Cupid's Sigh!

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, ancient trees towered into the sky.

In just two days, with the level ninety-five powerhouse Bone Douluo Gu Rong escorting them, the soul beast hunt had gone exceptionally smoothly.

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong each hunted a thousand-year soul beast that suited them best. After absorbing and refining their soul rings, their Soul Power broke through, and they steadily advanced to level thirty-one.

Xiao Wu also broke through level thirty. Under Ning Ze's cover, she secretly fused with a thousand-year soul ring as well.

Only Ning Ze had yet to make a move, leisurely selecting his target.

As they entered a rocky mountain hollow, a muffled roar rolled out from the bushes ahead.

"Roar—!"

Gravel flew everywhere.

A massive beast the size of a medium truck smashed through a stone wall. Its entire body was covered in heavy bone plates resembling bronze armor as it stepped into everyone's sight.

The beast looked like a mammoth mixed with a violent bear, with a blade-like horn atop its head. It radiated a savage, primordial aura—it was an Armored Mad Rock Bear, a rare soul beast even within the Star Dou Great Forest, exceptional in both strength and defense.

Dark-gold patterns gleamed across its bone armor. Its cultivation was roughly twenty-eight hundred years, making it a tough opponent close to a Soul Elder's absorption limit.

"Damn, a Mad Rock Bear over two thousand years old? That shell of yours is so hard that even ordinary Soul Ancestors can't cut through it with swords."

Gu Rong folded his arms and grinned, raising one of his withered hands halfway.

"Ze'er, want Grandpa Gu to handle it for you? I'll slap it half to death, and you can go finish it off. That way, you won't dirty your white clothes."

For an ordinary soul master, having a Titled Douluo willing to do the work for them would have been cause for celebration.

But Ning Ze simply smiled and shook his head.

"Grandpa Gu, there's no need. You can't raise a strong man in a greenhouse. It's rare to find such a sturdy punching bag. I want to test my recent progress and gain some real combat experience while I'm at it!"

"Good lad! You've got guts! Just like I was when I was young!"

Gu Rong stepped back half a pace and laughed loudly. "Fine! Go all out! I'll keep watch from the side. I guarantee this beast won't make any waves!"

"Thank you, Grandpa Gu."

Before his words had even faded, Ning Ze's expression sank, and his entire body tensed like a drawn bow.

"Buzz!"

His second deep-purple thousand-year soul ring lit up. A pink-gold halo poured down over him, flooding his limbs and bones.

"Second Soul Skill—Cupid's Blessing: Raging Tide!"

With divine power upon him, waves of force erupted around him, sweeping the gravel on the ground backward.

Sensing pressure far beyond its expectations, the Mad Rock Bear showed fear in its crimson beast eyes for the first time and immediately turned to flee.

Ning Ze gave it no chance.

"Boom!"

The ground collapsed into a spiderweb-shaped crater.

A streak of pink-gold light flashed, and when he reappeared, he was already directly before the Mad Rock Bear's forehead.

Ning Ze was unimaginably fast—so fast that even his afterimages lagged behind.

"Take this, punching bag!"

Ning Ze did not bother with fancy moves. Punch after punch flew out, each one wrapped in Armor-Breaking Divine Power.

"Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!"

It sounded like a war drum.

The dark-gold bone armor that even Soul Ancestors could not cut through was as brittle as crackers beneath those fists.

The sharp cracks of shattering bones rang out in rapid succession.

The Mad Rock Bear did not even get to swing a paw before its breastbone and skull shattered. Its enormous body flew backward and collapsed limply into the pit like mud, blood spilling from its mouth as it was left barely breathing.

"Gasp... That physical explosive power is absurd, isn't it?"

Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful eyes widened as she sucked in a cold breath.

She was a speed-attack soul master herself, but the sudden change of direction and explosive burst just now surpassed her by more than eight streets.

For a moment, she suspected Ning Ze had taken the wrong script—wasn't he the real assassin?

Xiao Wu's rabbit ears trembled as she clenched her fists. "Brother Ning Ze's strength... is even more domineering than the Titan Giant Ape in the forest!"

Ning Ze withdrew his fist and flicked his sleeve.

He had no intention of torturing it for fun. With a flick of his finger, his first thousand-year soul ring lit up.

"First Soul Skill—Arrow of Love: Sky-Piercing!"

