Chapter 7. Spirit Ancestor.
To be honest, I thought I would finish absorbing my immortal herb earlier than Tang San, who had clearly started later than me. But by the time I was done, it was basically already night. Tang San, judging by everything, was sleeping in the tent that had been set up at the very edge of the crater, away from the herbs and the spring, and Tang Hao, frankly speaking, surprised me. He was sitting next to me, clearly standing guard, but what surprised me even more was what he was sitting on. Or, to be more precise—on whom. Right beneath him, judging by the size and other distinguishing features, lay a beaten and unconscious 10,900‑year‑old Shadow Leopard.
"You're finished," the man stated, opening his eyes.
"Yes, senior," I confirmed, and then still asked, "Did Tang San manage to finish as well?"
"Yes," Tang Hao nodded, and a semblance of a smile appeared on his stern face. "He finished even faster than I did."
"Go, claim your ring, girl, and show me how you make history," the man stood up and, taking a sharp blade out of his spirit tool, handed it to me.
"Thank you, senior," I bowed, accepting the weapon.
"No need for thanks. You've already done a lot for my family," Tang Hao's eyes were filled with warmth as he looked toward the lake.
I followed his gaze and saw a small blue‑silver grass planted at some distance from the lake.
"How much time did I spend for you to manage to do so much?" I said in astonishment. Even for a Titled Douluo, unless he's an agility‑type, flying to the village near Nuoding City and back would take some time, and on top of that he had also found a spirit beast for me and taken an immortal herb himself to help heal his injuries.
"So you really knew," the man sighed, looking at how I reacted.
"Uhh, senior, you're not going to torment me again, are you?" I asked a bit timidly. It's one thing to be ready to endure pain to become significantly stronger, and quite another to oppose a Titled Douluo when you're at the 30th rank, even if your body is at the level of a Spirit King.
"No," the man shook his head. "It's just that you're similar to my son. The gods are favorable to you."
"The gods?" I blinked, trying to understand where this conversation was even going.
"I was by my son's side from the moment he was born, and from birth he was burdened with knowledge. Knowledge that others do not have. What else can that be, if not a divine gift?
"A genius son is what every father dreams of."
Seeing such a big man suddenly getting so talkative honestly made me start to worry. Maybe he had just decided to finish me off and wanted to talk his fill beforehand? On the other hand, he said I had done a lot for his family; he wouldn't harm me now like some ungrateful bastard, and he did get the beast for me.
"That's enough, don't look at me with that weird expression. Kill the beast and absorb your ring already!" Apparently having caught something in my gaze, Tang Hao became a little annoyed.
"Already starting," I replied with a light smile. It seemed this big guy was indeed grateful, after all.
I approached the unconscious beast and, wanting to finish everything quickly, sharply plunged the blade into the leopard's eye socket. Its body twitched for a moment before going still, and above it a black ten‑thousand‑year ring began to form.
"It's time," I sighed, summoning both my spirits. This was the moment that would decide whether I had been right, or whether my plan was a fatal mistake.
I sat down on the ground in front of the beast and slowly began to draw the ring toward myself.
The energy attacked first. The aggressive energy of the ten‑thousand‑year beast began rushing through my meridians, trying to damage them. But after being tempered by whale glue and the immortal herb, unlike what would have happened to an ordinary spirit master, I wasn't torn apart. It still hurt, and I felt my body covered in a film of sweat. But the main obstacle was still ahead, so I didn't relax, as much as I wanted to. My own spirit power wasn't enough to take control of the incoming energy, so all I could do was endure and passively absorb it, feeling my meridians seemingly swell from the volume of power pouring into them. But the most dangerous part was still to come.
It was as if I had been transported into a black space, where behind me, lying sprawled out, was the Hell Civet, and the diadem on my head emitted a soft violet light that enveloped me. In front of me hung a black ring, from which energy flowed into me in an even stream, further strengthening my body and increasing my reserves.
"RRRRAAOW!" Suddenly, the roar of a beast rang out as it suddenly materialized nearby. Even though I had been expecting it, I was honestly startled, but soon I noticed that the beast's usually sharp claws bounced off the violet light of the diadem as if they had collided with an insurmountable barrier, and I exhaled, returning to focusing on absorbing the ring's energy. Meanwhile, the beast repeated its attack, which was again fruitless.
With each attempt the beast became fainter, until it finally dissipated, after which the ring completely merged with me. The barrier of the 30th rank was broken, and the accumulated energy of the immortal herb, combined with a ring that exceeded the usual limit by more than four times, instantly raised me to the 40th rank.
I slowly opened my eyes, and three rings were glowing around me. An absurd configuration for this era. An apparently incredibly foolish first white ring, a staggering second purple one, and finally a truly shocking black one.
