He also felt regret and frustration. Last time, he'd lost in such a humiliating way.
"I'll be so lonely without you as my punching bag."
She'd been working twice as hard these past few days and had finally mastered Ring Fusion. She'd been all set to get her revenge, but now the damn guy was leaving.
"How can you be like this!"
"You're so petty!"
Ma Xiaotao was beside herself. How could he be so shameless?
"I'm just stating a fact."
Yang Hao's expression was calm, but inside, he was delighted.
Master Lu was right after all: happiness built on other people's misery was the truest kind of happiness.
"Let's go!"
Seeing the boy rile the girl up again, Feng Ling, who'd been watching from the side, chuckled and urged him on.
"I'll bring back the bodies of Shrek's people for you to use as punching bags."
Waving goodbye, Yang Hao followed Feng Ling away.
Wan Hun and Sleep Nightmare followed behind them. Wan Hun had pledged his loyalty to Yang Hao, the Holy Son, long ago; Sleep Nightmare had been recommended by Wan Hun, and the two were friends to begin with.
Wan Hun needed souls to increase his strength, while Sleep Nightmare needed to devour other people's mental power and negative emotions. Their Martial Souls complemented each other perfectly.
Besides, Sleep Nightmare's help as a Soul Master specializing in mental power had been needed for the earlier Soul Spirit research, so Yang Hao had taken him in.
Neither Zhongli Wu nor Feng Ling objected. After all, Yang Hao was the Holy Son, and he needed people of his own.
"You wouldn't dare!"
Ma Xiaotao was furious—truly furious. At the same time, she silently prayed that they wouldn't run into anyone from the academy.
Feng Ling led Yang Hao out of the Holy Spirit Cult's main altar. They first slipped into the Evil Demon Forest and hunted insect-type Soul Beasts, especially spiders.
After that, they went after elemental Soul Beasts to strengthen Yang Hao's Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone—not only the Soul Bone itself, but also the elemental powers within it.
After taking Yang Hao as her disciple, Ye Xishui had ordered a search for the locations of these Soul Beast populations, preparing to hunt and devour them.
With the Holy Spirit Cult scouring the land, every major Soul Beast forest had been searched and thoroughly documented.
Now the two of them only had to visit the marked locations and reap the harvest one by one. It would be much faster.
This was where the Gold of Life came into play. The Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone's devouring wasn't perfect; it couldn't fully refine what it consumed.
Even with the Chaos attribute, it could only bear the power. But the Gold of Life had a powerful corrosive effect.
The Golden Hawksbill Turtle was a clear example. The Gold of Life had devoured it in return, draining its cultivation and life force until it was nearly wrung dry.
All that power had become part of the Gold of Life, leaving it exceptionally pure.
The same thing was happening now. The Gold of Life corroded and absorbed the chaotic power brought in through devouring. Anything it couldn't absorb was expelled, keeping the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone pure. This greatly raised the upper limit and potential of its devouring.
They spent a month making their way through the Evil Demon Forest, then headed to other small and medium-sized Soul Beast habitats across the Sun Moon Continent, including the place where the Blue Silver Emperor lived.
By the time Yang Hao reached the Blue Silver Valley at the appointed time, Ye Xishui was already waiting there. Beside her lay the Blue Silver Emperor, beaten half to death.
This Blue Silver Emperor had survived three tribulations and had reached the level of a Ferocious Beast. It wouldn't be easy to capture, so Ye Xishui had come in person.
"Teacher!"
Seeing Ye Xishui, Yang Hao hurried over and saluted.
"Supreme Sect Leader!"
Feng Ling and the other two followed him in paying their respects.
"Begin."
Ye Xishui gestured. She had personally come to subdue this Blue Silver Emperor.
"Yes, Teacher."
Without hesitation, Yang Hao spread the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone on his back and drove its wood-element spider leg into the Blue Silver Emperor, controlling it to begin devouring.
The Blue Silver Emperor had been crippled and couldn't fight back. It could only watch helplessly as it was devoured.
Through the connections between the Blue Silver Emperor's roots, he even devoured the life force and Soul Power of every stalk of Blue Silver Grass in the valley.
Once the devouring was complete, golden patterns appeared on the wood-element spider leg, identical to the Blue Silver Emperor's. The Soul Bone Skill within it was guided through a transformation, becoming the Blue Silver Domain.
The Blue Silver Emperor also contained Thunder Spirit Power, gained by resisting tribulations. It was transferred into the thunder-element spider leg.
"Wan Hun, Sleep Nightmare."
Yang Hao gestured to the two of them. The Blue Silver Emperor's soul and mental power couldn't go to waste either.
"Yes, Holy Son!"
Wan Hun and Sleep Nightmare eagerly stepped forward, activating their Martial Soul Avatars to collect and devour the Blue Silver Emperor's soul and mental power.
The Blue Silver Emperor's cultivation was too high, and its soul was incredibly powerful—far stronger than Tai Jingang's last time. Wan Hun needed to activate his Martial Soul Avatar to subdue it.
The same went for its mental power. Sleep Nightmare had to activate his Martial Soul Avatar to devour it, and would need a long time to digest it.
"Use your One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul to possess yourself and refine this Soul Bone."
Ye Xishui took out an eye-shaped Soul Bone and gestured for her disciple to refine it.
With this Soul Bone bolstering his mental power, his Soul Bone devouring and evolution plan would surely go much more smoothly.
As soon as the eye-shaped Soul Bone appeared, it released powerful mental pressure, leaving Feng Ling and the other two feeling stifled.
Chapter 41: The True Son of Luck
"An eye Soul Bone? The Evil Emperor?"
