Lu Feng had obtained three divine-bestowed spirit rings from the ultimate reward.
However, he hadn't rushed to absorb them yesterday.
There was a strange connection between his World Tree martial soul and himself, a faint intuition telling him it would be best to complete the absorption of these divine spirit rings within the forest.
"You already have spirit rings?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, puzzled.
"Mhm. I'll explain later," Lu Feng replied. "Is this place safe?"
"The Black Forest is a royal hunting ground, guarded by the Imperial Army. The strongest spirit beasts deep inside are only around five hundred years old, I can handle them. If anything unexpected happens, we can send a signal, and reinforcements will arrive quickly," Zhu Zhuqing assured him.
"Good. Then I'll begin."
Lu Feng nodded and sat cross-legged on the ground.
Becoming stronger was, of course, the most important thing. In this world, weakness was the original sin.
Only by standing at the peak could one truly look down upon the world.
Ironically, the fastest way to reach that peak for him was to win over goddesses.
Capturing Zhu Zhuqing's heart had rewarded him with 1,000 Energy Points.
These points could be used to permanently increase his attributes, enhance the power of his soul skills, upgrade his spirit ring age, or even be exchanged for lottery draws, they were practically omnipotent.
While Lu Feng was thinking of his system rewards, he couldn't stop replaying how it felt to get to 'next stage' just a minute ago. The memory was too good.
He'd slid his hands along Zhu Zhuqing's slim, curvy legs, feeling their smooth shape, and then up to her chest, she's got an E-cup for sure. And Zhu Zhuyun? Hers are even bigger, probably an E-plus. One hand definitely wouldn't be enough to handle them.
It was like the scent of her still lingered on his fingers.
Even though her leather pants were in the way, he was still thrilled.
This was just the start, and things were moving fast.
Chasing a girl like Zhu Zhuqing takes some finesse, though. She's pure and innocent, you can't rush it too much.
These thoughts flashed through Lu Feng's mind in the span of just two breaths.
He closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
Focusing his spiritual power, he connected with his World Tree martial soul, which possessed an extraordinary affinity with the surrounding vegetation.
Suddenly, he realized he could share perception with every plant around him.
The range of this perception expanded with his soul power, stretching over a hundred meters.
In an instant, everything within that radius- birds taking flight, beasts moving through the underbrush, even the slightest rustle of leaves was under his complete awareness.
Though his eyes were closed, he had opened another pair of all-seeing "eyes."
A surge of exhilaration washed over him.
Through this connection, he could "see" Zhu Zhuqing leaping lightly onto a tree branch, scanning the surroundings. Though the Black Forest's outskirts were safe, she still stood guard with cautious vigilance.
"The World Tree martial soul actually has such a miraculous ability… Wait is that someone hiding in the tree over there?"
A faint sense of threat prickled at his senses.
Immediately, he sharpened his focus, using the leaves and branches to get a closer "look."
With his current spiritual power, he couldn't discern clear colors or facial features through the plants' perspective but he could make out silhouettes.
The figure lurking in the tree was crouched low, but even so, their slender, wasp-like waist, plump butt and a very big boobs were unmistakable.
A woman.
A figure strikingly similar to Zhu Zhuqing's…
"Isn't that Zhu Zhuyun?!"
In the entire Star Luo Empire, few women could rival her bombshell figure.
Zhu Zhuyun remained perfectly still, concealed within the thick brances and leaves of the big tree.
Clearly, she had been spying on them this whole time.
Holy shit!
She saw everything just now!
Elder Sister, I didn't know you had these kinds of interests… Good thing Zhu Zhuqing and I didn't go any further, or you'd have gotten a free show.
Just because you've got a killer body, a face that could launch a thousand ships, and higher soul power, does that mean you can just do whatever you want?
…Actually, yeah. You can.
At least for now.
Lu Feng knew Zhu Zhuyun meant no harm after all, she had rushed to his aid the night before when he was injured.
But being secretly watched like this, unable to do anything about it, left him feeling oddly… frustrated.
Hearing Lu Feng mention he already had a spirit ring only made Zhu Zhuyun more reluctant to leave.
Just then, a small vine behind her seemed to come alive.
Its tender tendrils slowly, sneakily inched closer…
Before she realized it, the vine had coiled around the curve of her thigh, the tight leather of her pants, climbing up to her big buttocks.
Zhu Zhuyun felt the touch and glanced back, casually brushing the vine away with her fingers.
She didn't dare move too much Zhu Zhuqing was sharp, and the slightest sound might give her away.
But soon…
Another vine slithered closer, its tendrils creeping up once more.
This time, though the plant was clearly taking liberties, she didn't think much of it.
In a forest this wild, all sorts of strange, animated vegetation existed, this little "snake vine" was just one of them.
Meanwhile, Lu Feng, still deep in meditation, allowed a faint smirk to curl his lips.
Alright, enough messing around. Time to get serious.
Not that he was just messing around, he was testing the World Tree martial soul's unique abilities, after all.
Shaking off distractions, Lu Feng centered his focus.
It was time to absorb his spirit ring.
The divine spirit ring, stored within his system space, appeared as a golden orb, as if carved from the rarest celestial crystal.
Flawless and crystal clear, the golden orb pulsed with a faint mist of radiant light, emanating waves of formidable soul power.
With a thought, Lu Feng summoned the orb above his head.
Pop.
A soft sound echoed as the orb shattered.
Suddenly
A torrent of dense golden mist cascaded down, enveloping Lu Feng's entire body in a shimmering halo before seeping into his skin.
Both Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing stared, stunned.
They had never seen anything like this.
But even they could sense the extraordinary power contained within that golden orb, something otherworldly.
Yet when they noticed the agonized expression twisting Lu Feng's face, their eyes filled with worry.
There was nothing they could do to help.
The pain is real.
Lu Feng's body burned as if scorched by flames, his meridians writhing like thousands of ants gnawing beneath his skin. In his mind, he could almost hear the tearing of his flesh, his spirit battered by relentless waves of torment.
This was suffering in its purest form both physical and mental.
Gritting his teeth, he clung to the last shreds of his clarity, refusing to let the pain consume him entirely.
He knew the truth:
A divine-bestowed spirit ring would grant him the perfect soul skill for his needs and the highest possible pain he could endure.
But the moment he yielded to the pain… the ring's quality would be set.
The stronger his endurance, the greater the reward.
If not for the fact that these three divine rings would expire in a month, he would've saved them for later.
Using them now felt like a waste.
How much could his newly awakened body truly withstand?
From the very first second, it was a battle of willpower.
And the agony only grew worse with time.
Half an hour later.
Just as Lu Feng felt his consciousness slipping,
BOOM.
An explosion erupted in his mind.
His strained mental power shattered then reformed, cool and refreshed, as if ascending to a higher plane.
At the same time…
He sensed aid.
Just like the shared perception of plants, this understanding came instantly, no thought required.
The World Tree martial soul wasn't just about seeing through plants.
It could also share their resilience.
A single tree may fall to the wind… but an entire forest stands unshaken against the mightiest storm.
Every flower, every blade of grass within a hundred meters sensed their sovereign's suffering.
And they answered.
One plant's strength might be negligible.
But thousands? Tens of thousands?
Together, their power was undeniable.
Lu Feng's endurance multiplied exponentially.