Crack!
The carapace instantly shattered as golden-red fluid sprayed into the air. The Sun Sacred Beetle didn't even have time to react before it turned into a streak of golden-red light, crashing into the ground not far from Xu Yang.
Boom!
The earth shook violently, and a thick cloud of dust surged into the air, blotting out the sky.
Xu Yang almost lost his balance and fell to the ground on his butt.
"So fast! So brutal! Is this really the same Madam Ning I know?!"
He couldn't believe his eyes. In the sect, Madam Ning had always acted like a refined lady—elegant, dignified, and poised, like a noblewoman straight out of a painting. She never seemed like someone skilled in combat. But now, she struck like a battle goddess, ruthless and unrelenting.
"What's wrong? Don't recognize your master's wife anymore?" Lady Ning slowly descended beside Xu Yang with a teasing smile.
"No, it's just... I never expected you to be this powerful!" Xu Yang shook his head and replied seriously.
"This is nothing. Before Feng Zhi met Sword Uncle and Bone Uncle, I was the one protecting him. Later, after I reached the Soul Douluo rank and realized I couldn't break through to Titled Douluo, I decided to step back and focus on being the lady of the Ning Clan."
Lady Ning smiled as she gently patted Xu Yang's head. "Actually, I should thank you—Yang'er. It was you who gave me the confidence to rediscover the thrill of battle."
"I see!" Xu Yang nodded. He suddenly recalled the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's marriage policy: only Battle Soul Masters could marry into the family. And for someone to be qualified to protect the Clan Leader… how could they possibly be weak?
"Yang'er, go claim the soul ring. I left that Sun Sacred Beetle alive just for you," Lady Ning chuckled, pointing at the creature now barely visible through the settling dust.
TheSun Sacred Beetle was in a truly pitiful state. Most of its lower body was missing, and even the proud long horn atop its head had snapped off and lay nearby. Its entire body was embedded into the ground, twitching weakly.
If not for the tenacity of soul beasts and Lady Ning holding back at the last moment, that stomp would have killed it outright.
To end its suffering, Xu Yang retrieved a Tang Blade from his storage ring and thrust it straight into the wound on its lower body, piercing through to its brain and putting it out of its misery.
A purple-black soul ring slowly formed above the corpse.
Just from the color alone, it was clear that this Sun Sacred Beetle was only a step away from becoming a true ten-thousand-year soul beast. Lady Ning had clearly chosen it to push her limits while staying within what Xu Yang could handle.
"Well? This one's not bad, right? It was the strongest among that swarm. If I hadn't sensed it carefully, it might've slipped away!" Lady Ning said proudly.
"Thank you, Madam Ning!"
Xu Yang smiled and sat cross-legged beside the beetle's body, summoned his Sun Martial Soul, and began drawing in the soul ring for absorption.
As the ring entered his body, a powerful soul force surged through him.
This soul ring was 9,800 years old—right on the threshold between a thousand-year and ten-thousand-year ring. Beasts at this level often possessed traits of true ten-thousand-year rings, such as spiritual shock.
Fortunately, since it hadn't fully crossed that line, the mental pressure was weaker than what a proper ten-thousand-year beast would exert. This was precisely why Lady Ning had chosen it: to let Xu Yang adapt to spiritual shock in advance, preparing for his fourth soul ring.
Xu Yang quickly realized this challenge wasn't just about absorbing soul power—it was the mental shock that was truly difficult.
He could feel a strong resentment from the Sun Sacred Beetle's lingering consciousness, battering his spirit and preventing him from focusing on his soul power.
"No wonder ten-thousand-year rings are so demanding. Without strong spiritual power, even controlling your own soul force becomes impossible. That's how soul masters end up exploding from soul ring backlash.
"But thankfully, I've lived two lives and always emphasized spiritual cultivation. Plus, I can split my focus, multitasking with ease. Absorbing a near-ten-thousand-year ring like this shouldn't be a problem!"
The moment he sensed the mental shock, Xu Yang responded quickly, understanding why ten-thousand-year rings were so dangerous.
"Since it's manageable, I'll use the soul power overflow to temper my body!"
With that thought, he split his focus into three parts: resisting the spiritual attack, controlling his inner soul force, and activating the Body Tempering Art to absorb the soul power leaking from the ring.
Soul masters could never fully absorb all the energy from a soul ring. A large portion would overflow, manifesting as the same color light around their bodies.
But with his multitasking ability and the secret Body-Tempering Technique developed by Gu Rong, Xu Yang could make use of this overflow to further strengthen himself.
A tingling sensation washed over him as his body absorbed the energy—his cells growing stronger.
Having already absorbed two soul rings, Xu Yang made an astonishing discovery: the essence of soul ring absorption wasn't about gaining raw energy—it was about catalyzing the evolution of one's soul force. The ring itself didn't store much energy; it served mainly as a vessel for soul skills. Thus, soul skills consumed the soul master's own power, not the ring's.
This seemed more like a world mechanism: soul beasts evolve their soul force from white to yellow, purple, black, and even red through countless transformations.
Soul masters could do the same, but since humans rarely live past a hundred, their soul force rarely accumulates enough to undergo such qualitative change. So they rely on external forces—like soul rings—to trigger it.
Of course, this was just Xu Yang's personal theory. He wasn't sure if it was truly correct.
Outside, Lady Ning's eyes glowed with soul power as she closely monitored Xu Yang's state. If he faltered, she would immediately intervene.
Once a soul master reached Titled Douluo level, they could perceive a soul beast's essence directly. This allowed them to see through transformed soul beasts at a glance. It also enabled them to accurately interrupt a soul master's soul ring absorption process if needed—though it would injure the soul master slightly, they could recover afterward. It was far better than dying from a failed absorption.
As time passed, Xu Yang's soul power grew stronger and stronger. After two hours, the purple-black soul ring had fully formed around him.
At this point, he was just one step away from complete absorption.
Lady Ning, who had been guarding him the whole time, finally relaxed. But just then, the severed horn of the Sun Sacred Beetle began to emit a golden glow. A mass of golden energy shot out and pierced straight into Xu Yang's brow.
A golden light began to radiate from his forehead.
Lady Ning's expression changed. She was about to stop it—but froze in shock.
"This is... an External Soul Bone...!"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin