"Madam, I've decided. I'll choose the thousand-year Slime as my second soul ring!"
With this decision, Xu Yang felt a surge of clarity and ease. He smiled as he responded to Madam Ning.
"That's more like it! Young people should follow through on what they believe in—no need to be so cautious!" Madam Ning smiled and nodded. She had always thought Xu Yang was far too mature for his age, but now he finally looked the part of a young man. She gently ruffled his hair and said, "Go find Haiyan. Have him take you to hunt for the soul ring. I'll take care of Rongrong for the next few days."
"Thank you, Madam. I'll be off, then."
Xu Yang got up, bowed respectfully to Madam Ning, and went out in search of Ning Haiyan.
…
Sunflower Sea—Xu Yang returned once more to this location. Not just this time—he suspected future trips would lead him here too.
Standing on a tree branch alongside Ning Haiyan, they both looked down at the vast sea of sunflowers below. The countless golden blossoms absorbed sunlight, cultivating with the power of the sun. Beneath some flowers, various creatures moved slowly, borrowing the flowers' energy to aid their own cultivation.
The two of them circled the area several times but still saw no sign of a Slime.
"Uncle Ning, what should we do? Same as last time?" Xu Yang turned and asked.
"Yes, there's no other way. But if the Slimes have split too much, I won't be able to identify the one with the core essence," Ning Haiyan said helplessly.
Slimes could divide endlessly, and every split-off individual had an identical aura to the original. Even Soul Saints found it nearly impossible to tell them apart—only Soul Douluo and above could reliably identify the true body.
Moreover, because of their splitting, determining a Slime's age by size became ineffective. Only soul power intensity could indicate age, and that level of soul perception required a Soul Saint or higher.
After a quick preparation, Ning Haiyan leaped into the air above the sunflower sea. His martial soul—Blazing Flame Saber—appeared instantly in his hand. Seven soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black—rose beneath him, and the pressure of a Soul Saint exploded outward.
"Seventh Soul Skill: True Flame Avatar!"
To be cautious, Ning Haiyan activated his Martial Soul Avatar. A massive illusory figure appeared behind him, wielding a twenty-meter-long flame saber. Flames roared from his body.
The pressure grew stronger, and waves of soul power burst outward from his body. The surrounding sunflowers bent wildly in the force.
In the center of the field, the massive Sunflower King once again shrank back, burrowing underground, ready to flee at any moment.
Inside the flower sea, numerous soul beasts scattered under the overwhelming pressure. Among them were the mutated Firelight Slimes that Xu Yang needed—as well as a fair number of Luminous Holy Beetles.
The beetles were easier to judge—color saturation and the length of their horn gave away their age. But for the dozens of mutated Firelight Slimes, age was indeterminable, and nobody could tell which were the true bodies or mere clones.
While Xu Yang pondered a strategy, Ning Haiyan moved.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Thousand Blades!"
Ning Haiyan swung his saber, and three thousand flaming blade shadows burst forth, striking each Slime with precise force. Each was sent flying to a spot not far from Xu Yang.
Upon landing, the Slimes tried to split again—but before they could divide much, the skies rained down more saber shadows, pinning them in place.
Every strike was precisely controlled—enough to immobilize without killing. Each blade was laced with scarlet flames, which burned constantly, preventing the Slimes from splitting any further.
Then Ning Haiyan descended slowly, stepping on his seven soul rings. The powerful aura drove nearby soul beasts even farther away—the air filled with the sound of thunderous fleeing.
His eyes burned like fire as he scanned the immobilized Slimes. Suddenly, he swung his saber again. The sixth black soul ring flickered, and all but three blade shadows vanished—those pinning a Slime in the left front, one in the rear right, and one near Xu Yang.
The rest of the Slimes turned into blurry streaks and fled, leaving behind trails of sticky fluid.
"Young Master, these two have identical auras—they're likely the same Slime. Judging by their soul power, they're around 1,600 years old. The one at your feet is slightly smaller—about 1,200 years. You decide which one to absorb."
Ning Haiyan pointed at the remaining Slimes and explained.
"Based on the body test Sword Grandpa did the other day, I should be able to absorb up to an 1,800-year-old soul beast. Forget the 1,200-year one—I'll take the 1,600-year Slime."
That's right—Xu Yang now called the Sword and Bone Douluos "Grandpa." Their relationship had grown much closer. As for his physical strength, it had greatly improved thanks to the body-tempering techniques taught by Bone Douluo and the constant refinement from his Sun soul power.
This soul power was pure yang—extremely aggressive and ideal for tempering the body. Combined with the mystical effects of the Eastern Purple Qi, Xu Yang had surpassed the physical level of most Soul Elders in just over a year.
That was the confidence behind absorbing a 1,600-year-old Slime.
Hearing this, Ning Haiyan let the Slime near Xu Yang go. Then, with another wave of his saber, he brought the remaining two over to Xu Yang.
Xu Yang suddenly summoned a Tang Saber—"Shing! Shing!" With two swift strikes, he split both Slimes in half. Since he didn't know which was the real one, he simply cut both.
Afterward, a faint violet soul ring rose above the left Slime's corpse, gently pulsing with light—elegant and beautiful.
Xu Yang sat cross-legged and began to guide the soul ring with his will. As the ring settled over his martial soul, the previously basketball-sized Sun martial soul instantly expanded to more than triple its size. The golden flames flared up from ten centimeters to twenty, and snakes of fire began slithering across its surface.
As the soul ring entered his body, a surge of violent soul power rampaged through his organs and meridians. The searing heat and force made him extremely uncomfortable.
"As expected of a Firelight dual-attribute mutant Slime—its soul power is fierce. But compared to my Sun soul power, it's still a long way off!"
Feeling the massive soul power flow into his body, Xu Yang immediately knew he was safe. Even though a thousand-year soul ring marked a qualitative leap from the hundred-year level, it still didn't threaten him. And this soul power, lacking a root, couldn't destabilize him at all.