Spirit Ascension, Millennium Soul Ring

In the dense primeval forest, Ziyang walked through the undergrowth, searching everywhere for wild Soul Pokémon to grind experience.

Soul beasts had an extremely strong sense of danger. The youth had walked for a long time without finding anything.

Suddenly, his pupils narrowed slightly, and an unusual smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

On the open grassland ahead, more than a dozen pinkish-white balls of fur were leisurely nibbling on grass. The Soft-Bone Rabbits' long ears twitched gently, and their ruby-like eyes blinked innocently, completely unaware that danger was approaching.

Ziyang raised his right hand and called out directly, "Little Black. Destruction Breath."

The pitch-black little beast paced out from his shadow, its scales bristling as its purple vertical pupils narrowed into slits. It drew in a deep breath, its chest swelling like a bellows.

"Boom!"

A purple-black beam erupted from its mouth, instantly reducing all grass and trees in its path to nothing.

The group of Soft-Bone Rabbits did not even have time to flee before they were reduced to ashes by the destructive energy. Soul beasts capable of pinning down a God King in S1 had actually fallen in an instant.

Specks of spiritual light floated up from the charred ground and streamed into Ziyang's body like fireflies.

The youth closed his eyes and felt the energy circulating within him. When he opened them again, he could not hide the delight at the corners of his mouth.

His Soul Ring had improved again.

Ziyang stepped over the decaying leaves in the forest, producing faint cracking sounds. The forest's life essence flowed like thin mist, and every breath carried the fragrance of plants as it poured into his body, as though he were heaven and earth's favored child.

Suddenly, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's ears twitched sharply, and its forelimbs tensed like a drawn bow. "Master, something's coming!"

The youth looked up, his pupils narrowing. Amid the swaying shadows of the trees, a long pale-red figure flashed past.

It was a snake-type soul beast. Its bright red fleshy crest was as eye-catching as blood jade, while its phoenix-tail-shaped fan-like tail fin cut through the air as it glided three meters above the ground.

This soul beast had distinctive features. Ziyang barely recognized it as Oscar's third Soul Ring from the original Douluo Dalu.

"Then what are we waiting for? Take it out!" A cold arc curved across Ziyang's lips.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger suddenly exerted force with all four limbs, and spiderweb-like cracks exploded across the ground.

It shot into the air like black lightning, its claws tearing through the air as they precisely seized the snake seven inches below its head. The Thousand-Year Soul Beast was forcibly dragged from the sky and slammed heavily into the ground, sending dead leaves flying everywhere.

Little Black had already gathered its strength, its purple vertical pupils narrowing into slits. Destruction Energy churned in its throat, and with a low roar, a purple-black beam pierced through the Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake's head like a sharp sword.

Ziyang slowly stepped forward and absorbed the spiritual power. He felt his Soul Ring improve, yet he did not feel the slightest strain on his body.

"Not at my limit yet? Could it be..." His voice held a trace of confusion. "Do I have no limit?!"

But he did not know by how much his Soul Ring's age had increased. In the monitoring room, Leng Yaoyu carefully calculated it for him. In just over fifty years, he would advance to a Millennium Soul Ring.

Ziyang's footsteps paused slightly, and his ears twitched as he caught the faint rustling deep within the forest.

His gaze locked directly onto the bushes, where some kind of danger seemed to be lurking.

"Little Black, Little Evil, deal with it." His voice was quiet, yet it carried an unquestionable command.

Austin Griffin grinned, and the ferocity in its eyes surged. "Leave it to me!"

Before the words had even faded, it shot into the forest like an arrow released from a bow. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger followed closely behind, its scorpion tail raised high, its barbed hook gleaming with a grim, icy light.

"Bang!"

A dull impact suddenly rang out from the forest, followed by a purple-black beam that refracted outward and sliced an ancient tree beside it cleanly in half.

Ziyang frowned slightly and quickly followed. He saw Little Black viciously biting at a silver-gray "iron ball."

The soul beast had curled itself into a ball. Its mirror-smooth scales gleamed with a metallic luster in the sunlight. No matter how Little Black clawed and tore at it or bit down with its fangs, it failed to leave even a white mark.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger let out a low growl, its tiger paw wrapped in dark Soul Power as it slammed down heavily—

"Clang!"

