Chapter 361 – Advancing
Chapter 361 – Advancing
“First trial cleared,” an electronic voice announced. “You may choose to absorb a thousand-year wind wolf spirit soul! You have ten seconds to decide.”
A golden door appeared before Tang Wulin and his team. It wasn’t as large as the one that brought them here, but it was equally as mysterious and a transparent wind wolf hovered in front of it.
“Let’s go!” Tang Wulin waved to his companions as he stepped through the door.
All of them could choose to fuse with the transparent wind wolf floating in front of the door. But they simply rejected it and continued to the second trial. They stepped through the doorway in a flash of light, and the next moment, they found themselves in a room identical to before. It was an octagonal room with eight metal doors as well.
Light flashed in Tang Wulin’s eyes as he motioned to his companions. They reformed their triangle formation without another word. Xu Lizhi, however, sat down to meditate instead of using his soul skills. All seven hailed from Shrek Academy, so every one of them possessed exceptional judgement and perception. Xu Lizhi didn’t use his soul skills because, after the first trial, he became confident in the strength of his teammates. As a support-type
soul master, it was crucial for him to properly decide how much soul power to spend on each of his teammates.
Furious roars suddenly began filling the air as the eight doors suddenly opened. Eight giant flaming lions emerged, one from each door. They were
blazing demon lions, old friends of class zero.
A smile formed on Tang Wulin’s lips. It looks like the spirit soul tower isn’t that different from the spirit ascension platform. Both possess similar soul beasts!
Judging from their figures and energy levels, Tang Wulin could tell that they were all female blazing demon lions of the hundred-year level.
However, they were at least five-hundred-years or above.
Before anyone could say anything, Xie Xie stepped forward. “Let me handle this,” he said, dashing straight at the lions.
Tang Wulin sat down and began meditating, and the others followed suit. Their goal was not on the lower floors. Even if these floors yielded thousand-year spirit souls, they wanted high-grade thousand-year spirit
souls. Wind wolves couldn’t satisfy anyone, and neither could blazing demon lions. This was only the second floor. Xie Xie was more than enough to handle a few hundred-year blazing demon lions.
The lions were still mid-roar when Xie Xie reached his first target. He
soared into the air, his figure twisting to avoid the spewing flames before
suddenly accelerating toward the lion. A second later, the lion went weak in its knees and collapsed.
A single dark spot could be seen on the lion’s back, the only sign that Xie Xie had stabbed it. His feet barely touched the ground before he rushed toward his next target.
Tang Wulin nodded approvingly. Xie Xie had grown more skilled at Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and no longer seemed to be struggling with it.
Now he looked as though he were dancing.
After the first lion died, the remaining seven worked themselves into a frenzy. Four pounced at Xie Xie while the other three charged Tang Wulin’s group. Relying on his insane speed, Xie Xie eliminated another lion. This left three lions surrounding him. He used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to zigzag between them like a wraith, unleashing his soul skills at the same
time to leave countless cuts on their bodies. At the center of the room, a hazy figure darted out from Tang Wulin’s group to meet the other three lions. In the blink of an eye, one of them collapsed onto the floor, dead. The instant after that, the other two collapsed as well.
It was Xie Xie’s Shadow Dragon Clone!
Tang Wulin stared at it with narrowed eyes. Even with his high spiritual power, he could only, just barely, make out the outline of the clone.
All of a sudden, the clone flew toward Xie Xie. However, before it could reach him and fuse, Xie Xie’s body exploded with light, and both he and the clone leaped into the air. They met face to face, momentarily crossing paths in midair. Then, in the next instant, the remaining lions dropped dead.
So he’s learned a new trick! Tang Wulin’s eyes gleamed. He’s using his
clone withdrawal as a combat technique now! His clone moves faster than it normally does when it’s returning to fuse with him, but he doesn’t actually have to fuse with it! He can use that technique to call back his clone for
some quick assistance. He has really grown… now he can skillfully control two bodies at once. How long will it take for him to gain full control over
all of his clones then? By the time that happens… he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
The two Xie Xies fused back together and returned to his companions as one. The electronic voice filled the room once more, but this time they had ten seconds to choose whether or not they wanted a thousand-year blazing demon lion spirit soul.
Xie Xie grinned at Yuanen Yehui as he passed her.
She regarded him coldly, growling, “Don’t block the way.”
Another door of light formed and the team entered it, proceeding to the next trial. They didn’t need everyone to clear the following trials, so they took turns clearing each one. None of them even worked up a sweat clearing the first eight trials, but the soul beasts they faced grew stronger as they
continued. In the eighth trial, they faced six soul beasts around the two-
thousand-year level. Yuanen Yehui had instantly taken care of them like a bolt of lightning. They promptly reached the ninth trial.
Upon arrival, Tang Wulin spoke up. “We’ll be fighting together for this trial,” he said.
At this point, it was too difficult for only one or two of them to clear a floor. Doing so would consume too much soul power. It was time for them to fight as a team.
Just like before, they found themselves in an octagonal hall with eight doors. This time, however, only four of them opened. A burly soul beast
stepped out of each doorway for a total of four. They were covered in snow- white fur and possessed an air of majesty. It was Tang Wulin’s first time
seeing such soul beasts. They clearly weren’t inhabitants of any forest.
“Those are ice bears!” Xie Xie exclaimed. “They’re powerful soul beasts found in the far northern lands! The they’re huge and should possess
cultivation levels over three-thousand-years!”
“Be careful everyone,” Gu Yue warned. “The ninth floor of the spirit soul tower is a major milestone. This trial will be far harder than the ones we’ve faced until now. What do you think of them, Xiaoyan?”
Xu Xiaoyan’s eyes glittered. “They’re great! Amazing! These bears are so cute! I want to cuddle them!”
Cute…? Everyone looked at her strangely. You’re choosing your spirit soul based on cuteness?
The ice bears glared at Tang Wulin and his team. The air started getting colder and colder the moment the they had appeared. Frigid fog already began to fill the room. The breathing of the ice bears grew deeper and deeper, as if fanning the flames of their fury. The four bears didn’t attack
them from all sides. Instead, they gathered together and advanced slowly.
Tang Wulin stared straight into the eyes of the bears. “Everyone, stay vigilant! These ice bears are far more intelligent than the soul beasts we
faced up to this point.”
Yuanen Yehui moved toward the ice bears, her three soul rings appearing beneath her as she walked.
Yue Zhengyu summoned his soul rings as well and advanced alongside her. Bluesilver grass slithered out of the ground and surrounded Tang Wulin.
In the end, this was just the ninth trial.
At that moment, the lead ice bear made its move. It roared toward the
ceiling, and the entire room trembled before its declaration of might. Snow began materializing out of thin air, rapidly intensifying into a blizzard that obscured everyone’s vision.
A snort resounded through the icy onslaught and a blazing fireball erupted from the center of Tang Wulin’s group, dispelling the surrounding snow. Yet the remaining bears roared one after another and the blizzard returned, howling and wailing with renewed vigor.
It was a blizzard powered by the combined strength of four ice bears!
Chapter 362 – Battling the Ice Bears
Chapter 362 – Battling the Ice Bears
As students of the legendary Shrek Academy, none of Tang Wulin’s group were particularly impressive. In spite of that, they were still stronger than soul beasts of the three-thousand-year level. The four ice bears knew this, and indicative of their intelligence, they chose to engage in a battle of
energy. Nothing short of an ironclad defense could endure their omnidirectional attack. Gu Yue paled at this realization. Facing one ice bear of this level would be no problem for her if she used Elemental Tide, but the combined force of all four bears was a different story.
“Relax, Gu Yue!” Tang Wulin shouted as he activated his Purple Demon Eyes and charged into the blizzard. “Follow me!”
The blizzard put Tang Wulin’s team under considerable pressure. Yuanen Yehui summoned her Titan Giant Ape martial soul and used her third soul skill, Diamond Titan! Her body swelled with strength, but even so, she was just as affected by the blizzard as her teammates. Only attacking the ice bears would dispel it, and Tang Wulin’s Purple Demon Eyes could pierce through the flurry of snow and locate the bears.
Then, out of nowhere, the pressure of the icy onslaught eased up.
For the first time since they entered the tower, Xu Xiaoyan took action.
Ice wheels shot out one after another, spinning in the air to suck the swirling snow away from the team. Since Xu Xiaoyan could also wield the element of ice, she had a connection with the blizzard. She could control the
blizzard to some extent, and each one of the ice wheels she summoned could weaken it. Although she only had two soul rings, control was her forte. The effects of her efforts were clear.
As Tang Wulin approached the bears, one of them suddenly roared. To his surprise, the four bears turned tail and ran off in different directions.
How crafty! Are they planning on keeping us at a distance and letting their blizzard do all the work? Tang Wulin’s eyes shined a brilliant purple as the realization occurred to him. No. I can’t let them do that. If I do, we lose.
“Xiaoyan!” Tang shouted. ”Attack with Yuanen and Zhengyu! Gu Yue, protect Xu Lizhi and Xie Xie! We’re splitting up!” Then he darted off to the side, rushing deep into the blizzard.
