Lin Yan opened his eyes groggily. The first thing he saw was a delicate little blonde girl.
"Brother Lin Yan, you're finally awake!"
Ning Tian's delighted voice rang out inside the carriage.
Lin Yan sat up and wearily rubbed his heavy head. "Where am I?"
He only remembered that, not long after defeating Tang Tian, he could no longer hold on and fell unconscious. Only now had his awareness reconnected with his mind.
"Brother Lin Yan, you've been asleep for a whole day and night!"
Hearing Ning Tian's words, Lin Yan looked surprised. "I slept that long? Then my Spirit Ring..."
At that thought, Lin Yan immediately jumped out of the carriage.
For this Spirit Ring, he had used his level-twenty Soul Power to fight head-on against a level-thirty Clear Sky Hammer Soul Elder. If the Titan Giant Ape had succumbed to its injuries while he was unconscious, that would have been a huge loss.
After leaving the carriage, Lin Yan immediately saw the others.
Since the carriage was here, they must have already left the Star Dou Great Forest.
Lin Yan immediately looked toward Lin Yuhuan. "Grandma, where's that Titan Giant Ape?"
Lin Yuhuan pointed to the side. "Over there. Don't worry, that Titan Giant Ape can neither escape nor die. Every bone in its body has been shattered, and I sealed its Soul Power. It can't even kill itself."
Following her gaze, Lin Yan indeed saw the half-dead Titan Giant Ape and immediately let out a sigh of relief.
"How do you feel?"
Lin Yan rubbed his stomach. "I'm starving. I need a lot of food."
The old steward immediately came over and handed him a large piece of golden, glistening grilled Soul Beast meat.
Lin Yan's appetite was instantly awakened. He grabbed the Soul Beast meat and began wolfing it down.
His battle against Tang Tian had drained him far too severely. Only after eating a full fifteen pounds of Soul Beast meat did his body fully recover from the expenditure. His mind, however, still felt somewhat tired.
Lin Yuhuan said, "There's no rush to absorb the Spirit Ring. This Millennium Titan Giant Ape's Spirit Ring is no trivial matter. First bring yourself to peak condition. Your chances of successfully absorbing it will be higher then."
Lin Yan nodded. "I understand, Grandma!"
Thus, Lin Yan spent another half day regulating his breath and finally recovered completely.
Then, he turned his gaze toward the Titan Giant Ape.
"Are you ready?" Lin Yuhuan asked seriously.
"Yes, Grandma. I'm ready!" Lin Yan took a deep breath and answered solemnly.
A millennium second Spirit Ring, and one from a super Soul Beast like the Titan Giant Ape—if he succeeded, the boost to his strength would undoubtedly be immense.
Lin Yan summoned the Black Demon Mace and ended the Titan Giant Ape's lingering life.
Perhaps death was a release for it now.
With every bone in its body shattered and its Soul Power sealed by Lin Yuhuan, it could not even commit suicide. It could be said that this was an exceptionally horrifying torment.
After enduring such suffering, would a Spirit Bone appear?
Soul Beasts that suffered torment before death and died filled with resentment had a higher chance of producing Spirit Bones.
Purple motes of light gathered from all parts of the Titan Giant Ape's corpse, forming a noble-hued purple Spirit Ring that radiated a strange halo.
Even without absorbing it, one could sense the surging Soul Power fluctuations within.
Lin Yan took a deep breath. After steadying his resolve, he no longer hesitated. Sitting beside the Titan Giant Ape's corpse, he immediately began absorbing it.
The instant the Black Demon Mace touched the Titan Giant Ape's Spirit Ring, Lin Yan vaguely heard an enraged roar—the Titan Giant Ape's howl.
Then, a terrifying energy surged into his body, instantly making his muscles, bones, and flesh ache with a faint swelling pain.
"Truly extraordinary!"
Lin Yan was deeply alarmed.
His physique was simply strong enough. Had it been an ordinary level-twenty Soul Grandmaster, the energy within the Titan Giant Ape's Spirit Ring would likely have already completely destroyed the meridians in their body.
As Lin Yan began absorbing it, a peculiar sensation suddenly emerged.
Just as expected!
Lin Yan was delighted.
He sensed fluctuations from his Second Martial Soul.
It had been the same when he absorbed his first Spirit Ring. Once the power of his Second Martial Soul appeared, the Spirit Ring energy entering his body instantly changed from an out-of-control tiger into a docile sheep.
That was why he had managed to successfully absorb his first Spirit Ring in only fifteen minutes.
Bei Bei, on the other hand, had taken a full hour and a half.
As the power of his Second Martial Soul began to manifest, the Titan Giant Ape's Spirit Ring energy also became gentle.
Realizing this, Lin Yan knew that he would definitely succeed this time.
Two hours later, Lin Yan successfully turned the Millennium Titan Giant Ape's Spirit Ring into the second Spirit Ring of his Black Demon Mace Martial Soul.
Lin Yan stood up and stretched lazily. Sensing the changes in himself, the corners of his mouth immediately rose, and unconcealable joy appeared on his face.
Just as he had guessed beforehand, the Titan Giant Ape's Spirit Ring gave an enormous boost to his physical attributes, especially his strength. Its increase was simply incomparable to that of the Horned Thunder Dragon's Spirit Ring.
One reason was that their ages differed: one was a Millennium Spirit Ring, while the other was a Century Spirit Ring.
Another important reason was that the Titan Giant Ape's bloodline far surpassed that of the Horned Thunder Dragon.
The Horned Thunder Dragon was merely a subdragon with a trace of Dragon Clan blood.
The Titan Giant Ape, however, possessed a powerful bloodline comparable to that of true dragons!
Bloodline was also an important factor in determining a Spirit Ring's quality.
"Young Master, you really succeeded. This old servant is truly impressed!" the old steward said in amazement.
Lin Yan grinned, feeling somewhat proud as well.
Lin Yuhuan walked over, her youthful and beautiful face also covered with a smile. "Good boy, you didn't disappoint me this time. Tell Grandma, what Soul Skill did you obtain?"
A flash of black light appeared as Lin Yan summoned his Martial Soul.
One yellow and one purple Spirit Ring rhythmically revolved around the Spiked Club.
"My second Spirit Ring skill is called Titan's Fury. It is a percentage-based enhancement Soul Skill that increases strength by one hundred percent."
"One hundred percent?"
Lin Yuhuan and the old steward were both startled upon hearing that number.
Percentage-based enhancement Soul Skills were already the finest among enhancement Soul Skills. This meant that the Soul Skill could remain highly effective at any cultivation realm and would not become useless as one's realm rose.
And Lin Yan's Soul Skill was not only percentage-based—it also had an astonishing enhancement effect of one hundred percent!
As the two were shocked by this, Lin Yan continued, "Moreover, this Soul Skill grants a certain attack bonus. When I use Titan's Fury, opponents struck by my Spiked Club will suffer a certain degree of Inner Force damage. The strength of the Inner Force damage depends on how much strength I use. The greater my strength, the higher the damage."
Put plainly, Inner Force was a kind of special secondary damage.
When the Black Demon Mace struck an opponent, it would immediately inflict the first instance of damage. At the same time, a surge of Inner Force would pass through the point of contact into the opponent's body, inflicting a second instance of damage.
It was like adding a passive effect to an ordinary attack!
"Attack me with all your strength. Let me see this Soul Skill of yours!" Lin Yuhuan immediately said.
"Alright!"
Lin Yan nodded. Noble, mysterious purple light immediately spread out from his second Spirit Ring.
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