At this point, Chen Shijie instinctively reached for the teacup beside him, only to grasp at empty air. To cover up his action, he smoothly brought his hand to his mouth, coughing dryly twice, as if expressing his worry over the family's predicament.
"By the way, Xiao Ming, summon your martial soul. Let me take a look at how far your Emerald Scorpion has developed. People think the quality of our family's Emerald Scorpion martial souls is uniform, but there are differences. Generally, the higher the innate soul power, the better the martial soul quality. Let me see how your martial soul measures up."
"Alright, Grandpa."
Chen Ming nodded, suppressing the swirling thoughts in his mind. He jumped down from his chair, walked over to Chen Shijie and Chen Tianyun, and stood still. He took a deep breath, focused on the power within him, and after a moment of silence, his soul power surged from his dantian, summoning his martial soul.
His upright posture grew broader, his skin became covered with a layer of carapace, and a long scorpion tail extended from his spine. His arms swelled, now encased in a carapace that resembled protective armor.
Chen Shijie sniffed the faint poison gas unconsciously released when Chen Ming summoned his martial soul, his eyes lighting up. He moved behind Chen Ming, grabbed the tip of his tail, and began counting the segments with his fingers, one by one.
"Eleven segments? This is incredible!"
Chen Shijie couldn't believe it. He counted several times, but the result remained the same.
"The Emerald Scorpion martial soul can be identified in many ways, but the simplest and most reliable method is by counting the tail segments."
"As a soul beast, this martial soul is born with five tail segments. The initial segments are white, and every hundred years, a segment turns green. After 500 years, a cycle is complete, and after 1,000 years, all five segments turn dark green."
"After 1,000 years of cultivation, every additional 2,000 years will produce an extra tail segment. Another 1,000 years is required for the new segment to turn dark green, and then the process continues. Only at the 10,000-year level does the beast gain its ninth segment. Beyond that, growth depends on time and innate talent. Some soul beasts grow an extra segment in 10,000 years, while others take 20,000."
"Legend has it that the tail segment limit for this soul beast is 18. Fifteen signifies the Scorpion Emperor, and twelve represents the Scorpion King."
"As a martial soul, the Emerald Scorpion's tail segments increase with soul rings. The first three rings guarantee one additional segment per ring, the middle three rings have a chance to add one, and the last three rings generally do not increase the segments—at least not with ordinary-quality soul rings."
"I'm a Soul King and have absorbed five soul rings. Through some unknown stroke of luck, my tail segments grew four times, reaching twelve. I barely achieved the Scorpion King level, and even so, no one in Biluochen City has a martial soul of higher quality than mine."
Looking at Chen Ming, Chen Shijie's eyes filled with tears.
"If you absorb your first soul ring, there's a high chance your martial soul will immediately evolve to Scorpion King level. With five levels of innate soul power and a top-tier martial soul, you could become a Soul Emperor or even a Soul Sage in the future. If you manage to grow another segment along the way and reach the Scorpion Emperor level, it would be a transformative change. Our family might finally produce a high-level Soul Douluo and thoroughly resolve the issue of our bloodline's decline."
"This is wonderful..."
At this point, Chen Shijie's tears flowed freely, and his voice choked with emotion.
"I originally thought we'd have to take a gamble and risk you absorbing the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes, fearing it would endanger your life. But now, it seems such a dangerous attempt is unnecessary. If Tianfeng and Ruoyu were watching from the heavens, they would surely feel relieved and gratified."
"…"
Chen Ming glanced at his crying grandfather and his second uncle, who was discreetly wiping away tears on the side. He didn't know what to say and felt a bit… awkward.
The heavy stone lodged in his chest had just seemed impossible to dislodge, and he was already thinking of ways to blast it apart. But then the construction crew came by, looked at it, and told him the stone would grow legs and walk away on its own.
Although, in theory, he no longer needed to absorb a soul ring from the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes to seek change, Chen Ming's curiosity was now piqued.
The Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes is an unparalleled toxin, with its only weaknesses being ultimate ice and fire—a limitation caused by its plant-based nature. If its toxicity alone were obtained, even those weaknesses could be significantly reduced.
The Top Five Poisons Martial Soul were indeed of high quality, but they were far inferior to the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes. If he gave up the chance to absorb a soul ring from the flower now, obtaining a suitable, high-quality toxin-type soul ring in the future would be nearly impossible.
Low, medium, and high-quality toxin-type soul beasts were relatively common, but the top-tier ones were as rare as cliff edges—steep and inaccessible. Super-quality toxin soul beasts were even fewer in number than the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.
Not only are they hard to find, but even if one is located, it might not be suitable. Moreover, it would be unlikely to provide the same obvious enhancement to his martial soul as the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes.
Chen Ming resolved silently: if he gained the ability to absorb a soul ring from the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes, he would take the gamble and give it a try.
Speaking of which… could this plant, in essence, also count as a kind of immortal herb? Just one that most people couldn't handle?
As Chen Ming held his weeping grandfather, who was clutching him tightly, these thoughts swirled in his mind. At the same time, he gently comforted the elder.
After a while, the distressed old man finally composed himself. He rose from Chen Ming's embrace, wiped the tears and snot from his face, and gave a relieved smile.
"Xiao Ming…"
"Yes, Grandpa?"
"What I'm about to say may be hard for you to understand, but you must accept it—it's for your own good."
The old man's expression turned serious. Although he didn't want to be too harsh on his only grandson, the burden of the family weighed heavily on him. All he could do was give everything he had to prepare the boy.
"For the next few years, your second uncle and I will protect you. One of us will always be by your side. During this time, your outings will be significantly reduced. Until you've absorbed your second soul ring, you likely won't have much opportunity for rest. Every bit of time will be spent on learning from us—the knowledge and experience of soul masters—and on diligent cultivation."
"You won't need to worry about any family affairs for the time being. Your sole focus will be on training. The position of family head will undoubtedly be yours in the future. As long as you train hard, demonstrate your talent, and show the potential to reverse the family's decline, that will be your greatest contribution to the clan."
"Once you've absorbed your second soul ring, we'll send you to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy for further study. After graduating from the academy, you'll possess both strength and status. At that point, the sky's the limit for you. Whatever you wish to do, we won't stand in your way."
"Train well. The family is proud of you. Who knows? One day, your name might even earn its dedicated page in the family records."