Four years later, Spirit Pagoda, Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform.
Amid layers upon layers of lush greenery, a young girl stood in a pure white dress. Her silver long hair fell past her slender waist, while her silver-white pupils were ethereal and clear, shimmering with morning-star radiance. Her features were exquisitely beautiful beyond compare, and her otherworldly face seemed to dim the very world around her.
"Roar—"
Opposite the young girl, a soul beast roared in fury. It was a crystalline toad around two meters tall, its entire body snow white like jade save for its pair of blood-red beast eyes, which seemed ready to drip blood. It looked utterly terrifying.
A Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad, with three thousand years of cultivation!
An ice-, fire-, and poison-attribute soul beast, its territory had once been located where the Extreme North met the human world. It was known as the king of the cracks!
A streak of silver light flashed. The iconic Silver Dragon Spear appeared in her hand, making the young girl's identity obvious. She was Na'er, four years later. One end of the Silver Dragon Spear pointed diagonally at the ground. Heroic and spirited, she resembled an imposing Valkyrie.
"Silver Dragon Rage!"
Na'er gave a clear shout, her voice crisp like pearls falling on a jade plate. Two purple Soul Rings abruptly rose beside her, and the Second Soul Skill lit up!
Her silver eyes burned with dazzling brilliance as the Silver Dragon Spear erupted with radiant silver light. A layer of silver dragon scales emerged from the hand gripping the spear shaft, then spread over her entire delicate body. In the blink of an eye, they covered every inch of exposed skin aside from her face!
The Silver Dragon Spear's Second Soul Skill, Silver Dragon Rage!
A strengthening Soul Skill. The Silver Dragon King Bloodline within the Silver Dragon Spear fed back into Na'er, greatly increasing her attack, speed, mental strength, and Soul Skill power!
Silver Dragon Rage's enhancement was incredibly powerful, its flame-like light steadily rising. Na'er seemed to transform into an erupting volcano. Intense radiance clung to her silver dragon scales, concealing her body within it and gathering into a massive silver dragon phantom. Dragon roars rang out one after another, clear and passionate!
"Roar..."
The might Na'er unleashed far exceeded her Soul Power. The Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad instinctively retreated half a step with its hind legs. Standing opposite that silver dragon, it found it hard to breathe, as if an incomparably heavy boulder were crushing its heart. It was fear from the deepest depths of its bloodline!
A Three-Thousand-Year Soul Beast already possessed considerable intelligence. The Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad understood that the human before it was extremely dangerous and that it had to go all out. The lumps on its back burst open, firing streams of liquid-like blue-white light toward Na'er!
Innate Soul Skill, Corrosive Ice!
Though its name contained the word ice, the Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad's most terrifying feature was the mixed poison created by combining the frigid energy it absorbed from heaven and earth with its fire-attribute eyes: Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad Poison!
Just a tiny drop could corrode a Plate Armor Rhinoceros of the same level into a puddle of poisonous water!
The Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad treated Na'er with absolute respect, nearly draining every drop of poison from its body. Corrosive Ice covered the sky and the earth, and a dense rain of deadly poison fell from above!
However, Na'er told the Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad the very next second: your ancestors were still your ancestors!
The silver-white dragon raised its head and roared into the sky. Na'er neither dodged nor avoided it, charging straight into the icy rain. Fine black glimmers flickered through the blazing light as tiny spatial cracks continuously devoured the Corrosive Ice!
Na'er was the Silver Dragon King Half Body. Even though she had not inherited those Multiple Elements, her innate elemental affinity remained. Fusing with the Thorn Dragon Soul Spirit served as a medium, allowing her to communicate with the space attribute within her body. From then on, space became a weapon under her control!
The Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad's strength lay almost entirely in its poison. Its physical fitness and close-combat abilities were not exceptional. Na'er closed in instantly, and the Silver Dragon Spear swept across!
First soul skill, Silver Dragon Slash!
Suspended in midair, the Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad sprayed blood wildly. It only stopped after smashing through seven or eight ancient trees. Its forelimbs were crushed, huge cracks spread over its chest and abdomen, and dark red blood trickled down as its aura wilted.
