First Soul Skill: Force Piercing Ten Thousand Juns!

If he wanted to grow powerful in the future, he absolutely could not be careless or perfunctory when choosing Soul Rings.

Why had Beibei absorbed the Bright Scaled Dragon that possessed the bloodline of the Bright Sacred Dragon?

Naturally, it was because he wanted to use the Bright Sacred Dragon bloodline contained within the Bright Scaled Dragon to stimulate his Martial Soul and cause it to evolve.

The power of a Soul Ring acted upon the Martial Soul itself. Absorbing a suitable Soul Ring had a great chance of promoting one's Martial Soul to evolve toward a higher level.

Actually, within the Star Dou Great Forest, there were Soul Beasts more suitable than Thousand-Jun Ants or Great Strength Diamond Bears to serve as the Soul Ring for the Coiling Dragon Staff, but such Soul Beasts were far too rare.

That was the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear!

But finding a lone Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was no easier than going to Lake of Life and giving the Auspicious Beast a pat on the head.

In the blink of an eye, a day passed. Under the lead of Elder Xuan, a Level 98 Super Douluo, the group quickly located a Great Strength Diamond Bear's cave in the outskirts.

This Great Strength Diamond Bear had only just reached a thousand years of cultivation. It could be said to be the most suitable Soul Beast for Qiangu Qitian's first Soul Ring!

Looking at the Great Strength Diamond Bear that had been knocked unconscious and brought back, he did not waste a word. He took out a short sword, forcefully stabbed it through the bear's eye, and twisted it, directly destroying its brain tissue.

With its brain tissue destroyed, the Great Strength Diamond Bear twitched twice before completely losing its breath of life.

After the Great Strength Diamond Bear died, a purple halo emerged above its corpse. This was precisely the Soul Ring produced after its death.

The Soul Ring floated fifty centimeters above the Great Strength Diamond Bear's corpse, appearing exquisite and beautiful. Its pale purple glow flickered continuously, beckoning Qiangu Qitian to absorb it quickly.

"A thousand-year first ring!" Elder Xuan could not help but sigh as he looked at the Soul Ring floating in midair.

In this era, it was no longer shocking for geniuses to surpass their limits when absorbing Soul Rings. But directly absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring as one's first Soul Ring was something even Elder Xuan had never seen before.

"Qiangu Qitian, once you finish absorbing the Soul Ring, we still need to settle the score between us. Don't disappoint me."

Beibei raised his head and spoke somewhat proudly, but Qiangu Qitian still keenly detected a trace of worry in his eyes.

Although Zhang Lexuan at the side said nothing, there was also some concern in her eyes.

"Then I'll begin!"

Qiangu Qitian nodded to the three of them, then quickly sat cross-legged near the Great Strength Diamond Bear's corpse. He summoned his Coiling Dragon Staff and began drawing in the Soul Ring for absorption.

Guided by his Martial Soul, the Soul Ring immediately settled steadily around Qiangu Qitian, who sat cross-legged there, its light flickering endlessly.

Seeing that Qiangu Qitian had begun absorbing it without any major abnormalities, Elder Xuan relaxed slightly.

Looking at those four massive bear paws, Elder Xuan could not help swallowing.

His Martial Soul was the Godly Taotie Bull. Though this Martial Soul was incomparably powerful, it had a fatal side effect: gluttony. To manage this side effect, Elder Xuan could only keep eating without pause.

And it seemed that he had not eaten Great Strength Diamond Bear paws in a long time.

Without further hesitation, he casually sent out four streams of Soul Power, slicing off all four bear paws.

While Elder Xuan was cutting up the bear paws, Qiangu Qitian's absorption of the Soul Ring had reached a critical stage. A great amount of Soul Power flowed from the Soul Ring into his body.

The Soul Power entering his body began continuously crashing against his meridians. He immediately focused all his attention on refining it.

It had to be said, a thousand-year Soul Ring truly was impressive.

