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

As for the lingering resentment of the Earth Dragon-Armored Beast, it failed to stir up any trouble before Dugu Yan, who had consumed the Dragon Origin Fruit. Under the overwhelming dragon's might, the remnant soul was directly scattered.

Everything was moving in a positive direction!

After roughly seven hours of absorption, Dugu Yan finally succeeded in absorbing the Spirit Ring. She opened her beautiful jade-green eyes, which flashed with both delight and lingering fear.

Absorbing a Spirit Ring beyond one's limits brought tremendous gains, but the danger was equally great. Her successful absorption this time had truly involved a measure of luck.

Seeing Dugu Yan successfully absorb the Spirit Ring and awaken,

Dugu Bo and Lu Chen both breathed sighs of relief and offered their congratulations in turn.

Dugu Yan also rose from the ground, smiling as she shared her gains with Dugu Bo and Lu Chen:

"This time, absorbing the Spirit Ring was really dangerous, but I succeeded in the end. My Soul Power has risen to level 52."

"My Martial Soul also gained quite a few benefits this time. I can feel that my strength, speed, defense, and all my basic attributes have been greatly enhanced."

"Most importantly, my Spirit Skill. My Fifth Spirit Skill is called Jade Phosphorus Dragon Armor Shield. It can condense a jade-green energy barrier."

"Its defensive power is extremely strong. When it is attacked, the force of the attack is evenly dispersed. Even a Soul King's full-force strike cannot break through my energy barrier. To shatter it successfully, one would need at least the attack power of a Spirit Emperor."

As expected of a Spirit Ring absorbed beyond the limit—the skill it granted was exceptionally powerful!

Reflections on Going Premium

I've discussed it with my editor. The novel will go premium tomorrow at noon.

Thank you to every reader who has made it this far.

I hope you can all support the first-day subscriptions tomorrow.

Although I'm not some writing machine, I'll definitely be posting a burst of chapters tomorrow.

I've prepared ten chapters, around twenty thousand words of story content.

Also, regarding the nine Spirit Beasts needed for the protagonist's Second Martial Soul, the Black Iron Sickle—

They will definitely all need to be over fifty thousand years old. Do you have any recommendations?

For example, Spirit Beast names, ages, and abilities. Feel free to share any ideas you have; I'd like to use them for reference.

Soul Power at Level 80

After absorbing her Fifth Spirit Ring, Dugu Yan had truly become a Soul King!

As her grandfather, Dugu Bo's grin nearly reached his ears. He was even happier than when he had broken through to Titled Douluo himself.

Lu Chen also smiled, happy for Dugu Yan's advancement to Soul King. However, he reminded them at this moment:

"This Earth Dragon-Armored Beast was a twenty-thousand-year Spirit Beast, and its cultivation was quite formidable. We should quickly check whether it produced any Spirit Bones."

Prompted by Lu Chen, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan also turned their attention to the Earth Dragon-Armored Beast's corpse.

The Earth Dragon-Armored Beast now reeked, its flesh and blood almost entirely rotten within, while all its organs were saturated with corrosive poison.

They first neutralized the poison, then dismembered the Earth Dragon-Armored Beast, but unfortunately, they did not find a single Spirit Bone in the end.

Dugu Bo remained calm as he said:

"It seems there are no Spirit Bones. There is no need for us to be disappointed. The probability of producing a Spirit Bone was negligible to begin with. Yanyan obtaining a suitable Spirit Ring is already a very fortunate thing."

Dugu Yan sighed somewhat disappointedly, but quickly adjusted her mood. She said with a smile:

"Grandpa is right. Obtaining a suitable Spirit Ring is already very fortunate. No Spirit Bone is fine."

They cleaned up the scene and took away all the Spirit Beast materials they could carry.

Afterward, Dugu Bo, Lu Chen, and Dugu Yan returned to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Having returned to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, this cultivation treasure ground, Lu Chen resumed his diligent day-and-night cultivation.

The feeling of his Soul Power rising every day was incredibly addictive, and Lu Chen became immersed in it.

Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan cultivated diligently as well. Aside from meditating to increase their Soul Power, Dugu Bo also taught Dugu Yan cultivation experience, combat experience, poison-refining methods, antidote-making methods...

Dugu Bo now wished he could pass down every bit of his poison arts to Dugu Yan.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, another eight months went by!

Over those eight months, Lu Chen's Soul Power rose by another four levels. He had officially advanced from level 76 Soul Power to level 80 Soul Power.

Lu Chen had now become a quasi-Soul Douluo!

All of this was thanks to the treasure ground that was the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!

Without the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Lu Chen's cultivation speed would have been at least halved!

During this period, Lu Chen was not the only one whose Soul Power had improved.

With the special environment of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Dugu Bo completely refined the remaining medicinal power of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon.

His Soul Power rose another level, advancing from level 93 Soul Power to level 94 Soul Power.

For Dugu Bo, this was undoubtedly something worth celebrating.

Before meeting Lu Chen, he had only possessed level 91 Soul Power and had to spend a great deal of time every day suppressing the poison in his body.

This had caused Dugu Bo to be mocked within the Titled Douluo circle as the weakest Titled Douluo.

After meeting Lu Chen, he had reached level 94 Soul Power, was no longer troubled by poison, and his Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul had evolved into the Jade Phosphorus Snake Ancestor Martial Soul.

Especially after Dugu Bo single-handedly threw the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect into panic some time ago, who outside still dared to look down on him?

Dugu Yan's improvement was no less impressive. Over the eight months, her Soul Power rose by another three levels.

She had advanced from level 52 Soul Power to level 55 Soul Power.

Even after eight months, Dugu Yan was only a little over seventeen years old.

At this rate, Dugu Yan had a chance of breaking through to level 60 Soul Power before turning twenty, absorbing her Sixth Spirit Ring, and becoming a Spirit Emperor.

This cultivation speed was not even inferior to Qian Renxue, who possessed innate level 20 Soul Power.

Qian Renxue had completely wasted her innate level 20 Soul Power talent. She could have been even more outstanding.

But now...

Better not to mention it!

Back to the point, Lu Chen breaking through to level 80 Soul Power meant it was time for him to set out and search for a suitable Eighth Spirit Ring.

Dugu Bo brought Dugu Yan along, and the two set out with Lu Chen.

After leaving the valley of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, as the three of them descended the mountain,

Dugu Yan's gaze never left Lu Chen. She said in amazement:

"Lan Chen, your talent is too outrageous. Over the same eight months, you raised your Soul Power by four levels, while I only rose three levels."

"And you are already a Soul Sage, while I am only a Soul King. There isn't a single Soul Sage on the continent whose cultivation speed is faster than yours."

Lu Chen smiled faintly at her words and replied candidly:

"My talent is one factor, but more importantly, Brother Dugu's medicinal garden is the Mimetic Cultivation Environment best suited for me."

"Still, it is indeed a little outrageous. Once I absorb my Eighth Spirit Ring this time, I should become the youngest Soul Douluo on the continent."

At this moment, Dugu Bo looked at Lu Chen beside him and asked curiously:

"Lan Chen, what kind of Spirit Beast are you planning to hunt for your Eighth Spirit Ring?"

"For an ordinary Spirit Master's Eighth Spirit Ring, they would at most hunt a Spirit Beast between fifty thousand and seventy thousand years old. But when you absorbed your Seventh Spirit Ring, you hunted a Spirit Beast over eighty thousand years old."

"So what will you do for your Eighth Spirit Ring? Are you planning to hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"

"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast... I've never even seen one in my life. If I truly accompany you to hunt one this time, I'll have broadened my horizons."

Lu Chen was actually troubled by this issue as well. For his Seventh Spirit Ring, he had hunted an eighty-five-thousand-year Blue Silver King Spirit Beast.

Now, his Eighth Spirit Ring definitely could not be below eighty-five thousand years, but where was he supposed to find a Plant Spirit Beast over eighty-five thousand years old?

High-level Plant Spirit Beasts were already fewer in number than high-level animal Spirit Beasts.

