Millennium Purple Soul Ring

Huang Fei urged, "I don't want to fight it a second time and waste soul power."

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and walked over to the Taotie Divine Bull.

Up close, the enormous beast looked even more massive. Its dark golden fur still bore scorch marks from the purple flames, giving off a burnt smell.

The eyes beneath its armpits had already closed, and its breathing was steady and heavy. Clearly, Huang Fei had controlled that strike perfectly, merely knocking it unconscious without endangering its life...

Lu Mingfei raised his longsword and aimed at the vital spot beneath the Taotie Divine Bull's throat.

The sword tip hovered in midair, and Lu Mingfei suddenly felt dazed.

Dragon slaying.

The phrase flashed through his mind.

He remembered his days at Cassel College, the girl standing amid the flames, and Lu Mingze's meaningful smile.

He had once personally ended a dragon's life. Back then, he had not even blinked.

Now he was facing nothing more than a soul beast with diluted dragon blood. What was there to hesitate over?

"Hey." Huang Fei's voice came from behind him. "Don't tell me you've gone soft."

"How could that be?" Lu Mingfei turned and flashed her a grin. "I'm a man who's slain dragons. What's killing a bull?"

"You're bragging again!" Huang Fei scoffed with a smile. "I bet you'd struggle to kill a chicken."

Lu Mingfei hesitated no longer. With a twist of his wrist, his longsword plunged precisely into the Taotie Divine Bull's throat.

Squelch.

With a muffled sound, dark golden blood gushed out. The Taotie Divine Bull's body twitched twice before quickly falling completely still.

Lu Mingfei pulled out his sword and took two steps back. Looking at the massive corpse, he felt strangely calm.

Compared to the grandeur of slaying a dragon, this truly felt as mundane as gutting a fish in the kitchen.

"That's it?" Lu Mingfei muttered. "Feels like it was missing a little ceremony..."

"What ceremony do you want? Should I beat drums and gongs for you?" Huang Fei walked over and gave him a pat.

"Wait. The soul ring will appear soon."

Sure enough, moments later, a purple soul ring began to condense above the Taotie Divine Bull's body.

The soul ring slowly rotated, radiating a rich, steady aura with a trace of ancient savagery. There was even a faint sweet, fishy scent lingering in the air...

That was the distinctive aura of divine dragon blood.

"A millennium soul ring." Huang Fei nodded in satisfaction. "The quality is good. It even bears the mark of divine dragon lineage. Once you absorb it, your Black Dragon King martial soul will definitely resonate with it."

Lu Mingfei stared at the slowly rotating purple soul ring, and a question suddenly popped into his mind. "Lady Huang Fei, is this Taotie Divine Bull Taotie's son or grandson? If I absorb its soul ring, will Taotie have a problem with that?"

Huang Fei froze for a moment, then rolled her eyes.

"If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll disperse its soul ring and leave your martial soul empty."

"No, no, no, I was joking!" Lu Mingfei hurriedly waved his hands. "I'll sit down right now. I'll absorb it right away!"

He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and slowly released his Black Dragon King martial soul.

A black dragon phantom flickered behind him as a low, majestic dragon roar echoed through the air.

Drawn by it, the purple soul ring slowly drifted toward him. In the end, it settled upon his body and merged into the circulation of his soul power.

Huang Fei stood guard at the side. As she watched Lu Mingfei's back while he quietly absorbed the soul ring, the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile.

Though this kid usually talked too much, acted a little too cowardly, and complained a little too viciously... he had never let her down when it truly mattered.

And she could feel it: the instant Lu Mingfei released his Black Dragon King martial soul, the pressure emanating from the depths of his bloodline was real and pure.

That was at least the aura of an emperor-grade martial soul.

Though it was still weak, one day it would grow powerful enough to shake heaven and earth.

Huang Fei withdrew her gaze and swept the surroundings vigilantly.

This area was already close to the border between the outer valley and the middle valley. They might encounter even stronger soul beasts next.

Lu Mingfei's first soul ring absorption was of utmost importance. She had to make sure nothing went wrong.

At that moment, Lu Mingfei, seated cross-legged on the ground, was immersed in a strange perception.

Vast soul power poured into his body, carrying a dense aura of earth—warm and heavy.

At the same time, an extremely faint yet incomparably pure trace of divine dragon blood began resonating with his Black Dragon King martial soul.

He could feel his martial soul trembling, cheering, greedily absorbing that trace of bloodline gift from the ancient dragon race.

This actually feels pretty good.

The corners of Lu Mingfei's lips unconsciously curved upward.

Next time, he needed to tell Huang Fei that when they hunted soul beasts, could they use a dagger instead?

Stabbing things with a sword really did look a little stupid...

After Lu Mingfei finished complaining, the soul ring's energy was nearly fully absorbed as well.

He quickly closed his eyes and sensed the flow of soul power within his body.

The energy from the Taotie Divine Bull had completely merged into his bloodline. The heaviness of the earth attribute had settled into his bones, while the resilience of the devouring attribute wound around his meridians.

And that trace of pure divine dragon blood was like starlight cast into a deep pool, stirring silent ripples in the deepest part of his Black Dragon King martial soul.

Just as he was about to rise and stretch his limbs, a strange sensation suddenly came from the back of his right hand.

The warmth was not the previous scorching pulse, but a deeper throbbing.

Lu Mingfei instinctively lowered his head to look...

The little black dragon tattoo that had originally coiled over the back of his hand was growing blurry. Its lines faded bit by bit, as though something were drawing it away from the surface of his skin.

"Huh?"

Lu Mingfei's eyes widened.

The Black Dragon King tattoo had appeared on his body the moment his martial soul awakened.

From Holy Soul Village to Spirit Hall and then Dragon Valley, the tattoo had always rested quietly on the back of his hand, never changing in any way.

Yet now it was dissipating. The black lines gradually faded from the edges, like ink spreading through water, sinking layer by layer beneath his skin.

"Lady Huang Fei, look at my hand!"

Lu Mingfei quickly called out to Huang Fei.

Huang Fei strode over. The moment she saw the black dragon tattoo fading from the back of Lu Mingfei's hand, her pupils abruptly contracted.

Just as she was about to ask something, Lu Mingfei's body suddenly stiffened.

He felt an unprecedented power awakening in the depths of his soul.

What was that?

Lu Mingfei's consciousness seemed to be dragged by some irresistible force, plunging into a boundless void of darkness.

Deep darkness surrounded him. There were no stars, no light, no sound—only an absolute, deathly silent void.

He floated at the very center of that void, like someone abandoned at the edge of the universe.

Then, he saw light.

That radiance rose from the deepest part of the void.