Then Yu Daoyun came before the Golden Armor Piercer King, raised his Dragon Spear, and thrust it forward, ending the beast's life.
In an instant, golden blood flowed from the Soul Beast's body.
Under everyone's gaze, a black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring rose from the Golden Armor Piercer King's corpse. Yu Daoyun sat cross-legged and began absorbing it.
This was his first time fusing with a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and Yu Daoyun still felt the pain.
The Golden Armor Piercer King was no ordinary Soul Beast. Though it possessed the Golden Bloodline, it wasn't skilled at attacking. It had poured all the Golden Bloodline's blessings into its defense, which was why it had endured so many rounds of attacks.
But the Golden Bloodline still packed a mighty punch.
If this had happened before, the Soul Ring's pressure might have caused Yu Daoyun's body to fail.
But by now, he had already fused with the Dragon Core and gained the essence of the Golden Dragon King.
A mere Golden Bloodline dared to run wild in front of the Dragon King?
Sit down and behave!
An hour later, the turbulent aura gradually settled. The Soul Rings around Yu Daoyun had changed to four, and his Soul Power had reached level forty-three.
Three Blood Essence Soul Rings and one Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring—beyond the optimal Soul Ring ratio.
Given time, once he unlocked all the seals left by the Golden Dragon King, every Soul Ring could become a million years old.
At that moment,
as Yan Shaozhe and the others watched Yu Daoyun absorb the Soul Ring without a hitch, the great weight on their hearts finally lifted.
He did it!
A Ten Thousand Year Fourth Ring.
Ma Xiaotao's lips curled up. "Peanut, what's your Fourth Soul Skill? Let me see you use it."
Ma Xiaotao, you really have no manners... Yu Daoyun said mildly, "It's nothing special, just a defensive skill. It perfectly inherited the Golden Armor Piercer King's talent."
The students present immediately looked disappointed.
It was just a defensive skill!
That Golden Armor Piercer King with the Golden Bloodline was such a letdown. It had given him a useless Soul Skill.
Hearing that it was a defensive skill, Yan Shaozhe couldn't help feeling disappointed too.
Perhaps Xiaotao could also compete for the future position of Sea God Pavilion Master.
Zhang Lexuan, however, smiled and said, "A defensive skill is great! Quite a few of our students have defensive skills. They can save your life at a critical moment. And with Junior Brother's explosive power, adding a defensive skill makes him practically invincible."
"Exactly!" Han Ruoruo also stepped forward to speak up for her junior, scolding Ma Xiaotao and the others for their poor judgment.
Hearing that, Yu Daoyun felt a warmth in his heart and added, "It's an Absolute Defense defensive skill. Its defense scales to the opponent's strength. For example, I can withstand one hit from a Titled Douluo. Against someone my age, it can last ten seconds or more."
The others immediately changed their dismissive attitude.
What had they just heard?
An Absolute Defense skill? It was like carrying a ninth-grade Invincible Barrier around with him.
Ma Xiaotao teased him, "Really? Then I'll have to test it and see if your Absolute Defense is the real deal."
"You're too weak..."
Yu Daoyun didn't hold back. He turned to Yan Shaozhe and said, "Dean, you can try. I should be able to take it for 0.6 seconds."
As he spoke, he released his Fourth Soul Skill, "Dragon King Shield."
Yan Shaozhe perked up at that.
He had never heard of an Absolute Defense skill before, and he genuinely wanted to test it. He launched a streak of firelight at Yu Daoyun.
The firelight looked faint, but its attack power was at the Soul Douluo level. It was certainly no weak blow.
Even if something went wrong, it wouldn't kill Yu Daoyun.
Boom—!
The firelight slammed into the golden barrier and exploded, but Yu Daoyun was unharmed.
It took more than a full second for the firelight to fade completely.
Seeing this, Yan Shaozhe could only give him a silent thumbs-up. "Your family's Soul Skills are incredible. I've lived my whole life without ever seeing an Absolute Defense skill, and now I've seen one on you."
