Under the near-seventy-thousand-year-old Soul Beast's willing sacrifice, Su Ze smoothly absorbed the Soul Ring.
His Soul Power also broke through level 50.
At the same time, Dark Clouds Gathering filled the sky once more, and thick bolts of lightning kept crashing down, striking the top of Su Ze's head again and again.
Di Tian even felt that this time, the lightning was no weaker than the tribulation of an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
The Storm Dragon King's Phantom appeared behind Su Ze once more.
As Gu Yuena watched the towering figure, her own form quietly appeared.
"The Storm Dragon King, a Dragon King formed naturally from storm elements."
"If Su Ze can obtain the Thunder God's divine position in the future, then combined with his own achievements, he might even surpass me."
Gu Yuena didn't say anything about the Storm Dragon King.
But she did say the second part aloud.
Di Tian, standing beside her, heard her words and stared in shock.
"My lord, no matter how outstanding Su Ze's talent is, he's still human. How could he surpass you?"
"You are the incarnation of the Dragon God."
In Di Tian's eyes, the Dragon God was the greatest being of all.
As the highest leader of the Soul Beast Clan, Gu Yuena had inherited the Dragon God's wisdom as his other half.
She could stand against the five God Kings of the Divine Realm.
No matter how talented Su Ze was, how could he compare with his lord?
"No. You don't understand!"
Gu Yuena shook her head. In her eyes, Su Ze himself was a Dragon King formed from storm elements.
Now he had been reborn as a human, and if he obtained the Thunder God's divine position,
the enhancement from his innate attributes would allow him to achieve an effect greater than the sum of its parts.
Because Douluo Continent suppressed her, even recovering her strength was already difficult, let alone advancing further.
At his lord's words, Di Tian looked once more at Su Ze, who was meditating with his legs crossed, and his eyes filled with envy.
As the current Clan Leader of the Black Dragon King Clan, Di Tian had once followed the Dragon God and held a high position. He had been called the one most likely to become a god.
But now, Douluo Continent's suppression had completely cut off that hope.
"Since my lord thinks so highly of Su Ze, I'll keep a close watch on him from now on and make sure he keeps working hard."
"That way, he'll be able to help you sooner in the future."
"But, my lord, Su Ze is still human, after all."
Di Tian had fully acknowledged Su Ze's talent, but he remained wary because of Su Ze's human identity.
"Don't worry. I have a way to confirm his loyalty."
Gu Yuena shook her head.
She might have doubts about other humans.
But Su Ze was different. He was a Dragon King, just like her.
As long as he became a god, he would certainly take her side in the future.
Under Gu Yuena's watchful gaze, Su Ze's Soul Ring absorption finally came to an end.
The furious lightning in the sky gradually faded.
"Lightning Flash! A Fifth Soul Skill focused on speed?"
"That makes sense. After all, I absorbed the Thousand Fiend Instant Cloud Dragon, a Soul Beast with Wind Dragon King bloodline!"
Su Ze examined his Fifth Soul Skill and smiled.
After absorbing the Thousand Fiend Instant Cloud Dragon, he had gained a Soul Skill that could pierce through space.
When he used it, his speed doubled.
This skill could also work in tandem with Sikong Zhen's First Soul Skill, Gale Rush.
After using it, the distance covered by Gale Rush would double.
Now, after using his First Skill, he could instantly teleport ten meters away.
It was practically a short-range teleport.
At the same time, after absorbing a seventy-thousand-year Soul Ring,
the Storm Dragon King's ability to evolve Soul Rings appeared once more.
Su Ze's second Soul Ring had evolved to five thousand years.
His first Soul Ring had also evolved to two thousand years.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before Su Ze had an All Black Soul Ring setup.
His trip to Star Dou Great Forest had certainly been rewarding.
Su Ze planned to stabilize his cultivation at Lake of Life before returning to Heaven Dou City.
Meanwhile, in the Balak Kingdom,
a handsome black-haired boy walked down the street with a cute girl who had a pair of rabbit ears.
The boy wore a faint smile. He turned to the girl beside him and spoke gently.
"Xiao Wu, the academy our teacher recommended is said to be known as Monster Academy."
"Looks like we'll meet plenty of talented people there."
"Maybe we'll find that Su Ze there!"
At the mention of Su Ze, a cold glint flashed in the eyes of Tang San, who had graduated from Nuoding City.
