Douluo: Breathing Makes Me Stronger, Tang San Is Terrified!

Within Lu Chen's line of sight, the Iron Armored Crocodile caught the scent of blood and quickly crawled ashore. It opened its gaping jaws, clamped the two Nether Wolf corpses in its mouth, and turned to return to the lake.

Of course, Lu Chen would not let it go back so easily!

Once the Iron Armored Crocodile returned to the lake and began stirring up trouble, he would have no way to deal with it.

Only while it was on shore could he fight it. Even if he could not kill it outright, he had to at least drive it away.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Chen charged forward. In three swift strides, he caught up with the Iron Armored Crocodile, grabbed its tail, and yanked it back with all his strength.

"Roar!"

Only then did the Iron Armored Crocodile realize that someone had grabbed its tail. It hurriedly spat out the Nether Wolves in its mouth and let out an angry roar.

Then it began twisting its body wildly, trying to break free from Lu Chen's grip.

Every muscle in Lu Chen's body tensed as he shouted:

"Up you go!"

Who would have thought that in this contest of strength, the Iron Armored Crocodile would actually fall behind? Lu Chen swung it around by the tail and hurled it toward the nearby forest.

Boom!

The Iron Armored Crocodile's massive body crashed into the forest and only came to a stop after slamming into a large tree. The violent impact left it somewhat dazed.

Lu Chen's expression turned solemn. He quickly chased after it, and with a thought, summoned his Second Martial Soul, the Black Iron Sickle.

The surging Soul Power within him continuously poured into it, causing the Black Iron Sickle to gleam with a cold, eerie light.

While the Iron Armored Crocodile was still dizzy, Lu Chen rushed into the forest and drove the Black Iron Sickle into one of its eyes.

"Aoo!"

The intense pain instantly woke the Iron Armored Crocodile. Its ferocity was completely unleashed as it threw itself forward with all four limbs.

Although Lu Chen did his best to dodge, the Iron Armored Crocodile's charge still clipped him, sending him stumbling back six or seven steps.

Lu Chen bared his teeth in pain and looked down at his abdomen. His clothes had been torn apart, and the skin on his stomach was scraped raw, bloody and mangled.

It was not a serious injury, but it once again reminded him that when facing a Spirit Beast several thousand years old, he had to be careful—careful beyond careful.

Lu Chen took a deep breath, gripped the Black Iron Sickle, and charged forward again. While dodging the Iron Armored Crocodile's bites and pounces, he swung the sickle at every part of its body.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Iron Armored Crocodile's scales were absurdly hard. Lu Chen's Black Iron Sickle struck them and produced nothing but a shower of sparks; it could not break through its defenses at all.

In the end, this was because Lu Chen's Black Iron Sickle had not yet been fitted with a Spirit Ring. As an ordinary Martial Soul, its offensive power was insufficient.

Within the forest, man and crocodile fought fiercely. In the end, Lu Chen seized an opening and used the Black Iron Sickle to blind the Iron Armored Crocodile's other eye.

After both its eyes had been blinded, the Iron Armored Crocodile finally became afraid. It roared threateningly, then fled in a panic.

Having finally driven away the Iron Armored Crocodile, Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. He put away his Second Martial Soul, the Black Iron Sickle, and summoned his First Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass.

As a blue halo gradually began to shine, a stalk of Blue Silver Grass marked with blood-red patterns grew out of thin air in his palm.

Faint waves of Soul Power spread outward, while a magnificent purple Spirit Ring slowly rose beneath his feet.

"First Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Revival!"

Lu Chen activated his First Spirit Skill. His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul gently swayed, releasing streams of blue mist. Bathed in that mist, Lu Chen's injuries quickly healed.

A moment later, Lu Chen's minor injuries had completely recovered.

Having healed himself and driven away the Iron Armored Crocodile, Lu Chen had finally reached the time to reap his rewards.

He walked to the lakeshore, swam through the water to the island in the center, and eagerly approached the Cloud Mist Tea Tree. He summoned the Black Iron Sickle once more and chopped down the defenseless tree.

With a boom, the Cloud Mist Tea Tree fell. Its life came to an end, and dense purple light poured from its trunk. After shifting several times, it finally condensed into a purple Spirit Ring.

Lu Chen's spirits rose at the sight, but he did not immediately absorb the Spirit Ring. Instead, he took out a packet of powder from his clothes. It was powder that repelled snakes, insects, rats, and ants.

Although the Iron Armored Crocodile was not dead, both its eyes had been gouged out by him.

Lu Chen scattered a circle of the powder around the area. This would interfere with the Iron Armored Crocodile's sense of smell and prevent it from finding its way back.

