"Master, are there any restrictions on absorbing soul rings?"
Xiao Yan still remembered clearly how, when he revealed that black soul ring, Tang Hao—someone probably at the Douluo Lord level—was stunned.
Obviously, even experts at the Douluo Lord level had never seen anyone whose first soul ring was a ten-thousand-year-old one.
From his chat with Wang Sheng in the cafeteria, most soul masters' first and second soul rings were generally white or yellow.
That is, ten-year and hundred-year soul rings.
The two soul rings of the Spirit Hall steward Su Yuntao were one white and one yellow, both very low-level.
What exactly was the difference?
Yu Xiaogang said, "Xiao Yan, you're only a level 10 soul warrior right now. With your body's condition, at most, you can absorb a hundred-year-old soul beast's soul ring."
Xiao Yan thought: So it's the physical constitution that decides the maximum age of soul ring you can absorb.
Yu Xiaogang continued, "At your cultivation level of a level 10 soul warrior, if you try to absorb a thousand-year-old soul ring, do you know what will happen?"
Xiao Yan shook his head. How would he know?
He had never absorbed a soul ring before—his own ten-thousand-year-old soul ring came from his own body.
But judging by the fact that physical condition determines what soul ring age you can absorb:
If he truly absorbed a thousand-year-old soul ring, it would just waste a soul ring slot.
He could at least handle a ten-thousand-year-level soul ring. A thousand-year-level one was nothing to him.
Yu Xiaogang smiled inwardly, thinking, "I knew you wouldn't guess. Now you know why your future teacher Yu Xiaogang is so useful."
"Xiao Yan, I can tell you very clearly: if you absorb a thousand-year-old soul ring now, your body won't be able to withstand the wild energy from the soul ring, and you'll instantly explode and die!"
Xiao Yan blinked lightly—what a load of crap.
Absorbing a soul ring could kill you?
Seeing Xiao Yan's stunned look, Yu Xiaogang explained further:
"During soul ring absorption, no external force can help you; you can only rely on yourself.
Think about it—those who need others' help to hunt the soul beasts they need—how tough do you think their strength really is?"
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow in suspicion—did this guy just insult him?
Isn't this same guy volunteering to hunt soul beasts for him?
According to Yu Xiaogang, if you don't personally kill the soul beast, your strength isn't tough enough.
Die or not?
Yu Xiaogang continued, "Looks like you're thinking seriously and probably getting it. Those kinds of people might even explode when absorbing a soul ring that matches their level."
Xiao Yan was speechless.
So, you want the soul ring energy to kill Grandpa Xiao Yan?
Too bad—I'm not that easy to kill.
Yu Xiaogang, oblivious to how ridiculous he sounded, kept talking:
"This world is very fair. If you want something, you have to work for it; taking shortcuts is for fools. The soul theory I study is just to make the process a bit easier.
To become stronger when you have the same strength, understand?"
Xiao Yan couldn't understand how someone could talk such nonsense repeatedly to someone else's face.
But since he was already getting slapped in the face, was he really going to argue?
Beating up an idiot is kind of unethical.
"Master, what you say makes a lot of sense."
Xiao Yan didn't argue—in fact, he agreed.
Turning his head to look out the carriage window, Xiao Yan couldn't believe someone over fifty could be this ignorant.
Get your brain checked.
If soul ring absorption depends on physical constitution,
Why not just improve physical constitution?
Push-ups, lifting weights, weighted running—the whole special forces training routine.
And this is a world with martial souls, a fantasy realm—study some cultivation techniques, Golden Bell Shield, Iron Cloth, or even stronger.
Train your ass off.
Training was already a mess; life was even worse.
How could the world be fair?
If it were, why would he have ended up in Tang Hao's hands?
Almost starved to death before he was two or three.
Forget royal princes and their personal nurses—commoner families wouldn't be this miserable, right?
And Yu Xiaogang himself came from a big family, yet he looked down on big family people?
Isn't that looking down on himself?
And why must people from big families be useless playboys?
They have better vision and resources and are much stronger than ordinary people!
He thought of a classmate back in the modern world who came from a rich family—average grades, but easily got into a famous foreign university.
