The Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul with Five Black Soul Rings

Ning Wuqian pressed both hands tightly against the pile of metal. The Three Treasure Glazed Pagoda flashed frantically, its seven-colored aura squeezed to the limit, its glow dimmed to the extreme.

A full day and night.

An entire day and night!

Ning Wuqian's eyes were bloodshot, their whites crisscrossed with terrifying red veins. His throat was so dry it felt like it was spitting sparks, and his soul power was nearly depleted. He had examined every one of the hundreds or thousands of metal pieces before him.

[Detected Black Iron, 70% purity...]

[Detected Mithril, excessive internal impurities...]

They were all ordinary junk!

Ning Wuqian despaired. Behind him, Tang Potian's Clear Sky Hammer still dripped with tangible killing intent. The pressure of that hundred-thousand-year soul ring remained locked tightly onto the back of his neck.

It's over. If I can't find anything good, this big guy will definitely smash my head open with one hammer blow!

Just as Ning Wuqian's legs went weak and he prepared to close his eyes and await death—

An indescribably terrifying pressure descended from the void with a roar.

The air throughout the underground karst cave instantly froze. Space twisted violently, letting out crackling sounds as though it could no longer bear the strain.

Tang Potian, a Titled Douluo possessing a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, unexpectedly dropped to one knee without any warning. He lowered his proud head, his eyes filled with fervor and reverence.

"Welcome, Master!"

The roar echoed through the cave.

Ning Wuqian collapsed onto the ground, even his breathing stopping.

In the scene displayed upon the heavenly screen, the newcomer's face was shrouded by a dense, chaotic mist, making his true features impossible to discern. Yet an incomparably enormous bronze alchemy furnace slowly emerged in midair.

The furnace was engraved with intricate, ancient patterns and radiated a terrifying aura capable of suppressing eternity. Dark crimson flames spewed from its mouth, melting and collapsing even the surrounding space.

Then, soul rings rose.

Black. Black. Black. Black. Black.

Five profoundly dark ten-thousand-year soul rings pulsed above and below the alchemy furnace. Dense black radiance covered the sky and earth, carrying an overwhelming force that could crush all in its path.

The chat group instantly exploded.

[Yan: Holy shit! Five ten-thousand-year soul rings? They start at ten thousand years? Is this something a human can fucking do?]

[Ma Hongjun: Damn awesome! What kind of godly setup is this? The first soul ring is black? Even if you wanted to die, you wouldn't play like this!]

[Feng Xiaotian: Wait! This alchemy furnace... isn't this the mysterious person who helped the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's ancestor evolve his martial soul before?!]

[Huo Wushuang: Right! That monster who released nine hundred-thousand-year red soul rings! But why does he only have five black soul rings now?]

Shrek Academy's training ground.

Tang San stared fixedly at the heavenly screen, his Purple Demon Eyes pushed to their utmost limit. His mind raced wildly as a bold thought that overturned all common sense exploded in his head.

"Teacher." Tang San turned toward Yu Xiaogang, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Do you think... soul ring age might not be fixed? Could the owner of this alchemy furnace martial soul have used some method to make his soul rings evolve?"

Yu Xiaogang spun around abruptly, his face livid as he pointed at Tang San's nose and cursed.

"Bullshit!"

"Tang San, have you studied yourself stupid?! The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls state it clearly: soul rings determine one's fate for life!"

"Whatever age they are when absorbed, that is the age they remain! It is absolutely impossible for them to evolve!"

"Get rid of such heretical thoughts as soon as possible! The scenes on this heavenly screen must be footage from different periods mixed up! This simply defies common sense!"

Yu Xiaogang was beside himself with rage, spittle flying everywhere. He would never allow anyone to challenge the authority of his theories. Even when faced with facts revealed by the heavenly screen, he stubbornly believed that the screen was mistaken. His patchwork theories were the last shred of dignity he had left in this life.

Tang San lowered his head after being berated, but the suspicion in his eyes only deepened.

Soul rings determine one's fate for life? Then how could the same person, with the same martial soul on the heavenly screen, have soul rings that changed color? There must be powers in this world beyond Teacher's understanding!

The core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The waters of the Lake of Life churned violently, raising towering waves.

