Ninety Thousand Year Soul Rings!
And there were three of them!
Lin Qing stared at them, his eyes shining frighteningly bright as his heart pounded wildly.
He had cultivated to level 82, and his Soul Ring Configuration was not bad either.
But top-tier treasures like these, so close to the hundred-thousand-year threshold, were truly something he had never seen before.
After waiting for so long, he had finally reached this point!
He took a deep breath, and only when the damp, slightly cool forest air filled his chest did he barely suppress his surging excitement.
The Sky Azure Bull Python's bull head swayed slightly.
A gentle yet irresistible invisible force brought the three little girls, who had been protected inside the Protective Barrier, before him.
The barrier silently vanished.
"Dad!"
"Dad, are you okay?"
The three petite figures immediately rushed over like little birds.
Lin Wu'er charged ahead first. Her small hand carefully touched Lin Qing's right arm, which was still warm and bore lingering dragon scale texture, her small face full of worry.
Lin Rourou looked up at him, her big eyes glistening with tears as she asked softly, "Dad, are you tired?"
Lin Qingzhu said nothing. She had always been the quietest one.
The little girl merely took a clean handkerchief from her clothes, stood on tiptoe, and gently yet earnestly wiped the beads of sweat from Lin Qing's forehead.
The bit of exhaustion and tension in Lin Qing's heart was instantly washed away by that warmth.
These three precious daughters truly were Little Cotton-Fitted Jackets, each warmer than the last.
He gave his daughters a somewhat weary but utterly gentle smile.
"Dad's fine. I'm just a little drained. I'll be okay after resting for a while."
After saying that, he turned to face the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape, solemnly cupping his fists in salute.
He lowered his posture greatly and said sincerely, "Da Ming, Er Ming, I owe you two for this. Great kindness needs no words of thanks. I, Lin Qing, will remember it in my heart."
He paused and glanced at the three floating Soul Rings, his expression turning serious.
"Absorbing these three Soul Rings will probably take some effort, and the disturbance may be considerable."
"I'm not afraid for myself, but I have my three daughters, and I can't afford to be distracted while absorbing them... I'll have to entrust their safety to you two during this time!"
The Sky Azure Bull Python's enormous bull head slowly nodded.
"With Er Ming and me guarding this place, no outsider will dare disturb you."
The Titan Giant Ape, Er Ming, understood as well. It let out a low roar in response.
Then it raised its enormous fist, as large as a millstone, and thumped its broad chest twice, indicating that it had everything covered.
After that, it immediately turned its massive body, its bell-sized eyes vigilantly scanning the dim forest around them.
Two streams of white vapor burst from its nostrils, making it look every bit like the most dependable and terrifying guardian deity.
Seeing the two Forest Overlords make their stance clear, the last weight in Lin Qing's heart finally fell away.
Without further hesitation, he walked to the center of the three slowly rotating Ninety Thousand Year Soul Rings, their energies surging.
He sat down cross-legged.
The ground was still damp and carried the scent of earth and grass, but he was completely unaware of it.
Closing his eyes, he adjusted his breathing and gradually entered a deep, steady rhythm of inhalation and exhalation.
The nearly exhausted Soul Power within him began to recover bit by bit as his Cultivation Technique slowly circulated, like streams gathering once more.
He knew that what came next was the true challenge—the critical juncture where he would gamble with his life.
Absorb three Ninety Thousand Year Soul Rings at once?
Throughout the history of Douluo Continent, probably no one had ever dared to do such a thing, nor had anyone been "fortunate" enough to try.
The danger involved was obvious even without thinking. It was absolutely a nine-in-ten chance of death.
Yet there was not the slightest trace of fear in his eyes. Instead, a flame burned within them.
Afraid? There was no time for that.
I have to succeed!
Soul Rings would dissipate in about an hour. He could not wait to absorb them one by one.
For Wu'er and the others to have a more secure future, and for himself to truly gain a foothold in this world and live freely.
About ten minutes later, Lin Qing suddenly opened his eyes.
A sharp gleam flashed through them like golden lightning slicing through the night.
His Soul Power had recovered considerably, and his mental state had been adjusted to its peak.
"It's time."
