Since he could absorb the first one, he could absorb the second.
The Dragon Soul Spear absorbed this 300-year-old Green Bamboo Soul Ring, allowing Ma Hongjun to maintain the Dragon Soul Spear Martial Soul form for about three seconds longer.
If he absorbed one more, ten more, a hundred more…
the time would increase from three seconds, three hundred seconds, three thousand seconds…
Calculating this way, in the end, after absorbing enough Soul Rings, maintaining the Dragon Soul Spear Martial Soul wouldn't consume Soul Power.
If that happened, could the Dragon Soul Spear still be called a Martial Soul? It would be no different from a real gun.
A Martial Soul existing in its true form is simply terrifying!
Ma Hongjun thought that the current state of the Dragon Soul Spear was truly like a soul form, and absorbing the power of Soul Rings was like shaping the gun body.
In short, the more Soul Rings absorbed, the better.
The Green Bamboo Forest was vast, and the Green Bamboo's attack wasn't strong, making it the best target for hunting Soul Rings.
"Third Grandfather, Dad, help me cut down more Green Bamboo; I want my Silver Spear Martial Soul to absorb it,"
Ma Hongjun excitedly said to the two of them.
The two readily agreed, and the three of them launched an attack on the bamboo forest.
As bamboo leaves fell, three more bamboo stalks fell.
They specifically targeted century-old bamboo, quickly felling over a dozen.
Having ventured some distance into the forest, they discovered a Green Bamboo Sound Serpent.
However, it only had one shallow bamboo stripe and wasn't very long, appearing to be only about a hundred years old.
Ma Hongjun didn't use his soul skill; instead, he used the most violent strike of the Ma family's spear technique.
"Throw the spear!"
He hurled the Dragon Soul Spear, which streaked through the air like silver, precisely embedding itself in the Green Bamboo Sound Serpent's seven-inch mark.
Ma Hongjun walked over and picked up the Dragon Soul Spear again.
A yellow soul ring appeared.
"It seems this Green Bamboo Sound Serpent has only just become a century-old soul beast."
Ma Hongjun placed the Dragon Soul Spear in the center of the soul ring, and a dragon shadow appeared, absorbing the soul ring.
A miracle occurred again. The power of this spirit ring wasn't absorbed into the Dragon Soul Spear, but instead entered Ma Hongjun's body through the shadow of the golden dragon. It circulated through the meridians of the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Scripture within Ma Hongjun's body before merging into his first spirit ring.
At this moment, the first spirit ring lit up, and Ma Hongjun's body tensed up once more.
When half of this hundred-year spirit ring dissipated, Ma Hongjun's body reached its limit, and the spirit ring's power no longer entered his body.
The remaining spirit ring power was absorbed into the Dragon Soul Spear.
The power of this hundred-year Green Bamboo Sound Serpent spirit ring was divided into two parts: one part was absorbed by the first spirit ring, and the other part was absorbed by the Dragon Soul Spear.
Had Ma Hongjun not reached his limit, the other part might have been absorbed into the first spirit ring as well.
Ma Hongjun once again comprehended his first spirit skill and found that his speed boost had increased slightly, although not significantly.
In other words, the power that had merged into the first spirit ring had increased its age.
From this, Ma Hongjun drew his second conclusion.
"When the Dragon Soul absorbs a Soul Ring from a Soul Beast of the same type as the attached Soul Ring, the power of that Soul Ring can be integrated into the attached Soul Ring, increasing its lifespan. However, there's a limitation: the attached Soul Ring's lifespan can only reach the limit of the master's body's endurance; anything beyond that cannot be absorbed."
Ma Hongjun's previous body's endurance limit was around 800 years. A portion of the power from his first 900-year Soul Ring was absorbed by the Dragon Soul Spear.
Now, after the baptism of the first Soul Ring, his body's limit has increased again, likely reaching a point where he can withstand 900 years.
Therefore, a portion of the 100-year Soul Ring was absorbed and integrated into the first Soul Ring, reaching the 900-year limit.
"In other words, as my cultivation improves and my body's endurance strengthens, when I absorb the Green Bamboo Sound Serpent's Soul Ring again, it can be added to the first Soul Ring. If I can withstand a thousand years, it will be added to a thousand years; if I can withstand ten thousand years, it will be added to ten thousand years; if I can withstand a hundred thousand years, it will be added to a hundred thousand years."
Ma Hongjun became increasingly alarmed and excited as he thought about it.
"So when I can withstand 100,000-year spirit rings, won't I be able to have all red spirit rings? Then, in battle, the moment my spirit rings light up, I'll scare a whole bunch of people to death!"
Although excited, he was still far from the limit of withstanding 100,000-year spirit rings and needed to continue cultivating diligently.
However, he couldn't help but marvel at the Dragon Soul Spear; it was truly too powerful, too monstrous.
Perhaps even divine artifacts were no more powerful.
In the future, he wouldn't need to worry about the age of spirit rings anymore; he only needed to consider the type of spirit beast.
