Peerless Tang Sect: God Emperor Haotian

In the Douluo Continent, a Soul Master's strength is determined by their Martial Soul. But in the world of Soul Beasts, everything is determined by bloodline.

Bears are at the top of the food chain in nature. Even ordinary bear-type spirit beasts, except for ancient species like the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, are extremely powerful.

Take the Thousand-Year Earth Demon Bear in front of us as an example. Although it has only a little over a thousand years of cultivation, its actual combat strength is definitely at the average level of five thousand years.

If it weren't for the two vice deans accompanying him and constantly assisting and restraining him, even if Li Mu could defeat it on his own, given its thick hide and strong defense, it would have been difficult to keep it alive.

After all, the reality was that even with the three of them working together, it took a great deal of effort to completely subdue the thousand-year-old earth demon bear.

"Let's go. The commotion was too loud and might attract other spirit beasts. Let's find another place to absorb spirit rings," Li Mu said. He was clearly prepared, which is why he didn't immediately dispel his spirit possession state after defeating the Thousand-Year Earth Demon Bear, but instead dragged the half-dead bear towards the outer area.

Seeing this, the others immediately followed.

The group, carrying a bear, finally stopped after retreating to the outer perimeter of the area.

Ye Sen couldn't wait to step forward and end the last chance of life for the Thousand-Year Earth Demon Bear.

Just as he was about to sit down cross-legged to absorb the spirit ring, Li Mu solemnly reminded him, "Xiao Sen, I still have to remind you, doing this is really risky. It's not too late to back out now."

The two vice deans standing to the side also looked at Ye Sen.

They knew even less about Ye Sen's trump cards than Li Mu did, so naturally they were even less likely to believe that Ye Sen had the ability to absorb a thousand-year soul ring beyond his level.

Ye Sen smiled and said, "Grandpa Dean, don't worry, I'm confident." After saying that, Ye Sen didn't say anything more and sat cross-legged on the spot to begin absorbing the soul ring.

Seeing this, Li Mu couldn't help but sigh softly. The two vice deans shook their heads with regret, saying, "Such a promising talent, what a pity."

Li Mu glanced at them and said, "Now that things have come to this, all we can do is trust this little guy. Be mindful of your surroundings and don't let any external forces disturb him."

"Um."

The two vice deans nodded in unison and immediately went on alert.

Time passed second by second. Because it was a soul ring absorption beyond its level, the time Ye Sen took to absorb the soul ring this time was significantly longer than the normal absorption of a soul ring.

During this process, Ye Sen's body remained almost motionless, like a clay sculpture, with only occasional subtle changes in his facial muscles, forming a frowning expression.

This state lasted for an hour and a half before being broken by a sudden burst of energy.

Ye Sen's body trembled, and a significantly enhanced aura of soul power immediately erupted within him, accompanied by a deep bear roar.

"A close call, but no real harm done!"

Ye Sen opened his eyes and immediately let out a heavy breath.

As someone who experienced it firsthand, only he knows how dangerous his situation was. Even with the whale glue he had absorbed, an external soul bone, a first soul ring from a 500-year-old Titan Giant Ape, and twin martial souls, all these factors combined almost caused him to fail in absorbing this thousand-year soul ring.

No wonder there are so few Soul Masters who can absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring as their second Soul Ring, even if they are at a higher level!

"You're awake. You really succeeded?"

Li Mu excitedly stepped forward and asked. The two vice deans also looked at him in shock at that moment.

"Um."

"I told you I could do it, now you know I wasn't bragging, right?"

Ye Sen said with a hearty laugh. Although the process was somewhat thrilling, he ultimately succeeded, and the joy he felt filled his heart.

Upon receiving Ye Sen's affirmative answer, Li Mu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The two vice deans exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

"Good lad, you're really something."

Li Mu chuckled and patted Ye Sen on the shoulder, then asked, "How's this second soul skill? It wasn't a waste of our days of searching, was it?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Sen, who was also very curious about the effects of the second soul skill, immediately decided to demonstrate it.

The Haotian Hammer appeared in Ye Sen's hand, with two spirit rings, one yellow and one purple, swirling and rising.

With the addition of an extra spirit ring, the aura of the Clear Sky Hammer was noticeably different, and its heavy, domineering presence was clearly enhanced.

Seeing this, the two vice-deans couldn't help but show envy in their eyes. The reason was simple: as Soul Masters, they each only possessed one thousand-year Soul Ring. Ye Sen, on the other hand, was merely a Great Soul Master, yet he had the same number of thousand-year Soul Rings as them. It was truly a case of comparison being the ultimate source of frustration!

Under Ye Sen's control, the millennium soul ring that had recently completed its fusion emitted a mysterious and noble purple light.

The earth trembled violently, and thin, hair-like, yellowish-brown rays of light rose from the earth, covering an area within a ten-meter radius centered on Ye Sen.

Some of these rays of light floated in mid-air, while the rest merged into Ye Sen's body. After absorbing these rays of light, Ye Sen's aura noticeably strengthened.

After Li Mu and his two companions tentatively entered the area covered by light, they immediately felt a heavy pressure that greatly restricted their speed.

Clearly, this soul skill's effect is not simply an amplification; it even has a control effect.

Li Mu said, "As expected, it is the Earth Demon Bear's strongest innate skill, Earth Power. It can not only absorb the power of the earth to amplify itself, but also restrict the opponent's movement speed within a certain range."

Ye Sen smiled with satisfaction.

The effect of this soul skill perfectly matched his needs.

After successfully completing their mission, the group of four embarked on their journey home, returning safely to the Dark Water Soul Master Academy five days later.

When Ye Sen returned to the academy, ready to share the good news with Jiang Nannan, he couldn't find her anywhere. After asking his teacher, he learned some unexpected news.

Three days ago, the old village chief of Nanxi Village came to the college in person and brought news that Jiang Nannan's mother had suddenly fallen ill. Afterwards, Jiang Nannan asked her teacher for leave and went back to Nanxi Village with the old village chief to visit her mother.

"Is Aunt Shen sick?"

Upon hearing the news, Ye Sen's expression immediately darkened, and he immediately set off to ask Li Mu for leave.

After learning what had happened, Li Mu took it very seriously and personally arranged for the only healing-type Soul Master in the academy to accompany Ye Sen.

The two rode in a horse-drawn carriage and traveled at full speed, returning to Nanxi Village in less than a quarter of an hour.

Upon arriving at Jiang Nannan's residence, Ye Sen immediately saw his maternal grandmother, Ye Lin, brewing medicine in the courtyard. Ye Sen instinctively called out, "Grandma!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Lin immediately looked towards Ye Sen. She was visibly taken aback when she saw him, and then asked with concern, "You're finally back, kid! Nan Nan told me you went to the Star Dou Great Forest to get a spirit ring. How did it go? Did it go smoothly?"

"She's alright." Ye Sen nodded, then asked, "How is Aunt Shen?"

Ye Lin sighed softly and said, "It's the same old problem, fainting caused by poor blood circulation, but this time it's more severe than before."