The sound of raindrops falling into the Sea God Lake was crisp and pleasant, and the air was filled with a damp, cold aura. However, Ning Tian, leaning against Xu Zihuang, felt an overwhelming warmth.
The journey of just over half an hour felt exceptionally brief in such a moment.
In front of the girls' dormitory of the Martial Soul Department, Ning Tian wrapped her arms around Xu Zihuang's waist, their bodies pressed closely together. Xu Zihuang, holding the oil-paper umbrella, gently stroked Ning Tian's soft hair with his free hand.
"Go rest," he said.
"Mm." Ning Tian lifted her head, her gaze tenderly meeting Xu Zihuang's for a moment before she walked toward the nearby dormitory building. Before heading upstairs, she glanced back at Xu Zihuang a few times.
She was always so understanding, never letting her own desires interfere with Yu Tianhuang's cultivation time. In most cases, she was remarkably rational.
Moreover, she knew she had to put in even greater effort in her cultivation to keep up with Yu Tianhuang's pace.
Xu Zihuang watched Ning Tian's figure disappear from his sight.
In such rainy weather, few students lingered outside.
Holding the umbrella alone, he arrived at the edge of the Sea God Lake. With a light tap of his toes, he leaped into the air. Thin, dark red crystals formed beneath his feet, and using them as a platform, he gracefully stepped through the void toward the Sea God Lake.
Amid the misty rain, the ripples on the vast surface of the Sea God Lake grew denser with the falling raindrops, but Xu Zihuang's heart remained calm, unrippled by great waves.
From the beginning, he had resolved to sacrifice many things. As a normal person, he could have emotions, but he always maintained a balance, never allowing them to affect his grand ambitions of revenge and unifying the continent.
Over the past year and a half, his relationship with Ning Tian had steadily deepened, yet he never resisted it. If it could bring him sufficient benefits, he wouldn't hesitate to offer even his body.
Amid his swirling thoughts, the Sea God Island at the center of the lake came into view.
With a shift of his body, he landed steadily in the open space before the Sea God Pavilion at the heart of the island.
The rain grew heavier, and a sudden thunderclap roared. Irregular blue-purple lightning flashed in the sky, piercing the clouds.
Xu Zihuang, who had intended to return to the Sea God Pavilion, seemed to recall something. He stored the umbrella in his storage soul guidance device and used his second soul skill to form dark red crystal mirrors, ascending toward the sky.
Long ago, he had tested the ability of his Thunderous Hellvine Right Leg Bone, which had evolved through tempering by lightning and nurturing with thunder-attribute soul power.
Normally, he could use this soul bone's ability to alter the weather and summon lightning. However, in such stormy weather, the lightning he could draw was far more potent, making it more effective for tempering the Thunderous Hellvine.
As he ascended to over a thousand meters, the Sea God Island below appeared tiny. A strange fluctuation of soul power surged, and on his right leg, golden-purple light blazed brightly.
In an instant, a bucket-thick beam of blue-purple lightning struck Xu Zihuang's body with pinpoint accuracy. The wild lightning crackled across his body, causing his long black hair to flare outward. Yet, this blue-purple lightning caused him no harm. Instead, it was swiftly absorbed by the golden-purple light on his right leg, which grew brighter, flickering with electric sparks.
Sensing something, Xu Zihuang realized that after a year and a half of nurturing with his ultimate thunder-attribute soul power and dozens of lightning-tempering sessions, the Thunderous Hellvine Right Leg Bone had undergone a significant transformation on this opportune day.
This already exceptional soul bone had likely reached the 70,000-year level. At this rate, in another five to ten years, it could smoothly evolve into a 100,000-year soul bone. Of course, compared to naturally hunting a 100,000-year soul beast and obtaining its soul bone, it would lack one skill, but this was a minor flaw.
Moreover, with his ultimate thunder attribute, he could use this lightning to temper his body.
It could be said that while the Thunderous Hellvine Right Leg Bone might not be the best soul bone, it was undoubtedly the most compatible with him.
The spectacle of dense lightning over the Sea God Island continued for several hours, lasting into the late night before subsiding. Afterward, Xu Zihuang returned to the Sea God Pavilion to begin his cultivation for the evening.
After a soul master's soul power reached a bottleneck, it didn't stop progressing just because a soul ring hadn't been attached. Once a soul ring was added, the excess soul power accumulated would reflect in their cultivation.
