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While Li Luochen was lost in thought, Dugu Yan had already passed through the most difficult stage of absorption. From this point onward, absorbing the soul ring would be smooth sailing.
Li Luochen absorbed his soul ring quickly, completing it in just one day. Dugu Yan, on the other hand, took five days due to the immense strength of the hundred-thousand-year Azure Bull Python and the overwhelming amount of spirit power generated by its soul ring.
Fortunately, Dugu Yan fully absorbed the soul ring. Her current soul ring configuration was: yellow, yellow, purple, black, black, black, red, red. Such a powerful soul ring configuration was extremely rare.
Li Luochen noticed some resemblance between Dugu Yan's soul ring configuration and Mu En's, but Dugu Yan was far stronger than Mu En at this point. Moreover, he knew that to absorb a hundred-thousand-year seventh soul ring, one must possess at least one hundred-thousand-year soul bone.
Dugu Yan was lucky—she already possessed a hundred-thousand-year head bone when she absorbed her hundred-thousand-year seventh soul ring. One step ahead leads to many advantages.
After absorbing the soul ring, the fluctuations of spirit power emanating from Dugu Yan indicated that she had reached level eighty-five and was more than halfway through consolidating it. It seemed that some of the spirit power from the hundred-thousand-year Golden Crocodile Dragon left leg bone still remained within her body.
At this moment, Dugu Yan's combat strength likely rivaled that of a Super Douluo. She could now easily kill ordinary Title Douluos. With a hundred-thousand-year martial soul true body and an extremely suitable eighth soul skill, her power was formidable.
Li Luochen was familiar with Dugu Yan's soul bone skills: Azure Annihilating Thunder and Azure Paralyzing Claw—both incredibly powerful abilities.
Her soul skills included:
- Golden Radiant Azure Dragon Soul: A long-range attack where Dugu Yan condensed spirit power to release a dragon soul, destroying enemies.
- Golden Radiant Azure Dragon Fury: A close-range burst skill where golden lightning enveloped her body, transforming into a massive golden dragon that charged at enemies.
These two skills were exceptional. Moreover, Dugu Yan's martial soul, the Golden Radiant Azure Dragon, boasted incredible physical resilience. She excelled in both long-range and close-range attacks, making her a perfect powerhouse-type Attack Spirit Douluo.
With that, the soul-hunting expedition in the Great Star Forest had concluded, and everyone returned to their respective destinations.
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Meanwhile, far away in Suotuo City of the Barak Kingdom, Xiao Wu suddenly felt as if something important to her had vanished. Tears began streaming uncontrollably down her face.
"Xiao Wu, why are you crying? Is the training too tough?"
Tang San immediately noticed something was wrong and comforted her, patting her head gently. Xiao Wu's sadness instantly dissipated.
"It's nothing, Brother. I don't know why I started crying—it might be because some sand got into my eyes. I'm fine, Brother. Let's continue training. Master said we're going to Tian Dou City in a week."
Xiao Wu shook her head, wiped away her tears, and flashed a sweet smile, putting aside her negative emotions. Holding Tang San's hand, they walked away together.
(Phew, disgusting pet beast!)
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Three days later, in the Spirit Hall of Wuhun City
"What?! That brat Li Luochen hunted and killed the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Bull Python?! Those two beast kings were already reserved for me! How dare he steal them! Unforgivable!"
Upon hearing the intelligence reported by Ghost Douluo, Bibi Dong erupted in anger. Those two beast kings were exceptionally valuable, and she had coveted them for a long time.
Her Spirit Devouring Spider Empress martial soul already had six soul rings, with the sixth being at the hundred-thousand-year tier. She had originally planned to hunt the two beast kings after obtaining her seventh soul ring, but now they were gone!
How could Bibi Dong not be furious? The worst part was that the brat had relied on the Offering Hall's power, treating them as his own allies. Bibi Dong's chest tightened with rage. Her first instinct was to beat Li Luochen to a pulp.
But killing him was out of the question. Her precious "cabbage" in Tian Dou City had already been completely claimed by him. If she killed him, Qian Renxue would undoubtedly fight her to the death, further worsening their already strained mother-daughter relationship.