Di Tian, the Beast God who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, was actually trembling slightly in his massive body. Deep fear filled his golden vertical pupils.

"It's him... it really is him!"

Di Tian's voice trembled uncontrollably, and even the air around him froze beneath that fear.

It stared fixedly at the bronze alchemy furnace on the heavenly screen as sealed, terrifying memories were forcibly torn open.

Back then, Di Tian had once traveled to the Sun-Moon Continent. There, it witnessed the most tragic scene in Douluo Star's history.

An entire boundless soul beast forest had been completely enveloped by an alchemy furnace that reached from heaven to earth. Divine flames poured down from the sky, refining the entire forest and every living being within it alive!

There had been no room for resistance. It was nothing but one-sided slaughter!

Five hundred-thousand-year soul beasts! Twenty or thirty ten-thousand-year soul beasts!

All of them had been reduced to ashes in those furnace flames, transformed into pills at the bottom of the furnace! The soaring blood-red light and agonized screams still haunted Di Tian's mind to this day.

That man was a true soul beast killer! The ultimate nightmare of all soul beasts!

"But..." Di Tian's enormous claws raked deep furrows into the ground, its heart filled with doubt. "When he refined that entire forest back then, his soul rings were clearly all at the hundred-thousand-year level. Why are his soul rings in this heavenly screen's scene merely ten-thousand-year ones?"

Could the heavenly screen be showing the time when that monster had yet to fully mature?

The main hall of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Fengzhi swept away his previous dejection. His face was flushed with excitement, and even his breathing had quickened.

"I understand! I understand it all now!"

Ning Fengzhi slammed his palm onto the table, sending the teacups flying and spilling tea across the floor.

"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, look!" He pointed at the alchemy furnace on the heavenly screen, his voice rising sharply. "This mysterious man is the greatest opportunity our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect has ever encountered!"

Sword Douluo Chen Xin's eyes flashed brightly, and the Seven Kill Sword let out a series of sword cries. "Sect Master, are you saying that Ancestor Wuqian's Three Treasure Glazed Pagoda evolved into seven treasures because of this man?"

"That must be it!" Ning Fengzhi said decisively, clenching his fists tightly. "This man can refine divine pills that evolve the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, so naturally he can also refine supreme treasures that evolve the Three Treasure Glazed Pagoda! The inheritance of our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was all bestowed by this mysterious senior! This isn't some fortune gained through tomb raiding—it's an opportunity to defy fate itself!"

Bone Douluo Gu Rong sucked in a sharp breath, his withered hands trembling. "My heavens, just who is this senior? With a casual gesture, he can create two of the Upper Three Sects? Such methods are simply unheard of!"

In reality.

Lin Xuan reclined in a lounge chair, leisurely peeling a grape and tossing it into his mouth.

Seeing everyone's shock and speculation on the heavenly screen, he could not help but sneer.

"A bunch of bumpkins. What the hell do you know?"

Lin Xuan stretched lazily, his gaze settling on the faintly visible alchemy furnace mark in his palm.

His alchemy furnace martial soul was not an ordinary martial soul at all. It needed to devour a massive amount of god-grade metals to complete its own transformation, which would in turn evolve the ages of its soul rings.

"Myriad-Transforming Metal, Heavenly Fire Iron... those god-grade materials are hidden too deeply. And I don't know a damn thing about metals."

Lin Xuan curled his lip, looking utterly unconcerned.

"I captured that kid Ning Wuqian so he could serve as my metal detector. Using the Three Treasure Glazed Pagoda to appraise treasures and locate metals is practically a divine skill. Once I devour all those god-grade metals, all my soul rings will turn red. I'll scare the hell out of you bumpkins."

The heavenly screen continued to shift.

Inside the underground karst cave.

After enduring a full day and night, Ning Wuqian had completely exhausted his soul power. The instant he saw those five black soul rings, his taut nerves finally snapped.

His entire body went limp. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the spot.

The mysterious man said nothing. He merely waved a hand casually.

Tang Potian immediately understood. He grabbed the limp Ning Wuqian, hoisted him onto his broad shoulder, and carried him away.

"Take him back to the Clear Sky Sect to rest. Once he wakes up, continue searching."

The mysterious man's voice was ethereal and distant, carrying an unquestionable dominance.

"As you command, Master!"