Sky Azure Bull Python, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring

A deep, ancient beast roar echoed across the heavens. The terrifying pressure unique to a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast descended from above, crushing the entire field. Even the trial space shook violently, as though it might collapse and shatter at any moment.

The ground exploded and split apart. A colossal creature with a bull's head, a python's body, and azure scales covering its form slowly rose into view. Its enormous eyes were majestic as the sun and moon, its winding body stretching dozens of yards. It was the ancient overlord of the Star Dou Forest, the supreme Soul Beast—the Sky Azure Bull Python!

The projection of a top-tier Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast possessed pressure more than a hundred times greater than that of the Shrek Seven Devils.

The Sky Azure Bull Python threw back its head and roared. The Azure Annihilation Domain instantly enveloped the entire battlefield. The power of annihilating corrosion dissolved Soul Power, while the force of sluggish confinement sealed their movements. Gu Yue had to activate multiple layers of elemental shields with all her strength just to barely resist the erosion.

Na'er's movements slowed drastically, and the circulation of her Soul Power dropped by thirty percent. Even with the formidable bloodline of the Silver Dragon King, she was temporarily unable to break free from the Domain's suppression.

An ultimate crisis of death descended in an instant.

"You two fall back and keep it occupied. Don't take its attacks head-on. Leave this beast to me."

Li Chen took a step forward and stood in front of Gu Yue and Na'er.

Pluto's pressure surged to its limit in an instant. Black-and-white Power of Life and Death erupted, forcibly resisting the dual suppression of annihilation and sluggishness. The Power of Reincarnation raced madly through his meridians, while the origin aura of the Underworld naturally suppressed the souls of all Soul Beasts, inherently countering ancient ferocious beasts.

The Sky Azure Bull Python flew into a rage. The scales on its neck stood upright layer by layer, and its chest rumbled like ancient thunder. It opened its mouth and unleashed a skill—Azure Annihilation Thunder!

A thick azure bolt of lightning several yards wide streaked across heaven and earth, entwined with violet-black annihilating destructive lightning. Wherever it passed, the air warped and burned, while the ground cracked and crumbled layer after layer. Its terrifying speed was absolute. In the blink of an eye, it reached Li Chen, tearing tiny fractures into space itself. The stench of death engulfed him. There was nowhere to evade and no way to block.

Li Chen's gaze turned cold. The veins across his body tightened as his third purple Soul Ring suddenly burst with incomparably dazzling light!

Third Soul Skill—Power of the Six Paths, fully unleashed!

"Human Path, activate!"

Brilliant golden light swept from his dantian through his entire body. His bones thundered as his physique, Soul Power, speed, and strength surged across the board. A lustrous golden sheen surfaced on his skin, the enhancement comparable to a Gold-Grade Awakening of a Body Martial Soul. The Sky Azure Bull Python's Domain suppression was instantly torn apart, his Soul Power density doubled, and his aura soared straight to the peak of Soul Elder.

"Animal Path, activate!"

Countless phantoms of top-tier Soul Beasts emerged behind him—the claws of the Hell White Tiger, the lightning of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, the immense strength of the Titan Giant Ape, the speed of the Hell Spirit Cat... The abilities of countless Soul Beasts all blessed his body, perfectly merging with the Power of Life and Death and the Power of Reincarnation.

The heaven-defying combat mechanism of the Pluto Martial Soul was fully revealed at this moment.

At the critical moment, Li Chen fiercely stomped both feet against the ground, and spiderweb cracks instantly spread across the black earth.

He shot into the air without dodging or evading, facing the annihilating lightning pillar that spanned heaven and earth head-on.

His robes snapped wildly in the wind, his black hair flying behind him. He stood motionless in midair like Pluto himself descended upon the world.

His fist drew inward. Every ounce of his strength, the Human Path's enhancement, the foundation of ten thousand beasts from the Animal Path, and the power of life, death, and reincarnation all converged upon a single point in his right fist. His power accumulated to the extreme, until everything fell utterly still.

The heavens seemed to lose all sound in an instant. The wind ceased, the flow of elements froze, and the entire Spirit Ascension Platform space was completely locked in place.

Only that azure annihilating lightning bolt, several yards thick and wrapped in violet-black annihilating destructive power, crashed down with the momentum to crush all things.

The next instant—

His fist struck!

A low shout rumbled in his chest. There was no unnecessary flourish, only a punch condensed to the utmost extreme, striking precisely at the most violent core of the lightning.

Boom!

Time seemed to freeze abruptly at that moment.

Azure lightning flames surged, and violet-black annihilating lightning exploded in every direction, yet it could not break through that layer of black-and-white reincarnation fist radiance.

The raging lightning tide swept outward, twisting space slightly, but Pluto's divine soul pressure held it firmly in place, preventing it from advancing even half an inch.

Li Chen stood as steady as a rock, his fist confronting the lightning core head-on, his body utterly unmoving. His golden-sheened skin endured the thunderstorm's bombardment. The edges of his clothes were torn apart by the lightning force and fluttered through the air, yet his eyes remained cold and abyssal. Black-and-white divine light lay quietly restrained within his dark pupils, without the slightest wavering.

All sounds from the outside world seemed cut off, leaving only the shriek of lightning and the deep tremor of Soul Power.

Beginning at the point of collision, the azure lightning pillar froze, dimmed, and collapsed layer by layer from top to bottom. The power of annihilation was swallowed, ground away, and assimilated by the black-and-white Power of Life and Death like a whale devouring water. The violent lightning could not cross even half an inch around Li Chen.

