Stat monsters were nothing before mechanics monsters!

[As expected of a bunch of mortals, always making a fuss over nothing!]

[Even if this soul skill were a hundred or a thousand times stronger, it would still be nothing special in the eyes of This Seat.]

[Stat monsters are nothing before mechanics monsters!]

[The first soul skill of This Seat's other martial soul can freeze a target in time for nine seconds!]

[Even after ascending to godhood, it will remain endlessly useful!]

The corner of Ning Wen's mouth twitched. The joy that had just welled up in him was instantly extinguished.

Yes, yes, yes!

Just keep bragging!

Your first soul skill can freeze a target in time for nine seconds.

That effect even surpasses the first form of the Seagod's Golden Thirteen Halberds.

That was the Divine Realm's universally acknowledged strongest divine control skill—Unfixed Storm!

Unfixed Storm merely disrupted space and time to restrain an opponent, immobilizing those who had not become gods for eight seconds.

Against a god-level opponent, it could only restrict their movements for at least three seconds.

But yours actually stops time!

From the sound of it, you can lock anyone down for nine seconds, whether they're mortal enemies or god-level powerhouses.

That's ridiculous!

Why don't you just fly up to heaven while you're at it!

Do you really think I've never read Douluo Continent?

For soul masters who attained godhood on the Douluo Continent, their martial souls were practically decorations, never mind their soul skills.

Even Poseidon, who conquered the oceans and gathered the power of faith to form the Sea God godhood, created his own divine skills, the Golden Thirteen Halberds.

Tang San needed even less explanation. After becoming a god, he used the power of the Sea God or the Asura God in almost every battle.

Ning Fengzhi's breath caught slightly.

A nine-second time freeze!

What did that mean?

A battlefield changed in an instant. Even a single second of immobilization was enough to turn the tide.

An unusual look flashed across Chen Xin's face.

In all his years roaming the continent, he had seen countless powerful control soul skills, but this was the first he had heard of one that could lock an enemy down for nine seconds.

And this was only the first soul skill.

How terrifying the remaining eight would be was easy to imagine.

If that was true, he thought he was beginning to understand why Ning Wen would be able to create his own godhood in the future.

Gu Rong swallowed involuntarily.

Naturally, he knew Ning Wen had twin martial souls.

But he had never imagined that the boy's other martial soul would be even more terrifying.

"Yes, your soul skill is indeed very powerful. Next, we should find your second soul ring."

Ning Fengzhi forcibly suppressed the turbulent emotions surging within him and slowly stepped forward, keeping his tone as normal as possible.

"Uncle Ning, I want to absorb a thousand-year ring for my second soul ring," Ning Wen said bluntly.

"All right." Ning Fengzhi nodded without the slightest hesitation.

That left Ning Wen at a loss.

This was a thousand-year soul ring!

Normally, a soul master had to reach Soul Elder before they could absorb one.

He had already prepared to persuade Ning Fengzhi and the others.

All that preparation had been for nothing.

The four lingered no longer, turning to head deeper into the Great Star Dou Forest.

The wind rustled through the trees, and fallen leaves crunched softly beneath their feet.

The journey was utterly quiet, apart from the voice pack's occasional chatter.

As before, Chen Xin released his spiritual power to search for a suitable soul beast for Ning Wen.

[What a hassle!]

[In my previous life, This Seat only needed to curl a finger, and my fourth wife would find a suitable soul beast, then make it obediently sacrifice itself to This Seat!]

[Now I have to enter the Great Star Dou Forest myself. How beneath me!]

Ning Wen remained expressionless, already numb inside.

Great, here we go again.

Does this voice pack get uncomfortable if it goes a day without showing off?

Just then—

Chen Xin stopped abruptly!

His eyes, usually as impassive as a cold blade, suddenly flashed with intense shock and uncertainty. He exclaimed under his breath in disbelief, "A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear!"

"Why would such a powerful soul beast appear on the outskirts of the Great Star Dou Forest?"

He raised his eyes and stared into the dark depths of the forest ahead, his brows tightly furrowed in bewilderment.

A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear!

One of the most elite soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest, known as the Earth Ripper. Its body was incredibly powerful, its claws devastating, and its nature savage!

"Who cares why?"

Ning Fengzhi's eyes immediately lit up. "A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear would suit Little Wen perfectly."

Without further hesitation, the four hurried deeper into the forest.

The woodland ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a vast clearing of exposed rock.

At its center stood an enormous beast, savage and imposing.

It was a giant bear covered in dark golden fur, standing over three meters tall.

Most terrifying of all were the incomparably sharp dark golden claws at the ends of its arms. The claws alone were over a meter long.

[Oh? A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear?]

[Barely worthy of a glance!]

[A Behemoth would be better!]

[Still, something is better than nothing!]

Ning Wen rolled his eyes.

Seriously? Now you're turning your nose up at it.

This was a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.

And to hear you tell it, it was barely passable?

A Behemoth, no less!

Those monsters fed on members of the Dragon Race, and fully grown ones rivaled the divine officials of the Divine Realm.

"It's close to two thousand years old."

Chen Xin's gaze sharpened slightly. He carefully swept his spiritual power over the giant bear's entire body before speaking.

Close to two thousand years!

At those words, silence instantly fell.

Even Ning Wen was momentarily taken aback.

He had only intended to find a soul beast a little over a thousand years old.

He had never expected to run straight into a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear nearly two thousand years old.

[Nearly two thousand years? That's far too young!]

[It doesn't suit This Seat's status at all.]

[Fine. It's still better than that little tiger earlier. This Seat will reluctantly accept it.]

Ning Wen: "..."

Ning Fengzhi: "..."

Chen Xin: "..."

Gu Rong: "..."

Seriously, what a show-off.

"Uncle Sword, do it."

Ning Fengzhi had already given up on asking Ning Wen's opinion and spoke directly to Chen Xin.

Chen Xin nodded and charged straight toward the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.

Although this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was only two thousand years old, soul beasts of its species possessed unimaginable fighting strength, enough to rival ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's massive body suddenly tensed!

Its savage eyes fixed on Chen Xin as instinctive terror swept through its body.

It could clearly sense just how terrifying the human before it was!

But the ferocity of a born ruler among beasts kept it from simply prostrating itself in submission.

A deep, thunderous roar erupted, shaking the forest!

Its dark golden claws raked viciously across the ground, sending shattered stones flying and splitting the earth!

"So this is a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear?"

Chen Xin murmured, "Terrifying indeed. If it reached a hundred thousand years, even I would probably have to keep my distance for the time being."

He lifted his fingertips slightly.

A faint trace of sword pressure quietly descended.

Hum—

The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, which had been radiating ferocity a moment earlier, instantly froze.

Its limbs buckled, and it crashed to its knees with a thunderous boom!

Its muscles spasmed wildly, and its sharp dark golden claws dug deep into the ground, yet it could not even muster the strength to lift its head.