Chapter 22: Spirit Ring Idle Slot!

Whether it was the already unlocked Idle Slot or the still-locked ones, all the squares shone with golden specks of light.

These light particles gradually converged above the AFK Panel, slowly forming a small golden square.

"Is this… another Idle Slot?" Hu Jiu speculated.

Waiting was always long, and Hu Jiu divided his attention, comforting Xiao Wu while keeping an eye on the AFK Panel that only he could see.

A few minutes later, the new Idle Slot finally stabilized, hanging alone above the AFK Panel as a golden Idle Slot, looking imposing and unique.

Before Hu Jiu could study what function the newly appeared Idle Slot had, the AFK Panel automatically provided the answer.

Suddenly, his Martial Spirit, Carrot, uncontrollably manifested in his hand. At the same time, a milky-white Spirit Ring began to slowly rotate around him at his feet. As soon as the Spirit Ring appeared, he felt a pull from the new Idle Slot, which directly drew his Spirit Ring into the AFK Panel.

"Wait, my Spirit Ring!" Hu Jiu couldn't help but shout.

"What Spirit Ring? It's just a ten-year-old Spirit Ring, isn't it? I could have gotten you a hundred-year-old Spirit Ring, but you refused," Tang San said, looking at Hu Jiu with annoyance.

"Eh!" Following Tang San's gaze, Hu Jiu was surprised to find that his Spirit Ring was still beneath him. Looking up again, he saw that a Spirit Ring-shaped pattern had already taken root on the golden Idle Slot, displaying a value of ninety-two in the center, while a transparent ring around the edge was slowly being filled.

"Spirit Rings can also idle!"

Excitement spread across Hu Jiu's face.

He hadn't expected the AFK Panel to be so impressive; he was initially just curious about whether the Spirit Ring skill could idle, and to his surprise, the panel directly idled the Spirit Ring, hitting the mark in one step.

Idling the Spirit Ring was great! After the Spirit Ring's age increased, not only would the Spirit Ring become more powerful, but its accompanying skills would also grow stronger. For a moment, Hu Jiu couldn't help but grin happily.

"Hey, wake up! It's just a Spirit Ring; is it really that exciting?" Xiao Wu said, pushing the grinning Hu Jiu with a look of mock anger.

Earlier, she had been asking Hu Jiu about the transformations of his Martial Spirit after absorbing the Spirit Ring, but Hu Jiu had ignored her, simply lost in his silly smile.

"Hehe, I'm just happy to have gotten the Spirit Ring!" Hu Jiu chuckled as he extended both hands, causing the Carrot Martial Spirit to appear.

After the incantation, a translucent carrot emitting a white glow appeared in Hu Jiu's hand. "Here, Xiao Wu, try my new Carrot and see how it tastes!" A single Carrot was enough to deal with an angry Xiao Wu; if one didn't work, he could always offer another.

"Wow, this carrot is glowing! I'll help you taste it," Xiao Wu said, quickly snatching the carrot from Hu Jiu's hand.

"It's crunchy and sweet, even better than the original carrot!" Like a little hamster, Xiao Wu munched away at the Carrot, her cheeks puffing up like buns.

"Hehe, as long as it's tasty, I'll give you one every day," Hu Jiu said with a smile, looking every bit like a caretaker.

"But the key point isn't whether it tastes good; the effects are what matter. Xiao Jiu, what effects does your Spirit Ring bring to the carrot?" Tang San said, looking at the two with a frown.

Is it useful if it tastes good?

It's delicious, but it doesn't make you stronger.

"Hey, it just speeds up the training effects a little, maybe about one percent—better than nothing," Hu Jiu waved his hand dismissively. After all, his Spirit Ring was only at the ten-year level, so having this kind of effect was already pretty good.

However, glancing at the idling Spirit Ring, Hu Jiu felt a faint surge of confidence; in the future, he would experience a training speed like flying.

It's important to know that for the same Spirit Beast, the effects of the skills obtained can vary dramatically with the age of the Spirit Ring. The differences in effects between ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, and so on are almost unimaginable.

"Sigh, this is confusing. With such weak effects, what will we do in the future?" A hint of worry flashed across Tang San's face. He then advised Hu Jiu, "Xiao Jiu, you should spend more time on your Spirit Ring in the future. Since your theory has already been proven successful, work hard to level up your Spirit Ring to a hundred years as soon as possible. Only then can your abilities see significant improvement."

Tang San was relieved that Hu Jiu was smart enough to invent a method for cultivating Spirit Rings; otherwise, having just a ten-year white Spirit Ring would significantly hinder his growth.

"Don't worry, when have you ever seen me do something without confidence!" Hu Jiu comforted him by patting Tang San on the shoulder. Hu Jiu could sense Tang San's concern, but everyone had their own secrets. Hu Jiu had the secret of the AFK Panel, and Tang San had his own secret of Tang Sect martial arts. Even Xiao Wu, who was happily munching on the carrot, had her own secrets!

"Xiao Jiu, don't listen to him." Hearing their conversation, Xiao Wu calmly patted Hu Jiu's shoulder with a big-sister tone. "Don't worry, with me, Sister Xiao Wu, around, no one will dare to bully you. Just watch, I'll tear them into eight pieces!"

"Haha, I know Sister Xiao Wu is amazing! How about another carrot?"

"Want! Want! Want!"

"Give me another one, no, make it two! I haven't had enough yet!" Xiao Wu's clear laughter echoed through the forest.

The purpose of their trip was to help Hu Jiu hunt for a Spirit Ring, and now that they had achieved that, it was time to head back.

However, before they could leave, they needed to spend the night in the forest. Since Hu Jiu took a bit longer to absorb the Spirit Ring, the sky had already darkened. The nighttime forest could be very dangerous, making it unsuitable for traveling.

While resting, Hu Jiu instructed Tang San and Xiao Wu to keep the information about his Spirit Ring's age a secret, preferably not telling anyone at all.

Both Xiao Wu and Tang San agreed. They understood that Hu Jiu was preparing for future Spirit Ring upgrades. After all, it was better to keep such matters under wraps to avoid bringing unnecessary trouble to themselves and others.

After a night, the three-person team set off immediately and began their journey toward Nuoding City.

The next afternoon, a look of shock flashed across Hu Jiu's face.

He discovered that the age of his Spirit Ring had already reached ninety-three years.

Although he had known that after idling, the age of his Spirit Ring would increase, he didn't expect it to grow so quickly. It had only been a day—what kind of speed was this?

This meant that in another seven days, his white Spirit Ring would upgrade to a yellow Spirit Ring, and at that time, the skill effects provided by the Spirit Ring would also be enhanced.

The Spirit Skill he obtained from the Sky Swallowing Toad was called "Absorption." It was a genuine food-type Spirit Ring skill, and its only effect was to increase the speed of Soul Power cultivation, lasting for one hour. With his current Soul Power, he could produce more than ten at once.

"Let's keep this!"

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