Third Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring Complete!

The Netherworld Sword Lion was one of the top predators in Star Dou Forest. Among Soul Beasts of the same rank, few could match its strength.

An ordinary Netherworld Sword Lion was dark gray all over, incredibly fast, and capable of tearing steel apart with its claws. It was a typical Soul Beast that possessed both agility and strength.

But the Netherworld Sword Lion King was even rarer. Out of ten thousand Netherworld Sword Lions, not even one might produce a king.

Its greatest difference from ordinary Netherworld Sword Lions was the vertical eye on its forehead. This eye could unleash extremely powerful mental attacks, making the Netherworld Sword Lion King a terrifying existence with both physical and spiritual methods of attack.

Yet this top-tier Soul Beast, one that stood at the top of the food chain, was currently sprawled like a lump of mud in the pit before Zhao Ming. Countless bones throughout its body had been broken, its dark-gray mane was stained with blood and dirt, and its chest rose and fell faintly. It clearly had only its last breath left.

Zhao Ming glanced down at it, immediately understanding what had happened.

This Netherworld Sword Lion King had already been severely wounded by the Firefeather Eagle. Several claw wounds cut deep enough to expose bone, along with burn marks, covered its body. After falling from a height of several hundred feet, its internal organs had likely been smashed into pulp.

No matter how tenacious a Soul Beast's vitality was, it could not endure such torment.

Meanwhile, the Firefeather Eagle circled anxiously overhead, releasing confused and furious cries.

Even it could not figure out why. It had clearly been holding its prey securely, so why had its claws suddenly started itching, making it instinctively let go?

The sensation had been strange, as though an invisible hand had scratched its claws and made it open them by reflex.

It had taken the Firefeather Eagle great effort to capture this Netherworld Sword Lion King. It had even been struck by the Netherworld Sword Lion King's Netherworld Eye, and its head still throbbed faintly.

After finally beating that beast until it was nearly dead, it had somehow fallen from its claws. How could it possibly accept that?

The Firefeather Eagle circled twice in the air, its sharp eyes fixed on the pit below and the two humans beside it. It let out an angry screech, folded its wings, and prepared to dive down to reclaim its prey.

Snake Lance Douluo snorted coldly, stepped forward, and shielded Zhao Ming behind him. At the same time, his Soul Rings suddenly lit up.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, black!

Nine Soul Rings revolved around him as the terrifying aura of a Title Douluo swept outward like raging waves. The surrounding trees rustled under the crushing pressure.

The Firefeather Eagle abruptly halted in the middle of its dive.

Although it was a top-tier sixty-thousand-year Soul Beast, it instinctively sensed an enormous threat when facing a genuine Title Douluo.

It continued circling at low altitude, crying out unwillingly as its sharp eyes shifted back and forth between Snake Lance Douluo and the prey in the pit, seemingly weighing its options.

In the end, reason overcame greed. Fighting a Title Douluo to the death over a single prey item simply was not worth it.

However, it could not swallow its anger if it just slunk away like that.

So, as it made its final pass over Zhao Ming and Snake Lance Douluo, it suddenly opened its beak and spat a massive ball of blazing fire at the Netherworld Sword Lion King in the pit.

The flames were a faint crimson, and their temperature was terrifyingly high. The air warped and distorted wherever they passed.

A trace of Phoenix Bloodline flowed within the Firefeather Eagle, and this breath of fire contained a wisp of Phoenix Flame. Though it could not burn the heavens or boil the seas, it was more than enough to incinerate a half-dead Netherworld Sword Lion King.

Its intentions were simple. If I can't have it, neither can you.

"Humph, vile beast!" Snake Lance Douluo reacted swiftly. Before the flames could fall upon the Netherworld Sword Lion King, his fourth Soul Ring lit up, and a massive shield of snake scales condensed from Soul Power appeared above the beast, blocking all the flames.

The flames collided with the Soul Power shield with a hissing sound. Great clouds of steam rose and spread through the forest.

By the time the smoke cleared, the Firefeather Eagle was nowhere to be seen in the sky.

That beast had fled the instant it finished spitting fire, faster than anyone else.

Snake Lance Douluo had no intention of pursuing it either. Chasing a flying Soul Beast would be too troublesome, and more importantly, his task today was to find a Soul Ring for Zhao Ming. There was no need to create extra trouble.

Zhao Ming poked his head out from behind Snake Lance Douluo, his gaze falling on the Netherworld Sword Lion King, which had completely stopped moving. The corners of his lips lifted slightly.

A twelve-thousand-year Netherworld Sword Lion King, a top-tier Soul Beast proficient in both strength and spiritual power. It perfectly met every requirement he had made when wishing.

"Uncle Snake Lance, help keep an eye on the surroundings." As Zhao Ming spoke, he flipped his right hand, and a pitch-black steel whip appeared in his palm. He walked to the edge of the pit, raised the steel whip, aimed at the Netherworld Sword Lion King's head, and struck down.

The steel whip smashed heavily against the Netherworld Sword Lion King's skull with a dull thud.

The Soul Beast, which had already been clinging to its last breath, died completely from that blow. A Soul Ring as black as ink slowly rose from its corpse, giving off a deep, mysterious radiance beneath the afternoon sun.

Zhao Ming took a deep breath and sat cross-legged beside the pit. Activating the Nine-Breath Qi Absorption, he extended his spiritual power toward the black Soul Ring and guided it slowly onto his steel whip Martial Soul.

The instant the Soul Ring settled onto the steel whip, a vast, almost violent torrent of energy surged into his body like a burst dam, rushing madly through his meridians.

The pressure brought by a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring truly could not be compared to that of a thousand-year Soul Ring.

Even more deadly was the spiritual shock unique to a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast upon death, which followed immediately after.

A violent remnant soul filled with resentment slammed into Zhao Ming's Spiritual Sea like a heavy hammer.

The mental shock of the Netherworld Sword Lion King's remnant soul clung to his Spiritual Sea like a festering wound, howling madly as it tried to tear his consciousness into pieces.

Snake Lance Douluo stood guard beside Zhao Ming, his sharp eyes vigilantly sweeping the surrounding forest. Yet the corner of his eye never left Zhao Ming.

Although Zhao Ming had told him before beginning the absorption that the Treasure-Dropping Coin would protect him and prevent any major problems, a ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring was unprecedented. Snake Lance Douluo could not help but be nervous.

Time passed second by second.

The blazing sun slowly moved westward from directly overhead, stretching the shadows of the ancient trees longer and longer. The light in the forest changed from dazzling gold to soft orange-red.

Snake Lance Douluo had already guarded Zhao Ming for half a day. During that time, several foolish thousand-year Soul Beasts had followed the scent of blood over, only to be silently dealt with by him.

Finally, just as the setting sun was about to sink below the horizon, Zhao Ming's aura abruptly withdrew. The ink-black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring settled steadily around his steel whip Martial Soul, rotating slowly as it emitted a deep and powerful radiance.

The ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring had been successfully absorbed!

However, just as Zhao Ming's Soul Power stabilized and he prepared to open his eyes and share the good news with Snake Lance Douluo, an intense stabbing pain suddenly erupted between his brows. Zhao Ming's Soul Power went berserk again.

Snake Lance Douluo's expression changed drastically. He rushed to Zhao Ming's side and asked tentatively, "Xiaoming, are you all right?"