Reappearance and Absorption

The two had barely entered the Mixed Zone when they made a new discovery: the thousand-year soul beasts they encountered showed absolutely no desire to attack them, dodging away as soon as the pair drew near.

"This is truly strange. The soul beasts aren't attacking us at all. You know, in the past, hunting for soul rings meant facing countless attacks, but this time it's quite leisurely."

Golden Crocodile teased Su Zhen.

Su Zhen stopped to carefully consider the reason behind this. Soul beasts possess extremely strong territorial instincts and usually wouldn't be scared away by humans; even if a Titled Douluo appeared, those hundred-year soul beasts would still dare to bare their fangs, unless a super soul beast with a bloodline far superior to theirs appeared.

A super soul beast? Could it be because of him?

Su Zhen took a Black Dragon Scale from his soul tool, which the Black-Robed Man had given him earlier.

"Xiao Zhen, what is that?"

Seeing Su Zhen pull out a dragon scale, Golden Crocodile asked with confusion.

Su Zhen explained the origin of the dragon scale to Golden Crocodile, who then realized what it was; he remembered his eldest brother mentioning the Black-Robed Man Su Zhen had encountered.

"It must be the aura radiating from this dragon scale that keeps the soul beasts from coming near."

Su Zhen proposed his hypothesis, and at the same time, he remembered the Black-Robed Man telling him that he could seek him out when hunting for soul rings in the Star Dou Forest. He immediately activated Martial Soul Possession, letting his aura spread outward.

Before long, all the soul beasts within a hundred-mile radius began to roar and sprint rapidly toward the direction of Su Zhen and the other.

"A beast tide! How could this happen? Was Xiao Zhen deceived?"

Feeling the scene unfolding around them, Golden Crocodile was very surprised. He instantly entered the state of Martial Soul Possession, and a massive golden crocodile phantom enveloped the two, intending to withstand the impact of the beast tide.

ROAR~

Just as the beast tide was about to surround them, a loud, resonant dragon roar came from above. The out-of-control soul beasts immediately ceased their charge upon hearing this roar and turned to flee toward the depths of the forest.

"Put away your martial soul, or the little ones will lose control again."

The two looked in the direction of the voice, and a black figure was standing under a tree behind them.

"Senior, you really did come."

Su Zhen signaled for Golden Crocodile to put away his martial soul and walked up to the Black-Robed Man.

"It was my oversight; I forgot the unique nature of your martial soul. Next time you come, just inject soul power into the dragon scale."

"Senior, is there something special about my martial soul?"

Su Zhen keenly captured the key information.

"There is, but this is not something you can know yet. Strive to become stronger; when you cultivate to the Soul Saint realm, you will know everything you desire. Let's not discuss this for now. What age limit do you need for your soul ring?"

"Around eight or nine hundred years."

Su Zhen was very obedient and immediately stopped asking, but he looked at the Black-Robed Man standing still without any movement, feeling very puzzled.

"Sen..."

"Don't be impatient, the soul beast is already on its way."

The Black-Robed Man saw Su Zhen's confusion and spoke before Su Zhen could finish his sentence.

Su Zhen immediately sat under the tree with Golden Crocodile to wait, as casual as if they were in an ordinary garden, seemingly unconcerned about the dangers of the Star Dou Forest. A joke—if the Black-Robed Man could resolve a beast tide so easily, could he let them get hurt here?

After about five minutes, a bolt of lightning flashed to the feet of the Black-Robed Man and prostrated itself. It was a giant tiger, eight meters long, with purple fur standing on end, wisps of electric arcs flowing over its tiger body, and thunder patterns appearing on all four limbs.

"An eight-hundred-year Thunderlight Electric Tiger!"

Golden Crocodile was excited to see the soul beast they had been searching for appear before his eyes, but what excited him even more was the strength of the Black-Robed Man; the ferocious Thunderlight Electric Tiger was now being driven as easily as a little kitten in front of him.

