Six-Thousand-Five-Hundred-Year Soul Ring!

Qian Shengyuan and Li Long observed from the mountaintop for about half an hour.

The movements of the Titan Giant Ape subspecies in the valley below gradually became clear.

It paced back and forth within an area roughly a hundred zhang square at the center of the valley, stopping every so often to pound the ground with its fists.

The force of those blows made the entire valley tremble, sending loose stones rustling down the slopes.

Its body was larger than any Titan Giant Ape record Li Long had seen in the soul beast compendium. Its shoulders were nearly three zhang wide, and its entire body was covered in coarse dark-gray fur. Every step it took left footprints over an inch deep in the ground.

It was not fast, but every step carried an immovable sense of weight.

"It is sensing its surroundings through ground tremors," Qian Shengyuan said quietly. "The vibrations from striking the ground relay the activity around it. We are far enough away that it cannot sense us. But once we enter the edge of the valley and step onto that field of loose stones, it will notice us immediately."

Li Long nodded, his gaze fixed on the enormous creature as he calculated where the final strike would need to land.

"Once I make my move, it will enter a berserk state," Qian Shengyuan said. "I will suppress its fighting strength until it is at death's door, but I will not kill it outright. You must deliver the final blow, or the soul ring cannot be absorbed. When I leave it with only a breath left, charge in and finish it with a strike from your staff. Understand?"

"Understood." Li Long nodded.

Qian Shengyuan rose to his feet, six wings slowly unfurling behind him.

Golden light flared amid the dusk, illuminating the entire mountaintop for an instant.

Without hesitation, he leaped from the peak. The path traced by his spread wings carved a smooth arc through the air as he plunged straight toward the center of the valley.

The Titan Giant Ape subspecies sensed the danger the instant Qian Shengyuan unleashed his martial soul.

It suddenly raised its head. A golden figure descending from the heavens was reflected in its dark-yellow pupils, and it immediately let out an earthshaking roar.

The sound waves swept upward with a gale, shaking loose stones from the ground and scattering them in every direction.

Qian Shengyuan did not slow down.

As he fell, he reached out with one hand. A golden soul power blade condensed in his right palm. His body twisted through the air to evade the giant ape's sweeping palm, and the blade sliced precisely into the joint between its shoulder blade and upper arm.

Splat.

A mist of dark-red blood burst forth.

The giant ape's entire left arm drooped from its shoulder. Most of its muscles had been torn apart, and bone showed along the edges of the gaping wound.

The agony drove it mad. Its right fist, wrapped in violent soul power, swung horizontally at Qian Shengyuan.

The wind pressure from that punch bent every tree within several zhang, while loose stones on the ground were swept up into a wall of wind.

This thing might only be six thousand five hundred years old, but its strength rivaled that of a soul beast over ten thousand years old.

Qian Shengyuan slightly folded his wings, and his body shot three zhang upward, letting the punch graze beneath his feet.

He spun through the air before diving down again. The golden light blade struck three times in succession: its right shoulder, waist and ribs, and the back of its knee.

Every strike was precise and restrained, controlled to inflict grave wounds without being fatal.

The giant ape's right arm fell limp at once. Its bent knee forced it down onto one knee, and the wound across its waist and ribs gaped open, yet all vital organs had been avoided.

Three devastating wounds had drained more than half its life force, but it still had one breath left.

The giant ape braced itself with one hand and tried to rise. Its open mouth released a low, unwilling growl, but three of its limbs had already been crippled, making even standing extraordinarily difficult.

Its body swayed in the middle of the valley. Its breathing became heavy and rapid, while the light in its dark-yellow pupils faded quickly.

Qian Shengyuan landed, retreating ten zhang before turning his head toward the mountaintop.

"Now." His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly on soul power.

Li Long had been waiting atop the mountain for a long time.

The instant those words reached him, he sprang from his hiding place and charged down the slope toward the valley with all his strength.

The path downhill was a mix of loose stones and soft earth, but every step beneath his feet was steady, and his speed grew faster and faster. The iron rod in his hands expanded to one and a half meters long as golden and purple light layered over its surface.

His first soul skill, Mighty Vajra Staff, stacked with his second soul skill, Gale Giant Force.

This was the combination skill he had developed during half a year of secluded training. The instant both enhancements poured into him at once, the glow on the iron rod became almost blinding, and the air around it churned into visible ripples of distortion.

The giant ape sensed a new threat approaching. Using its only remaining good leg, it barely pushed up half its body and turned toward Li Long.

There was little ferocity left in its dark-yellow eyes. What remained was mostly the residual instinct of a creature at death's door.

It opened its mouth again, trying to roar, but only produced a string of weak breaths.

When Li Long closed to within five zhang of it, he abruptly stopped. He lowered his center of gravity and drew the iron rod back behind his shoulder to gather strength.

As he took the second step, his waist and hips drove forward. The power of his entire body twisted upward from his feet along his spine, passing through his shoulders, arms, and wrists before finally converging at the tip of the staff.

He took the third step and smashed down with all his might.

Wrapped in intertwined golden and purple light, the iron rod crashed down upon the center of the giant ape's forehead—the hardest spot on its body, and its final line of defense.

The instant the iron rod struck, an extremely muffled boom erupted. A blast wave exploded from the point of impact, sending loose stones across the surrounding ground flying in all directions.

Crack.

The sound of its skull shattering was as clear as a thick branch snapping in two.

The giant ape's massive body suddenly went rigid. All light vanished from its dark-yellow pupils as its enormous frame toppled backward, crashing onto the stony ground and sending dust several zhang into the air.

The ground trembled for a long time before gradually settling.

A purple soul ring rose from the corpse.

Purple.

A six-thousand-five-hundred-year soul ring.

It slowly rotated in the valley, emanating a dense soul power fluctuation so heavy it was suffocating.

The purple halo dyed the surrounding vegetation with a layer of violet, and the air was saturated with a powerful soul power aura.

Li Long stood where he was, his chest heaving violently.

He had used all his strength in that strike. The full output from stacking both soul skills had surpassed the limits he usually reached in training, and the muscles in his arms trembled faintly.

Otherwise, he had feared that his attack still would not be enough to kill it.

After all, even a six-thousand-five-hundred-year soul beast with only one breath left would not have weak defenses.

"Sit down and begin absorbing it."

Qian Shengyuan's voice came from ten zhang away, calm yet solemn. "Use all your strength to protect every part of your body. Adapt as the situation demands."

"Yes, Teacher."

Li Long nodded and sat down cross-legged where he stood.

He laid the iron rod across his knees, took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and guided the soul power in his body to form a connection with the purple soul ring.

The instant his martial soul touched the purple soul ring, an utterly terrifying surge of soul power burst forth.