The Terrifying Power of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring

Golden Crocodile Douluo gave a slight nod. "High Priestess, it has been a long time."

Bo Saixi did not respond. Her gaze shifted to Qiangu Xiaoye, who was absorbing the Soul Ring, then to Green Phoenix Douluo and Tuoba Yue'er standing guard before him.

"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Dark Abyss Bone Dragon Whale." She spoke slowly. "Spirit Hall certainly went to great lengths."

Golden Crocodile Douluo replied evenly, "We merely hunted a Soul Beast. We did not trespass upon Sea God Island's territory. Why has the High Priestess come here?"

Bo Saixi fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "This place is too close to Sea God Island. The disturbance caused by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast alarmed everyone on the island. I came to see who was responsible."

"Now you have seen."

Golden Crocodile Douluo said, "High Priestess, you may return."

"I did not expect that you, too, had broken through to the realm of a Peerless Douluo."

Bo Saixi was somewhat surprised. Golden Crocodile might have been the second Soul Master on the continent to break through to the Peerless Douluo realm solely through his own efforts.

"So what?"

The atmosphere abruptly froze.

Two level ninety-nine Peerless Douluos faced each other, and even the Soul Power in the air seemed to solidify.

Green Phoenix Douluo silently raised his Soul Power, ready to strike at any moment.

Tuoba Yue'er had long finished absorbing her eighth Soul Ring. Though she was only level eighty-four, she clenched her teeth and fixed Bo Saixi with an unwavering stare.

Bo Saixi's gaze lingered on Golden Crocodile Douluo for a long while before she looked again at Qiangu Xiaoye, who was absorbing the Soul Ring.

"What is his name?" she suddenly asked.

Golden Crocodile Douluo frowned slightly. "Qiangu Xiaoye."

"Qiangu..." Bo Saixi seemed lost in thought. "Someone from Spirit Hall."

She said nothing more, merely hovering quietly in the air as she watched Qiangu Xiaoye absorb the Soul Ring.

Golden Crocodile Douluo did not make a move either.

He could tell that Bo Saixi bore no hostility.

As the High Priestess of Sea God Island, though, she had every reason to come and investigate such a major disturbance as the hunting of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Another two hours passed.

The aura around Qiangu Xiaoye finally stabilized completely. He opened his eyes, and two streaks of pitch-black light shot from them before slowly fading after a long while.

He rose to his feet and felt the surging power within his body.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red!

His ninth Soul Ring was a blood-red Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

His level had also settled at ninety-three, and he could break through to level ninety-four at any time.

After all, with a full set of Soul Bones, Immortal Herbs, and the power of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, reaching this level was only natural.

That was still without absorbing the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. If he absorbed it, reaching level ninety-five would not be a problem.

To put it bluntly, if a god were willing to bestow a God Trial upon Qiangu Xiaoye at this moment, he would surely become a god!

Just then, he sensed someone's gaze. Looking up, he met Bo Saixi's sea-blue eyes.

Bo Saixi looked at him and gave a slight nod.

"Though he is young, his foundation is solid."

She said calmly, "Anyone capable of absorbing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring is bound to achieve great things in the future."

Qiangu Xiaoye was taken aback, unsure how to respond.

Bo Saixi said no more and turned to leave.

"Bo Saixi." Golden Crocodile Douluo suddenly spoke.

Bo Saixi paused slightly.

"Thank you for what happened today," Golden Crocodile Douluo said.

Bo Saixi did not turn around. She merely replied flatly, "I did not do it for your sake. I did it for his."

She paused, and an almost imperceptible complexity entered her voice.

"Give him my regards."

As her words fell, blue light flashed, and her figure vanished into the distance.

Golden Crocodile Douluo fell silent for a long while and let out a soft sigh.

The "him" Bo Saixi spoke of was naturally Qian Daoliu. Yet the tangled love and grudges among those few people could not possibly be explained in just a sentence or two.

"Let's go home."

The four of them rose into the air and flew toward the continent.

