Within a mysterious space, a solid object shaped like a sea urchin floated quietly in midair. Its entire body radiated a soft pink glow, casting waves of light throughout the enigmatic space.
At that moment, a strange bead suddenly appeared within the space. The bead was pitch-black all over, yet it emitted both cyan and blue radiance. Slowly, it drifted toward the sea-urchin-like solid.
The instant the bead drew close, a powerful suction force burst forth from the solid. From the bead's surface, thread-thin cyan-blue strands of light extended outward, like tiny toothpicks, and gradually submerged into the sea-urchin form. As this happened, the sea-urchin solid slowly grew larger, while the strange bead steadily shrank.
However, the bead's rate of shrinking was clearly much faster than the sea-urchin's expansion. In the end, the bead diminished completely, vanishing without a trace.
At the same time, in the outside world—
Xiao Se was now seated within a massive cluster of crimson flames. Beside him lay the corpse of the Dark Devilgod Tiger. The jet-black soul ring hovering above the corpse gradually faded as Xiao Se absorbed it, while a gigantic black soul ring slowly manifested around his own body.
As the black soul ring grew clearer and more defined, the red flames surrounding Xiao Se subtly changed, becoming tinged with a faint layer of black.
At the very moment the black soul ring fully formed, the flames completed their transformation, turning entirely black—identical in color to the Dark Devilgod Tiger's hide.
And that wasn't all.
The black flames seemed to carry the Dark Devilgod Tiger's innate traits. Wherever they burned, the surrounding light dimmed, gloomy winds howled, and an eerie, unreal atmosphere spread outward, greatly disrupting perception and sensory detection.
Just then, a system notification rang out in Xiao Se's mind:
[Ding. Congratulations to the host for advancing one cultivation tier. Reward granted: System Patch ×1. Host's personal panel is automatically opening.]
[Host: Xiao Se
Gender: Male
Age: 14
Cultivation: Two-Star Dou King
Soul Level: Sixth-Grade Alchemist
Domain: Ice-Fire Domain
Sword Intent: 30%
Dou Qi Attributes: Fire (with a trace of Wood), Ice, Time, Space
Martial Soul: Fire
Cultivation Techniques:
— Burning Technique (Earth-tier, Low Grade)
— Guiyuan Soul Art (Grade Unknown)
Heavenly Flames:
— Green Lotus Core Flame
— Ice-Fire Dragon Flame
Combat Techniques:
— Crimson Flame Sword (Earth-tier, Mid Grade)
— Ethereal Mist Steps (Mystery-tier, High Grade)
— Roaring Lion Chant (Mystery-tier, High Grade)
— Qi Concealment Art (Grade Unknown)
— Eightfold Mountain Collapse (Mystery-tier, High Grade)
Exchange Attempts: 0
Lottery Attempts: 0
System Storage:
— System Patch ×1
— Inflatable Doll
— Heaven-Grasping Bottle
— Fox Spirit Matchmaker Travel Voucher (Permanent)
— Sword Dao Supreme Travel Voucher (7 Days)
]
"When I absorbed the Ice-Fire Dragon Flame formed from the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' origins, along with their soul bones, it not only strengthened my fire attribute but also gave me the ice attribute. I can already use both fluently," Xiao Se thought.
"But this time, after absorbing the Dark Devilgod Tiger's bead and soul ring, I've broken through from peak Dou Spirit to Dou King. Yet these time and space attributes… what exactly is going on? I have absolutely no clue. Could it be that my cultivation is still too low to touch this level?"
"Forget it. Being able to step into Two-Star Dou King so easily is already a massive gain. Bite off more than you can chew, and you'll choke. I'll leave time and space for later."
Shaking his head in amazement, Xiao Se slowly retracted the black flames. They all converged into his right palm and disappeared. He then opened his eyes.
What entered his sight were the figures of Bibi Dong, the Little Fairy Doctor, the little cat, and Long Kui.
"Brother, you've broken through to Dou King! Congratulations!"
The moment Xiao Se stood up, Long Kui flew into his arms like a fledgling returning to its nest.
Xiao Se rubbed her head with a smile. "Thanks to that strange bead left behind by the Dark Devilgod Tiger. Not only did it help me break into Dou King, it even pushed me up two stars at once. Xian'er, Zhuqing—how did things go for you?"
He looked toward Zhu Zhuqing and the Little Fairy Doctor.
The Little Fairy Doctor smiled gently. "After absorbing the soul rings and essence of the three Man-Faced Demon Spider Emperors, my cultivation has reached peak Dou Emperor. The Eight Spider Lances have evolved into a golden color—extremely sharp. In close combat, it feels like they can pierce even a Dou Sect's defenses. That should be what you called 'god-tier.' And it seems to have other uses as well."
"I absorbed my fifth and sixth soul rings. My cultivation has risen to Nine-Star Great Dou Master," Zhu Zhuqing said with a smile.
Both her fifth and sixth soul rings were over fifty thousand years old, with the sixth exceeding seventy thousand years. Jumping from Three-Star to Nine-Star Great Dou Master was only natural.
Xiao Se nodded slightly and was just about to speak when his body suddenly shook violently.
His expression instantly changed.
A burning pain erupted across his back, as if something were about to burst out of his body.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Long Kui hurriedly supported him, her voice filled with concern.
"It feels like… something is trying to come out of my back," Xiao Se replied, gritting his teeth.
"Could it be an external soul bone?"
Bibi Dong's eyes lit up as she voiced her guess.
The moment her words fell, Xiao Se's Purple Cloud Wings automatically shot out—only to be instantly engulfed by a heavy black mist. The wings were corroded, breaking apart into fragments that fell from his back.
At the instant the Purple Cloud Wings completely disintegrated, a pair of much larger black wings uncontrollably burst forth from Xiao Se's back.
At the same time, a tail shot out as well—long beyond reason, composed of countless bone segments, and ending in a vicious hooked barb.
"The Dark Devilgod Tiger's black wings… and that hooked tail. Could this be… the Evil God Wings and Evil God Hook?"
Even Bibi Dong couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath at the sight.
This wasn't just any external soul bone—it originated from the Dark Devilgod Tiger itself.
There was an ancient legend: the Evil God once descended upon a white tiger, causing it to mutate. Its original light attribute was transformed into darkness, giving birth to black wings symbolizing corruption, and a scorpion-like tail known as the Evil God Hook.
In other words, what Xiao Se had obtained was an external soul bone imbued with the aura of the Evil God.
"Xiao Se, try testing its capabilities," Bibi Dong said expectantly.
Xiao Se nodded slightly. With a thought, the Evil God Hook extended outward, darting through the forest.
Wherever it passed, it encountered no resistance at all.
Whether massive boulders, towering ancient trees, or even high-hardness ores deep underground, everything was pierced as if it were nothing more than air.
In the end, the Evil God Hook stabbed straight into the Dark Devilgod Tiger's corpse.
The corpse rapidly shriveled, and in the blink of an eye, only a single tiger pelt remained.
"This Evil God Hook has devouring abilities similar to Xian'er's Eight Spider Lances," Xiao Se said thoughtfully. "Its penetration power is terrifying, and it can extend over a hundred meters. Against enemies stronger than me, catching them off guard could make this a powerful trump card."
Retracting the Evil God Hook, Xiao Se flapped the black wings on his back. His body shot into the air, streaking across the sky at an unbelievable speed.
From time to time, he even executed short-range teleportation.
"This speed… it's already not slower than mine," the Little Fairy Doctor exclaimed.
After all, her cultivation was at peak Dou Emperor—while Xiao Se was only a Dou King.
(End of Chapter)
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