Second Soul Ring, Thousand Years at Last!

Duan Fan's gaze was immediately drawn to the black fox.

The black fox lay sprawled on the ground. It was over three meters long, its fur gleaming black, with a dark red stripe running down its spine from head to tail.

It was a Black Flame Demon Fox!

And a Black Flame Demon Fox that was around fifteen hundred years old!

Duan Fan saw no wounds on the Black Flame Demon Fox. Noticing that its body was still twitching, he seriously suspected that Ghost Leopard Douluo had scared it unconscious.

That made sense.

The powerful aura of a Titled Douluo only needed to leak out slightly to scare a Thousand-Year Soul Beast unconscious. Even scaring it to death outright would have been perfectly normal.

Of course, that was merely Duan Fan's guess.

He did not ask Ghost Leopard Douluo how he had taken down this Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Instead, he recalled what he had said earlier.

He had actually tried to teach a Titled Douluo how to hunt Soul Beasts?

His mind must have been muddled.

With Ghost Leopard Douluo's strength, it would not have been surprising even if he had uprooted every one of these low mountains.

"Thank you, Grandpa Ghost Leopard!"

Duan Fan hurriedly thanked him.

Ghost Leopard Douluo smiled. "What are you standing there foolishly for? Kill it. This is your Second Soul Ring."

"Alright!"

Duan Fan answered and immediately controlled the Dream-Weaving Spider to strike at the Black Flame Demon Fox.

The Dream-Weaving Spider had relatively limited means of attack. It simply raised its sharp spider spear and drove it forcefully into the Black Flame Demon Fox's body.

The Black Flame Demon Fox seemed to have already been at death's door. As the Dream-Weaving Spider's spear descended, it only let out a muffled groan. It did not struggle at all before dying on the spot.

Blackish-red blood sprayed from the Black Flame Demon Fox's wound, quickly staining the ground the same dark color.

At the same time, a purple ring slowly rose from the Black Flame Demon Fox's corpse, radiating dense Soul Power fluctuations.

Upon seeing the Second Soul Ring he had long awaited, Duan Fan did not look excited or thrilled. Instead, he froze where he stood.

Ghost Leopard Douluo immediately noticed Duan Fan's unusual reaction and asked, "What is it, little fellow?"

"Can't stand the sight of blood?"

Duan Fan snapped back to his senses and hurriedly said, "No."

"It's my first time killing a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. I'm a little excited."

Ghost Leopard Douluo chuckled. "Look at how little ambition you have."

"It's only a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. What's so remarkable about that?"

"Once you absorb this Soul Ring, you'll be able to kill Thousand-Year Soul Beasts even without anyone else's help."

A silly grin appeared on Duan Fan's face.

Ghost Leopard Douluo stood with his hands behind his back. "Hurry and meditate on the spot to adjust your condition. Then you can absorb the Soul Ring sooner."

"Yes, Grandpa Ghost Leopard!"

Duan Fan immediately did as told. He sat down cross-legged on the spot and slowly closed his eyes.

However, he did not immediately enter meditation. Instead, he reflected on the peculiar sensation he had felt at the instant he killed the Black Flame Demon Fox.

He had experienced this same sensation when he acquired his First Soul Ring and killed the Dream-Weaving Spider.

He could clearly sense a faint response from his Second Martial Soul, the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe, and his left hand unconsciously opened slightly.

Then, he felt an indistinct aura slip into the center of his left palm, as though it had merged into the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe.

The instant that peculiar aura merged with the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe, Duan Fan vaguely sensed that his Soul-Sucking Battle Axe had become a little stronger.

Though the increase was still minuscule, Duan Fan could tell that killing the Black Flame Demon Fox had strengthened it far more than killing the Dream-Weaving Spider had.

It seems my Soul-Sucking Battle Axe really can absorb souls. After absorbing souls, it can continuously grow stronger. The stronger the soul, the greater the benefit.

Duan Fan was deeply excited, but he quickly suppressed that excitement.

There's no need to rush the development of the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe. I absolutely cannot let anyone discover that I can kill targets, absorb their souls, and strengthen my Martial Soul.

What I need to do now is continuously raise my own strength. The stronger I become, the more powerful the targets I can kill. It won't be too late to focus on strengthening the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe then. No matter how many ordinary souls I absorb, they cannot compare to the improvement brought by one powerful soul.

