Hundred-Year Soul Ring

"This..."

Tie Li stared at the scene before him, at a complete loss for a moment.

The once-lush forest had been reduced to charred branches. The ground still radiated scorching heat, and besides the smell of burning, there was an unusual scent of cooked meat in the air.

Tie Li examined the ground and saw several mangled corpses. Not a single body was intact.

"Thud."

A massive body struggled to rise. Its aura had weakened, most of its scales were gone, and the exposed flesh had been scorched black by the flames.

It was not dead. It really was not dead. It had only its last breath left.

A Thunder Python's cultivation was judged mainly by the single horn atop its head. For every hundred years of cultivation it surpassed, the horn would grow another inch and gain an additional white stripe.

This Thunder Python's single horn had four white stripes!

As long as he killed it and absorbed its Soul Ring, his First Soul Ring would be a Four-Hundred-Year Soul Ring nearing the limit.

For a Soul Master from a commoner background, this was a rare opportunity. Many commoner Soul Masters did not even have a four-hundred-year Soul Ring as their Second Soul Ring.

Now was the best time to kill it. The enormous explosion just now would keep the surrounding Soul Beasts from acting rashly.

A top-tier Soul Ring, a temporarily safe environment—what was he waiting for?

His Forging Hammer Martial Soul appeared in his hand as Tie Li approached the Thunder Python's head, breathing heavily.

The Thunder Python stared fixedly at Tie Li. It had not died completely, but its fatal injuries left it able to do nothing but watch what unfolded before it.

"Bang."

A powerful hammer blow came down, but the Thunder Python did not die.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Two blows, three blows, four blows... until a yellow Soul Ring rose from the Thunder Python's corpse.

There was no time to waste. Tie Li immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began absorbing the Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

Drawn by his power, the Soul Ring moved toward Tie Li.

Scorching!

Stinging!

A thin layer of cold sweat formed on his forehead, and the Forging Hammer Martial Soul appeared before him.

As he absorbed the Soul Ring, his Martial Soul slowly began to change as well.

The smooth, gleaming hammerhead gained a layer of scale-like patterns.

A sharp single horn grew from the handle, bearing a strong resemblance to the horn atop the Thunder Python's head.

From time to time, arcs of electricity flickered across the hammerhead, giving it an added sense of weight.

When the yellow Soul Ring appeared beneath Tie Li, it meant he had successfully absorbed the Soul Ring and become a Soul Master.

Opening his eyes, Tie Li immediately summoned his Martial Soul. Other than its altered appearance, it had grown a full size larger, and its weight had doubled.

He swung the Forging Hammer again and smashed it heavily into the Thunder Python's skull.

"Crack."

Hearing the skull shatter, Tie Li recalled his Martial Soul, used a dagger to cut away the flesh around the single horn, took it, and hurriedly left the area.

Having become a One-Ring Soul Master, Tie Li had become more sensitive to the surrounding auras. He could sense several gazes fixed on the Thunder Python's body.

A Thunder Python with four hundred years of cultivation, coupled with its high-grade bloodline, was a rare opportunity for low-grade Soul Beasts.

Tie Li sprinted east again, not knowing whether he would be able to find his teacher.

Although the corpses he had seen earlier were charred black and their faces and builds could no longer be distinguished, Tie Li was certain Bai Qing was not among them.

His Soul Power had broken through to level eleven, and after absorbing a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, Tie Li's physical strength now far surpassed what it had been when he had first entered the Soul Hunting Forest.

He ran dozens of miles without even turning red or losing his breath.

Perhaps he had used up all his luck absorbing the Soul Ring, because at some point, he found himself surrounded by a wolf pack.

There were seventeen ten-year Nether Wolves in all.

"Good thing they're only ten-year Soul Beasts." Tie Li sighed in relief.

"Howl!"

The wolf king let out a roar, and the pack began closing in.

Before they could complete their encirclement, Tie Li bent his knees slightly and launched himself forward.

He attacked directly toward the wolf king.

The Forging Hammer appeared silently in his right hand.

The Hundred-Year Soul Ring coiled around the Forging Hammer lit up.

First Soul Skill, Thunder Hammer!

Blue-white lightning surged forth, forming an outer shell around the hammerhead. Every strike carried tremendous lightning damage and had a certain chance of paralyzing the opponent.

"Sizzle, sizzle."

Two Nether Wolves changed direction, choosing to protect the wolf king as they charged toward the Thunder Hammer.

With the Forging Hammer's own force combined with the lightning damage, the double impact sent the two Nether Wolves flying dozens of meters. Their bones shattered, and the lightning extinguished their lives.

Two white Soul Rings rose from their corpses.

The wolf king seized the opening after Tie Li's attack and leaped up. Its sharp claws aimed for Tie Li's throat, trying to end the human's life.

Tie Li shifted his body as much as he could, and the wolf claws landed on his chest. The wolf king's savage pupils suddenly narrowed.

Its claws could not pierce the inner armor, and Tie Li would not let such a perfect chance to counterattack slip away.

The Thunder Hammer slammed ruthlessly toward its head.

Its skull was the toughest part of its body, but Tie Li intended to shatter it. The Thunder Hammer's tremendous lightning damage could also penetrate the skull's defenses and destroy its brain.

"Bang."

Its body was smashed viciously into the ground, red-and-white matter splattering from beneath the hammer.

Seeing the wolf king die so miserably, the Nether Wolves immediately fell into chaos and scattered in a frantic escape.

Tie Li crouched down and took out his dagger, working over the three wolf corpses.

Wolf pelts and wolf teeth could both be sold for money. The wolf king's pelt in particular should fetch him two extra Silver Soul Coins.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance. He took out a large square cloth from his pack, placed the wolf pelts and teeth on it, then folded it into a bundle.

He ran until dawn without seeing any trace of Bai Qing or the other two students, and his spirits could not help sinking.

He took out a piece of dried rations from his pack and began chewing. After running all night, he was already starving.

"Dali?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Tie Li immediately followed its source and saw Lu Baichuan hiding up in a tree.

Only after confirming his identity did Lu Baichuan climb down from the tree.

You really couldn't tell that he had such a skill as climbing trees.

"Teacher told me to stay here. He went to look for you, and while he was at it, he planned to get a Soul Ring for He Dadan," Lu Baichuan said.

He and He Dadan had not gotten separated. They had kept running east until they collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.

Bai Qing found them not long afterward, but he had suffered fairly serious injuries.

So he had Lu Baichuan climb into the tree to hide and scattered special medicinal powder around the area to keep some Soul Beasts from entering. He first took He Dadan to search for Tie Li's trail. If they encountered a suitable Soul Beast, it could conveniently become He Dadan's Soul Ring.

"Since you're still here, if Teacher can't find me for the time being, he should come back to settle you two down first. So I'll just wait here."

Just as Tie Li had said, after failing to find any trace of Tie Li, Bai Qing brought He Dadan back first.

He Dadan was now also a Soul Master. With Bai Qing's help, he had hunted a Soul Beast suitable for himself and successfully absorbed its Soul Ring.