Bibi Dong felt a headache coming on. Despite everything, she still wanted to mend her relationship with Qian Renxue, her "little cabbage." After all, she was flesh and blood. Unfortunately, their relationship had deteriorated to the point of being like fire and water.
They argued whenever they met, cried afterward, and even Li Luochen found their behavior predictable. No wonder—they were cut from the same mold. Aside from her golden hair and martial soul inherited from Qian Xunji, Qian Renxue bore no resemblance to her father.
"Your Eminence, Elder Li Luochen has sent a confidential letter for you."
Chrysanthemum Douluo's soft voice rang out. Just moments after Ghost Douluo informed Bibi Dong of the situation, Chrysanthemum Douluo received Li Luochen's letter.
What could he do? He had to save his own hide.
"Hmm? Bring it here." Bibi Dong was still fuming, but she was curious to see what excuses the brat had concocted to flatter her.
Bibi Dong opened the letter.
"To Your Eminence, may your sacred grace endure forever.
May time gently caress you, leaving no trace upon your resolute visage. May your heart remain ever youthful, like the rising sun, radiating brilliance and illuminating the path ahead.
Your beauty lies not only in your radiant exterior but also in your indomitable spirit and unwavering determination. May you remain forever youthful, graceful, and extraordinary, achieving greatness beyond measure…"
The letter contained thousands of words, ninety percent of which were compliments praising Bibi Dong's beauty, strength, nobility in the spirit master world, and dominance in the spirit arts.
Bibi Dong read each word carefully. Her previously furrowed brows from anger gradually relaxed, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward.
Li Luochen, being a humanities student, was quite skilled at writing essays. He even incorporated poetic verses, and Bibi Dong's favorite line was, "Clouds think of garments, flowers think of beauty; spring breeze brushes the railing, dew glistens brightly."
Bibi Dong understood the meaning roughly—it corresponded to the phrase "graceful and unparalleled" at the beginning. Yes, she, Bibi Dong, was indeed such a remarkable woman!
"Heh, brat, I suppose you've passed this time," Bibi Dong murmured softly.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo knelt on one knee, glancing at each other. They were used to this routine. Though it was tiring, it allowed them to slack off. Moreover, it seemed that the Pope's mood had improved, so they likely wouldn't suffer any consequences.
At the end of the letter, Li Luochen expressed his "regret" (Li Luochen: Not really) for snatching the two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts Bibi Dong had her eyes on. To make amends, he informed her about three Thousand-Pound Ant Emperors in the Great Star Forest.
The Thousand-Pound Ant Emperor was a powerful insect-type soul beast. These three had devoured their queen and roamed the Great Star Forest, hunting other soul beasts. Their cultivation exceeded ninety thousand years, nearing the hundred-thousand-year mark.
Moreover, the Thousand-Pound Ant Emperor was a top-tier soul beast, highly compatible with Bibi Dong's Spirit Devouring Spider Empress, as both were insect types. Although the Spider Empress primarily cultivated evil and darkness, spiders themselves possessed significant strength, so increasing her power wasn't unreasonable.
Furthermore, Bibi Dong didn't plan to add more dark or evil attributes. She felt that her darkness and evil had reached a critical threshold, and absorbing more might affect her personality.
These three Thousand-Pound Ant Emperors were perfect for her. Thus, Bibi Dong forgave Li Luochen for stealing her soul beasts. As a magnanimous mother-in-law, she wouldn't hold a grudge against this brat!
"A prime minister's belly can hold a boat," as the saying goes. As the higher-ranking Pope, she could afford to be more forgiving!
What intrigued Bibi Dong the most was Li Luochen's hint that simultaneously hunting and absorbing the three ant emperors might yield a "big surprise."
Bibi Dong wasn't sure what the surprise entailed, but she sensed there was more to his words. Simultaneously absorbing three near-hundred-thousand-year soul rings was no trivial matter, even for her current level of ninety-eight.
Still, she was tempted to try. She was only missing three soul rings to complete her set. If absorbing three soul rings simultaneously brought a surprise, could it be that the three rings would resonate and ascend to the hundred-thousand-year tier?
Bibi Dong found this increasingly plausible. She believed she had found the answer—only this could count as a true surprise!
Realizing she needed to prepare thoroughly, Bibi Dong dismissed Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, retreating alone to her palace to begin planning her next move.
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