Stop, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo

The sooner, the better! After a bout of squabbling between Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, Sword Douluo ultimately won by a narrow margin, securing the task of escorting Qian Yu and the others to hunt for their Spirit Rings.

Sword Douluo accompanied Qian Yu and the others back to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, during which time Dugu Yan made a request of Qian Yu.

"Qian Yu, Ye Lingling of the Heaven Dou Royal Second Team is my dear sister, and she has just reached the point where she needs to obtain her third Spirit Ring. Do you think we could bring her along?"

To this, Qian Yu readily agreed.

Qian Yu had long since heard of the unique Martial Soul belonging to Ye Lingling's family.

The Nine Heart Begonia was the pinnacle of healing Martial Souls on the continent; it was passed down through a single line, with only two in existence at any given time, bearing the weight of destiny. The Martial Soul possessed only one type of spirit skill—a wide-range, all-encompassing heal. It could restore anyone who wasn't dead, and the speed of wound recovery climbed in tandem with the user's Soul Power and Spirit Rings. Wherever the petals fell, broken bones and shattered tendons would instantly knit back together as if they had never been injured. Though it possessed inherent limitations, it suffered from the drawbacks of being unable to replenish Soul Power and being unable to cure strange poisons.

The outer-central region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

This was a gathering place for spirit beasts between the 30th and 50th levels. It was also the destination for Qian Yu, Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Ye Lingling, Sword Douluo, and the others.

Since most of Qian Yu's team needed to obtain their third Spirit Rings, Sword Douluo decided to prioritize the 30th-level Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Ye Lingling.

To reduce the time spent searching for spirit beasts, Qian Yu directly utilized his Divine Eye spirit skill, Spirit Detection.

At the same time, he shared his perspective with everyone.

It was the first time Sword Douluo had experienced such a miraculous spirit skill, and he couldn't help but feel amazed.

The group searched for a long time until, finally, their persistence paid off: they spotted a Shadow Moon Demon Wolf.

The Shadow Moon Demon Wolf was sprinting through the forest, injured; its ink-colored fur was splattered with blood, the wound on its spine was being torn open by the wind, and the silver moon patterns on its back were dim yet still flickered slightly with every leap.

Its shattered right claw kicked up mud as it struck the ground, its drooping wolf ears pressed tight against its skull, and its murky, slit-pupiled eyes were fixed with ferocity. Though its four limbs moved with a slight hitch, it still darted through the dense forest like an arrow, dragging a trail of faint, bloody afterimages behind it.

"Everyone, be careful. It's a Shadow Moon Demon Wolf, roughly 4,000 years old. Shadow Moon Demon Wolves are generally pack animals; a lone one like this is perfect for Zhuqing's third Spirit Ring," Qian Yu explained as the beast charged toward them.

"What? Kid, what kind of joke are you playing? The absorption limit for a spirit master's third Spirit Ring is just over 1,700 years. How can you let Zhu Zhuqing absorb a 4,000-year ring? You're being completely reckless."

When Sword Douluo first heard it was a Shadow Moon Demon Wolf, he agreed it was suitable for Zhu Zhuqing, but once he saw the age of the beast, he felt Qian Yu was simply acting out of turn.

Nearby, Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, Xiao Wu, and Ye Lingling all wondered if Qian Yu had misremembered the limit for spirit ring ages.

To this, Qian Yu said nothing.

He merely looked at Zhu Zhuqing while summoning his first Martial Soul, the Desert Eagle.

Four Spirit Rings—"Purple, Purple, Purple, Black"—lit up upon it.

Silence. Absolute silence.

Everyone wore an expression as if they had seen a ghost.

Sword Douluo, in particular, couldn't help but exclaim: "A monster. Qian Yu, I have to say, you really are a monster!"

"Zhuqing, do you trust me?" Qian Yu had used facts to prove he wasn't talking nonsense.

The others also shut their mouths.

Qian Yu left the choice to Zhu Zhuqing.

In Zhu Zhuqing's eyes, Qian Yu saw shock and longing.

Ultimately, Zhu Zhuqing nodded firmly: "Qian Yu, I trust you!"

Hearing this, Qian Yu smiled.

A 4,000-year-old Shadow Moon Demon Wolf was not difficult for Qian Yu to handle.

