"Roar!"
The Rock Dragon had clearly sensed the intruders. In particular, Yu Luomian's powerful aura made it feel the threat of death.
Its thick tail swept fiercely, sending a boulder the size of a millstone hurtling toward them.
"Hmph, you vile beast!"
Yu Luomian snorted. He didn't even summon his Martial Soul, simply throwing a punch.
Powerful Soul Power surged forth, and his punch shattered the incoming boulder.
Fragments flew in every direction, yet not one landed within half a meter of the two of them.
Yu Tianjiao could tell that his second uncle, Yu Luomian, had used Soul Power to hold the fragments back.
He had to admit, his second uncle treated him quite well.
With Yu Luomian's strength, dealing with a five-thousand-year-old beast was naturally a piece of cake. As soon as he summoned his Martial Soul, he battered the Rock Dragon until it was covered in wounds and its aura grew faint. He hadn't even needed to use a Soul Skill. The beast's movements had slowed considerably, too.
Most of the heavy stone scales covering its body had shattered, and dark red blood flowed from the wounds. The light of its horn had dimmed as well.
"Tianjiao, move!"
As Yu Luomian spoke, he sidestepped the Rock Dragon's desperate, dying tail swing. Then he punched the stone scales on its head, breaking them off and exposing the thick hide beneath—softer, but still incredibly tough.
"Understood!"
A sharp glint flashed in Yu Tianjiao's eyes. He hurried to the Rock Dragon's head, summoned his Ancient Void Dragon Martial Soul, and amplified his strength. Then he took a silver-white dragon spear from his Storage Ring, braced himself, and thrust straight forward with a simple, level strike, piercing the Rock Dragon's skull.
He drove the force from his waist through his arms, then shook the silver-white spear in his hands, churning the beast's brains into a pulp.
"Uuugh—!!!"
The Rock Dragon let out a feeble groan. Its enormous body convulsed violently as the fierce light in its eyes quickly faded.
Its life force vanished completely.
Its massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A purple Soul Ring slowly emerged from its corpse, radiating a heavy energy fluctuation.
After putting away his spear, Yu Tianjiao looked at the purple Soul Ring floating before him and smiled with satisfaction.
The whole thing had been over quickly, but landing that crucial blow himself had brought back a hint of what it had felt like to possess power.
It was wonderful!
"Second Uncle, I'm starting."
With Yu Luomian beside him, Yu Tianjiao wasn't worried about his safety. He simply let his uncle know, then sat down cross-legged.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
Yu Luomian answered in a deep voice.
Yu Tianjiao opened his right hand and circulated his Soul Power. An ancient, majestic dragon's roar seemed to rise from the depths of his soul. His lifelike Ancient Void Dragon Martial Soul appeared, coiled up along his palm, and settled on his shoulder.
Though it was merely a Martial Soul with no Soul Rings attached, the terrifying pressure flowing from its bloodline origin had already forced every Soul Beast within three hundred meters to prostrate itself on the ground.
Neither Yu Tianjiao nor Yu Luomian was surprised by this.
Yu Tianjiao controlled his Soul Power and drew the purple Soul Ring toward his Martial Soul.
The moment the ring settled around the Ancient Void Dragon's body, a weighty energy, as heavy as a mountain, suddenly poured into Yu Tianjiao!
His body shuddered violently. An ochre glow spread across the surface of his skin, and the heavy energy felt as if it might crush him.
But his constitution was already formidable, and he also possessed a top-tier Beast Martial Soul like the Ancient Void Dragon. Compared to the agony of tempering his body with Heavenly Flames when he obtained the Buddha Fury Fire Lotus's First Soul Ring, absorbing the Rock Dragon's Soul Ring was much easier for him.
As for the tiny trace of ferocious will remaining in the Rock Dragon's Soul Ring, before the Ancient Void Dragon's pressure as the supreme ruler of the Beast Realm, it was like snow melting beneath the blazing sun—gone in an instant.
Under the Ancient Void Dragon Martial Soul's suppression, the energy, which had originally been violent, became like a tamed beast. It was still vast and heavy, but far more docile and easier to absorb.
With the Soul Beast's lingering will no longer resisting, all that remained was to absorb the energy step by step.
The Ancient Void Dragon Martial Soul had already given Yu Tianjiao a body far stronger than ordinary people's. The physical enhancements from the Soul Rings he had absorbed before wouldn't disappear just because his Soul Power had fallen.
Some of the vast energy contained in the five-thousand-year Soul Ring was absorbed by his body. His muscles and bones hummed faintly, as if they were being tempered.
The rest flowed into his meridians, increasing his Soul Power.
Watching from the side, Yu Luomian couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
The Ancient Void Dragon Martial Soul truly deserved to be more powerful than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. The enhancements from the previous Soul Ring absorptions had likely strengthened his young nephew's body to the point where, even without relying on Soul Power, he could rival a Soul Beast of the same level.
Two and a half hours later, Yu Tianjiao finished absorbing the Soul Ring and opened his eyes, a brilliant gleam shooting from them.
Feeling his surging Soul Power and his body's increased strength, Yu Tianjiao smiled with satisfaction once more.
Just as he'd expected, absorbing this Soul Ring had raised his Soul Power by another two levels.
He was now level fourteen.
As for the Ancient Void Dragon Martial Soul's First Soul Skill...
At a thought, Yu Tianjiao summoned the Ancient Void Dragon Martial Soul. The purple First Soul Ring pulsed slowly around the dragon's shadow, radiating a heavy pressure.
"How is it? What's your First Soul Skill?"
Yu Luomian stepped closer and asked curiously.
Yu Tianjiao sensed it for a moment, raised an eyebrow, and replied:
"My First Soul Skill is Void Fist. It condenses Soul Power into an energy dragon that automatically locks onto its target. It also suppresses all Beast Martial Souls, and its power is five times the amount of Soul Power I use to activate it."
Simply put, it packed a hell of a punch.
Yu Luomian fell silent.
Usually, an ordinary Soul Master's Soul Ring Skill provided about a onefold increase in power.
This one locked onto its target, hit with five times the power, and let him control its strength by adjusting how much Soul Power he used...
The Ancient Void Dragon Martial Soul was absurdly overpowered!
"Not bad."
After a long pause, Yu Luomian finally managed to get those two words out. But the faintly rueful look on his face showed that even he didn't know what to make of Yu Tianjiao's Martial Soul.
When Yu Tianjiao had absorbed ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Rings before, the Soul Skills he obtained hadn't been nearly this overpowered.
Could his Soul Power have disappeared over the past three years because his Martial Soul had mutated or something?
Yu Luomian couldn't help wondering.
Ordinary Soul Masters might never think of something like that, but to Yu Luomian, the second-in-command of a top-tier power with a long history like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, it wasn't difficult to consider.
The reason he looked down on Yu Xiaogang was that the little knowledge in Yu Xiaogang's head had all come from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Spirit Hall.
To say he had done any research of his own was laughable. Every major power had conducted much the same research.
The so-called title of Grandmaster was nothing more than an empty reputation he'd won through his background and the influence of the women in his life. They had given him access to theories that ordinary Soul Masters had no way of learning.
After all, if he really had talent, he wouldn't have taught someone to give Blue Silver Grass a Soul Ring with an Entanglement Skill.
Especially when compared with a true genius like Yu Tianjiao, Yu Xiaogang's inadequacy stood out all the more.
Before you continue