With a thought, he connected to them.
The power of the Golden Dragon Martial Soul fully awakened and stirred within him.
A powerful, unique suction force spread from his body at the same time, precisely enveloping the three black Soul Rings floating in the air, symbols of power.
"Come!"
Lin Qing let out a low cry in his heart.
It was both encouragement for himself.
And a summons to the Soul Rings.
His Soul Power surged.
The three Ninety Thousand Year Thousand Jun Ant Emperor Soul Rings, which had been quietly floating, suddenly trembled.
Like three black torrents drawn by an invisible colossal force, they whistled and spun as they rushed toward Lin Qing, seated cross-legged at the center.
The terrifying energy, enough to make an ordinary Titled Douluo explode and die, completely engulfed him in an instant!
The three Ninety Thousand Year Soul Rings, black as an abyss and edged with an eerie red glow, had finally found their master.
Like crazed, starving black pythons, they drilled violently into Lin Qing's body all at once!
Good heavens, the sensation in that instant was truly enough to knock anyone flat.
It was simply unbearable!
Indescribable agony exploded from the gaps between his bones and from within his meridians!
It felt as if countless red-hot iron spikes were aimed at every inch of his body, ruthlessly and slowly driving inward.
The Soul Power brought by those three Soul Rings was like a herd of wild horses breaking free of their reins, rampaging recklessly through his body.
Lin Qing felt as though his five viscera and six bowels and limbs and bones were about to be blown apart by that brute force, like a balloon inflated to its limit.
"Urgh—!"
He clenched his teeth, yet he still could not stop a suppressed groan of pain from escaping his throat.
The veins on his forehead bulged one after another, like earthworms writhing beneath his skin.
Every muscle in his body was stretched taut, and a fine layer of blood even seeped from his skin, making for a horrifying sight.
This pain was more than ten times worse than he had imagined!
After all, three Ninety Thousand Year Soul Rings were attacking him at once.
With their energies layered together, the result was far more than simple addition—it was rising exponentially.
"Roar—!!"
Just as he felt like he was about to split apart, an incomparably majestic Dragon's Roar suddenly erupted from the deepest part of his soul!
The sound seemed to have slept for ten thousand years before awakening in a single moment.
Immediately afterward, completely beyond his control, dazzling golden light burst from every pore of his body with a boom!
The Golden Dragon Martial Soul automatically protected its master and boldly possessed him!
His eyes instantly transformed into majestic Golden Dragon Eyes, golden light flowing through them.
From both sides of his forehead, a pair of small yet hard Dragon Horns broke through his skin.
At the base of his spine, a strong and powerful dragon tail extended.
Fine yet sturdy golden Dragon Scales emerged across the surface of his skin like the most exquisite armor.
An Ultimate Power from the deepest part of his bloodline, standing above all ordinary things, descended with a thunderous force along with his Martial Soul Possession!
This power was incomparably tyrannical as it forcibly entered the chaotic battlefield within his body.
Like a supreme general, it began brutally yet effectively suppressing and guiding the three rampaging torrents of Soul Power.
Strangely enough, the excruciating pain that felt as though his body were being torn apart—
Under the suppression of that pure and tyrannical Dragon Might, it rapidly eased and subsided.
Just as Lin Qing was about to breathe half a sigh of relief, thinking, The Martial Soul really came through for me,
his expression changed again before the thought had even fully formed.
The real hard part had only just arrived!
He felt his consciousness suddenly sink with a plop.
As if someone had kicked him off a cliff and into an endless deep sea.
All light vanished in an instant.
Only boundless pressure and darkness remained.
His Sea of Consciousness had already been turned upside down.
The once relatively calm sea surface was now a raging tempest.
Gales whipped up black waves dozens of meters high, creating a scene of apocalypse.
And amid those violent waves were three enormous, ferocious spiritual phantoms, radiating endless resentment and madness.
Like evil Ghosts crawling up from the deepest level of hell, they tore through the waves and roared as they lunged toward him!
They vaguely resembled the three Thousand Jun Ant Emperors from before.
But now, only pure hatred remained within them.
Where their eyes should have been were two masses of scarlet light, tightly locked onto Lin Qing's Consciousness Core.
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