"You guys are pushing it!" Xiao Hongchen protested.
"Tsk..." Miss Meng let out a soft, displeased sound, but she ultimately did not continue to provoke her older brother. Releasing her embrace from Kong Mingan, the young woman naturally stood by his side. She continued to ask with a radiant smile, "By the way, Mingan, you still haven't chosen your first spirit ring? It has been over a month now since you reached level ten".
"There is no rush. I will wait until Grandpa Kong returns," Kong Mingan said, looking completely unconcerned.
His Grandpa Kong was very invested in the matter of his first spirit ring. Taking advantage of having just come out of seclusion, at a time when everyone thought he was still resting, the old man went out personally to find a spirit beast for him.
Having a level 98 Titled Douluo with twin spirits who was proficient in Ring Explosion and nearly a level 10 Soul Engineer go out to help find a spirit beast provided a very real sense of security. As expected, Grandpa Kong was the most reliable person he knew.
Instead of continuing to talk about his own spirit ring, Kong Mingan chatted with the Hongchen siblings. They mainly talked about the use of the Ring Tempering Method. For the two of them, who had already broken through to become a Spirit Grand Master with two spirit rings and whose physical bodies had grown to the Spirit Elder stage, they now had the foundation to begin cultivating this new method. Kong Mingan had no intention of hiding anything and began to explain the precautions for the Ring Tempering Method to them.
Just as Kong Mingan was explaining the details, the heavy alloy door of the laboratory quietly slid open. Kong Mingan was the first to realize someone was there and quickly looked up. He saw Kong Deming, dressed in a long robe and looking somewhat tired from travel.
"Grandpa Kong?" Kong Mingan was slightly surprised. He did not expect his grandfather to return so soon.
"Elder Kong!" Xiao Hongchen said beside him, showing a respectful attitude.
"Grandpa Kong, you are back!" Meng Hongchen was equally respectful, but her greeting was much more intimate than her brother's.
Kong Deming nodded slightly. His expression was a bit tired, but his eyes were still bright. With calm eyes, he walked to the center of the laboratory. He slowly took out a cylindrical container from his portable spirit tool. It was about half the height of a person, made entirely of silver-white metal, and covered with many complex seal runes.
"Is this a Beast Sealing Platform?" Kong Mingan asked tentatively.
Kong Deming nodded slightly, giving an affirmative answer. Kong Mingan was curious because a Beast Sealing Platform was used to seal spirit beasts. In terms of rank, it was a level 8 spirit tool. This item also had an advanced version, which was the God Sealing Platform used to seal powerful beings like the Snow Empress.
Placing the Beast Sealing Platform steadily on the special platform in the center of the laboratory, Kong Deming raised his hand. He activated the surrounding spirit tool arrays to form multiple energy containment fields. Meng Hongchen curiously stepped closer, looking at the silver-white pillar that radiated powerful seal fluctuations. She asked in a low voice, "Grandpa Kong, what kind of spirit beast is sealed inside?".
Kong Deming looked at the Beast Sealing Platform and calmly said, "Thorny Dragon".
Upon hearing this name, the usually calm eyes of Kong Mingan flickered slightly. He quietly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Thorny Dragons are an extremely rare type of sub-dragon spirit beast with spatial attributes. They are born with the ability to control the power of space.
They possess strange attacks and great speed, and they can even use short-distance teleportation. Their sharp tails can even tear through space, and their potential is limitless.
When they reach a very high age, they can even open up an exclusive spatial battlefield. Among spatial attribute spirit beasts, they are considered excellent and perfectly matched his expectations for his first spirit ring.
He had made several plans to ensure his first spirit ring was perfect. Initially, he had looked toward the depths of the Evil Demon Forest, hoping to capture a mutated Evil Eye Tyrant with spatial or even temporal attributes. But considering that it was the territory of the Holy Spirit Cult and that an Evil Emperor was dormant there, the risk was too great. For the sake of the safety of Grandpa Kong, he decided to give up on that idea.
His core requirements remained clear. The spirit beast attribute must be high-tier. Time, space, and fate were his first choices for attributes. These were followed by other ultimate attributes, such as spirit beasts with the Ultimate Ice attribute like the Ice Jade Scorpion. Besides those, he could also choose a Silver Heroic Beast. If none of those were available, he would go to the Jingyang Mountain Range to capture a Silver Moon Wolf King with seven elemental attributes. That was his worst-case fallback plan.
However, the situation was not as bad as he thought. In fact, it exceeded his expectations. The trip taken by Grandpa Kong actually brought back an exceptionally rare spatial spirit beast, the Thorny Dragon. This was a pleasant surprise. His research was smooth, his cultivation was going well, and now he had a perfect spirit beast. It felt like everything had been going perfectly lately.
Beside him, Kong Deming watched the excited eyes of his grandson. His tone became very solemn as he spoke. "Mingan, although this Thorny Dragon just broke through to ten thousand years and was caught during its weak period, it is still powerful. If it produces a spirit ring, the energy inside will far exceed that of an ordinary ten-thousand-year spirit ring". He paused and looked at the boy. "Are you really absolutely sure about this?".
Even though he had seen his grandson create miracles many times, and even though he sensed a powerful physique that surpassed many high-ranked spirit masters, he was still worried. A level 10 Spirit Scholar absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring seemed impossible. If he did not know the personality of his grandson, he would never have found such a ring for him.
Kong Mingan met the worried gaze of his grandfather. A relaxed smile appeared on his face, and his voice was confident. "Don't worry, Grandpa Kong. I can't say it is a ten out of ten chance, but a nine out of ten chance is probably accurate".
It is well known that absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring requires more than just a powerful body. It also requires surviving a soul shock. Ten-thousand-year spirit beasts have significant soul power. The resentment they leave behind can impact the mental sea of a spirit master. At best, it causes mental damage. At worst, it turns the person into an idiot. Normally, a spirit master can only resist this when they reach the Spirit King stage at level 50.
But for Kong Mingan, this was the least of his problems. The answer to dealing with a soul shock was simple: purify and remove the soul remnants of the spirit beast from the spirit ring. Without the soul of the spirit beast, there would be no shock.
"Elder Yi," Kong Mingan murmured in his heart.
"Hehe... do not worry," an old but amused voice echoed in his mind. "I have not been idle for this past year. Just leave the resentment of a mere ten-thousand-year spirit beast to this old man".
Kong Mingan relaxed slightly. "Then I will trouble you, Elder Yi".
"It is a small matter," the voice replied.