Tang San still remembered the boy who had beaten him up for an entire year and taken his Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon.
That commoner brat had taken his belongings and humiliated his teacher. Tang San still thought he deserved to die.
If Tang San hadn't lost track of him after graduation, he would have gone to teach him a lesson long ago.
Xiao Wu, Tang San's devoted follower, immediately nodded at his words and said bitterly,
"That awful guy! Back then, we were just young, and we weren't very good at using our Soul Skills. That's why we kept losing to him."
"Now you and I have both grown stronger, Third Brother. If we see him again, I'll make sure he learns how powerful we are."
Several years had passed, and Xiao Wu had become the leader of Nuoding Academy once more.
As time went by, the memory of that figure, who had seemed like the Thunder God, had faded.
All she wanted now was to find him and get her revenge.
"That's right, Xiao Wu. With our teacher's guidance, we've both improved a lot over the years. We've even developed the Three Dance Five Tactic."
"Su Ze might have some talent, but his actions show that he has no respect for teachers."
"Even if he's talented, he can't have grown as quickly as we have over the past few years."
"When I see him again, I'll make sure to get my revenge and take back my Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon."
Several traces of hatred flashed in Tang San's eyes.
Back when he had just entered the Soul World, he hadn't known how valuable the Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon was.
He had just handed it over like that.
Thinking about losing hundreds of thousands of Gold Soul Coins made Tang San's heart ache.
That despicable brat had actually taken something worth over a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins over a verbal bet between six-year-old children.
Shameless!
He truly deserved to die.
As it happened, Xiao Wu and Tang San soon ran into Dai Mubai at the Rose Hotel and immediately engaged in a Soul Duel in broad daylight.
As Dai Mubai walked out with a pair of twins in his arms, a girl in men's clothing, who had hurried all the way here, was approaching.
Now, as she watched the man holding the twins in the distance, anger filled her eyes.
Zhu Qingzhu finally understood why her older sister had let her come find Dai Mubai.
Her so-called fiancé was a man of terrible character.
In broad daylight, he was hanging around with two women of questionable virtue.
Watching Dai Mubai's hands roam over them, Zhu Qingzhu's expression turned utterly cold.
In her deep disappointment, Zhu Qingzhu couldn't help thinking of the young man named Su Ze whom she had met before.
Even though he had saved her life, he had never once taken advantage of her.
He had even gone out of his way to find her clothes, keeping his distance to avoid making things awkward.
A stranger like Su Ze had still known how to conduct himself properly.
And her fiancé was a rotten man who was completely unfaithful.
Zhu Qingzhu was utterly disappointed.
She would rather her fiancé were Su Ze than the lecherous scoundrel in front of her.
As Zhu Qingzhu turned to leave, Dai Mubai, who was still groping the twins in his arms, suddenly felt his heart tighten.
He instinctively looked around, but the moment he turned his head, he was surrounded by a magnificent view.
Feeling the soft touch against his face, Dai Mubai immediately put his unease out of his mind.
Elsewhere,
the moment Su Ze returned to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan caught up with him.
Both women were now seventeen or eighteen, and their figures had fully matured.
Dugu Yan's figure was especially striking. With the awakening of the Dragon Clan bloodline in her body, her curves had become even more alluring.
Ye Lingling, who had once been petite and adorable, had also grown into a mature beauty over the years. Though her figure couldn't compare with Dugu Yan's,
she was still well-proportioned.
As soon as the two met Su Ze, they started asking about his Fifth Soul Ring.
Dugu Yan also kept pestering Su Ze, wanting to have another Soul Duel with him.
"Senior Sister, Sister Yan Yan, can you ask me one at a time?"
"My head's about to explode."
Su Ze was speechless. Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan were aloof around everyone else at the academy.
Why did they have so much to say whenever they were with him?
"You jerk! You went to get your Fifth Soul Ring without taking me with you!"
"Why were you keeping it a secret? Did you meet some other girl while you were out?"
Dugu Yan pursed her lips in discontent, her voice full of displeasure.
She had planned to go with Su Ze to get his Fifth Soul Ring.
After all, there weren't many chances to be alone with him and leave Ye Lingling behind.
She hadn't expected Su Ze to refuse and say he could get one by himself.
Dugu Yan was unhappy about it.
