One year later, at the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, a man emerged from the direction of the Star Luo Empire.
The man appeared to be around twenty years old, with black hair and black eyes, a high nose bridge, and handsome features. His thin lips curved into a good-looking arc.
"I've been away from the Spirit Hall for a year. It's time to go back and take a look, then go collect my little Xue'er."
The handsome man was none other than Jiang Chen.
After subduing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan back then, Jiang Chen had proposed going out to train.
On Bibi Dong's suggestion, he went to the Star Luo Empire.
The Spirit Hall's control over the Star Luo Empire was much weaker than over the Heaven Dou Empire.
Jiang Chen traveled across the entire Star Luo Empire on foot like an ascetic monk for half a year, and finally settled in Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire, for more than half a year.
And his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds during this year, finally breaking through to the fiftieth rank a few days ago.
His current location was not far from Spirit City. With his astonishing speed, it took him less than half a day to rush back to Spirit City.
The time was already approaching evening. After returning to the Papal Palace, he went straight to Bibi Dong's study.
After a year apart, Bibi Dong was still as bright and beautiful as ever. Her appearance remained around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, and her voluptuous and alluring figure exuded mature charm.
"Teacher," Jiang Chen called out.
Bibi Dong suddenly raised her head. That serious and beautiful face instantly bloomed into a breathtaking smile.
She quickly walked out and pulled Jiang Chen over to look at him carefully.
"Teacher, you've become even more beautiful. Truly, one smile topples a city, another smile topples a kingdom."
Bibi Dong was stunned for a moment. She carefully savored Jiang Chen's words of praise, her eyes growing brighter and brighter, and her smile becoming even more charming.
"You little rascal, your mouth is really coated with honey."
"Come, tell Teacher about your experiences this past year." She pulled Jiang Chen to sit down.
Jiang Chen spoke nonstop for a full hour before roughly recounting his experiences of the past year.
"Teacher, I have now broken through to the fiftieth rank. Please arrange it for me. I want to go to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow to absorb a soul ring."
Besides returning to the Spirit Hall to see his teacher and senior sister, this was also one of Jiang Chen's goals.
His previous fourth soul ring had been a thirty-thousand-year one. This time, he estimated he would absorb one around fifty thousand years.
With his fiftieth-rank soul power, it would still be somewhat difficult to hunt a fifty-thousand-year soul beast alone.
Moreover, the threats inside the Star Dou Great Forest were not only soul beasts, but also humans.
Therefore, he still needed experts to help him.
Bibi Dong exclaimed in admiration, "I had already thought that when you returned, you should have reached the fiftieth rank. I didn't expect it to be this fast."
"Then I'll make arrangements later and have several elders accompany you to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Thank you, Teacher."
Bibi Dong smiled radiantly. "Seeing how hard you've cultivated, Teacher will give you a heavy reward."
Jiang Chen's eyes lit up with anticipation. "What reward?"
Bibi Dong stood up. "Come, follow the Teacher to the kitchen. I'll make a big meal for you and your senior sister."
Jiang Chen's heart trembled as he recalled the time a year ago when, under Bibi Dong's coercion, he had eaten three whole bowls. He already had a shadow in his heart.
"Teacher, there's no need, right? How about I do the cooking instead?"
Bibi Dong pulled him up directly and glared. "Stop talking nonsense and come with me."
"Alright then."
Jiang Chen didn't dare resist. He planned to say some flattering words to Hu Liena later to satisfy Bibi Dong's vanity.
This time, they didn't send anyone to the academy to notify Hu Liena. Jiang Chen directly contacted Zhao Youyue, who was there, and asked her to notify Hu Liena to return.
What surprised Jiang Chen was that Bibi Dong's cooking skills were actually extremely proficient.
When Hu Liena returned, she headed straight for the kitchen.
There, she saw her teacher and junior brother busily working.
"Little Chen." Hu Liena looked at Jiang Chen, her beautiful eyes filled with deep affection.
"Go, go, go. If you want to be lovey-dovey, do it outside. Don't get in the way here." Bibi Dong scolded with a smile as she shooed her away.
