The Third Soul Ring

"Ahem, ahem, ahem." Tang Xuan started coughing again.

"Tang Trickster, are you all right?" Lin Ao and the other two hurried to Tang Xuan's side and asked anxiously.

When they had watched the Great Strength Vajra Monkey send Tang Xuan flying, their minds had gone blank for an instant. They had not even dared imagine what might happen to him.

Now that they saw he was all right, however, all three breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Ao slapped Tang Xuan on the head.

"You've really got some nerve, brat, using such a ruthless tactic-trading injury for injury-to win."

"What choice did I have? How else could I have killed the Great Strength Vajra Monkey?" Tang Xuan scratched his head nonchalantly.

"Weren't the three of us here? Do you think we're just sitting around eating rice for nothing-two Soul Douluos and a Quasi-Titled Douluo? Couldn't the three of us take down a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"

"You should avoid taking risks like that!"

"If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get its cubs?" Tang Xuan said calmly.

"The three of you can't stay by my side forever, and I can't keep relying on you forever either. Only your own strength is true strength. No matter how powerful an outside force is, it's still an outside force. It will never be your own power. Only when your own strength grows can you truly rely on it." With that, Tang Xuan walked straight toward the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's corpse.

A black Soul Ring had already emerged above the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's corpse, pulsing quietly.

Looking at the black Soul Ring before him, Tang Xuan murmured, "My first Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. Come on!" He sat cross-legged, drew the Soul Ring toward himself, and began absorbing it.

Lin Ao and the other two exchanged glances and fell silent. Tang Xuan's words echoed in all their minds: only your own strength was true strength.

"Little Xuan is not only extraordinarily gifted, but remarkably mature and seasoned in temperament as well. In all my decades of life, I've never seen a boy with such talent. Given time, he is certain to achieve greatness."

"Indeed." Becoming a Soul Elder at eleven was simply unheard of. Add to that his understanding-defying Soul Ring Configuration, with rings far beyond the usual age limits, and his combat strength that surpassed others at his level-who could deny that Tang Xuan was a genius? He was nothing short of a monster!

"We made the right choice. The Heaven Sect's future will surely be glorious. One day, it will stand proudly at the pinnacle of the continent's powers."

"Yes! And we'll be witnesses to it all. Hahaha!" Lin Ao laughed, stroking his beard.

There was a fundamental difference between a Thousand-Year Soul Ring and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. Thousand-year Soul Beasts had yet to awaken their intelligence and could only act on their innate instincts. Once a Soul Beast crossed the ten-thousand-year threshold, however, it developed intelligence, possessing wisdom and thought much like a human. Thus, the Soul Rings produced by Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were far beyond those of thousand-year Soul Beasts.

Although a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring was powerful, Tang Xuan had prepared thoroughly for it. He had already been capable of breaking through to level thirty at ten years old. Because he had kept suppressing the growth of his Soul Power to temper his body, he had only broken through to level thirty at eleven. But that was only one reason. The other was that he wanted to let his body grow a little more naturally, giving him another advantage when absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Within Tang Xuan's sea of consciousness, the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's soul was launching ferocious assaults against him, as though it had never died and their earlier battle had merely shifted to this new arena.

Even as a soul, the Great Strength Vajra Monkey could not speak human language, but Tang Xuan understood that it refused to accept its death and had left behind deep resentment. Yet the Godslayer Sword had already devoured almost all its power. Its soul was nearly transparent, and the assault of its resentment against Tang Xuan was now like child's play.

Hmph! Even dead, you still won't behave! Just be a good monkey and become my Soul Ring!

"Slash!" Within his sea of consciousness, Tang Xuan formed his spiritual awareness into a sword and instantly annihilated the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's soul. The Soul Ring's power began to settle, flowing slowly into his body.

Time passed quickly, and two hours slipped by just like that. Tang Xuan successfully absorbed the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and the pitch-black ring settled firmly around him.

"Level thirty-three! A twenty-thousand-year Soul Ring really is powerful. It pushed my Soul Power straight to level thirty-three." As soon as he finished absorbing the ring, Tang Xuan was astonished to discover that his Soul Power had jumped two levels in succession, reaching level thirty-three. After he had compressed his Soul Power, its quality had become extremely high. Although this allowed him to surpass others at the same level, it also made advancing extremely difficult. To rise a single level, he needed to accumulate several times, or even more than ten times, as much as anyone else. Gaining two levels at once genuinely surprised him.

Not only had his Soul Power given him a pleasant surprise, but his Soul Skill also left him very satisfied. Just as he had hoped, the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's Soul Ring had provided a Soul Skill that enhanced his attack, speed, and defense across the board.

The Godslayer Sword hovered in the air, and three Soul Rings-two purple and one black-circled Tang Xuan. With a Soul Ring Configuration like this, he was unquestionably the first on the continent.

"Well, Little Xuan? Did you get the Soul Skill you wanted?"

"Yes, I got exactly what I hoped for." Tang Xuan was in high spirits now, and happiness colored his voice.

"My Soul Ring is taken care of. Next, it's time to deal with Old Man Lin's big matter."

"Old Man Lin, have you decided what kind of Soul Beast you need?"

"My Martial Soul is the Earth-Splitting Spear, and I follow the power attack system path. I think I should choose a strength-type Soul Beast for my ninth Soul Ring."

"But whatever Soul Beast we choose, it must be at least seventy-five thousand years old," Tang Xuan said.

"As long as it's no more than ninety thousand years old, the three of us shouldn't have much trouble if we attack together." Lin Ao, Song Ming, and Su Qing were all stronger than ordinary Soul Douluos. Working together, they might even defeat a Titled Douluo below level ninety-five.

"Everyone, take cover! It seems a powerful presence is approaching us!" Tang Xuan's expression suddenly changed.