Obtaining a Soul Ring

"You've learned how to meditate. I'll take you to obtain a Soul Ring now." As Tang Chen chewed on some dried meat, Tang Yue grabbed him, soared into the air, and flew toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

After an arduous journey, Tang Chen and his father finally reached a vast primeval forest that stretched beyond sight.

The Star Dou Great Forest!

The Star Dou Great Forest was an endless sea of trees spanning the space between two great empires. From afar, dark green hills and woods rolled all the way to the horizon, with clouds and mist perpetually coiling around the treetops. The forest's end was nowhere in sight.

Rumor held that powerful Soul Beasts roamed throughout the Star Dou Great Forest. Countless Soul Masters had entered seeking Soul Rings, only to never emerge again.

As ordinary Soul Masters understood it, the outskirts were still relatively safe, offering lower-level Soul Masters ample opportunity to find a Soul Ring. Venture even a little farther in, however, and whether one lived or died was anyone's guess.

No one knew what lurked deep within the forest. Only terrifying tales circulated of monstrous beasts entrenched in its depths, beasts said to rival Titled Douluo.

As the earth-attributed Soul Power in the air grew denser, an inexplicable pressure bore down on them.

"This is the place," Tang Yue said.

"This is where Ironback Bears gather," Tang Yue explained to Tang Chen. "Disciples of our sect usually get their First Soul Ring from either an Ironback Bear or an Ironclad Rhinoceros. Both can typically grant a Clear Sky Hammer Soul Master the Soul Skill Clear Sky Body Protection." With that, Tang Yue charged toward the Ironback Bears' gathering place.

After searching the area, Tang Yue shook his head. "None are suitable for you. They're either too young or too old. Let's keep looking."

He then took Tang Chen deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.

And so Tang Yue led Tang Chen through the forest for three days. They encountered the occasional Soul Beast, but each was either the wrong kind or only a few decades old.

Tang Chen's impatience grew increasingly obvious. But Soul Hunting was always like this. A suitable Soul Beast was hard enough to find; finding one of both the right species and the right age was harder still.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, however, their luck changed.

Exhausted after searching all morning, Tang Chen took three pieces of dried meat from his Storage Ring and devoured them in a few bites. Then he sat cross-legged to recover his strength.

Before long, Tang Chen had mostly recovered. Just as he was about to head in another direction, a heavy, ferocious beastly pressure suddenly descended from the dense forest ahead.

The ground trembled faintly. A low growl pierced the thin mist, brimming with aggression.

A fierce gust blew the mist apart, and a massive beast emerged slowly from the trees.

It was a Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff!

Far larger and more imposing than an ordinary mastiff, it stood nearly two meters at the shoulder. Every muscle in its body was taut and knotted, without an ounce of excess flesh, radiating sheer power.

Short, bright-gold fur covered its body like forged molten gold. It gleamed beneath the morning light filtering through the trees, each hair stiff and sharp with a chilling metallic sheen.

Its head looked neither quite like a lion's nor quite like a mastiff's. A pale-gold diamond-shaped plate of bone rose from its brow, thick and hard—its strongest defense. White, pointed fangs jutted from its broad jaws, glinting coldly. Its dark amber slit pupils fixed on the humans before it, cold and savage. Its limbs were thick as pillars, its paws broad and heavy. Each step crushed dead branches beneath the fallen leaves, steady and menacing.

Unlike ordinary Soul Beasts, which panicked and cowered before a Titled Douluo, this five-hundred-year-old Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff remained steady and vicious. A faint golden halo of Soul Power lingered around it, as though it meant to pick a fight with a Titled Douluo.

Tang Chen studied the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff carefully. "Hmm. About two meters long, bright-gold fur... roughly four to five hundred years old."

"Father, this is the Soul Beast I want," Tang Chen told Tang Yue. "It looks about four to five hundred years old—just right for me."

"All right." Tang Yue shaped his Soul Power into a hand and reached for the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff.

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff saw that Tang Yue was a Titled Douluo, but instead of fleeing, it met his attack head-on. It squeezed every last drop of Soul Power from its body. Its golden fur stood on end, its muscles bulged, and its enormous paw slammed toward Tang Yue, laden with crushing golden power.

Boom!

A deafening blast erupted, scattering golden shockwaves in every direction.

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff actually shattered the giant hand of Soul Power with one swipe. Its momentum barely slowed as it continued its attack on Tang Yue.

"Well, now. That's interesting." Tang Yue's interest in the beast was suddenly piqued.

Tang Yue summoned his Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer. "Clear Sky Nine Absolutes: Sealing Art!"

He swung the Clear Sky Hammer, releasing a compact, weighty wave of force.

The instant the hammer's wind swept across the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, domineering Soul Power invaded its body and sealed away all the Soul Power within it.

A ten-thousand-year-old Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff was said to rival Xiong Jun, a four-hundred-thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, in strength! At just ten thousand years old, one could even come close to defeating Tang Wulin, who was Level 90, possessed the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, and wielded the divine Golden Dragon Spear.

But a century-old Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff had yet to awaken its Domination Domain. To Tang Yue, this one was still nothing worth mentioning.

Tang Yue's attack had left the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff gravely wounded, with only a breath of life remaining.

"Whew. This Soul Beast is pretty formidable." Tang Yue looked at Tang Chen. "Are you sure it's only four or five hundred years old?"

Tang Chen nodded. "That's right. This Soul Beast is called a Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff. It's one of the finest Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent. In sheer attacking power, even a five-hundred-year-old one surpasses a ten-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Ape."

"All right, enough. Hurry up and absorb it." Tang Yue promptly cut off Tang Chen's lecture.

"Okay." Tang Chen went to absorb the Soul Ring.

Tang Chen stepped up to the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff and summoned his Clear Sky Hammer. He struck with all his might. Blood poured from the beast's seven orifices, and its body shuddered, its breath thin as a thread. It was clearly on the verge of death.

Without another word, Tang Chen swung the Clear Sky Hammer again. A yellow Soul Ring soon appeared above the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's corpse.

Tang Chen sat down cross-legged and began absorbing the Soul Ring.

Time ticked by. Nearly three hours later, Tang Chen finally finished absorbing the Soul Ring.

"Chen'er..." Before Tang Yue could finish speaking, Tang Chen suddenly clutched his right hand and screamed.

At the same time, a burning sting spread across the back of his hand, and a hard piece of bone slowly grew out from beneath his skin.

It was the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's Right Claw Bone. A sharp golden bone blade took shape bit by bit, faint beast markings etched across its surface.

"An External Soul Bone!" Tang Yue's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.