Su Mo's First Soul Skill, Thousand-Year Second Ring

Su Mo nodded, sat cross-legged beside the Blood Moon Howling Wolf's corpse, and focused on drawing in the spirit ring.

The dark yellow spirit ring seemed to be drawn by some force. It slowly floated up from above the corpse and settled onto Su Mo.

As time passed, a strange sight emerged. Su Mo's entire absorption process went astonishingly smoothly, with almost no resistance at all.

The instant the spirit ring entered his body, his brows merely furrowed slightly before relaxing again, his expression calm and peaceful.

Qian Xunji stood nearby, his gaze never leaving Su Mo. He was clearly quite surprised as well.

Not long ago, when Bibi Dong had absorbed her first spirit ring, she had succeeded too, but the process had not been easy.

Yet Su Mo absorbed the spirit ring as naturally as eating and drinking.

After a long while, Su Mo slowly opened his eyes. The instant they opened, a flash of crimson glinted through his dark pupils.

He rose to his feet, dusted off his clothes, and smiled. "Teacher, I succeeded."

Qian Xunji stepped closer and examined him carefully for a moment. Only after confirming that he was unharmed did he finally relax.

"What Soul Skill did you gain?" Qian Xunji asked.

Information about the Soul Skill naturally surfaced in Su Mo's mind.

"First Soul Skill. I call it Asura Blood Evil. Once activated, it doubles both my attack and speed. Most importantly, this Soul Skill has no time limit. As long as I have enough Soul Power, I can maintain the enhanced state indefinitely."

"No time limit?" A hint of surprise flashed in Qian Xunji's eyes.

Most enhancement-type Soul Skills had time limits and could only be used again after a cooldown.

Yet Su Mo's Soul Skill could be maintained continuously.

He promptly nodded, satisfaction appearing on his face. "Mm, your Soul Skill is indeed very powerful. Next, we should find your second spirit ring."

Just as the group prepared to set off and venture deeper, Su Mo suddenly spoke. "Teacher, I want my second spirit ring to be at the thousand-year level."

His voice was not loud, but his tone was exceptionally firm, without the slightest trace of jest.

Qian Xunji frowned, and the smile vanished from his face. "Xiao Mo, a Thousand-Year Soul Ring is far too dangerous.

"The energy fluctuations of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring are several times more violent than those of a Hundred-Year Soul Ring. With your current physical strength, rashly absorbing one would be far too dangerous.

"You are extremely talented. There is no need to rush. You must not risk irreversible injury."

Golden Crocodile Douluo also chimed in, "Xiao Mo, your teacher is right. Absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring now is too risky."

"That's right, junior brother. Listen to Teacher," Bibi Dong said worriedly as well.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Su Mo's voice remained resolute. "You all saw it too. I absorbed the first spirit ring very smoothly just now, without any discomfort."

Qian Xunji looked at him and fell silent for a moment.

He turned to Golden Crocodile Douluo, who stood nearby with his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with inquiry.

Golden Crocodile Douluo pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly. "In that case, let him give it a try."

Qian Xunji hesitated briefly before finally nodding.

The four continued deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.

Golden Crocodile Douluo released his spiritual power, which spread outward like invisible ripples.

With a Level 98 Titled Douluo scouting ahead, finding a suitable Soul Beast was effortless.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the group found their target.

Not far away stood a steep rock wall several dozen zhang high, its surface covered in cracks and protruding stones.

Within a deep crevice in the rock wall, a massive figure could vaguely be seen lying in wait.

It was an enormous Soul Beast.

It was nearly four meters long, its entire body covered in grayish-brown scales. The scales overlapped in layers, each one the size of a palm, their edges sharp as blades and gleaming with a metallic luster beneath the sunlight. From afar, it looked as though it wore a thick suit of armor.

A row of protruding bone spines ran along its back, extending from its neck all the way to its tail. The spines were triangular, the longest nearly half a chi in length, with razor-sharp tips.

Its limbs were thick and powerful, each as wide as an adult's waist. Webbing stretched between its toes, and curved claws at their tips gripped tightly onto the rock wall.

Its head was triangular, and a pair of cold vertical pupils stared icily at the group, their reflections mirrored within its eyes. From time to time, it flicked out a long, forked tongue with a hissing sound, full of warning.

"Iron-Armored Dragon Lizard," Golden Crocodile Douluo said. "A draconic Soul Beast with a trace of thin dragon bloodline. It excels in strength and defense.

"Judging by its size and the color of its scales, it should have only just surpassed a thousand years."

Su Mo studied the Iron-Armored Dragon Lizard for a few moments, then nodded. "It'll do. Teacher, I'll leave it to you."

Qian Xunji gave a slight nod, and his figure flashed.

In the next instant, he was already standing before the rock wall.

The Iron-Armored Dragon Lizard seemed to sense the danger. It suddenly let out a hiss and viciously lashed its thick tail at Qian Xunji.

However, before a Titled Douluo, such an attack was hardly worth mentioning.

Qian Xunji did not even summon his Martial Soul. With a casual wave of his hand, a sharp blast of Soul Power shot forth and knocked the Iron-Armored Dragon Lizard directly off the rock wall.

With a thunderous boom, the Iron-Armored Dragon Lizard crashed heavily onto the ground, gouging out a shallow pit as dust billowed into the air.

It struggled to rise, but Qian Xunji had already landed beside it and planted a foot on its spine, pinning it firmly to the ground.

A moment later, the Iron-Armored Dragon Lizard lay sprawled on the ground, barely clinging to life and no longer possessing the strength to struggle.

The scales it had been so proud of were no different from paper before Qian Xunji and had already been completely shattered.

Su Mo walked up to it. With a thought, the dark crimson Asura Demon Sword condensed in his hand.

The blade trembled slightly and gave off a soft hum, as though it were thrilled by the slaughter about to come!

Su Mo raised his sword and aimed at the Iron-Armored Dragon Lizard's fist-sized pupil.

With a wet squelch.

The blade pierced precisely through its eye and stabbed into its skull.

The same bizarre scene unfolded again. No blood flowed out. Instead, a dense crimson mist drifted from the corpse and was drawn into the sword along its blade.

Clearly, the blood mist this time was denser and darker than that of the Blood Moon Howling Wolf, containing even more powerful energy.

Su Mo could clearly feel the Asura Demon Sword in his hand tremble once more. That sense of satisfaction was even stronger than before.

Like a man parched for ages finally drinking from a sweet spring.

The Soul Power within his body also increased slightly, more than it had previously.

Finding nothing unusual about his body, he immediately sat cross-legged beside the Iron-Armored Dragon Lizard's corpse and began absorbing its spirit ring.

A light purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring floated up from the corpse and slowly descended onto him.

Qian Xunji and Golden Crocodile Douluo both watched him intently, their spiritual power constantly sensing his condition, afraid that something might go wrong.

Bibi Dong stood nearby as well, her small hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes. Her bright eyes remained fixed on Su Mo without blinking, her face full of anxiety.