"If you use this Soul Skill well, it's like Mu En is protecting you every moment."
Yu Daoyun put his hands behind his back, looking like a proud master from beyond the mortal world. He said calmly, "Keep it low-key, keep it low-key. I'm just a legend."
Everyone laughed like geese, except for Ma Xiaotao and the other girls.
This junior was really something. Even the way he talked was funny.
Yan Shaozhe called out, "All right, we need to hurry and find a second Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast. Dean Lin'er is urging me."
At that, Zhang Lexuan and the others immediately stopped laughing, gathered the group, and set off.
Suddenly, Xian Lin'er's astonished voice came through: "Shaozhe, get the students back at once! A Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast is charging toward you."
They instantly went on alert, ready to fight at any moment.
Yan Shaozhe merely chuckled and replied, "Lin'er, since when does a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast make you lose your composure? Two Super Douluos are leading the team this time. We wouldn't even fear a hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast."
"Unless it's a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear several thousand years old, or the most terrifying bear in the forest, there's no way we'd be afraid."
Xian Lin'er cursed, "Just retreat when I tell you to! That Soul Beast is the Imperial Auspicious Beast. A Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear isn't fit to lick its boots. It's coming right at us!"
What... the Auspicious Beast!
Yan Shaozhe's expression finally changed. His Seventh Soul Ring lit up, and he entered his Martial Soul Avatar state, shielding all the students behind him.
The Imperial Auspicious Beast itself wasn't frightening. What was frightening was its bloodline and status.
This kind of Soul Beast symbolized the fate of all Soul Beasts and carried an invisible power of auspiciousness. Ferocious Beasts also guarded it.
In other words, they were surrounded by Ferocious Beasts now.
Just then, golden afterimages flashed through the surrounding woods. A Soul Beast with golden fur all over rushed out and attacked them.
It looked much like a lion, but was half-transparent like crystal. Its four claws resembled dragons, and its eyes were golden and vertical.
After several rounds of attacks, Yan Shaozhe could only defend passively, not daring to strike back.
He had to protect these children. He couldn't let anything happen to the academy's future.
Soon, Xian Lin'er also rushed down to help. She fought the Imperial Auspicious Beast, and the two unleashed terrifying waves of Soul Power.
The earth shook, and thunderous booms rang out without pause.
At that moment,
sheltered behind Yan Shaozhe, Yu Daoyun's heart gave a thump. He finally understood why the Imperial Auspicious Beast had attacked them.
Only a handful of people knew that the Auspicious Beast liked to eat brains.
The Golden Armor Piercer King, being of the same Golden Bloodline, had naturally become the Auspicious Beast's breakfast. It had fled for its life to avoid being eaten.
And since they had killed the Golden Armor Piercer King, they had naturally drawn the Auspicious Beast's attention.
Still, this was a good thing. At least this time they had reliable leaders in Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er, instead of Xuan Zi, who always dropped the ball.
If Xuan Zi had been leading the team, this would have ended terribly.
After Xian Lin'er and the Auspicious Beast exchanged dozens of blows, they both retreated and faced off against each other.
Xian Lin'er was a level ninety-five Martial God Douluo. She could naturally defeat the Auspicious Beast, but she had been holding back her Soul Power and didn't dare attack with all her strength.
If anything happened to the Auspicious Beast, the Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest would go berserk.
Yan Shaozhe immediately said, "Imperial Auspicious Beast, Shrek Academy has no intention of making an enemy of all Soul Beasts. We only brought our students here to hunt for Soul Rings. Don't push things too far."
The Imperial Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, flew into a rage and shouted, "You stole my breakfast! You deserve to die!!"
Breakfast... Yan Shaozhe was speechless. "When did we steal your breakfast? Even accusations need evidence. If you keep making trouble like this, do you really think Shrek is a pushover?"
Xian Lin'er chimed in, "We call you the Auspicious Beast to show respect for your status. If you weren't the Auspicious Beast, I'd want to ram my spear through you."
Before you continue