Behind them, the outline of Sea God Island gradually blurred before finally vanishing into the vast sea mist.

Half a month later, the four returned safely to Spirit Hall.

Inside the Worship Hall, several offerings had already gathered to await them. Ling Feng was there as well.

After more than half a year of cultivation, his Soul Power had reached level thirty-five. In truth, after absorbing his third Soul Ring back then, his Soul Power had already reached level thirty-three, nearly level thirty-four.

In other words, over half a year, he had only gained a single level of Soul Power.

It sounded like little, but in reality, he had spent most of that time honing his combat skills.

He, Qian Renxue, and Jin Chen had formed a small team. They fought Spirit Duels in the Spirit City Spirit Duel Arena and won every match, only one victory away from earning the Purple-Gold Spirit Duel badge.

An elderly man stood beside him.

He possessed an extraordinary bearing, vigorous and full of vitality.

It was Tuoba Xi, who had broken through level ninety and fully stabilized his cultivation. He needed only one Soul Ring to advance into the realm of a Titled Douluo.

The group entered the Worship Hall amid laughter and conversation, then took their seats.

Golden Crocodile Douluo sat beside the main seat. He lifted his teacup, took a sip, and only then looked toward Qiangu Xiaoye.

"Xiaoye, what did you gain from this trip? How are the Dark Abyss Bone Dragon Whale's Soul Skills?"

Qiangu Xiaoye rose and answered respectfully, "Second Uncle, that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring gave me two Soul Skills."

He raised his right hand, and a pitch-black vortex appeared in his palm—the very one he had displayed before.

But this time, he did not allow the vortex to expand. Instead, he compressed it into a fist-sized sphere, black as ink and radiating a heart-palpitating fluctuation.

"First form of the Ninth Soul Skill, Dark Abyss Dragon Devour."

Qiangu Xiaoye said, "As I mentioned before, it can summon a dark abyss and devour the Soul Power and life force of every living being within its range."

"The greater the range, the greater the consumption, and the slower the devouring speed. If its power is compressed to the limit, it can be used for single-target attacks."

With a flick of his finger, the black sphere shot out and landed on a testing stele in the corner of the Worship Hall.

There was no deafening sound, no explosion.

The incomparably sturdy obsidian testing stele simply vanished without a sound.

It was not shattered or blasted apart. It was as though something had completely erased it from the world, leaving behind only a smooth semicircular depression.

Everyone drew in a sharp breath.

Golden Crocodile Douluo's pupils contracted. "This is..."

"Dark Abyss Dragon Devour compressed to its utmost limit."

Qiangu Xiaoye said, "As a single-target attack, if unleashed at full strength, it can instantly devour an expert at the level of a Titled Douluo."

Ling Feng's eyes lit up.

This skill was far too terrifying.

"There is also the second form."

Qiangu Xiaoye raised his left hand, and an enormous bone shield materialized from thin air.

The shield was entirely black, woven from countless massive whale bones. Every bone was carved with strange patterns.

The bone shield floated before him, three zhang tall and two zhang wide, completely protecting him behind it.

"Second form of the Ninth Soul Skill, Dark Abyss Bone Shield."

Qiangu Xiaoye said, "It summons a skeletal shield from the Dark Abyss Bone Dragon Whale. Its defensive power is exceptionally strong."

"With my current cultivation, it can withstand a full-force strike from a level ninety-six Titled Douluo."

He paused and looked at Golden Crocodile Douluo. "Second Uncle, you may test it."

Golden Crocodile Douluo raised a brow and did not stand on ceremony, striking out with one palm.

He used only thirty percent of his strength in that palm strike, but thirty percent of a level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo's power was enough to severely wound an ordinary Titled Douluo.

The palm force struck the bone shield, yet it did not move in the slightest. It did not even tremble.

A trace of approval flashed through Golden Crocodile Douluo's eyes.

"Excellent. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring granted two skills, one offensive and one defensive, complementing each other perfectly. You truly struck it rich this time."