[Life Goddess]: Chen Yu, steady your mind.
[Life Goddess]: These three forces are all top-tier. What you need to do now is guide them to fuse with one another, not forcefully suppress them.
[Life Goddess]: Otherwise, you'll end up just like that Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
[God of Destruction]: The power of destruction, in particular, will never bow to any other force. That is its nature.
[God of Destruction]: If you try to absorb this Soul Ring by suppressing it, you'll only make things worse and end up exploding.
[God of Destruction]: Let go and let them fight. A king will emerge from their struggle, and they'll find balance. That's the proper way to wield the power of destruction.
[Will of Douluo Planet]: Avenger, you've got this! If you get killed by the Soul Ring, I'll laugh at you for ten thousand years! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
[Man Faced Demon Spider]: You can do it! Hold on! Don't die!
"Hss!!!"
Xiao Chenyu clenched his teeth as a thread of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
But he didn't panic.
The God of Destruction's words made him instantly understand the key. He shouldn't suppress the forces—he should let them go.
He relaxed his hold over the three forces, no longer trying to restrain their conflict.
The three forces clashed even more fiercely.
His meridians were torn apart and mended again and again.
Every tear brought pain that pierced his bones.
Every repair brought a trace of coolness.
But gradually, the situation began to change.
The power of destruction started to gain the upper hand!
Like a ferocious wolf king, it charged through the battlefield of his meridians, savaging the haughty Ultimate Gold until it submitted.
Then, together with the scorching medicinal power left behind by the Immortal Herb, it devoured, fused with, and absorbed everything.
The whole process was as brutal as a gangland shootout.
Yet somehow, it worked.
Half an hour later.
Inside the cavern.
"Ding!"
Xiao Chenyu's eyes snapped open.
Deep in his pupils, dark gold and crimson light shimmered against each other before vanishing in a flash.
Soul Power Level—thirteen!
"Whew—"
He let out a breath of stale air, flecks of dark gold glimmering within it.
He slowly rose to his feet, his bones cracking all over.
With a thought,
the Destruction Demon Wolf King possessed him!
His dark purple werewolf form appeared once more.
But this time, dark gold and crimson markings ran through its fur.
Purple, dark gold, and crimson intertwined like some mysterious totem.
His First Soul Ring lit up beside him.
Purple light swirled, its aura imposing.
"First Soul Skill..."
Xiao Chenyu clenched his fists, channeling Soul Power through his body.
"Dark Gold Demon Wolf Transformation!"
In an instant, dark gold markings spread across his body like flames being kindled!
His already burly werewolf form swelled another size. His muscles grew more sharply defined, and dark gold glinted coldly from his claws.
Dark Gold Demon Wolf Transformation: a self-enhancement ability.
For the thirty minutes of its duration, resistance to abnormal conditions increased by 100%, while attack power, defense, and strength each increased by 100%.
Its attacks could also unleash slashes of Ultimate Gold, with tremendous penetrating power.
Simply put, it offered offense and defense in one, boosted everything, and even came with an armor-piercing effect.
It was practically the perfect opening-game divine skill.
Feeling the surging strength within him, Xiao Chenyu glanced at a stalactite pillar more than twice his height.
He slashed down through the air with one claw.
Three dark gold claw marks crossed through the air, leaving afterimages in their wake.
"Clang!"
The sturdy stalactite pillar rang like metal being cut, then shattered into four pieces.
The cut surfaces were smooth as mirrors, without a single rough edge.
Xiao Chenyu looked down at his claws, then at the stalactite fragments scattered across the ground. The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
Xiao Chengkun had been fretting nearby, ready to rush in and save his son at any moment. Seeing this,
he shot straight up three feet into the air!
"My son, Xiao Chenyu, has the makings of a Titled Douluo!!!"
His booming roar echoed through the cavern again and again, making the droplets on the stalactites tremble.
"I knew it! I knew it!!!"
"Dad, stop shouting."
Xiao Chenyu returned to normal. He complained, but the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably to a dangerous angle.
"The whole forest heard you. You'll have every Soul Beast in the area coming over."
"Yu'er!"
Xiao Chengkun completely ignored his son's complaints and rushed over, pulling him into a tight embrace.
The normally gruff and boisterous city lord had tears in his eyes.
"My greatest achievement in this life was having a good son like you!"
Xiao Chenyu's bones creaked in his father's embrace, but he didn't push him away.
"Dad, ease up. I just finished absorbing a Soul Ring, and my bones still hurt..."