Only after finishing all this did Lu Chen sit cross-legged on the ground. He circulated the Meditation Method, connected with his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and began absorbing the Cloud Mist Tea Tree's four-thousand-year Spirit Ring.

That magnificent deep-purple Spirit Ring drifted over and settled around the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. It rapidly contracted and merged into it.

Soul Power brimming with vitality spread out, causing the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to tremble violently. It began growing at a visible speed and underwent another round of evolution.

At the same time, vast Soul Power flowed back into Lu Chen's body, coursing through his meridians before finally gathering in his dantian.

However, suppressed by his own Soul Power, it caused no trouble. After being refined and absorbed, it completely fused with his own Soul Power.

After roughly forty or fifty minutes, Lu Chen finished absorbing the Second Spirit Ring.

He opened his eyes and first sensed the Soul Power within himself. Sure enough, it had surged to level thirty. He could directly absorb a third Spirit Ring.

Then he summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Two magnificent purple Spirit Rings slowly rose beneath his feet.

Both his First and Second Spirit Rings were purple. If anyone heard of such a Spirit Ring configuration, they probably would not believe it.

As for his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, after its second evolution, its roots and stems had become thicker while its leaves had grown broader. Besides the blood-red patterns, it now emitted a faint fragrance and brimmed with rich life energy.

Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction.

"The Transformation is enormous. My Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul used to be only a Low-Level Martial Soul, but now it is at least a Mid-Level Martial Soul. Two millennium-old Plant Spirit Beast rings have been tremendously helpful to its evolution."

"And my Second Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Grace, can dispel fatigue and restore energy, including physical strength, Soul Power... all of it can be recovered."

"The First Spirit Skill restores health, and the Second Spirit Skill restores Soul Power. My next Third Spirit Skill should add a buffing ability."

Chapter 20: The Eight-Thousand-Year Sun-Facing Flower

On the island in the center of the lake!

Lu Chen put away his Martial Soul and stretched hard. His bones crackled like popping beans, and through his tattered clothes, the clearly defined contours of his muscles could be seen.

After his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul successively gained its First and Second Spirit Rings, not only had the Soul Power he had accumulated gradually been released to level thirty, but his physique had also been strengthened considerably.

In terms of raw strength alone, Lu Chen was not even inferior to some Spirit Beasts. He merely lacked fangs and claws, as well as suitable means of attack.

To improve his offensive ability, Lu Chen currently had only two ideas.

The first was to attempt creating his own Soul Skills in battle.

The second was to add Spirit Rings to his Second Martial Soul, the Black Iron Sickle.

Lu Chen immediately rejected the second idea.

Adding Spirit Rings to his Second Martial Soul now, even millennium-old Spirit Rings, would be an extremely poor bargain.

Thinking it over, he could only try the first approach: attempting to create some Soul Skills during his upcoming battles.

Lu Chen rubbed his chin, his eyes gleaming as he thought:

If I create my own Soul Skills, the toughness of my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul has greatly improved as it gained Spirit Rings. I can try training its Entangle technique.

Entangling is a plant's instinct, isn't it? Even if I cannot completely bind an opponent, as long as I can slow its movements, I can create an opening to attack.

Another possibility is compressing and releasing Soul Power. By alternating between those two states, I should be able to unleash considerable force.

Besides, with Blue Silver Revival and Blue Silver Grace, I am not afraid of getting hurt. At worst, I can try a few more times. I will eventually succeed in creating my own Soul Skills.

With that thought, Lu Chen gradually formed a plan in his mind.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, he looked again at the fallen Cloud Mist Tea Tree.

"A four-thousand-year Cloud Mist Tea Tree is worth at least four hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. Unfortunately, what I need now is not Gold Soul Coins, but a suitable Second Spirit Ring."

"That is why I had no choice but to cut you down. But these tea leaves cannot be wasted. Once I leave the Star Dou Forest, they will still be quite valuable. I can give them to Father, Mother, Grandpa Old Jack, and the teachers at Notting Academy."

After speaking, Lu Chen walked over to the fallen Cloud Mist Tea Tree and began picking the tenderest leaves from its crown.

Lu Chen spent three days giving the freshly picked tender tea leaves some simple processing.

Unfortunately, he was not a tea maker and did not know how to properly process Cloud Mist Tea. Thus, the Cloud Mist Tea he processed was only of middling quality at best, and its final value was greatly reduced.

Lu Chen sighed repeatedly.

"What a pity. Such a pity!"

