Time lost all meaning amid the unbearable pain.
Perhaps it was an instant, or perhaps a century.
At last, when that torrent of energy capable of destroying everything had been fully refined and the final trace had merged into his limbs and bones, the searing agony ebbed away like the tide.
In its place came an indescribable sense of ease and power.
It was as if he had broken free of some invisible shackles. The entire world felt different to his senses.
Ye Feng opened his eyes. A solid-looking golden light flashed and vanished.
He opened his mouth and exhaled a long breath of foul, charred air. When it fell upon the wooden table in front of him, it let out a faint sizzling sound as it corroded the surface.
Looking down, he saw that his body was coated in a thick layer of greasy black grime, which gave off a revolting stench.
These were stubborn impurities buried deep within his body, impurities that even Century Whale Rubber had been unable to force out.
Ye Feng leapt from the bed. The instant his feet hit the ground, the hard wooden floor bore two shallow footprints beneath them.
He casually stretched his limbs.
He could clearly feel that his body had undergone a complete transformation.
Strength, defense, speed, flexibility... a qualitative leap in every respect!
If his body had once been a piece of steel tempered a hundred times, now it was a supermetal infused with a mysterious alloy!
A single piece of Millennium Whale Rubber had such heaven-defying effects.
Feeling the surging Bloodline Power within him, Ye Feng was shaken. At the same time, a wave of lingering fear rose uncontrollably in his heart.
He wiped his brow, though there was no sweat there, and shuddered at the memory.
This time, he had truly walked right up to the gates of hell.
If his will had wavered even for an instant, he would probably have been reduced to an unrecognizable lump of flesh.
He absolutely couldn't be so reckless again.
He had never been closer to death.
He glanced at the Storage Bracelet. One piece of Century Whale Rubber and one piece of Millennium Whale Rubber still lay inside.
No, he needed to take a breather.
He had to let his body fully adapt to its current strength before absorbing the two remaining pieces, one at a time.
He should wait at least half a year between them.
Time flew by, and another year passed in the blink of an eye.
In the courtyard of Silves, Ye Feng trained as usual, bare-chested.
He was ten now.
Over the past year, he had grown quite a bit taller. His once-childish face had become more defined, and his long silver hair was loosely tied behind his head. Together with the perfect physique outlined by his Flowing Silver Battle Armor, he already had the bearing of a handsome young man.
During this time, he had absorbed and refined the two remaining pieces of Whale Rubber, one every six months.
His body was now strong enough to support absorbing a Soul Ring just over a thousand years old.
After two years of unremitting cultivation, his Soul Power had also broken through the bottleneck at level twenty.
It was time to obtain his Second Soul Ring.
With his current strength, his formidable physique and Self-Created Soul Skills made him virtually invincible against thousand-year Soul Beasts.
Besides, his target this time wasn't one of the Soul Beasts renowned for their attack or speed.
It was a plant.
The Light-Condensing Healing Flower.
This unusual Plant-type Soul Beast grew on the edge of the mixed zone in Sunset Forest. It could gather the light element between heaven and earth and possessed powerful healing and Soul Power recovery abilities.
That was exactly what he needed most right now.
His Self-Created Soul Skills, "Light Blade" and "Baptism of Holy Light," were powerful, but they also consumed a great deal of energy.
A powerful recovery Soul Skill could be a second life at a critical moment!
Plant-type Soul Beasts were slow-moving and generally not very aggressive, making one just right for him to hunt alone.
If he were after some other thousand-year Soul Beast, he would probably have to pay through the nose to hire a team of Soul Ancestors.
Ye Feng locked the courtyard gate and headed straight for Sunset Forest outside the city.
One month later.
On the outskirts of the mixed zone in Sunset Forest.
Ye Feng leaned against a towering ancient tree, a hint of impatience on his face.
He had been wandering through this area for a full month.
Every day, he did nothing but meditate and cultivate, then comb the area from end to end. Yet he hadn't found so much as a glimpse of the so-called "Light-Condensing Healing Flower."
He was beginning to seriously doubt whether the entry in that lousy illustrated guide Yu Xiaogang had written was something the man had simply dreamed up.
He was already at the edge of the mixed zone. A faint sense of danger hung in the air, and he could often feel the powerful pressure of thousand-year Soul Beasts as they flashed past.
The thousand-year Soul Beasts here were nothing like the weaklings on the outskirts. Every one of them was vicious, and a chance encounter would be very bad news.
"I'll search for three more days. If I still can't find it, I'll change targets."
Having made up his mind, Ye Feng was about to get up and continue searching.
"ROAR—!"
A thunderous tiger's roar erupted without warning nearby!
It was filled with savagery and bloodlust, shaking the surrounding trees until their leaves trembled and fell.
Ye Feng's whole body stiffened as a fatal sense of danger swept over him.
He looked up and saw a purple-black blur hurtling straight toward him from deep within the forest at an unimaginable speed!
It was too fast!
The air itself seemed to trail a string of indistinct afterimages!
Damn it!
A name flashed through Ye Feng's mind.
A thousand-year Ghost Tiger!
He remembered the description of this Soul Beast in the illustrated guide perfectly.
Incredibly fast, devastatingly powerful, and highly durable!
Even more terrifying was this Soul Beast's innate ability—Shadow Clone!
Forget a Soul Grandmaster without a Second Soul Ring. Even a Soul Elder would likely meet certain death if he encountered this troublesome beast without a way to counter it!
Without a moment's hesitation!
Soul Power burst beneath Ye Feng's feet, and his body shot away like an arrow loosed from its bow, fleeing in the opposite direction from the Ghost Tiger!
Fight?
Was he kidding?
Faced with a top predator of this caliber, running was the wisest choice!
But he was fast, and the Ghost Tiger was faster!
Almost the instant he turned around, the foul wind was already at his back.
Ye Feng didn't even have time to look back. Relying on his battle instincts, he threw himself clumsily to the side.
"Rrrip!"
A sharp tearing sound.
Three razor-sharp claw marks raked across his back, throwing off dazzling sparks.
A tremendous force slammed into him from behind, sending him flying into a tree. His throat turned sweet, and he nearly spat out blood.
The shock still left his Bloodline Power churning.
Before he could catch his breath, the thousand-year Ghost Tiger pounced again.
Ye Feng finally got a clear look at it.
It was nearly twice the size of an ordinary tiger, its body covered in purple-black fur patterned with bizarre dark-gold markings. Its blood-red eyes brimmed with a bloodthirsty madness.
"ROAR!"
The Ghost Tiger roared and opened its gaping maw, unleashing a concentrated wave of black energy.
Shadow Impact!
Ye Feng's pupils contracted. He slammed his foot against the ground and slid along the earth, narrowly dodging the blast.
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