Douluo Continent: The insane cultivation speed left Tang San speechless.

Deep within the Soul Hunter Forest, sunlight is filtered into fragments by the layers of tree canopy, dappling the damp ground.

Yu Xiaogang walked at the front, his face as gloomy as the dark clouds overhead.

Tang San walked in the middle, glancing back at Su Chen every now and then, his eyes filled with admiration.

Su Chen walked at the back, his steps unhurried. He had not yet absorbed his second soul ring, but his level 20 soul power was circulating steadily within his body.

His gaze swept across the surrounding woods from time to time; the top-level knowledge imparted by the system gave him an understanding of the forest's ecology far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Teacher, should we go further in?" Tang San asked.

Yu Xiaogang stopped and looked up at the sky: "If we can't find a suitable soul beast after another half a day, we'll return to the outer perimeter. Your first soul ring can't be delayed any longer."

"It's too dangerous inside; we could easily encounter thousand-year-old soul beasts."

"Even if Su Chen can defeat the hundred-year-old Mandragora Serpent, he's completely outmatched by a thousand-year-old soul beast!"

As he said this, his gaze swept over Su Chen intentionally or unintentionally, and his tone carried a hint of resentment.

Su Chen ignored him.

He knew that Yu Xiaogang was still heartbroken over the four-hundred-year-old Datura snake that had been killed.

The three continued on their way.

Luo Sanpao suddenly pricked up his ears, his body trembled violently, and he let out a low, mournful cry.

Yu Xiaogang's expression changed, and he abruptly raised his hand to signal a halt: "There's a very powerful soul beast! Luo Sanpao's reaction... it's at least a thousand years old! We need to detour immediately!"

Su Chen did not move.

His gaze passed through a thicket of bushes ahead and landed on a wide open space.

Then, his eyes lit up.

In the center of the open space, a huge soul beast was looking down and gnawing on something.

It was an earth dragon, nearly five meters long, covered in dark brown scales that gleamed with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

Its limbs are as thick as pillars, its claws are deeply embedded in the soil, its head is like a lizard's, and it breathes out scorching hot air.

What is most striking is the row of protruding bony spikes on its back, which extend from the back of its neck to the tip of its tail and rise and fall slightly with its breathing.

More importantly, it was gnawing on a lone bamboo stalk.

The solitary bamboo was entirely emerald green, its trunk as thick as an adult's arm, and over four meters tall, radiating a strong fluctuation of soul power.

"A two-thousand-year-old earth dragon... a four-hundred-year-old Guzhu..." Su Chen murmured, a slight smile playing on his lips. "One suits me, and the other suits Tang San."

Yu Xiaogang also saw the scene in the open space, and his face turned pale instantly.

"A two-thousand-year-old earth dragon?!"

His voice trembled, and he instinctively took two steps back. "How could we possibly handle a soul beast of this level? Run! Get out of here before it spots us!"

He reached out to pull Su Chen's arm.

Su Chen did not move.

"Su Chen, are you crazy?!" Yu Xiaogang exclaimed, "A two-thousand-year-old earth dragon! Do you know what that means? Its scales are as strong as a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast! Its strength can easily tear apart a carriage! The three of us combined wouldn't even be enough to fill its teeth!"

Tang San stared nervously at the earth dragon, his palms sweating.

But when his gaze fell upon the lone bamboo, a thought suddenly surged into his mind—a four-hundred-year-old lone bamboo, if he could absorb its essence…

Not only can it absorb high-age soul rings, but it can also obtain the divine skill Su Chen mentioned: Blue Silver Pole Vault!

"Su Chen, you wouldn't be thinking of..." Tang San swallowed.

Su Chen didn't answer. He shook off Yu Xiaogang's hand and took a step forward.

"Su Chen!"

Before Yu Xiaogang's shout had even finished, Su Chen had already rushed out.

The earth dragon sensed someone approaching and stopped eating.

It raised its enormous head, its yellow vertical pupils staring at the tiny human who dared to trespass into its territory, and opened its blood-red maw, letting out a low roar.

Su Chen did not stop.

Golden light exploded from his body, the Ancestral Dragon Martial Soul had possessed him!

The phantom of a five-clawed golden dragon rose into the air behind him, its dragon might spreading out and colliding head-on with the pressure of the earth dragon.

Invisible ripples seemed to spread through the air, and the bushes lay flat on top of each other.

The first spirit ring lit up.

"First Soul Skill - Ancestral Dragon Golden Body!"

Golden dragon scale phantoms covered Su Chen's entire body, his muscles bulged slightly, and his eyes gleamed with a faint golden light.

An invisible dragon's might spread outwards from him, causing the surrounding bamboo to bend over.

The earthworm that was gnawing on the bamboo suddenly raised its head, a hint of instinctive fear flashing in its amber vertical pupils.

The suppression of the dragon bloodline!

Although the earth dragon was a thousand-year-old soul beast with a thin flow of dragon blood, it stiffened slightly when faced with the aura of the ancestor of all dragons, and a low whimper came from its throat.

Seizing the opportunity, Su Chen charged towards the earth dragon like a golden lightning bolt.

"Bang!"

He slammed his fist into the earth dragon's foreleg, his fist imbued with the power of the ancestral dragon, shattering its scales and splattering dark red blood.

The earth dragon roared in pain and swung its tail violently, the thick, long tail sweeping across the air with a whooshing sound.

Su Chen dodged to the side, its tail brushing against his clothes and creating a gust of wind.

He flipped over and leaped onto the dragon's back, grabbed a bone spike, and struck hard at the point where the spike connected to the spine.

One punch, two punches, three punches...

Each punch tore the earth's skin open, causing its bones to snap.

The earth dragon rolled and leaped frantically, trying to shake off the tiny human on its back.

Its massive body crushed the bamboo forest, snapping thick bamboo stalks like straw and carving deep pits into the ground.

Su Chen gripped the bone spurs tightly, his legs clamping firmly around the earth dragon's back, as if nailed to it, remaining completely still.

Seeing that it couldn't shake off Su Chen, the earth dragon suddenly opened its blood-red maw and spewed out a burst of scorching dragon breath!

Orange-red flames, mixed with high-temperature gases, swept towards Su Chen.

Su Chen did not dodge; the Ancestral Dragon Golden Body granted him powerful defense.

The golden dragon scale phantom blocked most of the flames, and only a few parts of the clothes were scorched.

He burst out of the flames and punched the earth dragon in the nose.

"Snap!"

The sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.

The earth dragon screamed in agony, blood gushing from its nostrils, and its body swayed backward.

The man and the beast fought fiercely, causing the surrounding bamboo forest to be swept down and deep pits to be trampled into the ground. The air was filled with the smell of blood and burnt food.

In the distance, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San were completely stunned.

Yu Xiaogang's mouth was so wide open it could fit an egg, and his eyes were almost popping out.

"This...how is this possible?!"

His voice had changed tone.

"He fought a two-thousand-year-old earth dragon to a standstill?!"

He rubbed his eyes hard, thinking he was hallucinating.

But the scene before him was clear: Su Chen was riding on the back of the earth dragon, punching it repeatedly, and the earth dragon struggled frantically but could not shake him off.

"A level 20 Soul Master...fighting a two-thousand-year-old Soul Beast head-on..." Yu Xiaogang muttered to himself, his legs going weak.

"If it were me... if it were my Luo Sanpao, he would have been slapped into a pulp long ago..."

He recalled the words he had said before—"Foundation destroyed, zero practical combat experience," "Not even level ten," "No hope of reaching level thirty in this lifetime"...

My face felt a burning pain.