"Besides, having that Head Soul Bone ripped out must have hurt my big brother, too."
The hatred he had kept bottled up for three years finally burst free, and Yang Hao felt a little lighter all over.
He was a transmigrator, but he had no idea whether he had been reincarnated or had taken over someone else's body. His consciousness had awakened three years ago, after the Strength Clan had secretly dealt him a grievous injury.
He didn't know whether he had returned to life in a borrowed corpse or broken through the mystery of the womb, awakening the memories of his previous life.
But none of that mattered. The important thing was that his name was Yang Hao, he was in the Douluo Continent, and the story was set during the Peerless Tang Sect era of Douluo II. His own circumstances, however, were less than ideal.
Four years ago, a Soul Master family had been wiped out over a ninety-thousand-year-old Head Soul Bone. One person escaped with the Soul Bone, only to die after being hunted by countless people.
His parents had stumbled upon that person's corpse and obtained the Soul Bone. They gave it to his elder brother, who had awakened his Martial Soul and gained Soul Power, to refine.
His parents had disposed of and buried the corpse without leaving a trace. Unfortunately, someone had still caught wind of it: Tai Wuji. He was one of his father's close friends, and his usual familiarity had allowed him to notice a few clues.
Afterward, Yang Hao heard that his mother had fallen into evil ways and become an Evil Soul Master, conspiring with the Sun Moon Empire. The border defenses had nearly fallen, and the losses had been catastrophic.
Then his parents were hunted down by the Shrek Inspectorate and beheaded. His elder brother vanished without a trace, while a black-clad man ambushed Yang Hao, shattered his Martial Soul, and injected it with an evil aura that corrupted it. Finally, Tai Wushuang had brought him back to the Strength Clan to raise him in the name of protecting him—or, more accurately, to keep him under surveillance and under house arrest.
With the mind of an adult, he could naturally see through the truth behind what had happened back then. The Strength Clan's attitude toward him only confirmed everything.
Of course, Zhao Min had mistaken him for a child. That was why she hadn't deliberately hidden her murderous intent.
Once he understood his situation, he began making plans. In the end, those plans had led to his revenge and escape today.
"I should've killed you from the start."
Tai Wuji was consumed by regret. The reason they had kept the little wretch alive was that the incident had caused such a huge stir that it brought in the Shrek Inspectorate. The little wretch's parents had even fought back with a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, killing one of Shrek's inspectors.
Afterward, the Shrek Inspectorate launched an investigation. To keep the Soul Bone they had obtained—and all their schemes—from being exposed, his father had ordered him to take the little wretch back to the clan. That way, he could preserve his relationship with the little wretch's father, his close friend, and avoid arousing suspicion.
He just hadn't expected the little wretch to uncover the truth from three years ago and keep it hidden until now. Right under their noses, he had even made those strange Soul Tool Bombs, bringing disaster down on the couple and taking Wushuang with them.
He hated it!
"Sorry, but I don't sell regret medicine here," Yang Hao said apologetically. He really didn't have any.
"I'll kill you!"
At that moment, Tai Wushuang, on the other side, recovered from the pain in his chest. He glared at Yang Hao with a ferocious expression. If looks could kill, Yang Hao would have been turned into a pair of stockings—lace ones, at that.
"He's still not dead?"
Yang Hao was a little dumbfounded. He scratched his head, then thrust his spear again, this time aiming for the right side of Tai Wushuang's chest.
A person couldn't survive having their heart pierced. The only explanation was that the spear hadn't gone through the heart.
Some people's hearts weren't on the left, but on the right.
And that wasn't all. To be on the safe side, Yang Hao pulled out his spear and stabbed Tai Wushuang once in the throat and once in the stomach.
After all, there were sayings about one's heart leaping into one's throat and putting one's heart back in one's belly. He couldn't afford to take chances.
Sure enough, this time the young master fell silent. His face twisted with resentment and fear of death.
"Wushuang!"
Tai Wuji cried out in grief once more, enduring the pain of losing his son again. He was on the verge of collapse.
Zhao Min was just as grief-stricken and resentful. She wished she could tear the little wretch apart and devour him alive.
As his consciousness slowly blurred, Tai Wushuang was filled with fear and resentment. He still had a glorious future ahead of him. He hadn't become a Titled Douluo yet—how could he die here?
Although his heart was full of endless unwillingness, his consciousness still sank into silence, eternal silence!
