A Thousand-Year First Spirit Ring!

Zichuan felt reassured.

At this moment, Du Busi had already brought him to an open clearing on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, and the damp air carried the scent of soil and rotting leaves. The roars of soul beasts occasionally echoed from afar. Deep silence concealed danger everywhere.

"Alright, we're here." Du Busi released him, looked at Zichuan, and swept his hand grandly through the air.

"Tell me, my good disciple, what kind of soul beast do you want for your first soul ring? As long as it's in this forest, your teacher will get it for you! An offensive type? A defensive type? Or one with a special attribute?"

Without hesitation, Zichuan said, "Teacher, I want the soul ring of a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear."

"A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?" Du Busi raised a thick brow. Surprise flashed through his eyes, followed by even greater approval.

"Good boy, you've got an eye for things! The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear is a tyrant of the Star Dou Great Forest, outstanding in both offense and defense. Those claws in particular carry an extremely powerful destructive attribute. It's truly a perfect match for your Heart of Destruction martial soul!"

"But..." He rubbed his chin, somewhat concerned.

"These things aren't easy to find, and even the youngest ones are usually close to a thousand years old. The limit for a first soul ring is generally a little over four hundred years. Even if your physique is special, with two hearts, doubling that would only get you eight or nine hundred years at most. A thousand-year one... the risk is too great."

But Zichuan said, "Teacher, I want to try. I feel that the enhancement brought by my two hearts may be more than a simple doubling. Besides, didn't you give me Thousand-Year Whale-Shark Meat? If I consume it first and strengthen my body, perhaps I can withstand a higher age."

Du Busi's eyes lit up. "That makes sense! Thousand-Year Whale-Shark Meat is incredibly potent. Taking it now will let you absorb the most out of it! Alright, then let's try it!"

He was a decisive man as well. He immediately said, "Stay here. Find somewhere hidden and eat the Whale-Shark Meat first. Absorb as much as you can. Your teacher will be back soon!"

Before his words had even faded, his figure flashed. He had already turned into a streak of dark green light and vanished into the depths of the forest, moving so fast that Zichuan saw only an afterimage.

Zichuan did not waste any time either. He immediately found an ancient tree that would require several people to encircle it. Between its tangled roots, he found a hollow and sat down cross-legged.

He opened the oil-paper package. As the Thousand-Year Whale-Shark Meat was exposed to the air, its immense Bloodline Power became even richer, carrying a faint fishy scent of the sea.

He tore off a small piece and put it into his mouth. The meat melted the instant it entered, turning into a scorching current that rushed down his throat and spread through all four limbs and every bone in an instant!

"Boom!"

Zichuan felt as though all the blood in his body had begun to boil. Every cell cheered, leaped with joy, and crazily devoured this pure yet tyrannical energy.

His skin took on an unnatural red tint, and his body temperature rose sharply. The moment sweat seeped out, it evaporated into a faint white mist.

His two hearts pounded like war drums, one blazing hot and the other warm and gentle. Together, they guided and digested the violent energy, strengthening his bones, tendons, fascia, and muscles.

The process was not easy. The energy within the Thousand-Year Whale-Shark Meat was far too vast, and as it washed through his meridians, waves of swelling pain followed. But Zichuan clenched his teeth and endured it through the powerful control and recovery ability granted by his two hearts.

Time passed bit by bit. About an hour later, the red glow and white mist around Zichuan gradually faded.

He opened his eyes, which gleamed brightly. Clenching his fist, he could clearly feel that his strength, physique, and the resilience of his meridians had all risen by a great margin. A faint treasure-like glow flowed beneath his skin.

"Not bad. You absorbed more than half of it," the God of Destruction commented.

"The remaining medicinal power has settled within your body and will slowly be released through future cultivation. With your current body, absorbing an eight- or nine-hundred-year soul ring shouldn't be a problem. Even one that has just passed a thousand years... may not be impossible to try."

Just then, a furious roar that shook the earth came from the distant forest, accompanied by the thunderous crash of trees breaking. The roar was filled with savagery and defiance, but it soon turned into a mournful cry before abruptly falling silent.

A moment later, a dark green figure carrying a small mountain-like black mass descended before Zichuan with a boom, making the ground tremble violently.

Du Busi threw the thing on his shoulder to the ground. It was clearly a beast over three meters tall, its entire body covered in dark golden fur.

