Successful Absorption, Return to Martial Soul City.

Star Dou Great Forest.

Murong Huai was suffused with golden soul power. After about an hour, he opened his eyes, a golden light flashing within them.

"Phew, success."

Murong Huai had gambled correctly; his second martial soul, Austin Griffin, was the God of Heavenly Punishment, and it would inevitably suppress the overbearing aura of the soul ring.

Murong Huai stood up slowly. With the absorption of his first soul ring, his height had increased significantly. Golden light flowed over his right hand as the Immortal Lord Nine-Arrival Sword appeared in his grasp, a deep yellow soul ring circling his body.

"Brother Murong, you did it!" Bibi Dong ran over, saying happily.

Murong Huai nodded. "Yes, the absorption was a success."

Murong Fuhai walked over and placed a hand on Murong Huai's shoulder to check him. After confirming there were no issues, he nodded.

"Not bad. Huai'er, your physical constitution has improved several times over. How is your soul skill?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Huai replied:

"My first soul skill is called—Sword Emerges, Clouds Shift: Ten Thousand Blades of Dark Gold Gilded. It boosts my attack power by eighty percent, and my speed and defense by fifty percent. Furthermore, every attack has a five percent chance to ignore all physical defense, lasting for half an hour."

Hearing the effects of Murong Huai's first soul skill, Murong Fuhai nodded.

"Truly excellent. Three powerful buffs plus a special effect; this is almost the most powerful soul skill this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear could provide. As for the duration, it will increase as your level rises."

Murong Huai was also very satisfied. This was almost identical to Dai Mubai's third soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, from the original work, and perhaps even stronger.

Thinking of something, Murong Huai ran over to the carcass of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and began searching it. Seeing this, Murong Fuhai walked over and said with a smile:

"Huai'er, no need to look. Your old man already checked; there is no soul bone."

Hearing this, Murong Huai felt a bit deflated. He had wanted to try his luck and see if he could obtain an External Soul Bone.

"Let's go. You have all found your soul rings, so let's leave this place first."

Murong Huai did not intend to attach his second soul ring immediately. He wanted to adapt to his current strength and push his physique to its current limit before absorbing the next one, which would allow him to challenge a higher-aged soul ring and provide a greater boost to his early development.

"ROAR—"

Just as the group prepared to leave, a deafening roar erupted. A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear the size of a small hill charged toward them. Seeing this, Chen Xin and Gu Rong exclaimed:

"A thirty-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear!"

"It seems to be a powerhouse from the same pack as the previous bear?"

The bloodline of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was formidable; they fought thousand-year beasts at the century level and ten-thousand-year beasts at the millennium level. This thirty-thousand-year-old specimen before them was enough to contend with some of the weaker Title Douluo.

However, Murong Fuhai showed no fear, a cold sneer playing on his lips.

"Hmph, courting death!"

Murong Fuhai took a single step, flashing above the head of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. With his right leg coated in black soul power, he kicked out violently, sending the beast flipping over.

The bear rose to its feet, glared at Murong Fuhai in the air, and let out a terrifying roar.

"ROAR—"

Murong Fuhai ignored everything, a black light flashing in his eyes. A terrifying black creature appeared behind him—it was his martial soul, the Demonic Flame Heavenly Dragon.

Its body coiled like a mountain range, covered in black scales, each one shimmering with an eerie light as if magma were flowing through the darkness. The dragon's head was held high, its eyes like burning black flames, exuding a destructive pressure. Its sharp dragon claws seemed capable of tearing through the void, chilling one to the bone.

The Demonic Flame Heavenly Dragon let out a roar, and then, nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red—descended and circled Murong Fuhai. The aura of a Title Douluo was revealed in full.

"A hundred-thousand-year soul ring!!"

Below, Chen Xin and Gu Rong were shocked to see Murong Fuhai's ninth red soul ring. Although there were few Title Douluo in the world, there were still twenty or thirty of them, but those who possessed a hundred-thousand-year soul ring could be counted on one hand. Without exception, they were the absolute peak powerhouses.

