Chapter 42: The Fourth Soul Ring

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Li Luochen summoned his Coiling Dragon Staff, its deep purple body adorned with black metal rings at both ends.

"Second Soul Skill: Blazing Fire Explosion Strike!"

Li Luochen unleashed his full strength, smashing the staff down onto the Tyrant Dragon's head.

Black venomous blood, red dragon blood, and yellowish-white brain matter splattered everywhere. Unfortunately, the Tyrant Dragon couldn't even manage a final roar.

A black soul ring emerged, signaling the death of the Tyrant Dragon—the mighty king of sub-dragon species had met an undignified end.

Huff—Li Luochen took a deep breath and placed a Soul-Stabilizing Pill in his mouth. Instantly, his mind felt clear and serene.

He began drawing the ten-thousand-year soul ring toward himself, and immediately, he felt a surge of vast, pure spirit energy flood into his body.

The sheer magnitude of the energy surpassed Li Luochen's expectations. Although his second and third soul rings had been absorbed beyond their limits, ten thousand years was the watershed for all soul beasts. Moreover, this variant Tyrant Dragon possessed an exceptionally high bloodline and immense power.

Fortunately, Li Luochen had consumed plenty of whale jelly, ingested the Ice and Fire Herbs, and undergone the Ice and Fire Body Tempering in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. His physical body had already reached the level of a Spirit Emperor.

A twenty-thousand-year soul beast was typically the optimal choice for a sixth soul ring for most soul masters. However, this Tyrant Dragon far surpassed the average twenty-thousand-year soul beast.

Suddenly, Li Luochen's body began to swell as if it might burst from the overwhelming energy.

Realizing the danger, Li Luochen quickly accelerated the circulation of the Limitless Universe Technique, channeling the pure spirit energy along its pathways to absorb it into his body. Gradually, his swollen form returned to normal.

Next came the part Li Luochen feared the most: the soul tremor. The soul tremor of a ten-thousand-year soul beast was truly terrifying. Many quasi-Spirit Kings had fallen because they couldn't withstand it.

Li Luochen was confident in his mental strength. Having lived two lifetimes, his soul power was stronger than most. After enduring the trials of the Ice and Fire Body Tempering and consuming various herbs that boosted spiritual power, his mental strength had grown significantly. The Soul-Stabilizing Pill in his mouth further cleared his mind.

Roar—

A loud dragon cry reverberated through Li Luochen's spiritual sea.

His consciousness entered his spiritual sea, where he saw a faint shadow of the Tyrant Dragon. This was the most critical moment of absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring.

If he could withstand the soul tremor caused by the beast's resentment, he would emerge victorious. If not, he would be reduced to a vegetative state.

The Tyrant Dragon's shadow charged violently into Li Luochen's spiritual sea. The impact nearly shattered his mental defenses, but the effects of the Soul-Stabilizing Pill kicked in, bringing clarity to his mind. With renewed focus, Li Luochen stabilized his spiritual sea.

After a series of violent charges, the Tyrant Dragon's shadow grew fainter. It would likely dissipate completely after two more rounds.

But Li Luochen couldn't afford to let his guard down. A single slip could cause him to lose control of his mind.

As Li Luochen battled the Tyrant Dragon's shadow in his spiritual sea, a surge of wild spirit energy rushed toward his spine.

At this moment, Li Luochen felt something change in his spinal column—similar to the sensation he had experienced when gaining dragon wings.

External Soul Bone!

Typically, only external soul bones had a chance of fusing into a soul master's body along with a soul ring. This was an external soul bone attached to the spine.

A day and a night passed. Initially, Li Luochen's condition was unstable, causing Dugu Yan great anxiety. Gradually, his breathing stabilized, and his swollen body returned to normal.

Li Luochen's aura continued to grow stronger as he broke through his spirit power bottleneck, his level steadily rising.

Finally, peace returned to Li Luochen's spiritual sea. The shadow of the Tyrant Dragon had vanished, though the ordeal had left him visibly exhausted.

Now, four soul rings were neatly arranged around Li Luochen's body, ordered from inner to outer: yellow, purple, purple, black.

Yellow, purple, purple, black—a soul ring configuration that surpassed the optimal ratio of this era.

Li Luochen opened his eyes and exhaled a deep breath. He had finally made it through. Feeling the changes within himself, he was filled with joy.

His spirit power had reached level 44. Even Tang San, who had over-absorbed a ten-thousand-year soul ring, had only reached level 41. Li Luochen still had residual effects from the Ink Jade Divine Bamboo, combined with the twenty-thousand-year cultivation of the Tyrant Dragon and the external soul bone.

Seeing Li Luochen stand up unharmed, Dugu Yan rushed into his arms, hugging him tightly as if afraid he might disappear.

"How is it?" Dugu Bo asked, his sharp gaze instantly discerning that Li Luochen's cultivation had reached level 44.

"I feel great. My spirit power has reached level 44. My fourth soul skill is called Tyrant Dragon War Form. It increases my attack power by 200%, strength by 200%, and defense by 300%.

When activated, my resistance to poison, control-based attacks, and mental assaults greatly improves.

In the Tyrant Dragon War Form state, the power of my first three soul skills doubles.

Most importantly, there's no time limit—it only ends when I deactivate it or run out of spirit power."

Everyone gasped in awe. This soul skill was absurdly powerful, almost on par with the True Body of a martial soul.

"Additionally, I obtained an external soul bone attached to my spine. It has one skill: strength amplification. Currently, it triples my strength, and this amplification will increase as my cultivation grows.

Moreover, it seems I've gained an Ultimate attribute. This Tyrant Dragon granted me Ultimate power. The weight of my Coiling Dragon Staff has now reached six thousand kilograms."

Li Luochen had improved across the board. With his current strength, fighting two levels above his rank against a Spirit Emperor wouldn't be a problem. A mere five-ring Spirit King wouldn't be able to withstand a single strike from him.

With Dugu Bo's knowledge, he knew that Li Luochen's weapon weight now far exceeded that of a peer-level Hao Tian Hammer soul master. The title of the strongest weapon-type martial soul in the world might soon change hands!

Li Luochen summoned his Coiling Dragon Staff again. He noticed that the deep purple staff now bore an additional pattern of a Tyrant Dragon. The previously black metal rings at both ends had turned golden, and intricate dragon patterns now adorned them. Li Luochen guessed they were likely Golden Dragon King patterns.

Li Luochen toyed with the Coiling Dragon Staff. It now looked far better than the original Dragon Pattern Staff. Suddenly, he wondered if he could shrink the staff, making it small enough to spin like a pen in his hand.

He decided to give it a try—and it worked! Li Luochen shrunk the Coiling Dragon Staff to 25 centimeters, about the thickness of a little finger, and began spinning it. He had once been a teenager who enjoyed pen-spinning—it was a nostalgic reminder of his lost youth.

Now that his foundation was complete, he could begin experimenting with creating his own soul skills. He had already mastered the dragon-pattern staff techniques passed down by his grandfather.

"Let's go," Dugu Bo said. He had exerted a lot of effort this time and was quite exhausted. However, he had also gained a seventy-thousand-year soul bone, so the trip had been fruitful overall.

"Wait, Grandpa. I remember dragons love to hoard treasures. Do you think there might be soul bones or other valuables in the Tyrant Dragon's nest?

Why don't we check it out? Didn't you say that Tyrant Dragons like to bring prey back to their nests to eat?"

Li Luochen's words startled everyone. They inwardly muttered about how unlikely such good fortune would be, but they still decided to take a chance.

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