Breaking Through Rank Forty, Ten-Thousand-Year Fourth Ring

Half a month later.

Shen Tianchen's knuckles had turned white around the hilt of the Dragon Abyss Sword. The dull boom of his fortieth Soul Power impact striking the barrier made his eardrums buzz.

He knelt on one knee beside a cold pool in the northern reaches of Sunset Forest. The water reflected the tense profile of the young boy's face as his peak Rank Thirty-Nine Soul Power churned through his dantian like boiling water. Every impact felt as though his meridians were being repeatedly pierced by ice awls.

"Circulate it for three more cycles." Qianjun Douluo planted the Coiled Dragon Staff diagonally into the frozen earth, the scales of the golden dragon carved upon it dusted with ice chips.

He kicked aside a snow-covered rock with the tip of his foot, exposing a layer of faintly glowing blue ice beneath it. "The cold spring beneath this pool connects to the earth veins. It can neutralize the restless ice-element Soul Power within you."

Following his instructions, Shen Tianchen calmed his breathing. The Dragon Abyss Sword slipped from his hand and fell into the cold pool. The blade churned beneath the water, blue light shining through its ice-crack patterns and intertwining with bubbles rising from the bottom, forming a swirling vortex of energy.

He could clearly feel the cold air surging up from the pool bottom passing through the sword hilt into his palm. It resonated with the Ice Crystal Ancient Dragon Spirit Ring he had absorbed half a month ago, gradually taming the wild Soul Power rampaging within him.

When the final circulation cycle was complete, the barrier in his dantian suddenly let out a crisp cracking sound.

The boundary of Rank Forty collapsed like shattered ice. Vast Soul Power surged through his meridians, and Shen Tianchen instinctively gripped the Dragon Abyss Sword. The ice-crack patterns instantly spread across the entire blade, sending a wave several meters high crashing across the pool's surface.

"You did it." Qianjun Douluo struck the ground with his Coiled Dragon Staff, and three rings of golden ripples spread outward, blasting apart the surrounding snow.

"But the Spirit Ring needed at Rank Forty is extremely important. On top of that, your first three Spirit Rings were all absorbed beyond their normal limits. An ordinary thousand-year soul beast's Spirit Ring is no longer enough to support your Dragon Abyss Sword."

Shen Tianchen considered it for a while before saying, "Teacher, with my current physical condition and my two God-tier Martial Souls, a five- or six-thousand-year soul beast might be more suitable. But I want to try absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year soul beast's Spirit Ring."

"A Ten-Thousand-Year soul beast would be grea... Wait, what did you say? A Ten-Thousand-Year soul beast? Are you sure you can absorb one? This is no joke. Even Rank Fifty Soul Kings have to be extremely cautious when absorbing one."

Qianjun Douluo had not understood at first, but Shen Tianchen's decision immediately startled him. "No. That's far too dangerous. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to answer to the Grand Elder and the others."

"Oh, Teacher, just let me choose a Ten-Thousand-Year soul beast. Trust me, I can definitely do it," Shen Tianchen pleaded.

"Give me a reason. Otherwise, I won't let you take this risk," Qianjun Douluo said sternly.

"Because I want to become stronger. Strong enough to do anything I want to do, strong enough to protect the people I care about," Shen Tianchen said with complete seriousness.

Qianjun Douluo had intended to lecture him a little more, but when he saw the determination and unyieldingness in Shen Tianchen's eyes, he froze.

To be fair, he had lived for many years and seen countless geniuses, yet he had never seen a six-year-old child who possessed both such talent and such ambition. Six-year-olds were supposed to be at the age of eating, drinking, and playing, yet Shen Tianchen's refusal to give in was truly rare and precious.

"If that's the case, then I'll trust you this once." A man who had always meant what he said, Qianjun Douluo ultimately compromised for the sake of his disciple.

Shen Tianchen flicked the droplets from his sword. Newly advanced Soul Power flowed through the Dragon Abyss Sword's ice patterns, emitting a deeper blue glow than before.

He looked toward the rolling ice hills across the cold pool. From among the hills blanketed in ancient snow, faint creaking sounds of grinding ice could be heard.

"Teacher, do you think there are Ten-Thousand-Year soul beasts here?"

"In the Cold Prison beyond those ice hills." Qianjun Douluo pointed toward the collapsed ice hill furthest west. The golden dragon on his Coiled Dragon Staff suddenly raised its head and gave a silent roar in that direction.

"There's a thirteen-thousand-year Cold Prison Ice Flood Dragon there. Its Ice Prison Domain can freeze the flow of Soul Power within a hundred zhang. It should be perfect for causing a qualitative change in the Dragon Abyss Sword's water-element Soul Power."

The two advanced over the ice, each step leaving footprints half a foot deep in the snow. Shen Tianchen swept the Dragon Abyss Sword in an arc before him. Wherever Sword Qi passed, the snow automatically parted to either side, revealing the rock-hard frozen ground beneath.