One of the ice bears suddenly stumbled and fell to the floor with a groan, the blizzard growing weaker. Tang Wulin had used the spiritual attack of his Purple Demon Eyes, disturbing the bear’s focus and impairing its mind.
Resisting the storm of ice raging around him, Tang Wulin charged onward. Bluesilver grass rapidly spread toward his target. As long as he defeated this ice bear, the blizzard would drastically weaken and it would be far
easier to deal with the rest.
But he was underestimating the ice bear.
The bear slashed out with its claws, shredding the encroaching bluesilver grass to bits, then curled up into a ball and rolled away, retreating across the icy floor.
This bastard…!
Tang Wulin’s three soul rings disappeared, a single golden ring appearing in their stead. Powerful waves of blood essence rippled from his body as golden scales appeared on his right arm and torso. As blood essence surged through him, the biting cold no longer hindered him, and he instantly sped up.
A few meters from his prey, Tang Wulin stomped the ground and pounced on the rolling bear. He landed right in front of it, his dragon claw brandished threateningly. The ice bear used the momentum of its roll to fling itself forward, immediately standing upright and lashing out with its own claws. Tang Wulin met the bear’s claws with his own, and a
shockwave erupted from the resulting collision. This three-thousand-year ice bear could generate at least five thousand kilograms worth of force, and there was no way Tang Wulin could compete with that. The clash sent him flying backward, but the bear wasn’t unharmed either. Its right claw had been crushed by Tang Wulin’s dragon claw.
Tang Wulin stabbed his claw into the ground, skidding to a grinding halt, and then he charged forward once more. He directed his blood essence to flow according to the path of Dragon Shocks the Heavens, and its strength instantly increased by several times. Although he still couldn’t use Dragon Shocks the Heavens to its fullest potential, after the incident that happened
the other day, he discovered that he could now control the flow of his blood essence to an extent. Now he could move it around his body like soul power, empowering certain parts of himself. This method rapidly drained his blood essence, but it also provided him with an explosive burst of power. He reversed the flow of his blood essence and concentrated it in his right arm. The scales on his arm began to shine brilliantly, dying the
surrounding snowfall with golden light.
Unleashing a ferocious roar, he charged at the bear. Icy blue light exploded from the bear as it nursed its wounded claw. It launched itself forward and rolled toward Tang Wulin once more, resembling an enormous ball of ice.
Tang Wulin felt neither joy nor fear. He activated Golden Dragon Body and his blood essence ascended yet another level, golden light bursting from his body. Furthering strengthening his claw, he punched at the ice bear.
A boom tore through the air, sending tremors throughout the hall. Everyone turned toward the noise to see a flash of golden light. The blizzard died off in that area, revealing Tang Wulin standing there alone. He stumbled back to his companions, then steadied himself. His right arm trembled visibly.
Only he knew what had just happened.
In its ball form, the ice bear had increased attack and defense power, but it had faced Tang Wulin’s dragon claw, which had been enhanced by both
Golden Dragon Body and reversed blood essence flow!
In the instant before the two had collided, a foot-long beam of golden light had shot out of the fist to slice apart the bear’s defenses. Then a split-second later, the fist came rushing in. The bear’s body had been blown away with a single punch.
Although Tang Wulin had been knocked back by the rebound, the bear was dead.
It had lost in a barbaric contest of pure force!
Tang Wulin panted for breath, his right arm spasming as he worked to regulate his internal energies. He may not have used much soul power, but the amount of blood essence he consumed was enormous. Using Golden Dragon Body and reverse blood essence flow at the same time left him drained.
Yet, after doing so, the blizzard clearly weakened. Sensing that their
comrade had fallen, the three remaining bears roared with rage. These roars soon became mournful, and the blizzard gradually dissipated. Xu Xiaoan had used her Purple Demon Eyes to lead Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu to the remaining three bears. However, just as Yuanen Yehui was about to finish off the last ice bear, Tang Wulin shouted.
“Don’t kill it just yet!”
Chapter 363 – Teasing
Chapter 363 – Teasing
Yuanen Yehui turned to Tang Wulin, confusion in her eyes as she watched him direct his bluesilver grass.
“We’ll just restrain it for now to buy some time to rest and recover,” he
explained as the grass slithered over to tie up the surviving ice bear. He then turned to Xu Xiaoyan. “Are you sure you want this one, Xiaoyan?”
The four ice bears had actually been quite powerful and could be
considered top tier thousand-year soul beasts. Furthermore, these bears
were of the three-thousand-year level, which was perfect for Xu Xiaoyan. She would be in danger if she absorbed a spirit soul that was too strong for her, so Tang Wulin wanted her to be certain.
And Xu Xiaoyan nodded immediately.
Even if there was a chance of encountering stronger ice-attribute soul beasts later on, she wasn’t tempted to try her luck. If they encountered such beasts, they would still have to defeat them. In addition to that, she would have to be strong enough to fuse with the resulting spirit soul. Desire was all well
and good, but greed definitely wasn’t. Besides, she liked how fearsome the ice bears were. She had no doubt that fusing with one of their spirit souls would greatly increase her strength. She especially hoped to obtain their blizzard ability. With it, she would be able to exhibit a wider range of
control and even work with Gu Yue.
“Quick!” Tang Wulin said to Xu Lizhi as he sat down. “Give me ten pork buns!”
Xu Lizhi rolled his eyes. “I don’t give buns away, I sell them! But… fine. I have a pork bun!”
Tang Wulin chuckled as he took the pork bun that appeared and devoured it. His stomach instantly converted the bun into a flood of blood essence that rapidly restored his reserves. After eating a few, Tang Wulin realized that
each bun provided very little soul power. Considering the fact that they came from Xu Lizhi’s first soul skill, it made sense. The important thing
was how they restored stamina. Soul masters usually disregarded physical stamina since soul power was far more potent, but Tang Wulin definitely didn’t. He could convert his stamina into blood essence, so these buns were perfect for him. Xu Lizhi’s first soul skill didn’t eat up too much of his soul power, so he was an excellent match for Tang Wulin.
The rest of the team quickly gathered by the tied up ice bear and began resting as well. Compared to the previous trials, the ninth exhibited a sharp increase in difficulty. The rest of the team understood that, if not for Tang Wulin’s quick decision-making, they would have been in trouble. The blizzard had drastically restricted their vision and only those with Purple Demon Eyes could see through the veil of swirling snow.
They had been quite lucky. Their team composition countered this trial.
Xu Xiaoyan walked over to the tied up ice bear, which now resembled a giant rice dumpling, and gently rubbed its head. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure if you’re real or if you’re an illusion, but I’m really sorry about this. We
couldn’t just sit back and let you attack us. You are quite cute though. Nice and chubby. You look reliable.”
The ice bear seemed to be taken aback by her words, but it quickly regained its composure and continued to regard her coldly.
“I’ve decided!” Xu Xiaoyan muttered to herself, her eyes shining with resolve. “I want an ice bear for my second spirit soul. I know you probably don’t want to join me since we killed your friends, but the spirit soul tower will reward me with an ice bear spirit soul once we kill you. There’s nothing I can do about that, and I’m sorry. You’ll be able to rest easy though. I’ll treat my ice bear spirit soul really well.”
Fear flashed in the ice bear’s eyes, and it let out a low roar.
“So… how do you want to die? I think Wulin pummelled his bear to death. It was a cruel way to go. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at the corpse. Don’t worry, I won’t be so harsh with you. I’ll make sure you die in one piece. How does that sound?” Blue light flashed and a spear of ice
condensed in her hand. She brandished it right in front of the bear, the tip nearly touching its eye. “I’ll make it quick so you don’t feel too much pain. I sincerely hope you’re just a virtual projection and not a real ice bear. If you’re real… I pray that, in your next life, you’ll be able to hide far away from humans. That your next life will be a good one.”
The bear roared frantically, it’s eyes filled with terror.
“Huh? What did you say?” Xu Xiaoyan stared at it in bewilderment, but the bear only continued to roar in panic. “You’re not making any sense. I don’t speak bear! Well, I guess I’ll get it over with. Bye!”
Xu Xiaoyan hefted her spear, poised to strike, but the ice bear roared once more. Instead of fear or frustration, a hint of sad resignation could be heard.
Without warning, the bear’s body collapsed in on itself and turned into specks of light. These tiny lights then formed a miniature ice bear that
floated toward Xu Xiaoyan. Using one of its claws, it pointed at her, then pointed at itself.
Xu Xiaoyan beamed. “You want to be my spirit soul? Really?” The bear grunted and nodded vigorously.
“But… I’m not forcing you to. Are you sure you want to?” Xu Xiaoyan gave it a sweet smile.
The miniature ice bear nodded.
“Alright then! I accept.” In reality, Xu Xiaoyan had planned to tease the ice bear for a while as soon as she saw how cute it was. But she never expected the bear to be so afraid of dying that it would willingly become her spirit
soul. She had a vague feeling that fusing with a spirit soul in this way had
more merits than fusing with the spirit soul that the spirit soul tower provided. Because of this, she accepted immediately. The ice spear disappeared from her hand and she sat down. The little bear then flew into her body, exploding upon contact and enveloping her with a frosty mist.
