Absorbing a Soul Ring

"The fifth soul skill, Divine Crocodile Tail Swing."

The moment Golden Crocodile revealed himself, a powerful Soul Power pressure descended upon the soul beasts below, drawing furious roars from them. They felt as though the air around them had been squeezed away, as if they had fallen into a swamp and could only struggle relentlessly.

With Golden Crocodile's Rank 98 cultivation, even ordinary Titled Douluo would be affected when he unleashed his pressure at full force, let alone these soul beasts below, whose highest cultivation was no more than thirty thousand years.

Among them, only the twenty-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear could barely withstand the pressure. It raised its head toward the sky and let out an enraged roar, golden light flowing across its ten-meter-long right claw.

Golden Crocodile Douluo's fifth Soul Ring lit up. Behind him, the phantom of his Golden Crocodile King martial soul seemed to solidify, and its massive, sharp, spike-covered tail swept fiercely toward the soul beast horde below, carrying immense Soul Power. Wherever the tail passed, terrifying currents of air produced a string of shrill explosions.

Golden Crocodile Douluo had only come to hunt a Soul Ring for his grandson. Worried that he might accidentally kill that thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear with too much force, he did not use his full strength. He merely sent all the soul beasts below flying, including the two ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears.

The powerful attack flattened the surrounding trees. Golden Crocodile Douluo stepped forward and swiftly carried off the unconscious thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

Jin Yan stared wide-eyed at his grandfather's handiwork. Though he had been mentally prepared, seeing it with his own eyes still left him somewhat incredulous.

Was this the terrifying strength of Rank 98? Then just how powerful was Qian Daoliu, who was one rank above his grandfather?

Before he could recover from his shock, Golden Crocodile had already swept over, grabbed him, and flown toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Only after reaching the outer region did Golden Crocodile set Jin Yan down.

Throwing the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear onto the ground, he said, "Xiao Yan, hurry and absorb the Soul Ring."

Jin Yan took a moment to steady himself before retrieving a dagger from Panlong. He stepped forward and plunged it into the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's eye.

"Roar!"

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's eyes flew open under the intense pain, and it released a miserable howl. A faint golden glow rose from its right claw, but Golden Crocodile's pressure pinned it firmly to the ground.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's vitality was extraordinarily tenacious. Only after it had completely stopped moving did Jin Yan let out a breath of relief and pull the dagger from its eye, bringing out a spray of red-and-white blood.

Specks of purple light rose from the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's body, forming a faint light-purple Soul Ring.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Jin Yan slowly sat cross-legged beneath Golden Crocodile's watchful gaze. He circulated his Soul Power and began regulating his breath.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, Jin Yan opened his eyes, looked at Golden Crocodile, and said, "Grandfather, I'm starting."

With that, the Soul Ring slowly settled around Jin Yan's body under the pull of his Soul Power.

Behind Jin Yan, the enormous phantom of a Golden Dragon Crocodile emerged and roared toward the heavens.

This Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear had a cultivation between eleven hundred and twelve hundred years, precisely at the limit of Jin Yan's physique. Even so, absorbing it was not easy for him.

In the blink of an eye, two hours passed. Jin Yan's Soul Ring absorption had reached a critical stage, and beads of sweat seeped across his forehead. They ran down his sharply sculpted cheeks before dripping from his chin onto his trouser legs, soaking a patch of fabric.

Golden Crocodile watched Jin Yan's trembling body, his cloudy eyes filled with concern, yet there was nothing he could do.

Only when Jin Yan's body gradually steadied and the Soul Ring absorption neared its end did Golden Crocodile finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Half an hour later, Jin Yan slowly opened his eyes.

By then, his dark pupils had completely turned golden, and a lock at the tip of his hair had also become gold.

He rose to his feet and smiled at Golden Crocodile. "Grandfather, I succeeded."

Golden Crocodile Douluo was greatly gratified, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

"Since that is the case, we shouldn't stay here long. Let's return to Spirit Hall first!"

Several hours earlier, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, at the Lake of Life.

Er Ming, the Titan Giant Ape, stood over ten meters tall and sat there like a mountain, drawing back and forth in the mud by the lake with his fingers.

"Big Sister Xiao Wu has been gone for half a month already. I wonder how she's doing. Has she found the murderer who killed Auntie?"

Splash...

The sound of churning water caught Er Ming's attention. A massive whirlpool appeared at the center of the lake, and a deep, muffled bellow emerged from within.

Da Ming, the Sky Azure Bull Python with the head of a bull and the body of a serpent, poked half his head out of the water.

"Da Ming, you're out," Er Ming called in his booming voice.

Da Ming ignored Er Ming's shout, his gaze fixed intently toward the northwest.

"There is the aura of a human Titled Douluo."

At once, a savage gleam appeared in Er Ming's eyes, and a heavy wave of Soul Power spread from his body.

"They dare enter the inner region of our Star Dou Great Forest again? I'll go kill him right now!"

As he spoke, the mountain-like Titan Giant Ape displayed astonishing agility, leaping up as he prepared to charge toward the northwest.

"Idiot!"

Da Ming's serpentine lower body rose from beneath the water and lashed across Er Ming's face, knocking him straight down beside the lake.

"That Titled Douluo is at least Rank 96. Do you want to provoke the humans into mobilizing a large number of powerful experts to hunt us down?"

Er Ming scratched his head gloomily and fell silent.

"That Titled expert came to hunt a Soul Ring for a junior. Since he did not harm the ten-thousand-year soul beasts here, let it go."

Da Ming's body sank beneath the water once more. Only the rippling waves spreading across the lake's center proved that he had been there.

Jin Yan followed Golden Crocodile directly back to the Worship Hall.

At that moment, several powerful figures in the Worship Hall seemed to be arguing about something. They stopped only when they saw Jin Yan arrive.

"Little Jin Yan, I heard you went to hunt a Soul Ring. Quickly, let Grandpa Guang Ling see what soul skill you gained."

Guangling Douluo flashed over to Jin Yan's side and cheerfully urged him to display his Soul Ring and soul skill.

The other Worship Hall elders also watched with curiosity.

A trace of pride flashed through Golden Crocodile's eyes. He said to his grandson, "Little Yan, let your grandfathers see what soul skill you gained. Hahaha!"

By the end, he could hardly hold himself back and nearly burst into laughter.

The elders had worked together for decades. One look at Golden Crocodile Douluo's expression told them that Jin Yan had acquired a top-tier Soul Ring, and Guangling could not help urging him again.

Jin Yan did not refuse. He released his Golden Dragon Crocodile martial soul, and brilliant golden light erupted from his body. His hair turned completely dazzling gold, fine golden dragon scales covered his upper body, arms, and both sides of his face, and a small dragon horn grew upright from his forehead. At the same time, a light-purple Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet, and violent Soul Power fluctuations burst from his body.

"Roar!"

Behind him, the enormous Golden Dragon Crocodile let out an angry roar at the crowd.

Though they had already guessed it, the moment the purple Soul Ring appeared, the elders were still startled.

"He actually... really absorbed a thousand-year Soul Ring."

"Little Yan, where's the soul skill? Hurry and let me see it!" Guangling Douluo said impatiently.