Third Soul Skill, Void Piercing!

Azure Luan could not fly and could only rely on his claws and wings to fight Lin Ming. His speed and strength still far surpassed those of ordinary soul beasts, but having lost control of the skies, his advantage had been greatly weakened.

He could only dodge awkwardly across the ground, using his sharp claws and wings to block Lin Ming's attacks. Every collision sent tremors through his body.

Man and bird waged a fierce battle through the forest. Spear gleams and claw shadows intertwined, while the sounds of impacts rang out without end, as dense as hammering iron.

The surrounding trees were caught in the crossfire, toppling and snapping one after another. Their trunks were covered in deep claw marks and spear scars. The ground was riddled with crisscrossing gullies and cracks, as though it had been ravaged by a pack of savage beasts.

The longer Lin Ming fought, the fiercer he became. The Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear seemed alive in his hands—sometimes like a venomous snake striking from its den, vicious and unpredictable; sometimes like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, majestic and overwhelming.

At times, it was like a pear blossom storm, so dense that not even water could pass through. He forced Azure Luan back again and again, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground.

Wounds began appearing on Azure Luan's body. First, a spear gleam slashed open his wing, sending blue-green feathers fluttering as blood seeped out.

Then his chest was pierced open, drawing a shrill, agonized cry from him. Next, his leg was swept by the spear, making him stagger and nearly fall.

He cried out in fury, but there was no turning the tide. The arrogance in his eyes became fear, and that fear turned into despair.

At last, Lin Ming found an opening.

During one dodge, Azure Luan exposed an opening at his chest. It was precisely where Lin Ming had wounded him before, and blood was still flowing from it.

Without hesitation, Lin Ming poured all his Soul Power into the Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear. A dazzling platinum light flared from its shaft, like a blazing sun blooming in his hand.

"Shatter the Sky!"

With one thrust, heaven and earth lost their color.

That strike contained all of Lin Ming's strength, all his focus, all his will.

Where the spear's gleam passed, the air let out a piercing boom. Even space seemed to tremble before the strike, leaving behind a black rift.

The surrounding trees were bent low by that razor-sharp momentum. Loose stones on the ground were swept aside by the shockwave, forming a fan-shaped vacant area.

Azure Luan let out a desperate cry and tried frantically to dodge, but the Sky-Sealing Domain rendered him unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as the silver spear drew closer and closer.

That ever-growing platinum light reflected in his amber eyes, which were filled with unwillingness and despair.

"Pfft!"

The Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear pierced straight through Azure Luan's chest without resistance, emerging from his back and bringing with it a spray of blood. A fragment of shattered innards hung from the spear tip, while blood streamed down the shaft.

Azure Luan's body suddenly stiffened, his amber eyes filled with unwillingness and disbelief.

Until his death, he could not believe that he, the mighty Azure Luan—a descendant of an ancient divine beast and king among avian soul beasts—had actually died at the hands of a mere level-thirty human. His body twitched a few times before slowly collapsing, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A black Soul Ring slowly rose from Azure Luan's corpse, emanating a profound and mysterious glow as it slowly rotated in the air.

A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring!

Lin Ming stood with his spear in hand, panting heavily. Sweat covered his forehead, and his clothes were drenched through, clinging tightly to his body.

That thrust had nearly exhausted all his Soul Power. His body felt hollow, and even his legs had gone weak. Yet when he looked at that black Soul Ring, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He had succeeded.

He had successfully hunted a Ten-Thousand-Year Azure Luan!

Ning Rongrong ran over with a cheer and threw her arms around him, hopping with excitement. "Lin Ming, you're amazing! You really did it! That was a ten-thousand-year soul beast! You actually soloed a ten-thousand-year soul beast! That's incredible!"

Lin Ming patted her back, then sat down cross-legged and began drawing in the black Soul Ring. Guided by him, the Soul Ring slowly descended, encircling the Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear before merging into it.

The instant the Soul Ring entered his body, an immense surge of energy poured into him like floodwaters bursting through a dam.

Azure Luan truly was worthy of being a descendant of an ancient divine beast. Even after death, the energy remaining within the Soul Ring was still vast and pure, like a warm river rushing through his body.

Lin Ming guided that energy along the circulation path of his cultivation technique, striking at the level-thirty bottleneck. Once, twice, three times... Each impact made his body tremble, and waves of swelling pain surged through his meridians.

"Boom!"

The bottleneck shattered at once, like a solid wall smashed apart by a massive hammer.

His Soul Power surged wildly like an unbridled stallion—level thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five... It finally stopped at level thirty-six.

Lin Ming opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. It lingered in the air without dispersing, like a sharp sword, piercing through a massive boulder in the distance and leaving behind a smooth round hole.

Level thirty-six!

In just half a month, he had soared from level twenty-three to level thirty-six, crossing thirteen levels in a row! No one would believe such speed if they heard it. Even those so-called geniuses would be left far behind.

Lin Ming closed his eyes and carefully sensed the information brought to him by his third Soul Skill.

Void Piercing.

The name of the Soul Skill was simple and direct, but its effect was outrageously domineering—man and spear became one, transforming into a streak of incandescent light that surged forward in an instant. During the process, he briefly merged with space, allowing him to pierce through physical obstacles without obstruction.

In other words, if he wanted to, he could pierce through an entire mountain with one spear thrust, and the mountain itself would pose no obstruction whatsoever.

"What an overbearing Soul Skill..." Lin Ming murmured, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

He opened his eyes and looked toward an ancient tree in the distance, thick enough for three people to wrap their arms around. With a thought, his third Soul Ring lit up.

His body instantly turned into a streak of platinum light, merging with the Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear as he shot forward at an unimaginable speed. He moved so fast that not even an afterimage remained, as though he had truly merged into space itself.

The next second, he had already appeared on the other side of the ancient tree.

A smooth, round hole ran clean through the trunk, as though it had been pierced by a laser. The edges of the hole were as smooth as a mirror, without a single crack or splinter.

"Holy shit..." Even Lin Ming could not stop himself from swearing.

This Soul Skill was too absurd! Ignoring physical obstacles meant that any defense would be as good as useless before him. City walls? Pierce through them. Shields? Pierce through them. Soul Power barriers? Pierce through those too!

"Lin Ming! What Soul Skill was that?" Ning Rongrong ran over and stared wide-eyed at the smooth hole in the trunk. "That's way too amazing, isn't it? You went straight through it in one go!"

Lin Ming put away his spear and smiled. "My third Soul Skill, Void Piercing. It lets me charge through physical obstacles."

"Ignore physical obstacles?" Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. "Then doesn't that mean every defense is useless before you?"