Relying on his powerful Demonic Flame Heavenly Dragon martial soul and his hundred-thousand-year soul ring, Murong Fuhai could fight an average Super Douluo to a draw, even with only ninety-three levels of soul power.

Murong Fuhai raised his hand, and the Demonic Flame Heavenly Dragon behind him roared, carrying terrifying demonic flames as it slammed directly into the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. The beast was sent flying into the air, blood gushing out.

Then, the Demonic Flame Heavenly Dragon whipped its tail, smashing heavily into the bear's chest and sending it flying once more. Drenched in blood, it crashed into a crater of rubble, completely unable to fight back.

Just as Murong Fuhai prepared to strike again, he thought of something and retracted his martial soul.

"Hmph, I'll spare your life for now, beast. When my son needs his sixth soul ring, I will have him absorb you. I hope you're still alive by then."

Afterward, Murong Fuhai landed on the ground. The others were stunned. The three children, including Murong Huai, didn't have much of a concept of the power involved, but Chen Xin and Gu Rong were incredibly shocked. They knew the notorious Demon Dragon Douluo was powerful, but they hadn't expected him to be this terrifying—he hadn't even used a soul skill, yet defeated a thirty-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear in just three moves.

Murong Huai also felt admiration for his father's strength. If this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear had faced some other Title Douluo who used spears or poison, they would have at least needed to activate their Avatar of the Martial Soul to contend with it, let alone win.

Murong Huai gave his father a thumbs up. "Dad, you're awesome—"

Murong Fuhai tossed his hair and waved his hand. "It's nothing~"

Afterward, the group left the Star Dou Great Forest. Ning Fengzhi and his party boarded their carriage to return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, while Murong Huai and his family also took a carriage back to Martial Soul City.

On the road, inside the carriage, Bibi Dong looked at Murong Huai and asked:

"Brother Murong, you absorbed an over-aged soul ring this time. Won't Grandpa Murong and the others be overjoyed?"

Hearing this, Murong Huai smiled.

"That's for sure."

Then he whispered:

"But that might not be the case for my old man..."

"Oh? Why is that?" Bibi Dong tilted her head in confusion.

Murong Huai didn't speak; he could already imagine the scene of his father being lectured by his grandfather. It must go like this, ahem, "You rebellious son, you..."

Martial Soul City, Murong Mansion.

"You rebellious son, your mother's..."

In the main hall, Murong Chayue slammed his hand onto the table with a loud bang.

"You dared to let Huai'er absorb an eight-hundred-year spirit ring for his first one, your mother's..."

Listening to the old man curse his son, which also seemed to be cursing her, a few black lines appeared on Xiao Qingmei's forehead.

"That's enough, stop shouting and yelling, look at how you've scared the two children!"

However, Xiao Qingmei's tone was clearly tinged with anger. Murong Huai and Bibi Dong were seen hiding beside Wu Xianyun; Murong Huai was used to this, but it was Bibi Dong's first time witnessing such a scene, and she couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Seeing a gap in the conversation, Murong Huai quickly said:

"Grandpa, Grandma, it was actually me who requested to absorb this spirit ring. You know my martial soul is very unique; Dad only agreed to let me absorb it after weighing the pros and cons."

Hearing this, Murong Fuhai couldn't help but quietly give Murong Huai a thumbs up, and the latter gave him a look of reassurance.

Hearing Murong Huai's words, Murong Chayue calmed down. Seeing this, Xiao Qingmei said:

"Alright, since Huai'er successfully absorbed the spirit ring without any injuries, let's not dwell on this matter too much. Let it be."

Afterward, Murong Chayue and Xiao Qingmei turned and left. Murong Fuhai had just breathed a sigh of relief when a sharp gaze landed on him. Murong Fuhai looked over and found his wife's eyes filled with a hint of murderous intent, so he couldn't help but look at Murong Huai.

Murong Huai noticed the atmosphere was wrong, so he pulled Bibi Dong and turned to run out, silently thinking to himself, "Dad, forgive me for being powerless; your son will take his leave first."

Not long after the two left, screams erupted from the main hall, "Ah, honey, go easy..."

"Don't use the Nine Profound Sword, ah!!"

"Don't poke me in the kidneys..."