The Last Invincible Stopped Thinking [Happy New Year] [Please Collect]

Although Zhang Yang said so, Master still hesitated.

At that moment, Tang San, who was standing behind Zhang Yang and responsible for protecting himself, suddenly spoke up. "Teacher, Zhang Yang is right. Although the Mandala Snake isn't in good condition, aside from Zhang Yang's Rokugan, we simply don't have any means capable of dealing it a fatal wound."

"If we don't take this gamble, not only will we be unable to kill the Mandala Snake, but with it interfering nearby, Zhang Yang won't be able to absorb the Iron Horned Bull's Soul Ring either."

Tang San's words awakened Master, but what ultimately made him resolve himself was his own past experience.

Soul Masters were people who walked the line between life and death. They staked everything they had and trusted fate for the chance at a bright future. Hadn't Master once been the same?

It seemed that the comfortable life at the academy had corrupted him.

"Alright." Master finally nodded and swiftly arranged their tactics. "Zhang Yang, I'll release the Second Soul Skill and First Soul Skill in succession. The hypnosis will slow the Mandala Snake down, and then my Thunder Shock will blast it toward your position..."

Zhang Yang patted his chest and promised, "When that happens, Teacher, just watch."

"Luo luo!" Luo Sanpao suddenly grunted.

Everyone also heard sharp hissing and the rustling of grass.

"It's here." Master waved his hand, and the Second Soul Ring flew toward Luo Sanpao.

"Farting like smoke, hypnotic sleep, Luo Sanpao."

Zhang Yang focused all his attention, ready to use Soru at any moment to adjust his position.

Behind Zhang Yang, Tang San gripped a dagger in his right hand, while his left hand formed a claw. Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon was ready, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track beneath his feet was poised to move.

The moment Master blasted the Mandala Snake this way, Tang San's Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon would strike without hesitation, drawing the snake's head toward Zhang Yang's fists as much as possible.

After receiving the Second Soul Ring, Luo Sanpao spun through the air. With a puff, a cloud of yellow gas sprayed from its plump backside and spread through the air.

Charging into the yellow smoke with hisses, the Mandala Snake naturally inhaled quite a bit of it, and its speed slowed somewhat.

After all, it was not in good condition at the moment.

"Farting like thunder, shattering heaven and earth, Luo Sanpao."

Hearing Master's angry shout, Zhang Yang stacked his fists together and pushed them forward. His Soul Power began to circulate as Rokugan started charging.

Amid thunderous roars, Luo Sanpao's super Thunder Shock fart burst forth. Unable to evade the area attack, the Mandala Snake was blasted into the air once more.

Fortunately, the Mandala Snake was sent flying at just the right angle, hurtling straight toward Zhang Yang and Tang San.

The Mandala Snake was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it arrived before Zhang Yang.

At that very moment, Tang San immediately unleashed Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon. An inexplicable pulling force guided the Mandala Snake's head into Zhang Yang's fists.

The instant the Mandala Snake's head reached directly before Zhang Yang's fists, the Soul Power Zhang Yang had accumulated for so long finally reached its breaking point.

"Rokugan!!!"

In that instant, a powerful shockwave erupted from between Zhang Yang's fists. The Mandala Snake's head took nearly all of the shockwave's destructive force head-on.

"Bang!!!"

The Mandala Snake, still in midair, was blasted backward at an even greater speed.

"It hit!" Retracting the Rokugan stance, Zhang Yang repeatedly used Soru beneath his feet and chased after the Mandala Snake.

Tang San was no slower to react, hurriedly following behind Zhang Yang with his dagger in hand.

Finding the Mandala Snake sprawled on the ground, Zhang Yang wasted no words. He seized its jaws tightly with both hands and activated Rokushiki: Iron Body.

Tang San arrived shortly afterward without pausing. The dagger in his hand pierced precisely through its eyelid and into its brain.

"Hiss~~"

A centipede remained alive even after death. Having landed the blow, Tang San and Zhang Yang immediately retreated, leaving the dagger lodged in the Mandala Snake's eye.

The next moment, the Mandala Snake's body began to thrash violently. Sand and rocks flew everywhere. Wherever its hard body swept, shrubs and young trees alike looked as though they had been ravaged by a tornado, their branches and leaves shattered and scattered in all directions.

The Mandala Snake's dying hisses now sounded muffled and miserable.

Seeing the Mandala Snake's movements grow increasingly sluggish, Zhang Yang knew it was already Tang San's for the taking. He turned to Master. "Teacher, I'm going to absorb the Soul Ring."

Master nodded. "Go. The 380-year Iron Horned Bull is very suitable for you. Remember what I told you: calm your mind, focus your will, and guard your Martial Soul."

Zhang Yang nodded. "Yes, Teacher."

Then, Zhang Yang went to the Iron Horned Bull's side, sat cross-legged, and activated his Martial Soul.

As Borsalino appeared behind Zhang Yang, the Iron Horned Bull's yellow Soul Ring slowly flew toward him.

As the Hundred-Year Soul Ring approached, Zhang Yang felt an unprecedented pressure. Even the bones throughout his body gave faint cracking sounds under the strain.

Very soon, the yellow ring arrived above Borsalino's head, then suddenly dropped beneath Borsalino's feet.

Zhang Yang felt as though molten lava had poured down from above his head. Scorching energy surged wildly into him, and the intense heat instantly rushed through his body, making him tremble violently.

The Soul Power within him seemed to have been ignited by the molten lava. While rapidly expanding in volume, it also surged back and forth through his body.

