Soul Rings Completed

After separating from them, Xiao Chen began testing the second Soul Skill of his Wood Bow Martial Soul.

Xiao Chen could clearly feel that his eyes had undergone a subtle transformation.

This second Spirit Ring had greatly enhanced his field of vision and Dynamic Capture. His sight now reached much farther, allowing him to spot even the faintest movements in the distance;

It also carried a faint Spiritual Shock that could briefly disrupt the minds of low-level Soul Beasts and Soul Masters.

Especially in this dense forest, his vision had become increasingly clear and unobstructed. He even sensed a faint instinct warning him of danger.

This second Spirit Ring had not only granted Xiao Chen an active Soul Skill—Spiritual Shock—but had also added several passive skills.

Vision Expansion, Dynamic Capture, danger detection, and enhanced vision in darkness—all these effects worked constantly without him needing to deliberately activate a Soul Skill.

Xiao Chen could now see as far as eight hundred meters. Without the dense forest in the way, his vision under the night sky would certainly reach beyond a thousand meters.

He could clearly track the movements of any target within five hundred meters.

His danger-warning range was also around one hundred and fifty meters.

"System, I love you so much!" Xiao Chen swept the System Spirit into his arms.

Before this, Xiao Chen had still harbored reservations about Ten-Year Spirit Rings. Now, however, his heart was filled with irrepressible delight.

The improvements this second Spirit Ring had brought Xiao Chen were so comprehensive that its effects far surpassed those of a thousand-year, or even Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring.

"Host, please behave yourself!" The System Spirit hurriedly wriggled free of Xiao Chen's grasp.

It flashed half a step away, then somehow produced a small bottle of scented mist and sprayed itself vigorously.

Xiao Chen smiled, patted its head twice, and then began searching for a Soul Beast suitable for his Second Martial Soul.

With the second Spirit Ring's enhancement, Xiao Chen no longer needed to be as cautious as before or feel his way forward step by step.

Thanks to his far superior long-range vision, he found a suitable Soul Beast within just a few minutes.

System scan results: Swift Shadow Weasel, nine and a half years old, speed type, highly compatible.

After pinpointing the Swift Shadow Weasel's location, Xiao Chen quietly made his way toward it.

He could see a long way now, but his arrows had limited range. Using only his first Soul Skill, he could shoot at most around a hundred meters.

Of course, if he activated his Second Martial Soul and used a fusion skill, his range would at least double.

But there was no need to waste Soul Power in the Star Dou Forest. Soul Beasts younger than ten years old could easily be killed with ordinary arrows.

The Swift Shadow Weasel reacted quickly. When Xiao Chen crept to within about fifty meters and fired his first arrow, it actually dodged.

A forest was indeed a difficult place for an archer to fight. There were too many things that could block an arrow.

But the Swift Shadow Weasel was still a Soul Beast less than ten years old. Once Xiao Chen got serious, it had nowhere to run.

As Xiao Chen absorbed the Spirit Ring, the system also retrieved the Swift Shadow Weasel's soul into the System Space.

There was no one around, so Xiao Chen completed the absorption in an instant.

The Swift Shadow Weasel's Spirit Ring granted Xiao Chen a Soul Skill—"Shadow Step Dash."

Xiao Chen immediately activated it to test it out.

As soon as he did, an indescribable lightness coursed through his entire body. He instantly dashed forward, leaving a blurred afterimage where he had stood;

In the span of a breath, Xiao Chen had moved several yards.

"So fast!" Xiao Chen exclaimed inwardly. The burst of speed had caught even him off guard.

He quickly regulated his breathing and calmed his mind. Once he had settled himself, he activated Shadow Step Dash again and shot forward.

Xiao Chen's entire body became a pale green blur as he raced through the forest.

With Shadow Step Dash at full power, Xiao Chen's feet barely touched the ground. He skimmed past branches and leaves, his clothes rustling softly. Only a few drifting leaves remained in his wake.

Xiao Chen sprinted at full speed for a minute before stopping.

In just that minute, he had already gained a basic grasp of Shadow Step Dash's rhythm.

The system told him plainly that the speed he had just reached was already comparable to that of a level-forty speed-type Soul Ancestor!

Even better, Shadow Step Dash's effect could also be applied to arrows.

It increased the speed of his arrows by at least three or four times, and also considerably improved their range and power.

While Xiao Chen was testing his Soul Skill, Chu Ruolan and her group unexpectedly encountered a five-hundred-year-old Ghost Vine.

Vine-type Soul Beasts were highly compatible with Su Ting's Martial Soul, Twining Grass, and its age was also suitable, so they stopped to hunt it.

With Chu Ruolan there, killing a five-hundred-year-old Soul Beast was naturally no problem.

Only Su Qing's absorption of the Spirit Ring would take some time.

Meanwhile, Xiao Chen had already found a second suitable Soul Beast—an eight-year-old Spiked Porcupine.

The little creature could shiver its whole body and fire a dense volley of needles, rather like the "Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles."

Xiao Chen killed it with a single arrow. A White Spirit Ring rose slowly, and he absorbed it at once.

This time, Xiao Chen gained another passive skill—Piercing Wound!

The arrows he fired had at least twice the penetrating power. Their range, speed, and attack power all improved as well.

He also gained an active skill—Fierce Thorn Rain.

This Soul Skill was an area attack. It needed to be charged before use, and the longer he charged it, the wider the rain of needles would spread.

Xiao Chen immediately nocked an arrow and tried to activate the Soul Skill.

He concentrated and charged it for about twenty breaths, then fired.

When the arrow reached a point fifty meters ahead, it suddenly shattered, transforming into countless sharp bone spines that poured down like a torrential downpour, covering an area ten meters across.

The rain of needles poured down, embedding themselves fiercely in the trees.

The trunks were pierced through in an instant, and the branches and leaves were shredded and scattered. The trees, which had been standing tall, began to crack under the strain, then crashed down in a swath.

Dust and splinters mingled with the remaining bone spines and littered the ground. The forest floor, once intact, was now a complete mess.

"This destructive power... it's beyond what I expected!" Xiao Chen couldn't help exclaiming.

With all his Spirit Rings in place, Xiao Chen had no reason to stay in the Star Dou Forest any longer.

But just as he was about to leave, he heard a roar from deep in the forest. It came from the direction where Chu Ruolan and the others were.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Chen activated Shadow Step Dash and rushed toward them.

Meanwhile, Chu Ruolan and the others had heard the roar too, but Su Qing was still absorbing her Spirit Ring, so they couldn't leave.

"Ma Yan, stay here and protect Su Qing. I'll go ahead and see what's happening!" Chu Ruolan instructed them before cautiously making her way toward the source of the sound.

Soon, Chu Ruolan spotted the source of the roar.

"Damn, it's a Thunder Pattern Leopard!" Chu Ruolan's expression changed drastically.

Judging by the Thunder Pattern Leopard's size and the Soul Power aura emanating from it, she could tell at once that it was at least three thousand five hundred years old.