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That evening, on the sandy shore of the Ring Sea, Chu Chengzhou and his four girls were enjoying a beachside barbecue.
"Here—replenish yourself~"
Hu Liena grinned, offering Chu Chengzhou a perfectly grilled oyster.
The Sea God Island might lack many things—but seafood? It was practically infinite.
"Nonsense!" Chu Chengzhou scoffed, face stern with mock indignation. "Do you think I, Chu Chengzhou, need this?"
"Pfft~" Hu Liena rolled her eyes. "Says the guy who's got nothing left~"
"You just wait!"
Chu Chengzhou shot her a glare and dropped a fierce warning.
If it weren't for the fact that he'd battled Yuehua elder sister the night before last, then waged an entire day and night of relentless warfare with Angel Sister—only collapsing this morning completely drained—would he really be "empty"?
"Did… Sister Xue really dry you out completely?"
Hu Liena sent a probing soul-message, eyes sparkling with mischief.
Chu Chengzhou: "…."
Just recalling that demon in angelic guise sent chills down his spine.
No more! Starting tomorrow—I'm taking a vow of celibacy!
Shelving that topic for now, he turned to Hu Liena and Ning Rongrong.
"Nana, Rongrong—your seventh soul rings were also Divine Bestowed, right?"
"Mhm! Both 100,000 years!"
Ning Rongrong nodded happily between bites of Chu Chengzhou's expertly grilled skewers—perfectly charred, juicy, and seasoned to perfection.
But then her lips puckered into a pout.
"The Divine Bestowed rings are great—but now they're gone, and there's no word on when we'll get more.
Zhuqing hit Level 80 over a month ago already!
Hey, you scoundrel—should we go hunt soul beasts for our eighth soul rings, or wait for Lord Sea God to reward us with Divine Bestowed ones?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Zhuqing and Hu Liena both turned expectant eyes toward Chu Chengzhou.
Technically, they could keep training without adding the eighth soul ring—accumulating soul power that would only manifest once they finally advanced to eight-ring Soul Douluo.
But no one denied it: that approach was inefficient. Advancement first always yielded faster cultivation progress.
Since Lord Sea God hadn't granted them Divine Bestowed rings the moment they hit Level 80, it was clear—they wouldn't receive any until after completing the first divine trial.
And even then, it wasn't guaranteed.
Yet they still had five full months before the trial deadline.
Under the Sea God's Light, their soul power grew at rocket speed. If they waited and did get Divine Bestowed rings in five months, they'd likely end up 2–3 levels behind compared to if they'd just taken suitable soul beast rings now.
(And at the eight-ring stage, 2–3 levels was a massive gap.)
This trade-off demanded serious consideration.
After a moment of thought, Chu Chengzhou said:
"The ocean is far more vast than land. Hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts are everywhere—and many exceed that. But ring quality isn't just about year-count; compatibility with your martial soul matters more.
Keep training for now. I'll scout the seas. If I find suitable soul beasts, we'll go that route. If not, we'll wait for Lord Sea God's generosity.
After all—you're all so outstanding, I'm sure the generous Sea God won't be stingy."
In Chu Chengzhou's eyes, Ning Rongrong and the others didn't need to chase Divine Bestowed eighth rings.
Take Xiao Wu: with only a 70,000-year right arm soul bone and constant training in Indestructible Golden Body, she'd absorbed a 200,000+ year Divine Bestowed eighth ring.
If he equipped Ning Rongrong's trio with full sets of 100,000-year soul bones and they used Divine Bestowed rings, their eighth rings might reach ~300,000 years.
But—300,000 years wasn't the limit for apex soul beasts, and hunting one would grant them a matching soul bone too.
Moreover, he'd noticed a critical flaw in Divine Bestowed rings: even beyond 100,000 years, they only produced one soul skill.
Xiao Wu's 200,000-year eighth ring? Only one skill.
In the original timeline, Ning Rongrong's 100,000-year Divine Bestowed eighth ring gave only Nine Treasures Divine Light Protection—and her ninth? Just Nine Treasures Invincible Divine Light.
("Resurrection Divine Light" was a spirit fusion skill requiring the Food God and Nine-Colored Goddess legacies—it didn't exist otherwise.)
But naturally absorbed rings above 100,000 years? Almost always granted two skills for eighth/ninth rings.
Of course, Chu Chengzhou had high standards—not just for year-count, but for species too.
- Ning Rongrong: Flexible—many sea apex beasts would work.
- Zhu Zhuqing: Ideally sea lions or leopard seals—beasts whose traits aligned with her Nether Spirit Cat.
- Hu Liena: Must be a spiritual-type sea apex beast.
"Wait—hold on!"
Chu Chengzhou suddenly froze.
Spiritual-type apex beasts… why limit myself to the ocean?
"What's wrong?" Xiao Wu asked, puzzled by his sudden outburst.
"Uh… nothing."
He waved it off, sinking into deep thought.
He knew of two places with ancient psychic apex beasts:
Great Star Dou Forest: Demon Eye Evil Tree—Myriad Demon King, future Number 5 on the Ten Great Beasts list. Evildemon Forest (on Sun Moon Continent): Evileye Tyrant Emperor—Evil Emperor, future Number 2.
Though details were fuzzy, at this timeline:
- Wan Yao Wang was likely ≥500,000 years old.
- Evil Emperor? ≥700,000 years—possibly nearing 800,000.
In human terms:
- Wan Yao Wang ≈ Level-99 Spiritual Limit Douluo.
- Evil Emperor ≈ Spiritual Demi-God.
Evil Emperor was stronger—but Wan Yao Wang had a God King-level master (albeit weakened). Still, that master could erase Chu Chengzhou in a blink. Not worth risking his life.
Evil Emperor, however? No powerful backer—and though formidable, within Chu Chengzhou's capability.
"Oh—and the million-year Ice Silkworm!"
He suddenly recalled a certain protagonist's legendary cheat.
Seventh ring: 700,000-year Evil Eye Tyrant Emperor…
Ninth ring: Million-year Tianmeng Ice Silkworm?
Goodness—this little vixen's really going full "defy heaven" mode!
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