Compared to the other immortal herbs trembling in fear, the Radiant Fragrance Immortal Herb and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Herb felt a hint of relief.
Thankfully, when Lin Yun had demanded their essence, they hadn't resisted and obediently handed it over. Just look at the fate of the hot-tempered Scorching Heart Apricot—dead on the spot.
As the "livestock alliance" gazed at their old acquaintance, now split into "Scorching Heart) (Apricot," a somber mood of "mourning the rabbit while fearing for the fox" spread among them.
Damn it! The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had been peaceful for ten thousand years—why did these two calamities suddenly show up?!
While the immortal herbs shivered in dread, Lin Yun turned his attention to the soul ring and soul bone dropped by the Scorching Heart Apricot.
Hmm…
A hand-arm soul bone?
What kind of soul bone was this? He'd never seen one before!
Curious, Lin Yun picked it up and examined it. Upon closer inspection, it did resemble a palm bone—but specifically for the right hand. Perhaps because the Ice Empress had slapped the Scorching Heart Apricot to death with her right hand, it had dropped this particular soul bone.
The only issue now was… Lin Yun's right palm had already absorbed a Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear's right palm bone. Could he still absorb this Scorching Heart Apricot's hand-arm soul bone?
He shelved that question for now, shifting his focus to the Scorching Heart Apricot's 100,000-year soul ring.
"Don't disappoint me…"
Anticipation flickered in Lin Yun's eyes as he took a deep breath and summoned his martial soul.
Four soul rings emerged—purple, purple, black, black—with the anomalous 10,000-year soul ring from the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger standing out starkly.
What Lin Yun was counting on was his ultimate attribute talent—Dragon's Devour. While true geniuses could break the conventional limits of soul ring ages, why not aim for higher-tier soul rings if possible?
The only reason Lin Yun hadn't actively hunted soul beasts to test this talent was his status as the Sovereign of Soul Beasts. It wouldn't be appropriate. Otherwise, he'd have long since experimented with devouring soul rings to enhance his own.
"Here goes!"
Lin Yun sat cross-legged and activated the Dragon's Devour talent hidden within his bloodline. A golden dragon phantom, radiating boundless ferocity and killing intent, materialized behind him. Its crimson vertical pupils glanced at the Scorching Heart Apricot's soul ring before it opened its maw and inhaled.
The blood-red soul ring was slurped up like noodles.
Lin Yun, eyes shut tight, felt a surge of immense energy flood his body. The power contained within a 100,000-year soul ring strained his meridians to the point of aching distension.
Even after absorbing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's soul ring and bone, and breaking through to the Soul Ancestor realm, his physique—while significantly enhanced—was still barely sufficient to contain a 100,000-year soul ring.
But he wasn't worried. This was just a temporary containment.
As long as he didn't instantly explode, his body was merely a conduit—the soul ring itself was the true vessel.
His soul power circulation accelerated abruptly. As he refined vast amounts of energy, a foreign force separated from it. The moment Lin Yun detected this energy, he channeled it into his first two soul rings.
Under this torrential infusion, the 8,800-year Titan Snow Demon soul ring was the first to mutate. Its deep violet hue gained a streak of black in the blink of an eye—and that black rapidly expanded.
Before long, the Titan Snow Demon's soul ring was completely dyed black, fully evolving into a 10,000-year soul ring.
The Bloodfiend Behemoth's soul ring also brightened swiftly, shifting from bright purple to deep violet before finally transforming into a 10,000-year soul ring.
It worked!
Lin Yun was ecstatic. The reason he hadn't bothered snatching the Skydream Iceworm earlier was precisely because of Dragon's Devour.
While twin martial souls were powerful—allowing for more soul power capacity and versatility—their real advantage was the higher-tier soul rings the second martial soul could support.
But for a cheat-like existence like Lin Yun? Soul ring ages could be upgraded later. Having multiple martial souls became irrelevant.
The immortal herbs of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, having been replanted by Tang San and isolated from other soul masters, had no idea how absurd Lin Yun's abilities were by Douluo Continent standards.
But the Ice Empress? She wasn't part of this caged livestock alliance.
Her eyes were practically bulging out of her skull.
"As expected of the Sovereign! To accomplish what other soul masters could never dream of—truly awe-inspiring!"
Her heart swelled with admiration, her excitement bordering on rapture.
"And despite having the power to grow stronger by devouring soul rings, the Sovereign has never indiscriminately slaughtered soul beasts. What a benevolent and kind ruler!"
Under the Ice Empress's fervent gaze, Lin Yun's soul ring absorption finally concluded.
His first soul ring had risen to 70,000 years, while his second had reached 80,000 years.
This slightly exceeded his initial expectations. He'd assumed the 100,000-year soul ring's energy, when distributed, would only push his rings to around 50,000 years.
But upon reflection, it made sense. A 100,000-year soul ring wasn't just about quantity—it represented a qualitative leap.
This also meant that raising all his soul rings to 1,000,000 years in the future would be… considerably harder.
Lin Yun opened his eyes, his expression a mix of:
Satisfaction with Dragon's Devour,
Jubilation over his enhanced soul rings,
And apprehension about the road ahead.
All 1,000,000-year soul rings…
Tch. A long journey indeed.
But no matter. Where there's a will, there's a way. The Douluo Continent had plenty of resources. As long as he didn't leave too many opportunities for Huo Yuhao, growing stronger wouldn't be difficult.
Sure, the kid seemed to like him well enough…
But sorry, kiddo.
You're Tang San's chosen one.
And Lin Yun?
He and Tang San were mortal enemies.
After sensing his soul power level—Rank 47—he nodded. It was within expectations. Since the primary goal was soul ring enhancement, gaining two levels of ultra-dense, compressed soul power was a decent bonus.
As for the soul bone…
Lin Yun blinked, then pressed it against his palm.
It melted into a stream of fiery energy and merged seamlessly into his hand.
Well, would you look at that?
It could still be absorbed.
Add in the Scorching Essence still held by the Ice Empress, and the Scorching Heart Apricot had been fully utilized—three ways.
Truly, the livestock raised by Tang San were plump, fragrant, and nutritious.
"I'm stuffed!" (Old Eight's seal of approval.)
(End of Chapter)
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