"Zhao Xuanzhen!"
After severely wounding the Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad with one strike, Na'er called out loudly.
The person Na'er called was tall and straight, with black hair tied up and a fair, handsome face. He wore dark blue-green clothes beneath a loose outer robe, its sleeves adorned with Yin Yang totems corresponding to the shifts of the Yin Yang Airflow.
While Na'er fought the Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad, a soul beast of equally overwhelming presence stood before Zhao Xuanzhen.
It was a toad-type soul beast, yet it looked neither ferocious nor disgusting. Instead, it was incomparably refined and noble. Splendid golden color covered most of its body, its eyes shone with spirit, and three legs supported its entire frame.
A Four-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Three-Legged Golden Toad!
The Three-Legged Golden Toad possessed divine beast bloodline and was born with control over the Metal Attribute. Its other name was Metal Controller.
Since the Sun Moon Federation's predecessor, the Sun Moon Empire, the Three-Legged Golden Toad had held a lofty status in the Sun Moon Federation. A family whose inherited Martial Soul was the Three-Legged Golden Toad had held important posts in the Sun Moon for generations!
Killing intent overflowed from the Three-Legged Golden Toad's brilliant golden beast eyes. One of the two soul beasts had once slumbered in a metal mining region of the Sun Moon Federation, while the other had lived on the edge of the Extreme North. Spirit Pagoda had forcibly turned them into Soul Spirits and placed them in the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, which simulated the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.
By chance, they had come together and become lifelong mates. Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad Poison and Metal Control were both top-tier abilities. The two toads had gradually become rulers of one side of the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, and ordinary soul beasts did not dare approach them.
Zhao Xuanzhen and Na'er had intruded into their territory, enraging the Three-Legged Golden Toad. It was determined to bury the two humans beneath endless metal artillery fire!
"Creak, creak..."
Accompanied by the clang of metal, rings of golden light rose upward. The skin on the Three-Legged Golden Toad's back split open, and one cannon barrel after another formed amid the light!
The Three-Legged Golden Toad resembled a Soul Guidance artillery platform. Legend had it that Soul Tools originated from this type of soul beast. Tens of thousands of years ago, Ancient Soul Tool Masters had imitated the Three-Legged Golden Toad to create Soul Tools!
Countless metal motes condensed around it, surging frantically toward the cannon barrels like rivers flowing into the sea. Each point of light was nourished and strengthened as it neared the Three-Legged Golden Toad, spreading thick golden halos as the metallic aura boiled intensely!
Innate Soul Skill, Metal Blast!
Zhao Xuanzhen's gaze was calm, so calm that it contained no warmth at all, as though nothing in the world could reflect within it. It seemed like absolute arrogance, yet it felt utterly natural. His entire being carried an air as though all things rested within his heart.
True Self, possess me!
A strand of black hair turned white. Two Thousand-Year Soul Rings rose forcefully. Unlike Na'er's bright purple rings, Zhao Xuanzhen's Soul Rings faintly gave off a deep blackness like an abyss!
Metal Blast struck. The barrage thundered violently, as if it could pierce eardrums, forming a fire curtain that covered the sky and blocked the sun with tremendous kinetic force. Human-like smugness appeared in the Three-Legged Golden Toad's eyes. The innate ability of divine beast bloodline was beyond the reach of ordinary people. Its beast eyes widened slightly as it prepared to witness the artillery fire grind the human into dust!
"Ribbit!?"
The Three-Legged Golden Toad suddenly froze, staring in disbelief at Zhao Xuanzhen within the encirclement of Metal Blast.
A scene that overturned the Three-Legged Golden Toad's four thousand years of understanding unfolded. Not a single shell struck Zhao Xuanzhen. The instant they approached, they were drawn by a force and endlessly revolved around his body. The dark purple Soul Ring at the rear shone brilliantly!
Second Soul Skill, Yin Yang Reversal!
The Yin and Yang Dual Qi outlined an inviolable Black and White Domain. Every metal shell that approached was enveloped by the Yin and Yang Dual Qi, gathering around Zhao Xuanzhen into a vortex tangled with black, white, and gold.
