Fourth Soul Ring

The day after returning to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Qin Ming wanted to drag Su Chen out for another run.

Su Chen: ...

(ー_ー)!!

Why were all these people from Shrek so obsessed with running?

Su Chen immediately refused, saying that he needed to train with the Poison Douluo. Then he slipped away to Sunset Forest and returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for secluded cultivation.

Over the course of a week, he spent five days at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and came out to rest for two.

He kept Qian Renxue, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling company, taking care of everyone's emotions within the limited time he had.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, three years had passed.

Su Chen was now twelve years old and had officially broken through to Rank 40 Soul Power.

Compared to before, his cultivation speed had indeed slowed considerably.

But there was nothing he could do about it. He possessed an ultimate attribute; from the Soul Elder stage to the Soul Sage stage, his Soul Power would uncontrollably compress itself, making his cultivation as slow as a turtle's crawl.

Three ranks of Soul Power a year was not particularly slow either. It was roughly the same as Tang San cultivating Soul Power with the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

After he told Qian Renxue, she set aside what she was doing and brought She Long and Ci Xue to the Star Dou Great Forest to help Su Chen hunt a suitable soul beast.

They searched for three whole days!

Finally, in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, they found a twenty-thousand-year Blackflame Purplecloud Eagle.

Qian Renxue repeatedly asked Su Chen whether he was certain he wanted this twenty-thousand-year soul beast.

Soul beasts over ten thousand years old caused spiritual shocks when their Soul Rings were absorbed. A twenty-thousand-year soul beast was something only a Soul Emperor could absorb at the very least.

Su Chen was extremely resolute. He wanted this soul beast.

In the end, Qian Renxue gave the order for She Long and Ci Xue to bring down the twenty-thousand-year Blackflame Purplecloud Eagle.

A twenty-thousand-year soul beast was already exceedingly ferocious.

Especially a Blackflame Purplecloud Eagle.

With its wings spread, it resembled a great bow. With its wings folded, it resembled a sharp arrow.

Its attacks were as swift as thunder and as fast as lightning, fully displaying the explosive nature of flame. Ordinary Soul Sages would not even be its match.

Even She Long and Ci Xue had to expend considerable effort before they could grievously wound the Blackflame Purplecloud Eagle.

Su Chen did not let the Blackflame Purplecloud Eagle suffer for long. He activated Martial Soul Possession and unleashed his first and second soul skills simultaneously, giving it a swift death.

A black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring condensed!

Qian Renxue, She Long, and Ci Xue felt worried for Su Chen merely at the sight of that Soul Ring.

Su Chen was only a Rank 40 Quasi-Soul Ancestor!

Yet Su Chen himself remained exceptionally calm. He sat down cross-legged and called out to the Soul Ring.

As the Soul Ring entered his body, scorching and tyrannical energy surged through him. Resentful cries also rushed straight toward Su Chen's sea of consciousness.

Su Chen took a deep breath and focused his mind, returning to oneness. He had not eaten those immortal herbs for nothing, nor had he cultivated the Immortal Scripture for nothing.

This mere twenty-thousand-year Soul Ring could forget about making him explode and die.

Su Chen began to fight back with all his strength, forcibly suppressing the Soul Ring's energy and the lingering resentment of the remnant soul within it.

After eight hours of absorption, Su Chen successfully absorbed the twenty-thousand-year Blackflame Purplecloud Eagle Soul Ring.

He opened his eyes, and his aura steadily rose until it finally stabilized at Rank 42 Soul Power.

This left Su Chen extremely satisfied.

If his fourth Soul Ring had only been an ordinary Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, he would probably only have Rank 41 Soul Power now.

It was because he had absorbed the twenty-thousand-year Blackflame Purplecloud Eagle Soul Ring that he had gained the additional surplus energy needed to break through to Rank 42 Soul Power.

"Xiao Chen, congratulations! You really succeeded!"

Qian Renxue's tone was full of disbelief.

"This is a twenty-thousand-year Soul Ring. At the very least, only a Soul Emperor should be able to absorb it, yet you successfully absorbed it as a Soul Ancestor."

