Chapter 4: Brush with Death
Although the Carrion Giant Lizard was only an Intermediate Spirit Beast, if it had been in its prime and still inside the swamp, Chen Ming would have had no chance against it.
However, as a Spirit Beast that relied on dark and humid environments like swamps to survive, the Carrion Giant Lizard's condition in this dry, barren land with no food was even worse than Chen Ming's.
Fortunately, Chen Ming was immune to the Carrion Giant Lizard's toxins, and with his Martial Soul manifested, he possessed tremendous strength and almost no sense of pain.
Chen Ming continued smashing his elbows into the Carrion Giant Lizard's head without pause. The creature tried to escape, but its teeth were stuck fast in Chen Ming's gelatinous belly.
Unable to break free and already weakened by the struggle, the Carrion Giant Lizard could only endure Chen Ming's relentless blows. With every futile attempt to escape, more of its strength and blood drained away.
Finally, after countless strikes, the Carrion Giant Lizard's skull cracked. After 2 more blows from Chen Ming, the Spirit Beast breathed its last.
A deep yellow Spirit Ring floated up from the Carrion Giant Lizard's corpse, releasing a bright yellow glow.
An experienced Spirit Master would be able to tell from the color of that Spirit Ring that it was at least 600 years old, close to 700, enough to serve as a Spirit Master's 2nd Spirit Ring.
However, Chen Ming lacked that knowledge. He could only tell that it was a hundred year Spirit Ring, and not one with merely 100 or 200 years.
After a Spirit Master killed a Spirit Beast, if they were in a state where they could absorb a Spirit Ring, they would instinctively feel desire toward that Spirit Ring and attempt to absorb it.
But for Chen Ming, the greatest temptation was not that deep yellow Spirit Ring, but the corpse of the Carrion Giant Lizard itself.
During the struggle, the dried mud covering the Carrion Giant Lizard had already crumbled away, exposing the body beneath its scales.
The smell of blood from the Carrion Giant Lizard's severed forelimb instantly overwhelmed Chen Ming, igniting his hunger for flesh and blood.
To Chen Ming, this was no longer just a giant mud covered lizard. It was a freshly dug out, steaming hot, delicious beggar's chicken.
After prying the Carrion Giant Lizard's mouth off his belly, Chen Ming immediately began tearing off large chunks of flesh and devouring them.
Although the Carrion Giant Lizard's flesh was filled with parasites and viruses, making it impossible for most creatures, including humans, to eat, this posed no problem to Chen Ming.
He felt that the acid in his stomach could probably melt even steel.
That rotten, foul, and hard to swallow taste felt to Chen Ming like incomparable sweetness. The Carrion Giant Lizard's tough bones and muscles seemed as brittle as chocolate bars and soft candy in his mouth.
To a normal person, such a scene might have looked disgusting or outright insane. But Chen Ming, with his Martial Soul manifested and already half detached from normal humanity, felt no revulsion whatsoever.
After devouring nearly 1/3 of the Carrion Giant Lizard, including its head, Chen Ming felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
The life force contained within that flesh surged through his body, nourishing his meridians.
Only then did Chen Ming finally turn his gaze toward the Spirit Ring still hovering in the air.
After being left there for some time, the Spirit Ring had already begun to fade. According to the laws of the Douluo world, it would probably disappear completely in about 20 more minutes.
Should he absorb the Spirit Ring?
Chen Ming hesitated for only a second before making up his mind.
"It's you," Chen Ming murmured.
Although he wanted a better Spirit Ring, reality was cruel. He had no better choice, and he had no time to hesitate.
Absorbing the Carrion Giant Lizard's Spirit Ring might not give him some top tier Spirit Ability, but it would allow him to become a true Spirit Master and obtain his first Spirit Ability, greatly improving his strength and increasing his chances of survival.
The most basic requirement for late stage growth, whether for the individual or for future faction development, was surviving the early stage first.
Under normal circumstances, Chen Ming might have been picky about the quality of his Spirit Ring. But in his current situation, a hundred year Spirit Ring was already quite good.
Chen Ming sat down on the ground, closed his eyes, and instinctively focused his mind on the Spirit Ring.
At a certain moment, an invisible thread seemed to connect the deep yellow Spirit Ring to Chen Ming. The Spirit Ring began flowing into his swollen body, slowly merging with his origin.
This was a 600 year Spirit Ring, nearly 700 years old, a level many Spirit Masters could not even reach with their 2nd Spirit Ring.
Even if it had come from an Intermediate Spirit Beast like the Carrion Giant Lizard, that amount of energy was still not something an ordinary Spirit Scholar could bear, unless they were a genius Spirit Master who had received strict training and abundant nourishment from childhood.
Chen Ming did not have such an impressive background, but fortunately, he was different.
His strange Martial Soul granted him astonishing vitality, while his Innate talent seemed to quietly strengthen his adaptability.
The Spirit Ring's energy surged into Chen Ming's body, making his meridians ache faintly, yet they still endured the impact of that Spirit Power.
Following his instincts, Chen Ming guided the Spirit Ring's energy toward his dantian, allowing that power to slowly merge with his origin.
A deep yellow Spirit Ring gradually appeared around Chen Ming's body.
Spirit Master, achieved.
With his exceptional talent and peculiar Martial Soul, Chen Ming, who had never received any systematic Spirit Master training, had accomplished something that would shock many people.
Although he had now become a Spirit Master, Chen Ming still could not judge his exact rank. He only knew that he had officially stepped into the realm of Spirit Masters.
"My 1st Spirit Ability, this is..."
Chen Ming opened his eyes and sensed the power and Spirit Ability within him, his emotions somewhat complicated.
"Decaying Body: effect, increases defense and resistance to abnormalities by 50%, and causes poisoning through close contact?"
"Compared to the average standard, is this strong or weak? It seems decent. At the very least, it's better than Blue Silver Binding."