The carriage jolted along a narrow path through the forest.
Qian Anci lifted the curtain and watched the verdant ancient trees flash past the window. A faint gray glimmer came and went in his eyes.
"What are you thinking about?"
Qian Renxue sat beside him, her golden hair cascading like a waterfall. A hint of curiosity showed in her golden eyes.
She had clearly not forgotten the strange clash between their martial souls during their awakenings.
"My first Soul Ring."
Qian Anci let the curtain fall, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Grandpa said I should choose speed or sharpness...but my martial soul seems better suited to something else."
Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow.
Her younger brother had always carried himself with a composure beyond his years.
And now he wanted to choose his first Soul Ring on his own?
"Suit yourself."
She gave a soft snort and said no more.
But deep in her golden eyes, a complicated look flickered.
Half a day later.
"This is the Star Dou Great Forest."
Azure Luan Douluo's voice came from outside the carriage, cold as frost.
He stood at the front with his hands behind his back, his azure robes fluttering as his gaze swept over the primeval forest ahead, whose canopy blotted out the sky.
"Stretching across the two great empires of Heaven Dou and Star Luo, it is a paradise for Soul Beasts and a graveyard for Soul Masters."
Golden Crocodile Douluo leaped down from another carriage. His burly body landed without making a sound.
He grinned, baring his white teeth. "Stay close, young masters."
"The Hundred-Year Soul Beasts on the outskirts are no joke."
Qian Anci and Qian Renxue climbed out of the carriage one after the other.
The rich scent of grass and trees swept over them, mingled with a faint smell of blood.
"Young master, young miss."
Azure Luan Douluo turned around, his expression unusually solemn.
"Choosing your first Soul Ring is crucial. It lays the foundation for your future Soul Skills."
"You are both at innate level twenty, and you possess top-tier martial souls. Tell me, what kind of Soul Beast do you each intend to choose?"
Qian Renxue stepped forward, confidence shining in her golden eyes.
"My Six-Winged Angel needs a holy attribute. My first choices are the Bright White Tiger or the Holy Swan, around four hundred years old."
Azure Luan Douluo gave a slight nod. "Reasonable."
He turned to Qian Anci. "And you, young master?"
Qian Anci rubbed the palm of his right hand, where he could almost still feel the chill of the Scythe of Death.
Within his Sea of Consciousness.
Pale gray mist churned gently, and Castorice's lazy voice rang out:
"Tell him...you're looking for a Soul Beast with an aura of 'death.'"
"Preferably one that can unleash the most extreme killing intent when on the verge of death."
Qian Anci raised his eyes and met Azure Luan Douluo's gaze.
"Azure Luan Worshipper, I want to find a Soul Beast...one that can unleash the most extreme killing intent when it's on the verge of death."
"Its attributes should lean toward darkness or death, and its age..."
He paused. As Castorice chuckled softly, he uttered the number:
"One thousand years."
"Absurd!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo's expression changed, his voice booming like a bell.
"The limit a first Soul Ring can withstand is four hundred and twenty-three years. That's common knowledge!"
"One thousand years? You'd explode!"
Qian Renxue furrowed her brows, her golden eyes scrutinizing him. "Anci, are you sure?"
Qian Anci remained composed.
He slowly raised his right hand. A wisp of gray-white Death Qi curled around his fingertips.
"Worshippers, Sister, have you forgotten..."
"My martial soul was born for death."
He took a step forward. Death Qi surged around him, and a low, mournful wail seemed to rise, like an echo from the underworld.
"Thanatos's authority can naturally..."
"Protect me as I walk along the edge of death."
Azure Luan Douluo fell silent.
He stared at the wisp of Death Qi, remembering the gray-white radiance that had torn through the golden light not long ago.
After a long moment, he let out a deep sigh.
"Very well."
"If you have the confidence to do this, young master, I'll help you search for a thousand-year Soul Beast."
"But if you truly face danger..."
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. "I'll forcibly interrupt the absorption. Even if it damages your foundation, that's still better than losing your life."
"Thank you, Azure Luan Worshipper."
Qian Anci bowed respectfully, though the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
The four of them searched for most of the day at the boundary between the forest's outskirts and its mixed zone.
At last, Azure Luan Douluo stopped beside a dark, damp swamp, where the surrounding plants had all withered and died.
"Found it."
He lowered his voice and pointed toward a patch of rotting reeds ahead.
"What a dense dark attribute—and that...rotting stench of death."
