Tang Xuan Breaks Through Level 20

At Dugu Yan's vehement insistence,

Yu Tianheng ultimately escaped a beating.

But this left Dugu Bo deeply depressed.

He had never intended to do anything to Yu Tianheng in the first place.

His granddaughter had not even married yet, and she was already siding with an outsider.

It truly wounded this old man in his seventies.

Following right after Chen Xin, he left without even having dinner, cursing under his breath the whole way.

Tang Xuan did not try to keep him either.

The Mandarin Duck Pot was certainly important, but now was not the time to bring it up.

For one thing, Dugu Bo's trust in Tang Xuan was unlikely to run very deep at present.

Bringing it up rashly would seem rather abrupt.

Besides, if Chen Xin were there, Tang Xuan would not even have a chance to make up a lie.

Better to wait until he had studied with the Imperial Dou Fighting Team for a while.

It would still be somewhat abrupt then, but at least he would have a plausible reason.

Secondly, the Immortal Herbs Tang Xuan had planned for himself were the same as Tang San's.

Without undergoing the baptism of a Thousand Year Soul Ring,

Tang Xuan truly was not confident he could attempt the Ice Fire Golden Body.

That thing could really kill him.

In the blink of an eye, four months passed.

During that time, everything remained fairly peaceful.

The only thing worth mentioning was that

the Star Luo Empire had sent troops to harass the Heaven Dou Empire's border.

Xue Ye concluded that a National War was about to begin.

As a result, the entire Court Hall became tense.

As the Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe was naturally overwhelmed with work and had no time to come bother Tang Xuan.

The task Tang Xuan had assigned to Xue Xing was consequently put on hold as well.

Tang Xuan was not disappointed. His goal had been to keep Xue Qinghe too occupied to spare any attention elsewhere.

This situation instead suited Tang Xuan perfectly.

As for the exact circumstances of that so-called National War, he understood them perfectly well.

It would not be long before both sides ceased fire.

When that happened, Xue Xing could make another appearance and stall things out for another round.

And after four months of focused cultivation,

Tang Xuan naturally broke through to Level 20.

After his battle with Xue Xing, Tang Xuan had not been far from the threshold of Level 19 to begin with.

He broke through smoothly in just one month.

If Level 20 had not been a Whole Level Bottleneck,

then with Tang Xuan's daily high-intensity training beneath the waterfall, the time needed for his breakthrough could have been shortened even further.

When Tang Xuan told everyone the news,

they all stared at him as if they had seen a ghost.

His talent was strong, his combat strength was high, and his cultivation speed was this fast too.

He was a Level 20 Soul Grandmaster before even turning eight. Was he going to let anyone else live?

"I say, Tang Xiao Xuan, are you really not some Old Monster who rebuilt his cultivation? A Soul Grandmaster under eight years old—there has never been one in the entire continent's history." Yu Tianheng spoke with difficulty.

Ever since he had met Tang Xuan,

his Worldview had been overturned more times than he could count.

Tang Xuan sighed inwardly.

How could there not be one? That person in the palace was already a Soul Grandmaster at six...

"Xiao Xuan, will Sword Douluo help you obtain your Second Soul Ring, or will our Imperial Dou Fighting Team do it together?" Qin Ming asked.

Over the past four months, the news that Tang Xuan and Ning Rongrong came from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had already spread everywhere.

After all, Sword Douluo and Poison, two Titled Douluo, had gathered there that day.

There was no way it would not attract attention.

"There's no need to trouble Grandpa over such a small matter. Our Imperial Dou Fighting Team is due for a battle too." Tang Xuan smiled.

"That works too. With me here, I can keep all of you safe." Qin Ming nodded.

Qin Ming had now reached Level 56 and fully entered the realm of a high-level Soul King.

His combat power was not much weaker than a Soul Emperor's.

With Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan's dual support added in, he even dared to take on a Soul Saint who had not activated his Martial Soul Avatar.

They were only obtaining a Second Soul Ring. There should not be any danger.

Sunset Forest.

Qin Ming had just been about to enter the forest when he shot back with a whoosh. He stared at Tang Xuan in disbelief. "Xiao Xuan, y-you, say that again?"

Tang Xuan sighed. "I said, I want to choose a Thousand Year Soul Beast for my Second Soul Ring."