He grumbled, but gently patted his father on the back.
Outside the cavern, the sunlight was bright.
The Soul Hunting Group continued dutifully guarding the entrance, with no idea what had happened inside.
Meanwhile, the Chat Group had exploded with Xiao Chenyu's celebratory message.
[Xiao Chenyu]: @everyone, that felt amazing!
[Will of Douluo Planet]: Congratulations, Avenger! First Soul Ring get! ٩(๑>◡<๑)۶
[Life Goddess]: Chenyu, you must have gained more than that, right?
[Xiao Chenyu]: Haha, you saw right through me, Godmother.
Xiao Chenyu was a little surprised, though it made sense.
The Life Goddess was a god-king. Seeing right through his condition was as easy for her as eating or drinking.
[Xiao Chenyu]: In fact, besides the increase in Soul Power and gaining my First Soul Ring and Soul Skill, I also got a Soul Bone.
He lowered his eyes to his right hand.
Through his Soul Power perception, he could sense a faint dark gold light radiating from his right palm bone.
A brand-new bone had quietly fused into his body, perfectly joining with his right hand.
External Soul Bone: Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Right Palm Bone!
Its Soul Bone Skill was the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's signature ability: Dark Gold Terrorclaw.
Those claws could tear apart anything. Now, they would serve him.
[Man Faced Demon Spider]: Dark Gold Terrorclaw! So cool! Tear Tang San apart! Tear Tang San apart! Tear Tang San apart!
[Xiao Chenyu]: There's more.
[Xiao Chenyu]: I seem to have gained the power of Ultimate Fire too, probably from the Immortal Herb the bear accidentally ate.
[Xiao Chenyu]: It absorbed some of the Immortal Herb's medicinal properties, but I absorbed the energy of its fire attribute along with the Soul Ring.
[Xiao Chenyu]: These powers aren't suitable to show off just yet, and I haven't figured out how to use them.
Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Gold together were far too conspicuous. They'd attract unwanted attention.
[God of Destruction]: Hmph, not bad.
[God of Destruction]: But don't get cocky. This is only the beginning.
[God of Destruction]: You need to truly integrate the power of destruction, Ultimate Fire, and Ultimate Gold into your fighting style, bringing out their full power instead of using them separately.
[Xiao Chenyu]: Understood. Thank you for the advice, Godfather.
[God of Destruction]: ...
Why did "Godfather" sound so awkward?
[Will of Douluo Planet]: Avenger, you'd better thank me properly~(｡•̀ᴗ-)
[Xiao Chenyu]: Thanks, Douluo Planet. I owe you one.
[Will of Douluo Planet]: Oh, right, Avenger, there's one more thing I need to tell you.
[Xiao Chenyu]: Hmm?
[Will of Douluo Planet]: This Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear—
[Will of Douluo Planet]: is a direct descendant of Xiong Jun, one of the big shots in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest~(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
[Xiao Chenyu]: ???
"Ha?!"
Xiao Chenyu's smile froze on his face.
He wondered if he'd misread the screen.
Xiong Jun?
That Ferocious Beast in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest, with a cultivation base of over four hundred thousand years, known as the "King of Forest Destroyers"?
Had he just killed one of Xiong Jun's direct descendants?!
[Xiao Chenyu]: ...
[Xiao Chenyu]: Why didn't you say so earlier?
[Will of Douluo Planet]: You didn't ask~(ˆつ⩊⊂ˆ)
[Xiao Chenyu]: I swear... thank you so much!!!
[God of Destruction]: With your current strength, if you ran into that Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear with a cultivation base of over four hundred thousand years, you probably wouldn't last even 0.1 seconds.
[Life Goddess]: Xiao Zi, don't scare the boy.
[Life Goddess]: Chenyu, don't worry too much. I remember the Ferocious Beasts in the core area of Star Dou are scheming something with the Silver Dragon King around this time. They won't show themselves easily.
[Life Goddess]: As for what happens later... we'll figure it out then.
Xiao Chenyu fell silent for a moment.
Then he quietly glanced at the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's corpse on the ground.
He looked at the purple Soul Ring around him, which he hadn't fully drawn in yet.
Then he thought of that veteran Ferocious Beast with a cultivation base of over four hundred thousand years, far away in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest, who might one day discover that someone had killed one of its descendants.
He took a deep breath and wore an expression of utmost calm and serenity.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"We need to get out of here. Right now, immediately, this instant!"