"And I still can't believe this is actually possible," came the man's incredulous sigh.
"Senior, I did it," I boasted, so pleased that I felt if my smile could, it would stretch all the way to my ears.
"Girl. Drop the formalities," Tang Hao put his hand on my shoulder. "You can just call me Uncle."
"Then, Uncle Tang?" I said questioningly, looking at the man.
"That works," Tang Hao nodded. "What skill did you get?"
"My third skill increases my speed by 200%, and at the same time I'm like an incorporeal shadow—I won't make any sound, and the wind won't hinder me," I explained, and for clarity activated the ring and immediately shot off at tremendous speed. In the places I'd passed just a moment before, faint dark phantoms seemed to linger. And what was far better—I could ignore inertia without any consequences, changing direction instantly.
"A good skill," the man nodded, easily following my movements thanks to his strength. Which, of course, wasn't surprising: even with a body reinforced three times over, even if I doubled my speed, I still couldn't compare to a Titled Douluo in terms of speed. Of course, if the opponent had some slow type of spirit, then I think even a Spirit Sage or maybe even a Spirit Douluo (81–90) wouldn't be able to keep up with me—just like in the original story, when Tang San was still at the 29th rank and could run fast enough to maintain distance from a Saint whose spirit mainly gave him enormous physical strength and toughness.
"What beast do you need for your fourth ring?"
"I thought you'd pick a beast for Tang San first."
"He's already obtained his second ring, and for the next few months he'll be preparing for his third."
"Months?" I was a bit surprised. But thinking about it, in the canon Tang San spent half a year in the garden—I just assumed it was because of treating Dugu Bo.
"Yes. So, who do you need?"
"One second," I took a sheet of paper with my calculations out of my ring.
"Right, taking into account that my third ring is a ten‑thousand‑year one, I think a safe option for the next would be thirty thousand years. Rings strengthen not only the body, but the mind as well, so for me the situation will be exactly the same as it was just now.
"But I'm not only interested in age, I also care about what skill I'll get. What I need is a Ghost Tiger. It has a very high chance of granting physical clones. It's extremely difficult to find a beast of just the right age, so the main thing is simply that it's at least ten thousand years old," I concluded. And if there was one thing I was absolutely sure of, it was that I needed this beast. My counterpart's fourth ring in the canon had come from a six‑thousand‑year version of this beast, and this was one of the few skills I completely agreed with. Shadow clones capable of using the original's abilities are just too useful, no matter how you look at it. And from a ten‑thousand‑year beast one can expect that either the clones themselves would get better physical stats, or their allowable number would increase, or the cost would be reduced. Honestly, any of these options would suit me.
"All right. Wait here," Tang Hao said, apparently intending to use his abilities to the fullest and quickly find the necessary beast.
"Wait," I immediately hurried to stop him.
"What is it?" Tang Hao looked at me impatiently.
"Uncle Tang, could you please take me with you and let me try to fight the beast myself first, under your supervision? I need to understand my limits," I asked, deliberately calling him Uncle, just as he had asked.
"…" I was met with silence and a piercing stare in response. How is it even possible to be this intimidating? The elder of the Holy Spirit Village must have had balls of steel to dare insult this giant directly.
"I'll find the beast, then come back for you. Get ready," the man finally replied and shot up into the sky.
"And still, what a qualitative leap it is at the level of Titled Douluo," I sighed, watching how quickly he flew away. Essentially, I am an agility‑type spirit master who, thanks to all my advantages and my fusion with my Hell Civet spirit, can reach a speed slightly above Mach 1 and roughly around Mach 3 under my third ring. But Tang Hao, who is a pure power‑type attack master who crushes enemies with the sheer force of his hammer, is still capable of developing at least twice that speed in flight. And he doesn't have any skills at all that boost his speed. How tremendous my own speed will eventually become is a separate topic.
Since I was clearly going to be waiting a long time, I sat down with my back against the crater wall. Hugging my knees, I admired this place, freeing my ears so I'd immediately hear when Tang Hao returned. Even though the stunning sight caused by the light from the herbs was gone, now at night, with light from two elements still emanating from the lake, it was still quite a beautiful view.
Was I worried I'd be too tired to fight the beast if I didn't sleep? Not in the slightest; in fact, after absorbing the ring I felt overflowing with energy. Spirit masters can also go without sleep for days, and the higher their level, the more their body transitions to an energetic mode of existence. Of course, at low levels this is almost imperceptible, but at the Titled Douluo level many needs can already be partially met purely through spirit power—this is probably even a natural process leading to ascension, where upon reaching the 100th rank a spirit master becomes a completely energy‑based being with no need for air or food.
