Two months later, at the base of Sea God Mountain.
Sitting cross-legged on the fifth step and cultivating, Ah Zhu's aura fluctuated slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.
Instinctively, she looked toward Yu Tianming, who was seated higher up on the steps in meditation.
But at that moment, Bo Saixi appeared before her, dressed in red robes, just in time to block her view. She flipped her hand and took out a golden orb, asking, "Ah Zhu, do you want to absorb the God-bestowed spirit ring now, or save it for later like Tianming?"
"I want to wait until Young Master arrives to decide."
Just as she finished speaking, Yu Tianming walked down briskly from the 80th step. He looked at Bo Saixi holding the God-bestowed spirit ring and smiled faintly. "I think it would be best for Ah Zhu to absorb it now."
Bo Saixi looked puzzled. "Why not let her save it for later like you?"
"If the seventh ring, which awakens the true form of one's martial soul, is the most important, then the fifth ring—the first to affect one's spiritual will—is the second most important. That's why Ah Zhu should absorb the God-bestowed spirit ring now."
He added, "Besides, there really aren't any suitable fire-attributed spirit rings for Ah Zhu on Sea God Island."
Yu Tianming thought to himself: even Ma Hongjun, who's level 70, struggled with the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Serpent. There's no way Ah Zhu, who's only level 50, could use it. Plus, it was after Yu Xiaogang absorbed his fifth spirit ring that his otherwise unimpressive Luo Sanpao evolved into a Golden Saint Dragon.
Although Ah Zhu's situation differed from Yu Xiaogang's, it was clear that her martial soul hadn't fully evolved. The fifth spirit ring clearly played a critical role in pushing it further.
Bo Saixi nodded thoughtfully.
Yu Tianming gently pulled Ah Zhu's arm. "Let's restore your spirit power first, then absorb the ring."
Ah Zhu looked at him tenderly and nodded. The two began descending step by step.
Bo Saixi watched their figures retreat, momentarily dazed, then followed them down the stairs.
Since Ah Zhu had only been on the fifth step, it took just five steps to descend. The trio soon arrived at an open space, where Ah Zhu sat cross-legged to begin recovering, while Yu Tianming and Bo Saixi stood by her side.
Bo Saixi glanced at Ah Zhu, then at Ah Zi and Dugu Yan still cultivating, and finally turned to Yu Tianming, suddenly asking, "Are all the men of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan this fickle?"
Ah Zi, not far away, heard this but said nothing. Both she and Ah Zhu were concubines, not in a position to speak on this matter. Besides, Ah Zhu was her older sister and bore no jealousy.
Dugu Yan also remained silent. She'd long gotten used to Ah Zhu and Ah Zi's presence. Though she minded the soul bone issue, the two couldn't threaten her position as main wife. As long as they didn't get too close to Yu Tianming, she let them be.
Yu Tianming stared at Bo Saixi, shocked—how could someone who had lived for over a hundred years ask such a naïve question?
Bo Saixi, seeing his incredulous expression, showed a rare hint of embarrassment on her youthful face and turned away slightly. "I was just curious."
Yu Tianming sighed helplessly and explained, "All major clans on the continent are like this. Main bloodlines often take multiple wives to increase the chance of producing talented descendants."
"Even the Clear Sky Clan, the strongest sect in the world?"
Hearing that, Yu Tianming immediately realized what she was getting at—she was indirectly asking about Tang Chen.
He thought: has she been cooped up in the Sea God Temple for so long that she's ignorant of the world? But the original story made it clear she knew Tang Chen had a family. Could it be she thought he had only one wife?
Putting it together, Yu Tianming said, "Exactly because the Clear Sky Clan is more open to taking wives, they're the number one clan. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is only third."
Bo Saixi didn't buy it. "Nonsense. The Clear Sky Clan is number one because of Tang Chen's strength."
"True, Tang Chen led them to the top. But even after his disappearance, the Clear Sky Clan remained number one—because he had many wives and many talented descendants to carry the name."
Yu Tianming added, "Not every Soul Master has multiple wives. Take Qian Daoliu, who was considered one of the Two Peaks along with Tang Chen. He only had one son. And that son is about the same age as Tang Chen's eldest grandson, Tang Xiao."
Bo Saixi's expression grew complicated. Was my decision back then the wrong one?
But she wasn't like Qian Daoliu. He served his ancestors and could pass on the position at any time. She served the Sea God. Though revered by sea spirit masters, unless the Sea God chose another successor, she could not hand over her duties.
She was never destined to be with Qian Daoliu. Only someone with the hope of becoming a god, like Tang Chen, could be her match. But Tang Chen had so many wives—was he really worth it? Proud Bo Saixi fell into uncertainty.
Moments later, Ah Zhu finished her recovery and slowly stood up.
Yu Tianming noticed Bo Saixi deep in thought but interrupted her, saying, "High Priest, please give Ah Zhu the God-bestowed spirit ring."
Snapping out of it, Bo Saixi nodded. With a flash of gold in her hand, the golden orb floated above Ah Zhu's head. With a flick of her finger, it cracked at the imprint on Ah Zhu's forehead.
Instantly, thick golden mist poured down, engulfing Ah Zhu. As it made contact, it shifted into concentric white rings of light swirling around her.
Bo Saixi's voice rang in her ears, "Feel it carefully. Endure the trial of the God-bestowed spirit ring with all your willpower to reap the most benefit."
Ah Zhu nodded slightly. The rings shifted from white to yellow, then purple, finally turning black.
