Su Zhen stood at a distance, watching Thunder Spirit warily. Even after using his second Soul Skill, he still couldn't keep up with Thunder Spirit's speed. If he hadn't already honed his reflexes under Grandpa Guang Ling, Thunder Spirit's last attack would have left him severely injured.
"If I want to kill it, I can't rely on speed. I'll have to use another method."
Su Zhen lowered his arm. A peal of thunder came from his palm, like ten thousand birds crying out. A massive amount of thunder element gathered there, forming a dazzling white ball of light as stray arcs of electricity leaped across its surface. It was a Self-Created Soul Skill he had developed based on a manga from his previous life.
"Chidori!"
As Su Zhen used his second Soul Skill, he transformed into a bolt of lightning and charged at Thunder Spirit, accompanied by the cries of ten thousand birds.
Thunder Spirit let out a roar. It sensed danger amid the cacophony of birdsong and, with a whoosh, once again dodged Su Zhen's attack. Su Zhen's Chidori struck the ground where Thunder Spirit had been coiled, blasting a crater the size of a human head into the earth.
"Xiao Zhen's move is quite powerful. It can rival some Soul Masters' third Soul Skills, though it's a little difficult to learn."
Qian Daoliu watched Su Zhen's Chidori with a look of regret. The move demanded extremely precise control over Soul Power and the elements: Soul Power had to draw in the thunder element, gather it in the palm, and compress it under immense pressure before releasing it in an instant upon hitting the target. Qian Daoliu had originally wanted to promote it on a small scale within Spirit Hall, but the requirement of elemental control alone had ruled out ninety-nine percent of Soul Masters. Even those who could control the element and compress it in their palms couldn't match Su Zhen's final combat power. In the end, he had no choice but to abandon the experiment.
Su Zhen rose to his feet, the Chidori fading from his palm. Thunder Spirit's repeated provocations had thoroughly enraged him.
"Third Soul Skill, Thunder Kirin Clone!"
The third Soul Ring beneath Su Zhen's feet shone brightly. Countless bolts of lightning burst from his body and converged to one side. In the blink of an eye, they formed a figure that looked remarkably like Su Zhen, though it was purple from head to toe, and no Soul Rings appeared beneath its feet.
It was a clone-type Soul Skill, obtained from the 9000-Year Thunder-Roar Two-Headed Snake. When used, it formed a lightning clone with seventy percent of Su Zhen's strength and fifty percent of his physical durability. If the clone was struck, it would explode on the spot, though Su Zhen could also control the explosion himself. Its arcs of electricity inflicted a powerful paralyzing effect on enemies, and when necessary, the clone could even switch places with Su Zhen's real body.
Su Zhen's figure flickered, and he appeared behind Thunder Spirit, positioning himself and his clone at an angle that trapped Thunder Spirit between them.
The clone moved. At Su Zhen's command, it charged toward Thunder Spirit. Thunder Spirit roared but paid no heed to the energy body in front of it. As soon as the clone reached its side, Thunder Spirit swept it aside with its tail, blowing it apart. A violent explosion erupted at the point of impact, sending countless arcs of electricity crashing into Thunder Spirit. A massive storm of lightning burst from where it stood.
"Hiss!"
With a furious roar, Thunder Spirit shook off the lightning storm. Its body remained intact, though fewer arcs of electricity now danced across its surface. Even such a terrifying attack had done it little harm.
"Thunder Spirit can resist most lightning-attribute attacks. Xiao Zhen, don't use too many Soul Skills."
Qian Daoliu had seen through some of it and called out a warning to Su Zhen.
"This beast sure is a tough one."
Su Zhen spat to the side. He had already spent more than half his Soul Power, yet Thunder Spirit was still full of life.
"If lightning attacks won't work, then let's serve it something better."
As he spoke, Su Zhen took nine white beads from his Soul Tool. Each bead was two centimeters in diameter, with a golden ring fitted around either side. They had been made from the kneecaps of a Gold-Eating Ape, which fed on all kinds of rare metals year-round. As a result, its bones were exceptionally hard—not at all inferior to some top-grade metals—and even lighter than metal.
Su Zhen had brought out the nine beads to try an attack he had seen in a hot-blooded anime in his previous life. Thunder surged in both his hands as countless arcs of electricity wrapped around the golden rings on either side of the beads. The arcs quickly compressed and spun, sending the beads whirling at high speed with a series of humming sounds.
Su Zhen raised his hand and pointed at Thunder Spirit. The beads spinning in his palm shot toward it like arrows, only many times faster.
