In the whole Star Luo Empire, there were few strong enough to earn such respect from Bright Phoenix Douluo—perhaps only the revered royal Grand Worshipper.
Jingliu nodded calmly. "It's nothing."
Shrek Academy was famous as the continent's number one academy. Jingliu wasn't afraid of conflict, but preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble—after all, a big fuss could affect Haiyuan City's stability.
Besides, their side hadn't lost anything.
"If you don't absorb it soon, the soul ring will dissipate," Jingliu quietly reminded Lu Jingming.
A soul ring fades after a soul beast's death, eventually returning to pure soul power in the world.
Her reminder startled Yan Shaozhe, Ma Xiaotao, Xu Jiujiu, and Xingyun Douluo. They all looked at Lu Jingming, double-checking his age—he was just a six- or seven-year-old child. Then they looked at Jingliu, full of confusion.
"Miss, if I'm not mistaken, this little brother must have only recently awakened his martial soul. To choose a thousand-year ring as his first—isn't that a bit much?" Yan Shaozhe cautioned, trying to be tactful.
Normally, he wouldn't bother, but he wanted to befriend Jingliu.
"Yes, Senior Jingliu, the first soul ring is crucial—it's best to be cautious," Xu Jiujiu added, seizing the chance to win favor.
"It's fine. He can handle it." Jingliu's voice was as tranquil as ever, making no effort to hide the truth.
Besides, unless a soul skill was especially unique, there was no way to hide a soul ring.
Lu Jingming didn't hesitate; he released his first martial soul, Black Abyss.
The pitch-black spear radiated a dark light. Sitting cross-legged beside the Cinder Radiance Bird's corpse, he closed his eyes and began guiding the floating purple soul ring.
"In that case, I'll take my leave. I need to find a new third ring for my disciple," Yan Shaozhe said sensibly, knowing it was pointless to linger—especially after the recent awkwardness, and with Lu Jingming absorbing a ring.
He planned to return to Shrek Academy, investigate Jingliu, prepare a gift, and visit her in person—boosting his chances of securing her help for Ma Xiaotao.
For now, Ma Xiaotao had just advanced to Soul Elder, and her evil fire wasn't out of control yet. He had time to arrange things.
Yan Shaozhe nodded to Xu Jiujiu and the others, then took Ma Xiaotao and left. Ma Xiaotao obediently followed but glanced back at Lu Jingming in shock.
A soul master absorbing a thousand-year ring as their first—she'd never seen or even heard of such a thing, not even in Shrek Academy's inner court.
That Jingliu felt confident enough to let Lu Jingming do this showed her certainty he would succeed.
Ma Xiaotao was curious—if it weren't inappropriate, she'd have stayed to see if he'd succeed.
"Senior Jingliu, would you mind if we stayed? Absorbing a thousand-year ring as a first is unprecedented on the continent—my curiosity is overwhelming," Xu Jiujiu said, bowing earnestly.
Though a princess, she still gave due respect to a titled Douluo.
"Go ahead," Jingliu replied succinctly.
As Star Luo princess, Xu Jiujiu's friendship would only benefit Lu Jingming's future in the empire.
Besides, with Jingliu watching, Xu Jiujiu's group wouldn't dare try anything.
Xu Jiujiu subtly signaled to her guards, who immediately retreated to a distance, ensuring Lu Jingming wouldn't be disturbed.
She then gracefully sat on a clean stone, chin in hands, sapphire eyes fixed on Lu Jingming in fascination.
On the other side, Lu Jingming was enduring the wild, powerful impact of the soul power—waves surging through his meridians, as if to tear him apart.
Hot, destructive soul power poured into his body, awaiting absorption and refinement.
Suddenly, Lu Jingming felt an invisible bottleneck break under the destructive force.
As his tenth-level soul power bottleneck broke, he felt himself immersed in a vast ocean of strength—invincible.