A Thousand-Needle Porcupine, But Ten Thousand Years

"Healing Light."

"Restoration Light."

You had to admit, the Soul Skills of a healing-type Soul King were top-notch.

The two support Soul Skills landed on Zhang Yang, and he immediately felt much better.

"This subordinate will take his leave."

"Mm." Guangling Douluo waved his hand carelessly, dismissing the Soul King he'd casually dragged over.

Struggling to his feet from the grass, Zhang Yang raised a hand in salute. "Thank you, Elder, for your repeated guidance. If it weren't for—"

"Hey, no need to say more. This old man just wanted to watch the fun." Guangling Douluo waved him off, cutting him short.

But Zhang Yang paid no heed to Guangling Douluo's tough talk and soft heart. He continued, "Regardless, Zhang Yang is grateful to you, Elder."

"Grateful?" Guangling Douluo clasped his hands behind his back and rolled his eyes. An idea immediately came to him.

So Guangling Douluo changed tack. "If you want to thank me, then do something for me."

Zhang Yang was taken aback.

A Titled Douluo wants me to run an errand?

What could I do that a Titled Douluo couldn't?

Zhang Yang's head was full of questions, but he still readily agreed. "Please give me your orders, Elder."

"I want you to help me win a bet."

A bet?

A bet between Titled Douluos?

Zhang Yang's heart sank.

Guys, this Guangling Douluo doesn't seem like a good person.

Why did Qian Daoliu hand me over to him?

He thought that, but his words were quite different. "Just say the word, Elder. Zhang Yang will do whatever it takes."

He still had to put on a good show. Otherwise, if he offended Guangling Douluo, the one in charge of him, how could he expect to have any peace in the future?

Guangling Douluo waved his hand. "Don't worry. It's nothing difficult. After all, I'm not some demon."

With that, Guangling Douluo turned and walked away. "Go back and get yourself in shape. Come to the entrance of the Pope Palace in three days. I'll take you to hunt for a Soul Ring."

Zhang Yang hurriedly asked, "Elder, what about the bet you mentioned...?"

"You'll find out when the time comes."

After saying this, Guangling Douluo suddenly turned to look at Zhang Yang. His face wore the expression of a child who'd just found a new toy. Then he vanished in a flash.

Zhang Yang's heart suddenly started pounding.

Guys, I think I've boarded a pirate ship.

Do you think it's too late to jump overboard?

And so, Zhang Yang endured the three most agonizing days of his life.

Three days later, outside the Pope Palace.

Standing just within the range the palace guards would tolerate, Zhang Yang wore a fitted outfit and felt a little on edge.

It was around eleven o'clock. Zhang Yang had already been waiting here for two hours, and he had no idea how much longer he'd have to wait.

Just as Zhang Yang was preparing to keep waiting, he suddenly felt a chill close in beside him.

He whipped around and discovered Guangling Douluo had appeared at his side without him noticing.

"Greetings, Elder Guangling."

Guangling Douluo nodded and chuckled. "Mm, right on time."

"..." Zhang Yang was speechless.

Having played a trick on Zhang Yang, Guangling Douluo was in high spirits. A pair of crystalline wings suddenly spread from his back, their edges shedding ice crystals that refracted into seven-colored light.

Guangling Douluo's body floated naturally into the air. With a beat of his wings, he flew toward the east gate, leaving only one instruction behind: "Keep up."

Zhang Yang had no choice but to circulate his Soul Power and chase after him as fast as he could.

Zhang Yang felt like Guangling Douluo was messing with him again.

Guangling Douluo deliberately kept his flying speed just fast enough that Zhang Yang had to sprint at full speed to avoid being left behind.

On top of that, there were plenty of wide roads leading out through the east gate, but he insisted on taking Zhang Yang down the most crowded one.

Along the way, Zhang Yang nearly ran into countless people and was cursed out more times than he could count.

He knew one thing for sure: Guangling Douluo, up in the sky, was having the time of his life.

Fifty kilometers east of Spirit City's eastern gate lay the edge of the Star Dou Forest.

After resting briefly at the forest's edge and barely recovering his strength, Zhang Yang followed Guangling Douluo into the Star Dou Forest.

Unlike his usual cautious, step-by-step approach when entering the Star Dou Forest, Zhang Yang now felt as carefree as if he were on a spring outing.

