Tang Lan didn't pay attention to these minor details. He simply closed his eyes and continued meditating.
It wasn't until evening—
That the highest-ranked among them, Xiao Wu, suddenly released a surge of soul power.
She was the first to break through, reaching Rank 70.
As soon as she opened her eyes—
She saw Tang Lan standing right in front of her.
Xiao Wu beamed.
"Brother, I'm Rank 70 now!"
"Not bad." Tang Lan smiled approvingly. "So, what's your plan? Will you continue absorbing the Titan Giant Ape's power for your seventh soul ring, or do you want a God-Bestowed Soul Ring?"
"I choose a God-Bestowed Soul Ring!" Xiao Wu answered without hesitation. "Seventh soul rings usually grant Martial Soul True Body, but Er Ming was a strength-type beast—not suitable for my true body manifestation."
Tang Lan nodded.
"A wise choice."
"Sister Xi already explained—if you want to condense a 100,000-year God-Bestowed Soul Ring, you have to be on Sea God Island."
"Let's go."
Xiao Wu obediently entered Lan Wang.
Tang Lan waited at the training grounds for a moment.
Soon, Wang Dali soared through the sky and landed at the edge of the field.
Tang Lan activated their spiritual link.
—Tang Lan: "I'll leave things to you here."
—Wang Dali: "Rest assured, Sect Master. As long as we're in Tang Sect, no one can lay a hand on them!"
Only then did Tang Lan activate Blood Escape Technique and arrive in front of Sea God Hall on Sea God Island.
He released Xiao Wu and removed the Boundless Sea Sealing Soul on her.
At that moment, Sheila, the head maid, walked out.
"You've returned?" Sheila's eyes lit up in surprise. "Has the Grand Priest returned as well?"
"Not yet, he'll need more time." Tang Lan gestured toward Xiao Wu. "My wife is here to use a God-Bestowed Soul Ring. It should reach 100,000 years, so we came here to absorb it."
Sheila's expression flickered, but she forced a smile and nodded.
"You can absorb it here directly."
"The power of Lord Sea God covers the island, automatically supplying energy to God-Bestowed Soul Rings, with an upper limit of 100,000 years."
Once she confirmed that Tang Lan understood, Sheila returned to Sea God Hall.
Tang Lan motioned for Xiao Wu to sit down and begin absorbing.
As for entering Sea God Hall?
Neither of them had completed their trials yet.
Even though their trial ranks were high, they still weren't considered part of Sea God Island.
Previously, Tang Lan had only managed to enter with his soul projection, exploiting a loophole.
Now that Bo Saixi wasn't here, Sheila didn't dare to make any decisions.
"Brother… Can I really handle a 100,000-year soul ring on my own?"
Xiao Wu's voice held a trace of doubt. "Usually, that's something only a ninth soul ring can handle…"
Tang Lan lowered his head—
And kissed her.
All of Xiao Wu's worries vanished instantly.
Several minutes later—
Tang Lan finally let go of a dazed Xiao Wu, smiling as he gently smoothed her hair.
"You have four soul bones—all 10,000 years or higher, including one 100,000-year piece."
"You have Whale Glue Essence strengthening your physique. Your fifth soul ring was formed from your own 100,000-year body. Your sixth soul ring came from Er Ming's 100,000-year sacrifice."
"Not to mention Er Ming's blood sacrifice that enhanced your physical constitution."
"Plus, with me here, you can absorb as much as possible. Even if you hit your limit, there's nothing to worry about."
"Trust me. And trust yourself."
"You can definitely do this!"
—With that kind of setup, who wouldn't be able to handle it?!
Not to mention—
Xiao Wu was practically born to be lovestruck.
At those words, her confidence skyrocketed.
She immediately sat cross-legged—
And began absorbing the God-Bestowed Soul Ring.
Tang Lan monitored her with spiritual power—
And quickly understood the mechanism behind God-Bestowed Soul Rings.
It was surprisingly simple.