He noticed quite a few white bones scattered across the snow. Sharp icicles had formed over them, clearly the remains of other soul beasts.

As they approached the entrance to the Cold Prison, the air suddenly became thick as glue. Shen Tianchen's breath frosted over at the tip of his nose, and the mist he exhaled instantly froze into tiny ice crystals that hovered before his eyes without falling.

The Dragon Abyss Sword trembled more and more violently. Every trail it cut through the air left behind a fleeting streak of frost.

"Hold your breath." Qianjun Douluo lowered his voice and held the Coiled Dragon Staff across his chest. The golden light on its body had dimmed considerably.

"The cold here can freeze and injure Soul Power. Try to use the Dragon Abyss Sword's water flow to wrap around your entire body."

After passing through a narrow crevice in the ice, the view suddenly opened up. Before them lay a natural ice cavern nearly a hundred zhang wide, its ceiling covered in countless ice stalactites, their pointed tips glinting with a cold light.

In the center of the cavern, a colossal flood dragon over twenty meters long lay coiled atop the ice. Its scales were dark blue, each edge as sharp as a blade. Two short horns grew from its head, and droplets of ice falling from their tips struck the ground with crisp chimes.

"The Cold Prison Ice Flood Dragon." Qianjun Douluo's voice was grave, and every golden dragon scale on the Coiled Dragon Staff stood erect.

"Watch the Inverse Scale behind its neck. It's half the size of the Ice Crystal Ancient Dragon's, hidden beneath the seventh row of scales."

The Cold Prison Ice Flood Dragon seemed to sense the intruders. Its tightly shut eyes slowly opened, revealing pupils of pure ice-blue without the slightest impurity.

It merely turned its head slightly, yet the surrounding ice stalactites began shaking violently. Countless icicles fell like a torrential downpour, kicking up a skyful of icy mist from the ground.

"Those who trespass into the Cold Prison shall be frozen into ice statues." The flood dragon's voice sounded like grinding ice. Its body remained coiled in place, but countless cracks suddenly split open across the cavern floor. Pale blue cold air erupted from them, and wherever it passed, even the air began to solidify.

For a soul beast less than a Hundred Thousand Years old to possess such intelligence truly opened Shen Tianchen's eyes.

Shen Tianchen's Dragon Abyss Sword automatically flew from its sheath. The water flowing over the blade froze the instant it touched the cold air, then immediately melted back into water, forming a cyclical protective layer.

He could feel that the flood dragon's cold air was a hundred times more tyrannical than the earth-vein chill at the bottom of the cold pool. The moment it came into contact with him, it attempted to freeze the flow of his Soul Power.

"Tianchen, attack its left flank! This is an excellent training opportunity. I'll support you from the side!" Qianjun Douluo's Coiled Dragon Staff smashed toward the flood dragon's head with a howling gust. The golden staff shadow collided with the cold air it exhaled, sending golden-blue sparks flying everywhere.

"Its left foreclaw was injured before. The scales there are thinner than elsewhere!"

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Tianchen turned into a streak of blue lightning and charged toward the flood dragon's left flank with the Dragon Abyss Sword.

He avoided the scales glinting with cold light and specifically targeted the gaps between them. The Second Spirit Ability, Condensing Ice Thorn, erupted from the sword tip. Ice-blue spikes burrowed through the gaps and exploded into a cloud of frost within the flood dragon's body.

"Roar—" The Cold Prison Ice Flood Dragon howled in pain, its enormous body suddenly rolling as its tail swept toward him like a steel whip.

Using the ice mist as cover, Shen Tianchen retreated rapidly and barely avoided the deadly blow. However, the ice wall behind him was struck by the tail and instantly shattered into a shower of ice fragments.

The flood dragon was completely enraged. It raised its head and let out a deafening roar, causing the entire ice cavern to tremble.

Countless ice spikes suddenly appeared around its body. They rotated at incredible speed, forming a spinning Ice Prison barrier that enclosed the two of them.

"Careful, this is its domain!" Qianjun Douluo swept three golden arcs through the air with his Coiled Dragon Staff, forming a triangular barrier that blocked the incoming ice spikes.

"The cold within the domain will grow stronger over time. We must end this quickly!"

The Dragon Abyss Sword spun rapidly in Shen Tianchen's hand, water currents and ice blades weaving together into a spiraling defensive ring.

He could feel the cold within the domain slowly eroding the water membrane. A thin shell of ice had already formed over its surface.

"First Spirit Ability, Violet Firmament Heavenly Thunder Sword!" Shen Tianchen poured Soul Power into the Dragon Abyss Sword. Four bolts of Sword Qi formed from lightning, carrying swirling streams of water as they slashed toward the Ice Prison barrier.