“Captain!” she exclaimed in embarrassment. “We might need to cut our break short…”
The moment she began fusing with the ice bear spirit soul, the electronic voice resounded throughout the room. “Ninth trial cleared. You may choose to absorb a three-thousand-year ice bear spirit soul or continue ascending.”
Tang Wulin turned to Gu Yue. “What do you think we should do?”
“We need to continue,” Gu Yue responded. “We’re still obligated to help Yuanen Yehui. If we stop here, her only option will be to absorb the ice bear spirit soul. Xiaoyan will be fine if we leave her here. She’ll be sent out once she finishes fusing with her new spirit soul.”
Xu Xiaoyan had found a suitable spirit soul, so now it was Yuanen Yehui’s turn.
“Okay then. We’re continuing,” Tang Wulin declared. He was in high spirits since he had eaten over a dozen pork buns. In contrast, Xu Lizhi was a little haggard from continuously using his first soul skill. “Let’s go!”
With Tang Wulin in the lead, six people entered the door of light, leaving Xu Xiaoyan behind to focus on fusing with the ice bear spirit soul. Icy mist hung around her as her body pulsed with soul power. The mist slowly gathered behind her, taking on the faint shape of a miniature ice bear. Then it began entering her body, and her aura started to transform. A golden star appeared on her forehead, the surrounding mist awash with a noble light.
☀
When Tang Wulin stepped through the door of light into the hall of the tenth trial, he was shocked to discover that this hall was completely different from previous ones. Instead of having an octogonal shape, the hall
his team of six now stood in was round. Instead of eight metal doors, there was only a single one that stood thirty meters tall and twenty meters wide.
Just as Gu Yue had said, the first nine trials were one level, and now they were on the second level.
Yuanen Yehui’s eyes lit up. Now that Xu Xiaoyan had found a spirit soul, it was her turn. Her Titan Giant Ape was a power-type martial soul, so she had to find a martial soul that matched it. However, she sought a spirit soul for her fourth soul ring, which was a drastically different situation than Xu Xiaoyan getting one for her third. Yuanen Yehui could support a spirit soul around the four-thousand-year level, and having a pair of peak-level martial souls meant that she could push that limit to the six-thousand-year level.
“We’ll probably be facing only one beast at a time from now on,” Tang Wulin said. “Be on your guards.”
The moment these words left his mouth, the gigantic door gradually began to open. They couldn’t even see the beast, yet an oppressive wave of
strength washed over them. A loud rumbling resounded from beyond the doorway, then another. One violent shake after another traveled through the hall, growing stronger and stronger until a gargantuan being stepped into view. It stood at over ten meters in height, its body covered in dark violent scales and had to weigh at least five thousand kilograms. It stood on four legs, and it touted gigantic tail that whipped the air behind it. The ground quaked with every step it took.
At first glance, it simply looked like a giant lizard. However, its head was far larger than that of a normal lizard, and two horns sprouted out from it.
“I-it’s a Demon Lizard Dragon!” Xie Xie exclaimed.
In the distant past, the Demon Lizard Dragon was known as a mighty,
savage land dragon. Despite its enormous body, it was strangely agile, and it controlled the darkness element. It would slaughter other soul beasts not for food, but pleasure. It possessed an extremely aggressive nature, and just like the Man-faced Demon Spider, it was considered an outcast in the world of soul beasts.
The Demon Lizard Dragon was a soul beast only mentioned in ancient texts. It was their first time seeing such a beast in person. It raised its head to the sky, its powerful aura exploding forth as it unleashed an ear-piercing roar.
A shockwave of sound struck Tang Wulin and his six companions, leaving them rattled. It was almost as if they had just experienced a spiritual attack.
Xie Xie and Xu Lizhi, the two people of their group that were weak in spiritual power, instantly went pale.
Tang Wulin, however, charged forward without hesitation. “Let me handle this.”
Chapter 364 – Seconds
Chapter 364 – Seconds “Huh?”
Both Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu frowned at the idea of Tang Wulin going in alone. The Demon Lizard Dragon in front of them was definitely
above the four-thousand-year level, and like any other draconic beast, it was extremely powerful and savage.
“Just let him handle it,” Gu Yue said, already sitting on the ground off to the side. She didn’t even bother looking to see how Tang Wulin was doing before closing her eyes to meditate. “We can use this time to rest.”
The Demon Lizard Dragon had a fiery temper, so Tang Wulin’s approach
was more than enough to draw its full attention. It pounced at Tang Wulin at an unimaginable speed that didn’t match its bulk, one that would leave any who saw it move flabbergasted. Six webbed wings spread from its back
while its tail whipped at the ground and hissed through the air. The room
seemed to grow dim, and the dragon reached Tang Wulin in the blink of an eye, its mouth open wide to devour him.
At that moment, a low roar shook the room. Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen
Yehui stopped their bickering and turned to see Tang Wulin soar into the air, his body surrounded in golden light. A golden soul ring appeared around him, and the roar grew to its full intensity, the air trembling before its draconic majesty. In the face of this mighty roar, the arrogant Demon Lizard Dragon froze in mid-air. Then its wings went limp and it crashed to the ground with a dull rumble.
This scene left everyone stupefied, overwhelmed by confusion. They saw Tang Wulin drop through the air and neatly land atop the Demon Lizard Dragon’s head. He readied his claw, then thrust it into the back of the dragon’s head, burying his entire arm into its skull and piercing into its brain.
The dragon’s body spasmed for a moment, then went still.
Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui stood there dumbstruck, racking their brains to try and make sense of what they just witnessed. Yuanen Yehui was confident in her strength, but she knew it would be a challenge for her to take down a four-thousand-year Demon Lizard Dragon on her own. Yet
Tang Wulin singlehandedly slaughtered the beast as easily as cutting paper. This was simply inconceivable!
Tang Wulin turned to his team with a casual look on his face, almost as if nothing noteworthy had happened. On the inside, however, he was actually quite surprised.
The second he engaged the Demon Lizard Dragon in battle, Tang Wulin used Golden Dragon Body and reversed the flow of his blood essence. The aura of the Golden Dragon King exploded from his body and stunned the dragon, leaving it open to Tang Wulin’s attack. This made its demise a swift one, but when he thrust his right arm into the dragon’s head, a warm energy flowed into him and caused his blood essence to flare up.
The energy stimulated his blood essence and pushed Dragon Shocks the Heavens from eighty percent to eighty-five!
Tang Wulin needed to practice restraint when progressing with Dragon Shocks the Heavens. According to his original expectations, it was
supposed to be incomparably harder for him to finish the last twenty percent of Dragon Shocks the Heavens, more so than all eighty percent he had completed thus far.
Yet he had just made a month’s worth of progress in the blink of an eye!
Killing draconic soul beasts makes me stronger? I never felt anything like this in the spirit ascension platform… Is it because this Demon Lizard
Dragon is real?
Just as the idea formed in his mind, the Demon Lizard Dragon faded into particles of light and disappeared. The electronic voice sounded off once more, announcing that they had ten seconds to decide if they wanted the Demon Lizard Dragon martial soul. Yuanen Yehui simply waved at Tang Wulin dismissively, a wry smile on her lips. It had been killed in one shot by Tang Wulin! There was no way she would choose such a fragile spirit soul!
As he rejoined his companions, Tang Wulin thought about the sensation of that warm energy entering his body. It seemed to him that, after breaking
another Golden Dragon King seal, his blood essence had grown stronger along with his influence on draconic soul beasts. He was certain that the
Demon Lizard Dragon wouldn’t have been so affected by him otherwise. It had just been bad luck for it to encounter him. If it had at least refrained from flying into the air, its death wouldn’t have been so brutal.
Having completed ten trials, they understood just how much time they had to recover between each one. Tang Wulin’s team of six didn’t enter the golden door until the last possible second. Once they did, they found that the eleventh floor was the same as the tenth. Only a single gigantic door
stood in the hall. True to form, the door slowly slid open. This time, however, there was no burst of oppressive might. Every floor contained soul beasts far stronger than the one before it, especially from the ninth floor onward. They were now on the eleventh floor, and there was no way the
coming trial would be easier than the previous ones.
“Careful, everyone. Triangle formation!” Tang Wulin commanded. His soul rings appeared around him as bluesilver grass came twisting out of the ground to secure the perimeter. Tang Wulin now spearheaded their triangle formation. Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu flanked him as the other two points of their formation. It was their job to protect their three teammates inside of the triangle.
With a twirl of her hands, Gu Yue sent out three green lights to her guards, boosting their agility. Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui weren’t even fazed by the versatility of Gu Yue’s martial soul anymore. They had tried to figure out just how great her abilities were in the previous trials, but she never revealed the full extent of her hand. They could only tell that her martial
soul was capable of providing just as much well-timed support as it could dish out damage, and that she had many elements at her disposal. It was their first time encountering such an incomprehensible martial soul.