God-Bestowed Soul Rings were essentially "blank" soul rings.
They absorbed external energy, continuously funneling it into the ring, increasing its age limit.
As the soul ring's host, Xiao Wu functioned as a "converter", channeling energy through her body into the ring.
As the age of the God-Bestowed Soul Ring increased—
The rate at which it absorbed energy also increased proportionally.
Eventually—
The energy intake would exceed the human body's capacity, forcing the user to stop and finalize the soul ring.
"So that's how it works."
"That means…
"Everyone getting a 100,000-year soul ringisn't actually a problem."
Tang Lan's confidence soared.
He even had the leisure to start pondering other things.
He had a suspicion—
That soul beasts might also have "blank soul rings" planted inside them.
These rings only became visible when the beast was killed.
And if someone had manipulated the genetic structure of humans—
To make absorbing soul rings the only way to break through…
Then the eternal conflict between humans and soul beasts wasn't natural—
It was engineered.
"Who came up with this messed-up idea, anyway?"
The God of Shura?
Doubtful.
That guy was so eager to retire, he even snatched people from other worlds to replace him.
Would he really have the ambition to plan something like this?
Ambition…
If anyone was suspicious, it had to be Destruction God King, who was always scheming to expand the God Realm!
Sea God Hall was the very core of Sea God Island.
Even outside its doors, the energy concentration was leagues above anywhere else.
Because of this—
Xiao Wu only needed half a night to absorb enough energy for her soul ring.
She began pushing toward her absolute limit.
Her meridians were overstuffed, swelling dangerously close to rupturing.
But—
Her will was unwavering. She refused to give up.
At the critical moment, Tang Lan activated his Black Hole Domain.
This gave the overflowing energy an alternate outlet, preventing it from crushing her body.
At the same time—
His Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor wrapped around Xiao Wu, madly absorbing the excess energy from her meridians.
The energy he drained was then pumpeddirectly into her God-Bestowed Soul Ring.
—Technically, he could have refined the energy into soul power, then purified it into internal energy, and finally condensed it into spiritual power.
But that would be too time-consuming.
And there was no time to waste—
The Heaven Dou Empire's Final Selection Tournament was tomorrow, and he had important matters to attend to.
He couldn't afford any delays.
With both methods working together—
As dawn broke, the God-Bestowed Soul Ring finally reached completion.
A dazzling red light erupted—
A blood-colored soul ring descended at Xiao Wu's feet!
100,000-year Soul Ring—Acquired!
Xiao Wu opened her eyes—
And immediatelypounced on Tang Lan, her long legs wrapping around his waist.
She clung to him, showering him with kisses all over his face.
Several minutes later—
She finally let go, looking completely satisfied.
"Brother! It really reached 100,000 years!" Xiao Wu said excitedly.
"My seventh soul skill—Martial Soul True Body—is calledSoft Bone Rabbit Clone!"
"It lets me create 7 copies of myself, each with70%of my original strength!"
"Aside from soul bones, they are identical to me!"
"And—both thenumberof clones and theirstrength percentagewill increase as I level up!"
"For every 1 level gained, my clones get 1% stronger!"
"For every 10 levels, I get 1 extra clone!"
"Brother!"
"Isn't that OP?!"
Tang Lan nodded approvingly.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Even without reaching godhood, at Rank 99, she could have 9 clones, each at 99% of her strength.
A properGod-Bestowed Soul Ring—
Always tailored to be the absolute best for the user.
"Come on, time to head back." Tang Lan smirked.
"Today, a good show is about to unfold~"
A good show?!
Xiao Wu's gossip radarflared up instantly!
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
Tang Lan stored Xiao Wu in Lan Wang and used Blood Escape Technique to teleport back to Tang Sect.
Upon arrival, he released Xiao Wu.
Everyone paused their cultivation, greeting her with smiling faces.
At the same time—
A stream of system notificationspopped up one after another.
On the display—
(End of Chapter)