The enormous metallic crash made their eardrums ache. The "iron ball" did not budge in the slightest; instead, much of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's power was dispersed.

Ziyang's pupils abruptly contracted—this was the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, a super soul beast whose hundred-year cultivation rivaled that of a ten-thousand-year soul beast, yet it could not break this soul beast's defense?

He did not recognize it, but Leng Yaoyu knew exactly what kind of soul beast it was. It was a Thousand-Year Scale-Armored Beast. Its defensive traits were relatively rare among soul beasts, and in ancient times, it had been an important target for Soul Masters seeking defensive Soul Rings.

The soul beast suddenly stretched out its body, revealing its true form, like that of a pangolin.

Every scale gleamed with a metallic sheen, sharp bone spikes protruded from its joints, and its tail swept across the ground like a steel whip, plowing deep furrows. Its small eyes stared coldly at Ziyang through the gaps in its scales, carrying a trace of almost human mockery.

Austin Griffin flew into a rage, purple light surging from its throat. "Break for me—!"

Purple-black flames roared forth like an enraged dragon, yet the instant they touched the Scale-Armored Beast's scales, they refracted strangely and blasted straight toward Ziyang!

"Boss! Watch out!" Little Black's vertical pupils shrank sharply, and unprecedented terror filled its voice.

It had no idea how powerful its enhanced Destruction Breath was, nor whether its boss could withstand it.

The oncoming torrent of destruction was reflected in Ziyang's eyes. Yet his right hand shot out like lightning, his five fingers spread wide—

"Buzz!"

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The Destruction Breath, powerful enough to kill an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Beast, was actually caught barehanded by Ziyang's slender palm!

The youth closed his fingers, and the Destruction Energy shattered like glass in his palm, turning into countless drifting motes of light.

The youth lowered his head and stared at his palm. A wisp of pure Power of Destruction rose from it, slithering between his fingers like a tiny snake.

It seemed that he himself could wield the Power of Destruction, and this power was no weaker than Austin Griffin's.

In the monitoring room, Leng Yaoyu's red lips parted slightly as she stared fixedly at the unbelievable scene on the screen.

"Martial soul and Soul Master... sharing abilities? I knew I hadn't bet on the wrong treasure!" Her eyes remained locked on the screen, her heart overflowing with excitement.

At that moment, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's claws firmly pinned down the Scale-Armored Beast's curled body, while the barb on its scorpion tail stabbed into a gap between the scales, attempting to pry open the soul beast.

Little Black gripped the soul beast's other side with its forepaws, pinning it firmly to the ground to ensure that it could not keep rolling.

Ziyang slowly stepped forward, drawing his right fist back to his waist. The Power of Destruction wrapped around his hand flowed like a living thing before gathering entirely at the tip of his fist and condensing into a purple-black sphere of light.

Even space seemed to let out an overwhelmed wail beneath the pressure of the destructive aura. Within a radius of ten meters, the vegetation withered and carbonized at a visible speed.

"Ora—!!!"

Ziyang's punch shot forth like a dragon!

At that instant, even time seemed to come to a standstill.

His fist, carrying the will of destruction, smashed fiercely into the Scale-Armored Beast's mirror-smooth scales. The moment it made contact, a ring of purple-black ripples exploded outward.

"Crack!"

A crisp shattering sound echoed through the forest.

The Scale-Armored Beast's scales flew in every direction, each one reflecting Ziyang's furious expression.

The youth slowly withdrew his fist, feeling just how enormous the Soul Power consumption from using the Power of Destruction was.

After considering it carefully, he realized that when Austin Griffin attacked, it seemingly did not consume his Soul Power.

The man and beast each handled their own affairs. Instead, it was this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Soul Spirit that consumed some of his Soul Power.

It seemed that if something happened to him, Austin Griffin would also be affected. But if something happened to Austin Griffin, he seemingly would not suffer backlash like Luo Sanpao and Yu Xiaogang.

Suddenly, a great amount of golden spiritual power emerged from the Scale-Armored Beast's charred corpse and entered Ziyang's body.

It was refined in an instant.

Spirit Ascension.

Millennium Soul Ring.