The sky was thick with dark clouds, and bolts of lightning gathered together, forming a vast sea of thunder.
Purple-gold light blazed around Su Zhen, wrapping him in a gigantic cocoon. Streaks of lightning coursed over its surface like knights on patrol.
"Great-grandfather, what in the world is happening?"
Qian Daoliu looked gravely at the purple cocoon around Su Zhen.
"Xiao Zhen may be about to undergo Martial Soul Evolution."
"What! Martial Soul Evolution!"
Oscar gaped in shock. It took an incredible stroke of fortune to achieve Martial Soul Evolution. A Martial Soul was fixed from the moment it awakened. Even absorbing Soul Rings afterward only improved its bloodline and quality, and still fell far short of true evolution.
As they spoke, a thick bolt of lightning shot down from the thunderclouds. The Soul Power barrier Qian Daoliu had raised shattered in an instant, and the violent bolt struck the cocoon squarely.
Lightning tore the cocoon apart, revealing a figure sitting cross-legged within.
Su Zhen's clothes had been reduced to ash. His long purple hair had become a black waterfall cascading down his back, and black lightning patterns covered his body, crawling over his skin. A blood-red scale was embedded in his chest.
Su Zhen opened his eyes. One glance at his pitch-black pupils was enough to make a person sink into their depths, while black lightning flickered within and refused to fade.
The lightning circling his body intertwined with the shattered cocoon of light, coalescing into a huge ball of light behind him.
A beast's claw emerged first. Its fur was black as ink, with dark lightning dancing across it. Its sturdy body appeared next, and a Dragon Scale horn grew from its otherwise flat chest. Its body was covered in black Dragon Scales that glinted coldly, like heavy armor. Its lion's mane swayed in the gale, and its dragon head looked even more majestic than before. Two towering dragon horns replaced the single lightning halberd horn, while a blood-red lightning pattern appeared abruptly on its forehead, like a third eye.
The shadow of an ink-black Kirin stood behind Su Zhen, lightning coursing around it as it guarded the figure seated cross-legged in its midst. The Kirin threw back its head and roared, shattering the surrounding thunder before slowly fading away.
Su Zhen rose to his feet. Electricity crackled inside him. Feeling the chill of the breeze against his skin, he calmly took a robe from his ring and put it on.
The Peach Wood Hairpin, covered in cracks, lay quietly at his feet, wrapped in scraps of cloth. Nourished for years by Su Zhen's Soul Power, the hairpin and cloth had survived the flames that reduced his robe to ash. Su Zhen picked them up, dusted them off, and put them into the Soul Tool on his wrist, where they joined all his Gold Soul Coins.
He clenched his fist. Su Zhen felt that, with his physical strength alone, he could crush the version of himself from a few hours earlier.
"Xiao Zhen, how do you feel?"
Qian Daoliu came over and studied his student, whose appearance had changed dramatically.
"Teacher, I feel fantastic. The Immortal Herb strengthened my body and purified my lightning. It also evolved my Thunder Prison Qilin, and I've already reached level fifty."
Black lightning gathered in Su Zhen's palm. The serpents of lightning crackled as they writhed, eager to tear everything apart, while the light around them was swallowed and warped. The Thunder Prison Qilin appeared behind him. The black Kirin stood silently, radiating majesty and destruction, like the Grim Reaper guarding the gates of hell.
"Now the Thunder Prison Qilin finally lives up to the word 'prison.'"
Su Zhen dispersed the lightning in his palm, and together with Qian Daoliu, he gazed at his reborn Martial Soul.
"Whoa, Brother Zhen, you're getting cooler and cooler. If I were a girl, I'd definitely chase after you."
Oscar circled Su Zhen, looking him up and down, his peach-blossom eyes filled with fervent admiration.
"Enough, Little Ao. I imagine you've broken through too. Let's hunt your Soul Ring, then head back."
"Teacher, I'll go look for a Soul Ring for Little Ao first."
After saying goodbye to Qian Daoliu, Su Zhen turned into a streak of black lightning and raced straight up the cliff face. He ran up the sheer rock as though it were flat ground, reaching the top in the blink of an eye before vanishing into the forest.
"Great-grandfather, is Brother Zhen really that powerful now?"