Most people? Abroad? Studying abroad?
Have money?
Sure, some get government-funded overseas, but...
How many?
The word "fair" was just laughable on Douluo Continent.
Just the whole martial soul inheritance alone proved this world was definitely unfair.
Martial souls are passed down genetically, meaning Douluo Continent is the pinnacle of bloodline theory.
Unlike the Eagle Empire's overhyped bloodlines, Douluo's bloodlines genuinely grant power.
So commoners remain commoners; nobles get stronger as their families grow.
Xiao Yan thought about it and suspected this master was trying to fool him—to cripple him first, then carry out some conspiracy.
Possibly soul possession, or something else—nothing good.
After buying some things in the city, Yu Xiaogang finally hired a carriage and headed with Xiao Yan to the Soul Hunting Forest.
Xiao Yan was riding a carriage for the first time—some bumps along the way made it uncomfortable.
With a guy who might want to soul-possession him sitting in front, Xiao Yan just leaned back and closed his eyes to rest.
"Xiao Yan, this is for you." The master's calm voice pulled Xiao Yan out of his rest.
When Xiao Yan looked over, he saw the master was holding a belt he didn't notice before.
The belt was entirely black, studded evenly with twenty-four milky-white jade stones—no ordinary piece.
Xiao Yan was extremely wary of this scheming master's gift.
Using his Purple Extreme Demon Eye quietly, Xiao Yan fixed his gaze on the black jade-studded belt: "This belt looks really antique."
After modification, the Purple Extreme Demon Eye not only enhanced vision but also increased spirit perception, greatly improving detection of strength and objects.
Yu Xiaogang said, "This belt has been with me for decades, but I never used it much. I hope it can shine in your hands in the future."
With that, he tried to place the belt in Xiao Yan's hand.
Though the Purple Extreme Demon Eye detected no hidden tricks, Xiao Yan stayed cautious, activating his Xuanti Body Refining Technique to ensure he was immune to poisons.
Only then did Xiao Yan take the belt.
Holding it, he sensed something unusual—multiple faint energy currents circulated through the belt, using the belt as a bridge, with the jade stones as storage.
Yu Xiaogang explained, "I got this belt thirty years ago. Based on my experience, it's a top-tier Soul Guidance Tool with exceptional storage ability."
Soul Guidance Tool? Xiao Yan quickly thought of cultivation novels' treasures.
What he had was something like a storage pouch or a spirit ring.
"I just wonder if you, Master, put any hidden tricks on it?" Xiao Yan kept the Xuanti Body Refining Technique active to be poison-immune, running his hand over the belt, feeling nothing strange.
Yu Xiaogang continued, "Each jade stone provides one cubic meter of storage space, convenient for storing items."
Just a little gadget and it's top-tier?
Xiao Yan's impression of Douluo Continent dropped instantly.
In the cultivation world, nearly everyone had something like this.
Yu Xiaogang recalled, "Soul Guidance Tools, as the name implies, are tools powered by soul force. Inherited tools are rare and mostly have no offensive power."
"Besides, soul masters have their own martial souls, which are powerful weapons themselves, so they don't need other offensive weapons."
Xiao Yan covered his head—keeping clear in these confusing words was headache-inducing.
A random hidden dagger from Tang Sect could kill you; you say soul masters don't need weapons?
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang kept rambling:
"That belt was something I and a few friends got during an adventure years ago. They gave it to me as a reward. It has little use to me now, but I believe you'll find it useful someday."
Snapping back from memory, Yu Xiaogang said, "Since it's yours, why don't you give it a new name?"
Xiao Yan really didn't want to comment further.
After a moment's thought, Xiao Yan said, "Since it's studded with many jade stones and has storage abilities, let's just call it the Storage Jade Belt."
Yu Xiaogang nodded approvingly, "Good, simple and clear."
Xiao Yan suddenly recalled the master's earlier words and grew even more cautious.
Thirty years ago, this master must have been more useless, yet somehow got this treasure during an adventure!
Thinking carefully, to get such a prized treasure with weak strength probably means murder and plunder.
As for friends exploring together—Xiao Yan guessed they had become "underground friends."
(End of Chapter)