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Of course, even if Tang Yuehua had attached a seventh soul ring with merely the standard optimal configuration, could the True Form of the Wishful Ring still produce precisely the same effects as it does now?
Although soul rings from the same species of soul beast inevitably grant stronger abilities when harvested from higher-year specimens, the advantages of higher-year rings are not always reflected solely in the potency of the soul skill itself.
Take Ning Rongrong for instance—on the surface, the effects of her four-hundred-year first soul ring are identical to those of a hundred-thousand-year first soul ring; the only differences lie in the amount of soul power consumed when activating the skill and the varying degrees of physical enhancement gained from attaching the ring.
To put it plainly, assigning a hundred-thousand-year soul ring to Tang Yuehua, whose Wu Hun possesses such unique characteristics, would be an enormous waste.
But Chu Chengzhou didn't care—after all, the hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts weren't his to raise, and there were far too many of them; as long as he avoided wanton slaughter, scarcity was hardly a concern.
After stowing away the left-leg soul bone dropped by the hundred-thousand-year, Chu Chengzhou's hand flashed with golden light as he pulled out a short golden blade and pried open the skulls of two hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast kings.
He would never miss out on such a precious treasure as whale brain—he had previously hunted six hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts for Tang Yuehua and collected six portions of whale brain.
He gave one portion to Ning Fengzhi, consumed one himself, and had his soul power leap from Level 78, Soul Saint, all the way to Level 80, Quasi-Soul Douluo; he still had four portions remaining.
Adding these two new portions brought his total to six full portions of whale brain harvested from hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts.
With his current foundation at Level 82, Soul Douluo, consuming all six portions of whale brain while replacing his existing six- and eight-hundred-thousand-year torso and left-leg soul bones with these newly acquired hundred-thousand-year counterparts should be more than sufficient to propel his soul power all the way to Level 90, near-Titled Douluo.
Such a rapid advancement would leave even Xiao Wu and the other three undergoing trials on the Sea God Island far behind him!
With their soul rings, soul bones, and whale brain stripped away, the remaining carcasses of the two hundred-thousand-year soul beast kings naturally became the rightful spoils of the Dark Demon Evil Spirit Tiger, Xiao Hei.
As the black demon hook pierced deep into their bodies, a wave of malevolent energy rippled outward, and the once-mighty carcasses visibly withered and turned to dust as their life force drained away—meanwhile, Xiao Hei's aura and the age of Chu Chengzhou's seventh soul ring steadily increased.
Long after the two beast kings had been entirely consumed, the age of the Dark Demon Evil Spirit Tiger, Huan Ling Xiao Hei, rose from just over one hundred and eleven thousand years to over one hundred and thirty-one thousand years.
"Close to nothing!"
Watching Xiao Hei's age increase by merely twenty thousand years despite devouring two hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts, Chu Chengzhou silently cursed under his breath.
Though a twenty-thousand-year boost was considerable, it was nothing compared to the output of his idle Leveling cheat—barely a hundred days of passive grinding.
Besides, this was merely his current idle Leveling efficiency; once he ascended to the Nine-Ring Soul Emperor rank, his cheat would undoubtedly upgrade again, drastically reducing the time required to gain such an increase—so spending two hundred-thousand-year carcasses for this result felt like a terrible bargain.
Still, the modest growth was inevitable.
After all, Xiao Hei's age already surpassed that of the hundred-thousand-year diamond sea clam and golden tortoise; when a higher-year evil soul beast devours lower-year soul beasts, the resulting power gain is naturally limited.
Moreover, if he didn't let Xiao Hei consume them, the carcasses of these two kings would serve him little practical purpose.
Hmm… perhaps his mother-in-law, Bibi Dong, might find them more appealing?
Elsewhere, in Tian Dou City.
Just as Chu Chengzhou and Tang Yuehua departed for the mainland, barely a short distance beyond the Slaughter City, a blue-haired teenage boy—pale-faced, radiating a chilling aura of murderous intent, unmistakably a malevolent soul master—appeared on the street outside the Yue Xuan.
