Metamorphosis, Deadly Ghost Tiger

Time lost all meaning amidst the agony.

Perhaps it was an instant, or perhaps it was a century.

When that torrent of energy, capable of destroying everything, was finally refined and the last wisp merged into his limbs and bones, the heart-rending pain vanished as abruptly as a receding tide.

In its place was an indescribable sense of comfort and power.

It felt as if he had broken free from some invisible shackle; the entire world felt different to his senses.

Ye Feng opened his eyes, and a golden light, dense as substance, flickered and vanished.

He opened his mouth and exhaled a long, turbid breath that carried a thick, fishy, and scorched odor. The breath landed on the wooden table in front of him, producing a faint, corrosive "hissing" sound.

Looking down, he saw his body covered in a thick, greasy layer of black filth that emitted a nauseating stench.

These were the stubborn impurities hidden in the deepest parts of his body, the kind that even century-old Whale Rubber could not force out.

Ye Feng leaped off the bed. The moment his feet touched the ground, the hard wooden floorboards were imprinted with two shallow footprints.

He simply stretched his muscles and bones.

He could clearly feel that his body had undergone a earth-shattering transformation.

Strength, defense, speed, flexibility... a qualitative change in every aspect!

If his body had previously been a piece of tempered steel, it was now a super-metal infused with a mysterious alloy!

A single millennium-old Whale Rubber had such heaven-defying effects.

Ye Feng felt the surging Bloodline Power within him. Beyond the shock, a wave of uncontrollable lingering fear welled up in his heart.

He wiped cold sweat from his forehead that wasn't even there, still shaken.

This time, he had truly walked before the gates of hell.

Had his will wavered by even a fraction, he would likely have been reduced to an unrecognizable puddle of flesh by now.

In the future, he must never be this reckless again.

This was the closest he had ever come to death.

He glanced at his storage bracelet, where another century-old Whale Rubber and a millennium-old Whale Rubber lay quietly.

No, he had to take it slow.

The remaining two pieces must be absorbed in stages only after his body had fully adapted to its current strength.

At the very least, he needed to wait more than half a year.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another year passed.

In the small courtyard in Silves, Ye Feng stood shirtless, engaged in his daily cultivation.

He was ten years old now.

Over this past year, his height had increased significantly. His once-childish face now possessed sharper contours, and his long silver hair was tied loosely behind his head. Combined with the perfect physique outlined by his Flowing Silver Battle Armor, he already carried the air of a handsome young talent.

During this period, he had absorbed and refined the remaining two pieces of Whale Rubber, one every six months.

His current physical strength was sufficient to support the absorption of a soul ring just over a millennium in age.

His soul power had also logically broken through to the bottleneck of level twenty during these two years of uninterrupted, arduous training.

It was time to obtain his second soul ring.

With his current strength, relying on his formidable physical body and Self-Created Soul Skills, he was invincible against anything below a millennium-level soul beast.

Moreover, his target this time was not one of those soul beasts known for their attack or speed.

It was a plant.

Light-Condensing Healing Flower.

This peculiar plant-type soul beast grew on the edge of the mixed zone of the Sunset Forest. It could condense the light elements of heaven and earth and possessed extremely strong healing and soul power recovery abilities.

This was exactly what he needed most right now.

Although his Self-Created Soul Skills, "Light Blade" and "Baptism of Holy Light," were powerful, their consumption was equally staggering.

A powerful recovery soul skill was, at a critical moment, a second life!

Plant-type soul beasts were immobile and generally not very aggressive, making it perfect for him to hunt alone.

If it were any other millennium-level soul beast, he would likely have to bleed his coffers dry to hire a team of Soul Ancestors to help.

Ye Feng locked the courtyard gate and headed straight for the Sunset Forest outside the city.

One month later.

Sunset Forest, outskirts of the mixed zone.

Ye Feng leaned against a massive ancient tree, a trace of impatience on his face.

He had been wandering this area for a full month.

Every day, aside from meditation and cultivation, was spent in a carpet-like search, yet not even a shadow of the so-called Light-Condensing Healing Flower had been seen.

This made him begin to seriously doubt whether the records in that tattered guidebook of Yu Xiaogang were merely something that guy had imagined himself.

This place was already the edge of the Mixed Zone; the air was permeated with a faint, lingering aura of danger, and one could frequently feel the powerful pressure of thousand-year soul beasts flashing by.

The thousand-year soul beasts here were not comparable to the pathetic weaklings in the outer perimeter; each one was incredibly fierce, and if one were to truly encounter them, they would be extremely troublesome to deal with.

"I'll search for three more days. If I still can't find it, I'll change my target."

Ye Feng made up his mind and was just about to stand up to continue his search.

"Roar--!"

A tiger's roar that shook the heavens and earth exploded without warning not far away!

The roar was filled with violence and cruelty, shaking the surrounding trees until they shivered and leaves flew everywhere.

Ye Feng's entire body stiffened, and a sense of lethal crisis instantly enveloped him.

He looked up to see a purple-black afterimage, moving at an unimaginable speed, lunging straight at him from the depths of the dense forest!

That speed was too fast!

It was so fast that it left a trail of blurred phantoms in the air!

Oh no!

A name flashed through Ye Feng's mind in an instant.

Thousand-year Ghost Tiger!

He remembered the description of this soul beast in the guidebook clearly.

Extremely fast speed, astonishing attacks, and formidable defense!

What was even more terrifying was this soul beast's innate ability—Shadow Clone!

Let alone the fact that he was currently just a Soul Grand Master without a second soul ring, even a Soul Elder, without any means of restraint, would likely face certain death if they encountered such a troublesome creature!

Without the slightest hesitation!

Ye Feng's soul power exploded beneath his feet, and his body, like an arrow released from a bow, fled for his life in the opposite direction of the Ghost Tiger!

Fight?

Are you kidding me!

Facing a top-tier predator of this level, running away was the wisest choice!

However, he was fast, but that Ghost Tiger was faster!

Almost the moment he turned, that foul-smelling gale had already caught up behind him.

Ye Feng didn't even have time to look back; he could only rely on his combat instincts to throw himself to the side in a wretched state.

"Rip!"

A harsh sound of fabric tearing rang out.

Three incomparably sharp claw marks raked across his back, sparking with dazzling light.

A massive force came from behind, sending Ye Feng flying until he slammed heavily into a large tree; a sweetness rose in his throat, and he nearly spat out blood.

The shockwave still left his blood and qi churning.

Before he could catch his breath, the thousand-year Ghost Tiger had already lunged forward again.

Ye Feng finally saw its full appearance.

Its body was nearly twice the size of an ordinary tiger, covered from head to toe in purple-black fur, which was covered in eerie dark-gold patterns, and a pair of blood-red beast eyes were filled with bloodthirsty madness.

"Roar!"

The Ghost Tiger roared, opening its blood-red maw, and a solidified black energy wave was instantly spat out.

Shadow Impact!

Ye Feng's pupils constricted, and he kicked off the ground, sliding across the earth to narrowly dodge the energy wave.