Following his gesture, Qian Anci saw...
Two hideous lizards, black from head to tail and bristling with bone spikes, were coiled on a rotten log in the middle of the swamp!
Dark red Soul Fire flickered in their eye sockets. Corrosive saliva dripped from their opening jaws, eating into the mud.
Azure Luan Douluo's pupils contracted.
"Could those be...the exceptionally rare Death Scythe Dragon Lizards?"
His voice was low, but carried a hint of excitement.
"When they're on the verge of death, these Soul Beasts burn their life force and unleash a slash that surpasses their limits!"
"The Soul Skill granted by their Soul Rings often comes with an 'instant death' or 'severe injury' effect!"
His keen perception of Soul Power let him instantly gauge their cultivation.
"Young master, you're in luck."
"The smaller one on the left is about four hundred years old—a safe choice."
"But the one on the right..."
Azure Luan Douluo furrowed his brows.
"Its bone spikes have turned blood red, and Soul Fire curls around its tail blade. I'm afraid it has already surpassed twelve hundred years."
Qian Anci stared fixedly at the Millennium Death Scythe Lizard.
It seemed to sense something. Its black head snapped up, and its dark red Soul Fire fixed on the spot where they were hiding.
There was no fear in its gaze.
Only the beast's most savage madness!
"That's the one."
Qian Anci spoke softly.
"I want the thousand-year one."
"Anci!"
Qian Renxue seized his wrist, her golden eyes filled with concern.
"You really want to choose that twelve-hundred-year Soul Beast? It's three times your limit."
"I'm not being reckless."
Qian Anci turned to look at her.
Gray light flickered in his deep-set eyes, and Qian Renxue was momentarily taken aback.
"Sister, my martial soul tells me..."
"It can withstand it."
"And I need that killing intent born at the moment of death."
He called softly in his mind, "Castorice, are you ready?"
"Whenever you are, Anci."
Castorice's voice was gentle, yet carried a reassuring strength.
"When you absorb the Soul Ring, I'll use the origin of the underworld to protect your heart."
"But the pain..."
"You'll have to bear that yourself."
Qian Anci's lips curved into a faint smile.
"That's enough."
He turned to Azure Luan Douluo and bowed respectfully. "Azure Luan Worshipper, please hunt that thousand-year giant lizard for me."
Azure Luan Douluo and Golden Crocodile Douluo exchanged a glance, then fell silent.
"...Very well."
At last, Azure Luan Douluo slowly nodded.
He raised his right hand, and azure Soul Power gathered like a hurricane.
"Golden Crocodile, protect the young miss and young master."
"Once I've dealt with this beast..."
Before he could finish, Azure Luan Douluo vanished from where he stood.
He hadn't even activated his martial soul.
He had merely flashed forward, and the air erupted in a piercing sonic boom!
"Skree!"
The thousand-year Death Scythe Dragon Lizard let out a shrill cry and whipped its tail blade around. A pitch-black slash tore through the air!
Azure Luan Douluo merely flicked his hand.
The dying strike, powerful enough to kill a Soul Grandmaster, dissipated like green smoke!
In the next instant,
he appeared above the giant lizard and pressed down with one palm.
Azure Soul Power took the shape of a tangible storm, crushing the lizard's spine in an instant while leaving it just enough life to breathe.
"Young master, do it!"
Qian Anci walked forward slowly.
The Scythe of Death took shape in his hand. Gray-white Death Qi coiled around its black blade, and a dragon-shaped phantom wound through it.
He looked at the thousand-year Soul Beast, still shrieking and struggling.
There was no pity in his eyes.
"Reaping...begins."
The blade swept across and severed its throat.
As the giant lizard's final spark of life went out, a purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse.
In the dark swamp, it radiated an eerie, alluring glow.
Qian Anci sat cross-legged.
He could feel the power within his body boiling, cheering!
He could also feel another dormant power stirring quietly in the depths of that surging Death Qi—the Shadow of Pollux.
"Let's begin, Castorice."
"Mhm."
Pale gray mist poured from his body. Where no one else could see, it formed a gentle hand that softly supported the purple Soul Ring.
Deeper within the gray mist,
the outline of another Soul Ring was slowly taking shape...
It was a gift from the underworld, the authority of Pollux.
There was no need to hunt or absorb.
The moment his first Soul Ring settled into place, this one would be born alongside it.
Qian Anci drew on his Soul Power.
He guided that purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring...
toward the Scythe of Death!
Before you continue