Soon enough, a refreshing scent wafted to their noses. It smelled of air after a long day of baking in the sun. Yet all it did was make Tang Wulin even more cautious. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the gaping doorway,
and bluesilver grass instantly shot up to form a dense net around them. A
split-second later, lightning shot out of the doorway and bombarded the net with a thunderous crash. The explosive impact left their ears ringing. A
shockwave rippled from the point of impact in the net, and Tang Wulin groaned under the strain. He struggled to support their defense, his entire body going numb in the process.
Only then did the attacker finally step out of the darkness beyond the doorway.
The strength of the soul beasts they faced before seemed to match their size, but that wasn’t the case for this one. It was actually quite small, standing at about a foot in height, with tiny yet sharp claws, and sported large violet- blue eyes. It also had bright sunny fur that Tang Wulin and the others had never seen on a soul beast before. The color extended to its tail, which was shaped like a lightning bolt. Electromagnetic power propelled it through the air, currents of electricity coursing through its body as it headed toward them.
“Is that… a thunder beast?” Xie Xie sputtered.
Confusion filled Tang Wulin, Zu Lizhi, and Yuanen Yehui, Gu Yue knitted her brow in thought.
Yue Zhengyu, on the other hand, had realization written all over his face.
Chapter 365 – Opposites Attract
Chapter 365 – Opposites Attract
“We’re facing a thunder beast!” Yue Zhengyu exclaimed. “As expected of the Spirit Pagoda! They have such a rare soul beast! Be careful everyone, we can’t underestimate it. It’s extremely quick, and its lightning is lethal.”
Before Yue Zhengyu could say any more, the thunder beast made its move. It whipped its crooked tail around, sending another bombardment of violet- blue lightning at Tang Wulin’s team.
Yuanen Yehui snorted as she strode forward. Three purple soul rings
appeared around her as a pair of pitch-black wings unfurled from her back. Inky darkness spread from her body, rapidly eating away at the surrounding light and swallowing up the bluesilver grass around them. It also engulfed every lightning bolt that shot toward them, soaking them up like a blighted fen. The darkness spread beyond the net of bluesilver grass, but it soon reached the boundary where electricity crackled in the air, and it stopped.
By that point, Tang Wulin recovered from his numbness, and he
commanded his bluesilver grass to shoot up toward the thunder beast. Yuanen Yehui launched herself into the air. Her second soul ring lit up and a violet blade of darkness appeared in her hand. She flew straight at the thunder beast, blade in hand!
But at that moment, golden light burst at her side, a holy radiance that pushed back her darkness. Yue Zhengyu flew off as well, moving to the other side of the thunder beast to avoid Yuanen Yehui’s aura of darkness.
Doubt welled within the hearts of Tang Wulin and the others when they saw the clash of light and darkness. They were certain that the two would cancel
each other out, but something even stranger happened. Both of their blades seemed to be drawn to the other, changing their courses mid-flight. Before they could even get anywhere near the thunder beast, they crashed into each other.Light and darkness came together, roiling, struggling, and an instant later, a booming shockwave tore through the air.
Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu extricated themselves from the clash, putting distance between each other, and yelled at the exact same time.
“What the hell are you doing!”
The rest of their teammates watched in stupefaction. It was like the attraction between yin and yang!
Light and darkness could never coexist, but, the truth was, light and darkness usually didn’t behave like that when they came into contact with each other. This explosive clash occurred because they both had angelic martial souls, one holy and the other fallen. The two were destined to
always stand opposite of one another. Their martial souls were so incompatible that, upon sensing the other’s aura, they felt more inclined to target one another! They simply couldn’t help themselves from doing so.
While the two bickered with each other, the thunder beast transformed into a streak of lightning. It appeared a hundred meters away, completely out of reach of Tang Wulin’s bluesilver grass and wholly unscathed.
Xie Xie sprang into action. He understood that the thunder beast relied on its lightning attacks and nimbleness to dominate its opponents. As an
agility-type soul master, it was his job to take it down. He sped forward like a wisp of ghostly fire, zigzagging toward the thunder beast, leaving
afterimages in his wake. As he did, Gu Yue unleashed a barrage of wind blades, sieging the thunder beast from all sides.
No elements actually countered the lightning attribute, so they couldn’t restrain it in that way. Lightning possessed both explosive might and frightening speed. It did have drawbacks, however, being more taxing on its user and not very suitable for defense.
Tang Wulin calmly stayed back to guard Gu Yue and Xu Lizhi. Ever since the ninth trial, he realized that their opponents were far more intelligent than before. The thunder beast was a clear example of that. Strength itself was nothing to fear, but strength and intellect were a frightening
combination. It was clear to him that this thunder beast was exceedingly
clever. It didn’t engage Xie Xie in combat immediately, but chose to evade and draw him away from his companions first. Just thinking about what sort of schemes a soul beast could hatch left him terrified.
Xie Xie continued to chase after the thunder beast, and when he finally drew close, he used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to soar into the air and sent a Light Dragon Blade slashing toward it. At that moment, he saw the panic in the thunder beast’s eyes disappear, confidence taking its place
within their amethyst depths. Not good!
A ball of lightning one meter in diameter suddenly appeared between him and the thunder beast. Before he could react, it extinguished the Light
Dragon Blade with a flicker of electricity, then paralyzed Xie Xie’s body
with another. Leaving him no time to recover, the thunder beast shot the ball of lightning at him. Its violet fury engulfed Xie Xie’s body and promptly burned it to ash.
All of this happened too quickly. Xie Xie had been lured too far away for anyone to reach him, even if they had taken action earlier.
No one could save him.
“Xie Xie!” Tang Wulin screamed as he charged forward.
However, to both his and the thunder beast’s surprise, the lightning ball suddenly exploded in a burst of sparks.
Amidst the crackle of electricity in the air, Xie Xie fell to the ground. Wisps of smoke trailed from his body, which had been burnt black, and every hair on his body stood on end.
Only then did Tang Wulin realize what happened. He used a shadow clone to escape at the last minute! It was just his clone that died!
When he came face to face with the thunder beast’s might, Xie Xie realized that this was an opponent he couldn’t handle by himself. Only by working as a team did they have a chance at seizing victory.
But the thunder beast had reacted to Xie Xie’s reappearance too quickly.
Before he could retreat, it sent another barrage of lightning at him. Xie Xie used Shadow Dragon Storm to defend himself, and this time, the lightning strikes only numbed his body instead of sending daggers of searing pain into it.
The fact that this thunder beast’s cultivation was at the five-thousand-year level made Tang Wulin’s heart go cold with dread. He shot a strand of bluesilver grass out to wrap around Xie Xie’s waist then dragged him back. Fortunately, Xie Xie was still in one piece.
Xie Xie’s entire body had been burnt black. Smoke rose from every inch of him. If he hadn’t reacted in time and used Shadow Dragon Storm to defend himself, he would’ve been on the verge of death if not completely dead.
Every single one of his muscles twitched rapidly, making it seem as if his body were trembling without end.
Tang Wulin willed his bluesilver grass to wrap around the waists of Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu and drag them back into their triangle formation.
“I’m sorry,” Gu Yue said from her place behind Tang Wulin. “We were too far from Xie Xie just now. I can’t teleport things at that distance.”
“It’s not your fault,” Tang Wulin said with steel in his voice. “On your guards, everyone.” He slowly raised his hands, his blood essence flow beginning to reverse.
For the first time since he gained it, Tang Wulin’s third soul ring lit up.
Due to his limited spiritual power, he couldn’t use his bluesilver grass soul skills and reverse the flow of his blood essence at the same time. However,
his third soul skill could activate independently, freeing him to prepare Dragon Shocks the Heavens.
Golden light gathered around Tang Wulin while a draconic roar rumbled from his body. The thunder beast flinched as the roar flooded over it, its
ears suddenly perked ramrod straight. It scratched its cheeks anxiously, and its eyes began to wander, searching for its next target.
Yet Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu continued to glare at each other.
“You idiot!” shouted Yuanen Yehui. “Look what you did! If it weren’t for you, I would have already killed that thunder beast!”
Yue Zhengyu snorted in response. “Bullshit! How would you be able to kill it without my help? It’s at the five-thousand-year level! It’s both fast and powerful! It’s one of the beasts that stands near the peak. Don’t you know why you never see ten-thousand-year thunder beasts? If it reached that level, it’d be too domineering! All of the other soul beasts kill it before it
comes to that! That’s why!”
He clearly had a deeper understanding of thunder beasts than Yuanen Yehui.
“Y-y-yeah. T-t-that’s right,” said Xie Xie. “T-this thunder beast is really p-p- powerful. I-it’s much more powerful than we are! Unless you have f-five
soul rings and a powerful martial soul, killing it alone is impossible.” “All of you be careful,” said Tang Wulin. “Just wait for an opening.”
A hundred meters away, the thunder beast smirked and whipped its tail, hurling a lightning bolt at them. It streaked across the room, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. Tang Wulin smiled as he watched the bolt approach. Golden light gathered around him and poured into a vine of bluesilver grass, causing it to grow rapidly and become as thick as a man’s
thigh. Scales sprouted from the vine as well. They quickly covered the vine, making it resemble an enlarged snake striking at its prey as it shot forward to meet the lightning bolt head on.