In the original story, only a handful of high-level Plant Spirit Beasts had appeared.

Lu Chen had no reference at all now and could only rely on luck.

Using the Blue Silver Domain, he would mobilize the Blue Silver Grass across the continent to search and see whether he could find a hundred-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beast.

Lu Chen looked into the distance and said softly:

"Actually, I still don't know what kind of Spirit Beast I should hunt for my Eighth Spirit Ring."

"High-level Spirit Beasts are extremely rare, and high-level Plant Spirit Beasts are even rarer. I have no room to choose. Perhaps I can only rely on luck. Whatever Spirit Beast I find is the one whose Spirit Ring I will absorb."

"With my current spiritual strength and physical constitution, absorbing a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring definitely will not be a problem."

"It just depends on whether we are lucky enough this time to find a hundred-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beast."

"If we really find one, I'll have to trouble Brother Dugu to put in more effort."

Dugu Bo patted his chest and promised:

"Don't worry about that. Leave the fighting to me. I've never fought a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast before."

"If I get the chance, I really want to see whether I or a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is stronger!"

After descending the mountain, Dugu Bo, Lu Chen, and Dugu Yan did not linger long in Sunset Forest.

That was because Sunset Forest did not contain the hundred-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beast Lu Chen was seeking.

They left Sunset Forest and headed south. After five days of travel, they arrived at Star Dou Forest.

Perhaps only Star Dou Forest, the largest Spirit Beast Forest on the continent, could possibly contain the hundred-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beast Lu Chen needed.

After entering Star Dou Forest, Lu Chen activated the Blue Silver Domain. Through it, he communicated with the many Blue Silver Grass plants throughout the forest and began gathering information on high-level Plant Spirit Beasts.

With so much Blue Silver Grass serving as his eyes and ears, if a hundred-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beast existed, Lu Chen believed he would surely be able to find it...

A Mysterious Old Man

Star Dou Forest!

This was Lu Chen's second time coming here.

The first time, he had merely been a Spirit Scholar without a Spirit Ring. Relying on his body's innate divine strength, he had forcibly hunted six Plant Spirit Beasts and become an auxiliary Spirit Emperor.

Now, on his second visit, he was a quasi-Soul Douluo with level 80 Soul Power, seeking a hundred-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beast for his Eighth Spirit Ring.

Lu Chen was not actually sure whether he could find a hundred-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beast.

Plant Spirit Beasts of that level were truly as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Thinking about it that way, God-Bestowed Soul Rings were indeed precious.

As long as one's body could withstand the energy impact of a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring, a God-Bestowed Soul Ring could transform into a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring.

There would be no need to expend effort searching for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast or hunting one. One could obtain a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring directly.

Lu Chen could only think about it in his heart. Then, he diligently used the Blue Silver Domain to communicate with the countless Blue Silver Grass plants and search for traces of hundred-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beasts.

One day, three days, five days, ten days, fifteen days...

Soon, half a month had passed. Although Lu Chen found quite a few Plant Spirit Beasts, either their abilities were unsuitable or their cultivation years were unsuitable.

Most outrageously, through the numerous Blue Silver Grass plants, Lu Chen even found a Demon Eye Magic Tree with several hundred thousand years of cultivation—King of Ten Thousand Demons.

A terrifying beast of that level was enough to rival a Peerless Douluo with level 99 Soul Power. How could Lu Chen dare covet it?

He could not afford to provoke it. Absolutely not!

Lu Chen led Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan in a wide detour around King of Ten Thousand Demons' territory. They did not dare get too close, lest King of Ten Thousand Demons capture them and use them as fertilizer.

However, effort always paid off. After Lu Chen's diligent search, he finally discovered an unusual situation.

According to reports from the Blue Silver Grass, a mysterious old man lived beside a lake in Star Dou Forest. He wove his clothes from broad leaves and sturdy vines.

The old man loved fishing every day, but after catching fish, he did not eat them. Instead, he released them back into the lake.

He only enjoyed the process of fishing.