With this regretful mood, Lu Chen carried a large bag of Cloud Mist Tea leaves away from the island in the center of the lake. He shouldered his pack again and began searching for the next Spirit Beast suitable for him.

The process of finding a suitable Spirit Beast could never go smoothly. It required a great deal of time and effort to find one suitable for himself within the perilous Star Dou Forest.

More than a month passed without him noticing. While searching for Spirit Beasts in the Star Dou Forest, Lu Chen also began consciously trying to create his own Soul Skills.

Whether it was Blue Silver Grass's Entangle technique or the technique of compressing and releasing Soul Power, he gradually figured out some of the principles. However, he still lacked practical experience and could not confirm whether they were feasible.

Just then, Lu Chen discovered a Sun-Facing Flower standing nearly one meter eighty tall on a hillside in the Star Dou Forest.

Looking from afar at that Plant Spirit Beast resembling a sunflower, Lu Chen could not help showing a delighted expression.

"A Sun-Facing Flower's bloom constantly faces the sun during the day. It absorbs and stores solar energy. After the sun sets, it falls asleep, but the solar energy it stores during the day can form a Blazing Sun Shield."

"Isn't that exactly the shield skill I need? And judging from this Sun-Facing Flower's size, it has at least eight thousand years of cultivation. That is also within the age limit I can absorb."

Lu Chen's First and Second Spirit Rings had respectively absorbed the Spirit Ring of a thousand-year Red Blood Grass and a four-thousand-year Cloud Mist Tea Tree.

He had successfully absorbed those millennium-old Spirit Rings, so Lu Chen was confident he could successfully absorb this eight-thousand-year Sun-Facing Flower Spirit Ring as well.

After deciding to hunt this Sun-Facing Flower as his Third Spirit Ring, Lu Chen set down the pack on his back and walked toward it.

It was still broad daylight, with the blazing sun hanging high in the sky. The Sun-Facing Flower's bloom faced the sun, and this was when it was most active.

Lu Chen walked toward the Sun-Facing Flower, and the Sun-Facing Flower noticed him.

The Sun-Facing Flower was not a delicate, weak Red Blood Grass or Cloud Mist Tea Tree. It possessed formidable strength.

Perhaps sensing Lu Chen's killing intent, the Sun-Facing Flower's bloom trembled slightly before turning toward him.

Lu Chen immediately became vigilant.

Sure enough, in the next instant, three Explosive Seeds shot from the Sun-Facing Flower's bloom toward Lu Chen.

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed as he reacted immediately. He pushed off hard with his feet and leaped to the side, dodging the three Explosive Seeds.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The three Explosive Seeds landed where Lu Chen had been standing, immediately exploding three times. Scorching fire energy surged out and blasted everything within several meters black.

The small flowers and grass on the ground rapidly burned in the explosions, turning into ash in no time.

Lu Chen was shocked by the sight. Everything he knew about Sun-Facing Flowers had come from the introductions given by teachers at Notting Academy.

Only after seeing one in person did he realize, to his surprise, that a Sun-Facing Flower was even more powerful than he had imagined.

If those Explosive Seeds had struck him head-on, they would probably have burned him badly in an instant.

Though surprised by the Sun-Facing Flower's strength, Lu Chen did not have the slightest intention of retreating. This was the perfect opportunity to use its Explosive Seeds to train his movement technique.

In the next instant, five more Explosive Seeds shot from the Sun-Facing Flower's bloom.

Lu Chen swiftly bent his knees slightly and circulated his Soul Power to his feet, continuously compressing it within the soles of his feet.

Then, like a rocket blasting off, he released the compressed Soul Power.

However, due to a moment of carelessness, the compressed Soul Power exploded. Although it propelled him away, the direction he shot in was completely beyond his control.

Moreover, as the Soul Power exploded, it blasted the flesh on his soles to a bloody pulp. A piercing pain shot straight to his head, making him grimace in agony.

With a bang, the launched Lu Chen finally slammed into the ground. He rolled several times before coming to a stop.

Despite all those flaws, the release of compressed Soul Power had still launched him away and successfully helped him evade the five Explosive Seeds.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Five explosions rang out one after another. The waves of flame they kicked up left Lu Chen looking battered and dirty.

His clothes were charred black. His already tattered outfit was riddled with holes by the flying sparks, his hair had been singed dry, and his face was roasted bright red.

Lu Chen did not care about any of that. He looked at the Sun-Facing Flower with a determined expression.

"Again! As long as I try a few more times, I will definitely master this 'Explosive Step'!"

Chapter 21: Explosive Step and Cannon Fist

Boom! Boom! Boom...