With Tai Wushuang's death, the Soul Bone on his back—the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider's Soul Bone—changed. It instinctively reclaimed the Soul Ring's power attached to Tai Wushuang's Martial Soul, and even followed the link between the Soul Rings to devour Tai Wushuang's One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul as well.
That wasn't all. Tai Wushuang's blood and Soul Power were devoured, and even the Head Soul Bone he had refined couldn't escape.
This happened partly because of the Soul-Devouring Spider Legs' powerful devouring nature, and partly because Tai Wushuang had only just refined the Soul Ring's power. He had been guiding that power through his bones and muscles, merging the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider's Soul Ring power into his whole body. Now, that power had become a spark and a breach through which the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone could devour him.
As the Bone devoured its prey, the topmost spider leg of the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone gained several golden patterns, and its quality improved greatly.
"As expected of a Soul Bone produced by a Soul-Devouring Demon Spider. Its devouring power is even stronger than the Eight Spider Lances."
Looking at Tai Wushuang, now a dried corpse, Yang Hao couldn't help but marvel.
As its name suggested, the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider excelled at devouring. In the Soul Beast Realm, its devouring ability was second only to that of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and the Deep Sea Demon Whale. The Soul Bones it produced naturally possessed this powerful devouring trait as well.
When it came to devouring, even God King Tang's Eight Spider Lances couldn't compare. After all, this Soul Bone specialized in it.
At the thought, greed stirred in his heart.
This was an External Soul Bone that could evolve, and it was even a devouring-type one. As long as he borrowed a page from God King Tang's playbook, evolving it into a God-Level Soul Bone would only be a matter of time. If he had the materials, he could even evolve it into a Super Divine Artifact.
Most importantly, External Soul Bones could be stolen in the early stages.
Without a host to nourish it, the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone began to turn hazy and show signs of crumbling away.
"Damn Soul-Devouring Demon Spider, get off my young master!"
Seeing this, Yang Hao hurriedly removed his armor, stepped forward, and ripped the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone from Tai Wushuang's back by force. He pressed it against his own back and guided his Soul Power into refining it.
To keep the young master's remains from being defiled by the evil Soul-Devouring Demon Spider, he had no choice but to step forward, lay down his life for a righteous cause, and feed himself to the demon.
Chapter 4: Great Love Immortal Venerable
Although it was an External Soul Bone, refining it went just like refining an ordinary Soul Bone. It smoothly fused with Yang Hao's spine—or, to be precise, attached itself to it.
That wasn't all. The Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone had devoured Tai Wushuang's One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul, and now it had brought that Martial Soul's power to Yang Hao.
Once the Soul Bone had finished fusing, Yang Hao's body rapidly expanded. He grew from his original height of one and a half meters to two meters. His muscles bulged and knotted, giving him the look of a character from a Hong Kong comic. An eye also appeared in the middle of his forehead, making him look exactly like Tai Wushuang when his Martial Soul Possession was activated.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Feeling the changes in his body, Yang Hao was very pleased.
Although he found the phenomenon surprising, he could still make sense of it.
It was like the Second Martial Soul that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had created for Huo Yuhao. Because of its species and body, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had no bones and therefore couldn't produce a Soul Bone. But it had used its source power to create the foundation of an ice-attribute Martial Soul for Huo Yuhao. Only after he fused with Ice Empress's power did it form the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion Martial Soul.
Yang Hao's situation was similar. Tai Wushuang had absorbed and refined the Soul Ring of the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider, producing a Soul Bone. A Martial Soul, Soul Ring, and External Soul Bone formed a trinity. Coupled with the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone's devouring nature and Tai Wushuang's death, it had swallowed them all.
Now that he had refined the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone, he had effectively refined Tai Wushuang's Martial Soul as well. The Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone had become a bridge between the Martial Soul and himself, indirectly granting him a Second Martial Soul.
He then looked toward the enraged and resentful Tai Wuji and his wife.
"If the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone could devour the young master's Martial Soul because of its bond with him, then could it devour other Martial Souls of the same origin to enhance this transformation skill?"
Considering the possibility, Yang Hao—always a man of action—decided to try it. He clumsily controlled the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone to pierce Tai Wuji's body and begin devouring him.
Devouring was the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone's ability and its instinct. As soon as it pierced him, it began to devour on its own.
His Soul Power and blood were devoured, without exception.
Even his Martial Soul and Soul Ring were devoured and refined into nourishment for the One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul, further strengthening its foundation.
