As usual, Chef Tom was in charge of the three daily meals. Despite being injured and his tail wrapped in bandages, his cooking skills remained impeccable.
After dinner, Shen An brought up the incident with the Spirit Hall from the previous night.
"What? A mere white-clothed deacon dares to come after me? Just wait until I smash his dog head in!"
"Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan is a major sect on par with the Spirit Hall. How dare he!"
At the dinner table, Ning Rongrong, with her hands on her slender waist, spoke arrogantly.
Shen An chuckled beside her, finding the whole situation quite amusing.
What was this? Talking tough and provoking me? You're too arrogant. If you mess with me, your life is on the line—Little Devil Ning Rongrong.
When Zhu Zhuqing heard that Shen An was being targeted by the Spirit Hall, she instinctively tensed up, her fists clenched under the table.
It wasn't until Shen An mentioned that Pang Tao had come to the rescue that her nerves finally relaxed.
After hearing Ning Rongrong's words, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes dimmed slightly. Compared to Ning Rongrong's confidence, she felt like she had nothing, which left her feeling inexplicably unbalanced.
It wasn't that she was jealous of Ning Rongrong. After spending some time together, their relationship was quite good.
But compared to Ning Rongrong, who was doted on by everyone, her own loneliness made her feel a sense of inferiority.
Meanwhile, Tom was clapping for Ning Rongrong. He loved his overprotective mistress.
What? She's not his mistress yet? No problem. With Tom around, she'll eventually become one.
After clapping for Ning Rongrong, Tom ran over to Zhu Zhuqing, actively showing off his cuteness and nuzzling her, which brought a smile to her face.
"This family would fall apart without me," Tom thought as he was being petted.
When Shen An suggested borrowing the prestige of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, Ning Rongrong readily agreed. She even asked if she should call her Sword Grandpa over to pay a visit to the Spirit Hall.
This made Shen An's eyelids twitch. How terrifying! At the slightest disagreement, she'd call in her family. Who could handle that? Good thing she was on his side.
Ning Rongrong might be a bit spoiled, but she was reliable. She spent money freely when needed and stood up when things got tough—a true domineering little rich girl.
Shen An even mused that if Ning Rongrong weren't a support-type soul master but a battle-type soul master with unmatched combat power, the Douluo Continent might just have another little tyrant on its hands.
However, this incident with the Spirit Hall made Shen An realize that the Douluo Continent was nothing like Earth. The strong could act with impunity, and that wasn't just an empty phrase.
Facing a behemoth like the Spirit Hall, the slightest misstep could lead to being devoured, bones and all.
Ning Rongrong had the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan as her backing, so she could act without fear.
But Shen An was different. He had no one to rely on—well, except for Tom, but cats don't count.
Originally, Shen An just wanted to live a carefree life, slowly growing stronger. But now, it seemed he needed to step up his game.
After glancing at the two girls and Tom, Shen An thought to himself, "Because only by becoming stronger can I better protect you all."
The teahouse business was still booming, with everything selling out quickly. Shen An had originally set a three-hour operating time, but in reality, they often closed in less than two hours.
Normally, Shen An would have already been lounging around during these hours, playing games, petting the cat, reading, or snacking.
But now, Shen An's behavior left the two girls feeling unfamiliar. He was actually practicing his sword techniques, refining each move over and over, and not neglecting his multitasking control.
Sometimes, he'd even drag Tom into sparring sessions. The usually lazy Tom was forced into action. Life was hard, and even cats had to work.
Ning Rongrong thought Shen An was having a temporary burst of madness, as she too had moments of intense determination to train her soul power—though they never lasted more than two days.
Surprisingly, Shen An wasn't just having a three-minute burst of enthusiasm. He kept it up on the second, third, and fourth days.
Originally, Zhu Zhuqing was the only training maniac in the teahouse. Now, Shen An had joined her.
Ning Rongrong complained about the intense competition and, deciding to avoid the stress, took Tom out for some fun.
During this time, a purple-clothed bishop from the Spirit Hall arrived to personally apologize to Ning Rongrong and Shen An.
The purple-clothed bishop said, "Miss Ning, regarding the incident where Ma Shan offended you and Mr. Shen, he has been dismissed and expelled from the Spirit Hall. Additionally, we offer 5,000 gold soul coins as compensation and an apology."
Ning Rongrong ignored him and instead looked at Shen An, signaling that he should handle the matter.
This made the purple-clothed bishop take a closer look at Shen An. For the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan to defer to him, this young man was clearly not ordinary.
Shen An shook his head lightly, "Take the gold soul coins back. Consider this matter settled."
——
Watching the purple-clothed bishop leave, Shen An thought, "Is the Spirit Hall really going to let this go? It probably won't be that simple."
Shen An shook his head. Whatever the Spirit Hall planned to do next, Shen An only needed to focus on improving his own strength.
Weakness was the original sin. This time, he had borrowed the prestige of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, but he couldn't rely on that forever.
Looking at the system panel, which now showed a full 500,000 fame points, Shen An smiled. Tonight was the moment he would advance to Soul Elder.
That night, Shen An sat on his bed, muttering to himself, "Others absorb soul rings in the wild, but here I am, doing it in my own bed."
"Phew~"
Shen An took a deep breath, adjusting his state to the best possible condition. Without hesitation, he silently chanted in his heart, "System! Add points—no, exchange for a soul ring!"
Once again, a rainbow-colored light enveloped Shen An. This was the purest and most immense energy, limitless and only constrained by Shen An's capacity to absorb it.
With practiced ease, Shen An guided the rainbow light into his body. His body, like a sponge, greedily absorbed the energy.
With the experience from the previous two times, Shen An was even more adept. The white soul ring appeared, turned bright yellow, then took on a purple hue, deepening layer by layer.
Seven thousand years, eight thousand years, nine thousand years!
This time, the changes were different from before. Shen An's aura surged to a suffocating level. Fortunately, Shen An had sent Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong out to buy some daily necessities, or else this would have been impossible to conceal.
Outside the teahouse, passersby suddenly felt as if they were being watched by a primal beast, causing them to quickly change their route.
The soul ring had reached nine thousand years, with dark spots appearing on the deep purple ring. But this still wasn't the limit!
Shen An gritted his teeth and continued absorbing. Soon, as the soul ring's color deepened further, beads of blood seeped from Shen An's skin—a sign that his meridians were reaching their limit.
At this moment, the soul ring had reached ten thousand years!
The black soul ring fully formed, exuding an indescribable sense of intimidation. At the same time, Shen An felt something in his mind expanding.
Even with his eyes closed, he could clearly sense everything in the room. This was the soul amplification brought by absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring. Shen An understood this clearly.
Unlike ordinary soul rings, the system's soul rings only brought benefits to Shen An.
While others risked soul shock when absorbing ten-thousand-year soul rings, Shen An faced no such danger. Instead, he received an amplification.
This was worthy of the high cost of 500,000 fame points. The enhancement of his soul power allowed Shen An to better control his body.
A sinister smile appeared on Shen An's lips. In that case, he would continue absorbing. He had not yet reached his limit!
The momentum of the ten-thousand-year soul ring continued to rise—one hundred years, five hundred years, eight hundred years, until it reached one thousand years!
The third soul ring: eleven thousand years!