Yang Hao froze. He immediately thought of the Evil Emperor, one of the Ten Great Beast Kings. The Evil Emperor had produced only one eye Soul Bone, an External Soul Bone that could evolve. It was also the key to Huo Yuhao's vertical eye evolving into an artifact in the future.
Had his teacher killed the Evil Emperor?
With his teacher's current strength, along with the Rakshasa Demon Scythe—or the Angel Holy Sword—she could indeed kill it.
Ten thousand years ago, God King Tang had used the Sea God Trident to slay the million-year-old Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. At the time, Tang San's Soul Power Level had yet to reach level ninety-nine.
"It was the Evil Emperor's. It was powerful; even my strength alone wasn't enough to kill it."
Ye Xishui nodded. She'd had her eye on the Evil Emperor's Soul Ring for a long time. She couldn't kill it on her own, but the Rakshasa Demon Scythe made all the difference. Then, with a surprise attack planned in advance, she'd killed it in one blow without causing much of a commotion.
The Evil Emperor's Son had been killed along with it, becoming one of her Soul Rings.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Yang Hao happily took the eye Soul Bone and activated his One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul to possess himself. A sideways eye appeared on his forehead.
He pressed the eye Soul Bone against it and guided his Soul Power to refine it.
Although he'd separated his One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul from his main one, he could still use it to possess himself. However, it put a heavy strain on his body and consumed a great deal of energy.
The eye Soul Bone refined smoothly. There were no remnants of a soul or will inside it; Ye Xishui must have cleaned it out.
After all, Ye Xishui's Blood Soul Demon Puppet could devour and control souls, while Bibi Dong's Rakshasa Divine Power was just as adept at controlling them. The Evil Emperor couldn't have played any tricks under the noses of those two.
As the eye Soul Bone finished fusing with him, the immense mental power within it surged into Yang Hao, increasing his mental strength by tens of thousands of times.
After all, it was the accumulated power of the Evil Emperor over hundreds of thousands of years. The difference was also so immense because Yang Hao's mental cultivation was still weak, despite his diligent practice of the Purple Demon Eye.
"Teacher, I've refined it successfully."
Feeling the boundless power within the Evil Emperor Eye Soul Bone, Yang Hao was thrilled.
What's more, now that the refinement was complete, the eye had fused with Yang Hao. It wouldn't disappear when he ended his One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul's possession, and it could see on its own—more clearly than his two natural eyes.
He didn't yet know what Soul Skill it contained, though. It had been sealed, which was the main reason he'd been able to refine it so easily.
"Finish the devouring plan as soon as possible. There'll be a surprise for you when we get back."
Ye Xishui pinched her disciple's cheek, then flew off after saying this.
She was busy during this period, searching for powerful Soul Beasts to hunt and turn into Soul Rings.
Some time ago, she'd found a million-year-old Deep Sea Demonic Whale in the ocean. After discussing it with Bibi Dong's Divine Thought, she'd decided to replace the Seventh Soul Ring of her First Martial Soul with it, maximizing the quality of her Blood Soul Demon Puppet.
The whale's Whale Pearl Soul Core could also serve as the foundation for crafting an artifact. Ten thousand years ago, Sea God Tang San had used the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's Whale Pearl to remake the Sea God's Heart, proving just how much potential a million-year-old Soul Beast's Soul Core held.
But a million-year-old Soul Beast was no ordinary foe. She'd need to use an artifact, and prepare thoroughly.
When the time came, she'd absorb the Soul Ring and bring back the Soul Bone for her disciple to devour. It would surely help raise his Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone to the million-year level and open the Path to Godhood for him.
She now believed she could cultivate to level one hundred and become a demigod. That would greatly extend her lifespan, allowing her to live at least a thousand years. If she gathered enough Faith Power, she might even create her own godhood and become a deity.
She hoped her disciple could become a god too, so that he could live as long as she did. She couldn't bear the thought of watching her beloved disciple grow old and die one day.
"The Supreme Sect Leader has changed so much."
Feng Ling glanced at the boy, unable to understand how he'd managed it.
The Supreme Sect Leader had once been cruel and vicious, her moods as unpredictable as the wind. Even Feng Ling and Zhongli Wu had feared her.
But over the past three years, they'd clearly felt her change. She was no longer so cold; she even seemed gentle.
And that boy was the source of it all. Feng Ling truly couldn't understand how he'd done it.
Yang Hao said nothing. He'd certainly made an effort in that regard, but more than anything, Ye Xishui had been kind by nature from the start. It was only her later experiences that had driven her to extremes, much like Bibi Dong ten thousand years ago.
He'd merely brought that kindness back to the surface.
After devouring the Blue Silver Emperor, Yang Hao and the others left the Sun Moon Empire and entered the Far North on Douluo Continent. The Far North was vast; it took them three months to make a full circuit. They then headed south into Sunset Forest, and by the time the year was drawing to a close, they'd continued south to Star Luo City.
The Strength Clan's territory lay just outside Star Luo City. They'd chosen to come at the end of the year because the Strength Clan held its ancestral rites then, and all its members returned.
Most of the Strength Clan's people stayed at home forging iron. Blacksmithing was the clan's main livelihood, so few of its members were away on the road. That meant they could catch them all together.
They didn't attack right away, since the Strength Clan's ancestral rites were still a few days away.
Feng Ling suggested taking a few days to relax. They'd been living rough for a long time, and that child had spent the whole time killing, honing himself, and devouring. The killing intent he'd accumulated had grown frighteningly strong; he needed a chance to ease up.
But Yang Hao went to the White Tiger Duke Mansion instead. As he approached, he could faintly sense an immense reserve of luck lying dormant there. It must be Huo Yuhao, the Child of Luck.
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