The Earth Dragon Turns Over?

The Star Dou Great Forest was the largest gathering place for Soul Beasts on the entire Douluo Continent. Countless Soul Beasts lived there, and every Soul Master was familiar with it, but it was also the burial ground of countless Soul Masters.

For many people who saw a business opportunity, however, it was also a good place to make money. They sold all kinds of supplies there or offered lodging to the Soul Masters who came.

Gradually, towns and villages sprang up one after another outside the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lin Qingchen bought some supplies in a town, then went straight through it and entered the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lin Qingchen already had some ideas for his third Soul Skill.

Although all his Soul Rings so far had been produced through fusion, he only needed to choose a target he liked as the base. That way, he could make the resulting Soul Skill lean toward the abilities of the Soul Beast used as the base.

For his First Soul Ring, for example, he had chosen the Soul Ring of a Vajra White Tiger as the base. The Vajra White Tiger's most famous ability was called Vajra Transformation, which could greatly amplify its own attributes. Apparently, Dai Mubai's family had all chosen the Vajra White Tiger for their third Soul Skill as well, which was why every one of them had the White Tiger Vajra Transformation. Lin Qingchen, meanwhile, had obtained a Soul Skill called Five Elements Divine Body, which also amplified all his attributes.

As for his second Soul Skill, that went without saying. Wasn't it perfectly normal for a Soul Ring skill produced using the Thunderclap Nether Vine as its base to be Five Elements Divine Lightning?

So his third Soul Skill needed careful consideration. He already had an amplification Soul Skill and an attack Soul Skill, and he could rely on his Great Five Elements Escape for movement. That left him needing either a defensive Soul Skill or another amplification-type Soul Skill.

Of course, the best choice would be something like Dai Mubai's White Tiger Protection Barrier. It provided defense and an attribute boost to boot, which would be ideal.

No wonder the Evil Eye White Tiger had been passed down for so long. Its research into the choice of Soul Skills for the first few Soul Rings alone was far superior to that of ordinary Soul Masters, who stumbled upon them like blind cats running into dead mice.

To achieve the effect Lin Qingchen wanted, the best choice would be something like a water-attribute Black Tortoise. It happened to be famous for its defense and could also maintain the balance of the five elements.

It was easy enough to think about, but actually finding one was another matter.

The Star Dou Great Forest was vast, and finding a suitable Soul Beast really came down to luck.

So Lin Qingchen headed deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest, observing his surroundings and looking for traces left by Soul Beasts that might suit him.

Before he knew it, though, he had been walking for the better part of half a day without finding a Soul Beast that met his requirements. The strongest he had encountered was still a hundred-year Wind Baboon.

It had originally wanted to bare its teeth and hiss at him, but Lin Qingchen released a small bolt of divine lightning, scaring it into fleeing with its half-eaten food clutched in its arms.

He wasn't in a hurry, though. He had plenty of time, and even if it took longer, that was better than picking a Soul Ring at random and wasting his talent.

Seeing that it was getting late, he found a relatively dry spot, scattered some insect and snake repellent, and prepared to make camp.

But just as he took out his tent, a violent tremor interrupted him.

"Huh? Such a huge commotion. Could it be an earthquake?"

"No, that's not right..."

Lin Qingchen suddenly looked deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest. He sensed that the power of the earth element over there had abruptly become active.

People said an earthquake was an earth dragon turning over, but in a fantasy world like this, might there really be a dragon rolling around underground when an earthquake struck?

After weighing it over in his mind, Lin Qingchen immediately put away his tent and prepared to go see what was happening.

He had the Great Five Elements Escape, after all, and could run far faster than ordinary people. Even if that failed, he still had the Environment-Changing Leaf to save his life, so he didn't need to worry about dying.

But if he missed a Soul Ring that suited him because he was too timid to act, that would be a huge loss.

Alternating between Earth Element Great Escape and Great Wood Element Escape, Lin Qingchen sped through the forest.

From far away, though, he could already sense the commotion of a battle coming from that direction.

Not only that, he could also sense that the fire element in the air had suddenly turned violent.

"Is another Soul Beast or a Soul Master fighting this Soul Beast?"

Lin Qingchen thought it over and decided to go take a look. What if two Soul Beasts had fought until both were badly injured, giving him a chance to pick up a bargain?

"Roar-"

Suddenly, a mournful dragon's roar rang out, and a huge figure came crashing into Lin Qingchen's view.

Lin Qingchen's heart tightened. He hurriedly activated Earth Element Great Escape and fled to the side.

Only after he had put some distance between them did he get a clear look at the Soul Beast's full appearance.

"This is... a Rift Ruins Earth Dragon?"

Lin Qingchen instantly recognized what kind of Soul Beast it was.

Although it was called an earth dragon, it actually resembled an earthworm more closely. It had no limbs, and its long, cylindrical body had distinct segments.

Its body, however, was not covered in smooth skin, but in a rough, hard shell of rock, its segments interlocked, giving it a heavy appearance.

Now, the gaps in its dark brown shell were packed with wet mud and gravel. It had clearly just burrowed out of the ground.

Its head had no distinct features, only a giant mouth full of fine, sharp teeth and two tiny, highly degenerated black dots that served as its eyes.

Of course, ugly as it was, it really was a type of earth dragon, and its strength far surpassed that of ordinary Soul Beasts.

Looking at its enormous body, more than thirty meters long, there was no doubt that this was a thirty-thousand-year Rift Ruins Earth Dragon.

The Soul Master World, however, had encountered relatively few of these Soul Beasts, and their habits had yet to be fully understood.

What was known was that Rift Ruins Earth Dragons lived underground, but their powerful senses allowed them to detect creatures aboveground. Once the time was right, they would burst out of the earth and launch a surprise attack on their chosen prey.

Because their bodies were so enormous and they moved so quickly, they often produced an effect similar to an earth dragon turning over-in other words, an earthquake.

But before Lin Qingchen could react, a man wreathed in flames descended from the sky and smashed a fist into the Rift Ruins Earth Dragon's head.

"Aowr-"

The punch slammed the Rift Ruins Earth Dragon into the ground, and it cried out in pain.

The man was about to follow up his attack when he caught sight of Lin Qingchen off to the side.

"Huh? Why is there someone else here?"

He gritted his teeth and immediately shouted at Lin Qingchen, "Hey, it's dangerous here! Hurry up and get out of here!"

Then he shouted to several people following far behind him, "Tian Heng, Yanzi, you lot keep an eye on this person."

Huh?

Hearing the names the man had called, Lin Qingchen frowned.

Could they be Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan?

Then could this man be Qin Ming?

What a coincidence...