Slaying a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, Second Soul Ring Skill

"Clang—!"

The deafening crash of metal colliding exploded through the forest, sending sparks flying!

Under this blow, the Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard's iron-gray scales cracked across huge swaths of its body, like an iron plate hammered full of dents.

"Shriek—!"

An agonized roar burst from the Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard's mouth, sharp and shrill enough to nearly tear apart their eardrums.

Its iron armor had blocked Zhao Linchuan's first strike, but the price was its entire suit of armor.

Those once-indestructible scales were now covered in spiderweb-like cracks. Some had already shattered and fallen away, exposing the tender pink flesh underneath.

Before it could recover—

"Roar—!"

Another dragon's roar exploded through the air!

Zhao Linchuan gave it no chance to catch its breath. A second Wood Azure Dragon Break followed close behind, the blue-green dragon phantom tracing a graceful arc through the air as it hurtled straight for the Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard's head!

"Shriek—!"

A dull, brief, and feeble cry of agony.

The Azure Dragon shot directly through the Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard's skull, emerging from the other side before plunging into the ground and blasting a pit the size of a wok into the earth.

Blood gushed from the arm-thick hole like a burst dam, pooling into a dark-red stream across the fallen leaves.

The Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard's body twitched twice. Its thick limbs kicked weakly, then it fell completely still.

A purple Soul Ring slowly emerged from its corpse, quietly rotating amid the trees.

"Xiao Wu! Well done!"

Zhao Linchuan's voice came from nearby. He pushed through the bushes and walked over with brisk steps.

"Brother!"

Xiao Wu rushed into Zhao Linchuan's arms in a single stride, wrapping both arms tightly around his waist and burying her face in his chest.

"You're incredible! Really!"

"You took down a thousand-year Soul Beast in just two moves!"

"I've got even more impressive tricks." Zhao Linchuan held Xiao Wu in his arms and lowered his head to rub her cheek. "You've made a great contribution today. When we get back, I'll buy you something delicious."

"Mm-hm." Xiao Wu nodded vigorously in his arms and answered softly twice. "Brother, hurry and absorb the Soul Ring. I'll stand guard for you."

"Then I'll leave my safety to you."

Zhao Linchuan smiled, released her, and walked over to the Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard's corpse.

He sat cross-legged, adjusted his breathing, closed his eyes, and circulated the Soul Power within his body, beginning to draw in and fuse with the Soul Ring.

Xiao Wu watched quietly from the side, her hands clasped before her. Her gaze never left Zhao Linchuan's face.

The forest wind passed through her hair, lifting a few loose strands.

As she looked at the boy before her, a thought gradually became clearer in her heart.

If anything went wrong while he absorbed the Soul Ring, she would use "Sacrifice" and give her life to save him.

After all, Zhao Linchuan had attempted to absorb a Soul Ring beyond his limit because of her.

Since that was the case, she would repay him with her life.

"Brother, I hope you'll be safe..."

"Otherwise, you might never see Xiao Wu again..."

About two hours later.

The sky began to darken.

A crescent moon hung in the eastern sky, facing the setting sun from afar.

After a long fusion process, the three-thousand-year Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard Soul Ring was finally subdued by Zhao Linchuan and completely merged with him.

A purple ring of light flickered beneath his feet, rising and falling.

At a thought from him, the purple second Soul Ring suddenly lit up!

A stream of withered yellow light slowly bloomed outward from his body, spreading in all directions like silent ripples.

Then, a faint tremor stirred in the air.

Wherever that tremor passed, the vegetation on the ground instantly turned yellow and withered.

Green leaves became scorched yellow in the span of a breath. Plump stalks shriveled and contracted in an instant. Even the blooming wildflowers had no time to wilt before turning directly into dried corpses of flowers.

The dense brambles, once so thick that even wind could not pass through, now looked as though they had endured a long drought. One by one, they bent low and collapsed limply onto the ground.

The leaves crumbled at a touch, and the stalks snapped at a bend, as though the Lord of Life had withdrawn His gift of life.

Xiao Wu covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide as the withered world reflected in her pupils.

"Heavens, what kind of Soul Skill is this?" Her voice leaked through her fingers. "It can directly strip away life?"

She looked at the scene before her in incomprehension. She had seen many powerful Soul Skills—her mother, her friends, and those powerful Soul Beasts that had lived for tens of thousands of years. Which of them did not possess overwhelming strength?

Yet those Soul Skills merely used powerful energy to inflict physical damage upon their targets.

No matter how great the power, it could only smash, burn, or tear things apart.

But a Soul Skill that directly stripped away life... this was the first time she had ever seen one.

The plants had died from the inside out, as though something had bypassed all defenses and directly touched the deepest string of life itself, then plucked it lightly.

"Whew—"

Zhao Linchuan exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly opened his eyes. He extended his left hand, palm facing upward.

A withered yellow leaf spiraled down from the air and landed squarely in his hand.

He lowered his head to look at the leaf and said softly, "Second Soul Skill—One Leaf Knows Autumn."

Zhao Linchuan had a premonition that once his cultivation reached a certain level, he would be able to completely reverse his second Soul Skill and make spring return to the earth.

Stripping away life was only the beginning. One day, he would be able to grant life as well!

"Brother." Xiao Wu called softly, lowering her hands from her mouth. Her expression turned serious as she said earnestly, "This Soul Skill of yours is far too powerful."

"Especially against those elderly Soul Master experts with little lifespan left—it's even more terrifying than a death warrant!"

"Yes."

Zhao Linchuan stood up, brushed the grass clippings from his backside, and slowly explained:

"My Soul Skill is exceptionally effective against Soul Masters below the rank of Title Douluo, especially those stuck at the high-level Soul Douluo realm, unable to cross that threshold for their entire lives."

"Such Soul Masters usually have little lifespan remaining and spend their final years desperately trying to break through and extend their lives."

"I don't need to confront them head-on. I only need to press the accelerator a little on their journey through life, and I can smoothly send them to meet the Lord of Life."

"As for Soul Masters at the rank of Title Douluo and above, they usually still have plenty of lifespan left, and their vitality is much stronger."

"To deal with them, I'll have to wait until my Soul Power Level improves substantially."