Chapter 113: A Growth-Type Soul Ring: One Lightning Tribulation, Ten Thousand Years!
"Crack!"
Lightning exploded.
Blinding violet lightning instantly engulfed the cross-legged figure.
A violent shockwave burst outward in a circular wave. Within dozens of meters, every tree was shaved down in unison, branches and leaves reduced to powder!
"Ah Qing!!!"
Bibi Dong felt as if an invisible hand had seized her heart and squeezed it mercilessly, stopping it for a beat.
Almost instinctively, she transformed into a streak of light and rushed into the center of the fading lightning.
As the thunderlight dissipated, the smell of scorched smoke filled the air.
On the ground… only a charred humanoid corpse remained.
His clothes had long since turned to ash, and his skin was completely carbonized, covered in spiderweb-like cracks, almost unrecognizable.
Lin Qingmo's aura was faint as a candle in the wind, as though it would extinguish in the next second.
"Ah Qing…"
Bibi Dong's voice was hoarse beyond recognition.
She stared at the charred body, her own body trembling slightly.
"I should have stopped you… I should have forced you to stop…"
Tears rolled down without warning, striking the blackened ground and spreading into dark stains.
She walked forward step by step, each one feeling as though she were treading on knife edges.
Her heart was filled with regret and fear.
If he were gone… then let this world be destroyed!
The thought had just arisen—
Right before her fingertips could touch the charred body—
"Pop…"
A faint sound, like a sprout breaking through soil, rang out.
From the right leg of the charcoal-like body, a point of lustrous green light suddenly burst forth.
Immediately after, fine buds of flesh began growing at a visible speed.
The blackened, dead skin cracked and fell away, revealing fresh red tissue regenerating beneath, quickly transforming into tender white new skin.
An astonishing surge of life force erupted from Lin Qingmo's right leg!
"It's a soul bone skill… the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone!"
Bibi Dong reacted instantly, the grief in her eyes replaced by ecstasy.
That's right!
She suddenly remembered that Ah Qing had mentioned in the chat group that this soul bone possessed a soul bone skill called "Wildfire Cannot Destroy the Grass, It Grows Again With the Spring Wind."
As long as the host retained even a sliver of life, it could activate vast life energy to regenerate flesh and blood!
No wonder Ah Qing dared to face the lightning tribulation head-on.
She had been too flustered by worry.
That lightning strike had indeed been terrifying, nearly annihilating most of Lin Qingmo's life force in an instant.
But nearly did not mean completely.
It was precisely that final, wavering spark of life that triggered the soul bone skill!
In just a few seconds—
The charred corpse completed its rebirth within the emerald glow.
His newborn skin was smooth and jade-like, faint arcs of electricity flowing beneath it, making it appear even more resilient.
"Ha…!"
Lin Qingmo suddenly opened his eyes!
Within them, azure lightning flickered and surged like a lake brewing thunder.
His soul power burst forth uncontrollably, and his aura was far stronger than before!
The black soul ring hovering around him restrained its radiance, yet became even deeper and more profound. It slowly descended and firmly settled upon him.
The fourth soul ring was successfully absorbed!
"I… I survived…"
Lin Qingmo exhaled a long breath, crackling with sparks.
Only then did the joy of surviving a catastrophe surge through him.
That was way too close to a real GG!
Fortunately, he had already factored in the life-saving ability of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.
Without it, he wouldn't have dared to directly withstand a lightning tribulation powerful enough to kill a Ten-Thousand-Year Thunder Hell Prison Vine.
Before he could carefully sense the explosive growth of his soul power and the changes brought by his new soul ring—
A fragrant figure suddenly rushed toward him and hugged him tightly.
So tightly that he could barely breathe.
"Teacher? Wait—"
Before he could finish—
Bibi Dong abruptly rose onto her toes and kissed him with an overbearing decisiveness that allowed no refusal.
She didn't care whether the scent of smoke still lingered on his lips.
