"Phew—"
Ring Borrowing had succeeded, and Tang Liu let out a deep breath as well. At that moment, the system suddenly spoke.
"The host may try injecting approximately 2% of the Soul Power within his body into the Jade Spirit Fox through the Hao-Lan Mark."
Hearing this, Tang Liu was somewhat puzzled, but he still did as instructed. He mobilized the power of the Hao-Lan Mark and injected an amount of Soul Power equivalent to roughly level ten Innate Soul Power into the Jade Spirit Fox's body.
A layer of blue-black light slowly lit up around the Jade Spirit Fox's body. The next moment, the Jade Spirit Fox suddenly stood up, startling Tang Liu and someone who had been observing in secret.
If the Jade Spirit Fox had done anything besides standing up, Tang Liu would already have used Teleportation to flee, and the Jade Spirit Fox would have gotten smashed by a hammer.
The Jade Spirit Fox's fox face was filled with shock.
"Th-this... what kind of power is this...?"
At that moment, the Jade Spirit Fox was horrified to discover that the weak period it had just entered after reaching one hundred thousand years had abruptly ended!
An incredibly astonishing pressure burst from its body in an instant, spreading aimlessly in every direction.
The pressure of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast swept past Tang Liu's body almost instantly. However, his four blue-black Soul Rings appeared around him at once, protecting him in their center. Thus, he remained completely unmoved beneath the Jade Spirit Fox's pressure.
The next moment, a figure appeared before Tang Liu. That tall, brawny body completely shielded him from behind.
Nine Soul Rings circled his body, and he held a massive iron hammer in his hand. The aura he emitted faintly surpassed even the Jade Spirit Fox's hundred-thousand-year pressure.
Who else could it be but Tang Hao, who had been observing in secret all along?
"Xiao Liu, leave first," Tang Hao said in a deep voice.
As soon as he spoke, four Soul Rings on Tang Hao's body lit up in rapid succession, and the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand immediately expanded several times over.
Tang Liu: "..."
The Jade Spirit Fox, which was about to get hammered, was instantly dumbfounded. It hurriedly withdrew its pressure, lay flat on the ground, and begged, "Please show mercy, sir! I had no intention of harming your junior!" I've been wronged, sir~
"Alright, Dad. It merely released its pressure instinctively after passing its weak period. Put away your Clear Sky Hammer."
Fortunately, Tang Liu grabbed Tang Hao at that moment and stopped his hammer before he could swing it.
Tang Liu's intervention proved quite effective. Although Tang Hao did not retract his Martial Soul, he withdrew his Soul Skill.
After successfully stopping Tang Hao, Tang Liu looked at the Jade Spirit Fox again and said, "I've already obtained the Soul Skill I wanted. Once I finish absorbing the Soul Ring, I'll send you back to the Star Dou Great Forest."
The Jade Spirit Fox cautiously glanced at Tang Hao, then looked toward Tang Liu, seemingly hesitating over something.
"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't mind him. I call the shots here, and I trust that you won't harm me," Tang Liu declared boldly.
The Jade Spirit Fox's eyes became moist, and it felt deeply moved.
Then come out from behind that Titled Douluo, damn it! If you've got the guts, stop clutching that Titled Douluo's clothes!
Tang Hao: My son understands Soul Beasts so well. Moved?
Jade Spirit Fox: I wouldn't dare move, I wouldn't dare move...
At last, the Jade Spirit Fox hesitantly spoke up, looking at Tang Liu. "I-I want to follow you. I don't want to return to the Star Dou Great Forest."
Both Tang Hao and Tang Liu were surprised by this.
"You want to follow me? Why?" Tang Liu vaguely felt that the bit of Soul Power the system had made him inject into its body was the reason, but he still asked.
"The Star Dou Great Forest is boring," the Jade Spirit Fox said. An unexpectedly serious expression appeared on its fox face. "Although it is my home and it is beautiful, I have already stayed there for one hundred thousand years. Eventually, I would grow tired of looking at it. I want to see the human world, but I never dared to before. Also... I feel that if I follow you, I will be able to break through to two hundred thousand years in less than a thousand years. I definitely can."
"Oh?" A hint of surprise appeared on Tang Hao's face.
Ah Yin had told him that the threshold at two hundred thousand years was extremely difficult for Soul Beasts to cross unless they possessed exceptionally noble and powerful bloodlines, or tremendous personal fortune.
The Jade Spirit Fox was absolutely not considered powerful among Soul Beasts. For this clan, it was already remarkable if one could live to one hundred thousand years like the one before them. Surviving the Heavenly Tribulation of two hundred thousand years was practically impossible.
Furthermore, after Soul Beasts reached one hundred thousand years, they could cultivate on their own like humans to increase their cultivation. Thus, Soul Beasts with several hundred thousand years of cultivation had not necessarily lived for that long.
The true way to determine a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's age was more often based on how many Heavenly Tribulations it had survived.
For example, Di Tian had survived eight Heavenly Tribulations, making him an eight-hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
Although Soul Beasts only underwent their first Heavenly Tribulation after advancing from one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand years, strictly speaking, it was already their second Heavenly Tribulation.
A Soul Beast being able to live to one hundred thousand years, or attain one hundred thousand years of cultivation, was itself equivalent to having passed one Heavenly Tribulation.
And the name of that Heavenly Tribulation was life. It was time.
"You had better think this through. You are a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. You should know how frenzied Soul Masters would become if you appeared in the human world." Tang Hao looked at it, his tone somewhat heavy. Perhaps he had recalled the days when he and Ah Yin had fled together after her identity as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was exposed.
The Jade Spirit Fox glanced at Tang Hao, then carefully said, "That will not be a problem. After reaching one hundred thousand years, I gained several new innate abilities. One of them allows me to disguise my aura."
"But you still cannot deceive a Titled Douluo," Tang Hao said flatly.
Indeed, back in the Star Dou Great Forest, he had been the one to see through the fact that this Jade Spirit Fox was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
"On my own, I indeed cannot. But... if I add the power of your junior, sir, then there will be no problem," the Jade Spirit Fox continued.
"Xiao Liu, is what it says true?" Tang Hao asked.
Tang Liu nodded and looked at the Jade Spirit Fox. "Yes. My Hao-Lan Mark can indeed conceal its aura as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
Tang Hao gave a soft "Mm," then fell into thought.
Should he agree?
But that was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Although this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was the cowardly sort, and it seemed to have a kind heart, like a blank sheet of paper.
What if all of that was merely an act?
Xiao Liu was about to leave. If this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast intended to harm Xiao Liu, he would have no way to protect him.
Before you continue