If he had not absorbed the Soul Bone Mu En had given him, vastly improving his physical constitution—

If he had not possessed the capacity to endure the impact of the immense Soul Power from a thousand-year Soul Ring—he would not have been able to continuously refine and absorb it beneath such overwhelming pressure.

For an ordinary Soul Master, if they tried to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring as their first Soul Ring, they would likely explode and die the instant the first wave of massive Soul Power struck their meridians.

It could only be said that for an ordinary Soul Master to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring as their first Soul Ring was far from simple.

As time passed, Qiangu Qitian reached the final stage of refining the Soul Ring. As he continuously circulated his meditation method, he transformed the unceasing stream of Soul Power into his own strength.

At that very moment, something within his body seemed to shatter with a thunderous crash!

The next instant, his aura began rising rapidly.

Level 11, Level 12, all the way to Level 17!

A large part of this came from the Soul Power that had remained in his body after he absorbed the Soul Bone.

Now, with his breakthrough, it erupted completely all at once.

At last, his first Soul Ring had finally been fully absorbed!

Feeling the strength within his body, now countless times greater than before, Qiangu Qitian suddenly opened his eyes.

The Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand whistled as it smashed outward, stirring bursts of piercing air-splitting sounds.

As the Coiling Dragon Staff swung in his hand, the faint cry of a dragon unexpectedly sounded through the air, as though the Break Evil Dragon attached within the staff was also rejoicing for him.

"A thousand-year first ring... I never expected this brat to really succeed. Even Mu En never accomplished such a thing!"

Xuanzi keenly sensed the changes in Qiangu Qitian's body and spoke in surprise.

"Level 17? You brat actually reached Level 17 directly. But since you absorbed that Soul Bone Mu En gave you, this level does make sense!"

"How is the effect of your Soul Skill? Does it meet your expectations?"

As a Level 98 Super Douluo, Elder Xuan only needed a casual sweep of his senses to instantly see through Qiangu Qitian's current level.

Although Qiangu Qitian's Soul Power reaching Level 17 directly surprised him slightly, once he considered that superb eighty-thousand-year Soul Bone, Elder Xuan found it normal enough.

At that moment, he was not especially concerned about Qiangu Qitian's Soul Power Level. Rather, the Soul Skill was what Elder Xuan cared about most.

"My first Soul Skill is called Force Piercing Ten Thousand Juns. It can greatly increase the weight of my Coiling Dragon Staff in an instant, while also raising my attack and defense by 50%!"

As he spoke, the Soul Ring beneath Qiangu Qitian's feet flashed slightly. The next moment, the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand swept out fiercely.

The Coiling Dragon Staff created deep, muffled sonic booms in the air.

Elder Xuan's brow immediately twitched, and on a whim, he reached out and grabbed the Coiling Dragon Staff.

The next moment, the Coiling Dragon Staff was firmly caught in Elder Xuan's hand.

A moment later, Elder Xuan released the Coiling Dragon Staff he had been holding and instead turned toward Beibei, who seemed eager to test himself against Qiangu Qitian.

"Beibei, you'd better not challenge this brat Qitian for now."

"Hm? Why?"

Beibei looked at Elder Xuan in confusion, his young face showing a trace of incomprehension.

Although Qiangu Qitian was now Level 17 while he was only Level 12, they were both Soul Masters. The gap should not have been that large, right?

"Because you're simply not qualified."

"I'm truly afraid that if Qitian fails to control a single strike, he'll send you right on your way. You're Mu En's only descendant, so you must pay attention to your safety!"

That was right. In Elder Xuan's view, Qiangu Qitian could truly send Beibei to his death with one strike, perhaps even turn him directly into a pile of flesh.

His explosive power and strength were simply too great. Among Martial Souls of the same level, Elder Xuan felt there was not a single one comparable to his. Even the Clear Sky Hammer, hailed as the continent's number one tool Martial Soul, could not measure up.