The beads struck Thunder Spirit before it could react. Only when the pain hit did it begin thrashing wildly on the ground. The beads had blasted nine bowl-sized holes into its body.
"Roar!"
Thunder Spirit roared at the sky. Its earlier snake-like hiss had now turned into a dragon's roar. Its body rapidly grew until, in the blink of an eye, it had become a small mountain. The purple arcs of electricity that had covered it vanished completely, replaced by red Dragon Scales. It had no legs, but otherwise looked almost exactly like the true dragons of the myths from Su Zhen's previous life. It was practically a flood dragon.
"Xiao Zhen, step back. You've enraged it. You can't handle Thunder Spirit in its second stage—not as you are now."
Qian Daoliu slowly stepped forward and came to stand before Thunder Spirit. His voice was calm; Thunder Spirit's fury didn't make him anxious.
"Fifth Soul Skill, Holy Sword!"
The phantom of a Six-Winged Angel appeared behind Qian Daoliu, and nine Soul Rings—eight black and one red—appeared beneath his feet. The fifth black Soul Ring lit up. A golden longsword took shape in his hand, and Qian Daoliu held it level and gave the raging Thunder Spirit a gentle slash.
The enraged Thunder Spirit suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath it. Its body had been split in two, and its upper half slowly slid to one side. Behind it, a small hilltop toppled down along with its upper body.
"Awesome! Great-grandfather is incredible! Brother Zhen, did you see Great-grandfather's sword? That was so cool!"
Su Zhen stared in shock. Though Qian Daoliu was his teacher, he had never seen him fight before. Qian Daoliu had never even summoned his Martial Soul while training with him. He hadn't imagined he could flatten a mountain with one sword stroke. Was this the power of a Limit Douluo?
"Xiao Zhen, go give it the final blow. Once you've finished absorbing the Soul Ring, we still have to hunt one for Little Ao."
Su Zhen snapped out of his shock and went to the now-smaller Thunder Spirit. He raised a claw and plunged it into its eye. Before long, a black Soul Ring slowly rose from Thunder Spirit's corpse.
Su Zhen sat cross-legged, drew the Soul Ring toward himself, and began absorbing it.
"Great-grandfather, can Brother Zhen really absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? He's only a Soul Ancestor."
Oscar was still worried for Su Zhen's safety.
"He can. Ever since awakening his Martial Soul, Zhen'er's body has been constantly nourished. Medicinal baths, Whale Rubber, body tempering—he's never gone without them. His physical strength alone is no worse than that of some Soul Emperors with tool-type Martial Souls. As long as he can withstand the Soul Shock, a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring won't be a problem for Xiao Zhen."
As soon as Qian Daoliu finished speaking, Su Zhen's body began to change. His previously steady breathing grew erratic, and purple-gold arcs of electricity occasionally flickered across him.
"Great-grandfather, what's happening to Brother Zhen?"
Oscar's anxious voice was full of concern for Su Zhen.
"It seems he's begun resisting the Soul Shock. Now all we can do is see whether Xiao Zhen can endure it."
Qian Daoliu's voice was calm, as if nothing could go wrong during Su Zhen's absorption of the Soul Ring. But beneath his robe, his hand had clenched into a fist at some point.
In his spiritual sea, Su Zhen sat cross-legged. The absorption was going remarkably smoothly; his body could withstand the cleansing power of the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. Suddenly, his spiritual sea turned bloodred, and the slain Thunder Spirit appeared there. Unlike the lingering souls of the thousand-year Soul Beasts he had encountered before, Thunder Spirit's remnant soul still retained a few scraps of consciousness. Wrapped in surging lightning, it charged straight at Su Zhen, who remained seated cross-legged.
"Hmph. When you were alive, I couldn't beat you. But now you're nothing but a remnant soul. What makes you think you can kill me on my own turf?"
Light blazed from Su Zhen as countless purple-gold bolts of lightning surged from the depths of his spiritual sea and enveloped him. In moments, he had transformed into a mighty purple-gold Kirin. It threw back its head and roared. Then it took one step forward, clamped its jaws around Thunder Spirit, and yanked hard, tearing a gash in its body of lightning.
Thunder Spirit howled in pain and turned to bite the Kirin's chest, trying to tear off a chunk of its own. But the Kirin's scales were exceptionally hard, and Thunder Spirit's attack had no effect. The Kirin, meanwhile, tore into Thunder Spirit's remnant soul, bite by bite.
Outside, Su Zhen's erratic breathing gradually steadied. Yet a pair of dragon horns slowly took shape above his head, shifting from an illusion into something solid.
"External Soul Bone!"
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