First Soul Ring Absorption Complete, Xue Chen's Avalanche! (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Upon hearing this, Xue Chen did not retreat; instead, a confident light flickered in his eyes. He stepped forward, his tone firm:

"Xiao Bai, don't worry, I have this under control!"

Having undergone the earth-shattering tempering of the lightning tribulation and the physical transformation brought about by the breaking of the first seal, he felt his meridians, bones, and even the strength of his soul far exceeded those of his peers, to the point where they could not be measured by conventional logic.

The pressure of absorbing a three-thousand-year soul ring as his first was certainly immense, but he had the confidence to endure it!

Without further ado, Xue Chen's gaze sharpened. As his thoughts shifted, his left hand transformed into a dragon claw!

He raised his left arm, his dragon claw fingers pressed together like a blade, and aiming for the Thunder Wing Dragon Lizard's vital point, he thrust down without a moment's hesitation!

"Squelch!"

The dragon claw easily tore through the tough scales, ending the soul beast's life.

The body of the Thunder Wing Dragon Lizard twitched slightly, and tiny blue light particles drifted from its body, eventually condensing above its carcass into a deep, purple soul ring!

The soul ring rotated slowly, emitting powerful energy fluctuations; it was the first soul ring Xue Chen had long awaited.

Xue Chen took a deep breath of the frigid air and sat cross-legged, his burning gaze fixed on the three-thousand-year purple soul ring as he adjusted his state.

He sat on the icy ground, staring at the deep purple soul ring before him, yet he did not begin the absorption immediately.

He needed to make a decision first—which martial soul to use to absorb this first soul ring.

As his thoughts raced, he recalled the original Douluo Continent novel he had read in his past life, and the protagonist Tang San's approach provided him with inspiration.

Isn't the greatest advantage of twin martial souls that after one reaches a high level, you can attach all high-age soul rings to the second martial soul?

Xue Chen pondered to himself:

I have the Thunder Dragon Emperor and the Radiant Thunder Dragon Spear. I should follow this line of thought, concentrate my resources on cultivating one martial soul first, and maximize the age limit of its soul rings as much as possible!

Once my strength is sufficient, I will add new soul rings to the second martial soul, starting at the ten-thousand-year or even hundred-thousand-year level!

This thought made his heart burn with excitement.

After a brief weighing of options, he made his decision:

"The Radiant Thunder Dragon Spear leans more toward weaponry and technique, while the Thunder Dragon Emperor is a beast martial soul. It is more compatible with my own blood essence, that strange origin soul ring, and my dragon-transformation ability, allowing it to more comprehensively strengthen my physical constitution and my control over lightning."

"I will start with the Thunder Dragon Emperor!"

With his mind made up, Xue Chen did not hesitate.

He took a deep breath and said to Xiao Bai, who stood beside him like a loyal guard:

"Xiao Bai, guard me. I'm starting."

Xiao Bai let out a low growl and patted the ice with a massive bear paw, signaling that he could rest easy.

Xue Chen closed his eyes, focused his mind, and sank his consciousness into his body.

With a thought, the majestic and domineering phantom of the Thunder Dragon Emperor appeared once more in the void behind him, its blue dragon body outlined by countless arcs of electricity, radiating a heart-stopping dragon might.

With the activation of his martial soul, the connection between him and the hovering purple soul ring seemed to become clearer.

Xue Chen circulated his soul power, carefully guiding the three-thousand-year Thunder Wing Dragon Lizard's soul ring as it slowly descended toward the top of his head, finally settling over the Thunder Dragon Emperor phantom and beginning to establish a link with his martial soul and body.

"Hum!!!"

The moment the soul ring's energy surged in, a violent and pure force of lightning slammed into Xue Chen's meridians!

The energy of a three-thousand-year soul ring far exceeded the limit of a normal first soul ring, and the impact it brought was immense.

Xue Chen felt a swelling pain throughout his meridians, and fine blue lightning uncontrollably darted across the surface of his skin.

He let out a muffled groan, and tiny beads of sweat instantly seeped from his forehead.

He gritted his teeth and persisted, channeling all his soul power to absorb the energy as time ticked by.

Although the entire process was fraught with pressure, his foundation, which had been strengthened multiple times, played a crucial role; the resilience and width of his meridians far exceeded those of ordinary people, and his blood essence firmly protected his origin.

Several hours passed slowly amidst the agony and perseverance.

When the last shred of the soul ring's energy was perfectly integrated into his body, Xue Chen snapped his eyes open!

A flash of azure light flickered in the depths of his eyes, his aura suddenly climbed a notch, and his soul power broke through to level twenty-two!

He stood up, feeling the more surging soul power within his body and an increasingly clear control over the lightning attribute, his heart filled with joy.

At the same time, a deep purple soul ring rose slowly from beneath his feet, rhythmically flashing around his body and emitting the powerful fluctuations of a three-thousand-year soul ring!

His Thunder Dragon Emperor martial soul now had its first soul ring!

Having successfully absorbed the three-thousand-year soul ring, Xue Chen was savoring the surging power within him, and the Thunder Dragon Emperor phantom behind him let out a satisfied dragon roar that shook the surroundings.

However, this powerful roar seemed to be the final straw, or perhaps it was merely a coincidence—"Rumble—!!!"

A dull yet incredibly massive roar, like ten thousand giant beasts stampeding at once, rolled down from above the Ice Rift Valley, instantly drowning out every other sound!

The entire valley began to tremble violently, and countless ice crystals and fragments rained down from the ice walls.

The joy on the faces of Xue Chen and Xiao Bai froze instantly, their hearts leaping in shock at this sudden display of nature's might.

"What the... that sound again?"

Xue Chen exclaimed instinctively, looking up at the sky sliced into a thin line by the steep ice cliffs, only to see a massive amount of snow mist spreading out above.

Xiao Bai's massive bear ears twitched, and he quickly pinpointed the source of the noise, growling in a muffled voice:

"The sound is coming from above the canyon!"

Xue Chen's heart tightened, and he immediately retracted his martial soul; the purple soul ring and the phantom of the Dragon Emperor vanished in an instant.

"Let's go! We need to see what's happening up there!" he decided decisively.

Xiao Bai let out a low growl, signaling for Xue Chen to climb on.

Xue Chen leaped onto Xiao Bai's shoulder once more, and with a powerful push from his four limbs, Xiao Bai scaled the canyon wall in a few swift bounds.

However, the moment they poked their heads over the edge of the canyon, the sight before them made both man and bear gasp in horror!

They hadn't realized it until they saw it, and the sight was terrifying!

Across several towering snow peaks in the distance, it looked as if the snow from the entire mountainside was collapsing!

Carrying millions of tons of ice, snow, rocks, and boulders, the avalanche surged toward their direction with the force of a collapsing mountain and an overturning sea!

The scale of the avalanche was so vast it induced despair; as far as the eye could see, there were only rolling white giant waves, the deafening roar sounding as if the end of the world had arrived!

"Ah... what the..."

Xue Chen stared at the torrent of death that was suddenly within arm's reach, his mind going almost completely blank, leaving only an instinctive exclamation.

Xiao Bai was also shaken to his core by the sight, but he reacted with lightning speed. He let out a furious roar toward the sky, his body erupting with white light as he instantly expanded and grew, reverting to his true form as a Titan Snow Demon Bear!

He stood upright on his hind legs and thrust both bear paws forward, his immense, frigid soul power blending with terrifying blood energy to form a solid barrier, bracing himself to withstand the raw might of nature!