Yang Hao's body grew from two meters to two and a half, while the golden patterns on the topmost spider leg of the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone grew thicker and brighter.
"We'll be waiting for you down below, you little wretch."
Tai Wushuang let out a resentful growl, cursing the little wretch to join him.
This was too humiliating. They had been deceived by the little wretch for three years, only for everything to go wrong at the last moment. Worse still, he had even gotten the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record and the External Soul Bone that should have belonged to their son.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldn't catch his breath and eventually died of sheer fury.
"Too bad I don't kill women and children!"
Yang Hao looked toward the venomous Zhao Min, full of regret. Then he controlled the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg to stab downward.
"Too bad you're not a child!"
Zhao Min's eyes widened. So that was what he meant by "too bad."
"Experiment successful. I have a family and a clan now, so I'm no longer all alone."
Ignoring the two who had died with their eyes wide open, Yang Hao was extremely satisfied with the experiment's results. His theory had been confirmed: he could grow stronger by devouring Martial Souls of the same origin.
Just as Great Love Immortal Venerable had said, when your talent isn't good enough, don't feel inferior. Think more about your clan members.
Now that he had inherited young master Tai Wushuang's Martial Soul, he had a family and clan of his own. He would have to think of them more from now on. He needed to learn from Great Love Immortal Venerable, become Douluo Continent's Great Love Immortal Venerable, spread great love throughout the world, and put an end to the petty love of hopeless romantics.
At the thought, Yang Hao felt a sacred sense of duty.
Once he had calmed himself, he felt how strained his body was and realized that this kind of enhancement really did have its limits.
"I need to improve my physical fitness. Otherwise, if the One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul keeps growing too quickly, my body might collapse."
Beast Martial Souls were different from Tool Martial Souls. A Beast Martial Soul was possessed, binding it closely to the body. The body was its foundation.
That was why the powerful strength of a Beast Martial Soul needed an equally powerful body to bear it. If the Martial Soul became too strong and surpassed what the body could endure, possessing it by force would inevitably cause the body to collapse.
Bloodline was another factor. It was the foundation of Martial Soul Possession. This One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul was foreign to Yang Hao, and he had no matching Martial Soul bloodline. He could only force it to possess him, placing an even greater strain on his body.
"This power..."
"Can this thing devour Soul Bones, too?"
Feeling another kind of power within the Soul Bone, Yang Hao thoughtfully looked at Tai Wushuang's dried corpse. He swung his spear and split open the shriveled head. There was no skull inside, which clearly meant the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone had devoured it.
He knew that Head Soul Bone. After his elder brother refined it, he had shown Yang Hao its ability: Metal Control, which let him control metal. It was a little like Magneto from the X-Men, or Xiao Hongchen, who had a Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul.
Tai Wushuang had dared to refine a thousand-year-old Soul-Devouring Demon Spider for his First Soul Ring precisely because he had refined that Soul Bone.
When a Soul Master refined a Soul Bone, it fused with the corresponding bone. A Head Soul Bone fused with the skull. During the Douluo I era, even Tang Hao had to sever an arm or leg to remove a Soul Bone.
Now that the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone had devoured that Soul Bone, the Metal Control ability had transferred to it as well.
"Could these patterns bear seven more attributes? Is there no earth attribute because there's no matching Soul Bone to bear it?"
Yang Hao turned to look at the golden patterns on the uppermost spider leg. It was obvious that each leg could bear only one attribute, and there were eight legs in total, leaving room for seven more attributes.
Earlier, the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone had devoured and fused with the metal-attribute Head Soul Bone Tai Wushuang had refined. Now it had changed again. The logic behind it was easy to understand.
The One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul had both metal and earth attributes. Now that the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone had devoured Tai Wuji's Martial Soul and Soul Ring, there was no reason for it to strengthen only the metal attribute without showing any change to the earth attribute. The most likely explanation was that it had no corresponding Soul Bone to serve as a vessel.
He'd have to find Soul Bones of other attributes and test them later.
"Right, and those Soul-Devouring Demon Spiders. We can't waste them."
As if remembering something, Yang Hao hurriedly controlled the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone to stab and devour the energy left in the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider corpses.
This was a nest. More than a hundred Soul-Devouring Demon Spiders had been killed, and there were countless tiny Soul-Devouring Demon Spider hatchlings as well. They were all dead, and their Soul Power had turned into Soul Rings, but some power had to remain in their bodies.
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