Stepping into Star Dou Forest again, Ye Liangchen felt refreshed as he sensed the natural aura of the forest.
"This time, we're heading to the thousand-year Spirit Beast living area. Hopefully, we can find a suitable Spirit Beast for Xiao Chen as soon as possible."
"Xiao Chen's second spirit ring is already a thousand years old. I wonder how the major powers will react when they see it in the future?"
"Let's try our best to protect his growth! As long as he has the strength to protect himself, there's nothing to fear."
Ye Liangchen felt that Lan Xiaodie and the others' worries were a bit excessive. With Di Tian as a strong helper, as long as he didn't court death, reaching Titled Douluo would be incredibly easy.
Two days later, the group arrived in a valley and discovered a 50-meter-tall Three-Leaf Begonia tree.
The Three-Leaf Begonia, a plant Spirit Beast, is also aggressive. Once attacked, it will swing its branches to strike enemies.
Feeling Ye Liangchen and his group approaching, the dozens of meters tall Three-Leaf Begonia tree immediately swung its branches towards them, the entire tree emitting a purple spirit power aura.
"Swish, swish…"
Dozens of branches, like long whips, whirled in the air, rubbing against the air and producing swishing sounds.
Ye Liangchen felt like this was simply the thousand-year tree Spirit from the movie A Chinese Ghost Story. However, weren't the thousand-year plant Spirit Beasts in the Douluo World just thousand-year tree Spirits?
"Chirp, chirp…"
"This spirit power fluctuation suggests this tree is likely close to 4000 years old."
Lan Xiaodie released her Spirit, suppressing the Three-Leaf Begonia tree with her powerful aura.
"If the age was a bit lower, it would be very suitable for Xiao Chen."
Shui Lingfeng and Su Lin felt that the age of this plant Spirit Beast was a bit too high for Ye Liangchen at present.
"Let me try! I think I can absorb it."
Ye Liangchen directly stated that he wanted this Three-Leaf Begonia for his second spirit ring. After a careful look, he estimated this spirit ring's age to be around 3800 years.
"No! It's too risky!"
Shui Lingfeng and the other two immediately refused. They had originally planned to find a spirit ring between 2000 and 3000 years for Xiao Jiahuo, but this spirit ring was almost double that, a too significant difference.
"Aunt Lan! I think I can try. If it doesn't work, you can interrupt my spirit ring absorption."
Ye Liangchen waved his fist. He wasn't worried about this spirit ring at all. In the past two years, he had been cultivating various divine arts like a cheat, and his physical strength had increased several times compared to two years ago. A mere thousand-year spirit ring was child's play.
"Then let Xiao Chen try!"
Seeing Ye Liangchen's insistence, Lan Xiaodie had no choice but to agree to let him try. Moreover, she felt that Xiao Jiahuo would continue to create miracles.
"Alright then!"
Shui Lingfeng and Su Lin had also witnessed Ye Liangchen's heaven-defying abilities and agreed to let Xiao Jiahuo absorb this spirit ring, knowing that if it truly didn't work, they could interrupt him.
"Ice Seal."
"Profound Ice Thorn."
"Bang, bang, bang…"
Under Lan Xiaodie's powerful Spirit Ability attack, the Three-Leaf Begonia tree was almost fatally wounded. A face, with eyes, a mouth, and a nose, appeared in the center of its trunk, continuously emitting hissing sounds.
"Xiao Chen! Attack the face in the center of the trunk, that's its spiritual core." Su Lin instructed Ye Liangchen to act quickly.
"Swish, swish…"
Ye Liangchen's Lan Yan Sword was flung out of his hand, directly piercing the spiritual core in the center of the Three-Leaf Begonia tree, instantly ending its life.
"Buzz, buzz…"
A deep purple spirit power slowly rose from the Three-Leaf Begonia tree, gradually condensing into a large, deep purple circle.
"Buzz, buzz…"
Ye Liangchen sat cross-legged on the ground, summoned his Life Goddess Martial Soul, and communicated with the spirit ring through his mind, beginning to absorb this 3800-year-old spirit ring.
"Xiao Chen! Be careful, don't force it."