"How is the Soul Skill's consumption?" Elder Xuan stopped paying attention to the stunned Beibei and turned to Qiangu Qitian, asking solemnly.

"It isn't very high. Each activation of the Soul Skill can last five minutes. If I use it continuously in battle, with my current Soul Power, I can use it seven or eight times."

After obtaining this Soul Skill, Qiangu Qitian had already sensed how many times he could use it.

Of course, he had held something back. With his current Soul Power, he could use it twelve or thirteen times in succession, not merely seven or eight.

Moreover, his first Soul Skill could stack, but it placed extremely high demands on his physical constitution. Even after absorbing an eighty-thousand-year right leg bone and a thousand-year Soul Ring, he could currently stack it at most three times.

If he stacked it any further, his body would rupture and his blood and qi would flow backward.

Though he concealed the most fundamental ability to stack it, the effect he revealed alone had already made Elder Xuan grin from ear to ear.

"Superb! What an absolutely superb Soul Skill! If Mu En knew, he would definitely be delighted."

Praise filled Xuanzi's aged face, and his words were brimming with lavish admiration.

After resolving the first Soul Rings for the two of them, Elder Xuan immediately took the three of them soaring into the sky and headed toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Soul Ring Zhang Lexuan needed had to be at least fifty thousand years old, and most Soul Beasts with that level of strength were found in the Core Area of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Since the Core Area was not as vast as the outskirts, Elder Xuan could instead unleash all his strength there. Before long, he found a Moon Palace Toad around fifty thousand years old.

As before, he casually slapped it down and tossed it to Zhang Lexuan.

For Zhang Lexuan, who possessed the Silver Moon Martial Soul—

There was no Soul Beast more suitable for her than the ancient Moon Palace Toad.

Perhaps because her Martial Soul and the Soul Ring were such a perfect match, Zhang Lexuan only spent half a day absorbing the fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring.

Once the Soul Ring was fully absorbed, she officially broke through to Spirit Emperor. With the boost from the fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring, her Soul Power rose in one breath to Level 63!

Moreover, she gained a remarkably powerful Soul Skill!

Full Moon!

After this Soul Skill was activated, it could draw in moonlight and even create an illusion. Moonlight condensed into a ring before finally descending. With a single strike, even a Spirit Saint or Spirit Douluo would be grievously wounded and left on the brink of death.

It was practically identical to a skill called Water Demon Explosion from a game in Qiangu Qitian's previous life: a large-scale explosion and piercing attack with astonishing power!

With the Soul Ring matter resolved, Elder Xuan immediately led the three of them swiftly out of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Though his strength ranked among the top ten on the entire continent, the Star Dou Great Forest held several beings far stronger than him.

If those individuals discovered that he had appeared in the Star Dou Great Forest, they might truly end up fighting.

After quickly leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, they returned to Shrek City in less than half a day under the high-speed flight of a Level 98 Super Douluo.

After returning to Shrek City, Elder Xuan's task was considered complete. He immediately returned to his old ways, casually tossed the three of them at the academy entrance, and vanished in a flash.

The direction he went was clearly toward the kitchen. It seemed he was in a hurry to cook those four bear paws.

Watching Elder Xuan hurry away, Zhang Lexuan could not help shaking her head. She then led Beibei and Qiangu Qitian toward the Inner Academy.

"Eldest Senior Sister!"

Just as they were about to enter the Inner Academy, a crisp voice suddenly rang out behind them. Turning around, they saw a girl with a rather curvaceous figure hurrying toward them.

A pair of wings formed from flames stretched behind the girl, their scorching heat warping the air.

Flame Maniac Ma Xiaotao?

Seeing her, Qiangu Qitian could not help thinking once again of the question that had always troubled him.

Why did Ma Xiaotao have evil fire? When Ma Hongjun married Bai Chenxiang, hadn't he already gotten rid of his evil fire?

Could it be that the inherited Martial Soul had deteriorated again over generations?