Oscar stared in disbelief at Su Zhen running up the cliff and asked Qian Daoliu.
"This is the Soul Power control training Xiao Zhen has been doing all along. By gathering Soul Power beneath his feet, he can run along cliffs and across water. He just couldn't move this fast before. Weren't you beside him while he was training? How could you not know?"
Oscar scratched his head awkwardly. How could he tell Qian Daoliu that whenever Su Zhen practiced this, he had been sitting nearby meditating—or sleeping?
After a while, Su Zhen came running back down, dragging a bird Soul Beast behind him.
"Little Ao, this two-thousand-year-old Purple Thunder Sparrow should give you a speed-enhancing Soul Skill. Absorb its Soul Ring."
Su Zhen tossed the Purple Thunder Sparrow, its wings already torn off, down beside Oscar.
"Brother Zhen~, you're so good to me."
After cooing at Su Zhen, Oscar took out a dagger, ended the Purple Thunder Sparrow's life, sat cross-legged, and began absorbing its Soul Ring.
"Teacher, let's make another trip to Thunder Canyon later. Once I've hunted my fifth Soul Ring, I'll return to Spirit Hall."
Qian Daoliu sat cross-legged beside Su Zhen and Oscar and built a campfire. Before long, the rich, savory scent of roasted sparrow drifted from the poolside up into the forest.
Buzz—
A sword rang out from above. A fierce sword aura slashed down, and just as it was about to hit the three of them, a golden barrier appeared and blocked the blade's gleam. The fierce aura vanished into it like a stone ox plunging into the sea, raising not a single ripple.
"Why are you here, friends? Have you seen anything fall?"
A man riding a long sword descended from above, his white hair and robes giving him the air of an immortal. He had seen the terrifying celestial phenomenon from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and guessed that a rare treasure must have appeared in the depths of Sunset Forest, so he had hurried over. As soon as he arrived, he spotted three people at the bottom of the valley. He had slashed down with his sword, never expecting it to be blocked.
"Seven Kill Sword, Chen Xin, son of Chen Jianjun."
Hearing someone state his identity outright, Chen Xin turned toward the voice. A figure with golden hair and gray robes came into view.
"Q-Qian Daoliu!"
"Get lost!"
Chen Xin gave Qian Daoliu a long look, then turned and rode his flying sword out of the valley. As he left, however, the corner of his eye caught a verdant figure lying on the ground not far away.
"Teacher, why didn't you keep him here?"
Su Zhen watched Chen Xin leave, his eyes cold. Chen Xin would become one of Tang San's main allies later on. If he were killed here, it would further weaken the obstacles standing in the way of Su Zhen's future revenge.
"He still has his uses."
If I kill him now, who'll be your whetstone later?
Qian Daoliu answered calmly. In his mind, he had already planned Chen Xin's final destination.
A short while later, Oscar finally finished absorbing his Soul Ring.
"Brother Zhen, the Soul Ring you found for me this time is amazing. I'm going to have your babies!"
Su Zhen pushed away Oscar, who had excitedly lunged at him.
"Enough. Tell me what your third Soul Skill is."
"My third Soul Skill is Rapid Mushroom Sausage. After eating it, I can fly at two hundred percent of my normal speed for three minutes."
"Mm, that's a powerful Soul Skill. It'll be a great help for quite some time."
"What level is your Soul Power now?"
"Level thirty-five. The Soul Ring raised it by two levels, and the Immortal Herb raised it by three."
"So the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid raised your Soul Power by seven levels altogether. It'll save you a long time of hard cultivation."
Su Zhen was very pleased to hear that. The stronger Oscar became, the more help he would be to him.
"Since Little Ao has finished absorbing his Soul Ring, let's head for Thunder Canyon. It's time to hunt Xiao Zhen's Soul Ring too."
"Before that, let's put a little insurance in place here."
Qian Daoliu gathered a vast amount of golden Soul Power and shot it into the air. It rippled outward from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring, spreading in all directions.
"I used Angel Divine Power to create a barrier here. From outside, this place will look like a dense forest, and the barrier will keep other Soul Masters from entering."
After explaining, Qian Daoliu took the two of them into the air. They turned into a golden streak of light and vanished into the horizon.
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