Bright Phoenix God Radiance, Extreme Yang Nirvana Body! Star Dou Great Forest, a Tavern, an Encounter with Shrek?

In the center of the courtyard.

Huang Yan stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes closed.

"It's time to carefully feel out these two Soul Skills, condensed from fifty thousand years of essence."

Bzz—

A dazzling golden phantom of a Bright Phoenix soared into the sky behind him. Its Ultimate Light and searing heat instantly illuminated the entire courtyard as though it were broad daylight.

Next, two pitch-black Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, each radiating a terrifying pressure, slowly rose from beneath his feet!

"First Soul Skill..."

Huang Yan willed it, and the first ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

"Bright Phoenix God Radiance!"

Boom!

In an instant, a brilliant beam of golden light, solid as a pillar, descended from the sky and enveloped Huang Yan.

His blood surged wildly through his body, and his muscles swelled.

His bones crackled all over like beans popping in a pan.

Feeling the terrifying power within him, as though it were about to spill out, Huang Yan opened his eyes. Golden light blazed from them.

The boost from this first Soul Skill was downright monstrous!

Once activated, Huang Yan's strength, speed, defense, neural reflexes, and Soul Power recovery speed

would all surge by a full three hundred percent—threefold—in an instant!

What was more, under the effects of Bright Phoenix God Radiance,

his Ultimate Light Attribute gained a passive effect called "Divine Purification."

Any negative status, poison, or even suppression from an evil attribute weaker than his spiritual power would be instantly dispelled.

For a Soul Master at level thirty, a threefold boost to all attributes from a two-thousand-year Soul Ring alone

was enough to let him punch an ordinary Soul King to pieces!

"Now let's see the second Soul Skill."

Huang Yan's lips curled slightly. The second black Soul Ring beneath his feet, a full thirty thousand years old, burst into an even deeper glow.

"Second Soul Skill, Extreme Yang Nirvana Body!"

Screech—

Accompanied by a phoenix cry that split the clouds and cleaved stone, the phantom of the Bright Phoenix behind Huang Yan suddenly drew inward.

It transformed into a brilliantly radiant suit of solid golden flame armor, fitting tightly against his body.

If the first Soul Skill raised all his attributes across the board,

then this second Soul Skill was a pure, ultimate enhancement born for slaughter and destruction!

Once Extreme Yang Nirvana Body was activated, the destructive power of Huang Yan's Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light would increase fivefold!

What did fivefold Ultimate Attribute power mean?

Even a single spark landing on a Soul King would burn him to ash, skin and bones, in an instant!

At the same time, the flame armor condensed from thirty thousand years of essence granted Huang Yan a state of "absolute poise."

Until the armor was shattered, he would be immune to all physical knockback, stagger, and mental-control skills.

Furthermore, each of his attacks would ignore fifty percent of the target's physical and Soul Power defenses,

dealing terrifying true burn damage.

"The first Soul Skill boosts all attributes by three hundred percent, while the second multiplies the destructive power of my Ultimate Attributes by five.

And it grants poise while ignoring half of the target's defenses..."

Huang Yan slowly clenched his fist, now covered in golden flame armor.

He smiled, thoroughly satisfied.

Neither of these Soul Skills was some flashy attack move.

Both were simple, brutal enhancements to himself—and utterly domineering!

Combined with the various Phoenix secret arts he had mastered, his two Ultimate Attributes, and his two domains,

Huang Yan was absolutely confident.

Even without using a trump card like Phoenix Nirvana, his level-thirty body and these two Ten Thousand Year Soul Skills alone

would be enough to grind a high-ranking Soul Emperor into the dirt.

If he used every trump card he had, even against a Soul Saint like Flender, who was level seventy-eight, he could hold his own—and might even kill him!

"My body has fully adapted, and I've gotten a feel for the Soul Skills."

Huang Yan withdrew his Martial Soul and Soul Rings, and the strange phenomena in the courtyard vanished at once.

"Now it's time to hunt Soul Beasts!"

"Dugu Bo has already gone to find Dragon Duke and Snake Granny. He's not in Heaven Dou."

"Then I'll go to the Star Dou Great Forest myself and hunt a high-ranking Soul Beast."

Huang Yan was confident.

In his current state,

absorbing a Soul Ring from a fifty-thousand-year-old Soul Beast

would be a piece of cake!

Huang Yan set off at once, racing toward the Star Dou Great Forest at full speed.

That night, Huang Yan reached a small town on the outskirts of the forest.

He settled into a somewhat noisy tavern.

He had just ordered a table laden with food and drink,

ready to indulge his human appetite to his heart's content.

"Bang!"

The tavern door was suddenly shoved open from outside, and a burst of excited chatter poured in.

"Boss, put us together at a big table!

Bring out a few of your best signature dishes, and two jars of good wine!"

Huang Yan raised an eyebrow. The hand holding his wine cup paused slightly as he turned to look.

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

There were six of them.

Dai Mubai, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Oscar,

and Zhu Zhuqing, who was walking at the back.

"Boss Dai, where do you think that fatty's been hiding these past few days?"

Oscar pulled out a chair and sat down, unable to stop himself from complaining.

"He vanished without even saying a word. I'm breaking through level thirty and coming to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a Soul Ring, and he can't even be bothered to join in the fun!"

Dai Mubai snorted and poured himself a glass of water:

"Who knows which brothel that dead fatty's off fooling around in now?

Teacher Zhao was so mad about it, he nearly tore down that broken wall at the academy."

"All right, Mubai, Xiao Ao."

Tang San tried to calm them down.

"From what you've said, Ma Hongjun may be careless most of the time, but perhaps something urgent came up.

By the time we help Xiao Ao get his third Soul Ring and return to the academy, he might already be back."

"Hmph, that lecherous dead fatty had better never come back. Just looking at him turns my stomach."

Xiao Wu crossed her arms and pouted.

Ning Rongrong wiped the table with a handkerchief, looking disgusted, and chimed in:

"Exactly. He always reeks of Evil Fire. It's awful.

And look at the tables in this dump of a tavern—they're so greasy..."

"Oh, my dear Miss Rongrong, you'll have to make do while you're away from home."

Oscar quickly put on a smile.

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. She sat at the far edge of the table, her face cold.

Listening to them from his seat in the corner, Huang Yan's lips curled into a mocking smile.

His appearance, build, and bearing

had all been transformed beyond recognition by the remaking power of the hundred-thousand-year Bright Phoenix essence.

He was no longer the fat, lecherous Ma Hongjun.

Even if he sat right beside the Shrek group, out in the open,

they would never recognize that the imposing young man before them was the "dead fatty" they were talking about.

To be precise,

Ma Hongjun had been reduced to expendable material for Huang Yan's transformation into human form.

Huang Yan had no intention of approaching them. He looked away and picked up a piece of roast meat, eating it at his leisure.

Ning Rongrong glanced at Huang Yan's profile and froze.

This man had such a powerful presence, and there was something incredibly alluring about him!