Chapter 14: First Soul Ring Selection
Physical strength level 14, the maximum lifespan of a soul ring can be absorbed is 604 years.
Dugu Han was quite satisfied with the test results.
Over the past year, he had been consuming all kinds of expensive medicinal foods and taking precious medicinal baths.
He also drank the Ice Soul Dragon Soup made from the blood of the 50,000-year-old Ice Crystal Dragon, along with medicinal baths infused with its blood.
It was normal for his physical strength to be at this level.
Even so...
Dugu Han raised his tender little hand and sighed.
If he was not young and his body was not fully developed, he had wasted too much of the medicinal power of the Ice Crystal Dragon's blood to increase his physical strength!
Otherwise, the blood of the 50,000-year-old Ice Crystal Dragon could have increased the age of his first soul ring by at least a thousand years.
But Dugu Han was not too disappointed about this.
Because, whether it was a hundred-year soul ring or a thousand-year soul ring, it wasn't very useful in high-level soul master battles.
Most high-level soul masters used ten-thousand-year soul rings to fight, so he didn't put too much emphasis on the age of his first soul ring.
Dugu Han put away the soul power detector, then walked over to the desk, sat down, and took out the Extreme North Soul Beast Atlas from the Love of Ice and Snow ring.
After Elder Xue absorbed the soul bone and came out of retreat, he would head into the Extreme North to hunt for his first soul ring!
Before hunting, it was wise to carefully select the target soul beasts. Having a clear plan could save a lot of time.
"Ice Silkworm," a low-level soul beast, with very weak combat power, likely providing mental or illusion-type skills, located on the periphery of the Extreme North...
"Blizzard Bear," a mid-level soul beast with average combat power, likely offering violent or physical-type skills, located...
"Ice Scale Dragon Fish," a high-level soul beast with average strength, possessing traces of dragon bloodline. After ten thousand years of practice, it can leap over the dragon gate, shed its fish body, and transform into a dragon soul beast...
"Ice Soul Dragon Turtle," a top-tier soul beast, with average combat power but invincible defense. It has both a dragon bloodline and a basalt bloodline and is one of the top ten soul beast races in the Extreme North. It is likely to provide extremely strong defensive soul skills, located in...
"Ice Crystal Dragon," the top among the top soul beasts, with terrifying combat power and formidable defense. It is one of the top dragon soul beasts, said to possess the Bloodline of the Ice God. It's one of the top five soul beast races in the Extreme North. Although it lacks powerful attack skills, it has remarkable amplification abilities. It resides in the Extreme North...
"Ice Crystal Dragon!"
Dugu Han flipped through the Extreme North Soul Beast Atlas for the entire afternoon, finally stopping on the introduction of Ice Crystal Dragon as evening fell.
It was a top ice-attribute dragon soul beast—perfectly aligned with his criteria for his first soul ring.
Most importantly, Ice Crystal Dragon lacked powerful attack skills; its strength came from its amplification abilities.
This meant its soul ring was very likely to grant him an amplification-type soul skill—a perfect match for his needs.
While amplification skills might not bring immediate combat power in the early stages, Dugu Han had Elder Xue to protect him, so he didn't need to fight directly now.
Furthermore, amplification skills can be useful against high-level soul masters. Even a hundred-year soul ring's amplification skill could be valuable in battles at that level, helping him avoid wasting his first soul ring slot after reaching higher levels.
"It roams around in the core area of the Extreme North," Dugu Han considered the location info. After some thought, he decided to hunt the Ice Crystal Dragon for his first soul ring.
Although the core area is filled with soul beasts over 30,000 years old, the protection of Elder Xue's Snow Shadow Black Turtle Martial Soul was enough to allow him to move freely without attracting attention—except from the three heavenly kings of the Extreme North: the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress, and the Titan Snow Demon King, along with Xiao Bai, the Ice Bear King.
Otherwise, even a 100,000-year-old soul beast wouldn't easily find them.
Well… except for the rare Titan Snow Demon King, which possesses spiritual attributes and extremely strong detection abilities. But they are rare, especially the 100,000-year ones.
Plus, the vastness of the Extreme North's core area made encounters unlikely.
With this in mind, Dugu Han no longer worried and confidently decided on his first soul ring target.
He then started preparing dinner.
The cook had run away early, unable to withstand the extreme cold during his martial soul evolution!
Elder Xue was still in seclusion, absorbing soul bones, so Dugu Han had to do everything himself.
After a simple meal, he prepared a medicinal bath, soaked for half an hour, then went to bed.
Since absorbing the Xuanwu Divine Pill, he hadn't rested for a week!
Tonight, he slept very soundly.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the morning that he finally woke up.
"Huh…"
Dugu Han stretched subconsciously, then sat up and rubbed his somewhat groggy eyes.
But… What the hell were those four pairs of watery eyes staring at him?
"Lexuan, he's so cute!"
"Is he a boy? Why does his skin look softer than mine?"
"Of course, he's a boy. Didn't you see that little—"
He was stunned!
He looked at the three young women and a girl surrounding him, all whispering and staring intensely.
He instinctively pulled the quilt that had been kicked off.
What the hell?
Who are they?
How did they get into his room?
A flurry of question marks swirled in Dugu Han's mind.
"You're awake!"
"Sorry, we called out twice outside, but no one responded. When we saw the door was open, we came in directly. I didn't know you were still sleeping."
One of the young women, about eighteen or nineteen, with a beautiful appearance, apologized softly.
"You are…"
Dugu Han frowned and identified her by her clothes:
"Are you from Shrek Academy?"
"Yes, I am Zhang Lexuan from the inner courtyard of Shrek!"
"These are Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming from our inner courtyard, and this is Ling Luochen from the outer courtyard."
After Zhang Lexuan introduced everyone, she continued apologizing:
"We were entrusted by the academy to deliver something to you. We called twice but received no response. When we saw the door was open, we came in. Please don't be offended."
"No… it's okay!"
"But… Can you guys leave first?"
Dugu Han looked at Wu Ming, who was still whispering and commenting on him with Ling Luochen, feeling a little embarrassed.
'I just turned seven years old a few days ago. What does "small one" mean all the time, Wu Ming?'
'And "cute"?'
'Is there anyone who praises a boy like that?'
"Alright, we'll go out now!"
Zhang Lexuan smiled apologetically, hurriedly pulling Ling Luochen, Han Ruoruo, and Wu Ming out.
After they left, Dugu Han got up and began dressing.
But he was a bit confused—he remembered closing the door.
—
(End of this chapter)