Chapter 366 – Goldsong
Chapter 366 – Goldsong
Lightning arced through the air, striking the golden serpentine grass in a burst of sparks. The grass’s glow dimmed a bit, but it had more than enough energy to keep advancing. It continued to shoot toward the thunder beast, a deathly screech resounding within the hall.
Is… is that Goldlight? Did Tang Wulin fuse Goldlight into the bluesilver grass?
This was the the first time anyone present had ever seen Tang Wulin’s bluesilver grass behave like this, even Gu Yue and Xie Xie.
Goldlight whipped its tail and the grass behind it stood up straight. It took on a golden luster and began moving to form a gold snake of which
Goldlight was the head. Below the snake, an enormous formation, a battle array, blazed into existence.
“Is that a spirit soul skill?” Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu asked in unison.
Generally speaking, spirit souls could only assist their soul master indirectly. Some especially powerful spirit souls could actually participate in battle of course, which was possible for the exceptional few who possessed both a strong martial spirit and a spirit soul capable of matching its strength. However, since all spirit souls started out relatively weak, a
soul master would prioritize compatibility over strength when choosing a spirit soul.
A spirit soul skill was the product of fusing a spirit soul with a soul skill,
something that would normally only be possible with one’s second or third
spirit soul. It would also require said spirit soul to be extremely compatible with the soul skill. Although spirit souls granted soul skills, in this particular situation, martial souls would first process the granted power.
Spirit soul skills couldn’t compare to soul fusion skills, but they were still far more powerful than ordinary soul skills. .
At this moment, Goldlight served as the heart of Tang Wulin’s third soul skill, Bluesilver Golden Array! Under Goldlight’s control, Tang Wulin’s vines could attack in more intelligent ways and display even greater
strength.
Goldlight had completely changed from when Tang Wulin first got it. It was originally a defective spirit soul only capable of granting a single weak soul skill.
But with Tang Wulin, it grew.
Under the influence of Tang Wulin’s bloodline, and after absorbing a wealth of spirit energy, it ascended and grew to what it was today. However, in the end, Tang Wulin’s Golden Dragon King bloodline had influenced Goldlight the most. All snakes possessed a sliver of draconic blood in them. A defective spirit soul like Goldlight possessed an infinitesimally small
amount of draconic blood, yet Tang Wulin’s Golden Dragon King bloodline was that of a peak-level dragon. Simply being fused to Tang Wulin
constantly exposed Goldlight to a supreme bloodline, gradually transforming it over time. Wang Jinxi had also received many benefits from the Golden Dragon King bloodline when he cultivated with Tang Wulin, but Goldlight’s transformation was completely beyond that. This was especially true after Tang Wulin broke the third seal and poured the blood essence he
couldn’t handle into Goldlight. Its body had grown another by yet another level and now possessed formidable combat strength.
Tang Wulin’s Bluesilver Golden Array only became like this because Goldlight initially couldn’t grant Tang Wulin three soul skills. This
particular soul skill came into existence through the combined factors of the Golden Dragon King bloodline’s influence, Goldlight becoming a thousand- year spirit soul, and Tang Wulin’s bluesilver grass mutating! This was Tang Wulin’s first time using this soul skill. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to use it
earlier. He just hadn’t quite grasped its power yet, and he didn’t have any chances to test it beforehand because he had focused solely on forging
alloys instead of gaining combat experience.
Another boom rang out as the golden snake formed by the Bluesilver
Golden Array dispersed yet another bolt of lightning. This infuriated the thunder beast, and it summoned a lightning bolt that pulsed with power that was far greater than before. In the next instant, it descended upon the giant
snake. The lightning bolt struck the snake, sending electricity surging across its glittering golden scales and through every grassy vine, but the grass
simply went erect and spread the electricity into the air.
Now a curtain of lightning lingered around the grass snake. “What! Elemental guidance?” Gu Yue gaped.
Elemental guidance was a powerful ability that allowed a certain amount of control over every element! Gu Yue could tell that elemental guidance was a passive ability of the Bluesilver Golden Array. This meant that as long as Tang Wulin didn’t face an overwhelming assault, he could simply shrug off elemental attacks using the Bluesilver Golden Array! He could just scatter any elemental attacks like dust in the wind!
Lightning continued to pour through the air, rumbling booms filling the hall as electricity soaked bluesilver grass. The barrage grew more and more intense as the thunder beast continued to rage at how well the grass snake weathered its attacks. Soon enough, dark thundering clouds filled the hall,
continuously smiting the Bluesilver Golden Array!
Everyone stood inside of the array, staring at the spectacle in shock. Tang Wulin himself was no exception! There was no way any of them could
withstand such electrical might on their own. Even if they all worked together, they would have had to pull out all of their reserved strength to survive the attack, and probably would have been crippled in the process.
The thunder beast had gone berserk and its speed had increased several times over! After clearing nine floors and entering the second level of trials, the difficulty had ramped up. Now their only chance at passing this trial was
for Tang Wulin to use his Bluesilver Golden Array to exhaust all of the thunder beast’s soul power!
Yet that could hardly be called a victory.
Goldlight continued to glare up at the stormy clouds, hissing its defiance. Lightning continued to flood the bluesilver grass, but each bolt that did was drawn out by elemental guidance, and electricity continued to build up and shroud the grass. The array gradually turned violet-blue, and the area
completely became saturated with crackling energy.
Tang Wulin’s soul power reserves declined rapidly, but compared to the thunder beast, his rate of consumption was much lower. It was far easier to defend and disperse the potency of the lightning bolts than it was to
summon them. What shocked him, however, was that his blood essence slowly depleted along with his soul power! He now realized that his
Bluesilver Golden Array had some connection to his bloodline, which most likely stemmed from Goldlight acting as the heart of the soul skill!
Goldlight’s hissing grew louder and louder, and although none of Tang Wulin’s team understood what it meant, its arrogance was extremely
apparent. This led everyone to the realization that it was sneering at the thunder beast!
Shivers ran down Xie Xie’s spine. “Even Boss’s spirit soul is as two-faced as him! Boss, ‘Goldlight’ just isn’t a suitable name for it! The name doesn’t do it justice at all! Look at how much it likes to hiss. Why don’t you change its name to Chatterbox!”
Gu Yue glared at Xie Xie as she slapped the back of his head. “You’re the chatterbox!”
Ever since the day Gu Yue beat him, he no longer found himself able to muster even an ounce of defiance toward her. He zipped his mouth shut and lowered his head in embarrassment.
“How about calling it Goldsong?” Gu Yue said with a thoughtful smile on her face.
“Isn’t that just a nicer way of calling it a chatterbox?” Tang Wulin asked helplessly.
At that moment, Goldlight turned around and yelped at Gu Yue. The difference between how it regarded the thunder beast and Gu Yue was clear. It was practically fawning over her.
“See? It likes the name,” Gu Yue said, nodding earnestly at Tang Wulin. “Let’s call it Goldsong from now on!”
Tang Wulin resigned himself. “Alright, fine.” He always felt that Goldlight had been too simple of a name anyway. Goldsong was definitely a more pleasant name to say.
Then it shall henceforth be known as Goldsong.
Little did they know that Goldsong would become a name known and revered by all, once Tang Wulin rose to prominence in the future.
Chapter 367 – Elemental Stripping
Chapter 367 – Elemental Stripping
After Goldsong’s renaming, the barrage of lightning began the weaken. The forest of lightning that filled the sky grew thinner and thinner, and soon
enough, the thunder beast’s visage could clearly be seen. Lightning snaked from its body, its face wreathed in fury and its pupils now vertical slits. It no longer summoned bolts lightning, but instead gathered violet-blue
electricity into its body. This voltaic energy now held a hint of gold, and a moment later, the thunder beast transformed into an enormous ball of lightning!
“Did it stop caring about its own life?” Yuanen Yehui stepped forward, taking the lead. “Be careful, everyone!”
“Use your Titan Giant Ape soul!” shouted Tang Wulin.
“Mn.” Yuanen Yehui nodded in understanding. She had twin martial souls while Yue Zhengyu only had the Holy Angel. In order to keep their martial souls from clashing, she had to switch to her Titan Giant Ape martial soul.
A third soul ring appeared around Yuanen Yehui and her body swelled with strength, her clothes ripping apart until only the skintight, highly elastic outfit she wore underneath remained. She roared and swung her gigantic
arms around, her aura flaring up, and only then did Tang Wulin realize why Yuanen Yehui always disguised herself as a boy. A girl transforming into a Titan Giant Ape truly wasn’t a pretty sight.
Yuanen Yehui immediately activated her third soul skill, Diamond Titan. It was a formidable soul skill that temporarily boosted her physical strength
by an obscene amount! Only with this skill could she truly be considered strong when using her Titan Giant Ape martial soul.