"Pfft!"

A pink-gold divine arrow pierced through its heart.

The Mad Rock Bear twitched twice, then stopped moving.

A moment later, a deep-purple soul ring rose from the bear's corpse. Its color was exceptionally rich as it hovered in midair.

Ning Ze sat cross-legged and began drawing in the soul ring.

The power of the God of Love was like a whale drawing in water, crushing that violent energy, swallowing it, and refining it...

More than an hour later.

"Boom!"

A clear, ethereal chime rang out.

The accumulated Soul Power burst through like a breached dam. The level thirty barrier shattered, and his aura steadily rose to level thirty-three.

Beneath his feet, three deep-purple thousand-year soul rings revolved and shone. His old configuration of one yellow and two purple rings was now a thing of the past.

The first of its kind on the entire continent—an All-Purple Three-Ring Soul Elder.

"Ning Ze! You succeeded!"

Ning Rongrong was the first to rush over. Tilting up her little face, she said, "Quick, quick, quick! What's your third Soul Skill? Let this young lady see it!"

Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu gathered around as well, their eyes shining.

Even Gu Rong, leaning against a tree trunk, stretched his neck forward.

Three pairs of eyes and one Titled Douluo were all staring at him.

Ning Ze smiled.

"Then you'd better be careful... Third Soul Skill—Cupid's Sigh!"

"Buzz—!"

The soul ring he had just absorbed, one more than two thousand years old, burst with pink-purple light.

With his feet as the center, the air within a twenty-meter radius twisted all at once.

Pink mist surged up from the ground, carrying a sweet fragrance so thick it seemed almost tangible.

As the mist descended, the surroundings instantly fell silent.

The moment Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong touched the mist, all three pairs of eyes lost focus, and they stood stiffly in place.

Within the mist, the figure each of them could never let go of appeared clearly in the depths of their hearts...

But the most dramatic reaction did not come from the three girls.

It came from Gu Rong at the edge of the area.

"Hm?! This mental fluctuation is..."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man's pupils unfocused.

He froze where he stood, as though he had seen something from a very, very long time ago.

"Break!"

Level ninety-five mental power exploded outward. Gu Rong shuddered and forcibly broke free.

Covered in cold sweat, he looked at Ning Ze differently.

"A mental-domain Soul Skill?! Heavens! Ze'er, this is actually an area-wide mental control skill that ignores defenses?!"

The old man's chest heaved, and his voice trembled.

"I am a dignified level ninety-five Titled Douluo! Yet I actually lost focus within the domain of your Soul Skill!"

This was simply unreasonable.

A newly advanced Soul Elder could make a Titled Douluo lose focus with his third Soul Skill—during a life-and-death battle, that instant alone could likely cost an opponent their life!

"Ze'er, what exactly do people see after entering your domain?" Gu Rong asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Ning Ze touched his nose and gave a light cough.

"Ahem... This skill is called Cupid's Sigh. It creates a mental illusion."

"Those inside will see the person they... miss and love most in their hearts. Then all their fighting spirit and vigilance disappear, and they become immersed in it, unwilling to come out."

"The person they love most?"

Gu Rong froze for a moment, then his skeletal old face split into a wide grin as he pointed beside them.

"Hahaha! Then take a look, boy—Rongrong and the other two are very satisfied with your divine skill!"

Ning Ze turned to look.

The sight nearly made him cough up blood.

Within the pink mist, the three pretty faces were red enough to drip blood, their breathing rapid and shallow.

Even more fatal were their movements—

Ning Rongrong pouted, tightly hugging empty air with both arms as she murmured coquettishly in a dreamlike voice, "Ning Ze... hold me tight... you're not allowed to touch other women..."

A large flush burned across Zhu Zhuqing's usually icy face. Her legs were pressed tightly together, one hand gripping the clothing over her chest as she bit her lower lip and indistinctly whispered someone's name.

Xiao Wu was even more direct. She lunged forward, her rabbit ears drooping limply. It was as though she had grabbed hold of something, her burning little face nuzzling through the air.

"Ning... Brother... your embrace is so warm... kiss me..."

"Ahem, ahem, ahem! Disperse!"

If he did not stop it now, something was going to happen.

Ning Ze hurriedly waved away his martial soul, gathering the pink mist across the area back into his body in one sweep.