Mu Xi: Can't eat anymore, I'll burst...

At the same time.

Inside the Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform.

Su Chen had already slain dozens of soul beasts, among them several thousand-year-level ones.

Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin were completely stuffed.

"I can't do it, I really can't eat any more..."

"There's too much, my soul spirit is about to burst..."

Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin lay on the grass, clutching their stomachs with expressions of pure satisfaction; they were clearly over-satiated.

Inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, killing a soul beast grants one-tenth of its age to increase the age of one's own soul ring.

Both girls only possessed one ring, and with their limited mental power, their first soul rings could only reach a maximum of four to five hundred years.

Mu Xi's first soul ring had originally been 300 years, but it had now reached 520 years, essentially the limit her body could withstand.

Ouyang Zixin was slightly weaker; her first soul ring had only been 180 years, and it had now reached 422 years, also hitting her limit.

Su Chen, however, hadn't consumed a single bit.

After all, as long as one had the ability, one could stay in the Spirit Ascension Platform for as long as they wished; Su Chen was in no hurry.

In a Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform, the longer one stays, the more dangerous it becomes.

With so much time having passed, at least half the participants had been eliminated. Su Chen and his companions had already cleared out most of the threats, so they could slowly enjoy their feast.

In the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform area, the strongest entity was that hundred-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.

Su Chen's raw strength might not be a match for it yet.

But if Su Chen truly wanted to kill it, it would still be quite easy.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Just then, the ground in the distance began to tremble.

A dull, thunderous roar approached from afar, the earth beneath their feet vibrating incessantly like a war drum being struck.

"What's going on?"

Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin jolted awake.

Having just pushed their soul ring ages to the limit, their bodies and minds were in a state of lethargy, and this sudden turn of events made their hearts tighten.

Su Chen leaped onto the thickest ancient tree nearby, peering into the distance toward the source of the tremors.

At the edge of his vision, dust and smoke filled the air.

A "cloud of fire" the color of orange-red was sweeping toward them at an astonishing speed.

It wasn't fire, but a charging pride of lions.

The body of every male lion burned with tangible, orange-red flames; from afar, it looked like a surging tide of fire.

Wherever they passed, the grass and trees instantly charred and withered, leaving a path of scorched earth trailing wisps of smoke.

The lead lion was the largest, its body over four meters long, and the thick mane around its head flickered like a red-hot iron, shaking violently as it ran.

"Flame Demon Lion Pride!"

Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin scrambled over, and upon seeing this, they were instantly gripped by panic.

The Flame Demon Lion Pride was the most terrifying dominant group in the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.

They always moved in a pack, and every adult Flame Demon Lion was comparable to a powerful hundred-year soul beast. The leader was even a thousand-year-level existence, capable of easily crushing a full team of three-ring soul masters.

When encountering them, the only way to survive was to immediately activate the distress beacon and leave.

This was to avoid being torn to shreds and suffering immense mental agony.

Inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, while the physical body wouldn't truly die, the pain of being torn apart by soul beasts was one hundred percent real—an experience sufficient to leave anyone with psychological trauma.

However, when Su Chen saw this, his eyes held no fear; instead, they were filled with battle intent.

"Sister Mu Xi, you two hide for a moment. I happen to be lacking a large amount of spiritual energy to upgrade my soul spirit, and this Flame Demon Lion Pride has come at just the right time."

The previous soul beasts had all been killed by him in a single strike, providing absolutely no thrill of combat.

This wave of Flame Demon Lions arrived perfectly; Su Chen wanted to test his combat power when facing a group attack.

"Little Chen, are you sure... isn't this too risky?"

Mu Xi asked, worried.

They knew Su Chen was strong in a one-on-one fight and adept at sneak attacks.

But facing a Flame Demon Lion Pride, the enemy possessed wide-area attacks; if Su Chen couldn't kill them instantly, he would surely be the one killed.

Su Chen smiled without responding, charging directly toward the Flame Demon Lion Pride.

The moment Su Chen rushed toward the pride, his body underwent an astonishing transformation. A massive, dark purple dragon-shaped phantom flashed behind him, instantly merging perfectly with his body.

Crackle!

Dense, dark purple dragon scale phantoms covered Su Chen's entire skin like living things.

Su Chen's fingers suddenly elongated, his nails becoming sharp and curved, covered in the same dark purple scales as they transformed into dragon claws that glinted with a cold light.

At the same time, Su Chen's body visibly expanded, his muscle definition becoming more pronounced and filled with an explosive sense of power.

A pressure originating from the depths of his bloodline actually caused the surging lion pride to falter.

Martial Soul Possession—Void Chrono Dragon!

At this moment, Su Chen seemed to transform into a humanoid dragon hatchling, diving headlong into that ocean of orange-red flames!

"Roar—"

The lead thousand-year Flame Demon Lion roared, spewing flames.

Su Chen charged straight through the fire, throwing a punch toward the thousand-year-old beast.

"Crack—"

The dragon fist landed on the lion's face, the terrifying force instantly blowing its head apart.

One punch, a direct one-shot kill of a thousand-year spirit beast.

The flames of the Flame Demon Lion landed on Su Chen, but they were all blocked by his dragon scales.

Without Martial Soul Possession, Su Chen's physical defense certainly wouldn't be this strong.

But under Martial Soul Possession, Su Chen's dragon scales possessed inherently high magic and physical resistance.

The flames of the Flame Demon Lion could not harm him in the slightest.

"Whoosh—"

The lead thousand-year Flame Demon Lion shattered, turning into a torrent of pale purple spirit power that actively coiled around Su Chen, continuously surging into his body.

"Roar, roar, roar—"

The other Flame Demon Lions, seeing their leader die violently, flew into a rage and lunged at Su Chen, snapping their jaws.

"Bang, bang, bang—"

Seeing this, Su Chen only grew more valiant as he fought.

With a few heavy punches, he smashed all dozen or so Flame Demon Lions to pieces.

Su Chen stood in the center of the carnage, the phantom of the dark purple dragon scales slowly receding, his dragon claws returning to normal hands.

He was stained with some blood and soot, but his breathing remained perfectly steady.

Clearly, a battle of this level was still a bit too easy for him.

The next moment.

All the streams of spirit power, whether yellow or purple, converged in the air, flowing like a hundred rivers into the sea as they surged frantically toward Su Chen in the center of the battlefield.

They swirled around Su Chen at high speed, forming a massive, visible vortex of spirit power—a truly spectacular sight.

This was the rule of the Spirit Ascension Platform taking effect.

Killing a spirit beast grants one-tenth of its age in spirit power, used to increase the age of spirit rings.

Su Chen had killed three thousand-year Flame Demon Lions this time; two were over a thousand years old, and the lead lion had reached 3,000 years, making it exceptionally powerful.

Even if only one-tenth of that age was supplied to Su Chen, it was still terrifying.

Located deep within the Spirit Ascension Platform and being the territory of the Flame Demon Lions, there were no other spirit beasts or spirit masters nearby.

Su Chen absorbed the energy with peace of mind.

Massive amounts of spirit power poured into his body, increasing his spirit ring age.

Four hundred... five hundred...

One thousand!

"Hum—!!!"

A strange humming sound emanated from within Su Chen's body.

His yellow first spirit ring's light suddenly retracted, then erupted violently, transforming into a deep purple.

At the same time, Su Chen's spirit soul also evolved directly to the thousand-year level!

What did this mean?

It meant that although Su Chen currently only had one spirit ring, his spirit soul already possessed the capability to provide three thousand-year spirit rings!

In other words, as long as his spirit power was sufficient, his future first three spirit rings would all start at the thousand-year level.