He had long planned which soul beasts to hunt for his fifth soul ring. However, these were all exceptionally powerful, top-tier soul beasts with noble bloodlines. Successfully hunting them required not only absolute strength but also a degree of luck. Thus, he wasn't in a rush to attach a soul ring.
Better to lack than to settle for less.
The night passed in cultivation. When Xu Zihuang finished and opened his eyes, it was the morning of the next day. The rain had stopped, and the sun rose in the east. He instinctively glanced toward the wooden window in his room, where glistening water droplets slid from the branches and trunk outside.
"Tianhuang, come to me," Elder Mu's gentle voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
Xu Zihuang immediately got up and went to the main hall on the first floor of the Sea God Pavilion, where Elder Mu typically taught him.
As usual, Elder Mu lay on a recliner at one end of a long wooden table, his expression kind.
"Elder Mu," Xu Zihuang bowed respectfully.
Elder Mu smiled and waved his hand.
"Outside the Sea God Pavilion, there's a soul beast suitable for your fifth soul ring. I caught it on a whim during my recent outing. Though its cultivation exceeds 50,000 years, with your physical condition and spiritual strength, absorbing its soul ring should be no issue. Go."
Elder Mu's words left Xu Zihuang momentarily stunned, then filled with realization and anticipation. No wonder he hadn't seen Elder Mu in the pavilion's hall last night. A surge of excitement followed.
No one could resist the allure of advancing, not even him.
Elder Mu had spoken casually, but a soul beast worthy of a level 99 Limit Douluo's effort was undoubtedly extraordinary.
"Yes, Elder Mu," Xu Zihuang replied, stepping out of the Sea God Pavilion without hesitation.
Despite his mental preparation, when he saw the soul beast outside, his pupils couldn't help but contract.
It was a bizarre-looking soul beast, floating in the air. It resembled a balloon, but instead of a balloon, it was a massive eye. This eye, over two meters in diameter, was silver-white.
Ten tentacles, nearly ten meters long, dangled limply to the ground, also pure silver-white. The tentacles shimmered with silver light, but the creature's aura was extremely weak, suppressed by a golden light barrier, its massive eye, covered in silver patterns, nearly touching the ground.
"Evil Eye Tyrant?"
Indeed, before Xu Zihuang was an Evil Eye Tyrant. The Evil Eye was a species found only in the Evil Demon Forest of the Sun Moon Empire. Only those with over 10,000 years of cultivation could be called Evil Eye Tyrants.
Among the Evil Eye clan, the most powerful was the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler, ranked second among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts. Legend had it that this ruler's cultivation was close to 800,000 years and had once challenged the Beast God Di Tian, retreating unscathed.
Judging by the pure silver-white tentacles, this Evil Eye Tyrant had only one attribute: spiritual.
Purely spiritual Evil Eyes held the highest status within their clan, being the noblest and most powerful. It might even be a direct descendant of the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler.
"This Evil Eye Tyrant was found in the Evil Demon Forest. It's an extremely rare pure spiritual attribute Evil Eye. Pure spiritual Evil Eyes possess several particularly powerful innate soul skills suitable for you," Elder Mu's voice sounded behind Xu Zihuang, confirming the identity of this pure spiritual Evil Eye Tyrant.
"The Evil Eye Tyrant's weakest point is its pupil."
Xu Zihuang had no reason to doubt Elder Mu's words. Dark red ripples spread out, and holding a crystal spear, a glint of intrigue flashed in his eyes.
A 50,000-year pure spiritual Evil Eye Tyrant as his fifth soul ring far exceeded his expectations.
Though this Evil Eye Tyrant's cultivation was just over 50,000 years, falling short of the maximum soul ring limit he could handle, its noble bloodline made obsessing over the absolute limit unnecessary.
The Evil Eye Tyrant glared at Xu Zihuang, its massive silver eye filled with human-like anger and resentment. Its pupil dilated, and silver light patterns radiated outward from its body. However, these patterns were completely blocked by the golden light barrier, infused with pure light energy, unable to harm Xu Zihuang in the slightest.
A 50,000-year pure spiritual Evil Eye Tyrant was formidable, but for a Limit Douluo like Elder Mu, suppressing it was effortless. The golden barrier suddenly tightened, rendering the Evil Eye Tyrant immobile, unable to use soul skills or even its spiritual power.
