"T-This… this is truly a divine skill!"
Master Ma pondered for a moment before fully grasping the terrifying power of this Spirit Ability.
This was a mental-type Spirit Ability!
In the world of Spirit Masters, mental Spirit Abilities were extremely rare. Most of them were limited to simple illusions or charm-type effects.
But a Spirit Ability like this—one that directly inflicted mental damage on the enemy—was practically unheard of.
A mental attack!
It completely bypassed the clash between Tool Spirits and the physical struggle against Beast Spirits, striking straight at the enemy's most vital weakness.
"Your Spirit Ability should have some drawbacks, right?"
Master Ma paused and asked.
No Spirit Ability was perfect. No matter how powerful it was, it always had flaws.
"Mental force," Taichu replied with a smile, stating the weakness plainly.
"If the target's mental force far exceeds mine, then the Tsukuyomi Realm created by my first spirit ring will be shattered directly."
He said it calmly, without the slightest concern.
Did they really think his mental force hadn't improved after his Spirit evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan?
Even before absorbing his first spirit ring, a thousand-year mental-type Phantom Domain Spirit Fox hadn't been able to withstand the illusion cast by his Mangekyō Sharingan.
That alone proved how terrifying his mental force already was.
Among those of the same rank, there was no one whose mental force could far surpass his.
From another perspective—
His first spirit ring was essentially invincible.
Master Ma fell silent.
What kind of flaw was that supposed to be?
Would an attack-type Spirit Master compare defensive strength with a defense-type Spirit Master?
Would a defense-type Spirit Master compare speed with an agility-attack Spirit Master?
It was the same logic.
Regardless of whether someone followed the attack, defense, agility-attack, support, or healing path, as long as they weren't cultivating mental force specifically, they could never compete with a pure mental-type Spirit Master in this area.
Because of that, this Spirit Ability was virtually without rivals.
"Let's go," Master Ma said, waving his hand. "Since the Spirit Beast hunt is finished, it's time to head back."
After tidying up, the two left Guchui Forest, exited the border mountains, and returned toward Nuoding City.
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
They returned safely from the hunt.
"Child, remember this," Master Ma said seriously before leaving.
"Before you have enough strength, never reveal your spirit ring in front of others."
With that final piece of advice, he departed.
Taichu understood his meaning perfectly.
A thousand-year first spirit ring.
Such an achievement would attract envy—and greed—from countless people and major factions.
As long as it remained hidden, no one would know.
But once exposed, he would be forced to face the iron grip of those powerful forces.
Either he would hand over the method for absorbing a thousand-year first spirit ring, or endure torture and interrogation until he did.
In the end, the outcome would be the same.
Worse still, if he fell into the hands of certain factions, he might not even survive.
Even so, Taichu didn't regret his decision.
"Keep a low profile," he muttered. "Once I'm strong enough, there will be no need to hide anything."
The nail that sticks out gets hammered—but as long as he didn't stand out, he would be fine.
He had already considered all of this before deciding to absorb a thousand-year first spirit ring.
Not long after, he returned home.
The moment he arrived, Su Yuntao rushed over, his face full of excitement.
"Did it succeed?"
His eyes burned with anticipation.
"Very smoothly," Taichu replied with a nod.
"Hahaha—!"
"My nephew Taichu has the potential to become a Super Douluo!"
Cold sweat immediately poured down Taichu's face.
Good grief…
This was exactly the kind of thing that got people killed.
"Stop! Uncle, don't ever say that again—it's really not something you should say!"
Taichu felt his head throb.
That so-called genius Wang Teng, who was praised as having the potential of a Great Emperor, ended up utterly miserable.
He absolutely did not want to become the next Wang Teng.
"Alright, alright," Su Yuntao said quickly, calming down.
"Uncle was just too happy. Don't worry—I'll definitely keep myself in check. And about your spirit ring, I will absolutely not tell anyone."
Taichu trusted him.
His uncle might be a hopeless romantic, but even so, he hadn't revealed the Whale Glue or the plan to absorb a thousand-year first spirit ring—not even to Si Si.
That alone proved he could be relied on when it truly mattered.
"I'm going to take a bath first," Taichu said with a smile.
"Uncle, remember to prepare some good food. I've been eating dry rations for days—my mouth feels numb."
With that, he went off to boil water and wash up.
That evening, Su Yuntao ordered a large and lavish meal.
Only the two of them were there.
As for Si Si, she didn't live with them—she only came by during the day to take care of Su Yuntao and returned home at night.
That night, Taichu and Su Yuntao talked late into the night.
The successful absorption of a thousand-year first spirit ring filled Su Yuntao with hope for the future, and it allowed Taichu to finally relax as well.
This proved that the path he had chosen… was not wrong.
More importantly, after absorbing the spirit ring for the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Spirit Ability he obtained was actually one of the Mangekyō Sharingan's eye techniques.
That realization stunned him.
He suddenly recalled that when his Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan, his eyes didn't seem to possess any eye techniques at all.
But now he understood.
It wasn't that they didn't exist.
It was that the eye techniques had transformed into Spirit Abilities, requiring the absorption of spirit rings to awaken!
"Whether that's truly the case… I'll know once I absorb my second spirit ring."
Taichu couldn't be completely certain yet, but this was something that could be proven through experimentation.
If his second spirit ring also granted an eye technique, then everything would be confirmed.
And if that were true—
It would be incredible.
Nine spirit rings would give him at least nine Spirit Abilities.
No—given the way he absorbed spirit rings, by the time he reached his sixth or seventh spirit ring, he could even absorb a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring.
That meant he could possess twelve or even thirteen eye techniques.
How terrifying would that be?
Amaterasu.
Kamui.
Kotoamatsukami.
Yasaka Magatama.
Susanoo.
Each of these eye techniques was overwhelmingly powerful.
"Still, I should reach level twenty as soon as possible."
At that moment, Taichu felt an intense surge of motivation. He couldn't wait to reach level twenty and absorb his second spirit ring.
If he truly gathered all those eye techniques within himself…
Then—
"When all eye techniques are united in one body, I shall be invincible in this world!"
His conviction burned brighter than ever.
No one understood the terrifying power of the Mangekyō Sharingan's eye techniques better than he did.
Mere Spirit Masters were nothing more than grains of sand.