The First Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring

Even so, Hu Liena was sent flying by the shockwave of the explosion.

She slammed heavily into the ground.

"Angel, Judgment!"

Qian Yu hurriedly unleashed his soul skill, delivering the final blow to the Holy Golden Beetle at the center of the blast.

Under normal circumstances, even a god-level Soul Ring can be easily activated by a soul master once absorbed; the only limitation would be insufficient soul power, preventing the display of truly overwhelming strength.

However, this soul skill and Soul Ring of his were different.

Once unleashed, the power was immense; if supported by sufficient soul power, it could even slaughter a Title Douluo.

Yet, utilizing it also required a massive reserve of soul power.

The crux of the issue lay with Qian Renxue.

Clearly, there had been a minor error in her operation when she constructed the god-level Soul Ring.

Coupled with the fact that Qian Renxue's remnant soul resided within it, this added even more uncertainty to the god-level Soul Ring.

Of course, Qian Yu was far too happy to possess such a powerful Soul Ring to care about any mistakes!

Why would he fuss over such trifles?

But for the current Qian Yu, this might not be a good thing, as his soul power was ultimately too weak.

Fortunately, he could still borrow the power left behind by Qian Renxue to forcibly trigger a moment of strength.

A massive holy sword of light appeared and slammed heavily onto the body of the Holy Golden Beetle.

"Crack!"

Accompanied by a crisp sound, the defense of the Holy Golden Beetle was shattered, and it immediately lost all ability to resist.

It must be said, this guy's vitality was truly tenacious.

Even under such circumstances, it had not died on the spot.

The problem was that Qian Yu truly lacked the strength to deliver a finishing blow.

At this moment, he felt as if his entire body had been hollowed out.

"I need to recover my soul power first!"

Seeing that Hu Liena had not fallen unconscious, Qian Yu felt a measure of relief.

He then quickly circulated his Mysterious Heaven Skill to restore his soul power.

Although Hu Liena was not in the best condition herself, she did not immediately focus on recovering her own soul power, choosing instead to wait quietly by his side.

If any accidents were to occur at this moment, everything they had done previously would truly be for nothing.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill was indeed overbearing; in less than two hours, Qian Yu's state had returned to its peak.

"Many thanks!"

Seeing Hu Liena still waiting after his soul power had recovered, Qian Yu offered her a rare word of thanks.

"Since your soul power has recovered, let's absorb the Soul Ring first!"

"My injuries are of no consequence."

As she spoke, Hu Liena retrieved a Holy Golden Beetle, standing over a meter tall, from a Soul Tool capable of storing living creatures.

It was exactly her target, the one that was twenty-nine thousand years old.

"You actually succeeded?"

Seeing this, Qian Yu was astonished.

Given that Hu Liena had arrived empty-handed, he had initially assumed she had failed.

He never expected that Hu Liena had actually captured it alive and stowed it away in a Soul Tool for living things.

This was truly surprising.

"I am Hu Liena, the Saintess of the Martial Soul Hall."

Seeing a look of shock on Qian Yu's face for the first time, Hu Liena was clearly quite pleased with herself.

But this smile tugged at her internal injuries, and the expression on her face instantly twisted in pain.

It looked quite bizarre.

"I underestimated you before!"

Qian Yu apologized to Hu Liena once more.

Following Hu Liena's guidance, he began to absorb the Soul Ring.

After all, delays only lead to complications.

As for the Holy Golden Beetle's powerful defense, could it truly withstand the edge of the Angel Holy Sword?

He summoned the divine artifact and struck it down.

A pitch-black Soul Ring appeared before his eyes.

This was the first time Qian Yu had absorbed a Soul Ring, and it was a ten-thousand-year first Soul Ring at that.

Fortunately, he had an experienced guide by his side. Under Hu Liena's instruction, Qian Yu manifested his Martial Soul and drew the Soul Ring toward him.

The next moment, a massive surge of power flooded into his body like a frenzy.

He finally understood why absorbing a Soul Ring beyond one's limit was so difficult.

Once the Martial Soul was used to draw in the Soul Ring, the violent energy contained within would pour into the body immediately; there was no such thing as taking it slow.

It was like a burst dam.

It vented, rampaged, and destroyed everything in its path.

Fortunately, Qian Yu possessed a full set of God-level Head Soul Bone. Although the process subjected him to inhuman torture and excruciating pain, making him feel as if he were about to fall apart at any second, he was still able to hold on.

As for the soul shock of a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, it did indeed exist, but the God-level Head Soul Bone was able to block it with ease.

Although the process was agonizing, there was no real danger.

Time slipped away bit by bit, and it took a full day and two nights before he successfully absorbed his first Soul Ring.

After successfully absorbing the first Soul Ring, Qian Yu could clearly feel that his physique had been strengthened, and even his mental power had advanced a step further.

It must be said, he finally realized the power of Twin Martial Souls.

With every Soul Ring absorbed, his soul power increased, his physique grew stronger, and even his mental power improved alongside the power of the Soul Ring.

The difference between a single Martial Soul and Twin Martial Souls lay in the fact that the former missed out on nine opportunities to enhance oneself using the power of Soul Rings.

The gap between them could be described as heaven and earth.

"You... you actually succeeded?"

Seeing the black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring swirling around Qian Yu, Hu Liena was shocked beyond measure.

Although they had long anticipated this result, seeing it happen right before her eyes, she still could not believe what she was seeing.

A ten-thousand-year first Soul Ring.

And a twenty-nine-thousand-year one at that.

Such a heaven-defying feat; even Tang San could not achieve this, could he?

In an instant, Hu Liena's eyes became burning hot.

She saw hope in Qian Yu—the hope to defeat Tang San.

If even Qian Yu could not do it, then there would be no one left on the entire Douluo Continent capable of defeating Tang San.

Seeing Qian Yu's performance, there was one thing Hu Liena could not understand.

Everything Qian Yu possessed, Qian Renxue also possessed.

Why didn't Qian Renxue do the same?

If Qian Renxue had fused with the full set of Angel Soul Bones from the very beginning and then absorbed her first Soul Ring, her strength would surely have been even greater, and perhaps they would not have been defeated.

On this point, Hu Liena had truly wronged Qian Renxue.

Although it could be said that Qian Renxue had squandered her talent and lacked true strength, the conditions she possessed were truly not as good as Qian Yu's.

What Qian Renxue had possessed back then were only ninety-nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine-year Soul Bones, and furthermore, absorbing them required a gradual, step-by-step process.

It was not like Qian Yu, who had been directly sacrificed to by Qian Renxue, receiving not only the full set of God-level Head Soul Bone but also a body transformed by divine power.

"For the second Soul Ring, it's fifty thousand years—are you confident?"

Seeing Qian Yu successfully absorb a twenty-nine-thousand-year first Soul Ring, Hu Liena could no longer treat him as someone governed by common sense.