Looking up at the purple halo for a moment, Dongfang Jing forcefully suppressed the surging blood and qi within his body, desperately tending to his wounds and trying to regulate his disordered breathing.
Now, he had no other choice.
Firstly, he was severely injured and had lost too much blood; it was a miracle he was even clinging to life.
Secondly, Dongfang Jing was absolutely unwilling to give up this once-in-a-lifetime rare soul ring.
His cultivation in the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors these past few days had given him a vague feeling of something strange happening to his body.
Dongfang Jing couldn't quite describe this strangeness; it was as if his body was being cut open, cracked, and broken into pieces.
These pieces would eventually recombine.
Splitting, reforming... this cycle repeated itself.
He had a premonition that his body had far surpassed its former state.
Dongfang Jing focused his mind again.
To gain power surpassing everyone else, simply absorbing a hundred-year-old yellow soul ring according to the rules was far from enough.
He had to break the mold and surpass his limits!
Thinking of his younger sister, Dongfang Yao, the young man's resolve grew even stronger!
He sat cross-legged, focusing his mind on his martial spirit, using his soul power to guide the purple soul ring that had been suspended for so long.
The moment he began to absorb it, the boundless and violent energy of the soul ring surged into Dongfang Jing's body like a burst dam.
The boy's entire body suddenly turned crimson, every blood vessel and vein bulging.
He looked as if he might explode at any moment.
At first, Dongfang Jing could grit his teeth and endure it.
But later, even maintaining his sitting posture became incredibly difficult.
He curled up, desperately suppressing the urge to roar, afraid of attracting other soul beasts.
At this moment, his appearance was extremely horrifying.
Dark red blood flowed from his seven orifices, his eyes became two blood spheres, his body was covered in cracks, and countless blood streams spurted out.
He had become a 'blood man'.
But even so, the unwavering fire in Dongfang Jing's eyes never went out.
"I promised Yao'er, I must...I have to go back to see her!"
"I...I absolutely cannot fall here!!!"
Dongfang Jing didn't notice tha the energy of the thousand-year soul ring had surged into his body,and that his skin was now covered in cracks.
Strangely, these cracks weren't random; they were regular, polygonal cracks, like a shattered mirror.
The energy of the thousand-year soul ring flowed, compressed, and recombined within these cracks…
His body was transforming in a constant cycle of "shattering—recombining—shattering—recombining,"each recombination making his physical body stronger and his soul power more solid.
That night, in Winchester City,in her room at the Seven Treasures Inn, Dongfang Yao's heart suddenly tightened without warning.
"Brother,"she murmured, burrowing into the covers and curling up uneasily.
Outside the window, a shooting star silently streaked across the sky.
The sky was just beginning to lighten, heralding the start of a new day. On the outskirts of Sunset Forest, large splatters of blood had already dried. A brown squirrel, its cheeks bulging,was happily munching on an acorn.
But the boy's sudden acceleration nearly caused the squirrel perched on his shoulder to fall.
The boy's lips curled slightly, but he said nothing.
He increased his speed again, rushing towards the city.
"Have you heard? Something big happened in Lingfeng City last night!"
"I've heard more than that, it was a huge event! It's said that even the Spirit Hall's Chrysanthemum Douluo personally came!" "No way, I heard it was Elder Ghost who took action?"
"So, what happened? Why would a Title Douluo be sent?"
"Hey, I don't know, it seems to be something like... a riot of spirit beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest?"
"Nonsense! The spirit beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest are only a thousand years old at most, why would a Title Douluo need to intervene?"
"Guys, I have exclusive news! It's said that it was a damned fallen spirit master."
Entering Winchester City, the sun hadn't fully risen, but the streets were already crowded with people discussing the matter.
They had all heard about the changes in Lingfeng City, so they had gotten up early to buy newspapers.
"Uncle, a newspaper, please." A youthful yet surprisingly mature voice rang out.
The buyer was a silver-haired boy.
"Alright, one copper soul coin."
After paying, he carefully read the contents of the newspaper.
[Soul Beast Riot in the Soul Hunting Forest of Lingfeng City? The Spirit Hall Sends a Title Douluo to Suppress It? Is This a Twisted Humanity or a Decline in Morality?]
[Shocking! A Title Douluo Personally Deals with a Thousand-Year-Old Soul Beast?]
[The Platinum Bishop Salas of the Spirit Temple Remains Silent; Is There a Hidden Secret Behind Him?]
[...]
Quickly scanning these sensational headlines, the boy already understood.
'It seems the Spirit Hall had already detected the infiltration of the Lingfeng City branch, and this time they acted swiftly to wipe out those fallen ones.'
'They dispatched a Title Douluo to ensure those guys were wiped out in one fell swoop.'
'But to maintain the Spirit Hall's glorious reputation, they fabricated an excuse.'
"The truth doesn't matter. The more absurd and bizarre it is, the more it will become gossip, and soon no one will mention it anymore."
The boy shook his head and casually tossed the newspaper aside.
He was anxious, his movements nimbly weaving through the increasingly crowded streets.
At the Seven Treasures Inn,Dongfang Yao had dark circles under her eyes.
After yesterday's heart palpitations, she had been worried about her brother and couldn't sleep at all.
Knock, knock, knock!
Hearing the knocking, the girl instantly became alert.
But then she heard the voice she had been longing for, and excitedly ran to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, Dongfang Yao threw herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face.
"Brother...it's so good...it's really so good!"
Dongfang Jing's nose tingled, and he also hugged his sister, softly replying, "I'm back."
He entered the room and locked the door.
Only then did Dongfang Yao take a good look at her brother and find that he had changed quite a bit.
He was taller, his skin was better, and his features were more defined!
His shoulders and frame had broadened considerably, giving him a more masculine air!
The change after absorbing his first spirit ring was truly astonishing!
Dongfang Yao's mouth gaped slightly, quite surprised by her brother's transformation.
Then, she eagerly exclaimed, "Brother, let me see your spirit ring!"
Dongfang Jing nodded gently.
A purple halo rose from beneath his feet.
Larger, harder, and more numerous than before, shards of spirit rings, pulsating with spirit power, floated around him.
Facing his sister's puzzled gaze, Dongfang Jing explained, "Don't be fooled by the change in size. Now I can manipulate more of the shards. If I want, they can form any shape. It's as if these shards are part of my body. This powerful control was something I couldn't achieve before acquiring my spirit ring!"
He then demonstrated several forms. He slowly condensed his spirit power, creating a shield in front of him, resembling thousands of flower petals.
He could also piece together the shards to form a real mirror.
Or, he could assemble the mirror fragments into swords, which floated above his arms.
Both offensive and defensive capabilities.
Dongfang Yao was dazzled by the sight.
But what bothered her most was this:
Why was her brother's spirit ring purple?
She was precocious, practically a child prodigy.
She had even read the book about the limit of a spirit master's ability to absorb spirit rings.
Since her brother's spirit ring was purple and a thousand years old, didn't that mean he had surpassed that limit?
Then... what exactly had her brother gone through?
Dongfang Yao pursed her lips, then noticed the bandages wrapped around Dongfang Jing's arms and shoulders.
Thinking of those horrific scenes, tears streamed down her cheeks like they were free.
"Hmph... Waaah~ Brother!!"
Dongfang Jing panicked. Why was he crying again?
The part about absorbing spirit rings had been changed; it was strange. I remembered there was a small foreshadowing there before.
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