My thoughts were interrupted when my ears picked up movement in Tang San's tent. Looking in that direction, I soon saw him come out and, after quickly looking around, walk straight toward me.
"Can't sleep?" I asked when he sat down next to me.
"Dawn is soon," he shook his head.
"True," I nodded in understanding.
"…"
"Those ears… are they real?" Tang San suddenly asked. Come to think of it, this was the first time he'd seen them.
"Yes. It's an external spirit bone," I confirmed. "I got them from a Hell Civet when I was hunting for my second ring; I was very lucky back then."
"I see."
"…" We sat in silence for a while longer.
"Zhuqing."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"Don't worry about it. By helping you, I'm helping myself. We're friends, right?" I nudged his shoulder with a faint smirk.
"Right," the boy smiled serenely.
"Tell me, would you be willing to join the Tang Sect? For now there's only one person in it, but I promise you won't regret it."
"I'm sorry, Tang San. Even though I have almost no warm feelings for my family, I've already promised one person that I'll take care of my homeland, so I'll be trying to sway one of the three great sects to the side of the Star Luo Empire. I just haven't yet figured out what I could offer them."
"I see," the boy said, sounding slightly disappointed but quite understanding.
We stayed silent for a while longer, waiting for dawn, until Tang San, apparently having made up his mind about something, spoke again.
"Zhuqing, would you like to learn the Purple Demon Eye technique?"
"And you're willing to teach me?" I was genuinely surprised, especially considering I had just refused his future sect.
"I wouldn't teach the other techniques. But here you've already walked most of the path yourself, I'll just guide you a little," Tang San said. Although it sounded like he was mostly trying to convince himself.
"I'd be glad if you'd guide me," I agreed happily.
"All right. In that case, relax, I'll direct my energy to show you the correct circulation path."
"Okay," I nodded, already expecting something truly unusual. Except when he finished showing and explaining everything, I honestly felt like an idiot.
I myself had talked about the locations for spirit cores: head, chest, abdomen. And I hadn't at all thought about the existence of the so‑called three dantian. The upper one, responsible for the power of the mind, the middle one, responsible for vital force, and the lower one, in which cultivation is essentially accumulated.
What was I actually doing? I was receiving the violet energy of my spirit and driving it through the upper and lower dantian, because I thought everything had to pass through it. But in reality, to achieve the goal, I needed to circulate energy between the upper dantian and the eyes to maximize the effect and develop special channels in the eyes, which in the end are what enable the technique. You could say I had still been developing them, but in the end I had never sent the energy back into the eyes, which is why the technique didn't work and I'd only gotten the most basic mental enhancement and improved vision.
And now, for the first time, I did everything correctly, so the effect was like a burst dam—the result was so obvious that I was simply stunned when, for the first time instead of just enjoying passive effects, I activated the active effect.
Under the influence of these eyes, everything around me seemed to slow down in my perception, and the details became sharper.
"How did I not figure this out on my own," I sighed, returning the energy from my eyes back.
"You know, that sounds…"
"Yes, yes, sorry," I cut him off, perfectly understanding how brazen it was to want to reproduce an unfamiliar clan's technique on my own without even knowing the precise principle. Then, with a smirk, I added, "Sometimes you just want everything at once. But life doesn't work that way."
"Yes, I suppose that's true," Tang San agreed, and the conversation died down. In fact, I'm not fond of talking too much. I very quickly start to feel a certain… fatigue from it? Yes, I think that's the right word. Fortunately, Tang San isn't talkative either, so I quite enjoyed the silence while we waited for his father's return.
Tang Hao only came back several hours after dawn began. Without saying anything, he scooped me up in his arms before flying off in a direction known only to him. I even squeaked from surprise. Despite the fact that my spirit bone allowed me to sense everything within a 100‑meter radius, at that kind of speed that distance is practically meaningless.
"The beast is there," the stop was as sudden as the start. Thankfully, in that short time I'd already processed everything and calmed down. Now I was looking down at a true giant.
In length, not counting the tail, the Ghost Tiger was at least ten meters, which made it all too obvious that it had crossed the ten‑thousand‑year threshold. Its fur looked as if it were burning with dark‑purple flames, and the contours of its body seemed blurred, indicating an age of over twenty thousand years, however since the flame wasn't fully black, it hadn't yet reached thirty thousand.
"It should be between twenty and thirty thousand years. This one is definitely suitable for me," I gave my verdict.
"Then go," Tang Hao said, and in the next second he threw me toward the ground. I had summoned my spirit while we were still in the air and landed in a feline manner in front of the beast, which was momentarily thrown off by my sudden appearance.
"…" I really wanted to swear at not being allowed to make use of my advantage and, as my abilities would suggest, sneak up for a surprise strike to gain the upper hand at the start.