The kiss lacked technique, even trembling slightly.
Rather than a kiss, it was more of a confirmation.
A confirmation that he was still alive.
That he was still here.
"???"
Lin Qingmo's brain completely crashed.
His eyes widened; his body stiffened like wood, utterly unable to react.
'Who am I?'
'Where am I?'
'What just happened?'
'Master… What is she doing?'
His mind simply could not process this sudden event, far more overwhelming than absorbing a soul ring.
…
Those few seconds felt like an entire century.
Bibi Dong slowly calmed down.
She released him and stepped back.
The storm of emotions receded like a tide, and her usual cool, composed mask returned so convincingly that it was as if the woman who had just rushed forward and kissed him had never existed.
She did not mention what had happened.
She merely reached out and gently brushed Lin Qingmo's cheek.
"Ah Qing, you are not allowed to do something so dangerous again."
Her voice had returned to a calm tone.
But beneath it, a faint tremor of lingering fear could still be heard.
"If you dare do this again, I won't forgive you."
"I…"
Lin Qingmo subconsciously licked his lips.
They felt a little numb, a little burning.
But… there also seemed to be a faint, indescribable sweetness?
Not an illusion.
So that really just happened!
The master actually kissed me!
The amount of information was overwhelming, and his CPU felt like it was overheating.
So embarrassed that his toes could practically dig out a three-bedroom apartment, he could only scratch the short bristles at the back of his head awkwardly.
"Got… got it…"
His voice was dry as sandpaper.
He knew very well that without the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone acting as a "revival armor," he would already be drinking Meng Po's Soup by now.
"Tell me how the gains were?"
Bibi Dong smoothly changed the topic, as if that heart-pounding incident had never occurred.
"Oh! Right!"
Lin Qingmo immediately followed her lead, tacitly agreeing not to bring it up again.
It was way too intense.
If they kept talking about it, he might combust from embarrassment first.
He quickly focused inward, examining himself.
And nearly burst into laughter.
"Soul power Rank 45!"
"Soul ring age… 30,000 years!"
He could not suppress the excitement in his voice.
"And this soul ring is growth-type!"
"Growth-type?"
Bibi Dong's slender brows lifted slightly.
She had heard the term applied to soul skills, but to soul rings? That was a first.
"Simply put, this Thunder Hell Prison Vine soul ring can increase its age by undergoing 'lightning tribulations'!"
Suppressing his excitement, Lin Qingmo explained as plainly as possible.
Originally, this soul ring had been at the 20,000-year level.
But after enduring that life-threatening lightning tribulation, its age had skyrocketed by ten thousand years, reaching 30,000!
More importantly, according to the information transmitted by the soul ring, in the future, he would likely face similar "heavenly tribulation trials" at intervals.
Survive them, and the age would leap upward again!
"A growth-type soul ring…"
Bibi Dong understood, a trace of astonishment flashing through her eyes.
"If that's the case, your soul ring may be unprecedented in the history of the Douluo Continent. Gaining ten thousand years per tribulation is tempting indeed."
She suddenly changed tone, her gaze sharpening as she looked at Lin Qingmo.
The concern in her eyes was nearly overflowing.
"But it's too dangerous."
She didn't want to experience that feeling of her heart stopping and her body turning cold again.
"Dangerous, yes, it is dangerous."
Lin Qingmo scratched his cheek, wholeheartedly agreeing he had nearly died just now.
"But it's also an enormous opportunity, Master!"
His eyes shone as he started calculating.
"I have the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone's soul bone skill as a safety net. As long as I'm not instantly killed by the lightning tribulation, I can quickly recover to full condition!"
"Isn't that basically free experience packs, uh, I mean, free soul ring years?"
It was a life-risking gamble, yes, but when he thought about it carefully, it was pure profit!
If he could stack more life-saving methods, it would become even more stable.
Looks like he would need to acquire more survival tools in the future.
Relying solely on the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone was not enough.
—
End of Chapter