Lan Xiaodie, Shui Lingfeng, and Su Lin surrounded Ye Liangchen, their hearts extremely tense, fearing that Xiao Jiahuo might encounter an accident.
"I understand."
The spirit ring, responding to Ye Liangchen's mental communication, floated directly over and settled onto his Life Goddess Spirit.
"Boom…"
A powerful surge of energy impacted Ye Liangchen's body. His entire body felt as if it were being bitten by ants. Although it was a bit painful, it was bearable.
"Ha…"
Ye Liangchen roared, simply activating the Hun Yuan Art, mobilizing the energy from the spirit ring to temper his physical body.
Calming his mind and Spirit, he released his divine sense, feeling the changes within his body. As the energy tempered his physical body, cracking sounds emanated from him, feeling like a Thai massage. This feeling of pain and pleasure was incredibly exhilarating.
"Ha…"
Three hours later, Ye Liangchen finally successfully absorbed this spirit ring, successfully advancing to Spirit Grandmaster. He let out a long cry, a powerful aura rising from his body into the sky, and his spirit power also broke through to level 23.
Because much of the energy in the spirit ring was used by Ye Liangchen to temper his physical body, it only allowed him to increase his spirit power by three levels.
"Aunt Lan, Dean Grandma, Teacher Su Lin! I succeeded."
Ye Liangchen retracted his Spirit, giving a naive smile, looking very cute.
"He succeeded! Xiao Chen has set another record."
"His second spirit ring reached 3800 years. What limits are not worth mentioning in front of Xiao Chen."
Lan Xiaodie and the others, whose hearts had been hanging, finally relaxed. For three whole hours, they hadn't dared to even breathe.
"Xiao Chen! You're amazing, Teacher is proud of you."
Su Lin was very excited and immediately gave Xiao Jiahuo a big hug, kissing him several times on the face.
"Xiao Chen! Your second Spirit Ability is Life Blessing. Release it so Grandma can see its effect."
Shui Lingfeng said with a laugh. She also wanted to see if Xiao Jiahuo's support Spirit Ability could rival the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit Ability.
"Okay, Dean Grandma."
"Buzz, buzz…"
As Ye Liangchen summoned, the beautiful figure of the Life Goddess lay behind him, and two circles, one yellow and one purple, flashed on and off, incredibly dazzling.
"Second Spirit Ability: Life Blessing."
As it was activated, three brilliant rays of light shot from the Life Goddess's hand, flowing into the bodies of Lan Xiaodie and the other two.
"My Life Blessing can increase all attributes for others by 30%. The buffed person can sustain it for 10 minutes. With my current spirit power, I can only buff a maximum of 20 people and only cast the Spirit Ability five times. The number of people and times will increase as my spirit power increases."
"My Life Blessing Spirit Ability can also assist myself."
Ye Liangchen slowly explained the Life Blessing Spirit Ability to the three women, but when they learned about the 30% all-attribute buff, they were all shocked.
"All attributes by 30%? That means our attack, spirit power, defense, speed, strength, etc., all increase by 30%, doubling our overall strength. This is too heaven-defying."
"As far as we know, the first few support skills of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda are strength, speed, spirit power, defense, attack, etc., with each Spirit Ability corresponding to supporting one attribute…"
"And Xiao Chen's second Spirit Ability encompasses all attributes. No wonder Xiao Jiahuo said before that the Life Goddess Martial Soul is the strongest support Spirit. He was indeed right."
Witnessing Ye Liangchen's heaven-defying second Spirit Ability, Lan Xiaodie and the others were incredibly excited. If this skill were used to buff teammates in a team battle, it could instantly burst forth and directly resolve the fight.
Ye Liangchen, however, didn't find it shocking. One must know that Big Sausage Uncle Oscar's fourth Spirit Ability, Pink Sausage, could also increase all attributes by 10%. His own Spirit Ability's effect was only 20% more than his.
Ye Liangchen mentally scanned the changes in his game character panel and found that two weapon boxes had been unsealed in the weapon equipment column. He was instantly delighted; it had been so long for any movement, it was truly not easy.
Tang San next door had already started making Hidden Weapons for self-defense. What would his own weapon equipment be?
