A blue-black curtain of light instantly appeared around the Jade Spirit Fox, pressing tightly against her and leaving her unable to move.
"Don't move, or I'll kill you!" Tang Liu threatened.
Once Soul Beasts reached ten thousand years of cultivation, they generally possessed considerable intelligence. Though they could not yet speak human language like Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, understanding human speech was no problem.
Hearing this, the Jade Spirit Fox immediately behaved herself. However, she did not look at Tang Liu. Instead, she looked toward Tang Hao with apparent fear.
Tang Liu did not think much of it, assuming that she had sensed the imposing aura of a Titled Douluo emanating from Tang Hao.
"Little Fox, be good. I mean you no harm. I just want to borrow a soul skill from you. Once I've borrowed it, I'll let you go. What do you say? As long as you don't resist, I won't hurt you."
Tang Liu gently threatened the Jade Spirit Fox, failing to notice Tang Hao behind him studying the fox Tang Liu had brought over, his expression gradually turning solemn.
"If you don't respond, I'll take that as agreement." Tang Liu's face had already turned somewhat pale.
Although he had refined his Soul Power twice, merely maintaining the force field suppressing the Jade Spirit Fox had already consumed nearly thirty percent of his Soul Power.
"Dad, I'm going to remove the force field. Help me keep her suppressed." Tang Liu spoke to Tang Hao without turning around, then withdrew the force field.
Unexpectedly, at the very instant he removed it, Tang Hao grabbed him and pulled him away, then stepped forward and shielded him behind himself.
With that step, an enormous Clear Sky Hammer had already appeared in Tang Hao's right hand.
Two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red—nine Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
The next moment, the full pressure of a Titled Douluo erupted, all of it directed at the Jade Spirit Fox lying on the ground.
Tang Liu had just been pulled aside and was still somewhat dazed. He was about to ask what was happening when the Jade Spirit Fox spoke.
"Spare me, my lord! I'm only a Jade Spirit Fox who reached one hundred thousand years not long ago. I don't even possess the combat strength of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, so I pose no threat to you! As for your junior, if he wants to take something from me, he may take it. As long as you don't kill me, anything is fine!"
Tang Liu: "???"
Tang Liu felt as though an iPartment-style shock sound effect had gone off beside his ears—the ultimate version with the highest number of consecutive repeats.
Nani?!
What the fuck?!
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!
Holy fucking shit!!!
Didn't the system say she was a Jade Spirit Fox suited to his Soul Ring limit? How had she become a hundred-thousand-year one the moment he caught her?!
"Xiao Liu, use your Teleportation soul skill first. Get us out of here." Tang Hao stared fixedly at the Jade Spirit Fox as he spoke.
Tang Liu's brain was still frozen, and he mechanically carried out Tang Hao's command.
Because Tang Liu's brain was currently deadlocked, this Teleportation sent him, Tang Hao, and the Jade Spirit Fox straight back to Holy Soul Village.
The consequence of such an ultra-long-distance Teleportation was depleted Soul Power and a weakened period that left him unable to fight for the next twenty-four hours.
The moment they arrived home, Tang Liu collapsed limply. Fortunately, he was close enough to Tang Hao to fall against him.
Tang Hao promptly caught Tang Liu, preventing him from sliding down.
With a glance, he saw Tang Liu's utterly vacant eyes and expression of someone doubting his entire life.
Tang Hao: "..."
The one whose brain should have crashed from shock and started questioning life should be me! You brat silently caught a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and now you're acting like this? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!
Fortunately, Tang Liu had told him about the effects of his Third Martial Soul's soul skills, so Tang Hao knew that Tang Liu had entered a weakened state.
Originally, he had intended for Tang Liu to send them outside the Star Dou Great Forest, where it would have been safer to deal with the Jade Spirit Fox.
Yet he had not expected Tang Liu, with his brain crashed, to send them directly back to Holy Soul Village.
This was safe, all right, but what were they supposed to do with the Jade Spirit Fox? Keeping her here indefinitely was not an option!
The hundred-thousand-year Jade Spirit Fox, trembling beneath Tang Hao's pressure, seemed to see his concerns. She then spoke shakily, "My lord, are you worried about your junior? In this little fox's humble opinion, he has merely entered a weakened state due to excessive Soul Power consumption. After reaching one hundred thousand years, this little fox happened to comprehend a new innate skill that can wake him up. May this little fox give it a try?" As long as you don't kill me, my lord, I'll do anything you want!
Tang Hao frowned silently, seeming to weigh the matter.
Ah Yin had once told him that once Soul Beasts entered the hundred-thousand-year level, the gap between them was no longer so obvious.
As for advantages in bloodline and cultivation, those would gradually emerge only at two hundred thousand years, after surviving the first Heavenly Tribulation.
Soul Beasts that had just entered the hundred-thousand-year level also had one chance to choose to rebuild themselves as humans.
Whether they chose to rebuild as humans or continue cultivating as Soul Beasts, these Soul Beasts that had only just entered the hundred-thousand-year level had not yet fully displayed their true strength.
At the very least, Titled Douluo who had just entered rank ninety-one did not fear them. Titled Douluo like Tang Hao, at rank ninety-five, could easily defeat Soul Beasts that had only just reached one hundred thousand years.
Only after these Soul Beasts went through a period of adaptation would they no longer fear Titled Douluo below rank ninety-five. Even rank ninety-five Titled Douluo would then possess only barely enough strength to fight them.
Generally speaking, Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts that had survived one Heavenly Tribulation were already comparable to rank ninety-seven Titled Douluo. Those at three or four hundred thousand years could even crush ordinary rank ninety-eight Titled Douluo in combat.
Once a Soul Beast's cultivation exceeded six hundred thousand years, it was already an existence on the level of rank ninety-nine.
This was also why Tang Hao was so wary of the Jade Spirit Fox despite her lacking strong combat power.
He would not fear her in a real fight. But he carried severe injuries, and in his current condition, he could not guarantee Tang Liu's safety with absolute certainty.
"If I detect that you've done anything underhanded, I will kill you without hesitation!" Tang Hao said in a low voice, intense killing intent shining in his eyes.
As soon as he spoke, the final red Soul Ring on his body lit up. The pressure instantly intensified, and even the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand became veiled in a layer of blood-red light.
Feeling the incomparably powerful pressure of a Titled Douluo combined with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, the Jade Spirit Fox trembled even more fiercely. She could not say a word, only nodding frantically.
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