There was no need for Sword Douluo to intervene.

Qian Yu switched his Martial Soul to the 98k form and lit up his second Spirit Ring.

Second Spirit Skill—Sky Full of Dancing Bullets.

The bullets, carrying the aura of Ultimate Ice, tore through the sky.

Qian Yu fired "bang, bang, bang" in rapid succession at the Shadow Moon Demon Wolf.

Sword Douluo saw that Qian Yu intended to duel the Shadow Moon Demon Wolf alone.

He was just about to advise him: "Qian Yu, the Shadow Moon Demon Wolf is extremely fast; it's a natural counter to your Martial Soul. Better leave it to me."

Before Sword Douluo could finish his sentence, he saw Qian Yu aiming at two spots ahead of the Shadow Moon Demon Wolf.

He began to control the bullets to detonate.

"Boom."

"Boom."

"Boom."

Three explosions rang out.

The bullets transformed into a sky full of ice shards, carrying the attribute of Ultimate Ice to freeze the air and cover the Shadow Moon Demon Wolf's escape route.

The Shadow Moon Demon Wolf's speed plummeted instantly. Waiting for it was the sound of Qian Yu pulling the trigger.

"Stop!!!"

"Stop!!!"

"Stop!!!"

At the critical moment, three young voices simultaneously shouted at Qian Yu.

Judging by the voices, it was two males and one female.

But Qian Yu remained unmoved.

The trigger was pulled as usual, the bullets flew normally.

They struck towards the Shadow Moon Demon Wolf's limbs.

"boom"

"boom"

"boom"

"boom"

The Shadow Moon Demon Wolf's limbs were gone, completely paralyzed.

Regarding this, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, Ye Lingling, and Dugu Yan all felt a terrifying awe at Qian Yu's extreme control.

Sword Douluo on the side marveled at Qian Yu's high combat intelligence, admitting he was inferior.

It was a soul beast that completely countered Qian Yu's martial soul, yet Qian Yu had skillfully used his position to calculate and completely suppress it with attribute restraint.

"A genius, a genius born for battle. Such a person is naturally a leader in a team, not to mention his extremely monstrous mental soul skill."

Sword Douluo couldn't help but praise Qian Yu in his heart.

Everyone also noticed that just now, although there were voices stopping Qian Yu from continuing to attack the soul beast, Qian Yu did not stop.

Therefore, when the Shadow Moon Demon Wolf could no longer move, everyone wisely moved closer to Sword Douluo.

At the same time, everyone also looked vigilantly in the direction from which the voices had come.

"Stop!" "Stop!" "Stop!" Angry roars came again from that direction the moment Qian Yu attacked.

Qian Yu and the others looked up, and saw that the owners of the voices were: a purple-clothed girl with messy hair sticking to her sweaty cheeks, her skirt torn in several places and stained with mud and grass, faint purple soul power flickering at her fingertips, her breath weak but her chin held high;

A silver-clothed youth with his bangs covering his eyes, his robe torn at the side of his waist with bloodstains, the fabric sticking to his skin, his weapon slung across his shoulder, his steps heavy but his back straight, a cold aura still lingering around him;

A red-clothed youth with his armor scorched black and mottled, cracked and curled at the edges in many places, his palms bearing red marks, his flame soul power fluctuating weakly, his heavy breaths suppressed extremely low.

Behind the three, two old men walked slowly. One wore a pale pink brocade robe with chrysanthemum patterns, his face effeminate, his fingertips lightly stroking, a faint fragrance lingering around him, his pressure hidden within his body; the other was wrapped in a dark cloak, his hood obscuring his face, revealing only a stern jaw, dark mist churning around him, and with every step he took, the surrounding air seemed to freeze a bit more.

Sword Douluo's gaze sharpened, his fierce sword intent instantly erupting, his eyes locked onto the two old men. The figures in the chrysanthemum brocade robe and the dark mist were too conspicuous. He frowned deeply and said in a low voice, "Chrysanthemum, Ghost Two Douluo, people from the Martial Soul Hall, they've come too." His sword energy hummed around him, his blade trembling slightly, clearly having already listed the two as formidable enemies, his vigilance at its peak.