Heaven Dou City.
Tang San looked at the roaring Golden Crocodile King, and even his eyelids twitched.
That sheer sense of power was indeed frightening.
Even with his Clear Sky Hammer, if he did not use the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer to stack his strength, he might not necessarily be able to defeat that old crocodile in a single burst.
"This is Spirit Hall's foundation..."
Tang San narrowed his eyes, and the contempt in them faded somewhat.
But only somewhat.
After all, this was merely twentieth place.
And his Clear Sky Hammer was hailed as the nemesis of power-attack Weapon Martial Souls.
Not to mention, he also had the Blue Silver Emperor.
"Hmph, it's just a crocodile that relies on brute strength."
"If it got caught by my Blue Silver Emperor's binding, then faced my Clear Sky Hammer's armor-piercing power, it would be nothing but a living target."
Tang San silently ran through the possibilities in his mind.
He concluded that if they fought at the same level, he had a hundred percent chance of toying that Golden Crocodile to death.
"Just wait."
"There will definitely be a place for me, Tang San, in the top three."
Tang San clasped his hands behind his back and slightly raised his chin.
That confidence seemed etched into his bones.
Spirit City, Papal Palace.
Watching Golden Crocodile Douluo make the rankings, Bibi Dong's lips curved into an amused smile.
"That old man usually throws his weight around because of his age. Who would have thought he'd only rank twentieth?"
"It seems the Worship Hall isn't as formidable as they boast."
She felt a little smug at his misfortune.
The Worship Hall and the Papal Palace had always maintained a superficial peace while secretly clashing.
Naturally, she was pleased to see Golden Crocodile suffer a setback.
At the same time, she looked forward to her own ranking even more.
If even the Golden Crocodile King could make the list—
Wouldn't her Death Spider Emperor and Soul Devouring Spider Emperor soar to the heavens?
"If I can take first place..."
A sharp gleam flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes.
At that point, her prestige within the Spirit Hall Empire would reach its peak.
The entire Spirit Hall would truly become her personal domain.
"Continue."
"Let the people of this world see what a truly peerless Martial Soul is."
Bibi Dong heavily struck the ground with her scepter, producing a crisp sound.
She could no longer wait.
The golden light filling the sky did not stop because of everyone's astonishment.
The pillar of light enveloped the vast plaza of the Worship Hall, completely covering Golden Crocodile Douluo's aged yet imposing body.
This was not a simple infusion of Soul Power.
It was a baptism from the Heavenly Dao, a leap at the level of Life Origin.
The phantom of the Golden Crocodile King, which had previously rolled through the swamp and radiated savage violence, now twisted painfully within the golden light.
Crack.
The crisp sound of shattering spread across the continent through the Heavenly Curtain.
The golden scales covering the Golden Crocodile King began to fall away. Great swathes of golden light peeled off, revealing beneath them a black body as dark and profound as an abyss.
This was not an injury.
This was New Life.
An aura even more ancient and primal than before erupted from that black body.
New scales grew out.
They were no longer a dazzling golden color, but an incomparably deep dark gold, their surfaces flowing with patterns that devoured light like black holes.
The crocodile's formerly somewhat bloated body stretched into a leaner, more powerful form. Its limbs were as sturdy as Heaven Pillars, and its claws gleamed with cold light.
Most terrifying of all was its enormous maw.
With an earth-shaking roar, the giant crocodile opened its mouth, forming an enormous black vortex in the void.
The ambient light of heaven and earth, even elemental energy, was forcibly dragged into its stomach by that vortex.
Sky Swallowing!
[Martial Soul Evolution successful!] [Ancient Sky Swallowing Crocodile!] [Due to Golden Crocodile Douluo's profound cultivation, this evolution triggered an Ancestral Return Phenomenon, awakening a trace of the bloodline of the ancient ferocious beast, the "Sky Swallowing Beast."] [Traits: Swallows all things. Can devour enemy Soul Power attacks and convert them into personal defense. Defense increased by 300%. Attacks carry the "Shatter" effect.]
At the same time, a Torso Bone radiating a dark golden glow slowly descended and fused into Golden Crocodile Douluo's body.
Boom!
The bottleneck at level ninety-eight was pierced through like paper at that moment.
Though he had not directly become a god, the qualitative transformation in his power was enough to make people suffocate even through the screen.
Spirit City, Papal Palace.
Bibi Dong had originally been reclining lazily in the Pope Chair, but she could not help straightening up now.
A trace of surprise flashed through her pinkish-purple eyes.
That stubborn old Golden Crocodile had actually obtained such a heaven-defying opportunity.
Ancient Sky Swallowing Crocodile.
Just its ability to devour light already surpassed the vast majority of supreme Martial Souls.
Such an existence was really only ranked twentieth?
Bibi Dong lightly tapped her scepter with her fingers.
If even Golden Crocodile could only rank near the bottom, then the value of this ranking list was likely far greater than she had anticipated.
Rather than diminishing because of Golden Crocodile's low ranking, the anticipation in her heart grew even stronger.
Chang'an City, Great Tang Guesthouse.
Envoys from various nations who had come to pay homage resided here, and the people of Shrek Academy were also staying here temporarily.
Although Tang San was absent, Yu Xiaogang still maintained the manner of a Grandmaster whose "theories were invincible."
Inside the main hall, several accompanying Soul Masters from the Heaven Dou Empire stared blankly at the Heavenly Curtain.
Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back, looked at the ferocious Sky Swallowing Crocodile, and cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
He walked before the crowd with an unfathomable expression on his face.
"Actually, I studied Golden Crocodile Douluo's Martial Soul Evolution in ancient books many years ago."
Everyone's attention was drawn to him.
A hint of pride flashed through Yu Xiaogang's eyes as he continued:
"The Golden Crocodile King is inherently an extremely unstable mutated Martial Soul."
"According to deductions from my Ten Core Theories, when the metallic attribute of a Beast Martial Soul reaches its extreme, it undergoes a reversal where 'extreme yin gives rise to yang.'"
"The so-called Ancient Sky Swallowing Crocodile is simply the concrete manifestation of this theory."
"As long as one finds the right opportunity and uses special medicine to stimulate the dormant genes in its bloodline, such evolution is not impossible."
"When I consulted materials in Spirit Hall back then, I once proposed this idea. Unfortunately, no one believed me at the time."
Yu Xiaogang spoke with great confidence, as though Golden Crocodile Douluo's evolution had been entirely within his grasp.
In reality, his clothes were already soaked through with cold sweat.
What ancient books had he ever read?
He was simply making things up, trying to preserve what little remained of his crumbling prestige before everyone.
The strength displayed by the Great Tang was too overwhelming, so overwhelming that it made him feel suffocated.
If he did not make his presence known now, he feared that this era would truly leave him behind.
In a corner.
Dai Mubai held a cup of wine as he listened to Yu Xiaogang ramble on. His brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
He used to think the Grandmaster was profoundly learned and talented.
But now, the more he listened, the more it sounded like the old man was talking nonsense.
If medicine alone could truly trigger evolution, then could Spirit Hall's inheritance of thousands of years really have been full of fools?
Would they have needed you, Yu Xiaogang, to discover it?
Before you continue