Erlong, I'm back! Open the door quickly!"
Uh~ Xiaogang's back?
Instantly, Flender jolted in alarm and hurriedly sat up straight.
The world spun around him, and the red-lit room vanished, replaced by an extremely plain bedroom. The previously tattered Liu Erlong was nowhere to be seen.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—!
From downstairs came urgent knocking and Chu Chengzhou's loud voice: "Principal Flender, open the door quickly!"
"Damn~! Was I just dreaming?!"
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Flender muttered to himself, both relieved and still somewhat entranced by the dream.
He got up and walked to the window, glancing at the barely lit sky outside. His expression darkened.
"What the hell are you yelling about so early in the morning?!"
Flender shouted irritably at Chu Chengzhou downstairs.
If this kid hadn't howled like a ghost, Xiaogang wouldn't have returned so soon in his dream, and he could've spent more time happily cuddling with Erlong.
Though it was only a dream, it was better than nothing, right?
"Principal Flender, I've reached level 30!"
Seeing Flender's irritated expression, Chu Chengzhou didn't take offense, assuming that Flender was simply annoyed at being disturbed during his lazy sleep.
"Level 30? Oh, you're already at level 30?"
Flender paused, momentarily stunned. Though he had anticipated it, he hadn't expected Chu Chengzhou to reach level 30 so quickly.
After getting dressed, Flender went downstairs, opened the door, and let Chu Chengzhou in.
"Your martial soul is rather unique. Do you have any specific targets for your third soul ring?"
Flender asked.
"A fire-attribute flying beast soul, preferably a Fire Phoenix or a Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear!"
Chu Chengzhou answered without hesitation.
Having a flying summon would undoubtedly greatly enhance his safety as a long-range shooter.
After all, most soul masters couldn't fly. Transitioning from ground forces to air superiority brought obvious advantages.
As for requiring a fire attribute, it was for convenience in forging metals in the future.
His True Spirit Flag martial soul allowed him to freely convert his soul power into the attributes of his summons. With fire-attribute soul power, he wouldn't need to create flames manually when forging metals.
Fortunately, there were plenty of soul beasts in the world that fit these criteria, with the best target being the Fire Phoenix, which possessed top-tier bloodline heritage.
As for the Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear, no explanation was needed—it was a renowned powerhouse among soul beasts capable of defeating higher-level opponents.
Its terrifying claws and robust physique earned it its fearsome reputation.
Generally speaking, a newly ten-thousand-year soul beast's strength was roughly equivalent to that of a five-ring Soul King.
But a ten-thousand-year Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear could tear apart a six-ring Soul Emperor and rival ordinary seven-ring Soul Sages. They were so powerful that even some Title Douluo would avoid confronting it directly.
(T/N: Probably Dugu Bo lmao)
Of course, this didn't mean that a Title Douluo couldn't defeat a ten-thousand-year Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear. Its claws carried effects like armor-piercing and defense-breaking, making it difficult for ordinary Title Douluo to withstand its attacks head-on.
Moreover, the Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear summon should ideally be obtained at level 30 or 40. Otherwise, Flender wouldn't stand a chance against it unless Chu Chengzhou lowered the year requirement.
"A fire-attribute flying beast or a Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear? What about the year range?"
Flender raised an eyebrow and followed up with another question.
"Five to six thousand years!"
"Five to six thousand years? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
Flender's eyes widened in disbelief.
According to optimal soul ring configurations, a five to six thousand-year soul ring exceeded the tolerance limit of a 40th-level soul master, let alone Chu Chengzhou, who was only a 30th-level quasi-Soul Elder.
"My physical condition is very strong. A five to six thousand-year third soul ring won't be a problem."
Chu Chengzhou waved dismissively.
"Strong physical condition allows you to add higher-level soul rings?"
Flender adjusted his glasses, looking astonished.
Being a commoner soul master, he simply followed what others did regarding soul ring attachments without delving into why they were done that way.
Chu Chengzhou nodded and explained: "For soul rings under ten thousand years, that's true. But once the years exceed ten thousand, the soul ring contains remnants of the soul beast's spirit. If one's mental strength isn't sufficient, even the strongest physical condition won't help."
Upon hearing this, Flender studied Chu Chengzhou deeply before moving on from the topic.
Strong physical condition?
The first thing Flender thought of was that Chu Chengzhou must have absorbed a soul bone, as it could enhance physical attributes.
However, though Flender was greedy and stingy, he wasn't the type to harm his own students for their soul bones.
"By the way, does the strength of your summoned beasts relate to the year range of your soul rings?"
Suddenly, Flender asked curiously.
Chu Chengzhou's martial soul puzzled him. Take the Light Lion summon, for example. Based on its soul skill's year range, it seemed to be only around seven hundred years old, yet it could defeat a three-ring Soul Elder like Dai Mubai.
"My martial soul is a mutation. How should I know?
But after my soul power level increases, the strength of my summons also improves. Even if there's a connection, I believe it's not significant."
Chu Chengzhou solemnly fabricated an excuse.
The strength of his summons naturally had little to do with his soul power level, but he couldn't say that.
Otherwise, it would be hard to explain how a century-old summon could dominate four or five-ring soul masters.
The best surface explanation was that his True Spirit Flag martial soul shared characteristics similar to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul—its soul skill effects improved as the soul master's level increased.
A mutated martial soul having unusual effects was plausible.
As for future scenarios where 100-year-old summons beat nine-ring Title Douluo?
If he could already crush Title Douluo, why should he care?
Excluding the uncertainty of his seventh soul ring, summoning eight hundred-thousand-year summons would make him unstoppable on the continent.
Even after advancing to Title Douluo, his personal strength alone would place him among the top ranks of the continent's experts.
In the past, Tang Hao shocked the entire soul master world when he first became a Title Douluo, defeating three Title Douluo, including Qian Xunji, using the Hao Tian Sect's ultimate technique: Great Sumeru Hammer.
In the future, when Chu Chengzhou first becomes a Title Douluo, with various body function boosts from high-level soul rings and divine techniques cultivated through AFK leveling, overpowering a mere Tang Hao would be a piece of cake!
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