Duan Fan could feel just how enormous the difference was between the enhancement brought by the Dream-Weaving Spider's soul and that brought by the Black Flame Demon Fox's soul. It was almost impossible to make up for with quantity.

Even if it were possible, the required quantity would be absurd.

And that was merely the gap between a four-hundred-year Soul Beast and a fifteen-hundred-year Soul Beast.

Thus, Duan Fan rationally told himself that there was no need to rush when it came to strengthening the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe.

After adjusting his emotions, Duan Fan cleared his thoughts and quickly entered a meditative state.

After roughly ten minutes of cultivation, Duan Fan had adjusted himself to his best condition.

Then, he began absorbing the Black Flame Demon Fox's Soul Ring, which was around fifteen hundred years old.

Guided by Duan Fan's will, the Black Flame Demon Fox's purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring soon descended onto the Fantasy Pen.

In an instant, Duan Fan felt an incomparably terrifying impact of Soul Power.

Had his body not undergone refinement through the Diamond Skill and become far stronger than that of an ordinary level-twenty Soul Master,

he would have exploded and died the instant the Soul Power entered his body.

Even so, he could still feel an indescribable pain surging from every part of his body.

Fortunately, Duan Fan had long developed an extremely high tolerance for physical pain. He could completely endure this level of suffering.

Ghost Leopard Douluo quietly watched Duan Fan absorb the Soul Ring from the side.

He appeared nonchalant on the surface, but all his attention was fixed on Duan Fan.

Especially at the instant Duan Fan guided the Black Flame Demon Fox's Soul Ring onto the Fantasy Pen, Ghost Leopard Douluo's Soul Power circulated throughout his entire body as he prepared to envelop Duan Fan at any moment.

If Duan Fan showed even the slightest sign of being unable to withstand the Soul Power's impact, he would immediately act to preserve Duan Fan's life.

Although he had used Soul Power to inspect Duan Fan's body and confirmed that Duan Fan's physical strength far exceeded that of ordinary people,

an inspection was still only an inspection. It could serve only as a reference and did not mean that Duan Fan would be absolutely safe absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Fortunately, everything appeared to be going smoothly so far.

Seeing Duan Fan's condition gradually stabilize, Ghost Leopard Douluo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"This little fellow's body truly is extraordinary. He really withstood a Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

"From the looks of his condition, absorbing a fifteen-hundred-year Soul Ring seems effortless for him. He hasn't reached his limit yet."

"But this is already enough. Absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his Second Soul Ring is astonishing enough."

"If I really let this little fellow challenge his limit and something happens, wouldn't it be a pity to lose such a promising talent?"

At this point, Ghost Leopard Douluo had spread his Titled Douluo aura throughout the surrounding area.

The Soul Beasts within several miles either fainted from fear on the spot or scattered in all directions.

With a Titled Douluo like Ghost Leopard Douluo present, there was no need to worry that outside factors would interfere with Duan Fan's absorption of the Soul Ring.

Time passed second by second.

Duan Fan's aura steadily grew stronger, while his physical condition remained stable throughout—so stable that even a hint of surprise flashed through Ghost Leopard Douluo's eyes.

"Isn't he absorbing this Thousand-Year Soul Ring a little too easily?"

Ghost Leopard Douluo lightly brushed his brow. "Could I have made an error when I inspected him with Soul Power earlier?"

"That shouldn't be possible."

"With his body, he should be able to absorb a Soul Ring of at most sixteen hundred years. Choosing one of fifteen hundred years isn't exactly overly conservative."

"My Soul Power inspection can't be wrong. For a Soul Master at his level, the difference in difficulty for every additional hundred years of a Soul Ring is enormous. It makes sense that absorbing the current Soul Ring is somewhat easier."

The sky gradually darkened.

Three hours had passed since Duan Fan began absorbing the Black Flame Demon Fox's Soul Ring.

The three-hour wait did not make Ghost Leopard Douluo feel the slightest impatience.

Instead, as time passed, his interest in Duan Fan grew increasingly intense.

Innate Full Soul Power, Twin Martial Souls.

A Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring.

This child's future was limitless.

Ghost Leopard Douluo could sense that the Soul Power within Duan Fan's body had gradually stabilized. Duan Fan's absorption of the Thousand-Year Soul Ring could be considered successful.

All that remained was to wait quietly.

Another half hour soon passed.

Duan Fan had finally successfully obtained the Black Flame Demon Fox's Thousand-Year Soul Ring.