Chapter 9: The First Soul Ring, a Thousand Years!

“Hiss~”
The Mandrake snake, still resentful from its narrow escape and defeat, flicked its tongue in grievance before disappearing.

“Ugh—what’s with your Wuhu? Come on, you’re a fox, not a dog!”
Jiang Beibei, watching the victorious Wind Spirit Fox squinting with pride, couldn't help but silently ridicule it.

“Beibei, do you need Mommy to help you?”
Normally, to obtain a spirit ring, one must weaken the spirit beast to the brink of death before delivering the final blow oneself.
Liu Erlong, worried that Beibei hadn’t “operated” before, asked just to be sure.

“Mommy, Beibei can do it herself!”
No!
My dear mother!
How could I trouble you to step in?
Otherwise, our cute little fox would end up with fragmented rings here and there.
Killing the beast to take the ring is not only inefficient—losing much spirit power during absorption—but also risky, as the beast’s lingering resentment might lash back. It’s truly a last resort.

“Xiao Bai, are you ready?”
After some “friendly” communication, the eager Wind Spirit Fox nodded repeatedly, uttered its final sound, and transformed into a streak of white light that directly entered Jiang Beibei’s body.

Jiang Beibei, well-versed in theory, did not delay. She sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state.
Within her consciousness, the Wind Spirit Fox reappeared as a spectral image, more lively and agile than when it had a physical form.

“Xiao Bai, please take good care of me from now on!”
Beaming at the lively spirit image of the fox, Jiang Beibei felt their mutual understanding deepen. A circle of purple spirit rings began to materialize around her.
Golden light shimmered again on her cheeks, and the golden bones that had appeared during her spirit awakening seemed to have extended slightly.

“Is the absorption complete already?”
Liu Erlong, responsible for security, found today’s events oddly surreal.
She had never seen a spirit user absorb a spirit ring as effortlessly as Beibei, skipping the usual struggle with the beast’s lingering resentment.

Looking at Beibei’s slight smile, free of pain, and the lack of physical strain during absorption, Liu Erlong was truly surprised.

“Wait, wasn’t that Wind Spirit Fox supposed to be 900 years old? How is the spirit ring a thousand-year one?”
The dazzling purple light pulled her thoughts back to the most astonishing fact.
Normally, whether a spirit ring is ten years or a hundred thousand years old, the age of the spirit beast determines the ring’s years during absorption.
There had never been a spirit ring that evolved after absorption to increase its years.
And the first spirit ring being a thousand-year one? Across the entire Douluo Continent, that’s the mark of a prodigy among prodigies!

Suppressing her doubts, Liu Erlong quietly guarded Jiang Beibei until she awoke. Perhaps only her dear daughter could explain these mysteries.

“Hoo~!”
After a while, having familiarized herself with her first spirit skill, Jiang Beibei exhaled deeply and opened her eyes.
Her once pitch-black pupils were now adorned with a ring of pink patterns.
Her face, previously gaunt from long-term malnutrition, had filled out, adding to her charm.

“Beibei, how do you feel? Any discomfort?”
More than the spirit ring’s status, Liu Erlong was concerned about her daughter’s health. After all, she had neither seen nor heard of this absorption method before.

“Mommy, Beibei is fine. Xiao Bai is very obedient, and the spirit skill it gave me is powerful. Beibei likes it very much!”
Beibei’s lively demeanor eased Liu Erlong’s worries.
Though it felt odd to hear her call a formidable thousand-year spirit beast “Xiao Bai,” Liu Erlong consoled herself that her daughter was still young.
Whatever the spirit ring’s age, as long as Beibei was healthy and successfully became a spirit user, nothing else mattered.

“Beibei, is your first spirit skill Charm? At your current spirit power, what level can you reach?”
The spirit user herself best understood her spirit skill. Liu Erlong hoped the Wind Spirit Fox had provided Charm, its signature skill and one well-suited to Beibei.

“Yes, Mommy, Xiao Bai’s gift to Beibei is Charm!”
“Mmm, it told Beibei that spirit beasts under a thousand years can be fully controlled; those between a thousand and three thousand years can be controlled for thirty minutes; above three thousand years, only about three minutes; higher than that, Beibei can’t manage yet.”

In truth, Jiang Beibei withheld some details about her first spirit skill.
With her current spirit power fully exerted, she could control a five-thousand-year spirit beast or an ordinary Spirit Lord for ten minutes.

But that’s not all—those she charmed, even after breaking free, would remain immersed in a special illusion for some time, perceiving her as their ideal beloved counterpart.
Thus, she preferred to call this first spirit skill: “Enthrallment.”

Even with some concealment, her skill amazed Liu Erlong.

“Full control of spirit beasts under a thousand years, thirty minutes for those under three thousand, three minutes for over three thousand? Hiss! Beibei, the strength of your first spirit skill surpasses even some spirit users’ third skills!”
This was no exaggeration but Liu Erlong’s most accurate judgment based on experience.
Spirit beasts, unlike humans, greatly enhance their mental resistance once they reach the thousand-year mark.
Controlling such a beast is as difficult as controlling an ordinary Spirit Lord.

“Mommy, my martial spirit seems to have changed a bit, like… it’s grown two small bone segments.”
After some thought, Jiang Beibei decided to tell Liu Erlong.

“Hm? Beibei, what do you mean by ‘grown’… Ah? That’s… external spirit bones!”
Before Liu Erlong could finish her question, Jiang Beibei activated her martial spirit, revealing two pure white bones along her adorable cheeks, giving her an exotic aura.

As a well-experienced Spirit Emperor, Liu Erlong immediately recognized these bones as rare external spirit bones—and even twin bones of the same origin!
Her dear daughter truly had incredible luck!

“Beibei, what abilities do these two spirit bones have?”
Each spirit bone’s ability is unique, and only the owner can truly know them. Others must judge from the skills they unleash.

“Mommy, Xiao Bai told Beibei these bones have no special skills, only enhancing Beibei’s spirit skill effects.”

“Enhancement? By how much?”
Liu Erlong, thoroughly captivated by the external spirit bones, missed the subtle flaw in Beibei’s words.

“Xiao Bai said each bone can enhance about twenty percent, so together, that’s forty percent.”

“Twenty percent each?”
Hearing this terrifying enhancement, Liu Erlong was momentarily speechless. If the girl before her weren’t her own daughter, she might well have been tempted to seize those bones herself.