Second Spirit Ring, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring

This roar was no longer born of rage, nor was it a display of pressure.

It was the excitement suppressed for tens of thousands of years!

It was the wild joy of seeing dawn at the end of despair!

It was... the submission of a King who had cast aside all dignity before a supreme opportunity!

Rumble!

The entire cave shook violently.

That enormous fissure widened once more.

But this time, what emerged was no longer that savage lava claw.

It was a mass...

A fist-sized mass of Soul Origin, like a miniature sun, blazing with the purest lava radiance and giving off scorching heat and the breath of life!

It radiated an ancient, heavy Kingly aura filled with the power of the earth.

The power contained within it was enough to make any Titled Douluo change expression.

The Earth Dragon King had made its choice!

It had voluntarily stripped this most core part from its own soul!

That mass of Soul Origin slowly rose from the fissure with a slight tremble, finally hovering before Han Yuchen.

Outside the cave, the Mengli Squad had completely lost their minds.

Their mouths hung open, their eyes bulged like dead fish, and their brains had completely stopped working.

Not... killing a soul beast?

Creating a soul ring out of thin air?

Was this... was this even f*cking human?!

Han Yuchen's eyes, however, burned with fervor.

It worked!

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately activated the Star Atlas's [Plunder and Evolve]!

Buzz—!

An invisible pulling force emerged.

That lava-like mass of Soul Origin was instantly drawn into the atlas and vanished.

The next second.

Ding!

[Imprint successful!]

[Target detected: Ten-Thousand-Year Molten Earth Dragon King. Extremely high quality, perfect compatibility!]

[Second Spirit Ring generating...]

Before the announcement had even finished.

Against the backdrop of the Mengli Squad's worldview shattering into dust.

A ring of light emerged from the void.

It was not the yellow of a hundred-year ring.

It was not the purple of a thousand-year ring.

It was...

Black!

A pure black spirit ring, deep and heavy, as though it could devour all light!

Filled with endless majesty and the domineering aura of a King, it was wreathed in mysterious dark glimmers as it slowly rose from beneath Han Yuchen's feet and finally settled around his martial soul, which had evolved into Yulian.

Purple and black, one large and one small, one before and one behind, floated quietly in the air, emanating a terrifying aura that made hearts tremble.

Two spirit rings floated silently.

They formed the most absurd—and most terrifying—scene in the world.

A Soul Grandmaster whose second ring was ten thousand years old!

"Thud."

One member of the Mengli Squad, the one with the weakest mental fortitude, rolled his eyes back and was frightened unconscious by the sight that had overturned everything he believed in.

Meng Li himself viciously slapped his own face.

Smack!

Crisp and loud.

His face burned with pain.

This was not a dream.

It was all real!

As he looked at the boy surrounded by two spirit rings, the last trace of reason in his eyes collapsed.

This was no longer a genius.

This was a monster!

A god!

Han Yuchen slowly opened his eyes, feeling the surging power within him, as violent and majestic as a volcanic eruption.

The boost brought by a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was more than ten times that of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

[Star Tempering] effect triggered!

First Spirit Ring [Thousand-Year] grade breakthrough!

His first purple spirit ring, which had already reached over nine thousand years, shone brilliantly under the influence of his second ring's ten-thousand-year quality. Its color rapidly deepened, and with a crisp hum, it too transformed into the same deep black!

Two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings!

Han Yuchen's efforts in barely cultivating Soul Power for so long, instead pouring all his resources into improving his spirit rings, had not been in vain.

Unfortunately, his First Spirit Ring had not comprehended a new skill.

But that was fine. He would comprehend one sooner or later. The later the year limit, the stronger the skill.

At the same time, information about three brand-new soul skills appeared clearly in his mind as if branded there.

Second Spirit Ring [Ten-Thousand-Year] generated. Soul skill: Earth Dragon Armor!

[Second Soul Skill: Earth Dragon Armor!]

[Effect: Upon activation, a layer of lava scale armor formed from Soul Power could cover the user's body, greatly increasing physical and energy defense. At the same time, all close-range attacks carried the dual shock effects of 'Molten Burn' and 'Earth Pulse,' combining offense and defense.]

Second Spirit Ring [Ten-Thousand-Year] comprehended new soul skill: Sword Dance!

[Second Soul Skill: Sword Dance!]

[Effect: Upon activation, the user could alter their own attack level by 100%. It could be continuously stacked; the more stacks accumulated, the longer it took.]

Second Spirit Ring [Ten-Thousand-Year] grade breakthrough. New soul skill comprehended: Dragon Strike!

[Second Soul Skill: Dragon Strike!]

[Effect: Alter the opponent's defense level by -1 with 100% success rate. Has a certain chance of causing an intimidation effect.]

Four rewards in one go!

Not bad. With Earth Dragon Armor, he finally had some durability.

It would also make him better able to take a beating when pretending to be weak.

Sword Dance was another divine skill after Restraint, allowing him to endlessly stack his own status.

Given enough time, Han Yuchen could kill the Sea God right now and use him as a sacrificial banner.

Dragon Strike's effect was rather average.

Still, he could not ask for too much.

In any case, its power could continue to increase as the spirit ring's year limit rose.

He nodded in satisfaction and sent a thought down into the depths, where the Earth Dragon King's aura had weakened.

"Rest and recuperate. Wait for my summons."

The Earth Dragon King gave a deep response, slowly sank underground, and the fissure closed with it.

The deal was complete.

Han Yuchen turned around and walked out of the cave, bathed in sunlight.

The sunlight was just right.

He glanced at the Jade Eyed Fox lying prone on the ground, too afraid even to raise its head, and spoke calmly.

"You are free."

Yet the jade fox let out an urgent whimper. Not only did it not leave, it instead stepped forward and reverently rubbed its furry head against Han Yuchen's pant leg.

Its eyes were filled with pleading and attachment.

Following a future god was far better than living in constant fear in this dangerous forest.

This fox was quite clever.

Han Yuchen thought for a moment. Fine, then.

Having a little pet around would not be bad.

"Very well. Follow me from now on."

With a thought, he separated a wisp of his divine soul and formed a relatively equal Soul Contract with the jade fox—a bond of companionship rather than enslavement.

"Chirp!"

Sensing the goodwill within the contract, the Jade Eyed Fox let out an incomparably joyful cry.

The next second, its graceful body rapidly shrank amid a soft glow, eventually becoming a palm-sized little fox, snow-white from head to tail and adorably outrageous.

Whoosh.

It leaped lightly and landed steadily on Han Yuchen's shoulder, affectionately rubbing its little head against his cheek.

One person, one fox.

They stood beneath the bright sunlight, while behind them was a group of petrified soul masters.