Qian Yuelong understood immediately and said, "Your Excellency Poison Douluo is magnanimous, and I am not one to hold grudges. How about we part ways here?"

Is this girl really that easy to talk to?

Dugu Bo cast a scrutinizing glance.

Qian Yuelong returned the smile with her unchanging expression.

"That would be best!"

Finally, Dugu Bo let out a heavy snort, turned his back to Qian Yuelong and the others, and said irritably to Luo Hua and the others who were watching, "What are you still looking at? Let's go!"

The boy with long black hair pursed his lips, stepped forward to support the still somewhat weak Dugu Yan, and asked in a low voice with concern under Dugu Bo's cold and sharp gaze, "Yanzi, do you want me to carry you?"

Having suffered a great loss at Qian Yuelong's hands, Dugu Yan reached out her hand in grievance upon hearing her beloved's words. Then, she was pulled up from behind by a force, and Dugu Bo picked her up with a bewildered expression, lifting her legs off the ground.

"grandfather!"

Dugu Yan stared wide-eyed.

Ignoring his granddaughter's accusations, Dugu Bo began to shoo them away: "Let's go, let's go."

Yu Tianheng, whose girlfriend had been stolen, awkwardly touched his nose and followed Dugu Bo as the group quickly left the place.

Only after sensing that Dugu Bo and his group had moved away did the tense group finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Xu Yu, hurry up and absorb the soul ring, lest things get complicated."

Hao Xuan waved to Xu Yu, who was standing next to Qu Yuanyi, and glanced at the situation of the ouroboros.

If another group tries to intercept them, the ouroboros will probably die before they even get rid of the people.

Xu Yu nodded, squatted down and neatly ended the life of the ouroboros. He then sat cross-legged on the open ground next to the ouroboros's corpse and began to absorb the soul ring.

As the sun reached its zenith, the faint radiance that had enveloped Xu Yu receded.

"Buzzing—"

Two yellow spirit rings rose from beneath him, and the purplish-black aura that had entered his body began to flow outward, converging into a bright purple spirit ring. His spirit power also broke through the bottleneck of level 30 to level 31.

"Xu Yu succeeded! It actually works!"

Hao Xuan's eyes gleamed with admiration. He exchanged glances with his two colleagues, and finally, they both looked intently at Hu Liena and the others, whose eyes had lit up with Xu Yu's success.

They were already looking forward to the day when these children would absorb other spirit rings.

"Xu Yu, how are you feeling? Is there anything wrong?" Xie Yue looked at Xu Yu, who had opened his eyes, with a smile and a hint of concern in her eyes.

Xu Yu pushed himself up with both hands on the ground, sprang up energetically, stretched his arms, and said with a radiant face, "It feels amazing! I even feel that a two-thousand-year-old soul ring isn't my limit yet! I can go even higher!"

As he spoke, Xu Yu's tone revealed a hint of regret.

Yan glared at him, annoyed. "You brat, don't get too cocky and lose yourself. You weren't like this when I asked for your opinion!"

When asked how many years of spirit rings he wanted to absorb, Xu Yu looked terrified.

Xu Yu exclaimed "Hmm!" and patted his chest confidently, declaring, "Practice makes perfect! Next time, I'll boldly challenge an even higher age limit!"

Qian Yuelong smiled and replied, "Then next time, for the fourth spirit ring, let's challenge a spirit ring that takes eight thousand to ten thousand years to grow."

After all, her goal is to reach the fourth ring every year.

Xu Yu's expression suddenly froze, like a stuck gear, as he turned his neck with a clicking sound, his jaw opening and closing: "Wh-what?"

Eight thousand to ten thousand years!

No, squad leader, do you think everyone has a talent freak like you?

Xu Yu had a long face. "Well... let's just forget about doubling it directly... Most Soul Masters' fourth Soul Rings are around 5,000 years old. I think I'll just choose a 6,000-year-old Soul Beast when the time comes."

Qian Yuelong looked at this "silly boy" with "kindness": "What nonsense are you talking about? By the time you reach level 40, your body's bottom line will have long exceeded six thousand years."

Xu Yu shook his head frantically: "Six thousand years, I accept it; seven thousand years, I accept it; but eight thousand to ten thousand years, absolutely not, my ancestors!"

Qian Yuelong's smile remained unchanged: "You can do it. As your soul power increases, the power your body can accept will continuously break through its original limits. I believe that by the time you absorb your fourth soul ring, your body will be able to accept the intensity of eight thousand years."

Moreover, after we return this time, we should also give everyone the second phase of benefits to accelerate their growth.

Xu Yu met those smiling, pale purple eyes and for a moment couldn't tell whether those words were a joke or an exaggeration, or... whether she really had that plan.

Xu Yu couldn't guess.

But he knew in his heart that this squad leader with a somewhat mysterious background would not harm him.

"A ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring... If the fourth spirit ring can really absorb the spirit ring of a ten-thousand-year spirit beast, then I'm quite looking forward to it... Well, congratulations in advance, Xu Yu." Hu Liena patted Xu Yu's shoulder, who was on the verge of tears.

Wei Ming and the other two exchanged glances, feeling both worried and inexplicably expectant.

If someone else said that, they would just take it as a joke and laugh it off.

However... if the saintess who has already performed two miracles said it, they would believe it.

In the past, there have been Soul Masters who were arrogant enough to believe they could withstand Soul Rings of higher age and attempted to absorb them beyond their level. As a result, they exploded and died on the spot, leaving a bloody mark in the database.

Although the Holy Maiden herself achieved transcendence and absorption, she is still the Holy Maiden!

She is a direct descendant of the Angel lineage and the granddaughter of the legendary Angel Douluo of their Spirit Hall in the history of Douluo Continent. Her talent is naturally beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Letting ordinary people try to absorb the fourth ring of a ten-thousand-year-old ring through extraordinary means...

Can the saintess really do it?

Even Wei Ming and the others didn't realize that Qian Yuelong's image in their minds had been filtered through countless layers.

Xu Yu's third soul skill, obtained from the Ouroboros, is called "Decree of Light," which can instantly complete any soul skill that requires a long charging time or involves chanting.

However, with his current level 31 soul power, if he uses it all on his third soul skill, he can only support himself to use the soul skill a maximum of 4 times before he will be exhausted.

Wei Ming patted Xu Yu's slumped shoulder and encouraged him, "This auxiliary soul skill will be of great help to your teammates in battle. Don't be discouraged. When your soul power reaches the next bottleneck, you can obtain a soul skill that enhances soul power. Combined with your third soul skill, you can minimize your own effort consumption."

Xu Yu rallied his spirits: "Yes, Teacher Wei!"

Wei Ming nodded: "Alright, now no one needs a spirit ring anymore. Let's return to the Spirit Hall Academy now. Do you have any objections?"

Qian Yuelong's eyes flickered slightly as she said, "Teacher Wei, why don't we stay in Tiandou City for a day and return early tomorrow morning? I'd like to buy some things in Tiandou City. It's a rare opportunity to come here, so could we stay an extra day?"

Wei Ming gave Qian Yuelong, whose face clearly showed her as "well-behaved," a deep look, and then agreed.

"Okay." As long as you don't mess things up.

Qian Yuelong smiled and thanked her, "Thank you, Teacher Wei!"

She will cherish this short time to take revenge.

—A side note—

Yuelong: I don't hold grudges at all, really.