"Hi, kitty," said the girl with cat ears and a diadem on her head, straightening up and then, activating her second and third rings, slipping into the shadows just as a massive paw slammed down where she had stood a moment ago.
The girl slid out of the shadow directly beneath the tiger and, activating her first ring, slashed toward its hind leg. An angry growl rang out, and the beast blurred away as a smudge of color, once again ending up across from her. At the very edge of the girl's claws there was a small trace of blood, showing that she'd only managed to scratch him, unable to correctly judge the distance to flesh because of the blurring.
The next instant the beast lunged forward again, and in motion its body seemed to split into five identical tigers, making it impossible to tell which was real—they scattered in different directions to surround their opponent, who hurried to flee into her shadow, leaping out of the shadow of a tree next to one of the tigers. This time she struck in a way that should have surely wounded the leg of the beast towering over her, but it just collapsed in a violet puff. The girl's ears twitched as if warning her, and she, unable to dive back into the shadows in time, blurred and darted to the side, while the tree she had been standing by a moment before was shattered into splinters by the beast's massive paw. Using that instant of delay, the girl slipped back into the shadows before reappearing beneath him—and slashed at a limb again, only to find that this one was also a clone.
This beast showed me something I honestly had never fully realized: namely, why they hunt spirit beasts in groups. Now, stripped of my advantage, I was forced to dodge the beast's attacks at the limits of my capabilities and perception. It was just as fast as I was while I maintained my third ring, and if not for the abilities of my second ring, I would have completely lost hope of counterattacking. After every evasion, I would jump out of the tiger's shadow, trying to strike, but almost always it ended in one of two ways. Either it turned out to be a shadow clone that disappeared as soon as it was wounded, or the real beast received a cut that, because of his size, was insignificant—and then, immediately summoning more clones, he made me lose track of the real one. Over and over again. It was a true battle of attrition: what would happen first—would he bleed out, or would I run out of energy? And given that I had to maintain two abilities constantly and use my second ring almost every moment, the advantage was clearly not on my side. To at least somewhat ease the fight, I kept aiming at the same limb to reduce the beast's mobility, since I had no chance of reaching any vital spots, and trying for the head would have been suicide.
Bit by bit, I disabled one of the beast's hind legs; the pressure became less, but I already didn't have much energy left. I was trying to take out the second as quickly as possible, because on only his front paws the tiger wouldn't get far, but once he realized I had disabled one leg by simply slicing through the tendons, he completely went berserk. First, catching a moment when I wasn't in the shadows, he suddenly roared, revealing himself as the real one, and if I'm not mistaken, that was supposed to be a large‑scale mental skill that should have incapacitated me—but I was simply saved by the protection of my second spirit. Apparently realizing the futility of that approach, the beast then started spamming clones at the slightest hint that I might have guessed right. From that moment on, I was completely stuck. I dodged and slashed, but couldn't touch the real one. At the same time, the Purple Demon Eye—Tang San had taught me only today, so it hadn't yet reached the stage where I could distinguish the real body, and in the end I simply ran myself dry. I deactivated my first and third rings and just hid in the shadows. Now I wasn't even trying to counterattack, just hiding and trying to recover at least some spirit power, but it was only enough to delay the inevitable a bit longer, hoping the beast would die from blood loss.
I don't know how long it went on, but at some point, apparently having realized I was completely stuck, Tang Hao suddenly descended. A powerful pressure spread out from him, immediately dispelling all the clones, and his hammer pinned the original to the ground.
"Girl, go finish it," the man called, and without waiting I activated my first ring and, at full speed, jumped onto the beast's head and drove my hand into its skull, easily piercing through and reaching the brain.
Jumping back, I looked wearily as a black ring began forming over the beast. No matter how tired I was, though, I still remembered thanks to whom I'd been able to obtain this ring. Even if the test of my capabilities hadn't gone quite as I'd wanted, it had been, perhaps, even more effective.
"Thank you, Uncle Tang."
"You did well. Go absorb the ring; I'll stand guard."
Nodding in response, I sat down right in front of the beast and began to absorb. Honestly, it was even easier to absorb this ring than the previous one. Judging by everything, this Ghost Tiger was at the very beginning of the twenty‑thousand‑year range, so I finished relatively quickly—in just a couple of hours. Finally, my rank settled at 41, and four rings rose around me: white, purple, black, black, marking my advancement to Spirit Ancestor. But the most important thing was that I had gotten exactly what I'd wanted so much.
My fourth ring gave me the ability to create shadow clones, each of which I had to control personally, but while they dispersed upon receiving wounds, they possessed 100% of my strength, and their number was limited only by how much my mind could withstand.