Is This Something a Soul Beast Should Know?

Relying on Soul Tools to survive a tribulation—this was Jiang Heng's first thought after becoming a Soul Beast.

An ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was, at most, comparable to a level 92 or 93 Title Douluo of this era. Yet a level-nine Soul Tool of the Sun Moon Empire could easily withstand the attacks of a level 95 Title Douluo, or even stronger!

That meant that once a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast possessed a level-nine defensive Soul Tool, its chances of surviving a tribulation would rise dramatically. Ideally, the Soul Tool would also come with immunity to lightning-element attacks.

Of course, there might still be all sorts of problems. Even if it succeeded by luck, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that had survived its tribulation this way would be somewhat inferior to other Soul Beasts of the same level. But so what?

It would still be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

If conditions permitted, he could form an army of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. He could even have some of them take human form while the rest sacrificed themselves, creating several Limit Douluo. In any case, that was better than doing nothing.

Bringing along a youngster from his clan, Jiang Heng arrived at the Lake of Life.

Not long after he approached, Di Tian appeared.

"Beast God!"

Jiang Heng bowed respectfully.

"Sheng Long, why have you returned from the human world so soon?"

"Could it be that you have already mastered humanity's most advanced Soul Tool technology?"

Di Tian was quite surprised by Jiang Heng's abrupt return.

Only a few years had passed. To humans, several years might be a long time, but to Soul Beasts, it was no more than the time it took to take a nap.

What shocked him even more was that Sheng Long's cultivation had already reached three hundred thousand years.

This rate of advancement was simply heaven-defying!

"Beast God, I returned this time partly for a tribulation, and partly to test my latest research results and have you verify them."

Jiang Heng briefly explained his plan.

Di Tian was immediately intrigued.

He then summoned all the Fierce Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest to observe.

The eight-hundred-ninety-thousand-year Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian; the five-hundred-eighty-thousand-year Emerald Swan, Bi Ji; the five-hundred-thirty-thousand-year Demon Eye Demon Tree, King of Ten Thousand Monsters; the four-hundred-seventy-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, Xiong Jun; the three-hundred-ten-thousand-year Three-Headed Red Demon Mastiff, Scarlet King; the nearly three-hundred-thousand-year Hell Demon Dragon, Zi Ji; and the two-hundred-sixty-thousand-year Three-Eyed Demon Spirit, Yao Ling!

Besides them, there was also a white-haired little girl who looked eight or nine years old, with the Auspicious Beast, Three-Eyed Golden Lion, by her side.

The white-haired little girl radiated an icy aura. Her delicate features seemed as though a Deity had personally sculpted them, so seamless and perfect. Especially those star-bright eyes—one glance was enough to make one feel drawn into their depths.

If his guess was correct, she was Snow Empress after taking human form.

"Sheng Long, begin!"

Seeing that all the Fierce Beasts had arrived, Di Tian did not explain why he had summoned them. He simply turned his gaze toward Jiang Heng.

"Little one, survive the tribulation according to the method I instructed you in. Once you succeed, I will personally grant you a name."

Jiang Heng then looked at his clansman.

This action left all the Fierce Beasts present deeply confused.

Wasn't it merely a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast undergoing a tribulation? Was it really necessary to gather every Fierce Beast here to watch?

Yet because of Di Tian's order, no matter how dissatisfied they were, none dared object.

Under the gaze of the many Fierce Beasts, Jiang Heng's clansman began his tribulation.

For a Soul Beast, a standard Heavenly Tribulation consisted of nine bolts of heavenly lightning. Each bolt was stronger than the last, with the ninth being the strongest final tribulation.

The purer the bloodline and the stronger the talent, the more terrifying the power of each lightning bolt and its stacking effect became. A mutated state in which all nine bolts merged into one might even appear.

There were also Soul Beasts with ordinary bloodlines whose Heavenly Tribulations occasionally mutated, resulting in simplified lightning tribulations with only four to six bolts.

Although the Golden Earth Dragon King could not compare to those top-tier pure-blooded True Dragons, it was still a powerful existence among Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Its tribulation was the standard nine bolts of heavenly lightning.

As bolt after bolt of heavenly lightning descended, Jiang Heng's clansman withstood them one after another.

The fourth, fifth, sixth... After he endured the seventh bolt, the observing Fierce Beasts all shook their heads.

"This little one's foundation is still somewhat lacking. He cannot withstand the eighth bolt of heavenly lightning with his strength."

"What a pity. I thought there might be some miracle."

"Did Di Tian summon us here just to watch this?"

The Fierce Beasts murmured quietly among themselves. With their keen eyes, they could naturally tell that Sheng Long's clansman would go no further.

Jiang Heng's expression remained unchanged as he calmly watched everything unfold.

Just as the eighth bolt of heavenly lightning descended, a curtain of light suddenly emerged around the Hundred-Thousand-Year Golden Earth Dragon King. The light came from a scale ornament he wore, yet it also seemed like power that had always belonged to him.

Boom!

The lightning bolt, as thick as a water barrel, descended once more, carrying heavy destructive power as it struck the Hundred-Thousand-Year Golden Earth Dragon King with tremendous force.

The anticipated scene of his body being pierced by lightning and completely shattered did not occur.

The instant the lightning collided with the curtains of light, it was quietly weakened by several degrees. Not only that, after forcibly withstanding the bolt, the Golden Earth Dragon King's injuries actually began to heal.

"This..."

The many Fierce Beasts were all stunned. None of them understood what had happened, and they turned to Di Tian one after another.

Di Tian wanted to say that he did not know what was going on either.

But as the Beast God, he still had to maintain an unfathomable bearing, so he turned to Jiang Heng.

"This is the finest defensive Soul Tool I can create with my current abilities. I have named it the Reverse Scale Thunder-Shield!"

"It is a quasi-level-nine Soul Tool. Its materials include Dragon Scale Wood from the core depths of the Star Dou Great Forest, Ice Marrow Crystal from the Far North, the natal scales I shed during my own tribulation, the Thunderous Might Stone, and a series of other precious materials. These materials could have been used to forge a level-nine Soul Tool, but due to my limited skill, it ultimately fell one step short."

"The Soul Tool's array core mainly uses a Bloodline Soul Guidance Array. After embedding this clansman's natal Reverse Scale, it can synchronize the Soul Power fluctuations between him and the Soul Tool, preventing the Heavenly Tribulation from judging it as outside interference."

"Its defensive capabilities are divided into three layers. The outer layer is a Thunder-Shielding Net woven from Dragon Scale Wood, which can directly devour thirty percent of a heavenly lightning bolt's power and convert it into the user's Soul Power. The middle layer is the Cold Jade Shelter forged from Ice Marrow Crystal, used to offset the scorching force and destructive attribute brought by heavenly lightning while repairing the user's body after it is scorched by lightning. The inner layer is forged from one of my shed Reverse Scales and linked to my clansman's bloodline. When the shield shatters, it can trigger a single bloodline protection. The price is the shield's destruction, which offsets the impact of a fatal Heavenly Tribulation. It also contains fixed auxiliary modules..."

"Because my skill is insufficient, this shield can currently only withstand the Soul Beast Heavenly Tribulations of one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, and three hundred thousand years. Against tribulations of four hundred thousand years or above, it can only provide assistance and cannot negate the damage. It must be nurtured for a hundred years after each use, during which it cannot be activated!"

As Jiang Heng introduced this Soul Tool, his clansman successfully endured the ninth bolt of heavenly lightning.

As for the Fierce Beasts present, including Di Tian, all of them were utterly dumbfounded.

What was all this supposed to mean?

Was this something a Soul Beast should understand?