The Three-Legged Golden Toad refused to believe it and increased its output. Black smoke rose from the cannon barrels on its back as the Metal Attribute overloaded, yet nothing changed. The vortex did not dissipate; instead, it grew ever larger!
If the Three-Legged Golden Toad could speak, it would surely have laughed three times before pointing at the heavens and cursing, "What kind of absurd matchmaking system is this?!"
That human's Soul Skill was the absolute nemesis of ranged attacks!
Then something even more terrifying happened. The vortex that had absorbed all of its attacks actually rushed back toward it. Most outrageous of all, the energy within it was even greater than the Three-Legged Golden Toad's total output!
Gold was the Three-Legged Golden Toad's artillery fire, while black and white belonged to Zhao Xuanzhen's yin and yang. With the two Soul Skills stacked together, its power could only be more terrifying than the original Metal Blast!
The Three-Legged Golden Toad knew its own abilities best. It knew all too well the might of two volleys of Metal Blast. As Yin Yang Reversal descended, it instinctively felt there was nowhere to run, as if its body would be annihilated by the Yin and Yang Dual Qi the very next instant!
Yin Yang Reversal's counterattack came with a locking effect!
The principle behind Yin Yang Reversal was not difficult to understand. It was simply borrowing force to strike back and overturning heaven and earth. The Yin and Yang Dual Qi absorbed the enemy's ranged attacks, converted them into its own momentum, and returned them with a guaranteed hit.
This was the strongest Yin Yang Reversal Zhao Xuanzhen had used since obtaining the Second Soul Skill. Ninety-eight percent of the credit went to the Three-Legged Golden Toad's continent-renowned artillery bombardment!
Borrow force, strike force—the key was the force borrowed.
If it had been a Wind Baboon instead, Yin Yang Reversal would have been pathetic. Those two windballs it spat out were not even worth one cannon shell from the Three-Legged Golden Toad!
Against a guaranteed-hit skill, aside from invincible intangibility, the only option was to do everything possible to reduce the damage. The Three-Legged Golden Toad's body immediately melted into liquid metal!
Yin Yang Reversal exploded, and sharp metallic energy raged through the air. The liquid form of the Three-Legged Golden Toad was sliced to pieces, only for the liquid to gather and reform into a battered Three-Legged Golden Toad!
The Three-Legged Golden Toad's heart pounded like a drum. Fortunately, its divine beast bloodline had given it a life-saving divine skill. Otherwise, it would have died an utterly miserable death beneath its own Innate Soul Skill!
In this two-on-two battle, the Three-Legged Golden Toad and Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad had been severely wounded almost at the same time. The soul beasts knew humans would not show mercy, and the ferocity of cornered beasts surged into their hearts!
The Three-Legged Golden Toad charged toward the Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad. The two toads merged like two puddles of liquid, fusing into a gigantic Crimson Golden Toad. It combined the Three-Legged Golden Toad's metal with the Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad's deadly poison, and its pair of black beast eyes resembled pitch-black burial abysses!
"A soul beast version of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill? This is my first time seeing one!" Na'er flashed to Zhao Xuanzhen's side.
"There is precedent. Two Soul Masters possessed this skill ten thousand years ago. If humans can do it, soul beasts naturally can as well," Zhao Xuanzhen said.
Soul beasts not only possessed fusion skills, but even three-in-one fusion skills existed. Furthermore, the fusion of the Three-Legged Golden Toad and Scarlet-Eyed Ice Toad had precedent!
"I'll leave the ranged attacks to you!"
The Silver Dragon Spear transformed into a streak of light and returned to Na'er's body. The silver scales on her body receded like the tide, and Na'er calmly hid behind Zhao Xuanzhen. The gap between two Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and Zhao Xuanzhen was not something a Martial Soul Fusion Skill could bridge.
"All right."
Zhao Xuanzhen smiled faintly, unconcerned by Na'er's slacking.
The Second Soul Ring lit up, and the dark purple ring expanded outward as the vortex of Yin Yang Reversal enveloped the area once more!