Just as Zhang Yang felt that his body was about to be scorched black, he suddenly realized that the temperature was no longer unbearably searing.

His Soul Power continued to expand, but it had become much calmer. No longer did it rampage through his body like a wild horse breaking free of the reins; instead, it flowed along a fixed circulation pathway.

The circulation pathway was narrow at the moment, and the constantly expanding Soul Power within Zhang Yang moved through it with great difficulty. Yet upon careful sensing, he discovered that as the Soul Power flowed, the pathway was gradually widening bit by bit.

At the same time, countless tiny branch paths, as fine as hairs, existed throughout the circulation pathway. Scattered traces of Soul Power flowed through those branches into the main pathway like rivers flowing into the sea.

Their quality, energy, and attributes were all different, but the instant they left the side branches and entered the circulation circuit, they became completely identical to Zhang Yang's soul power.

Could this be the true essence of cultivating soul power?

Zhang Yang, who had been born with full soul power, had never cultivated soul power before. Only now did he understand these things.

Zhang Yang continued cultivating.

However, gradually, the soul power within Zhang Yang's body stopped expanding. The widening of the circulation circuit and the increase in soul power both slowed to an almost imperceptible degree.

Zhang Yang knew that his soul ring absorption had entered its final stage.

Before long, Zhang Yang finished absorbing the soul ring and opened his eyes.

Looking around, Zhang Yang discovered that Tang San had also sat cross-legged before the Mandala Snake, which had been dead for who knew how long, and was working hard to absorb its soul ring. Meanwhile, Master held a dagger and stood guard over the two of them together with Luo Sanpao.

Zhang Yang hurriedly called out, "Teacher."

Master, who had been keeping watch, was startled and quickly looked toward Zhang Yang, who was running over to him.

As soon as Zhang Yang reached Master, he was subjected to a barrage of questions. "Zhang Yang, how do you feel after absorbing your First Soul Ring? What is your soul skill? Has your Mutated Beast Martial Soul changed in any way?"

Faced with Master's rapid-fire questioning, Zhang Yang could only answer slowly. "Uh, Teacher, I feel great. I'm stronger, faster, my soul power has increased, and my mind has become sharper too."

Master nodded. "Yes. After absorbing a soul ring, a Soul Master will inevitably receive a comprehensive boost to their attributes from the soul ring. This is normal whether one has a Weapon Martial Soul or a Beast Martial Soul."

"As for my First Soul Skill and my Mutated Beast Martial Soul, I haven't had time to examine them yet. After all, Teacher, you've been guarding the two of us all by yourself. It's been too hard on you."

Hearing Zhang Yang say this, Master, who had been alone for fifteen years, immediately felt warmth fill his heart. "It's fine. This is the outer region of the Soul Hunting Forest. The chances of encountering powerful Soul Beasts with over a hundred years of cultivation consecutively are far too low. All right, enough of that. Hurry up and release your Martial Soul. Let's see what changes it has undergone."

"Okay!" Zhang Yang nodded and quickly activated his soul power, summoning Borsalino.

Borsalino looked the same as before. He was still that tall, his mouth was still that crooked, and there was not the slightest change.

Still, the yellow soul ring beneath his feet suited him quite well. They were both yellow, after all.

"Let's see what my First Soul Skill is."

As he spoke, Zhang Yang activated his soul power, intending to release his First Soul Skill, but...

"Strange, I can't activate it?" Feeling that he had no way to control his First Soul Ring, Zhang Yang was dumbfounded.

"What? You can't activate it? What's going on?" Master immediately grew anxious when he heard Zhang Yang muttering to himself.

Seeing how worried Master was, Zhang Yang quickly reassured him, "Teacher, don't worry. Maybe it's because I haven't used Martial Soul Possession yet. I'll use Martial Soul Possession now and try again."

Hearing this, Master realized that he had been too hasty and nodded.

"Martial Soul Possession!"

The sturdy, 1.6-meter-tall Zhang Yang clenched his fists and said excitedly to Master, "Master, my Strength amplification is incredible! Three times, five times—no, even stronger than that. Haha, let's see what my First Soul Skill is!"

Master smiled happily. "As expected of a top-tier Mutated Beast Martial Soul. Just one Hundred-Year Soul Ring has given Zhang Yang such a tremendous increase in strength. I wonder what Zhang Yang's First Soul Skill is. Strength? This is truly something to look forward to."

Thinking this, Master looked on with gratification as Zhang Yang experienced his First Soul Skill.

But at that moment, Zhang Yang was actually completely bewildered inside.

"This... my First Soul Skill is actually Elementalization?"

"Not the Strength amplification Teacher guessed, but Elementalization?"

"The Elementalization that was the foundation of Natural-type invincibility, which could not be harmed without Armament Haki or Seastone?"

"Then does this world have Armament Haki?"

"If there's no Armament Haki, doesn't that make me invincible?"

"Holy crap, so I'm the Child of Destiny."

"Still, just as the Navy Six Styles could be activated with soul power, perhaps Elementalization can also be countered by some power in this world."

"No, I can't set myself up as invincible. After all, the last invincible one had already stopped thinking."

"So, calm down."

"Calm down."

"Calm... It should be fine if I'm only arrogant for a little while, right?"

After an intense internal struggle, Zhang Yang slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Master's expectant gaze.

Master urged him excitedly, "Zhang Yang, what is your First Soul Skill? Hurry and use it so Teacher can see."

"Okay, Teacher. I'll show you what an invincible First Soul Skill looks like."

Zhang Yang exuded overwhelming confidence.