The once dark and dangerous Star Dou Forest seemed to have turned into a place of lush green grass and babbling streams.

Even the tiger roars and dragon cries that occasionally sounded from the forest had become clear and pleasant.

Zhang Yang couldn't help thinking that even exploring a map in a game system had never felt so easy and carefree.

Once they entered the Star Dou Forest, Guangling Douluo immediately spread his Spiritual Power around him, swiftly searching for his target.

How powerful was a Titled Douluo's Spiritual Power? With only a slight release, it fully surveyed all the Soul Beasts within hundreds of meters.

Under the crushing pressure of Guangling Douluo's terrifying Soul Power, the Soul Beasts, some of them thousands or even tens of thousands of years old, were so terrified they didn't dare make a sound.

Zhang Yang didn't need to tread quietly behind him. He could just stride after him.

After a while, Guangling Douluo spread his Spiritual Power once more to search the area. A smile suddenly appeared on his face. "I've finally found you. Follow me."

With that, Guangling Douluo beat the ice wings on his back. His figure vanished, leaving behind only a streak of light that slowly faded in the air.

Zhang Yang, trailing behind and eating his dust, didn't dare delay. He hurried after the direction the streak of light had gone.

He crashed through a dense thicket of bushes, and before him appeared an ice mountain that radiated a bone-chilling cold.

Frozen inside it was a Thousand-Needle Porcupine, over two meters tall at the shoulder.

Before it had been frozen, the Thousand-Needle Porcupine had knelt on its front legs, its tusks and snout driven deep into the earth in a posture of submission.

But it could never have imagined that a top-tier powerhouse like a Titled Douluo had entered the Star Dou Forest this time specifically to hunt it.

Submission?

Today's big shot wasn't taking secret signals or raising rats.

Seeing Zhang Yang catch up, Guangling Douluo pointed at the Thousand-Needle Porcupine inside the ice mountain. "Kill it."

"Yes, Elder." Zhang Yang nodded. The M14 appeared in his hands, and three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and blue—began revolving beneath his feet.

Zhang Yang raised his rifle and took aim. The first and Second Soul Rings beneath his feet lit up in succession.

"[First Soul Skill: Precision Shot]"

"[Second Soul Skill: Armor-Piercing Declaration]"

How hard was an ice mountain made by a Titled Douluo? It could freeze Soul Beasts solid, leaving them not the slightest chance to break free.

Zhang Yang didn't take any chances. He activated his Soul Skills, turned on Auto-Aim and armor-piercing, and stacked every buff he had.

"Pfft!"

Zhang Yang squeezed the trigger. A Soul Power bullet shot out, drilling a hole over half a meter long into the ice mountain.

At the end of the hole, there was still a full meter between the bullet and the Thousand-Needle Porcupine's forehead.

It was worth remembering that Zhang Yang now had not only Level 40 Soul Power and an 888-year-old Second Soul Ring, but also the special effect from the Level 3 display registration of the red collectible, Tusk Fossil.

"[Tusk Fossil], display level 3. Attribute: Moderately increases the M14's armor penetration."

With all these buffs stacked, if Zhang Yang fired at a defensive-type Soul Master of the same level, the shot would punch straight through their shell. Anything less would mean the bullet had misfired.

Yet now, one shot had only drilled a half-meter-deep hole in the ice mountain.

A Titled Douluo truly was terrifying.

Of course, Zhang Yang wasn't naive enough to think that one shot could break through a Titled Douluo's technique.

He was only testing whether the bullet's trajectory would shift after drilling into the ice.

Once he confirmed it wouldn't, Zhang Yang let loose.

He switched to full-auto and aimed at the Thousand-Needle Porcupine inside the ice mountain, then held the trigger down.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!"

More than a dozen bullets poured out like water, drilling through over a meter of ice and savagely punching through the Thousand-Needle Porcupine's massive head.

The Thousand-Needle Porcupine died on the spot. A faint black glow began to rise from its body, gathering inside the ice mountain.

Before long, a black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, radiating immense Soul Power, had fully condensed.

Seeing the Soul Ring's color, Zhang Yang first looked at Guangling Douluo, who was smiling faintly in the air, then at the M14 in his hands.

At that moment, only one thought filled his mind: Holy crap, a ten-thousand-year Fourth Soul Ring. I'm about to take off.