Without warning, the sky warped for an instant, making everyone’s vision blur. The golden-violent ball of lightning shot toward Goldsong! However, Goldsong showed no fear and instead wielded the Bluesilver Golden Array at full power. With a flick of its tail, the entire array grew brighter and golden strands of grass shot up into the sky. The grass twisted as it spread upward, forming a giant whirlpool that sucked in the lightning.
In a strange turn of events, the swiftly approaching lightning ball suddenly slowed down once the Bluesilver Golden Array surrounded it. From the
outside, Tang Wulin and the others could see the whirlpool of grass draining the lightning from the ball of energy. Gu Yue stared at the Bluesilver
Golden Array, too shocked to even prepare her own attack.
Goldsong hadn’t used elemental guidance. That only worked when an
elemental attack struck it! No, Goldlight was using elemental stripping, a stronger form of elemental guidance!
Elemental stripping… Gu Yue’s eyes widened at the thought. Elemental
stripping was an ability purely meant to counter elemental soul masters, a control ability that all elemental soul masters yearned for. The Bluesilver Golden Array’s elemental stripping wasn’t as powerful as the real thing, however. The target had to enter the scope of the array for it to activate.
Even with that limitation, it was a powerful ability for the three-ringed Tang Wulin. He would now be a nightmare for all ranged elemental soul masters. That array can be used for both attack and defense!
As Gu Yue thought about it, the Bluesilver Golden Array faced some problems. The bluesilver grass that Goldsong controlled could resist the lightning, but the normal strands of grass couldn’t. The lightning of the thunder beast burned that grass black, strand after strand cracking and
crumbling to ash.
As he currently was, Tang Wulin couldn’t handle something like a five- thousand-year thunder beast on his own. He could feel his blood essence and soul power drop with every second that passed, his face growing pale.
Yuanen Yehui snorted and stepped forward. She focused her strength into her legs and rocketed her gigantic frame into the air, punching at the thunder beast with her second soul skill, Air Cannon! Under the effects of Diamond Titan, Air Cannon became far more formidable. A white streak shot from her fist, a condensed burst of air speeding toward the thunder beast like an artillery shell. The air shell struck the lightning ball, and the resulting shockwave of the clash sent rumbles throughout the entire hall.
Tang Wulin’s Bluesilver Golden Array failed at that moment, and the glowing formation lines that surrounded Goldsong faded away. In a flash, Goldsong returned to its normal size and slithered onto his shoulder.
At the same time, the weakening lightning ball dissipated entirely and the thunder beast came flying out of it.
“Judgement!” Yue Zhengyu exploded with holy might and shot a beam of light down at the thunder beast. The thunder beast trembled in the face of the light, fighting to resist its vindictive glow. But its resistance was futile. It had already been exhausted to the brink of collapse. The light slammed the thunder beast into the stone floor, which cracked under the force of impact.
The moment Yue Zhengyu summoned the holy light, Xie Xie darted forward. He held a grudge against the beast after their previous clash, and he arrived at the downed thunder beast in a flash, attacking with a Light
Dragon Blade. However, right as he did, a shield of light formed around the thunder beast. Xie Xie’s dagger bounced off the shield, almost as if he had just struck an elastic wall.
Then, in a brilliant flash of light, the thunder beast disappeared. “Eleventh trial cleared,” the electronic voice announced.
Everyone looked at each other in surprise. Despite passing the trial, none of them looked happy. It had been a hard-won trial. If not for Tang Wulin’s
Bluesilver Golden Array restraining and exhausting the thunder beast, they would have had to pay a far higher price to prevail. Even so, they won, and could continue their search for a spirit soul for Yuanen Yehui.
Yuanen Yehui looked at Tang Wulin. “Are you able to continue?”
“Of course.” Tang Wulin met her gaze. Success was one thing, but he made a promise, and he kept his promises. “No matter what happens, we’ll do our best to help you.”
“Here.” Xu Lizhi handed a bun to Tang Wulin.
It only took Tang Wulin two bites to finish it. Bringing a food-type soul master really was a great idea! He’s just perfect for helping me fill my stomach!
With the conclusion of the battle, Tang Wulin became acutely aware of how empty his stomach was. After devouring the pork bun however, he felt much better, leading him to look at Xu Lizhi with a heated gaze.
“Don’t look at me like that! I’m not a girl, Wulin!” Frightened by the way Tang Wulin looked at him, Xu Lizhi hastily chanted and summoned a few more buns for him.
Yuanen Yehui saw this exchange occur and grimaced, then directed her eyes away from the two gluttons toward the door of light. Oddly enough, the
electronic voice hadn’t urge them to enter the door or begin a ten second
countdown. Since they weren’t being forced to enter the door, they relaxed and spent the time they had recovering. Tang Wulin focused on absorbing the nutrients of the buns as he observed their surroundings.
“Did something change, Gu Yue? Are they giving us time to rest now?” asked Tang Wulin.
Gu Yue furrowed her brow. “I’m not sure. I asked my teacher about the spirit soul tower, but she just told me to experience it for myself and that knowing too much ahead of time would ruin it.”
“Alright, we’ll just wait and see then.”
Yuanen Yehui sat in front of the door. If anything happened, she would enter immediately. It was only ten minutes later that the electronic voice
sounded off once more.
“You have ten seconds to enter the door.” A small illusory thunder beast appeared beside the door, floating in the air. “Or absorb the thunder beast spirit soul.”
Tang Wulin was actually quite fond of this thunder beast. If he possessed a lightning-attribute martial soul, he would have jumped at the chance to take it as his second spirit soul. Unfortunately, neither he nor anyone else on his team possessed the lightning attribute. No one aside from Yuanen Yehui
could absorb another spirit soul at the moment anyway.
“Let’s go!” Tang Wulin shouted. His soul power hadn’t recovered much, but with the help of the buns, he had recovered most of his blood essence.
“I have a red bean bun, I have a red bean bun!” Xu Lizhi chanted, his third soul ring lighting up.
The others were were already walking toward the door when they heard his chant and turned see a bunch of white buns appearing in his hands. They
were tiny, but emitted an alluring fragrance. He’s using his third soul skill? “What are those for?” Tang Wulin asked.
“I’ll tell you on the next floor. Here. Each of you gets one.”
Everyone nodded in confirmation and walked through the door of light.
Chapter 368 – Yuanen Yehui’s Choice
Chapter 368 – Yuanen Yehui’s Choice
Light blinded Tang Wulin’s team of six as they stepped into the hall of the twelfth trial. Once it dimmed enough for them to see their surroundings, they found themselves in a hall identical to that of the eleventh trial.
Wasting no time, Xu Lizhi quickly distributed red bean buns to the rest of the team.
“Pay attention to your teamwork, guys,” he said. “My Bloodthirst Bean Buns can boost your physical strength up to fifty percent and your soul power by twenty. Power-type soul masters or soul masters with vigorous
blood essence will have their physical strength boosted even more. I call it the bloodthirst effect.”
Everyone’s eyes were glued to Xu Lizhi, not a single one of them paying
any attention to the door of light disappearing behind them. These red bean buns boost both physical strength and soul power? And he can even give one to everyone? What an amazing food-type soul master! Is that really just his third soul skill?
Xu Lizhi smiled wryly. “I’m a bit surprised by it myself. My teacher told me that it’s a variant soul skill. Its effect might be potent, but it only lasts for three minutes. It’ll also leave you in a weakened state after expiring, the length of which differs between people. Wulin, for example, will probably only be weak for ten minutes. However, if you rely on spiritual power to fight and have a weak constitution, I think the weakened state will last
about an hour.”
Bloodthirst lasts for three minutes! Tang Wulin gulped, eyes glued to the red bean bun in his hand. “What happens if I eat more than one?”
Xu Lizhi frantically waved his hand. “No, don’t eat more than one! The side effects will be too great if you do. Well, you might be able to handle
two, but the bloodthirst effect would only last one minute, its effect would be twice as strong, and you’d be weak for a whole day afterward. No one else’s body is strong enough to eat two, and if they did, they’d die.
Bloodthirst is supposed to ignite one’s soul power and essence to draw forth a burst of strength, but the buns allow this to happen without any permanent side effects. So, just to be safe, don’t eat more than one of them a day.”
“It’s amazing enough as it is!” exclaimed Yue Zhengyu.
Xu Lizhi hadn’t participated in a single battle throughout the entire tower
attack, but that was just common sense for a food-type soul master like him. This didn’t upset anyone because they all knew that, without his pork buns, they would have long since exhausted all their soul power and never would have made it this far. Now he revealed the secrets baked into his shocking red bean buns!
As everyone stowed their buns away, the hall’s giant metal door began rumbling.
“Prepare for battle!” Tang Wulin shouted. The thunder beast from the
eleventh trial had left a deep impression on them, as did the Demon Lizard Dragon. If it weren’t for Tang Wulin, the dragon would have been a far more challenging opponent. With the last two soul beasts fresh in their memories, thoughts of what the twelfth trial’s beast would be filled them with anticipation. They couldn’t possibly be lucky enough to perfectly
counter every soul beast they came across.
