Cyclops Nest

He obtained two Soul Rings in a row.

Long Zhanye was ecstatic.

However.

Not only did Old Man Gu show no intention of leaving, but an even more fanatical gleam flashed in his eyes.

"Since we're already here, and we've gotten two decent Soul Rings... why not go for something big before we leave?"

Lowering his voice, he pointed toward a secluded corner deeper within the habitat. "When I was scouting over there just now—"

"I saw a Cyclops with its right leg severed at the root. It was an old injury, and it could barely move. It looked like it had been badly wounded by some natural enemy and barely managed to escape back here."

"I estimate its cultivation to be... at least forty thousand years! Strike while it's sick and finish it off! The three of us will go together. Quick battle, quick end!"

Wealth was found amid danger!

The three exchanged glances, all stirred by the bold plan, and quickly crept toward the direction Old Man Gu had indicated.

Soon.

In a remote corner littered with discarded bones and rocks, they found their target.

It was an exceptionally massive Cyclops, but its right leg was missing from the root. Though the wound had healed, it had left behind a savage scar.

It could only rely on its left leg and a thick stone club to barely support itself as it moved, looking utterly miserable.

When the three silently approached, the crippled Cyclops seemed to sense the danger.

Fear filled its enormous single eye as it let out a low, warning whimper.

It even tried to brace itself on its stone club and limp deeper inside to escape.

But how could its crippled body possibly outrun three prepared and agile humans?

"Attack!" Old Man Gu barked. This time, he actually summoned his Martial Soul first!

His entire right arm suddenly swelled, muscles bulging as dense blue-black patterns resembling scales emerged across his skin.

His whole arm exuded a heavy aura tinged with decay.

His Martial Soul was his entire right arm!

However.

What surprised Long Zhanye was—

When the Soul Rings beneath Old Man Gu's feet lit up one after another—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black...

Two more Soul Rings slowly rose behind those six!

These two Soul Rings were a dull grayish white!

Like faded old cloth, they carried no trace of Soul Power fluctuations or pressure, merely floating there in silence.

They formed a stark and bizarre contrast with the six radiant Soul Rings before them.

"This... this is..." Long Zhanye was shocked.

He had never seen or been able to understand such a situation. Why did a Soul Emperor have eight Soul Rings?

And why were the last two such strange gray rings?

Seemingly noticing Long Zhanye's confusion, Zhua Yun quickly explained in an extremely low voice.

"Master's Martial Soul is his right arm. It was originally ordinary, but he became obsessed with alchemy and researching Martial Souls."

"For hundreds of years, he repeatedly tempered that arm with countless precious medicines and special methods. It has long since been transformed, its toughness and strength far surpassing an ordinary arm."

"He calls it the—'Qilin Arm.'"

Zhua Yun's tone carried a trace of heaviness. "As for why Master is now a Soul Emperor but has eight Soul Rings..."

"That is because Master was once a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse."

"A Soul Douluo?!" Long Zhanye was stunned.

Zhua Yun nodded, lowering his voice further. "Unfortunately, later, because of..."

"Certain reasons, Master's cultivation suffered a devastating blow and plummeted all the way down to level sixty-seven. He has never been able to recover."

"The Soul Rings that should have been his seventh and eighth also lost their luster, turning into the kind of 'Dead Rings' you see now."

"They can no longer provide Soul Skills or attribute enhancements. They are merely proof that he once possessed them... nothing more than decorations."

His cultivation had plummeted?!

Those four words struck Long Zhanye's heart.

They instantly reminded him of his father, Long Yufeng, whose cultivation had stagnated because of a heart illness, as well as his own Martial Soul being crippled and his near descent into becoming useless.

A bitter sense of shared misfortune, along with even deeper doubts, surged within him.

What had this knowledgeable Elder Gu, whose methods seemed to reach the heavens, experienced back then to fall from a Soul Douluo to this state?

Long Zhanye could not help asking, "Elder Gu, back then..."

"Don't ask!" Zhua Yun interrupted Long Zhanye unusually sharply.

Pain and deep taboo flashed through his eyes. "This matter... is Master's greatest taboo. Do not mention it again."

Seeing Zhua Yun react like this, Long Zhanye's heart tightened. He knew there had to be some unspeakable truth behind it.

So he immediately shut his mouth and buried the question in his heart.

At this moment.

Old Man Gu was already swinging his extraordinary "Qilin Arm."

Like a humanoid Fierce Beast, he charged fiercely at the crippled Forty-Thousand-Year Cyclops!

Although his Soul Power was only at the Soul Emperor level, the sheer force unleashed by that endlessly tempered arm was terrifying!

His punches howled through the air, every blow as heavy as a mountain. As they struck the Cyclops's arms, dull thunderous booms rang out.

Though the Cyclops possessed the foundation of forty thousand years of cultivation, it was heavily injured and crippled, unable to move freely. It likely could not even wield thirty percent of its full strength.

Under Old Man Gu's savage assault, it could only take the blows passively, roaring in fury and pain yet unable to mount an effective counterattack.

Its rough skin was smashed open, flesh torn apart, and even its bones had begun to deform.

Zhua Yun and Long Zhanye quickly joined the battle as well, harassing and attacking from the sides.

Under the siege of the three, the pitiful crippled Cyclops was soon beaten to its last breath and collapsed onto the ground.

Finally, Long Zhanye stepped forward and delivered the final blow with the Azure Underworld Dagger.

What followed was the absorption of the Forty-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

This Soul Ring's energy was even more immense. Long Zhanye sat cross-legged, fully focused as he guided the impact of the Soul Power.

Nearly five hours passed.

By the time the sky had fully brightened and brilliant morning light spread across the east—

He finally succeeded in absorbing the Soul Ring into his body!

Success! His third Soul Ring, forty thousand years!

Not only that, the vast Soul Ring energy once again pushed his Soul Power forward by a great stride, raising it directly to level fifty-two!

However.

Before he could properly savor the joy of success, Old Man Gu's expression abruptly changed.

He looked anxiously toward the basin entrance, where faint but increasingly converging heavy footsteps, like muffled thunder, seemed to be approaching!

"Not good! It's dawn! Those Cyclopes that went out to forage are starting to return!"

"Move! We have to leave before they return to the nest in large numbers!"

"Quick! Quick! Quick!"

Old Man Gu urged them repeatedly, his voice filled with unprecedented tension.

The two no longer had time to care about anything else. They immediately fled along the route they had taken in, rushing madly toward the outskirts of the habitat at their fastest speed.

Behind them.

The footsteps of the returning Cyclopes drew closer and louder, driving them to flee for their lives...