God-granted soul ring. After absorption, it will grant the most needed skill, and the longer one persists, the higher the year limit of the soul ring, and thus the greater the power of the obtained soul skill.
Right now, the most important thing for Jiang Chen was to overcome the tribulation. He guessed that the first soul skill he was about to obtain would be a defensive one.
His mental power focused on the system, and he chose to open the God-granted Soul Ring. The system popped up another reminder:
[After absorbing the soul ring, the host must pass the first heavenly tribulation within three days. It is recommended that the host persist until the very end when absorbing the soul ring to increase the chances of surviving the tribulation. Do you confirm absorption?]
This time, Jiang Chen did not retreat. His heart trembled as he chose confirm.
Absorbing the first soul ring was like a young man entering the bridal chamber for the first time; how could he not be excited?
Moreover, he had never even entered a bridal chamber before.
The moment he confirmed, a golden bead appeared out of thin air above his head. Immediately after, the bead shattered, turning into rich golden light that poured in through the top of his head.
In an instant, his entire body radiated dazzling golden light. His whole person resembled a vajra Buddha. Along with that intense golden radiance, a divine and oppressive aura spread out, enveloping the area several zhang around him.
At this moment, Tang Hao, who had been sleeping drunk on the bed, suddenly woke up. Without alerting Tang San, he quietly walked out.
As soon as he stepped outside, he looked toward the village chief's courtyard. From the gaps in the doors and windows of one of the rooms, faint golden light was leaking out.
And the aura that had alarmed him was precisely coming from that room; he recognized it as Jiang Chen's room.
His vast spiritual power carefully sensed it, and his expression immediately changed dramatically, showing an incredulous look.
This was clearly the aura of someone absorbing a soul ring! Moreover, judging from the energy fluctuations, this soul ring was definitely of extremely high quality.
"This kid… where did he get a soul ring from? Could he be a hundred-thousand-year soul beast that took human form?"
There couldn't possibly be soul beasts near Saint Spirit Village. That meant Jiang Chen's soul ring wasn't obtained by hunting a soul beast. The only possibility left was that he was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form, capable of generating their own first soul ring.
Tang Hao's wife was exactly such a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form, so he understood these secrets better than anyone.
But if he really were a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form, with Tang Hao's Title Douluo strength, he would have definitely noticed it long ago. Yet after observing for so long, Jiang Chen absolutely did not give off the feeling of being a soul beast in human form.
This was very strange. Just where did Jiang Chen's soul ring come from?
Tang Hao couldn't figure it out no matter how much he thought. He simply stood there quietly, looking puzzled in Jiang Chen's direction…
When that golden light poured into Jiang Chen's body, he only felt warmth spreading throughout his entire body. But before he could enjoy it, the massive energy suddenly began to erupt violently inside him.
The energy brought by the God-granted soul ring was incomparably vast, like boundless, raging waves that repeatedly washed over his body.
At first, it was still manageable; with his powerful physique, he could handle it easily. But as time passed, the impact of the energy inside his body became more and more intense. After an hour, large amounts of filthy impurities were expelled from all his pores.
This was the soul ring energy cleansing and tempering his body, expelling the impurities within.
The energy inside him grew more and more surging, as if it was going to burst him open at any moment.
At this point, the veins on his forehead bulged, his face twisted in pain, and one could even see the energy frantically moving beneath his skin.
"No… I can't hold on anymore." He growled lowly, instantly transforming into his zombie body, which immediately greatly relieved the pressure inside him.
He continuously operated the Heavenly Corpse Transformation technique, absorbing the energy brought by the soul ring, rapidly strengthening the soul power within his body.
Two more hours passed, and he reached his limit once again. The increasingly majestic energy made him feel like he would explode at any second.
"ROAR! Martial soul release!"
The zombie martial soul manifested and quickly merged with him. Under the amplification of the martial soul state, his physical quality improved once again, and the pain inside his body lessened somewhat.
Tang Hao had already been standing dumbfounded at his own doorstep for three hours. He could feel that the energy was becoming more and more terrifying. As early as an hour ago, the energy fluctuations had already far exceeded what a level 10 soul master could withstand.
Yet another hour passed, and Jiang Chen still hadn't finished absorbing. For a level 10 soul master, that level of energy fluctuation was already fatal.
A normal level 10 soul master would probably explode and die within three seconds under such energy impact.
At this moment, a yellow energy ring had already formed outside Jiang Chen's body. As time passed, the color of this energy ring became deeper and deeper.
After his martial soul possessed him, Jiang Chen's physique was strengthened, but the longer it got, the more terrifying the surging energy became. In less than an hour, he reached his limit for the third time.
Now he felt as if his entire body was about to be torn apart. The pain penetrated deep into his soul.
He opened his eyes slightly and saw that the yellow circle outside his body had changed; its deep yellow was beginning to transform into purple.
"Is this… reaching thousand-year level?" Jiang Chen felt joy in his heart.
A thousand-year soul ring, this far surpassed the theory researched by Yu Xiaogang. He never expected he could reach this level.
"No, the soul ring hasn't completely turned purple yet. I can still hold on!"
Jiang Chen closed his eyes again. His whole body spasmed from the pain. Filthy impurities mixed with large amounts of sweat, greasy and foul-smelling, filled the entire room.
His skin had already begun to ooze blood. Dense blood vessels bulged all over his body, almost on the verge of bursting.
Jiang Chen's consciousness had become hazy. He didn't know how long he had persisted. Finally, the surging energy gradually weakened and then miraculously disappeared completely.
In his dazed state, after more than four hours of torment, Jiang Chen could no longer hold on. The moment his nerves relaxed, he immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Tang Hao, who had been standing there, finally let out a long breath. He had actually waited for more than four hours; dawn would come in another two or three hours.
When he lay back on the bed, Tang Hao still couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
His powerful spiritual power sensed that Jiang Chen had not failed in absorbing the soul ring. That terrifying soul ring had actually been successfully absorbed.
He didn't know exactly how many years Jiang Chen's soul ring had reached, but it must have been extremely astonishing.
If Jiang Chen didn't die, he would surely shake the entire Douluo Continent in the future!
…
"Little Chen, Little Chen!" Old Jack knocked on Jiang Chen's door in confusion.
It was already late in the morning. According to Jiang Chen's habits, he should have gotten up long ago, but the door still hadn't opened.
After knocking several times with no response, Old Jack forcefully pushed the door open. In an instant, he saw Jiang Chen covered in blood and filth.
A nauseating stench rushed out, several times worse than the smell of a latrine.
Old Jack frowned tightly and anxiously rushed forward.
"Little Chen, Little Chen, what happened to you?"
Ignoring the foul smell and filth, he held Jiang Chen's shoulders tightly with both hands and shook him continuously.
"Mm?" Jiang Chen finally woke up and slowly opened his eyes.