At night, on the beach of the Ring Sea, Chu Chengzhou and the four girls were eating barbecue.
"Here, tonify yourself."
Hu Liena smiled as she handed a charcoal-grilled oyster to Chu Chengzhou.
Sea God Island might lack other things, but when it came to seafood, there was as much as one could want.
"Joke. Would I, Chu Chengzhou, need this stuff?"
Chu Chengzhou's face hardened as he spoke with disdain.
"Hush. And who was it that had nothing at all?"
Hu Liena pouted.
"You just wait."
Chu Chengzhou glared at Hu Liena and threw down a harsh line.
If he hadn't had a bout with Elder Sister Yuehua the night before last, then fought the Angel elder sister for a full day and night, only finishing this morning and getting emptied out, would he be left with nothing?
"Was it Elder Sister Xue'er who drained you dry?"
Hu Liena asked inquisitively via sound transmission.
Chu Chengzhou: "..."
Thinking back to that devilish Angel, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but shudder.
No. Tomorrow he would abstain from lust.
Skipping that topic for now, Chu Chengzhou asked Hu Liena and Ning Rongrong, "Nana, Rongrong, your seventh spirit ring was also a god-bestowed spirit ring, right?"
"Mm-hmm, both hundred-thousand-year."
Eating the delicious barbecue personally handled by Master Chu, with the heat controlled just right, Ning Rongrong nodded.
But the next second, Ning Rongrong pouted, a bit vexed. "God-bestowed spirit rings are good, but they're gone now, and there's no firm word.
Zhuqing's spirit power broke through rank 80 a month and a half ago.
Scumbag, for our eighth spirit ring, do we go hunt spirit beasts or wait for Lord Sea God to reward us with god-bestowed spirit rings again?"
As soon as Ning Rongrong finished, Zhu Zhuqing and Hu Liena turned to look at Chu Chengzhou.
Although if they didn't add the eighth spirit ring and continued to cultivate as usual, their spirit power cultivation could still keep accumulating, and after adding the eighth ring later and advancing to eight-ring Spirit Douluo, that accumulated spirit power would show up.
But without question, continuing to cultivate without adding a ring is doing twice the work for half the result. The efficiency can't compare to advancing first.
Since after their spirit power broke through rank 80 before, Lord Sea God didn't directly bestow god-bestowed spirit rings, that meant before completing the first trial, they definitely wouldn't get god-bestowed spirit rings.
Even if they did, it would absolutely be after finishing the first trial, and even then not necessarily guaranteed.
But right now there were still a full five months left until the maximum time limit to complete the first trial.
Under the shroud of the Seagod's Light, their spirit power rose very quickly. If after five months they could receive the reward of god-bestowed spirit rings, then compared to directly adding the eighth spirit ring now, setting aside the differences in spirit power increase and skill effects from different rings, at the end of the first trial their spirit power rank would be at least two to three levels lower.
And that assumes they could get god-bestowed spirit rings right after those five months. If the time pushed back further, the gap would grow larger.
For low-rank spirit masters, two or three levels might not be much, but at the eight-ring stage, two to three ranks are very obvious.
This trade-off was worth weighing carefully.
Hearing this, Chu Chengzhou pondered a moment and said, "The ocean is far beyond the mainland. Hundred-thousand-year sea spirit beasts are plentiful, and there are quite a few older than a hundred thousand. But the quality of a spirit ring isn't only about years. It also depends on how well it matches your own martial soul.
Keep cultivating for now. I'll look for you. If I can find something suitable, then add sea spirit beast rings and advance. If not, then wait for Lord Sea God to reward you with god-bestowed spirit rings.
Given how outstanding you are, the generous Lord Sea God won't be stingy."
In Chu Chengzhou's view, the three of Ning Rongrong didn't necessarily have to pursue god-bestowed eighth rings.
Xiao Wu had cultivated Indestructible Golden Body for years and, with only a seventy-thousand-year right arm bone in her body, could add a god-bestowed eighth ring of over two hundred thousand years.
If Chu Chengzhou set Ning Rongrong and the other two up with full sets of hundred-thousand-year spirit bones, and they also absorbed god-bestowed spirit rings, their eighth rings should reach around three hundred thousand years.
But three hundred thousand isn't the limit for ferocious beasts, and hunting a ferocious beast yields an extra spirit bone of the same age.
Besides, Chu Chengzhou had also found a flaw in god-bestowed rings: even after passing a hundred thousand years, a god-bestowed spirit ring only forms a single spirit skill.
For example, Xiao Wu absorbed a god-bestowed eighth ring of more than two hundred thousand years, yet her eighth spirit skill was still only one.
In the original story, Ning Rongrong's hundred-thousand-year god-bestowed eighth ring was the same, with only one Nine Treasures Divine Light Barrier, and even the god-bestowed ninth ring was the same, only one Nine Treasures Invincible Divine Light.
As for Resurrection Divine Light? That's a martial soul fusion technique. Without the inheritances of the God of Food and the Nine-Color Goddess, that fusion technique wouldn't exist.
But by hunting spirit beasts to add rings over a hundred thousand years, aside from a few exceptions, both the eighth and ninth rings can form two spirit skills.
Of course, Chu Chengzhou's standards weren't low. He required not only years but also specific types of ocean ferocious beasts.
Among them, Ning Rongrong's requirements were the broadest. Many ocean ferocious beasts would work.
For Zhu Zhuqing, sea lion or seal-type ocean ferocious beasts were the only two Chu Chengzhou could think of for now that were relatively compatible with the Hell Civet martial soul.
As for Hu Liena, it had to be a spiritual-type ocean ferocious beast.
"Not right."
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou thought of a key point.
For spiritual-type ferocious beasts, it didn't have to be limited to sea spirit beasts.
"What's not right?"
Seeing Chu Chengzhou jump at shadows, Xiao Wu couldn't help asking.
"Uh, nothing."
Chu Chengzhou waved a hand and fell into thought.
He knew two places with very old spiritual-type ferocious beasts. One was in the Star Dou Forest, the Demon-Eyed Devil Tree, the Myriad Demon King, ranked fifth among the top ten ferocious beasts in later generations. The other was in the Sun Moon Continent's Demonic Forest, the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler, the Evil Emperor, ranked second among the top ten ferocious beasts in later generations.
Although he didn't know the specifics well, at the current time the Myriad Demon King's age shouldn't be under five hundred thousand years, while the Evil Emperor's was definitely over seven hundred thousand, not far from eight hundred thousand.
If he converted the two into human spirit masters, the Myriad Demon King would most likely rival a rank 99 spiritual-type Limit Douluo, while the Evil Emperor would certainly rival a spiritual-type demigod.
Compared to the Evil Emperor, the Myriad Demon King looked like a "soft persimmon," but Chu Chengzhou really didn't dare pinch it at will.
For one reason: the Myriad Demon King has a God King–level patron. Although that super boss isn't in great shape, killing him, a mortal who hasn't ascended to godhood, would be effortless. Chu Chengzhou had no desire to gamble with his life.
The Evil Emperor was different. Although the Evil Emperor was much stronger than the Myriad Demon King, it was still within the range he could handle, and the Evil Emperor had no great patron.
"Right, there's also that million-year silkworm baby."
At this moment, Chu Chengzhou thought of a certain later protagonist's cheat.
An eighth ring of over seven hundred thousand years from the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler, and a ninth ring from the million-year Skydream Iceworm?
Good grief, that little fox was on a heaven-defying trajectory.