Absorbing the second soul ring proved more difficult than the first.
After all, this time he'd leapt two full thousand years in soul ring age!
If not for his body's repeated tempering, Yang Fan wouldn't have dared attempt it.
But—
He succeeded!
After hours of absorption, Yang Fan slowly opened his eyes…
Darkness surrounded him.
The first face he saw was still Yao Lao—the ever-reassuring presence.
Yang Fan focused inward—then jolted upright.
He was utterly shocked by the changes the soul ring had wrought.
A bottleneck?!
Yes… another one.
That meant he could already seek his third soul ring.
Two major ranks in one go!
In all of Douluo, he might be the only one to achieve this.
Calming himself, Yang Fan inspected further…
The 3,000-year Crimson Flame Eagle had granted him a solid soul skill: Shatter!
Its primary effect? Massively boost attack power during combat.
This came as no surprise.
After thousands of years of refinement, Soul Breaking Spear soul masters had standardized their soul rings to stack pure offensive power.
"Not bad!" Yao Lao grinned. His disciple's growth brought him genuine joy.
"Now you have two choices," he said.
"First—we stay in Sunset Forest, hunt another suitable soul beast, and push you to Soul Elder rank."
"The second option…" Yao Lao paused deliberately, then flashed a sinister, unreadable smile. "Keep tempering your body—aim for a ten-thousand-year soul ring."
"Definitely tempering!" Yang Fan chose without hesitation.
Sure, grabbing a third ring now would let him show off…
But a ten-thousand-year ring? That was true prestige.
With his dual cultivation path (Dou Qi + soul power), he wasn't desperate for a third ring yet.
"Then let's go," Yao Lao said. "Before the parent of this little one shows up for revenge!"
He wasn't joking.
The unknown depths of the soul beast forest could harbor any manner of powerful beasts. A true soul master always maintained reverence.
"Master, what's this?" Yang Fan asked, eyeing a vial Yao Lao handed him.
"Crimson Flame Eagle blood."
"What's it for?"
"You'll see in a few days."
…
Yang Fan initially dismissed the unremarkable vial of beast blood.
But several nights later, he experienced Yao Lao's cruelty firsthand.
"Pain!"
"Pain! Pain! PAIN!"
"Master… slow… slow down…"
Yang Fan lay facedown on the bed, knuckles white from gripping the sheets, veins bulging on his forehead.
As two drops of red liquid hit his skin, searing agony flooded his body. Then Yao Lao's rough hands began massaging Dou Qi into every inch of him…
Oh, the exquisite torment!
Yang Fan forgot his own name.
All he felt was heat—scorching, unbearable heat!
Like his bones were being burned as firewood.
"Can't take it?" Yao Lao taunted. "Who was it two days ago boasting about ten-thousand-year soul rings? Who claimed they'd become the Broken Sect's first Title Douluo?"
This was Yao Lao's Phase Three training:
Blood Incineration Paste!
A concoction of 23 different fire-attribute herbs and Crimson Flame Eagle blood.
Applied topically, it accelerated Dou Qi consumption—and regeneration. Through this cycle of destruction and renewal, the user's strength grew steadily.
Its only flaw? It worked exclusively for fire-attribute cultivators.
Authentic Blood Incineration Paste required blood from three Grade-2 fire-attribute beasts—but here, Yao Lao substituted a divine herb: Earth Core Fire Ganoderma.
The result? Even more potent!
"Come on… I can handle it," Yang Fan gritted through clenched teeth.
Tonight, no matter what Yao Lao did, he wouldn't utter another sound.
Gnnn…
The pain was so intense he dared not breathe.
He felt like a bus station—his Dou Qi passengers constantly arriving, leaving, trampling his fragile body.
Yet amid this near-masochistic torture, he sensed a flicker of euphoria—the thrill of Dou Qi growth.
Now he understood why Yao Lao's earlier smile had seemed so… scheming.
That old man planned this all along!
…
Blood Incineration accelerated Dou Qi cultivation—but real combat was essential to solidify gains.
Yao Lao's second Phase Three task: Join a team of freelance soul masters entering the soul beast forest.
"How many levels you got, brother?"
"Here to hunt soul rings in the forest, right?"
The moment Yang Fan stepped onto the outer town's street, a man approached.
A middle-aged man—forty-ish, burly, with a thick beard. Clearly a beast-type soul master.
"Level 29," Yang Fan replied in a deliberately aged voice from under his black cloak, misleading the man about his age.
"That works!" the man said. "Our team has five already—adding you makes six. Let's go together."
"I'm Ah Sheng—a Level 39 Soul Elder. We've got two others at 39 and two at 29."
Ah Sheng didn't scorn Yang Fan's low rank. Finding hunting partners was hard—strong soul masters looked down on them, so they gathered weaker ones instead.
Teams in these towns fell into two types:
Broke soul masters at bottlenecks, temporarily grouping to hunt needed soul rings. Professional hunting teams earning coin by guiding others.
Those hunting for soul bones? They'd never risk teaming up.
No bone = no problem. But if one appeared? Instant bloodbath.
Ah Sheng clearly belonged to the second type.
"Alright," Yang Fan agreed, his hooded voice sounding ancient again.
"Get ready—we leave soon."
Temporary teams spent 5–15 days in the forest—perfect for Yang Fan's training.
Soon—
Ah Sheng returned with the team.
Besides one woman nearing thirty, the rest were middle-aged men in their thirties or forties. Their auras made it easy to distinguish Soul Elders from Soul Grandmasters.
Though their ranks were modest, such soul masters were the most common in Douluo Continent.
Without background, resources, or talent, reaching Soul Elder rank was already a testament to hard work.
"Now that we're all acquainted, let's move out!" Ah Sheng declared.
The six-member team marched into the soul beast forest.
Not long after they entered, a hulking figure emerged from the shadows—face grim, eyes locked on Yang Fan's retreating form, murder blazing in his gaze.
"Raging Rhino… what now?" a companion whispered.
"Follow them."
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