In the midst of a muddy quagmire.
Zhu Zhuqing was pressing down on a panther covered in wounds.
The creature unwillingly drew its last breath.
From eleven o'clock to six o'clock.
Seven hours!
In the pitch-black mire, a purple soul ring slowly rose.
Zhu Zhuqing was covered in mud, scars all over her body, but excitement shone in her eyes!
"I, I did it..."
Even though she was too exhausted to speak, she still uttered these words excitedly.
"Take this pill."
Ye Feng directly presented a black pill in front of Zhu Zhuqing.
This was not one of those inferior pills he concocted for the first time.
This was a Stamina Pill, its function identical to what the System had created.
"Young Master Ye, can you, could you..."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Ye Feng, wanting to reach out for the Stamina Pill.
But she suddenly discovered her hand couldn't lift at all.
And it was covered in mud.
Her eyes, filled with exhaustion, looked into Ye Feng's.
Without a word, Ye Feng placed the Stamina Pill into her mouth.
After ingesting the pill, Zhu Zhuqing felt a warm and mellow strength circulating within her body.
Her whole being felt extremely comfortable.
The fatigue of a moment ago was swept away in an instant.
"Why is this Stamina Pill different?"
In just one minute, Zhu Zhuqing had regained her strength, her spirit multiplied.
She looked at Ye Feng with a face full of curiosity.
This Elixir was nothing like the Stamina Pills that Yu Xiaogang had given her before.
"What Master tricked away from me last time was inferior Elixir; this is a good one. It can not only restore stamina quickly but also recover some soul power, and it can even heal injuries," Ye Feng explained to Zhu Zhuqing.
"Thank you, Young Master Ye. So, does this mean I've passed the assessment?"
At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes met Ye Feng's.
She had not expected it to take such a long time.
It had reached the morning of the next day.
The sky had brightened.
"You did quite well. Go wash yourself in the stream over there," Ye Feng said.
Looking at Zhu Zhuqing, Ye Feng couldn't help feeling a bit distressed; she resembled a hapless girl who had stumbled while planting rice in the fields, her whole body caked in mud.
"Young Master Ye, how about I absorb this soul ring first; washing up can wait."
Zhu Zhuqing wanted to absorb the soul ring.
"No, no, no, absorbing this soul ring right now is a bit risky, and there's an hour's time anyway, so don't rush," Ye Feng replied.
This soul ring was of a two-thousand-year-old beast.
If Zhu Zhuqing tried to absorb it now, there was a greater chance of danger.
So, he planned to assist her.
"Alright."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't ask any further questions and immediately walked out of the quagmire, the Nether Panther's soul ring closely following behind her.
She soon reached the riverbank.
It took her a few minutes to wash the mud off her body.
And she even changed into a new set of clothes.
"Young Master Ye, I'm ready," Zhu Zhuqing said after she had taken care of everything and approached Ye Feng.
Having taken the Stamina Pill, she now felt as refreshed as if she had just woken up, full of energy.
"Take this immortal grass."
At that moment, Ye Feng pulled out a shimmering white blade of grass.
"Young Master Ye, is this thing really precious?"
Zhu Zhuqing was taken aback when she saw the immortal grass, pure and untainted as if it were a white and green lotus.
Her intuition told her it must be very valuable.
"Never mind that now; there's no time left. Swallow this Immortal Grass Elixir, and then immediately begin to absorb the soul ring," Ye Feng said with a serious tone.
"Alright!"
Zhu Zhuqing took the Immortal Grass Elixir.
Then she ate it leaf by leaf.
Finally, sucking the flower's core, Ye Feng instructed her to use her soul power to stimulate the absorption.
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After completing all this, Zhu Zhuqing promptly sat down cross-legged.
For more than forty minutes had already passed.
The soul ring had begun to show a hint of transparency.
This was a sign that it was preparing to disappear.
Time slowly slipped away.
In the blink of an eye, seven to eight hours had passed.
During these hours, Ye Feng had been guarding the area.
Protecting Zhu Zhuqing.
Throughout this time, Zhu Zhuqing had almost encountered accidents several times, and Ye Feng took action to stabilize the situation.
Finally, all the power of the soul ring had merged into the recipient's body.
And at this step, one could basically breathe a sigh of relief.
Because it signified that Zhu Zhuqing had emerged victorious in her struggle with the Nether Panther.
The so-called slow absorption is essentially a battle against the resentful will of the dead soul beast.
If one wins, completely eradicating the opponent's resentment, then one can obtain its power.
Why was the sacrifice so smooth?
Because the sacrificed soul beast held no resentment towards the Soul Master who gained its power.
Thus, it would be very quick.
"Zhuqing, you've finally awoken."
Six o'clock in the evening.
Zhu Zhuqing finally opened her eyes.
Absorbing this soul ring had taken her a full twelve hours.
But Ye Feng had no other choice.
Because the previous soul rings were foundational.
The stronger the soul ring, the greater the future potential for growth!!
After careful consideration, Ye Feng chose a soul beast that was exactly two thousand years old.
He was of course aware of what Master had deemed the maximum age limit for the third soul ring.
One thousand seven hundred years.
For a normal Soul Master, that indeed was the limit.
That's because Master's data came from normal Soul Masters.
But for Soul Masters who had taken the Immortal Grass Elixir, that limit could be pushed further.
Indeed, Ye Feng's guess was completely correct.
Zhu Zhuqing's third soul ring, two thousand years!!
Even higher than Tang San's!!
It was just unknown how far she would advance after the merging of the two powers.
At this moment, Ye Feng was somewhat looking forward to Zhu Zhuqing's level.
"Young Master Ye, I, I feel so strange."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Ye Feng.
"Huh? Strange? What's strange? What level are you now??"
Ye Feng asked, looking puzzled at Zhu Zhuqing's confused expression.
"I seem to have advanced to level 39, even close to the edge of level 40."
Zhu Zhuqing said with an expression that suggested she found the idea inconceivable.
She even began to doubt whether her senses had deceived her.
She had only just advanced to level 30.
Absorbing a soul ring should at most make her level 31.
How could it possibly be level 39, on the verge of breaking through to level 40?
This was too exaggerated.
"A nine-level jump? Good, that's great!!"
With the Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone and a two thousand year Hell Wolf, Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Power had soared by nine levels after absorbing these two forces.
It was even higher than he had anticipated.
Good, this is very good.
This result gave him immense satisfaction.
"So, Young Master Ye, is this really happening?"
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Ye Feng.
Her beautiful eyes were abuzz with a flickering light.
How long had it been?
All things considered, it was just three days.
In the span of three days, not only had she obtained a soul ring, but she had also jumped up nine levels!!
Yu Xiaogang, he was nothing but a charlatan, right!?
Compared to her own master, he was utterly outclassed!
"Genuine as can be."
Ye Feng revealed a smiling face!!
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