Hu Liena blushed. "Teacher, I'll help you."
...
At the dining table, Jiang Chen took a small taste and looked at Bibi Dong in surprise.
The teacher's skills had actually improved a lot. Although still far from his own, it was already very good.
But the necessary flattery still had to be given. Jiang Chen gave a torrent of praise, making Bibi Dong extremely pleased.
After the meal, Bibi Dong told Hu Liena and Jiang Chen, the senior-junior sister-brother pair, to go back and rest well.
Of course, she once again emphasized the matter of not stealing the forbidden fruit.
There was only a little more than half a year left until the Soul Master Competition. To avoid any fatalities, stealing the forbidden fruit was absolutely not allowed!
Back at the dormitory, Hu Liena held Jiang Chen and talked sweet nothings for several hours.
The resentful look on her pretty face was just like that of a woman who had been left alone for many years.
Jiang Chen felt guilty, extremely guilty.
He had actually neglected this delicate eighteen-year-old young woman, letting her endure the pain of emptiness and loneliness.
"Senior Sister, after the Soul Master Competition ends, I will definitely let you feel immense fulfillment."
"What?" Hu Liena lifted her head from Jiang Chen's embrace and asked in confusion.
"It's nothing." Jiang Chen smiled. "Let's cultivate."
...
The next morning, after having breakfast with Hu Liena, Hu Liena returned to the academy while Jiang Chen went straight to the Elder Hall.
Before long, three elders arrived together.
Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, and Poison Douluo.
Last night, Bibi Dong had already sent people to notify these three elders, who were relatively familiar with Jiang Chen.
...
Two days later, in the Star Dou Great Forest, the three great elders of the Spirit Hall were guarding Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes tightly closed, fully focused on absorbing his fifth soul ring.
This was a valley. The surrounding environment was extremely eerie and terrifying.
Inside the valley, human skeletons were piled up like mountains. The soil, rocks, and plants were all dark red. Deathly auras permeated everywhere.
Very few soul masters were willing to approach this area. It was a place spurned and loathed by soul masters.
A type of soul beast that was both disgusting and terrifying lived here: corpse-eating beasts.
Corpse-eating beasts rarely attacked humans. They preferred to devour human corpses, the more rotten the better to suit their taste.
Every day, large numbers of humans died in the Star Dou Forest. Their corpses were usually dragged back to the beasts' lair by corpse-eating beasts, left for a while until extremely rotten, and only then eaten with relish.
Corpse-eating beasts were extremely poisonous. Unless they lacked food, they would not actively attack humans.
Therefore, soul masters who encountered corpse-eating beasts would always stay far away.
Not far from Jiang Chen lay a massive, extremely ugly corpse-eating beast.
It had grayish-white skin without any fur, similar to human skin.
However, on that skin hung many head-sized pink fleshy tumors containing terrifying venom.
This was a sixty-thousand-year corpse-eating beast, exceeding Jiang Chen's expectations, but he had taken a fancy to it at first glance.
Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, and Dugu Bo endured the pervasive stench of rotting corpses around them, frowning as they watched Jiang Chen absorb the soul ring.
An hour had already passed. The energy fluctuations on Jiang Chen's body grew increasingly turbulent.
The expressions of the three Title Douluo became more and more shocked. Absorbing a sixty-thousand-year soul ring at the fiftieth rank was simply world-shocking.
For a normal soul master, the fifth soul ring would only just begin to absorb ten-thousand-year soul rings, and they still had to be extremely cautious, one slip-up could lead to death.
But Jiang Chen had gone straight for a sixty-thousand-year one on his fifth soul ring.
If Bibi Dong had not instructed them beforehand to let Jiang Chen decide everything, they would never have allowed Jiang Chen to take such a risk.
At that moment, the surging energy gradually calmed down. Above the four black soul rings on Jiang Chen's body, the fifth soul ring slowly solidified.
It was also a black soul ring, but this fifth soul ring was much deeper in color than the previous four.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"Douluo: Sword of Judgment and Eternal Ice 30 Advance chapters"
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master the novel is already finished on Patreon."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon the novel is already finished on Patreon."
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