The Spirit Ability attacks in the Douluo World, to put it plainly, are energy attacks. Tang San's Hidden Weapons in this World are equivalent to great killing machines. The Guanyin Tear Hidden Weapon can even kill gods, indicating that physical attacks are more lethal than energy attacks.
Ye Liangchen was eagerly anticipating, hoping the game equipment would give him something like a Desert Eagle, assault rifle, or a Barrett. Then he could just do whatever he wanted.
This trip to Star Dou Forest successfully obtained a thousand-year spirit ring for Ye Liangchen, and it was even a 3800-year-old spirit ring, which was perfect.
…
Two days later, Ye Liangchen and his group arrived, dusty and travel-worn, at Soto City, known as Balak's granary. The group planned to rest in Soto City for a day, so they once again stayed at the most luxurious Rose Hotel.
Soto City is Balak's second-largest city, second only to Balak City, and also a granary, with a very developed economy. The Empire has heavy troops stationed in this city.
At noon that day, Lan Xiaodie and Su Lin went to the city to buy daily necessities. Ye Liangchen also followed to see and experience the local customs of Soto City. Shui Lingfeng, being old, was too lazy to move around and stayed at the hotel to wait for everyone.
To ensure Ye Liangchen had fun, Lan Xiaodie and Su Lin also took him to the Soto Grand Spirit Arena to watch Spirit fighting competitions, broadening his horizons.
"Xiao Chen! How was it? Was today's Douhun Arena competition exciting?"
In the evening, the three returned to the Rose Hotel, and along the way, Su Lin continued to explain some things about Spirit fighting to Ye Liangchen.
"It was alright! If only I could compete, I guarantee I could make you win money."
Spirit fighting competitions also had betting pools, which was a business method for all Douhun Arenas. Unfortunately, Lan Xiaodie didn't allow Ye Liangchen to participate in the competition.
"It's good enough that you get to watch the competition; you still want to fight? If you expose yourself, it'll be troublesome." Lan Xiaodie chuckled. She didn't want Xiao Jiahuo to take risks, and besides, they weren't short on money.
"Those Spirit Grandmasters who are competing, I can abuse them without even using my Spirit."
Ye Liangchen completely disregarded opponents of the same level; he didn't even need to activate his Spirit.
"We know you're very powerful, but it's not the time yet. Let's talk about it a few years later."
Lan Xiaodie rubbed Xiao Jiahuo's head and led him towards the Rose Hotel.
Just then, three drunken men walked down the street. One of them was about 1.75 meters tall, dressed splendidly, with golden hair, and looked quite handsome. Especially his eyes, which had double pupils, looked quite remarkable.
The other two men beside him were quite unique. One was a Fatty in red leather armor, with red hair, as round as a ball. He had a small mustache on both sides of his mouth, and his small eyes constantly scanned the passersby. Whenever he saw a beautiful woman, he immediately showed a lecherous expression.
The other man was even more peculiar. He looked young but had gray hair, and his beard was also gray, giving him an aged appearance.
"Wow! Boss Dai, look! What a beauty!"
When the red-haired Fatty saw Ye Liangchen and the two women, his eyes lit up. Especially when he saw the two women's fiery figures, he shrieked, his eyes shining with a lecherous look.
Although the two women covered their beautiful faces with veils, this hazy, ethereal beauty was even more imaginative.
"Where is it? Let me see."
"Wow! Truly a beauty!"
"Oh! There's even a handsome young man, more handsome than me!"
"Let's go! Let's get to know them."
The golden-haired man adjusted his hair and walked towards Ye Liangchen and the two women. The red-haired Fatty immediately followed him.
"Boss Dai, Fatty, isn't this a bit much?" The long-bearded man was a bit timid and called out from behind.
"Little Ao! What are you afraid of? Today, I'll teach you how to pick up beautiful women, hahaha..."
The golden-haired man, fueled by alcohol, laughed loudly and walked towards Ye Liangchen and the two women.
"Aunt Lan! Teacher Su Lin. A golden-haired handsome guy is walking towards us."
Ye Liangchen whispered to the two women, almost laughing. Looking at the golden-haired man's appearance, he probably wanted to strike up a conversation. Ye Liangchen thought that guy was really thick-headed.
