Chapter 41: The Decision to Hunt – The Power of the Mutated Swordgrass!

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Upon hearing Su Yu's question, Jing Hongchen let out a sigh of relief.

The fact that Su Yu could ask such a question meant that he was still rational, weighing his options and making careful judgments.

"Xiao, explain the effects of the Hongchen Aegis," Jing Hongchen said, referring to the simplified version of Hongchen's Aegis.

Xiao Hongchen, after some careful thought, began explaining the effects.

"Yes, the Hongchen Aegis is effective," he said, recalling his experiences.

"However, when it comes to absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year soul ring, its effect is like a drop in the ocean.

"At best, Hongchen Aegis can provide three seconds of defense. It can trigger a maximum of three times, meaning a total of nine seconds.

"Meanwhile, the peak period of a Ten-Thousand-Year soul ring's soul shock lasts at least three minutes.

"Every second could indeed be crucial and create a miracle, but compared to three minutes, nine seconds is simply too short. Thinking you can rely on it would be no different from gambling.

"Also, those three minutes are only the peak intensity of the soul shock. After that, there is a long period of mental impact that is equally terrifying."

From Xiao Hongchen's words, Su Yu could sense a clear message.

Give up.

It's too dangerous.

"Nine seconds," Su Yu nodded, his expression relaxing a little.

Hongchen Aegis was a Tier-7 Soul Tool, and its defensive strength was more than enough to block the soul shock from the mutated Swordgrass.

While nine seconds might seem short to Xiao Hongchen compared to three minutes, to Su Yu, those nine seconds were more than enough. In fact, it felt like a lot of time.

What concerned him wasn't whether he could endure beyond the nine seconds. What worried him was whether the explosive power of the mutated Swordgrass would kill him the moment he began absorbing the soul ring.

The Swordgrass's sword intent was pure and intense, and even the mental impact during the soul ring absorption would be more extreme, with a much stronger burst of energy.

To explain it with clearer data:

For other Twenty-Thousand-Year soul beasts, the intensity of the soul shock would be around 2, lasting for three hours. But for the mutated Swordgrass, the intensity could be 4, 5, or even 6, with a duration of one minute, followed by an intensity of 1 that would last for three hours.

What Su Yu feared most was this unpredictable burst.

If even Elder Yi didn't wake up in time, and Su Yu was killed instantly, that would be a truly miserable outcome.

"Nine seconds should be enough," Su Yu reassured himself.

If his Sea of Spirit suffered a fatal blow, Elder Yi would definitely awaken immediately.

Once Elder Yi woke up, everything would go back to the plan.

As Jing Hongchen observed the changes in Su Yu's expression, a heavy feeling settled in his heart.

"Su Yu, don't push yourself. The difficulty of absorbing the soul ring of this fifteen-thousand-year mutated Swordgrass is no less than that of a twenty-thousand-year soul ring," Jing Hongchen warned.

"Hall Master, don't worry. I know my limits," Su Yu replied confidently.

With that, Su Yu released his mental power outward.

Jing Hongchen's eyes widened in shock.

Xiao Hongchen's reaction was the same.

"You, you, you—" Xiao Hongchen pointed at Su Yu, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Your mental power is this strong? It's already stronger than mine, and I'm nearly a Level 5 Soul Engineer!

Jing Hongchen's face mirrored Xiao's disbelief.

"Could it be that your martial soul mutation also affected your mental power?" Jing Hongchen questioned.

Su Yu, seeing no point in hiding it, simply nodded.

It wasn't like he could explain that a mysterious gray bead had appeared in his mind, unlocked his Sea of Spirit, and allowed him to develop his own method for cultivating mental power, right?

"Judging by your mental power, if you give it your all, there's a chance you could survive this," Jing Hongchen said, reluctantly acknowledging Su Yu's capability.

Absorbing a soul ring beyond one's level required not only physical strength and mental power, but also the soul master's willpower.

A strong will could help them force their way through.

Though such cases were rare in the Sun-Moon Empire, they were more common in Shrek Academy. Even though it was difficult to gather intelligence on Shrek, many of their graduates didn't stay at the academy. The Sun-Moon Empire's intelligence network certainly wasn't so weak that it couldn't gather any information at all.

"Soul shock you might endure, but can you handle the soul power impact of the ring?"

"Don't worry, Hall Master. My teacher gave me Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, I've taken Nine-Rank Snow Lotus, regularly use Body Tempering Pills, and my third ring is close to six thousand years."

Hearing Su Yu's words, Jing Hongchen couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"I get that you're trying to explain your physical strength to me... but why do I feel this urge to smack you?"

He thought to himself. Elder Kong really went all out. Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue—did he personally hunt a Ten-Thousand-Year soul beast from the ocean?

Hunting sea soul beasts is on a completely different level than hunting land soul beasts.

They live in the deep sea, have vast territories, and there are almost always powerhouses among them that are at least one hundred thousand years old or close to it.

These three factors alone made it an incredibly difficult task.

Then there's the Nine-Rank Snow Lotus...

Jing Hongchen took a deep breath, choosing not to dissuade Su Yu any further. Instead, he decided to support him.

"Since you've used all these rare resources, you should make the most of them."

Jing Hongchen had made up his mind to help Su Yu hunt this fifteen-thousand-year-old mutated Swordgrass.

Oddly enough, Su Yu was now the most relaxed among them.

In Su Yu's mind, this was a calm and calculated decision. Yet, to Jing Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, it still seemed like a reckless, life-threatening challenge.

After all, for most soul masters, the upper limit for a fifth soul ring is barely over ten thousand years. But here Su Yu was, about to absorb his fourth soul ring, which was not only above his limit but by quite a large margin. Who wouldn't be dazed by that?

"Wuhun Possession!" Jing Hongchen activated his martial soul.

This time, he unleashed the full force of his martial soul's true form.

"Seventh Soul Skill: Toad True Form!"

"First Soul Skill: Golden Control!"

"Second Soul Skill: Golden Boil!"

"Fifth Soul Skill: Golden Condensation!"

"Sixth Soul Skill: Golden Suppression!"

In his true form, all of Jing Hongchen's soul skills were greatly amplified.

In an instant, sixteen mounted soul tool cannons emerged from the massive toad's body.

A heavy aura radiated from the cannons' barrels.

Golden Suppression!

All sixteen cannons fired simultaneously, sending beams of golden light from different angles toward the mutated Swordgrass.

The beams shone with an intense golden brilliance, and amidst this brilliance, a powerful force of suppression descended.

"This is a gravity-based suppression skill?"

Jing Hongchen had perfectly integrated his soul skills into his soul tools.

Even without being the target, Su Yu could feel the intense pressure from the suppression.

However, at the core of that suppressive force, a flash of white light appeared.

A dazzling sword light burst forth.

It carried an overwhelming will to cut through all restraints and break free from all suppression.

One Sword to Split the Heavens!

The suppressive force created by the sixteen cannon blasts was shattered by a single strike from the mutated Swordgrass.

"This terrifying burst of power... absorbing it might be even more difficult than we anticipated," Jing Hongchen thought, his heart heavy. But at the same time, he felt a sense of excitement.

Such immense power in a single burst would undoubtedly give Su Yu an incredibly potent, high-explosive single-target attack soul skill.

(End of Chapter)