Dugu Yan: How is that one so big at such a young age?

(Ah Yin beautiful illustration)

Lin Jiang had not yet spoken.

Dugu Yan had already rushed over, grabbing his arm.

"Lin Jiang..." She bit her lip, her eyes slightly red, "You must succeed. I am still waiting to..."

"Waiting to what with me?"

Dugu Yan blushed and did not answer, only staring at him intently.

Lin Jiang smiled and patted her hand.

"Rest assured."

He walked to the side of the Diamond Dragon-Armored Beast's corpse and sat down cross-legged.

He closed his eyes.

He began to guide that black spirit ring.

The black ten-thousand-year spirit ring hovered above his head, rotating slowly.

The moment the spirit ring made contact with his body—

"Hiss—"

Lin Jiang gasped.

Pain!

It was damn painful!

That violent energy felt like countless steel needles pouring in from the top of his head, charging wildly along his meridians!

Wherever it passed, his meridians felt as if they were being torn apart!

Lin Jiang gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging.

His Golden Dragon King martial soul activated automatically, golden light flowing through his body, attempting to suppress that tyrannical energy.

But was a ten-thousand-year spirit ring so easily tamed?

The energy rampaged through his body like a trapped beast, struggling desperately!

Lin Jiang trembled all over, fine beads of blood seeping from the surface of his skin.

Dugu Yan stood to the side, her hands clenched so tightly that her nails were almost digging into her flesh.

"Grandfather... will he be alright?"

Dugu Bo stared fixedly at Lin Jiang, his brows knitted into a knot.

"This kid's meridians... are much tougher than I imagined. If it were an ordinary person, they would have exploded from the first wave of impact."

"Then he..."

"Don't speak," Dugu Bo said in a deep voice, "He can only rely on himself now."

Time passed minute by minute.

From day to night, and from night back to day.

Lin Jiang remained sitting there, a layer of blood scabs already forming on his body.

But he did not collapse.

The power of the Golden Dragon King within him was gradually devouring that tyrannical energy.

Finally—

After a day and a night.

Lin Jiang suddenly opened his eyes!

Golden light shot out from his pupils!

"Boom—!"

A wave of air exploded from his body!

At the same time—

"Rip—!"

The clothes on his body burst apart completely, turning into fragments that scattered and flew away!

Dugu Yan instinctively covered her eyes, but the gaps between her fingers were wider than her eyes.

Then she froze.

Her eyes grew wider and wider.

"..."

"..."

Lin Jiang stood up, golden light flowing over his entire body, his face filled with irrepressible excitement.

"I succeeded in absorbing it!"

He turned his head to look at Dugu Yan, his face full of an expression expectant of praise.

Dugu Yan did not speak.

She stared blankly at Lin Jiang, her face slowly turning red.

The redness spread from her cheeks to her earlobes, and from her earlobes down to her neck.

Lin Jiang blinked. "Sister Yan-Yan? What's wrong? My first spirit ring is very impressive, right?"

Dugu Yan still did not speak.

Her lips moved, her voice as soft as a mosquito's.

"...That... how is it so big..."

Lin Jiang: "???"

He tilted his head. "Sister Yan-Yan, what are you saying? My first spirit ring?"

Dugu Yan did not answer.

She simply lowered her head, her face as red as a cooked shrimp.

Lin Jiang followed her gaze downward.

Further down.

And further still.

Then, he froze.

"..."

"..."

The valley was silent for three seconds.

Lin Jiang discovered that he was, in fact, standing at attention.

Dugu Yan stood where she was, her face still flushed, but her eyes were already shining.

Her inner thoughts were scrolling frantically:

This is a real man!

A tough guy!

I love it to death!

That Yu Tianheng fellow is a total waste, get lost!

Lin Jiang: "Ahem..."

Dugu Yan finally snapped out of it and hurriedly took off her jacket to hand it to him.

Lin Jiang took it and silently tied it around his waist.

Some things still needed to be covered.

In the distance, Dugu Bo was still controlling the Giant Strength Ancient Dragon, and hearing the commotion, he walked over.

He stared at Lin Jiang, his eyes wide as copper bells.

"Lin Jiang, you brat, you actually succeeded?!"

Lin Jiang nodded, his thoughts shifting—

A black spirit ring slowly rose from beneath his feet, circling his body.

A ten-thousand-year spirit ring!

Dugu Bo gasped.

"Heavens..."

He muttered, his voice trembling slightly.

"The first spirit ring is already ten thousand years... this is truly unprecedented!"

He stared at Lin Jiang, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Inner thought: This child has the potential to become a god!

Dugu Yan finally recovered from the shocking scene just now, leaned in, and asked, "What is your first spirit skill? Is it an amplification-type skill?"

Lin Jiang nodded.

"That's right."

He raised his hand, golden light surging within his body.

"First spirit skill—Golden Dragon Body!"

As the words fell, golden light instantly covered his entire body!

Faint golden dragon scale patterns appeared on the surface of his skin, his muscles bulged slightly, and his entire being seemed to be enveloped by an invisible power!

Power surged through his body!

Defense, significantly boosted!

Melee combat ability, skyrocketing!

Dugu Yan stared at him, her eyes gradually turning into heart shapes.

Golden Dragon Body... when he activates this soul skill, wouldn't he be even more...

She swallowed hard.

Her mind had already begun playing some strange, peculiar images.

At this moment, Dugu Yan was feeling entirely flustered.

Lin Jiang retracted his soul skill and turned his head to look at her: "Sister Yan Yan? Why is your face red again?"

Dugu Yan: "N-nothing! I'm just... happy for you!"

Lin Jiang blinked, feeling that something was off.

But he didn't dwell on it, turning instead to look at the restrained Giant Strength Ancient Dragon.

His second soul ring was waiting for him.

Dugu Bo was just calculating how to deal with the Giant Strength Ancient Dragon when he turned his head and saw Lin Jiang walking toward it.

"Wait." He reached out to stop him, "What are you doing?"

Lin Jiang said as a matter of course: "Obtaining my second soul ring."

Dugu Bo picked at his ear.

"Did I hear that right?"

He stared at Lin Jiang with wide eyes, as if looking at a monster.

He had just finished absorbing his first soul ring, and now he wanted to absorb his second?

Who had ever heard of such a thing?

Lin Jiang nodded.

He had indeed reached level twenty.

Between the year of accumulation at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, the immortal herbs he had consumed, and the ten-thousand-year soul ring he had just absorbed—

Even he didn't know how much soul power was still backed up inside him.

But level twenty was a certainty.

Dugu Bo was silent for three seconds.

Then he gave a thumbs up.

"Noo-bai!"

He didn't stop him again.

This kid kept refreshing his worldview time and time again; he couldn't be bothered to be shocked anymore.

The Giant Strength Ancient Dragon lay on the ground, already on the verge of death under the assault of Dugu Bo's Poison.

Lin Jiang stepped forward and delivered the final blow.

Another black soul ring rose slowly.

It was blacker and denser than the previous one, rotating with even more ferocity!

Lin Jiang sat cross-legged and began to channel it.

The moment the soul ring made contact—

"BOOM—!"

An incomparably violent energy surged into his body!

It was far more overbearing than the Diamond Dragon-Armored Beast from before!

The power was more immense and more tyrannical, rampaging through his meridians like an unbridled ancient beast!

Lin Jiang gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging.

He could feel it—

This soul ring was not the twenty thousand years he had previously estimated...