Ma Ping and his companion didn't notice Ma Hongjun's change and continued attacking Qingzhu.
By this time, a large number of Qingzhu had fallen, and Ma Hongjun quickly used the Dragon Soul Spear to absorb these spirit rings.
The Dragon Soul Spear was like a bottomless pit, unlike Ma Hongjun's limitations. The spear had already absorbed more than a dozen hundred-year spirit rings without any apparent effect; it seemed it could absorb any kind of spirit ring.
It was just that the three of them didn't have the strength to hunt spirit beasts over a thousand years old right now, otherwise they could have given it a try.
Suddenly, the bamboo forest erupted in chaos. One bamboo stalk after another began to shake violently, bamboo leaves flying everywhere, each one like a knife.
A shower of knives rained down from the bamboo forest.
Ma Hongjun and his companions were quickly torn apart by the bamboo leaves, their clothes tattered and their bodies covered in wounds.
Then came a series of slicing sounds, led by a gigantic bamboo serpent that swiftly attacked the three, followed by a swarm of others.
"Run!"
Ma Ping shouted.
Ma Hongjun, disregarding his absorption of the soul ring, sheathed his Dragon Soul Spear and, under the protection of Ma Ping and Ma Ping, raced towards the edge of the bamboo forest.
The gigantic bamboo serpent caught up, soaring into the air, its body transforming into a massive green arrow. A piercing sound of bamboo slicing filled the air, accompanied by a sonic boom.
The enormous snake's head was aimed at the three, leaving them no way to dodge.
In this critical moment, Ma Ming forcefully pushed Ma Hongjun and Ma Ping aside, holding his wooden spear horizontally in front of his chest, directly at the oncoming bamboo serpent.
"Bang!"
The Green Bamboo Sound Serpent bit into the wooden spear, the powerful impact sending Ma Ming flying. He slid across the ground for a considerable distance before coming to a stop.
Ma Ming coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his wooden spear spirit vanished instantly.
Without the spirit's protection, the Green Bamboo Sound Serpent bit into Ma Ming's abdomen.
"Dad!"
"Ma Ming!"
Ma Hongjun and Ma Ping quickly summoned their spirits and rushed to his aid.
Their spirit rings lit up.
"Extreme Shadow Flying Dragon Spear!"
"Earth-Splitting Critical Strike Staff!"
Ma Hongjun's Dragon Soul Spear aimed straight at the Green Bamboo Sound Serpent's head, trying to force it to release its grip on Ma Ming.
Ma Ping's staff, on the other hand, aimed for its vital point.
Spear and staff arrived at the same point.
However, they didn't touch the Green Bamboo Sound Serpent.
It was too fast. As Ma Hongjun and Ma Ping attacked, it forcefully flung Ma Ming away, then slid its body away from them, preparing for its next attack.
"Hongjun, retreat first!"
Ma Ping was clearly much calmer. He didn't chase after the Green Bamboo Sound Serpents anymore, but instead ran to pick up the unconscious Ma Ming, whose life was uncertain.
"Go quickly!"
At this moment, the swarm of Green Bamboo Sound Serpents had emerged from behind, numbering in the dozens. This scene reminded Ma Hongjun of the night before his transmigration, when he was surrounded by snakes at the tomb of Marquis Zhao Yun of Shunping.
Fear had left his mind blank, but he finally snapped out of it at Ma Ping's anxious shouts.
Ma Hongjun quickly followed Ma Ping, who was carrying Ma Ming, and ran outwards.
After running a hundred meters out of the Green Bamboo Forest, the Green Bamboo Sound Serpents stopped chasing.
They stood in the Green Bamboo Forest, their green pupils fixed on the three people a hundred meters away, their eyes filled with anger, murderous intent, and a strong warning.
This was their home, and Ma Hongjun and his companions were invaders and destroyers.
Ma Hongjun saw the giant Green Bamboo Sound Serpent at the head of the swarms; its body had seventeen bamboo-like stripes, proving that it was a 1,700-year-old soul beast.
Behind it were several more Green Bamboo Sound Snakes with more than ten bamboo-like stripes on their bodies.
They were indeed not to be trifled with.
Ma Ming's injuries were severe; he was barely breathing, two large, bloody holes pierced his abdomen by two sharp fangs, and his waist was twisted and deformed.
The attack of a thousand-year-old soul beast was terrifying; it was already a great stroke of luck that he hadn't been killed in one blow.
Fortunately, the Green Bamboo Sound Snake was different from most snakes; it was non-venomous. Otherwise,
Ma Ming would have been in grave danger!
However, the current situation didn't seem much better; it was truly terrible.
Ma Hongjun's eyes were misty; his heart was in turmoil, anxious, and powerless.
Seeing Ma Ming unconscious and seemingly unable to hold on, he realized that the ordinary word "father" held a very, very heavy place in his heart.
This chapter is about family affection. Often, the people closest to us are precisely those we most easily overlook!
We don't realize how much they'll be missing until they're truly gone, only then do we discover how much they hold in our hearts!
(End of Chapter)