A Thousand-Year First Ring: Not Over the Limit, Just Pure Numbers

"A thousand-year Soul Beast, and a Mandala Snake at that!"

"Even if I gained another twenty levels, I'm afraid my Luo Sanpao might still not be able to beat it."

After finding a safe place, Yu Xiaogang recalled Luo Sanpao, unable to keep the thought to himself. A Soul Beast that powerful was not something an ordinary person could deal with.

Luckily, he had Tang Wulin to take the fall this time. Otherwise, he and Xiao San might not have made it back alive today.

He had not expected that brat to bring him such good fortune instead of becoming his disciple. Besides...

A genius who might surpass Xiao San dying at the hands of a Soul Beast could not have been better for him. It would have far greater consequences than absorbing a Soul Ring that was not old enough.

"Teacher, what was that Soul Beast just now?!"

Tang San, who was being carried, looked just as shocked. If it fed on powerful Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, just how capable was that snake?!

"Xiao San, that was a thousand-year Soul Beast."

"Let alone your teacher. Even if Director Su and the dean were here, the three of us would have a hard time winning."

Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath and spoke frankly.

"A thousand-year Soul Beast!"

Tang San's pupils contracted. Even going all out, his teacher could not kill a hundred-year Spotted Leopard. Just how terrifying a creature was a thousand-year Soul Beast?

"Yes! Xiao San, things were far too urgent just now. I only had time to take you and run. As for Tang Wulin..."

"I could only leave Wulin there. Otherwise, let alone saving him, both our lives would have been lost there too."

Yu Xiaogang nodded, his expression self-reproachful and guilty as he murmured.

"Teacher, I know you had no choice. None of us wanted this to happen, but storms can gather in a clear sky."

Tang San sighed and spoke as if he were saddened too, but in his heart, he felt no loss at all.

Tang Wulin, was it? You kept rejecting Teacher every few days. Taking the calamity for the two of us today was nothing more than what you brought upon yourself!

His mood improved even more when he thought about how Tang Wulin would no longer appear at Xiao Wu's side.

"Mandala Snake..."

"Could it be the one from the original story?"

Meanwhile, Tang Wulin was not particularly surprised by what had happened with Yu Xiaogang. Given the grandmaster's character, he had never trusted him in the first place.

But as he watched the Mandala Snake draw closer and closer, he could not help taking a deep breath. Then he calmed himself, and a flash of resolve passed through his eyes.

The Mandala Snake might have had a hundred ways to deal with him, but he, Tang Wulin, also had a means of killing it in an instant!

"Martial Soul Possession."

A cold, ruthless look filled Tang Wulin's eyes. As golden light enveloped his body, the illusory figure of the Dragon King appeared behind him.

A terrifying dragon's roar carried within his bloodline emerged as well, nearly shattering all the Mandala Snake's will to fight.

"Hiss... hiss—"

Hesitation showed in the Mandala Snake's ruby-like eyes. It might hesitate, but Tang Wulin would not give it any chance!

"Teleportation!"

The moment the Mandala Snake hesitated, Tang Wulin activated Teleportation with a thought. His figure vanished from where he stood, and he was already atop the Mandala Snake's head.

Looking at its enormous ruby-like eyes, he thrust out his dragon-transformed hands and stabbed them viciously into the eyes.

Boom—

Before long, the giant snake, ten meters tall, fell to the ground, while Tang Wulin had already used Teleportation to land safely.

The system's voice rang out in his mind, a truly pleasing sound.

[Congratulations, Host, on slaying one Mandala Snake. This was the first Soul Beast you killed in your life, and also the first thousand-year Soul Beast you slew]

[Achievement completed: Slaying a Soul Beast]

[Reward obtained: Soul Beast Slayer. Increases base effects by 30% against any Soul Beast. Can be upgraded]

[Achievement completed: Slaying a Thousand-Year Soul Beast]

[Reward: age increase. Age of any Soul Ring +1,000 years. As the host does not yet possess a Soul Ring, it cannot be increased for now]

"So there really is an achievement for killing a Soul Beast..."

"Wait, that was a thousand-year Soul Beast?"

Hearing the voice in his mind, Tang Wulin smiled at first. But when he heard the second announcement, his gaze froze.

He looked back and saw a ring of purple Soul Ring light emerging from the Mandala Snake, whose eyes had been pierced through.

This one's actually different from the Mandala Snake in the original story. It's a thousand-year beast. No wonder Yu Xiaogang ran so decisively, Tang Wulin thought, somewhat surprised. Since it was a thousand-year Soul Beast, though, it was a perfect match for the Soul Ring he had hoped for.

With that thought, he stepped forward. After putting away the Mandala Snake's remains, he sat cross-legged and began absorbing the purple Soul Ring before him.

The Golden Dragon King bloodline's suppression of Soul Beasts was simply too powerful. Although he was absorbing a ring above his level, Tang Wulin quietly opened his eyes after only a little over ten minutes.

[Congratulations, Host, on becoming a One-Ring Soul Master]

[Achievement completed: Path of the Soul Master]

[Reward obtained: 10,000 Gold Soul Coins]

[Host's First Soul Ring detected. Its current age is 1,212 years. 1,000 years have been added. Current age: 2,212 years]

At that moment, his Soul Power was stronger than before, and a beautiful purple Soul Ring suddenly appeared.

"I'm level fourteen now, and not far from level fifteen. A Thousand-Year Soul Ring really does provide a bigger increase..."

Tang Wulin could not help thinking.

Normally, a Soul Ring only brought an increase of one or two levels. Although he had accumulated energy from three months of cultivation before enrollment, the Thousand-Year Soul Ring had clearly contributed more.

I didn't expect this snake to be a 1,200-year-old Mandala Snake. If Yu Xiaogang hadn't sold me out, he could never have outrun it in his life, Tang Wulin thought. A snake just over four hundred years old had nearly scored a double kill on Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, let alone a thousand-year one.

But this snake had benefited him instead. With the Thousand-Year Soul Ring and the additional years from the system's achievement reward, his First Soul Ring was already older than other people's third rings.

"And the Soul Skill is... First Soul Skill, Dragon King Sacred Body. It increases all attributes by 200%, with no negative effects."

As the First Soul Ring shone brilliantly, Tang Wulin felt the Soul Skill's enhancement and fell silent where he stood. There was a beauty to those numbers.

That meant that as long as his energy lasted, his combat power would remain three times its base level. It fit his stereotypical impression of the Golden Dragon King rather well.

The Golden Dragon King bloodline really is powerful enough...

Tang Wulin could not help thinking. He stopped dwelling on it and headed toward the edge of the forest, more thoughts coming to mind along the way.

He remembered that in the original story, Tang Hao had never intervened even when Tang San and Yu Xiaogang were nearly taken out for a double kill. That meant Tang Hao was not around during this part of the timeline.

"..."

A faint smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face.

If I don't run now, when will I?!

Youth has no price tag. With a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins in my pocket, Spirit City is mine at light speed!