Half a day later.
Ye Linyuan and Du Busi appeared above the Star Dou Great Forest.
Looking down at the sprawling forest below, Du Busi began selecting a target for Ye Linyuan's second Soul Ring.
"Lin Yuan, your first Soul Skill, Wind Thunder Flash Strike, not only enhances your speed but also possesses tremendous offensive power."
"Even among Thousand-Year Soul Skills, its power and effects rank among the very best."
"For your second Soul Skill, I suggest finding one that provides all-around enhancement. That will allow you to better unleash your martial soul's potential."
Ye Linyuan nodded slowly. That was precisely what he had in mind.
Du Busi pondered aloud, "Your Dark Demon Evil God Tiger is a super soul beast. In terms of bloodline, it is undoubtedly among the very finest of beast martial souls."
"Even most dragon-type martial souls cannot compare to yours."
"Legend has it that the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger possesses six great attributes: wind, lightning, strength, evil, space, and time."
"Of those six attributes, the strongest are naturally evil, space, and time."
"But while those three attributes are powerful, soul beasts possessing them are equally rare."
"Finding a suitable Thousand-Year Soul Beast will not be easy."
After thinking for a moment, Ye Linyuan said, "Teacher, how about we find a strength-type soul beast with a top-tier bloodline?"
"Oh?" Du Busi was slightly surprised. "Why strength?"
Ye Linyuan smiled faintly. "Teacher, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's strongest attribute is indeed evil, but soul beasts with evil attributes are far too rare."
"Finding one in a short time will not be easy."
"As for time- and space-type soul beasts, most of them excel at speed, which overlaps somewhat with my first Soul Skill."
"And powerful time- and space-type soul beasts are currently too old for me."
"The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger is already immensely strong, and I have just consumed the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. On top of that, Life Gold has remade my body."
"My strength now has probably reached the level of a three-ring strength-type Soul Master."
"As the saying goes, one force can overcome ten techniques. Since the advantage is already here, why not dig it out completely?"
"If we can find a soul beast with a top-tier bloodline that also excels in strength and offense, it should be an excellent choice."
"If that soul beast itself possesses an innate Soul Skill focused on reinforcement and enhancement, that would be even more perfect."
After hearing Ye Linyuan out, Du Busi pondered for a moment. Then his eyes suddenly lit up. "In that case, I do have a target in mind."
Ye Linyuan asked curiously, "What target?"
Du Busi chuckled. "One of the Star Dou Great Forest's top soul beasts—the Golden Earth Dragon!"
"Our Body Sect has few disciples, so we cannot be careless in nurturing any one of them."
"And the selection of Soul Rings is naturally the highest priority."
"For thousands of years, our Body Sect's predecessors have practically combed through the outer region and mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest. We know best where every kind of soul beast can be found."
"And this Golden Earth Dragon is one of the highest-quality Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the information we possess."
Ye Linyuan's gaze shifted slightly.
That name sounded awfully familiar!
He suddenly remembered that, in the original story, Wang Dong seemed to have obtained a ten-thousand-year Golden Earth Dragon King soul bone from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
"The Golden Earth Dragon lineage possesses a pure yet diluted bloodline of the Light Dragon Clan—the Golden Dragon."
"Its origin is even more extraordinary. It traces back to the Golden Dragon King, one of the Gold and Silver Dragon Kings."
"Lin Yuan, you may not have heard of the Golden Dragon King."
"But I can tell you that the Golden Dragon King has another domineering title—the Ancestor of Strength!"
Du Busi said gravely, "Do not be fooled by the fact that the Golden Earth Dragon is merely a type of earth dragon. Its strength and bloodline are in no way inferior to those of true dragon clans."
"And its greatest strengths are power and light."
"Normally, the Golden Earth Dragon's light attribute would completely conflict with your Dark Demon Evil God Tiger."
"But you possess Twin Martial Souls. Your Exquisite Sacred Heart itself has a sacred attribute even purer than the power of light."
"With that, the issue of attribute conflict no longer exists."
Ye Linyuan's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he said, "Teacher, I'll choose this one. Where is the Golden Earth Dragon you mentioned?"
Du Busi looked at him, then suddenly hesitated. "That Golden Earth Dragon is a little too old. It is probably just over four thousand years old. You..."
Under normal circumstances, the maximum age of a second Soul Ring that an ordinary Soul Master could absorb was around seven hundred years.
Only a very small number of exceptionally gifted Soul Masters could raise their second Soul Ring to the Thousand-Year Level through physical strengthening and mental fortitude training.
Du Busi himself had been one such person.
Ye Linyuan's first Soul Ring had already reached the Thousand-Year Level, two or three times the age of an ordinary Soul Master's. That was already absurdly monstrous.
But if he wanted to absorb that four-thousand-year Golden Earth Dragon, it would be nearly six times the normal seven-hundred-year limit for a second Soul Ring!
Such an enormous leap across levels made even Du Busi, who had already witnessed Ye Linyuan's monstrous talent, feel uncertain.
Ye Linyuan's expression also turned solemn.
A four-thousand-year second Soul Ring—the difficulty of fusing it was obvious.
Yet after pondering for only a moment, he grinned. "Teacher, it will be that one. I believe I can do it."
Du Busi looked at him seriously. "Are you sure?"
Ye Linyuan nodded firmly. "I'm sure!"
Before obtaining Life Gold, Ye Linyuan might truly not have dared to attempt absorbing a Soul Ring so far beyond his limits.
But now...
The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum had tempered his muscles and bones, while Life Gold had transformed his martial souls and strengthened his bloodline and spirit.
If he still did not dare to give it a try after all that, he would be far too useless!
Seeing how resolute Ye Linyuan was, Du Busi suddenly laughed heartily. "Good! You have courage! As expected of my, Du Busi's, disciple!"
"Since you have such resolve, how could this old man refuse?"
"Let's go! We'll take down that Golden Earth Dragon!"
A flash of green light appeared, and the two swiftly plunged into the Star Dou Great Forest.
A moment later.
They appeared above a certain canyon within the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Du Busi pointed below. "Do you see the cave at the end of the canyon? If that Golden Earth Dragon has not changed its den, it should be inside."
As he spoke, Du Busi prepared to take Ye Linyuan down.
But at that moment, an unexpected change suddenly occurred.
"Roar!"
A savage roar, accompanied by heavy footsteps, suddenly came from the other side of the canyon.
Du Busi paused and turned to look.
A huge, powerfully built beast suddenly appeared in the canyon, heading toward the cave on the other side.
Its fur was dark gold, and its eyes glimmered with a faint green light.
Most striking of all were the claws on its massive bear paws. Each was over two feet long and radiated fierce, murderous power.
Upon seeing its appearance clearly, Du Busi could not help exclaiming in surprise, "This is... a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear!?"
Before you continue