The Sword Qi collided with the ice spikes and produced a piercing screech. Though they failed to break through the barrier, they caused the rotating spikes to pause briefly.

Qianjun Douluo seized the chance. The Coiled Dragon Staff expanded several times over, smashing toward the flood dragon's right flank with a golden dragon phantom.

Unwilling to be outdone, the flood dragon violently flapped its right wing. Countless ice spikes shot toward the Coiled Dragon Staff like a rain of arrows, colliding with the golden staff shadow in a rapid series of crisp impacts.

The battle lasted half an hour, and the chill within the cavern grew heavier and heavier. More than half of Shen Tianchen's water membrane had frozen over. His Soul Power was severely depleted, and cold sweat covered his forehead, freezing into beads of ice as soon as it emerged.

"We can't drag this out any longer." Qianjun Douluo suddenly changed tactics. Instead of attacking the flood dragon, he swung the Coiled Dragon Staff at the Ice Prison barrier. "Tianchen, use your Third Spirit Ability!"

Understanding immediately, Shen Tianchen poured all his remaining Soul Power into the Dragon Abyss Sword. "Third Spirit Ability, Ice Water Dragon Break!"

Water ripples and ice blades fused before him into a massive blue dragon. Roaring, it charged toward the Ice Prison barrier, joining Qianjun Douluo's golden staff shadow in a pincer attack.

Boom! The two attacks struck at the same time. The Ice Prison barrier shook violently, and a massive crack appeared across it.

The Cold Prison Ice Flood Dragon's domain was broken. It roared furiously and lunged at the two of them, opening its enormous jaws to bite down. The cold air it exhaled caused the surrounding ice to freeze over.

Qianjun Douluo's Coiled Dragon Staff blocked in front of Shen Tianchen just in time. The golden staff shadow collided with the flood dragon's massive jaws with an earth-shaking crash.

Qianjun Douluo was unharmed, but Shen Tianchen was not so fortunate. The shockwave sent him stumbling backward, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Even so, he refused to give up.

"Now!" Qianjun Douluo shouted as he lifted the Coiled Dragon Staff upward, forcing the flood dragon's head to tilt back slightly. "Its Inverse Scale is exposed!"

A resolute gleam flashed through Shen Tianchen's eyes. There was no way a transmigrator like him could lose to this little snake. How could he ever hold his head high among transmigrators if word got out? Enduring the agonizing pain in his meridians, he poured the last trace of his Soul Power into the Dragon Abyss Sword.

Every ice-crack pattern on the blade lit up, blue Soul Power rolling like boiling water. He leaped into the air, the Dragon Abyss Sword cutting through the wind as it precisely stabbed toward the Inverse Scale behind the flood dragon's neck.

Squelch! The instant the sword tip pierced the Inverse Scale, Shen Tianchen felt a vast, freezing force surge into his body through the blade.

The Cold Prison Ice Flood Dragon let out a miserable shriek, its enormous body convulsing violently. It tried to fling Shen Tianchen away by shaking its head, but Qianjun Douluo's Coiled Dragon Staff had tightly wrapped around its neck.

As time passed, the flood dragon's struggles grew weaker and weaker. At last, its massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a skyful of icy dust.

A black Spirit Ring rose from the flood dragon's body and slowly rotated in midair, radiating pure, frigid energy. This Spirit Ring was deeper in color than an ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring. Pale blue cold air coiled around its surface, giving off a heart-palpitating aura.

Qianjun Douluo said nothing. Instead, he tossed Shen Tianchen several medicinal herbs capable of rapidly restoring his condition. After all, the risks of absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring at Rank Forty were simply too great.

Shen Tianchen understood his meaning and sat down to begin refining it. Combined with the Innate Soul Skill of his second Martial Soul, Healing Divine Light, his recovery speed suddenly increased dramatically.

Before long, he had recovered almost completely. Qianjun Douluo, who had been guarding him nearby, spoke up. "Since you're nearly recovered, absorb it quickly!" There was a hint of urgency in his voice, as he could sense that the Spirit Ring's energy was becoming somewhat unstable.

"The power of a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring is violent. It is on an entirely different level from a thousand-year soul beast's Spirit Ring. And the residual spiritual shock it contains is far beyond anything a thousand-year soul beast can compare to. One misstep, and you'll suffer a backlash!"

Shen Tianchen sat cross-legged and guided the Spirit Ring toward himself.

The instant the Spirit Ring settled around his wrist, he felt as if he had been thrown into an ice cavern that had existed for ten thousand years. Extreme cold instantly swept through his body. The Cold Prison Ice Flood Dragon's lingering malice relentlessly assaulted Shen Tianchen's spiritual world, and his meridians seemed about to freeze solid.