Its aura weakened further.
In the next instant, its massive silver eye was pierced by Xu Zihuang's dark red crystal spear.
The Evil Eye Tyrant's body was inherently fragile, especially without its spiritual power and innate soul skills for protection.
"Pfft—" The dark red crystal shattered, and silver blood gushed from the wound. Its ten silver-patterned tentacles flailed wildly but soon froze in midair, then fell limply.
Strangely, no soul ring appeared.
"Hmm? The Evil Eye Tyrant is indeed peculiar," Elder Mu, who had appeared beside Xu Zihuang at some point, remarked. His withered right hand lifted, and a diamond-shaped silver crystal was drawn from the wound, landing in his hand.
Powerful soul energy was contained within, with a silver halo shimmering on the crystal.
Even with Elder Mu's vast experience, this was a first.
The Evil Eye clan hailed from the Sun Moon Continent, so Shrek Academy had little research on them. In Shrek's ten-thousand-year history, students and teachersქ
Teachers with spiritual attribute martial souls were rare, and thus, there was minimal study of such creatures. There were only records of killing ordinary Evil Eyes with centuries or millennia of cultivation, but little about Evil Eye Tyrants with ten thousand years or more.
Xu Zihuang, born into the Sun Moon Empire's royal family, had access to many secrets in his youth. He was also surprised, but for a different reason.
According to the Sun Moon Empire's records, killing a ten-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant would leave a diamond-shaped crystal core containing some of its soul energy. However, a soul ring would still appear after its physical death.
Yet, this 50,000-year pure spiritual Evil Eye Tyrant's soul energy was entirely contained within the silver diamond-shaped crystal, meaning it had not truly perished.
From his past life's memories, he knew only 100,000-year pure spiritual Evil Eye Tyrants could achieve this. It seemed this was likely a unique talent of this pure spiritual variant.
Perhaps this 50,000-year Evil Eye Tyrant was a direct descendant of the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler.
Xu Zihuang and Elder Mu were surprised for different reasons, but his reaction was fitting.
"Interesting, what a powerful soul barrier," Elder Mu said, toying with the silver diamond-shaped crystal before handing it to Xu Zihuang with a faint smile.
"Tianhuang, use your ultimate thunder to melt it. Thunder counters not only all evil in the world but also soul power."
Xu Zihuang understood, taking the crystal as black-purple lightning crackled in his palm. The silver crystal began to flicker violently under the lightning's embrace.
A piercing, resentful scream echoed through the sky.
A pitch-black soul ring finally bloomed as the silver crystal melted completely, exuding a deep, oppressive aura.
Unlike typical ten-thousand-year soul rings, this one shimmered with faint silver light—spiritual energy fluctuations that Xu Zihuang could clearly sense.
Even before merging with it, the immense energy within was staggering. The soul power and spiritual energy accumulated over 50,000 years were contained within, making the surrounding air feel almost solid.
Such a domineering 50,000-year soul ring would be incredibly difficult for many level 80 soul masters to merge with. The soul power was secondary; the spiritual energy of a 50,000-year pure spiritual Evil Eye Tyrant was not something everyone could withstand.
Without reaching the tangible yet intangible level of spiritual power, even Xu Zihuang would have little confidence in merging with this soul ring.
As Xu Zihuang melted the silver crystal with his ultimate thunder, Elder Mu examined the Evil Eye Tyrant's body. Regrettably, no soul bone appeared.
This highlighted the rarity of soul bones.
The stronger the soul beast, the higher the chance of producing a soul bone, but this was theoretical. Luck played a significant role.
Neither the old man nor the young man was fazed. At Elder Mu's level and age, few things concerned him anymore. His only wish was to nurture Yu Tianhuang quickly, which was why he traveled thousands of miles to the Evil Demon Forest in the Sun Moon Empire to capture this 50,000-year pure spiritual Evil Eye Tyrant.
Xu Zihuang, on the other hand, simply had high standards. A head soul bone was too important for a soul master, especially one with a spiritual attribute martial soul like him. His minimum requirement for a future head soul bone was a 100,000-year level.
At Elder Mu's signal, Xu Zihuang began merging with his fifth soul ring.
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