"Little one, come over and kill it. This little tiger has the most concentrated thunder attribute among the hundred-year soul beasts in the Mixed Zone; it is very suitable for you."

Su Zhen immediately activated Martial Soul Possession, wanting to kill the Thunderlight Electric Tiger before him with one claw, but he stopped just as he took a step forward.

"What's wrong, Xiao Zhen? Is there a problem?"

Seeing Su Zhen hesitate to act, Golden Crocodile asked immediately, and the Black-Robed Man also cast a look of confusion his way.

"Second Grandfather, Senior, my martial soul is telling me that the age of this Thunderlight Electric Tiger is too low; it looks down on it."

Su Zhen responded with an embarrassed expression. This was truly what his martial soul had told him, but he felt that the two supreme powerhouses before him might not believe such a claim.

"Xiao Zhen, what kind of joke are you making? Eight hundred years is low? This is your first soul ring! Don't tell me you want to absorb a thousand-year one?"

Golden Crocodile thought this was just an excuse Su Zhen made because he wanted to absorb a thousand-year soul ring, and he immediately began to persuade him.

"A thousand years, is it? Just wait a moment."

The Black-Robed Man said nothing, only looking deeply at Su Zhen's martial soul before driving the Thunderlight Electric Tiger away to scout for a suitable soul beast once more.

"Second Grandfather, it's fine. I trust my intuition; my martial soul won't lie to me."

Su Zhen stood to the side, soothing Golden Crocodile, who looked like he was about to get angry.

This time, they waited for half an hour before a soul beast arrived.

A majestic male lion appeared before the two, ten meters tall, with wings on its back, purple fur with a ring of white mane, and a single horn on its head filled with lightning, carrying wisps of destructive aura.

"A Thunderstorm Winged Lion King! And it's a Lion King that has just stepped into the thousand-year soul beast rank!"

Golden Crocodile was truly shocked this time. This type of soul beast is extremely rare; although they are gregarious, a group has at most ten of the same kind. The extras are driven away, and those driven away are often the youngest in the group, which leads to their scarcity. However, if a driven-away winged lion can survive, it will possess combat power far beyond its peers. After breaking through a thousand years, it can form its own group and become the king, but very few are able to survive.

"Second Grandfather, is this kind of soul beast very strong?"

Su Zhen asked, as he had not seen any information on this spirit beast in his previous theory classes.

"Xiao Zhen, this Thunderstorm Winged Lion King is the most suitable spirit beast for you. Its bloodline, strength, and attributes are all impeccable. Your fourth granduncle's fifth spirit ring was a 12,000-year-old Winged Lion, and that wasn't even considered strong within its own tribe. But look at this one; its white mane is the manifestation of a royal bloodline. Among thousand-year spirit beasts, it definitely ranks at the very top. It could even go toe-to-toe with a Titan Giant Ape. This is the perfect spirit beast for you."

"But Xiao Zhen, are you sure you want to absorb it? Using a thousand-year spirit beast as a first spirit ring is unprecedented."

"Second Granduncle, I have decided. I want this one. I will definitely succeed in absorbing it."

"Very well, then give it a try. If anything goes wrong, I will intervene to interrupt the process. We will find a way to make up for any loss in talent."

Su Zhen completed his Martial Soul Possession, walked up to the Thunderstorm Winged Lion King, extended his beast claws to pierce into its eyes, and gave them a stir. A blue ring of light immediately emerged from the corpse of the Thunderstorm Winged Lion King.

Su Zhen sat cross-legged and, following the methods taught by his teacher, guided the spirit ring to nest onto his body from top to bottom, beginning the absorption of his first spirit ring.

Golden Crocodile also activated his Martial Soul Possession and stood before Su Zhen to protect him at all times, his eyes glancing toward the Black-Robed Man from time to time, filled with vigilance.

The Black-Robed Man said nothing; he stood in place, his eyes fixed intently on the phantom of the martial soul behind Su Zhen.

My Lord, such an important martial soul—why would you not agree to let me keep it by my side?