The door slid to a grinding halt, and they watched the opening with bated breath, waiting to see how fortune would treat them this time. A soul beast emerged from the darkness, its movements rough and heavy. Its head drooped as it stepped into the hall, but even so, the beast stood over ten meters tall. It had a massive frame, with shoulders spanning seven meters and arms like pillars that could hold up the heavens, thick and solid. Its
figure exuded regal might, one that even a Demon Lizard Dragon would cower before.
Yuanen Yehui’s eyes gleamed the second she saw it. “I-is that a Diamond Baboon?”
A Diamond Baboon was a power-type soul beast, one of the most powerful ape-types. In fact, its strength even surpassed that of the Titan Giant Ape.
The greatest of Diamond Baboons stood over forty meters tall, a true goliath of a beast with strength to match its size. They were hailed as one of the freaks of the soul beasts world. Few possessed greater physical strength than a Diamond Baboon, and it could definitely claim to be the king of
strength. The Diamond Baboon’s might lay in its pure strength, and strength led to terrifying speed. This earned it the title of King of the Jungle.
Yet the Titan Giant Ape remained superior, not because of its strength or abilities, but because of its intelligence! In comparison, the Diamond
Baboon was all brawn and no brains, and therein lay its greatest weakness.
Ape-type soul beasts were generally smarter than other soul beasts, but
Diamond Baboons went against this trend. In fact, some wondered if they even had brains. They possessed violent dispositions, were fond of
slaughtering others, and seemed to act based on instinct alone. Apart from their monstrous strength, they only possessed a single soul skill, Enrage! As the name suggested, it produced effects similar to that caused by Xu Lizhi’s red bean buns. Unlike bloodthirst, however, Enrage strained the user’s body, not their soul power, and even granted a greater boost of strength that could reach as high as fifty percent!
Thousand-year soul beasts with only one soul skill were very rare. For any other soul master, the Diamond Baboon would have simply been a hassle to deal with, but considering her Titan Giant Ape martial soul, it was perfect for Yuanen Yehui. It would be a wonderful boon for her to acquire its Enrage soul skill.
“I want it,” declared Yuanen Yehui.
“Alright.” Tang Wulin nodded at her. “We’ll do our best.”
This Diamond Baboon was around the five-thousand-year level. As a power-type soul beast, it possessed formidable strength, speed, and physical defense. In exchange for having no long-ranged abilities, it was unparalleled at close quarters. With their current team, whether or not they would be able to defeat it was a coin toss.
The reality of their grim situation shone through Yuanen Yehui’s face. “I’ll keep it occupied,” she said, popping the red bean bun into her mouth. Her third soul ring lit up as she activated Diamond Titan with a swing of her
arms. She had finally found a spirit soul that suited her, but she still had to defeat it. Without hesitation she rushed forward, playing the part of vanguard, the most difficult role in this battle.
She shot toward the Diamond Baboon, cutting through the air as the aura of the Titan Giant Ape erupted from her body. The aura washed over the
Diamond Baboon, stirring it from its sluggish stupor, and its eyes began turning a bright crimson.
Although the Diamond Baboon and the Titan Giant Ape were both ape-type soul beasts, they were mortal enemies. In ancient times, Diamond Baboons were subservient to Titan Giant Apes. Titan Giant Apes were individually
stronger than Diamond Baboons, but the baboons far outnumbered their lords, and one day, an exceptionally intelligent Diamond Baboon was born. With a leader to rally them, the Diamond Baboons rose up against the Titan Giant Apes. The resulting rebellion led to many losses on both sides and
started a war between the two races that rocked the world of soul beasts. Titan Giant Apes were peak-level soul beasts, while Diamond Baboons only fell slightly short of them. A war between such powerhouses shocked the heavens as well!
This war continued for hundreds of years until the Titan Giant Apes paid a steep price to kill that intelligent Diamond Baboon. Without a leader, the
Diamond Baboons collapsed. Yet the Titan Giant Apes paid dearly for their victory. A great number of them died because of the war, and they lost their position as one of the ruling factions in the world of soul beasts. Although they still held onto their power as kings of the forest, they no longer acted
as boldly as before. Anyone well-versed in soul beast history knew of the
grudge between these two races. Saying that this grudge ran as deep as the sea would be an understatement!
Chapter 369 – The Mighty Diamond Baboon
Chapter 369 – The Mighty Diamond Baboon
Even back when soul beasts littered the land, Titan Giant Apes and
Diamond Baboons would be at each other’s throats the moment they laid eyes on each other. Diamond Baboons knew they couldn’t kill the Titan
Giant Apes, but they would rather die trying. Yuanen Yehui bore no grudge against this Diamond Baboon, but as soon as she unleashed her Titan Giant Ape martial soul, her eyes went crimson with fury. The Diamond Baboon beat its chest and roared, then dropped onto all fours and bounded toward her.
Tang Wulin understood how powerful this baboon was and chose not to use his bluesilver grass. It couldn’t possibly stand up to the baboon’s strength as it currently was. Instead, he opted to use his Golden Dragon King abilities, immediately activating Golden Dragon Body. A brilliant golden soul ring
appeared beside him as he devoured a red bean bun, and charged at the baboon.
“Yuanen is just becoming less and less womanly,” Xie Xie muttered to himself. He sighed, then rushed over to join Tang Wulin and Yuanen Yehui, approaching from the Diamond Baboon’s flank like a proper agility-type
soul master.
Once the three rushed out, Yue Zhengyu unfurled his pure white wings and used his second soul skill, a holy sword materializing in his hand. Gu Yue directed the elements in the air, her hands moving nonstop.
Every single one of them acted in perfect sync!
As the rest of her team sprang into action, Yuanen Yehui crashed into the Diamond Baboon, the air around them exploding into a frenzied gale.
With Diamond Titan activated, she stood a little over five meters tall.
Although her frame was far bulkier than before, she was still a far cry from the Diamond Baboon’s muscular mass. She also couldn’t match its overwhelming physical strength. The clash sent her flying, but the baboon only staggered back two steps.
The red bean bun had boosted Yuanen Yehui’s strength by no small amoun, but she was still lacking in comparison with the Diamond Baboon.
Just as the Diamond Baboon recovered from the recoil, Tang Wulin arrived.
Standing before the towering ten-meter tall baboon, Tang Wulin resembled a baby. However, his blood essence surged within him, its flow reversing as a dragon roared from the depths of his body. Although he had eaten numerous pork buns after the previous trial, his blood essence hadn’t been fully replenished. Yet the Bloodthirst Bean Bun more than made up for him not being in peak condition. It made him feel the same as when he had
eaten those ten gigantic bowls of noodles. It made his blood boil, and his blood essence flowed in reverse, breaking through the eighty-five percent bottleneck to reach ninety percent! His blood essence bubbled with power. Under the effects of Golden Dragon Body and the bloodthirst of the red bean bun, his strength reached an all-time high!
Tang Wulin clenched his clawed hand into a fist and sent it straight at the Diamond Baboon!
At precisely this moment, the Diamond Baboon made a mistake. All of its attention was focused on Yuanen Yehui. It saw Tang Wulin as a nuisance and only raised its left hand up to swat at Tang Wulin as if he were a fly.
Golden dragon claw and palm met.
The impact sent Tang Wulin sent flying away and he slammed into the wall like an artillery shell, embedded deeply within. While his strength was
great, Tang Wulin still couldn’t compare with Yuanen Yehui, let alone the Diamond Baboon. .
However, the Diamond Baboon hadn’t come out unscathed.
Although Tang Wulin’s punch was nowhere near as powerful as the baboon’s casual swat, there was still a matter of difference in the sizes of their hands. With all of Tang Wulin’s strength concentrated on his
comparatively tiny fist, the pressure he exerted was far higher, and this was without taking in consideration his claw’s crushing effect.
The same instant Tang Wulin was sent flying away, a crunch could be heard as the Diamond Baboon’s left hand exploded, leaving a bloody hole half a meter in diameter on its palm. The Diamond Baboon grimaced, roaring its rage to the sky. Pain seared its nerves, and its entire arm began to twitch.
Yet it wasn’t given a single moment of reprieve. Holy light descended from the heavens at that moment, bathing the Diamond Baboon in flames that ate away at its flesh! Although the Diamond Baboon wasn’t of darkness-
attribute, holy flames burned the soul in addition to flesh. This was one of the defining traits of a Holy Angel.
The excruciating pain of its flesh burning and the bloody hole in its palm was too much for the Diamond Baboon. It went crazy, its eyes bleeding red while its golden hair stood on end, the gold color rapidly replaced by
scarlet.
Entering its enraged state, the Diamond Baboon’s strength multiplied as its intelligence, low to begin with, disappeared entirely. It couldn’t feel the pain from its palm anymore. It exploded into action, throwing its enormous bulk at Yuanen Yehui.
The enraged Diamond Baboon was terrifying. Its originally gigantic body grew even more muscular, its height now twelve meters. A simple swing of its arms left aftershocks in their wake. The baboon was difficult enough to deal within its normal state, so there was no way they could stand against it now that its abilities were increased by fifty percent.
“It’s not at the ten-thousand-year level yet, so its enraged state can’t last more than ten minutes. We just need to survive for that long. Be careful everyone,” warned Yuanen Yehui.
