The Star Dou Great Forest lay directly south of the Heavenly Dou Empire, stretching across both the Heavenly Dou and Star Luo Empires. It was one of the largest and oldest forbidden zones for humans on the Douluo Continent.
Qin Yuan and Li Fu set foot in the Star Dou Great Forest and headed deeper inside.
Qin Yuan was after the most powerful strength-type Soul Beast he could find, one at least five thousand years old. He would have to venture deep into the forest to find one.
The Star Dou Great Forest was quiet, and its temperature was considerably lower than the outside world's. A breeze stirred the trees and grass, bringing with it wisps of cool air.
Beneath his Golden Dragon Mask, Qin Yuan's clear, bright eyes were filled with curiosity and anticipation as he surveyed the forest he was visiting for the first time.
To keep his unusual circumstances from being discovered, he had chosen to wear a mask in case anyone recognized him.
Of course, Li Fu, who stayed close by his side, wore a Black Panther Mask as well.
Although the masks made them even more conspicuous, it was enough as long as no one recognized them.
The Star Dou Great Forest was vast, and there was no shortage of Soul Beasts within it. They had encountered several powerful strength-type Soul Beasts, but Qin Yuan hadn't wanted any of them. He wanted the very best!
So they spent seven whole days searching before he finally found a Soul Beast to his liking.
It was a dragon-type Soul Beast, its entire body a dark gold and five meters long, with three claws. Its hideous, razor-sharp jaws were tearing into its freshly slain prey, blood staining its mouth.
Hidden in the shadows, Qin Yuan's eyes shone with excitement.
Having read and memorized the entire collection of books in the Heavenly Dou Imperial Library, he recognized it at once as a Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon.
Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragons were exceedingly rare strength-type dragon Soul Beasts. According to the books, even a top-tier Soul Beast like the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was slightly inferior to a Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon of the same age.
The Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon's attribute was Extreme Power! It was a perfect match for Qin Yuan's Golden Dragon Martial Soul.
A Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon grew one meter taller every thousand years. This one was five meters long, meaning it had cultivated for five thousand years!
It met every one of Qin Yuan's requirements!
It was a gift from the heavens!
Qin Yuan didn't dare waste a moment. He immediately ordered Li Fu to attack.
After hearing from Qin Yuan that the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon was an even more powerful top-tier Soul Beast than the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, and that it had cultivated for five thousand years, bringing its strength close to that of a Soul Saint, Li Fu didn't dare underestimate it. He used his third Soul Skill, Shadow Concealment, cloaking himself in shadow as he silently approached the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon, which was enjoying its feast.
When he was less than three meters away, Li Fu sprang into action.
A sneak attack!
Li Fu revealed his Martial Soul Avatar and unleashed his fourth, fifth, and sixth Soul Skills at once. His terrifying attacks all crashed into the back of the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon's head.
BOOM!!!
"ROAR!!!!"
The Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon let out a bloodcurdling scream. A bloody hole burst open in the back of its head, and its whole body flew through the air, spraying blood like a burst sack. It smashed through countless giant trees before finally crashing to the ground, moaning in pain.
Knowing well that you had to strike while the iron was hot, Li Fu gave the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon no time to react. With his Shadow Leopard Martial Soul Avatar activated, he roared, leaped up, and pounced on the dragon, biting and clawing at it.
Before long, the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon was covered in wounds and drenched in blood, barely clinging to life. It hadn't even seen who had ambushed it. All it knew was that darkness filled its vision and its head was spinning.
In its final moments, it faintly heard an elderly voice:
"Young master, quick! It's nearly done for."
Right after that came the sound of footsteps rapidly drawing closer.
It understood. Human Soul Masters had hunted it.
Squish!
It felt a sharp weapon pierce the bloody hole in the back of its head and pass straight through its skull. After the excruciating pain came endless darkness.
And so, the five-thousand-year-old Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon died a thoroughly aggrieved death.
It would never have imagined that a dignified Soul Saint would resort to a sneak attack against a five-thousand-year-old Soul Beast!
You dirty dog! Can't win fair and square, huh?!
Looking at the Deep Purple Soul Ring quickly gathering above the body of the creature that had just died, Qin Yuan let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew, that was close."
He had genuinely been afraid that Li Fu's sneak attack would fail, leaving the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon to fight with Li Fu, attract the attention of other Soul Beasts, or escape. If that happened, he'd have no one but himself to blame.
"Uncle Fu, stand guard for me."
After giving the order, Qin Yuan stared eagerly at the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon, its eyes still open in death, and immediately sat down cross-legged.
Following the method for absorbing a Soul Ring, he circulated his Soul Power. Drawn by it, the Deep Purple Soul Ring above the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon's corpse floated slowly toward the space above his head.
Then it suddenly descended and settled around Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan grunted as a searing current, hot as magma, surged into him from every direction.
The power of the five-thousand-year-old top-tier Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon ran wild like an untethered horse, crashing against his body as if to avenge itself on the human Soul Master who had killed it.
But even though the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon was a top-tier Soul Beast with five thousand years of cultivation, it had no choice but to bow before Qin Yuan, who had lavishly consumed Whale Rubber every day for eight years.
Nearby, Li Fu's old eyes were filled with grave concern.
Absorbing a five-thousand-year Soul Ring as his first Soul Ring seemed utterly insane to him. After all, even a Soul Ancestor who had broken through level forty could absorb a Soul Ring of at most five thousand years!
But he was only a subordinate. How could he interfere with his master's actions? All he could do was follow orders.
He silently prayed that his young master would succeed.
In truth, he had an even bigger question: his young master's Martial Soul had clearly been nothing more than a Little Grass Snake. How had it suddenly become a top-tier dragon-type Martial Soul?
Still, if his young master didn't say anything, he wouldn't dare ask.
That was also why Qin Yuan had brought only Li Fu to hunt Soul Beasts. Even though Li Fu knew about his Martial Soul, Qin Yuan didn't have to explain himself.
But it would be different if Qian Renxue found out. She would certainly question him, and Qin Yuan couldn't just refuse to explain. So for now, he had to keep it from her and wait for the right moment to tell her.
Qin Yuan's brows furrowed slightly as he closed his eyes and refined the Soul Ring. Absorbing a five-thousand-year Soul Ring didn't seem as easy as he had imagined.
Still, it was only a little pressure.
Time ticked by. About two hours later, Qin Yuan opened his eyes. His clear, dark eyes had become dazzling golden pupils.
At the same time, his Soul Power began to surge like an erupting volcano!
Level twelve... level fifteen... level eighteen... level twenty...
It was still rising, showing no signs of slowing down.
Level twenty-two... level twenty-three... level twenty-four...
Level twenty-five!
That's right, level twenty-five! After absorbing the five-thousand-year Soul Ring of the Three-Clawed Dark Gold Dragon, Qin Yuan's Soul Power had soared straight from level eleven to level twenty-five!
Nearby, Li Fu stared at the sight, dumbfounded.
Even he, a man who had weathered many storms, felt his calm, steady heart churn like a raging sea.
Although he couldn't accurately identify his young master's Soul Power Level right now, it had definitely surpassed level twenty!
In other words, after absorbing a five-thousand-year Soul Ring, Qin Yuan had gained at least ten levels of Soul Power!
Was this the benefit of absorbing a Soul Ring beyond one's limits?! It was terrifying!
At that moment, Li Fu felt as if his entire worldview had collapsed.
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