Departure, Star Dou Great Forest

"Come on, old man, have a taste of my cooking."

Lin Ming stepped aside and presented the buns before Xuan Zi.

Xuan Zi did not waste words. He grabbed a fist-sized bun and bit into it, not caring whether it was hot. He wolfed them down two bites at a time.

The instant he took a bite, the fragrance of meat swept through the entire courtyard.

The wonderful flavor filled Xuan Zi's mouth, making him eat one after another without any ability to stop, as if he had not eaten in days.

Lin Ming hurriedly took several buns away from inside, lest there be none left for him later.

Only after finishing did Xuan Zi return to his usual carefree demeanor.

He casually swept his gaze over Lin Ming and immediately saw through his cultivation. "Not bad, kid Ming. You only awakened your martial soul yesterday, yet you already have level ten Soul Power today. Looks like you have Innate Full Soul Power. Not bad. Want this old man to take you to obtain a soul ring?"

Hearing that, Lin Ming shuddered and quickly shook his head. "No need, old man. I'll just have my grandfather take me!"

With that, Lin Ming ran off without looking back.

What a joke. Letting the Supreme Elder take him to obtain a soul ring? Was he tired of living?

Thinking of the Supreme Elder's glorious exploits in the original work, Lin Ming absolutely would not dare let him take him to obtain a soul ring.

He ran to Sea God Pavilion and found Lin Feng.

"Old Lantern, take me to get my first soul ring."

Lin Feng had been cultivating. Seeing his promising eldest grandson arrive, he immediately rose to his feet without the slightest hint of perfunctoriness.

"Sure, Grandpa will take you right away!"

"Oh, right, Old Lantern. This is for you. I made it myself."

Lin Ming took two meat buns from his clothes and handed them to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng accepted the still-warm buns, his eyes reddening slightly. "Then Grandpa will thank his eldest grandson."

Title Douluo no longer had much appetite for food. Of course, Xuan Zi was an exception. If Taotie was not gluttonous, could he still be called Taotie?

Lin Feng picked up Lin Ming. Soul Power surged around him, and in an instant, they arrived outside Sea God Pavilion before flying toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

A Title Douluo's speed was extraordinarily fast. In less than a day, grandfather and grandson reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Eldest grandson, have you decided what soul ring you want?"

Lin Ming had many options in mind for his first soul ring, but he found it difficult to choose for the moment.

In the end, Lin Ming gave Lin Feng a rough range. "Old Lantern, just help me find a soul beast with strong attack power."

For his first soul ring, Lin Ming was not planning to consider one with an attribute. After all, it was merely a hundred-year soul ring. Even if it possessed attribute power, he would not be able to bring much of it out. It would be better to find a soul beast with strong attack power. If he got lucky, he might even obtain a boosting soul skill.

A boosting soul skill was a versatile asset no matter which soul ring slot it occupied.

"Alright, Grandpa will take you there!"

With Lin Feng's experience as a Title Douluo, he naturally knew where to find soul beasts skilled in offense. He took Lin Ming and flew in one direction.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Lin Feng brought Lin Ming to a lake.

"Speaking of attack power, this kind of soul beast is definitely a perfect fit!"

Lin Feng proudly pointed toward the cave beside the lake.

Lin Ming could sense that some terrifying creature seemed to dwell within that cave.

But no matter how terrifying a soul beast was, insufficient cultivation meant it was useless.

A deep-blue spear crackling with lightning appeared in Lin Feng's hand.

Nine soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and five black—pulsed beneath his feet.

The pressure of a Title Douluo swept through the surroundings and startled the creature inside the cave.

A dragon-shaped creature over ten meters long was forcibly dragged out by Lin Feng's Soul Power.

"Not bad. An eight-hundred-year Giant Claw Dragon. It suits you very well, eldest grandson."

As its name suggested, the Giant Claw Dragon possessed a pair of enormous, razor-sharp foreclaws. It resembled a true dragon in appearance, with two horns on its head and pale gray scales that carried a powerful metallic sheen covering its body.

The Giant Claw Dragon belonged to the draconic subspecies and carried a faint trace of true dragon bloodline. Its quality was quite good, making it an exceptionally suitable choice for a first soul ring.

At this moment, the Giant Claw Dragon could not move under Lin Feng's suppression and roared furiously.

It was one of the strongest soul beasts in this part of the outskirts. When had it ever suffered such humiliation?

Lin Feng did not care about any of that. With a slight exertion of force, the immense pressure of his Soul Power began crushing the Giant Claw Dragon.

The sound of shattering bones rang out as the Giant Claw Dragon's body twisted bit by bit.

Within several breaths, every bone in the Giant Claw Dragon's body had been broken, leaving it barely alive.

"Come on, eldest grandson. Use your Sky-Propping Spear to end its Life and absorb its soul ring."

Lin Ming did not hesitate and summoned the Sky-Propping Spear.

Holding the spear in both hands, its tip flashed with white light before stabbing fiercely into the Giant Claw Dragon's massive head.

The Sky-Propping Spear's sharpness easily pierced through.

The Giant Claw Dragon had already been at death's door. Now, it finally breathed its last.

As the Giant Claw Dragon's final trace of vitality faded, a dark-yellow soul ring floated out from its corpse.

Lin Ming sat cross-legged and, following the method Lin Feng had taught him, circulated his Soul Power to begin drawing in the soul ring.

Lin Ming had consumed Whale Rubber since childhood. An eight-hundred-year soul ring should not be a problem.

The instant the soul ring settled around him, an incomparably violent surge of Soul Power rushed into Lin Ming's body and rampaged through his meridians.

Soul rings below ten thousand years did not possess spiritual shock. As long as a Soul Master's physical constitution was strong enough, they could absorb one successfully.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Lin Ming's forehead.

Inside his body, the Giant Claw Dragon's Soul Power was bombarding his meridians relentlessly.

Lin Ming circulated his Soul Power and suppressed it with all his strength, but his meridians still suffered slight damage.

At that moment, the origin power belonging to the Prayer Angel stirred within Lin Ming's body and began repairing the damage to his meridians.

This was not something Lin Ming had done deliberately, but an instinctive response from his body.

A dense aura of Life enveloped Lin Ming, and the pain within his body instantly vanished without a trace.

An hour later, Lin Ming opened his eyes.

As he gripped the Sky-Propping Spear in his hand, a brand-new dark-yellow soul ring appeared beneath his feet.

"How was it, eldest grandson? What level is your Soul Power now? And how is your soul skill?"

Lin Ming sensed it for a moment before replying, "My Soul Power should be at level thirteen now. I'm not far from level fourteen either."

Lin Feng nodded, not at all surprised. After all, he had absorbed a soul ring beyond his limit. Naturally, it would not be as simple as merely gaining one level.

"As for the soul skill..." Lin Ming did not answer immediately, deliberately keeping him in suspense.

He walked to an open area ahead and lit up his first soul ring.

"First Soul Skill, Sky-Propping Battle Intent!"

As the soul ring lit up, dragon-shaped currents swirled around Lin Ming's body, and his aura suddenly rose to an entirely new level.

Just as Lin Ming had hoped, he had obtained a boosting soul skill—and the rarest kind, an all-attribute boost.

"Damn, eldest grandson, that boost ratio is a little terrifying! Hurry up and tell Grandpa about it!"

Lin Ming sensed it for a moment before speaking.