"He's just a Spirit Grandmaster. A lesson will suffice," Lan Xiaodie said indifferently, looking at Ye Liangchen's suppressed laughter and finding it both funny and exasperating.
"Aunt Lan! Teacher Su Lin, don't say anything. I can handle this myself." The opponent was only a Spirit Grandmaster, and Ye Liangchen felt there was no need for the two women to act.
"Alright! Then we'll rely on Xiao Chen for protection. Today, my senior sister and I will be weak women."
"Xiao Chen! You said you could fight a Spirit Grandmaster without using your Spirit. Auntie will watch your performance today."
The two women saw Ye Liangchen's eager expression and exchanged smiles. The Xiao Jiahuo had grown up and could protect them, which made them feel very relieved.
"Aunt Lan! Just watch me!" Ye Liangchen promised the two women that he would definitely not use his Spirit.
"Hi! Two beauties, out for a stroll?"
The golden-haired man came before Ye Liangchen and the two women, tossed his hair, struck what he thought was a handsome pose, and greeted Lan Xiaodie and Su Lin.
Lan Xiaodie and Su Lin did not reply, just quietly watched everything unfold.
"Brother! Are these your sisters?"
The golden-haired man saw that Ye Liangchen was relatively young and thought he was the two beauties' younger brother, so he took the initiative to greet Ye Liangchen to build rapport.
"Golden-haired brother, who are you?"
Ye Liangchen smelled alcohol on the other party. So, the other party was a drunkard!
"What golden-haired? My name is Dai Mubai."
"Hey! Brother, what's your name?"
The golden-haired man revealed his name, which startled Ye Liangchen. He didn't expect it to be this guy. The Fatty and the bearded brother in the distance must be Ma Pangzi and Oscar.
According to the timeline, Dai Mubai should be about 12 years old and it was time for him to come to Shrek.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar had been brought by Flender since childhood. Now, with Dai Mubai, they often frequented the red-light district, becoming the Shrek Three Scoundrels.
"May I ask what you want from us?" At this moment, Su Lin deliberately asked Dai Mubai.
"Two beauties, my name is Dai Mubai, known as Young Master Dai. Let's get to know each other, become friends, and discuss life at the Rose Hotel, how about it?"
Dai Mubai saw that the beauty had taken the initiative to greet him and immediately felt he had a chance. Anyway, he had money, and when he met a beauty, he believed he could get her by throwing money at her.
"What kind of friends? Isn't it just for that trivial matter?"
"Brother! Someone is trying to bully your sister, me. You must protect me!"
Su Lin, acting like a drama queen, quickly grabbed Lan Xiaodie's hand, deliberately hid behind Ye Liangchen, and pretended to be pitiful.
Holy cow! This woman is acting now. Ye Liangchen was speechless. The key was that his Aunt Lan was also playing along with Su Lin.
"This Brother Dai, we don't want to know you. Please leave!" Ye Liangchen calmly said to Dai Mubai.
"Boss Dai! Did you succeed?"
At this moment, the round Ma Pangzi also ran to the front of Ye Liangchen, his small, shifty eyes staring at Su Lin and Lan Xiaodie, which greatly annoyed Ye Liangchen.
"Fatty! What are you looking at?"
"Ang..."
Ye Liangchen unleashed a Dragon Form Fist, transforming spirit power into a dragon's phantom. The powerful spirit power struck the ground in front of the Fatty, raising a cloud of dust.
"Fatty, stop looking, or I'll beat you," Ye Liangchen warned the other party coldly.
"What? If a woman is beautiful, isn't she meant to be looked at?"
"Boss Dai, these two beauties are even more stunning than the ones you dated before. Hurry up and show your strength! Don't forget your brother when you succeed!"
Ma Pangzi, fueled by alcohol, commented on Su Lin and the two women, his small eyes showing a lecherous gaze, and drool constantly flowing from the corners of his mouth.
"Swish swish..."
"Bang..."
Ye Liangchen couldn't stand it. He flashed in front of Ma Pangzi and punched him in the stomach with full force.
"Ow ow..."