Su Chen stood up and expressed his gratitude to Qian Renxue, She Long, and Ci Xue.

"Then I have to thank Sister Xue'er, Uncle She Long, and Uncle Ci Xue for helping me search for and grievously wound this soul beast."

She Long and Ci Xue each revealed friendly smiles.

Su Chen had given them pills that raised their Soul Power by one rank. They sincerely hoped Su Chen would do even better.

Then Su Chen sensed his fourth soul skill, and a look of surprise and delight appeared in his eyes.

He instantly activated Martial Soul Possession. Four Soul Rings—yellow, purple, purple, and black—rose and fell around him.

The fourth Soul Ring shone with a pitch-black light!

"Fourth Soul Skill, Golden Crow Shooting Sun Bow!"

(I keep getting mocked for the names I come up with. If you think this name doesn't sound good, feel free to make suggestions!)

Golden-red flames swept forth, writhing like magma as they condensed in Su Chen's hand and extended toward both sides.

A moment later, a three-meter-long golden-red greatbow without a string appeared in his hand. It was as thick as a baby's arm and engraved with intricate feather-like patterns.

"This is... a weapon-type soul skill?!"

Qian Renxue, She Long, and Ci Xue stared at the golden-red stringless greatbow in astonishment.

Among soul skills, enhancement-type soul skills and weapon-type soul skills had always been considered top-tier.

Su Chen also looked delighted. Holding the bow in his left hand, he poured in Soul Power. Golden Crow True Flame spread from the bow's tips and condensed into a flaming bowstring.

Su Chen placed his right hand on the bowstring, took a deep breath, and used all his strength to draw the Golden Crow Shooting Sun Bow into a full-moon shape.

Golden Crow True Flame likewise formed into an arrow!

Su Chen could sense that the Golden Crow Shooting Sun Bow had no upper limit to its power.

How much power it could unleash depended solely on how much Soul Power was infused into it. The more Soul Power he poured in, the stronger it became; the less Soul Power he poured in, the weaker it became.

Whoosh!

With a thought from Su Chen and a release of his hand, the golden-red flaming feathered arrow tore through the air and struck a towering tree a hundred meters away in an instant.

That great tree required at least three people to encircle it and stood over a hundred meters tall. It was no longer an ordinary tree and could be considered a plant-type soul beast.

At that moment, the great tree exploded. Golden-red flames filled the sky and formed a mushroom cloud, while rings of fire waves rolled outward and an aura of destruction quietly spread.

Qian Renxue said in shock, "Such terrifying power. Even a Soul Sage's Martial Soul Avatar probably couldn't take that arrow head-on."

Firelight reflected in Su Chen's eyes as he had already devised several ways to use the Golden Crow Shooting Sun Bow.

It could be used for long-range attacks or close combat.

His Great Sun Golden Crow Martial Soul combined the strength of a power-attack Soul Master with the speed of an agility-attack Soul Master. In particular, his second soul skill rivaled teleportation. In the future, he could rush directly into an enemy's face and give them a point-blank shot.

Caught off guard, even killing a Soul Sage would not be a problem.

Without activating their Martial Soul Avatar, a Soul Sage would absolutely be unable to block that arrow.

Su Chen smiled especially brightly. "I really like this soul skill. I still have to thank Sister Xue'er, Uncle She Long, and Uncle Ci Xue. Otherwise, I might not have obtained such a top-tier soul skill."

Qian Renxue was both delighted and gratified.

"In the blink of an eye, nearly five years have passed. Back then, I took you away from the headmaster of Nuoding Academy. Now, you have become a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor and possess Soul Rings beyond the proper age limits in a yellow, purple, purple, black configuration. You can finally stand on your own."

"After we leave the Star Dou Great Forest, why not stop by Nuoding Academy on the way? Let your headmaster feel proud of you as well."

Su Chen's expression brightened. He had been away for nearly five years, so it would be good to go back and take a look.

Then a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes. If he happened to run into Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, and Tang Hao, that would be even more interesting.