"Yan'er... Grandpa Dugu..."
Lin Feng slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a weak voice.
"Lin Feng! You scared me to death!"
"How could you just dive down without saying a word?!"
Tears welled up in Dugu Yan's eyes as she threw herself forward, tightly hugging Lin Feng.
"Aiya, Yan'er, look—I'm fine now, aren't I?"
Lin Feng was at a loss, hurriedly stroking her back to soothe her.
"Hmph! You're fine this time."
"What about next time?"
"Feng'er, when you encounter something beyond your ability, the first thing you should do is retreat. Do I really need to teach you that?"
"If something had really happened to you today, what would Yan'er do? How would I ever face your parents?"
Dugu Bo glared at him, clearly displeased.
"Alright, alright, Grandpa, I get it."
"If something like this happens again, I'll run first without hesitation."
Lin Feng bowed his head apologetically, his voice still weak.
Though his injuries had already been healed, his physical condition remained poor.
"That's more like it. Remember this in the future."
Dugu Yan wiped her tears and forced a smile, her voice still choked.
Lin Feng turned to glance at the Flame Beast's corpse and the pitch-black soul ring floating above it. He didn't rush to absorb it.
Instead, he first took out some herbs and elixirs from his soul tool, consumed them, and began calming his breath to restore his physical strength.
Roughly fifteen minutes later, Lin Feng reopened his eyes, fully recovered.
His gaze once again fell upon the soul ring.
He knew clearly that like Dugu Yan, he too would be absorbing a ring beyond his current level.
A ten-thousand-year soul ring always carried a violent spiritual backlash upon absorption.
The intensity depended on the beast's temperament.
For example, the soul ring Dugu Yan had absorbed came from a relatively gentle soul beast. The spiritual backlash was minor.
Add to that her Calamity Poison Body and the constitution-boosting immortal herb she'd consumed—it was no wonder her absorption had gone smoothly.
But the Flame Beast was a different matter entirely.
Its innate savagery meant that its soul ring would bring a far more violent and destructive backlash.
On the other hand, that also meant it offered a significantly greater increase in strength.
The risks were high—but so were the rewards.
Lin Feng didn't have the luxury of fear.
Although the immortal herb he consumed hadn't been specialized for physique, it had still boosted his endurance and spiritual resilience considerably.
And in the past six years, he'd swapped in various traits that enhanced his body and mind.
Besides, he was the Child of Destiny.
This Flame Beast had been located using the Dragon Seeking Compass.
He believed in fate—and this beast was destined to be his fourth soul ring.
Sitting cross-legged beside the corpse, Lin Feng calmed his mind.
The pitch-black ring above the Flame Beast glowed intensely—it was the perfect time to absorb it.
Lin Feng's nerves tightened. He raised his hands, igniting his Ultimate Fire to shroud himself before drawing the ring toward his martial soul.
As if it had been waiting, the dark light instantly surged forward, flooding toward him.
The moment it touched Lin Feng's martial soul, it enveloped his body like a tidal wave.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo was taken aback by the power in that soul energy.
This was no ordinary soul beast—it was elite-tier.
Even among ten-thousand-year soul rings, this one was incredibly difficult to absorb.
Within the ring's shroud, Lin Feng felt it even more clearly.
A violent heat surged through his body, and before he could react, it erupted like molten lava, scorching him from the inside.
The energy carried no consciousness, but the beast's innate brutality couldn't be erased.
The spiritual backlash was brutal.
It felt as though his body were being torn apart, and he clenched his brows in pain.
Dugu Yan grew more anxious by the second.
She'd also absorbed a ten-thousand-year ring, but it hadn't been like this.
Could Lin Feng really withstand it?
"The Flame Beast's soul ring is clashing with the soul power already inside Lin Feng."
"Right now, it all depends on his willpower."
"Yan'er, we have to trust him."
Dugu Bo spoke gravely.
He knew that the harder a ring was to absorb, the greater its final benefits.
The grandfather and granddaughter watched in tense silence as Lin Feng's body began to change.
His golden flame slowly turned crimson.
Dugu Bo knew—success was close.
Suddenly, Lin Feng's body trembled violently again. Sweat poured from his brow as the energy burned within him, vaporizing into the air.
Then—BOOM.
The black soul energy around him exploded outward before condensing beneath him into a solid black ring.
His tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
He moistened his cracked lips slightly.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host has advanced to the Soul Ancestor realm and unlocked a new trait: [Divine Charm].]
[Ding! Trait refresh function has been reset!]
[Divine Charm (Purple)]: You gain minor favorability from all deities. Automatically grants +10% affinity toward any divine trial.]
"Phew! I thought it was something like 'Succubus.' Turns out it's Divine Charm!"
Lin Feng exhaled in relief after checking his status panel.
So the trait only worked on gods?
Did that mean 'Succubus' would've only worked on demons?
Still, getting a purple trait right away—luck was on his side.
Just as he was about to refresh his traits—
"Lin Feng! Lin Feng!"
"Water—here!"
Dugu Yan rushed forward the moment she saw him open his eyes. She quickly brought him a flask, her voice full of worry.
"Ah, Yan'er…"
Gulp, gulp.
After downing a full liter, the color finally returned to Lin Feng's lips.
Looks like refreshing will have to wait.
With that, Lin Feng shot to his feet.
He had officially entered the ranks of Soul Ancestor.
"Grandpa, Yan'er—I've successfully absorbed the ten-thousand-year soul ring!"
"And my soul power has reached Rank 48!"
Lin Feng smiled at the two of them.
He wasn't surprised by the jump. After all, this was a Flame Beast recorded in ancient texts.
"Well done, very well done."
"Both you and Yan'er gained quite a bit from combining the immortal herbs with soul rings."
Dugu Bo let go of his earlier worry and nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Congratulations, Lin Feng…"
Dugu Yan lowered her head, her face showing mixed emotions—both joy and frustration.
She felt the gap between them was growing.
When they were both Soul Elders, the difference had been just a few ranks.
Now as Soul Ancestors, they were already seven ranks apart.
And that kind of gap was equivalent to a full ten-rank difference in their previous realm.
-----
30 Advance Chapters on Patreon!
p(a)treon(.)com/HudaLin
-Remove the parenthesis to access patreon normally
Thanks for the Support!