Ma Pangzi's round body was sent flying five meters away, rolling a long distance on the ground, constantly letting out screams of pain.
"Fatty, are you okay!"
"I have a big Sausage."
"Buzz buzz..."
Oscar in the distance immediately ran over, activated his Spirit, summoned a Sausage-like Spirit, and fed it to the Fatty.
"My goodness! That bearded guy's Spirit is actually a Sausage?"
"But his incantation is too lewd! Just as lewd as his Sausage Spirit, hahaha..."
As soon as Oscar's lewd incantation came out, it immediately drew laughter from the crowd on the street, who all stopped to watch.
"Ow...! Boss Dai! Help me get revenge." The Fatty, having taken Ye Liangchen's full-force punch, lay on the ground wailing in pain.
"Hey! Look at that lewd Fatty, he was knocked down by that handsome young man with one punch."
"That Fatty and the golden-haired man actually went to flirt with the handsome young man's sister. They deserved to be beaten."
"That handsome young man is so handsome!"
"Those two masked beauties are clearly peerless beauties. As their younger brother, the handsome young man must be handsome too."
The onlookers on the street praised Ye Liangchen, Lan Xiaodie, and Su Lin while condemning Ma Pangzi and Dai Mubai. In everyone's eyes, beauty was justice.
Dai Mubai saw Ma Pangzi get knocked down and immediately couldn't sit still. As the boss, he had to stand up for his subordinate.
"Bullying my brother! Kid, turns out you're a Spirit Master too! Looks like we'll have to fight today."
"Roar..."
Dai Mubai immediately summoned his Spirit. A 'King' character appeared on his forehead, and his claws became as sharp as tiger claws. A White Tiger attached itself behind him, and two yellow spirit rings rose from his body.
"Dai Mubai, Spirit Evil Eyes White Tiger, Level 25 attack system Battle Spirit Master." Dai Mubai even reported his Spirit and level to Ye Liangchen before the fight.
"That golden-haired man is actually a Level 25 Spirit Grandmaster?"
"The handsome young man is in trouble now."
The onlookers in the distance saw Dai Mubai summon his Spirit and all began to worry for Ye Liangchen.
"My name is Nameless, Level 23 Spirit Grandmaster. As for my Spirit, I'll tell you when you can force me to use it."
"Swish swish swish..."
Ye Liangchen immediately activated Five Elements Mysterious Steps, instantly rushed to Dai Mubai's side, and used Five Elements Divine Fist to fight him.
"White Tiger Body Protection Barrier."
"White Tiger Light Wave."
Dai Mubai was startled by the opponent's lightning-fast speed and immediately activated his Spirit Ability to attack. A white light suddenly appeared on his body, forming a protective shield, and a white light mass shot out from his mouth, attacking Ye Liangchen.
"Ang..."
"Roar..."
"Roar roar..."
"Hiss hiss..."
"Chirp chirp..."
Ye Liangchen used Five Elements Mysterious Steps, skillfully dodging the opponent's Spirit Ability attacks. The five divine fists of dragon, snake, tiger, leopard, and crane were unleashed one after another, transforming into five animal phantoms, and fought against the opponent.
"Bang bang bang..."
Dai Mubai had never seen such a situation before. The opponent actually used spirit power to manifest five animals: dragon, snake, tiger, leopard, and crane. Although these movements were phantoms formed by spirit power, they possessed immense power and endless variations, quickly disorienting him.
"Ah ah... Oh oh..."
Three minutes later, Dai Mubai was beaten senseless, lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face, letting out cries of pain.
Ma Pangzi and Oscar in the distance dropped their jaws, and even Ma Pangzi's evil fire was scared back into him.
"Boss Dai was actually beaten down by that kid, and the opponent didn't even activate his Spirit."
After beating Dai Mubai into a pig's head, Ye Liangchen came before him and calmly said, "How about it? Feeling good now!"
After speaking, he directly turned and left, leaving a back facing the crowd.
"Oh my god! That handsome young man is so amazing! He knocked the opponent down without even using his Spirit."
"He's really handsome!"
Some of the young girls on the street were captivated by Ye Liangchen's powerful combat strength, all showing infatuated expressions, with pink little stars constantly appearing in their eyes.