The Crimson Golden Toad opened its giant mouth. A mass of incandescent light brewed deep within its throat, filled with the cold hardness of metal and the sinister poison of ice and fire. A nearly twisted, hysterical madness erupted!
Human, let's see if you can reflect this one!
"Extremes Meet!"
Zhao Xuanzhen pushed both palms forward. Ripples spread across the vortex of Yin and Yang Dual Qi, and visible waves wrapped around the light layer by layer. The power of the Martial Soul Fusion Skill spun rapidly within the airflow!
After withdrawing his palms and pulling back, the Martial Soul Fusion Skill known as Red Dust's Attachment from ten thousand years ago bloomed with even more intense light, charging toward the Crimson Golden Toad with a magnificent blazing tail!
"Boom!!!"
A terrifying explosion erupted, brilliant and dazzling like a blooming lotus. In the Crimson Golden Toad's despairing gaze, Yin Yang Reversal reflected the attack back, destroying every life within its range.
Energy feedback, seven hundred years!
The last piece of the puzzle was complete. Black overwhelmed purple!
Spirit Ascension, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings!
Two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, black as ink, floated one above the other as Zhao Xuanzhen's aura surged dramatically.
With True Self's absolute physique supporting him, Zhao Xuanzhen could already withstand two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings. Moreover, his mental strength had broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm a year and a half ago, enough to bear a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit!
Na'er's body and mental strength also far surpassed those of Soul Masters at the same level, but the physical enhancement provided by the Silver Dragon Spear and True Self were not on the same level. Her Soul Ring age had reached its limit, and she could not yet endure two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings. Today, she had accompanied Zhao Xuanzhen to complete his Spirit Ascension.
After pressing the signal device, the two left the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform.
They awoke from their metal cabinets. The sound of high heels tapping the floor rang clearly through the quiet Underground Space as a graceful figure approached them and asked gently,
"Xuanzhen, is there anything wrong with your body?"
Zhao Xuanzhen rose and looked toward her, smiling as he replied, "Everything is as usual, Teacher."
Leng Yaozhu let out a breath of relief. She treasured this only Direct Disciple deeply. She had originally hoped he would wait a while before undergoing Spirit Ascension, but Zhao Xuanzhen had refused to yield.
"Don't worry, Aunt Leng. I was watching him!" Na'er said with a giggle.
Leng Yaozhu helplessly poked Na'er's little head and said, "You haven't tested your physical data in three months. Let me see how you've changed recently. Xuanzhen, you first."
A helmet descended over Zhao Xuanzhen's head, and a blue crystal ball appeared in his hand.
On the white Soul Guidance Screen, the mental strength value continued to jump. Meanwhile, the crystal ball, whose limit was level thirty, instantly shone brilliantly, lacking only one final imperceptible trace.
"Level twenty-nine peak." Leng Yaozhu nodded.
"My Soul Power showed signs of breaking through last night. I'll reach Soul Elder within two or three days at most," Zhao Xuanzhen said.
Four years, from level thirteen to level twenty-nine. If calculated as level thirty, then subtracting the one level of Soul Power provided by the Second Soul Ring, he had gained exactly four levels per year on average.
Using Xu Xiaoyan and Xie Xie, who also possessed Innate Full Soul Power, as references, Zhao Xuanzhen's cultivation speed was like taking the highway.
"Beep, beep, beep!"
The mental strength value stopped.
Six hundred sixty-six. Six sixes, all smooth sailing.
Spirit Sea Realm, 500–5000. The mind was like a sea, vast and boundless. Mental strength had truly reached a high level, allowing one to fuse with five yellow Soul Spirits, or three purple Soul Spirits and one black Soul Spirit.
With the Innate Spirit Connection Realm, Illusion Brain Douluo Han Tianyi's wholehearted teachings, and training in the Real Illusion three times a week, Zhao Xuanzhen's mental strength surpassed that of those his age by far.
A moment later, Na'er's data came out as well: level twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster, mental strength five hundred twenty, Spirit Sea Realm!
"520, the perfect number!"
Na'er stared at the mental strength value and laughed happily. Zhao Xuanzhen covered his face helplessly.
This was bad. Symptoms of love brain were beginning to appear!
Before you continue