There were very few metal-type Soul Beasts around here, so Li Ang had chosen an ability for him that came from the Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign's spiritual power.
The Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign's spiritual power leaned toward the evil attribute, but it had no adverse effects on the Crystal Butterfly.
Since it could devour metal to grow and even use metal to strengthen itself, possessing powerful spiritual strength would be a fine trump card for boosting both its defense and attack.
The second trait belonged to the Heavenly Snow Woman: the trait of Ultimate Ice.
The Heavenly Snow Woman was powerful too. Mastering Ultimate Ice was like the Crystal Butterfly being born with a second trait besides metal.
In truth, the Crystal Butterfly should have mastered all three traits. Its ability to devour metal and even make use of its properties hadn't come from its innate nature or from a natural hybridization.
Instead, it stemmed from Li Ang's own bloodline, which carried the bloodline of Geo Archon Rex Lapis.
It was only because his bloodline was too strong—or, rather, too unfathomable—that the Crystal Butterfly had been able to gain a portion of Geo Archon Rex Lapis's abilities only after Li Ang had unraveled it with his own willpower.
That was already quite impressive. Though it hadn't mastered Rock Element, it still had plenty of room to grow now that it could manipulate metal.
Looking at the Crystal Butterfly he had raised for over a year, Li Ang drew a deep breath. As his hand closed and crushed the orb of light, the Soul Spirit began to fuse with it.
The Little Black Dog lay quietly beside Li Ang, its gaze fixed on the Crystal Butterfly, curiosity glimmering in its eyes.
As its age continued to increase, the Little Black Dog's intelligence grew as well. By now, it could understand everything Li Ang said, and even the speech of ordinary people.
Two deep-purple Soul Rings appeared around Li Ang, followed by a third, yellow one.
This went against the common sense of Douluo Planet.
But Li Ang's Martial Soul was Douluo Planet itself. Your common sense wasn't common sense; his was.
Feeling the third Soul Ring around him, Li Ang's eyes flickered. He could have chosen a Thousand-Year Soul Spirit, but there was a simple reason he hadn't.
A Thousand-Year Soul Spirit wouldn't be very loyal to him. By contrast, these hundred-year Soul Spirits he had raised himself would be almost completely under his control once fused with him.
Even if he reached six rings, or even eight, and wanted to choose a Soul Spirit—or a creature like a Guardian Beast—he would still choose one that was a hundred years old.
That was the best way, or rather, the way to gain the greatest control.
As Li Ang opened his eyes, he raised his hand slightly. A butterfly made entirely of crystal slowly appeared.
Its wings were transparent, as was its body. It had no visible organs and looked, all in all, like a glowing orb. If sunlight hit it, it might even reflect the light outright.
Looking at the Crystal Butterfly, Li Ang raised his hand a little. Some metal appeared in his palm.
It was all Blue Pregnancy Metal.
He had extracted and forged this Blue Pregnancy Metal, and every piece was Thousand Refinement Grade One material.
For the past three years, he had focused mainly on learning Spirit Refinement. But he had no special advantage in Spirit Refinement, so learning it had been exceptionally difficult.
He had barely managed to grasp the Spirit Refinement forging process, but his finished products still had a high failure rate.
Of course, that was normal. Many people took ten years, or even a lifetime, to go from Thousand Refinement to Spirit Refinement.
Li Ang thought that taking three years to master Spirit Refinement was too slow, but Mu Chen was already so stunned he could hardly put it into words.
Watching the boy's talent, he sometimes found it terrifying. At times, he even wondered if he'd wasted all those years of his life.
But he couldn't say that to Li Ang. He had to maintain the image of a master craftsman.
Li Ang watched the Little Butterfly in his palm slowly draw closer. As the Blue Pregnancy Metal in his hand began to melt, it gradually seeped into the butterfly's body, giving it a faintly translucent sheen.
Feeling the aura of Thousand Refinement Grade One radiating from the butterfly, Li Ang's expression turned unusually strange.
"So, if you can devour high-strength metal, you can keep getting stronger."
"Even if you can't maintain this state for long, you can keep increasing your strength as long as you devour enough metal."
As Li Ang muttered to himself, he rubbed his chin. There were no cameras here, and these were all his own Guardian Beasts, so he didn't feel any need to hold back his thoughts.
As he lightly tapped the butterfly, tremendous force suddenly struck. The Little Butterfly's body was smashed to the ground, but less than two seconds later, it rose gently into the air again. The aura of Thousand Refinement Grade One around it, however, began to rapidly fade.
"So, after devouring metal, you can expend it to get stronger. You'd make a pretty good assassin."
As he spoke, Li Ang imagined the traits this Little Butterfly might provide him.
The Little Butterfly clearly had a high level of intelligence and could understand human speech.
Seeing Li Ang like this, it slowly flew into his palm. Then its entire body dissolved, turning into a warm current that covered his skin.
Li Ang felt something cover his skin and froze for a moment.
He stared at his hands. The Little Butterfly had dissolved completely against his palm, becoming a pool of liquid that slowly spread over his entire left arm.
Looking at the complete armor that had suddenly appeared on his left arm, Li Ang's eyes flickered.
The armor was full of the aura of Thousand Refinement Grade One, but it was only as strong as Thousand Refinement Grade One material. It also lacked the enhancement of Battle Armor.
At first glance, it didn't seem like much. But could the Little Butterfly really not be modified to work like ordinary Battle Armor?
Since it could dissolve, he could simply teach it how to take on the form of Battle Armor. That shouldn't be difficult for the Little Butterfly.
"So I basically have Battle Armor ahead of time—and living Battle Armor at that."
"If I could raise the Little Butterfly's strength to that of Four-Word Battle Armor, wouldn't it be the equivalent of genuine Four-Word Battle Armor?"
"And if it can take shape and fight, could it attack independently?"
Li Ang lowered his head slightly, his gaze fixed on his arm.
A blue sheen flickered across his arm. He suddenly threw a punch, and tremendous force burst forth.
He hadn't aimed at anything in particular.
Yet the air around him boomed as if it had exploded.
The Little Butterfly didn't increase his strength by much, but its defense was indeed formidable. It was like having the defensive power of Thousand Refinement Grade One metal.
That defense couldn't compare to his own body's, but if the Little Butterfly could become Battle Armor, the enhancement and protection it offered in the future would be unimaginable.
Even Li Ang himself was deeply tempted by this improvement.
Before you continue