Su Ze was already popular at Heaven Dou Royal Academy because of his strength.
He had also grown more handsome over the years.
Dugu Yan had already driven off plenty of girls, so she worried that Su Ze might return from getting his Soul Ring with another woman in tow.
Ye Lingling was already enough.
If there were another one, she'd really lose it.
"All right, all right. I'll tell you about my Fifth Soul Ring first. I got pretty lucky this time."
"By chance, I ran into a seriously injured seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast. I was lucky enough to kill it and absorb its Soul Ring."
Su Ze simply told them about his Soul Skill.
At the mention of seventy thousand years, Dugu Yan's lips parted in shock, and disbelief filled her eyes.
Over the past few years, she had gotten used to being stunned by Su Ze's talent.
But he still challenged her understanding every time.
A seventy-thousand-year Fifth Soul Ring.
Would his Sixth Soul Ring be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?
He'd already have a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring as a Soul Emperor? How terrifying!
If he kept this up, wouldn't her grandfather, who had already reached level ninety-three, be useless too?
And if that were the case, what advantage would she have over Ye Lingling?
As Dugu Yan fretted over this, Ye Lingling looked at Su Ze with admiration.
Watching Ye Lingling's admiring gaze, Dugu Yan gritted her teeth and wrapped her jade-white arms around Su Ze's arm.
A soft sensation instantly enveloped his arm.
"Su Ze really is amazing. You already got a seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast for your Fifth Soul Ring. You're incredible."
Feeling the warmth against his arm, Su Ze couldn't help shivering.
As their relationship had grown closer over the past few years, Dugu Yan had become a little too outgoing with him.
It had caused Su Ze no small amount of trouble.
After all, women...
There were more important things than cultivation.
Watching Dugu Yan's actions, Ye Lingling's eyes filled with anxiety. Her social phobia made it impossible for her to act so intimately.
She could only fret inwardly. In her urgency, Ye Lingling thought of a way to draw Su Ze's attention.
"By the way, Junior Brother, the academy recently organized the next All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament. Should we take part?"
"Yu Tianheng seems to have recruited quite a few people and plans to form the Heaven Dou Team."
"He said he's going to beat you at the team tournament."
As Ye Lingling spoke, she unconsciously moved closer to Su Ze. Their faces were almost touching.
Dugu Yan immediately noticed and said, displeased,
"What is this little girl, Ye Lingling, up to?"
After Dugu Yan caught her sneaking around, Ye Lingling's face quickly turned red, and she instinctively took a few steps back.
Seeing Ye Lingling like that, Dugu Yan glared at Su Ze in displeasure, her two little canine teeth grinding together.
That detestable guy. It had been bad enough that he'd flirted with her back then, but now he was going after her best friend, Ye Lingling, too.
That damned bastard.
Sensing the tension, Su Ze immediately changed the subject to business.
"Of course I'm participating! Yu Tianheng can form a team even though he's only a Soul Elder. Why can't I?"
"Besides, all kinds of geniuses will show up at the National Elite Competition. It'll be a good chance to see what they can do."
Now that he was in Douluo Continent, it would feel wrong not to enter the National Elite Competition.
After all, if he remembered correctly, this competition offered a full three Soul Bones as prizes.
One of them was a Head Soul Bone with a Mental Attribute that had been around for over fifty thousand years.
Even if he didn't absorb it himself, he could give it to Ye Lingling or Dugu Yan.
And more importantly, Shrek Team should be forming around this time.
If he entered the National Elite Competition, he ought to run into them.
At the thought of Tang San and Xiao Wu,
Su Ze's hand unconsciously drifted toward Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night.
He wanted to see how much Tang San and Xiao Wu had improved after all these years apart.
He remembered the time he'd beaten Tang San to a pulp at the academy.
Anticipation flickered in Su Ze's eyes.
He was eager to see how much Tang San, the Child of Destiny, had grown over the past few years.
While Su Ze looked forward to the competition, in the Divine Realm, at the Land of Intertwined Life,
the God of Destruction frowned, repeatedly glancing toward the mortal world.
His actions soon caught the Goddess of Life's attention.
"What's wrong?"
The Goddess of Life asked in some confusion. Her voice was gentle, and hearing it made one feel refreshed and at ease.
"Over the past few days, I've sensed movement from the Thunder God Position."
The God of Destruction's stern voice rang out.
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