Hesitation!

"You oversized grub, are you looking to die?"

Just as Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was agonizing over his decision, Xu Yunxiao's icy voice rang out. Behind him, the Purple Blazing Heaven Dragon opened its enormous jaws, and a terrifying gleam of destruction flickered deep within its throat.

At the sight, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's pupils shook. Nine golden stripes flashed in succession across his massive body as he shrieked, "I am Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, a Nine-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast specializing in spiritual abilities! Dragon Brother, Dragon Brother, I mean no harm! I only saw that this young man possessed extraordinary talent and wanted to offer myself as a sacrifice to him."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had still had a way out moments ago, but his hesitation had cost him even that. He had no doubt that the man radiating an aura no less dangerous than Bingbing's had already developed murderous intent.

The nine golden stripes erupted with powerful spiritual fluctuations. Though Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was not strong in combat, nine hundred thousand years of Spiritual Power were no empty boast. If he unleashed it without restraint, even a Limit Douluo would not dare underestimate him.

"A Nine-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!"

Hearing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm reveal his identity, Xu Yunxiao and Dugu Bo grew even more tense. Their seventh Soul Rings flickered on and off as they prepared at any moment to light them up and unleash their Martial Soul Avatars.

As for his claim about sacrifice—did they look stupid?

What Soul Beast would be idiotic enough to willingly sacrifice itself to a human?

"Father, wait." Just as the tension reached its peak, Xu Tianyang hurriedly spoke up. Staring seriously at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, he asked, "Never mind whether you truly are a Nine-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. You just said you wanted to sacrifice yourself to me. Tell us why."

Though he had used the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud to bait the other party, he still needed to make Sky Dream Ice Silkworm explain himself.

Hearing Xu Tianyang's words, Xu Yunxiao and Dugu Bo calmed down slightly, though they continued to watch Sky Dream Ice Silkworm closely. Any suspicious movement from him would bring down a barrage of attacks.

"I really am a Nine-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm became anxious at Xu Tianyang's doubt. Pointing to the nine golden stripes on his back, he explained, "For us Ice Silkworms, golden stripes hold immense significance. They symbolize that my cultivation has reached the hundred-thousand-year level. Look, not only do I have golden stripes, I have nine of them."

"They represent my nine hundred thousand years of cultivation."

"Then why does it seem like you aren't very strong?"

"Cough, cough... Our Ice Silkworm clan is not skilled at combat, and my method of advancing is somewhat... somewhat special. In short, although my cultivation has reached nine hundred thousand years, I still can't defeat those Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts that specialize in fighting." A trace of embarrassment crossed Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's face.

Hearing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's account, Xu Yunxiao and the others gradually lowered their guard. This Nine-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast really did seem neither particularly clever nor particularly strong.

With them here, they had nothing to fear from any ill intentions he might have toward Xu Tianyang.

"Since your cultivation is so high, why do you want to sacrifice yourself to me?" Xu Tianyang asked again.

Xu Yunxiao and the other three also pricked up their ears. The Soul Master World had recorded very little about the secrets of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, and they wanted to learn the truth as well.

"Alas!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm let out a long, desolate sigh. "Though my cultivation has reached nine hundred thousand years, my combat strength is weak. The energy contained within me is simply too immense. To other Soul Beasts, I am a giant delicacy."

"They all want to capture me and drain away my cultivation to strengthen themselves. In the Soul Beast world, I have no place to stand at all."

"Moreover, Soul Beasts undergo a Heavenly Tribulation every hundred thousand years. If they survive it, they enter the next realm and continue cultivating. Though I do not know why my previous Heavenly Tribulations never descended, I do not dare gamble on whether I can survive the final Heavenly Tribulation at one million years."

"I don't want to die..."

"I want immortality, and the only path to immortality is to embark upon the road to godhood." At that moment, an exceptionally bright light shone in Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eyes.

"Gods!" Xu Yunxiao and the others were startled again. They had lost count of how many times they had been shocked today. Even they, who had seen great storms and waves, felt as though their entire worldview was being remade.

"Do gods truly exist in this world?" Xu Yunxiao looked somewhat lost. Even though he had learned of the Sea God legend a year ago, he had still remained skeptical.

"They do." Unexpectedly, Dugu Bo was the first to answer affirmatively. "Legend says that Spirit Hall was founded by the Angel God. The Angel God swept away all the Fallen Soul Masters on Douluo Continent and entered the hundredth rank. Every successive Pope of Spirit Hall has acted according to the Angel God's divine oracle, striking down Fallen Soul Masters across Douluo Continent."

"Moreover, the Martial Souls of every Pope have been Six-winged Angels. They call themselves the Angel God's divine envoys and oversee the continent."

"The Six-winged Angel is a god-level Martial Soul?" Xu Yunxiao looked at Dugu Bo in surprise. They had already gathered quite a bit of intelligence on Douluo Continent, but they were indeed still lacking certain hidden information.

"I do not know whether it is a god-level Martial Soul, but..." Dugu Bo shook his head solemnly. He seemed to recall the old man he had seen during his investiture at Douluo Hall after becoming a Titled Douluo. With a faint trace of fear in his eyes, he said, "The Angel Martial Soul is unquestionably the most powerful Martial Soul I have ever seen."

Hearing this, Xu Yunxiao's heart sank sharply. It seemed Spirit Hall's strength needed to be reassessed.

After first learning about the situation on Douluo Continent, he had already held Spirit Hall in high regard. Now it seemed he had still underestimated them.

"And what does that have to do with your desire to sacrifice yourself to Your Highness?" Feng Tianxiang stared coldly at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

Hearing this, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm looked at them with envy. "Humans are the most blessed beings in this world. You often need only a few decades to reach strength comparable to what we spend tens of thousands of years cultivating."

"Human potential is something Soul Beasts can never match. More importantly, Soul Beasts simply cannot become gods. The continent has existed for who knows how many years. Soul Beasts existed before there were even humans, yet to this day, I have never heard of a Soul Beast becoming a god. It seems to be a barrier we Soul Beasts can never cross."

"So, when I saw him, I bet my future on him!"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stared intensely at Xu Tianyang. With such exceptional talent and the aura of a Deity, if someone like him could not become a god, then who could?

There was no way Tian Meng would miss such an effortless chance to ride another's success.

And with Xu Tianyang's help, he might yet have a chance to fulfill his wish in the future.

Bingbing, my Bingbing...

"This... Tianyang, what do you think?"

By now, even Xu Yunxiao did not know what choice to make. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words were certainly full of doubts, but this was a Nine-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

It might be a Soul Ring without precedent or successor. The benefits it could bring were simply too immense—so immense that even Xu Yunxiao was filled with hesitation.