As the light deepened in hue, subtle changes occurred in Ah Zhu's body. Her face showed no pain, but beads of sweat betrayed the difficulty of the process.
Though over ten meters away, Yu Tianming could still feel the tremendous spirit power radiating from the forming ring.
After a while, the black rings merged into a massive black halo that slowly shrank toward Ah Zhu.
Waves of heat pulsed from her body, raising the temperature around them to seventy or eighty degrees. Even Yu Tianming's vision shimmered from the heat.
Suddenly, pure flames rose from Ah Zhu, forming a vortex that wrapped around her.
Her outer robes instantly turned to ash, revealing her fair skin and close-fitting inner armor.
The armor, crafted by the master smith Lou Gao in Gengxin City, was forged from blazing sun iron and rare materials. Incredibly resilient and elastic, it offered exceptional resistance to fire. Though not divine-grade, it came close.
Naturally, for a clan as wealthy as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, this kind of investment for Ah Zhu was no issue.
After all, in battle, robes often get torn. Dugu Yan and Ah Zi, as female Soul Masters, had to wear durable armor. They couldn't be like Ma Hongjun, burning off their clothes and running around naked.
Gradually, a red horn sprouted from Ah Zhu's forehead. Her skin formed fine scales, and her wine-red hair grew lighter.
Her martial soul's possession form also changed. Previously, her legs transformed into a snake tail. Now, dragon scales appeared on her legs, and a bulge at the back of her pants revealed a red serpent tail with white fur.
The black spirit ring shrank to her feet. Two yellow, two purple, and one black—five rings now surrounded her. She had officially become a Soul King.
Ah Zhu opened her eyes, a flash of gold-red in her pupils. The flames swirling around her receded into her body.
Though her appearance hadn't changed much, her strength was now on a whole different level.
Unable to contain her excitement, she shakily stood up and bowed to Bo Saixi. "Thank you, Senior, for your grace."
Bo Saixi didn't respond. As the flames faded, she turned around and vanished in a streak of red light.
Her voice echoed all around: "When the next person reaches their bottleneck, I will return."
With Bo Saixi gone, Dugu Yan and Ah Zi approached Ah Zhu.
But Ah Zhu went straight to Yu Tianming, summoned her martial soul, and exclaimed excitedly, "My martial soul has fully evolved! It's now a true Flood Dragon! When I possess it now, my legs remain human, and like you, I grow a tail!"
She then summoned her martial soul without possessing it to show him.
Her martial soul, which once had only dragon claws, now had full limbs. It looked like a full-fledged Flood Dragon.
The only differences from a true dragon were the lack of whiskers, four clawed limbs instead of talons, and her head resembled a serpent rather than a horse-like dragon. Her horn was also unbranched.
Still, though just a Flood Dragon, it exuded a faint aura of power even without possession.
Yu Tianming smiled. "God-bestowed rings adapt to your capacity. Do you know how many years your ring ended up being?"
Ah Zhu's joy was uncontrollable. "My fifth ring is 20,000 years old—comparable to most Soul Masters' sixth rings!"
Yu Tianming nodded. Even Ma Hongjun's sixth God-bestowed ring was only 40,000 years. For Ah Zhu to gain a 20,000-year ring without a powerful soul bone showed her exceptional willpower.
He asked, "What's your new soul skill?"
Ah Zhu's fifth ring lit up. In her hands appeared two strange daggers, about as long as her forearms.
These daggers, milky white like bone, looked like fangs. The outer edges were sharp and aligned with the guard and handle, while the inner edges were perpendicular.
Ah Zhu explained, "My fifth skill is Dragon Fang Blades. I can summon two white daggers for combat. They're sharp and heat-infused, capable of melting metal. They also deal mental damage to enemies."
Yu Tianming nodded. "Very good. These blades not only deal high physical damage but also add mental attacks—perfect for offsetting your close-combat weaknesses."
Her new skill resembled Tang San's Blue Silver Overlord Spear, but his weapon only inflicted physical damage and had limited utility.
Ah Zhu's blades, however, combined physical, magical, and spiritual damage. In games, everyone knows mixed damage is hardest to defend against.
Yu Tianming advised, "From now on, choose soul beasts with fire or spiritual attributes. That'll strengthen those powers further."
After all, part of Yu Xiaogang's theory was right—spirit rings did influence a martial soul's attributes.
Ah Zhu had absorbed several spirit rings with fire and spiritual traits and had undergone a martial soul evolution. Those traits were now cemented into her soul.
Seeing her reach the Soul King level, Dugu Yan and Ah Zi went back up the stairs to cultivate even harder.
When they arrived on Sea God Island, all three had absorbed celestial herbs. At 18, Ah Zhu had reached level 48; 17-year-old Ah Zi was level 45.
Twelve-year-old Dugu Yan, who had absorbed the Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone at her awakening and two soul bones by age six, had reached level 46 after a second herb—one level higher than Ah Zi and far ahead of Tang San's 29 at the same age.
Now, both Dugu Yan and Ah Zi were close to breaking through to Soul King. Seeing Ah Zhu's advancement made them even more determined.
Time flew. Three more months passed.
Ah Zi, who had absorbed the God-bestowed ring, slowly opened her eyes.
Like Ah Zhu, her half-evolved martial soul had completed its transformation—growing limbs, gaining a tail during possession. But her Azure Flood Dragon had no whiskers, only fins, clearly marking it as a sea-type soul beast.
(End of Chapter)
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