When he absorbed his First Soul Ring, a Four Hundred Year Soul Beast had not been Tang Xuan's limit in the first place.

He had simply not chosen to absorb one beyond his level because he felt it was not worthwhile.

But a Thousand-year Second Ring was worth Tang Xuan taking the risk.

"Xiao Xuan, were you even listening in class? No matter how weak a Spirit Beast is, reaching a thousand years is a qualitative transformation. It can fully rival a Soul Elder. Yet you..." Qin Ming tried to persuade him earnestly.

But Tang Xuan interrupted him. "Is my combat strength really inferior to a Soul Elder's?"

Qin Ming was instantly speechless.

According to Yu Tianheng and the others, Tang Xuan had fought evenly with a Soul Ancestor when he was at Level 18.

Granted, that Soul Ancestor's combat power had been somewhat lacking, even not much stronger than Yu Tianheng.

But he had still undergone the baptism of two Thousand Year Soul Rings.

And now that Tang Xuan had broken through to Level 20, he would only be stronger.

Matching a Soul Elder was more than easy for him.

"Don't worry, Teacher Qin. I train under the waterfall every day. My Physical Fitness is already insanely strong, and I also possess a spiritual ability like Sword Momentum. A Spirit Beast that has only just entered the thousand-year range poses little danger to me."

"Crisis means both danger and opportunity. Once I succeed, the benefits to me will be unimaginable." Tang Xuan reassured him.

With that, he took the lead and walked into the forest.

Today, he was determined to absorb this Thousand-year Second Ring!

"Is it still too late to go back and find Sword Douluo?" Qin Ming stood where he was, smiling bitterly.

If anything happened to Tang Xuan under his care, would Sword Douluo not skin him alive?

"Even if Sword Grandpa were here, Brother Xuan would make the same choice. He has always been this daring when it comes to challenges." Ning Rongrong gazed dreamily at Tang Xuan's retreating back.

"True. Tang Xuan isn't afraid, so what are we afraid of? Then we'll go crazy with him this once." Qin Ming let out a long breath.

He called for everyone to follow Tang Xuan.

Perhaps even the heavens wanted to help Tang Xuan complete this heaven-defying feat of absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his level.

Not long after they entered the forest, they encountered a Shadow Demon Tiger just over 1,100 years old.

This kind of Spirit Beast was a hybrid of the Ghost Tiger and Bright White Tiger.

It perfectly inherited the strengths of both.

It was incredibly fast, immensely powerful, and had especially abundant Soul Power reserves.

Other than being unable to fly, it had no weaknesses at all.

And that was precisely the crucial point.

The Bright White Tiger itself possessed a pair of wings.

A Shadow Demon Tiger that perfectly inherited the Bright White Tiger's advantages was naturally no exception.

However, limited by its size, the Shadow Demon Tiger's wings could only grant it the ability to glide.

"That one." Tang Xuan gave a low shout.

Just as he was about to release Level Mountain Style to envelop and suppress the Shadow Demon Tiger,

a Thunder Dragon Claw crackled past him from behind and slammed viciously into the demon tiger's face.

"Tang Xiao Xuan, rest up and conserve your strength. Leave this big tiger to us." Yu Tianheng smiled.

It was not that Yu Tianheng wanted to steal the spotlight.

Rather, in his heart,

no matter how confident Tang Xuan was or how convincing he made it sound, absorbing a Thousand Year Soul Ring beyond his level was still a dangerous gamble.

The slightest mistake could cost him his life.

The more strength he could preserve, the better his chance of survival.

Tang Xuan naturally understood this, and warmth rose in his heart.

"Fine. Consider it Big Brother testing Little Brother's strength."

Yu Tianheng rolled his eyes at him.

He had just been about to retort when Dugu Yan interrupted him.

"Enough nonsense. That tiger is charging at us."

As she spoke, Dugu Yan released a cloud of red poison mist that entered Yu Tianheng's body.

Dugu Yan's First Soul Skill, Jade Phosphor Red Poison, was like a stimulant.

By stimulating the nerves, it could increase the poisoned target's attack power and speed by twenty percent.

With this power, Yu Tianheng felt strength surging through his entire body, as though nothing could stand in his way.

"I feel great right now..." Lightning surged around Yu Tianheng's claws as he grinned savagely and charged toward the Shadow Demon Tiger...