He took out two god-given spirit rings and handed them to the girls.
"What's this?" Ning Rongrong asked curiously.
Without explaining, Diyi Hong picked up one himself, summoned his martial soul—Destruction Scepter—and infused it with spirit power to activate the ring.
The orb in his hand transformed into a halo, encircling the Destruction Scepter. It rapidly shifted from white to yellow, then purple and black, finally stabilizing into a profound, deep black spirit ring.
Information surged into his mind.
76,000 years!
Spirit Skill: Eye of Destruction—Condenses the Eye of Destruction to intimidate enemies. The weak-willed may become dazed, while the truly feeble may be annihilated in body and soul.
No lightning?
Ah, right. This is the Destruction Scepter, not the Thunder Scepter.
Makes sense.
Diyi Hong nodded in satisfaction, turning to the two girls who were still frozen in shock.
"This is called a god-given spirit ring. It's a blessing granted by a god to their successor, sparing them the need to hunt spirit beasts."
"Just inject your spirit power, and it will form the most suitable ring for your martial soul. It'll hurt a little, but the longer you endure, the higher the ring's age."
Zhu Zhuqing was the first to respond.
Without hesitation—whether due to blind trust or utter confidence—she sat down cross-legged and directly activated it.
The sudden motion snapped Ning Rongrong out of her daze. She stared at Diyi Hong with a peculiar expression.
"So… you're also a god's successor?"
"You could say that," Diyi Hong replied casually. "Enough questions. Hurry up and absorb the spirit ring."
Ning Rongrong pouted, but still sat down and prepared to begin.
"Wait a sec!"
Diyi Hong suddenly called out.
Because—
[User "Nine-Colored Goddess" has gifted: "Divine Art: Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda" ×1]
["Nine-Colored Goddess": Host, have her switch cultivation techniques first!]
'Got it, hang on.'
Diyi Hong extracted the cultivation technique—a sort of "install package."
After quickly learning it, he gestured for Ning Rongrong to turn around and placed his palm on her back to guide her in person.
With a strong foundation from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's techniques, and expanded meridians from the Immortal Herb: Beautiful Silk Tulip, she quickly grasped the new technique.
She was elated!
"This technique is amazing!"
"It feels like it was tailor-made just for me!"
"Wait… something's not right!"
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Diyi Hong.
"My martial soul only just evolved into the Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. How could this technique match so perfectly?"
"Did you… custom-make it for me?"
Nice guess—but not big enough. This was actually something you designed yourself in the future after becoming a god.
Of course, that couldn't be said aloud.
Diyi Hong pointed at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Look at her—her spirit ring's already passed the ten-thousand-year mark. And you're still stalling?"
Ning Rongrong froze in shock. Her gaze fell on Zhu Zhuqing's black spirit ring, and her jaw dropped.
"That's a ten-thousand-year ring?!"
"Spiritual shock… god-given… Zhu Zhuqing, she—"
Her words tumbled out incoherently.
She abruptly turned to Diyi Hong.
"You mean these god-given rings can reach ten-thousand-year levels without triggering spiritual shock?"
Just look at that.
Ning Rongrong was only eleven, yet she already knew about spiritual shock. Meanwhile, so-called "Grandmaster" Yu Xiaogang, nearly fifty, needed someone else to tell him.
Tsk tsk.
Diyi Hong nodded in affirmation.
"Put in the effort. You're qualified for a ten-thousand-year ring too."
Gripping her god-given spirit ring tightly, Ning Rongrong beamed with excitement.
A miracle!
Well… it was a divine gift after all.
She flashed a sweet smile.
"My Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is unique. The skills and amplification ratios are all fixed."
"I'm not sure if a ten-thousand-year ring is even good or bad for it."
"What do you think, Diyi?"
Without even needing to think, Diyi Hong looked to the stream chat.
["Nine-Colored Goddess": After evolving, the Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda breaks the fixed skill rule. While the first seven are still the classic amplifications, with god-given rings, you can freely choose the order in which they're unlocked.]
["Nine-Colored Goddess": Higher ring ages no longer increase spirit power consumption as they do for ordinary spirit masters. Instead, they consume less, enhance physique, and expand spirit power capacity.]
["Nine-Colored Goddess": So aim for the highest ring ages possible—it's absolutely worth it!]
Textbook-perfect answer.
Diyi Hong relayed it verbatim.
Ning Rongrong nodded in realization—then quietly firmed a thought in her heart:
He knew so much about her martial soul. This technique had to be tailor-made for her.
He put in so much effort just for her?
Surely… he had some ulterior motives?
She glanced toward Zhu Zhuqing.
Hmm…
Maybe she was being a little greedy.
It's best to observe a while longer.
"Alright then. I'll do my best!"
She sat cross-legged and activated her god-given ring.
Diyi Hong teleported away.
About a minute later—three hours in the Divine Realm Fragment—Ning Rongrong was the first to reach her limit.
As a support-type spirit master, and one who had consumed the Beautiful Silk Tulip, most of her medicinal power had gone into martial soul evolution.
She held on a bit longer.
A black ring dropped and fully stabilized.
Ning Rongrong exhaled deeply and opened her eyes in exhaustion.
But the moment she saw her own yellow-yellow-black ring lineup, a smile broke out on her face.
Yellow, Yellow, Black!!!
She'd skipped right over the purple thousand-year ring and gone straight to a ten-thousand-year black ring!
Who wouldn't be amazed?
Then she looked over at Zhu Zhuqing.
The girl's body was trembling, yet she stubbornly endured.
Her thirst for power far surpassed everyone in Shrek.
That unyielding will began pushing her beyond her limits.
"Swoosh—"
Diyi Hong returned, startling Ning Rongrong.
She nearly let out a cry, which Diyi Hong quickly silenced with a hand over her mouth.
He waved his hand, placing a soul power barrier around Zhu Zhuqing before releasing her.
Ning Rongrong lightly patted her chest, then gave Diyi Hong a blaming glare.
Then she glanced at Zhu Zhuqing with concern.
"She's forcing herself like that… is it really okay?"
"Willpower grants bonus endurance during god-given ring absorption," Diyi Hong said flatly. "With me here, she won't come to harm."
With that sentence alone, Ning Rongrong inexplicably felt reassured, as if everything would be fine.
Just like when Xiao Wu had been taken away back then—he hadn't hesitated for even a second.
And from everything she'd observed, Diyi Hong didn't even seem interested in Xiao Wu romantically.
This was… a responsible man.
Hmm…
A bit greedy, though.
She was lost in thought when—
"Buzz—"
Zhu Zhuqing's black ring fully descended. At the same time, her body swayed and collapsed.
Diyi Hong blinked to her side and caught her mid-fall.
Damn.
She'd passed out right in his arms.
This girl had pushed herself to the brink of unconsciousness before finally stopping?
Diyi Hong sent a stream of soul power into her.
"She's really intense," Ning Rongrong muttered. "I guess her hatred toward her clan… and the Star Luo Empire… runs really deep."
It sounded like a casual comment, but it was also a reminder—
—Taking in this woman meant also taking in her hatred.
Diyi Hong simply sneered.
"Star Luo Empire? Not worth worrying about."
He had plenty of ways to bring down Star Luo.
That overwhelming confidence left Ning Rongrong thoughtful.
It seemed Diyi Hong's true capabilities were even deeper than he let on…
Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes snapped open—sharp and alert!
But when she saw she was in Diyi Hong's arms, she relaxed.
She didn't pull away. Instead, she summoned her martial soul and activated her rings.
"Buzz—"
Yellow. Yellow. Black.
A rare smile crossed her lips.
This…
This was her declaration of counterattack!
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