"My aunt's domain can purify the soul—I'm certain I can master the Killing God Domain quickly."
Gazing at the Yue Xuan ahead, Tang San, acutely aware of his own unstable condition, thought to himself.
"Greetings, Young Master!"
Upon seeing Tang San approach, the two young men in blue robes guarding the Yue Xuan's entrance immediately stepped forward to bow respectfully.
"Is my aunt here?"
Tang San nodded slightly and asked.
One of the blue-robed youths replied, "Young Master, the Mistress has recently left on important business and is currently not at the Yue Xuan."
Upon hearing this, Tang San raised an eyebrow but didn't dwell on it—he waved his hand and walked straight inside.
Even though his aunt was away, Yue Xuan was where he had grown up—it was still his home.
Once Tang San passed through the gates, the two guards began whispering among themselves.
"Do you have any idea what's wrong with the Young Master? He looks just like an evil soul master—last time we saw him, he was perfectly normal!"
"How should I know? I remember when Young Master Chu first arrived, he looked just like this—but the Young Master's condition seems even worse."
"Young Master Chu and our Young Master are both prodigious soul masters—could it be that all prodigies end up like this?"
"Probably… but Young Master Chu isn't just a prodigy anymore—he's one of the strongest on the continent."
Though their whispers were low, soul masters possessed hearing far beyond ordinary humans, and Tang San, having just stepped inside, heard every word.
The moment he heard the name Chu Chengzhou, a dark vein throbbed visibly on his forehead.
If Tang San had to name the person he despised most—aside from those affiliated with the Spirit Hall, who had murdered his mother—it would undoubtedly be Chu Chengzhou.
It wasn't because Chu Chengzhou had defeated him during the Soul Master Tournament, nor because he was more talented; it was because this man was utterly shameless—he actually wanted to become his uncle-in-law.
If Chu Chengzhou had been even one generation older, Tang San wouldn't have minded—after all, his aunt had remained single for so long, and since he had always regarded Tang Yuehua as a surrogate mother, he wouldn't object to her finding a husband.
But they were the same age, and this man already had multiple girlfriends—yet he still dared to pursue becoming his uncle-in-law. That was simply too much.
Tang San: You have sealed your own fate!
The following afternoon, Chu Chengzhou returned to the Yue Xuan with Tang Yuehua.
Yet before he even stepped through the gates, he immediately sensed an out-of-place aura within the compound.
Extending his spiritual energy to scan the area—ah… so his "beloved" nephew Tang San had returned?
"Yuehua, our nephew is back."
He paused briefly before speaking to her.
"Huh? Xiao San is back?"
Tang Yuehua blinked in surprise, then hurriedly asked.
"Yes!"
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
Instantly, a warm smile spread across Tang Yuehua's face.
She had raised Tang San like her own son—when he had left for the Slaughter City, she had been filled with dread, and now that he had returned safely, her joy was overwhelming.
Yet beneath her happiness, a deep unease stirred within her.
Her relationship with Chu Chengzhou could never be hidden from her beloved nephew—or from her two elder brothers.
Though she didn't care what the world thought, she deeply cared about the opinions of her family, especially her nephew's gaze.
After all, her brothers Tang Xiao and Tang Hao were peers—they could tease her about "an old cow eating tender grass" without consequence.
But giving her beloved nephew an uncle-in-law who was his own age? Just imagining the strange, awkward look he'd give her made her want to vanish from the earth.
Noticing her distress, Chu Chengzhou gently patted her shoulder and whispered, "Yuehua, don't worry—our relationship isn't something to be ashamed of."
"And besides, the stronger a soul master becomes, the longer their lifespan grows—so what does a few decades of age difference matter in the end?"
"Yes!"
Tang Yuehua tightened her grip on Chu Chengzhou's right arm, her face glowing with pure happiness as she nodded.
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