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Chapter 72: Ning Tian's First Soul Ring
After exchanging basic information, the group resumed their journey.
Just as Elder Ma had said, their destination was the deepest part of Qiling Mine Cave, so they did not stop along the way and continued moving deeper inside.
Whenever soul beasts appeared, Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan usually handled them directly.
With their strength, even ten-thousand-year soul beasts would not be impossible opponents, let alone the hundred-year beasts that occasionally appeared here.
When weaker ten-year soul beasts showed up, they would deliberately hold back and let Bai Chen and the others deal with them.
Bai Chen carefully controlled his output, disguising himself as a somewhat above-average one-ring soul master. His deliberately slow movements and gentle strikes made the others who knew his real strength feel a bit uncomfortable watching.
But their opinions didn't matter.
Clearly, the other three people truly believed the strength he displayed.
"Hm… Bai Chen, you're still so young yet already possess such strength. In the future, you'll surely become an outstanding soul engineer."
Watching Bai Chen slash his claw into the throat of a ten-year soul beast, Elder Ma commented thoughtfully.
Bai Chen blinked and asked curiously,
"Elder Ma, does being physically strong really have a necessary connection to becoming a good soul engineer? Aren't soul engineers mainly reliant on soul tools for attacks?"
"Hehe, that's true."
Elder Ma smiled kindly and explained patiently.
"But greater physical strength also means you can equip more soul tools at the same time."
"For example, imagine two people using the same Soul Tool Turret Technique. If your body can only support ten cannons while your opponent can support one hundred—who do you think would be stronger?"
"I see! I've learned something. Thank you, Elder Ma!"
"Haha, no need to thank me."
"I used to be a teacher at the academy. Teaching young people like you is practically my professional instinct."
Elder Ma laughed happily.
He liked this polite and talented child more and more.
Xiao Hongchen, however, looked annoyed.
"Hmph. Elder Ma, stop wasting time."
"What's the point of explaining such basic knowledge to him? He can just ask his teacher after returning to the academy."
"Brother!"
Meng Hongchen puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
Elder Ma shook his head helplessly and said,
"Alright, alright. Let's keep moving deeper."
"Elder Ma."
Bai Chen suddenly called out again.
"Why are we still going deeper? Before coming here, our teacher said that the deeper the cave, the stronger the soul beasts become. We shouldn't need such high-level soul rings, right?"
They only needed one first soul ring and one second soul ring, both within the hundred-year range.
Logically speaking, they shouldn't need to go deeper than this.
"Hm… well, it's not a big secret."
Elder Ma hesitated briefly before explaining.
"The academy recently heard that a special rare metal exists in the deepest part of this mine."
"So while we're here helping Xiao Hongchen obtain his soul ring, we plan to collect that rare metal as well."
"I see."
Bai Chen nodded in realization.
At the same time, he glanced subtly at Xiao Hongchen.
If he remembered correctly, Xiao Hongchen's Three-Legged Golden Toad martial soul possessed a special ability—
It could absorb energy from metals to enhance his cultivation.
Unlike Meng Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen was truly a dual cultivator of soul master and soul engineer.
Even so, his cultivation level never fell behind his sister's, partly because of this innate ability.
By absorbing metallic energy, his cultivation speed was significantly faster than that of his peers.
If that was the case…
Was this rare metal prepared specifically for him?
Bai Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and stored the guess away.
Regardless of whether it was true, it had little to do with him.
Meeting the Hongchen siblings this time was already an unexpected coincidence. For now, he had no intention of getting deeply involved with them.
After learning the reason, the group continued forward.
As they descended further into the cave, the strength of the soul beasts they encountered gradually increased.
During this process, Xiao Hongchen and Ning Tian each found suitable soul beasts.
Xiao Hongchen obtained the same second soul skill as in the original story:
Metal Boiling.
The skill greatly increased the activity of his soul power, temporarily enhancing his control over metal while absorbing metallic elements from the air to assist him.
A simple but extremely effective stat-boosting ability.
Ning Tian's first soul skill, meanwhile, became:
Strength Amplification.
Due to the unique nature of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the order of her soul skills was not particularly important. At the same cultivation level, each skill provided roughly the same percentage boost.
Still, obtaining strength amplification early was excellent news for Bai Chen.
After all, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff martial soul specialized in physical power. Strength enhancement benefited him the most.
After gaining her first soul ring, Ning Tian's soul power rose significantly.
The pill she had consumed earlier clearly provided more than one level of improvement—it had simply been suppressed by the soul ring bottleneck.
Bai Chen estimated she had now reached Level 13.
After successfully obtaining both soul rings, the group's traveling speed increased again as they hurried toward the deepest section of the mine.
Ten-year soul beasts gradually disappeared.
Thousand-year soul beasts began appearing more frequently.
The danger of the cave increased quietly.
Finally—
A massive roar echoed through the tunnel.
They had arrived at the deepest part of Qiling Mine Cave.
A gigantic creature covered in dark blue crystal armor opened its enormous jaws toward them.
Judging by its aura—
This was clearly a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
So Qiling Mine Cave did contain a ten-thousand-year beast after all.
It had simply hidden itself so deep that most people never encountered it.
Behind the creature, not far away, lay a cluster of glowing blue crystals, radiating an alluring light.
"Hm…"
Bai Chen observed the crystals carefully before shaking his head.
As a blacksmith, he prided himself on his knowledge of metals. Zhen Hua had taught him countless theories about rare materials.
Yet even in those lessons, this strange crystal had never appeared.
It was likely another resource that had gone extinct ten thousand years later.
And clearly—
This was the true target of Xiao Hongchen's trip.
Excitement flashed in Xiao Hongchen's eyes.
"Elder Ma!"
"Go! Kill it and collect those crystals!"
"Understood."
Elder Ma nodded calmly and stepped forward.
Eight soul rings slowly rose beneath his feet.
The Eighth-Rank Soul Engineer was finally about to make his move.
The battle was about to begin. ⚔️