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Upon learning that she would be able to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring for her fourth rank, Ning Rongrong was struck with a wave of pure excitement.
"Mhm. When the time comes, your Brother Xiao Wen will go with you. He will help you resolve the issue of the Soul Shock," Ning Fengzhi added reassuringly.
"That's fantastic!" Ning Rongrong exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. "Thank you, Brother Xiao Wen!"
"Let's get moving. This time, your Grandpa Bone will lead the way to help you obtain your fourth soul ring," Gu Rong announced.
Since Chen Xin had recently taken on a disciple, his teaching schedule was quite demanding, leaving the task of assisting Ning Rongrong to Gu Rong. In truth, even if it were a ten-thousand-year soul ring, a fourth soul ring typically wouldn't require the personal intervention of a Titled Douluo. It was a testament to how deeply she was spoiled; ever since her first soul ring, Titled Douluos had personally hunted the most suitable soul beasts for her.
The destination for this hunt was the Sunset Forest. The target for Ning Rongrong's fourth soul ring was none other than a Stone Monster.
Accompanied by the Bone Douluo, Su Wen led them into a rocky, mountainous region. After disturbing a large group of Stone Monsters, they successfully isolated and captured one that was just over ten thousand years old. Once they had escaped the pursuit of the monster's kin, Gu Rong made the final kill.
As a pitch-black soul ring drifted into the air, Ning Rongrong could hardly contain herself and moved to begin the absorption.
"Rongrong, wait a moment!" Gu Rong interrupted, signaling her to be patient. He turned to Su Wen and asked, "How is it, Xiao Wen? Are you ready?"
Su Wen made a show of sensing the lingering resentment within the soul ring, appearing as though he were checking if his Illusionary Realm could absorb it.
"I can do it," he replied simply.
Only then did Gu Rong feel at ease enough to allow Ning Rongrong to begin. Ning Rongrong, having waited long enough, sat cross-legged on the ground and began to draw the soul ring toward her body.
Boom!
A massive surge of soul power flooded into her. For her, the physical pressure wasn't the most terrifying part. The real trial came from the Soul Shock inherent in a ten-thousand-year soul ring. The initial impact was so violent that her consciousness flickered and began to blur.
Fortunately, Su Wen immediately activated his Illusionary Realm, devouring the power of the lingering resentment and significantly weakening the intensity of the Soul Shock. This first collision actually benefited Ning Rongrong; the impact forced a tiny crack into the barrier of her spiritual sea.
Sensing the existence of her spiritual sea, Ning Rongrong's spirit rallied. While enduring the subsequent waves of the Soul Shock, she began to guide that turbulent energy to help her break through the barrier.
Boom!
The spiritual sea was successfully opened. The remaining resentment that Su Wen hadn't fully consumed was completely suppressed and absorbed by Ning Rongrong, causing the spiritual power within her sea to swell.
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Black.
Four soul rings circled Ning Rongrong's body, the dark fourth ring looking particularly striking.
"Hehe, it seems I've stepped onto the path of being a showstopper after all," she giggled.
The first rule for a Support System soul master is self-protection, which usually means staying low-profile. This was the exact reason Ning Fengzhi had urged her to stick to a hundred-year ring for her second soul ring. But now, at the fourth rank, she felt she no longer needed to follow that rule. She had absolute faith in Su Wen's protection.
"Rongrong, did you open your spiritual sea?" Su Wen asked, sensing the shift in her spiritual aura.
"Yes, Brother Xiao Wen, I just succeeded," she replied happily.
"Good. Now that you've opened your spiritual sea, it will be much easier for you to learn my element control techniques," Su Wen noted with a nod.
---
Meanwhile, in Qingyang City.
Since obtaining his fortuitous encounter in the form of the Myriad Law Manual, Lin Dong had cast aside his despondency. He no longer doubted his talent. While he was acutely aware that his natural gifts were lacking, he now saw a path where hard work could overcome those deficiencies.
*The first page of the Myriad Law Manual: Flaming Fist.*
By circulating soul power, Lin Dong's weak fire affinity was just enough to condense flames around his right fist, creating an explosive burst of damage. Although the fire put a strain on his hand, he gained a deeper familiarity with fire control through constant practice.
Once he had fully mastered the Flaming Fist—reaching the point where he could gather the flames using his own strength—the first page of the manual finally trembled and slowly flipped over.
"As I thought, I must master these soul skills myself to turn to the next page!" Lin Dong thought to himself. He wasn't intimidated by the strict requirement; instead, his resolve hardened. He didn't believe that he could fail to master these skills when the book allowed him to experience the sensation of performing them perfectly over and over again.
*Second page: Fire Blast!* Two and a half months passed, and Lin Dong successfully mastered the four soul skills on the first four pages: Flaming Fist, Fire Blast, Water Ripple, and Earth Spike.
One could say these four skills were simple, but they served as the fundamental building blocks for their respective elements. However, after mastering these four, no fifth soul skill appeared. Instead, the fifth page turned to reveal something different.
*Fifth page: Integrate elemental soul skills into spear techniques; create the Fire-Style Spear Technique.*
Lin Dong scratched his head, feeling that this Myriad Law Manual might not be a simple treasure. It felt as though someone might be pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Nevertheless, the manual had brought him a qualitative transformation. Having learned the four basic soul skills, his strength was no longer what it used to be. Though his low soul power meant his endurance was poor, he was already more powerful than many ordinary soul masters. All of this had changed in just two and a half months.
It had to be said, however, that because he had focused so much on mastering these soul skills, his spear training had been somewhat neglected.
"My foundation is still the spear. The manual guided me to learn fire, water, and earth skills, and now it wants me to integrate fire into my spear. This path perfectly suits me."
Lin Dong speculated that the manual might contain gold and wood element skills later on, perhaps held back so he wouldn't bite off more than he could chew. He figured the Fire-Style was first because fire was easier to integrate and offered the fastest increase in lethality.
Admittedly, his ability to overthink and rationalize was quite impressive. In reality, Su Wen had only prepared those four soul skills and the fifth-page challenge. Everything in the Myriad Law Manual after that was currently blank...
"My Five Elements Spear might seem weak, but that's only because the mutation wasn't thorough. Having five attributes is a strength in its own right!"
By mastering the three elemental skills, Lin Dong discovered the benefits of variety. Having all five elements meant his attack and defense could augment each other beautifully. Currently, the only flaws were the weakness of the attributes themselves and the limit they placed on his soul power cultivation.
"Soul power is the root of everything. My martial soul is holding me back," Lin Dong thought, falling silent. He knew this was the biggest hurdle—even greater than mastering the five elements. If the issue of his martial soul wasn't resolved, he could never become a truly top-tier powerhouse. No matter how much he excavated the five elements, he would always be capped by his soul power.
"I hope the Myriad Law Manual can help me solve this," he thought, looking toward the manual residing in his dantian with high expectations. He had already grown somewhat dependent on the book that had appeared so suddenly.
(End of Chapter)