Obtaining the Second Soul Ring

Before he knew it, Tang Chen had practiced the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer ten times.

Tang Chen gradually emerged from his sudden enlightenment.

He found that he could now execute seventy-two strikes of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, and the Soul Power within him had grown stronger.

Tang Chen realized that he had entered a state of sudden enlightenment.

By then, he was ravenous.

The energy in his body had long since run dry.

Tang Chen hurriedly opened his Storage Ring, pulled out a handful of dried meat, and began wolfing it down to replenish his strength.

Only after eating more than fifty pounds of dried meat did his strength return.

Once his strength had recovered, Tang Chen did not wait until tomorrow. He put the last piece of Whale Rubber into the furnace.

He was going to consume the final piece now.

After Tang Chen consumed the last piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, his physique improved further, though it was not the complete transformation he had experienced the first time.

Having consumed all the Whale Rubber, Tang Chen clenched his fist.

With my current physique, a Soul Beast eight or nine thousand years old should be no problem for my Second Soul Ring. I wonder how far my cultivation will rise once I obtain it?

Forget it. No point thinking about it.

Tang Chen could not guess how far he would advance, so he simply went back to training.

After ten days of training, Tang Chen had grown accustomed to his surging strength and could execute all eighty-one strikes of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.

His physique had also surpassed that of a Power Attack System Soul King.

Yang Wu had reached level ten as well and could now obtain a Soul Ring.

Tang Xing therefore planned to take Tang Chen and Yang Wu to the Star Dou Great Forest early the next morning to obtain the Second and First Soul Rings they needed.

At dawn the next day, Yang Wu arrived early and waited outside Tang Xing's door.

Tang Xing came out soon after. Seeing that Yang Wu was already there, he nodded in approval.

He then took Yang Wu to Tang Chen's quarters and hauled Tang Chen out of bed, regardless of whether he was still asleep.

Tang Xing enveloped Tang Chen and Yang Wu in Soul Power and flew them to the Star Dou Great Forest.

About half a day later, Tang Xing brought them to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

It was Yang Wu's first visit, and everything around him filled him with curiosity.

Tang Chen had already been there once and was less impressed.

Tang Xing said, "Chen'er, let's find the Soul Beast Yang Wu needs here on the outskirts first. Once he has his Soul Ring, we'll head deeper in together."

With that, he led Yang Wu through the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest in search of one.

For the next two days, all they encountered were Soft Bone Rabbits and Blue Silver Grass.

They did not come across a single suitable Soul Beast.

It was not until the third day that they encountered a 350-year-old Golden-Toothed Saber-Toothed Tiger.

After Yang Wu confirmed it was the one he wanted, Tang Xing captured the Golden-Toothed Saber-Toothed Tiger and handed it over to him.

Yang Wu summoned his Martial Soul, the Soul Breaking Spear, and gave the tiger a swift death.

As the Golden-Toothed Saber-Toothed Tiger died, a pale yellow Soul Ring appeared above its corpse.

Yang Wu sat cross-legged and drew the Soul Ring toward his Soul Breaking Spear.

After two hours of absorption, Yang Wu successfully obtained his First Soul Ring.

He had gained a fairly good Soul Skill.

Yang Wu then demonstrated his First Soul Skill to Tang Xing and Tang Chen.

"First Soul Skill: Pierce!" Yang Wu thrust his spear at the dead Golden-Toothed Saber-Toothed Tiger.

The spear punched straight through it with ease.

Yang Wu put away his Martial Soul and explained to them.

"My First Soul Skill is an enhancement skill. It increases my Martial Soul's armor penetration by twenty percent and its toughness by twenty percent."

Tang Xing nodded. "That's an excellent Soul Skill. Its effects are no worse than those of a Second Soul Skill of the same type."

Looking a little embarrassed, Yang Wu scratched his head.

"It's only thanks to the First Elder's help that I obtained such a good Soul Skill."

Hearing Yang Wu's praise, Tang Xing waved a hand. "You earned it."

With Yang Wu's Soul Ring secured, Tang Xing led the two deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain Tang Chen's Second Soul Ring.

The forest grew denser as the three pressed on, chatting as they walked.

Tang Xing asked Tang Chen, "Chen'er, what kind of Soul Beast do you want for your Second Soul Ring, and how old?"

Tang Chen said, "Eight or nine thousand years old will do. Anything under ten thousand is fine. As for the type, I still want a strength-based one. The higher its quality, the better."

Tang Xing nodded. "Eight or nine hundred years old..."

Then he caught himself. "Eight or nine thousand years? Chen'er, have you gone mad?"

Tang Xing's alarm was understandable. In the history of Douluo Continent, no one had ever obtained a thousand-year Soul Ring as their Second Soul Ring, let alone one eight or nine thousand years old. (Gods and divine trials did not count.)

Tang Chen explained, "Below ten thousand years, the age limit for absorbing a Soul Ring depends entirely on physical strength. I found something that can raise that limit: Whale Rubber."

"I've already taken it. My physique has long surpassed that of a Power Attack System Soul King. Even an ordinary Soul Emperor can't match me."

Tang Xing remained uneasy after hearing this, so he examined Tang Chen with his Soul Power.

He found that Tang Chen's body had indeed reached the strength of a Soul Emperor, just as he had claimed.

Seeing Tang Chen's formidable physique and recalling his peerless talent, Tang Xing could not help but sigh. "Chen'er truly is without equal."

After another half day of travel, the three reached the central region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"This is the territory of the Eight-Armed Demon Ape, a top-tier strength-based Soul Beast. It's also an excellent match for Power Attack System Martial Souls like the Clear Sky Hammer."

Tang Xing explained this to the two of them.

"Eight-Armed Demon Apes usually live in dense forests. They're violent and combative, with naturally powerful bodies. They aren't adept at Soul Power techniques; all their fighting strength lies in their bodies and arms."

"You can judge an Eight-Armed Demon Ape's age mainly by its arms. Before a thousand years, it has only two. At a thousand years, it grows four; at ten thousand, eight. Only after a hundred thousand years can it reach eight."

As he spoke, Tang Xing led them to the Eight-Armed Demon Apes' habitat.

Seven or eight Demon Apes were there. Coarse, stiff fur covered their bodies, black with a dark red sheen. Their muscles bulged in knotted cords, fangs jutted from their ape-like faces, and their eyes glowed red.

Three had four arms and four had two. One even had six arms and had reached forty thousand years of age.

Tang Xing studied them and confirmed that one was more than nine thousand years old.

He said to the other two, "Stay here. I'll be right back."

With that, Tang Xing flew toward the Eight-Armed Demon Apes.

Tang Xing summoned the Clear Sky Hammer and unleashed his Fourth Soul Skill.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Gravity Mire!"