In the room, one yellow, one purple, and one black soul ring silently pulsed.
Shen An suddenly opened his eyes, which had transformed from their usual black-and-white clarity into a vast, boundless pale blue, as expansive as the heavens and earth, striking awe into anyone who saw them.
Upon closer inspection, the pupils deep within his eyes had taken on the shape of swords, formed by nine vertical sword-like patterns, exuding an aura of sharpness.
A surging sword intent gathered and erupted from Shen An's eyes, sending a clearly visible pale blue sword light flying out, illuminating the entire room.
Two deep sword marks instantly appeared on the wall in front of Shen An, and this was merely the result of his subconscious activation of his power.
"Phew~"
Shen An closed his eyes and let out a long exhale. When he opened them again, they had returned to their original black-and-white clarity, warm and jade-like, as if the person who had just seemed as vast and sharp as the heavens and earth was not him.
Shen An suppressed the joy in his heart. After all, every time he obtained a soul ring, his strength would increase significantly, which was naturally something to be happy about.
Shen An's body had fully recovered after absorbing the soul ring, but his clothes were stained with blood, which had seeped out during his limit-pushing challenge.
He stored his bloodied clothes, bedsheets, and blankets into his storage space and immediately went to wash up.
Calculating the time, Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong would likely return soon, so Shen An had to hurry and clean up the scene, including the bloodstains on his body.
As Shen An washed away the bloodstains, he took stock of the gains from absorbing the soul ring.
His soul power had surged to level 33, his body had been greatly strengthened, his spiritual power had been enhanced, and he had acquired a soul skill: "Azure Sword Gaze"
Azure Sword Gaze: A passive boost to Shen An's visual acuity and tracking ability. When activated, his eyes turned azure.
In this state, Shen An's observation, reaction, and agility would multiply, and he could even use his sword eyes to unleash sword energy to attack enemies.
Moreover, with the support of his soul power, he could use the sharp sword intent unique to the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass to launch a soul assault on his enemies, cutting through their mental world like an unparalleled sword!
Shen An couldn't help but smile. This upgrade was massive—so satisfying!
However, his second soul ring being a thousand-year one had already drawn the attention of the Spirit Hall, and Ma Shan's deliberate retaliation was just the beginning.
Without the backing of a major force, Shen An couldn't afford to be too ostentatious about the level of his soul rings, or he would easily become a target.
Being slightly above average marked you as a genius; excelling far beyond made you a freak. But someone like him, growing at an exponential rate? That was monstrous.
Shen An rubbed his temples, feeling a slight headache. If only the black soul ring could be turned purple or yellow. But how could that be done? It wasn't like he could just paint the soul ring, right?
Shen An chuckled at his own absurd thought. Soul rings were tangible yet intangible—painting them was an utterly ridiculous idea.
"Only something that defies common sense and is even more absurd could achieve something like this," Shen An muttered to himself.
Wait a minute! Something even more absurd?
Tom?! An immortal, all-powerful cat wasn't absurd enough? Shen An's eyes sparkled with realization. This might actually work. He'd ask Tom when it returned.
If Tom could do it, Shen An would reward it with plenty of dried fish and ham.
---
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong returned with Tom. Zhu Zhuqing even remarked curiously:
"There are usually quite a few people on the streets, but today, for some reason, there were almost none."
"Haha, maybe everyone had something to do today, so they didn't take this route," Shen An said with a laugh.
He couldn't very well say that the soul ring he absorbed was so powerful that he couldn't control his aura, causing ordinary people to avoid the area, could he?
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, half-convinced.
"Wow, Tom, Zhuqing, look! Shen An's eyes seem extra bright and lively today, even more attractive than usual."
Zhu Zhuqing and Tom took a closer look, and indeed, Shen An's eyes were clear and radiant, exuding an indescribable charm.
Ning Rongrong leaned in close to Shen An's face and said, "What's going on with you? You've turned into a big-eyed handsome guy in an instant."
With the two of them so close, a fragrant scent wafted into Shen An's nose. He smiled and said, "Of course, it's because I've been reading a lot lately. My mental state has improved, so my eyes appear brighter. The eyes are the windows to the soul, don't you know?"
Zhu Zhuqing silently stepped forward and separated the two. They were too close, and it made her uncomfortable.
Ning Rongrong didn't mind and instead pondered the feasibility of Shen An's words, muttering, "Really? I'll have to try that sometime."
Only Tom remained as calm as old Spike. It was just Shen An absorbing some so-called soul ring to get stronger. Tom didn't know why Shen An had asked it to keep this from the two girls, but since Shen An had said so, as a dutiful house cat, Tom naturally chose to indulge him.
Shen An had spent a full two hours absorbing the soul ring. Normally, buying something wouldn't take that long, but of course, it was at Shen An's instruction that Tom had kept the two girls occupied outside, preventing them from returning.
"Alright, you've been busy all day. Rest up and get some good sleep."
The two girls didn't press further and returned to their rooms, while Shen An pulled Tom into his own room.
Tom looked at Shen An in confusion. What was going on now? Why was it being dragged into Shen An's room?
Ahem, Shen An closed the door and locked it. He then turned around and looked at Tom with a serious expression.
Seeing Shen An so solemn, Tom instantly felt a bit nervous. What was going on today? Had its habit of sneaking bites while cooking been discovered? But it had always cleaned its whiskers afterward. Or maybe Shen An had found out about it secretly giving gold coins to stray cats.
Tom's mind raced through all the things it thought might have gotten it scolded by Shen An.
After all, in its previous home, Tom had often been scolded for sneaking food and playing with stray cats.
Tom's eyes darted around nervously, looking at Shen An with a weak expression, silently praying not to be thrown out of the house. It didn't want to become a stray.
"Ahem, Tom, sit down. I need to ask you for a favor."
Phew, Tom breathed a sigh of relief. Its knees, which had been about to buckle, instantly stiffened again. It wiped away nonexistent sweat.
Tom looked at Shen An curiously, its expression full of questions.
Shen An released his three soul rings and asked, "Tom, can you paint the soul rings? Turn this black one into purple or yellow."
Tom immediately nodded its little head. This was a piece of cake.
Tom pulled out a can of paint and a brush, reached out with its paw, and effortlessly grabbed the intangible soul ring, playing with it in its paws.
Wait a minute—Shen An stared in shock at Tom. He could no longer sense the soul ring...
Meanwhile, Tom the painter carefully dipped the brush into purple paint and began coating the soul ring.
In no time, the job was done. The originally black soul ring was now entirely purple, even emitting a glow identical to Shen An's thousand-year purple soul ring.
Tom released the soul ring, and it floated back to Shen An's side.
Shen An's mouth twitched as he looked at his one yellow and two purple soul rings.
Good grief, Tom really was a creature that defied all logic.