She hadn’t expected the Diamond Baboon to be so easily enraged. Despite her surprise, her heart remained calm. She already knew that unless they were able to utterly suppress the Diamond Baboon, then it would become enraged sooner or later, and sooner increased their odds of victory.
Yuanen Yehui leaped to the side as the Diamond Baboon thundered towards her. She was still under the effects of the red bean bun, and wanted to take
advantage of it to run away while she still could. She understood that fighting the enraged baboon right now would only lead to defeat.
Tang Wulin had slid down onto the ground long ago. He got up and frowned at the enraged Diamond Baboon, pondering how they would overcome this challenge. The red bean buns’ effect would end in three minutes, but the Diamond Baboon’s enraged state would last far longer. In their weakened state, a single strike from the powered-up baboon would
eliminate them.
An idea popped into his head and he spun towards Yue Zhengyu. “Zhengyu, don’t eat your red bean bun yet. Conserve your soul power,” Tang Wulin
shouted.
“Roger that!” Yue Zhengyu hovered in the air, wondering what Tang Wulin had planned even as he agreed. He kept shooting holy light at the baboon.
In the previous trial, because of he couldn’t reconcile with Yuanen Yehui, the majority of the workload had been shifted to Tang Wulin. Yue Zhengyu wasn’t satisfied with this. His pride didn’t allow himself to be a burden on someone else. If he wanted to properly work together with his teammates, then he could only force himself to accept orders. His confidence in Tang Wulin had improved over time as well, the original scorn he held toward Tang Wulin gone. Tang Wulin’s overwhelming victory against the Demon Lizard Dragon had left deep impression on him. He had defeated it within
seconds! Regardless of what stars had aligned to produce such a result, only the outcome mattered! It was only after facing the thunder beast and their
current foe, the Diamond Baboon, that he understood the true difficulty of the spirit soul tower.
“Gu Yue, use the wind element to lighten us!” shouted Tang Wulin.
Gu Yue was conjuring an ice spear in front of her. Green, gold, and blue, it was, a three-element attack. Soul power fluctuated from within it as the immense power caged by the ice fought for its release. It had taken her over a minute to shape the spear, and considering her cultivation level and
spiritual power, it was anything but weak.
A distance away, Yuanen Yehui struggled to survive. Even boosted by the red bean bun and facing the Diamond Baboon in such a large hall, the baboon’s speed had risen to insane heights in its enraged state. It chased
after her in a craze, nearly overtaking her with its long strides several times. “Yuanen, change to your Fallen Angel and fly into the air! Zhengyu, prepare to take us up!” Tang Wulin orderedas he shot bluesilver grass at Yue Zhengyu, Xu Lizhi, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue.
Chapter 370 – Don’t Judge a Bun by its Folds
Chapter 370 – Don’t Judge a Bun by its Folds
Xie Xie and Gu Yue, being the most familiar with Tang Wulin, instantly understood his intentions.
Holding her three-colored ice spear in one hand, Gu Yue shot orbs of green light at her teammates from her other hand.
Xu Lizhi chanted, creating more buns.
Tang Wulin tugged on the bluesilver grass connected to Yue Zhengyu, who shot into the air, lifting Tang Wulin up with him.
The hall was about fifty meters high. Yue Zhengyu flew high up with Tang Wulin in an instant. Tang Wulin then pulled Xie Xie and Gu Yue up.
Yue Zhengyu finally understood why Tang Wulin had told him to conserve his soul power. Taking three passengers into the air would drain his soul power immensely. To help lighten Yue Zhengyu’s load, Tang Wulin sent
Goldsong into a strand of bluesilver grass and shot it into the ground as support. He proceeded to pull Xu Lizhi up as well.
With all five of them in the air now, Yuanen Yehui also understood what the plan was too. She turned around, gathered strength within her legs, and leaped. Her body rapidly shrunk as she soared upward, narrowly avoiding the Diamond Baboon’s sweeping palm. Strong gusts of wind buffeted her progress mid-air, but she switched to her Fallen Angel martial soul. A pair
of black wings sprouted from her back and she flew herself higher into the air.
Unwilling to let its enemy get away, the Diamond Baboon continued to chase. It ran towards the wall, clambered up several tens of meters, then leaped off the wall toward Yuanen Yehui.
At that moment, the ice spear left Gu Yue’s palm. Fire exploded from the tail of the ice spear and, in the blink of an eye, it reached the Diamond
Baboon.
dThe collision disintegrated the ice spear into an icy mist. Despite the baboon’s formidable defense, the impact sent it really backward and it fell from the air. Frost coated the baboon’s fur as the icy mist burrowed into its body. Furious, the Diamond Baboon and roared, its blood essence surging forth to dispel the mist. But now Yuanen Yehui was out of its reach..
Yuanen Yehui gave Gu Yue a thumbs up as she flew over.
Tang Wulin threw the Goldsong-infused bluesilver grass down and used the resulting rebound force to thrust Gu Yue, Xie Xie, Xu Lizhi, and himself a dozen meters higher into the air. They were now over twenty meters above the ground.
Yue Zhengyu continued to flap his wings, straining himself to ascend higher. Carrying four people in the air with a cultivation level of only three soul rings was not an easy task, especially when one of those four was Xu Lizhi. Yue Zhengu barely managed to ascend another couple of dozen meters pushing himself to his limits.
“Yuanen!” Tang Wulin threw a strand of bluesilver grass toward her.
Yuanen Yehui’s Fallen Angel was inferior to Yue Zhengyu’s Holy Angel in terms of divine power, but with her Titan Giant Ape martial soul, it
enhanced her strength beyond Yue Zhengyu. This applied to her wing strength as well. Yuanen grabbed onto the strand of bluesilver grass
connected to her teammates and beat her wings harder, relieving the pressure onYue Zhengyu as she ascended.
The berserk Diamond Baboon leaped back into the air, swinging its arms
straight at Xu Lizhi. The fist missed, hitting air a few meters away. Despite this, Xu Lizhi could feel its deadly wind pressure. Fortunately, most of it dissipated and only knocked the team back a few meters from their height forty meters above the ground.
After becoming enraged, the Diamond Baboon had grown to twelve meters tall. With its strength boosted, it could jump over thirty meters high, nearly forty. This was astonishing for a soul beast with no ranged attacks!
“Bring us to the top!” shouted Tang Wulin.
Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu exerted themselves to bring them higher, straight to the ceiling.
Tang Wulin stabbed his claw into the ceiling. It was abnormally sturdy for stone. His claw only penetrated halfway, but that was enough. With Tang Wulin using his own strength to stay up high, it lightened Yue Zhengyu’s
burden and he could now stably fly in the air with just three people attached to him.
Tang Wulin’s plan had been simple, but they were shocked nonetheless.
The enraged Diamond Baboon’s strength far exceeded their expectations, its power seemingly great enough to crush anything that stood in its way. None of them dared take one of its attacks.
However, Yuanen Yehui’s words earlier had reminded Tang Wulin. Since Enrage produced a similar effect to the red bean buns and the power boost was even greater, then the effective time had to be shorter.
“We don’t have too much time. How long do you think you can hold out for?” Yuanen Yehui asked Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin nodded. “I’m fine, I have plenty of strength left. Even if I didn’t, it still wouldn’t be a problem for me to carry you guys.” His strength had long since surpassed five thousand kilograms worth of force. All
together, the six of them weighed no more than five hundred kilograms. This burden was nothing to him.
Yue Zhengyu flew over to Tang Wulin and wrapped a strand of bluesilver grass around his waist and shoulders. “Let me know if you can’t hold on. I’ll use the red bean bun and we’ll be able to last another three minutes.”
He couldn’t carry them all as he was now, but it wouldn’t be a problem under the bloodthirsty effort.
“I have a mini soup bun, I have a mini soup bun, I have a mini soup bun…” chanted Xu Lizhi.
Small buns appeared in his hand one after another. He handed one over to Tang Wulin. “This is my second soul skill, Agility Soup Buns. They reduce someone’s weight, which gives them greater agility. They’re useful for me in this situation.” He popped one into his mouth right after speaking.
His Agility Soup Buns were just perfect for their current predicament. Everyone became lighter after eating one.
Yue Zhengyu eyes lit up after feeling the effects. “Fatty, your buns are great!” He was awed by the effects of Xu Lizhi’s Recovery Pork Bun, Agility Mini Soup Bun, and Bloodthirsty Red Bean Bun.
Although the effects of their food didn’t manifest immediately, the greatest advantage of food-type soul masters was the length of the effects. Having a food-type soul master in a team could mean the difference between victory and defeat in a prolonged battle.
Xu Lizhi grinned. “Don’t judge a bun by its folds!”
Yue Zhengyu chuckled. “You’re so fat you’re panting, but I’ll admit that your support is very effective.”
Yuanen Yehui flew over to join them. After facing the Diamond Baboon together, something had changed in their relationships. They had shared
joys and sorrows, trials and tribulations, and they all grew closer as a result. Yuanen Yehui no longer regarded them coldly. Well, except for Xie Xie.