The frozen confrontation lasted only an instant, yet it felt like an eternity.

The next moment, the deadlock shattered!

The enormous lightning pillar collapsed from the center, turning into countless tiny sparks that scattered and faded away. The aftershock violently shook the ground, blasting up shattered rocks and dust. Yet Li Chen still stood quietly in the air, faint black-and-white streams of light and lingering lightning aura coiling around his fist. Rather than weakening, his presence grew even stronger, dominating the entire field.

The recoil surged back along the lightning and slammed viciously into the Sky Azure Bull Python's head. The giant python's massive body jolted and recoiled. Fine cracks spread across its azure scales, while intense pain and terror born from the depths of its soul churned within its eyes.

Li Chen landed as steadily as Mount Tai, giving the ferocious beast no chance to catch its breath. His figure flashed before the Sky Azure Bull Python in an instant, and a dense barrage of fist shadows poured down like a storm.

His first Soul Skill, Fate Verdict, continuously bombarded the Soul Beast's divine soul, leaving the Sky Azure Bull Python dazed for long stretches and unable to activate any Soul Skill to counterattack. His second Soul Skill, Fate, transformed into chains of life and death that tightly bound the giant python's body, guiding the flow of its blood and drastically weakening the powerful defense of its Ten-Thousand-Year physique. The Power of the Six Paths erupted without pause: the Human Path continuously strengthened his combat power, while the Animal Path released Soul Beast innate attacks in succession. Every punch struck with the weight of a collapsing mountain.

The black-and-white Power of Life and Death pierced through the hard scales, madly eroding the Soul Beast's origin core, while the Power of Reincarnation constantly ground away its vast Soul Power.

The incomparably powerful Ten-Thousand-Year Sky Azure Bull Python was actually suppressed completely by Li Chen alone. It could only passively endure his attacks, roaring and struggling without end, yet it could never break free from his suppression.

"Now!"

Li Chen roared, and Gu Yue and Na'er instantly understood.

Gu Yue controlled the six great elements to form heavy chains, tightly binding the Sky Azure Bull Python's massive body. Relentless elemental bombardments frantically consumed its remaining Soul Power. Na'er leaped into the air, pouring all of her dragon blood and the power of the Rainbow Soul Spirit into the Silver Dragon Spear. Locking onto the ferocious beast's vital point with precision, she drove the spear in viciously!

The Sky Azure Bull Python let out one final desperate wail. Under the successive strangulation of the Power of Life and Death and the Power of Reincarnation, its enormous body continuously scattered and disintegrated, finally turning into azure motes that completely vanished within the trial space.

Both trial stages had been cleared!

The instant the Sky Azure Bull Python disappeared, the entire Spirit Ascension Platform erupted with endless pure Ascension Spirit Power. Like a vast tsunami, it swept across the field and flooded madly into the three of them. The energy continuously washed through their meridians, nourished their Martial Souls, tempered their Soul Rings, and strengthened every part of their foundation.

The thousand-year purple Soul Rings around Gu Yue and Na'er became increasingly brilliant and condensed. Their Soul Ring ages surged dramatically, leaving them only one step away from Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings.

Li Chen, meanwhile, underwent an earth-shaking transformation of his Martial Soul!

His three thousand-year purple Soul Rings were bathed in immense Ascension Spirit Power and empowered by the Pluto Reincarnation Origin and the foundation gained from two life-and-death battles. Under this triple boost, their purple glow rapidly faded, replaced by a deep, heavy black radiance that burst forth!

His thousand-year Soul Rings directly shattered the limits of their realm and transformed in one leap into ten-thousand-year black Soul Rings!

The pitch-black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings slowly revolved around him, their pressure as heavy as mountains. Deep and restrained, they revealed no sharpness, yet contained terrifying power several times greater than thousand-year Soul Rings. The Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings fused perfectly with the Pluto Martial Soul. The Power of Life and Death and the Power of Reincarnation surged severalfold, the suppression of his divine soul became stronger, the power of his Fate Twin Soul Skills doubled, and his control over the Six Paths Profound Meaning became even more skillful.

Li Chen's cultivation rose directly from the early stage of Soul Elder to the middle stage. His foundation was vast and solid, making him nearly unmatched among those of the same rank.

To condense Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings at the Soul Elder realm was, throughout the entire ancient history of Douluo Continent, an extraordinarily rare and utterly heaven-defying feat.

The trial space slowly collapsed. Spatial power enveloped the three of them and instantly teleported them back outside the Spirit Ascension Platform.

Leng Yaozhu and Han Tianyi stared at the black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings circulating around Li Chen. Their pupils contracted sharply, their faces filled with shock as they remained speechless for a long while.

They had seen countless genius Soul Masters, but never had they seen someone so young and at such a realm who could condense Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings.

Moreover, Li Chen's Pluto Martial Soul was already strange and powerful. Its life, death, and reincarnation transcended common sense. Combined with Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, the limit of his future growth was simply impossible to measure.

Li Chen slowly withdrew all traces of his Martial Soul aura, concealing Pluto's pressure deep within his body. A flash of black-and-white light passed through his dark eyes, making his temperament even more unfathomable. He turned toward Gu Yue and Na'er, whose auras had likewise risen greatly. The three exchanged smiles, their eyes full of resolve and composure after the fierce battle.

Four years of devoted cultivation, and a life-and-death battle at the Spirit Ascension Platform to defeat their foes.