Third Soul Skill, Void Piercing!

Unable to fly, Azure Luan could only rely on its claws and wings to fight Lin Ming. Its speed and strength still far surpassed those of ordinary spirit beasts, but having lost control of the skies, its advantage had been greatly weakened.

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

Man and bird engaged in a fierce battle within the forest. Spear radiance and claw shadows intertwined, while the endless clashes rang out as densely as hammer blows on 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 crisscrossed with ravines and cracks, as though it had been ravaged by a pack of ferocious beasts.

The longer Lin Ming fought, the braver he became. The Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear seemed alive in his hands—at times like a venomous snake striking from its den, tricky and ruthless; at others like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, its momentum vast and overwhelming.

At times, it was like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, leaving no opening at all. He forced Azure Luan back step by step, each of its steps leaving a deep imprint in the ground.

Wounds began to appear on Azure Luan's body. First, a slash of spear radiance tore open its wing, sending blue-green feathers flying as blood seeped out.

Then its chest was pierced open, and the pain drew a miserable cry from it. Next, its leg was swept by the spear, causing it to stagger and nearly fall.

It cried out furiously, but there was no turning the tide. The arrogance in its eyes turned to fear, and its fear turned to despair.

At last, Lin Ming found an opening.

While dodging, Azure Luan exposed a gap at its chest—the very spot where it had been wounded before. Blood was still flowing from it.

Without hesitation, Lin Ming poured all his spirit power into the Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear. A dazzling platinum light flared across the spear, as if a blazing sun had blossomed 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, and all his will.

Where the spear radiance passed, the air let out a piercing boom. Even space itself seemed to tremble before that strike, leaving behind a pitch-black crack.

The surrounding trees were bent beneath that fierce pressure, while scattered stones on the ground were pushed aside by the shockwave, forming a fan-shaped empty space.

Azure Luan let out a cry of despair and desperately tried to evade, but the Sky-Sealing Domain left it unable to move. It could only watch helplessly as the silver spear drew closer and closer.

The ever-growing platinum light was reflected in its amber eyes, filled with unwillingness and despair.

"Pfft!"

The Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear pierced through Azure Luan's chest without resistance, emerging from its back in a spray of blood. A piece of shattered organ hung from the spear tip, while blood streamed down the shaft.

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

Until its death, it could not believe that it, the mighty Azure Luan, a descendant of an ancient divine beast and king among avian spirit beasts, had died at the hands of a mere level-thirty human. Its body convulsed a few times before slowly collapsing, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A black spirit ring slowly rose from Azure Luan's corpse, emitting a deep, mysterious glow as it slowly rotated in the air.

A Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring!

Lin Ming withdrew his spear and stood there, gasping heavily. His forehead was covered in sweat, and his clothes were soaked through, clinging tightly to his body.

That last strike had nearly drained all his spirit power. His body felt hollow, and even his legs were a little weak. Yet when he looked at that black spirit 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, jumping up and down in excitement. "Lin Ming, you're amazing! You really did it! That was a ten-thousand-year spirit beast! You actually soloed a ten-thousand-year spirit beast! That's incredible!"

Lin Ming patted her back, then sat down cross-legged and began drawing in the black spirit ring. Guided by him, the spirit ring slowly descended, settling around the Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear and merging into it.

The instant the spirit ring entered his body, a massive surge of energy flooded into him like a burst dam.

Azure Luan truly was a descendant of an ancient divine beast. Even in death, the energy remaining in its spirit ring was still immense and pure, like a warm river rushing through his body.

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

"Boom!"

The bottleneck shattered in response, like a solid wall smashed apart by a giant hammer.

His spirit power surged wildly like a horse breaking free of its reins—level thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five... It did not finally stop until level thirty-six.

Lin Ming opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. The breath lingered in the air without dispersing, like a sharp sword that shot through a huge boulder in the distance, 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 his third soul skill had brought him.

Void Piercing.

The name of this soul skill was simple and direct, but its effect was tyrannical beyond belief—man and spear became one, transforming into a blazing stream of light that charged forward in an instant. During the process, he briefly merged with space, allowing him to pierce through physical obstacles without obstruction.

In other words, as long as he wished it, he could pierce through an entire mountain with one thrust, and the mountain itself would not hinder him in the slightest.

"What an overbearing soul skill..." Lin Ming muttered, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

He opened his eyes and looked toward an ancient tree in the distance that was as thick as three people linking arms around it. With a thought, his third spirit ring lit up.

His body instantly transformed into a platinum streak of 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 was left behind, as if he had truly merged into space itself.

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

A smooth circular hole had been left through the tree trunk, piercing it from front to back as though it had been bored through by a laser. The edges of the hole were smooth as a mirror, without the slightest crack or splinter.

"Holy shit..." Even Lin Ming could not help blurting out a curse.

This soul skill was absurdly powerful! Ignoring physical obstacles meant that any defense was practically useless before him. City walls? He could pierce through them. Shields? He could pierce through them. Spirit power barriers? He could pierce through those too!

"Lin Ming! What kind of soul skill was that?" Ning Rongrong ran over, staring wide-eyed at the smooth hole in the tree trunk. "That was way too amazing! You just passed right through it!"

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

"Ignores physical obstacles?" Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. "Doesn't that mean every defense is useless in front of you?"