The Dragon Abyss Sword suddenly rang out with a clear cry. Blue Soul Power flowed through the ice-crack patterns on the blade, forcibly merging the flood dragon's cold air with his own water-element Soul Power.

"Use the Dragon Abyss Sword's dragon aura to suppress it!" Qianjun Douluo injected a thread of golden Soul Power into his body, helping him resist the erosion of the cold.

"Imagine that your Soul Power is the water of the cold pool. It can freeze, but it can also flow!"

Shen Tianchen gritted his teeth and focused on controlling the Soul Power within his body. He could feel the Cold Prison Ice Flood Dragon's ice-element Soul Power violently clashing with his own water-element Soul Power and the Ice Crystal Ancient Dragon's ice-element Soul Power.

The three forces went from initially repelling one another to gradually reaching a balance under the Dragon Abyss Sword's guidance. It was like the merging of ice and water, coldness carrying the living vitality of flowing currents.

No one knew how much time passed. When the last trace of cold air was assimilated, Shen Tianchen abruptly opened his eyes, and a blue-black gleam flashed through them.

He rose and stretched his body. The Soul Power within him was several times denser than before his breakthrough, and it carried a chill that seeped deep into his bones.

The Dragon Abyss Sword hummed softly in his hand. Black-blue Soul Power flowed through the ice-crack patterns on its blade, radiating an aura several times stronger than before.

Shen Tianchen slashed at an ice pillar beside him. Where the Sword Qi passed, the pillar did not shatter. Instead, it instantly froze into powder and scattered across the ground.

"Fourth Spirit Ability, Cold Prison Dragon Breath Slash." Shen Tianchen softly spoke the name of his Spirit Ability. He could feel that this ability not only retained the flexibility of water and the sharpness of ice, but also carried the Cold Prison Ice Flood Dragon's unique freezing power.

Though it was not quite as domineering, it could still greatly slow the flow of an opponent's Soul Power.

"You brat, you actually succeeded." Qianjun Douluo walked over to his side, an approving smile appearing on his face.

"A Ten-Thousand-Year fourth ring, tsk, tsk. You've casually broken a record unprecedented in the Spirit Master World. With your current strength, you'll be hard-pressed to find an opponent among Soul Masters of the same rank."

Thinking of Shen Tianchen's performance along the way, Qianjun Douluo felt another wave of pride. Yet he also understood that his disciple had earned his current strength.

After all, throughout this journey, Shen Tianchen had either been absorbing Spirit Rings beyond his rank or fighting soul beasts with his life on the line.

Shen Tianchen looked at the Dragon Abyss Sword in his hand. The ice-crack patterns on its blade had become clearer than before, flickering with a deep blue light.

He could clearly feel that his connection with the Dragon Abyss Sword had become even closer, as if the sword had become part of his own body.

Before they knew it, the sky outside the ice cavern had gradually darkened. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the cracks in the ice, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow across the frozen ground.

Shen Tianchen recalled the Dragon Abyss Sword into his body and followed Qianjun Douluo toward the exit of the ice cavern.

"After we return, you'll still need to consolidate your cultivation for a while." Qianjun Douluo's voice was slightly hoarse as he patted Shen Tianchen on the shoulder.

"The power filling your body now won't be so easy to control."

Shen Tianchen nodded. He could feel that although the Soul Power in his body was vast, he would still need time to completely digest it.

This trip to Sunset Forest had brought no extraordinary encounter, but successfully breaking through to Rank Forty and obtaining a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring was already his greatest gain.

As for the immortal herbs within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Shen Tianchen still planned to return after breaking through to Soul King or an even higher rank. That would be more convincing, since given Dugu Bo's temperament, it would be difficult to make him believe that Shen Tianchen could solve the problem with the Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul.

By the time the two left the ice cavern, night had fallen. Moonlight spilled over the snow, reflecting a cold, clear glow.

Shen Tianchen looked up at the sky. Countless stars dotted the heavens, as if they were celebrating for him. He gripped the Dragon Abyss Sword at his waist, feeling the surging Soul Power within his body, his heart filled with unprecedented confidence.

Qianjun Douluo glanced at Shen Tianchen, satisfaction flashing through his eyes. "Let's go. It's time to return to Spirit Hall. Your breakthrough will probably surprise quite a few people. And when I chat with the Grand Elder and the others in the future, I'll have more confidence. Your standing in Spirit Hall will rise with the tide as well."

Shen Tianchen answered and followed his teacher onto the road home. At the same time, he could not help marveling at how quickly his strength had improved.

Once I'm back, as long as it doesn't interfere with my Soul Power cultivation, I'll have to make time to practice some sword techniques. I wonder how powerful the martial arts from other novels would be in Douluo Continent.

After pondering for a while, Shen Tianchen began looking forward to his future. With the Dragon Abyss Sword and the Life Divine Pearl by his side, he would surely travel even farther along the path of a Spirit Master.