"Damn it," Du Busi said, wiping away sweat that did not exist, though his face looked somewhat annoyed.

"My luck's bad. The one I found just passed eleven hundred years! It's over the limit! A thousand-year soul ring, even one barely over the line, isn't something a first soul ring can endure. How about I go find you one around eight or nine hundred years instead?"

Zichuan stood and walked over to the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

"Teacher, I want to try." Zichuan lifted his head, his gaze firm. "I feel like I can do it."

Du Busi looked at the unquestionable confidence in Zichuan's eyes, then thought of all the unbelievable things his two hearts had brought about. Gritting his teeth, he said:

"Fine! We'll try it! With me here, nothing serious will happen! If it really doesn't work, even if I have to exhaust my Soul Power, I can still shatter the soul ring for you!"

After the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was killed, a purple soul ring immediately rose above its corpse.

Zichuan said no more. He sat cross-legged before the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's body, adjusted his breathing, and brought himself to peak condition.

Then, he focused his mind on the Heart of Destruction. A dark red glow lit up from his left chest, his hair turned dark red once more, and Destruction Form activated.

He extended his right hand and used his Soul Power to draw the deep purple thousand-year soul ring slowly toward him, where it descended over his body.

At the instant the soul ring touched him.

"Boom!"

An unimaginable torrent of violent energy burst into Zichuan's body like a breached flood, like countless red-hot steel files tearing through him!

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's savage, tyrannical Soul Power, filled with the desire to destroy, shared the same origin as the power of his Heart of Destruction. Yet it was wilder and far more uncontrollable, crazily battering and ripping apart his meridians as though it intended to completely destroy him from the inside out!

"Argh!"

Zichuan let out a pained growl. His face instantly turned deathly pale, veins bulged across his forehead, and his entire body shook violently. Beads of blood even began to seep from the surface of his skin.

"Kid!"

Du Busi's expression changed drastically. He stepped forward, his Soul Power already gathering as he prepared to intervene at any moment.

The energy of a thousand-year soul ring far surpassed that of a hundred-year one. The Soul Power of this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was especially tyrannical, and the pain Zichuan was suffering at this moment far exceeded Du Busi's expectations.

Yet at the most dangerous moment, the emerald-green Heart of Life in Zichuan's right chest suddenly emitted a brighter and more urgent glow than ever before!

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The steady, powerful heartbeats sounded like pounding war drums, yet also like spring rain nourishing parched earth.

Warm and immense life energy flowed like the gentlest stream through another system of meridians, rapidly surging toward the places left battered and scarred by the violent Destruction Soul Power.

Destruction Power was destroying, while Life Power was repairing.

On one side were blades and axes; on the other was spring wind and gentle rain.

The two formed a delicate balance within Zichuan's body. The Destruction Soul Power remained violent and continued to inflict tremendous pain, but under the continuous healing of the Heart of Life, the speed of destruction was always kept below the speed of recovery.

His meridians repeatedly tore and healed, becoming even tougher and broader instead.

The pain on Zichuan's face gradually eased. Though his brows remained tightly furrowed and cold sweat streamed down his face, his aura slowly stabilized.

The worry Du Busi had been holding gradually eased, while amazement filled his eyes.

"Good boy! What an incredible complement of Dual Heart! Destruction absorbs, life heals! This is simply... a perfect cultivation cycle! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"

Second by second, the deep purple glow of the soul ring gradually dimmed. The vast energy it contained was absorbed and refined bit by bit by Zichuan, merging with his Heart of Destruction.

Finally, an hour later.

The last trace of soul ring energy entered Zichuan's body. His body suddenly jolted, and a Soul Power fluctuation several times stronger than before erupted with a bang!

The dark red glow receded, and his hair returned to black. He slowly opened his eyes.

Having successfully absorbed the thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear soul ring, Zichuan's Soul Power rose directly to Rank 13. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air as the last trace of dark red light on his body withdrew within him, along with the phantom of three-inch dark golden claws at his fingertips.

He moved his limbs and felt as though his entire body was filled with explosive power. Soul Power surged through his broadened, resilient meridians, stronger than before by who knew how many times.

"How does it feel?" Du Busi hurried over, his large face full of anticipation and curiosity like a child waiting to open a gift. "What's the soul skill? Tell me quickly!"