Holy Golden Beetle

In the blink of an eye, another half month had passed.

After successfully fusing with the Spirit Bone, Hu Liena's strength had risen from level 76 to level 79.

A fifty-thousand-year-old Right Leg Bone had raised her Soul Power by three levels while she was already a Soul Saint. Clearly, this Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone was of excellent quality.

Qian Yu had also made gunpowder, and even used egg whites to granulate it.

As for how powerful it was, they still needed to put it to the test.

"How did your inquiries go during this time?"

Qian Yu came to Hu Liena's room and got straight to the point.

Even while he was busy, he couldn't let Hu Liena sit idle. Besides having her train hard, he'd also sent her out to gather information, search for the Soul Beasts they needed, and look for former members of Spirit Hall.

"I've confirmed the range of one of the Soul Beasts you're looking for. As for information on former Spirit Hall members, I really did manage to find out a few things."

"The former deputy commander of Spirit Hall's Angel Legion is still alive. He led some of the Angel Legion members to join the Heaven Dou Empire. Apparently, they offered a woman with a Two-Winged Angel Martial Soul as a bargaining chip and asked Xue Beng, the Heaven Dou Emperor, to give them a place where they could survive."

Hu Liena told Qian Yu what she had learned.

"The deputy commander, Qian Guhong, is an 87th-level Soul Douluo!"

"He's still alive?"

This was something Qian Yu truly hadn't expected.

After all, Qian Guhong was his predecessor's father.

"Don't contact them for now."

After thinking it over, Qian Yu ultimately decided against relying on their strength.

They had barely managed to trade their dignity and everything they had for a life of survival. If his involvement put them in danger again, it would do more harm than good.

He had taken over someone else's body and benefited from the identity that came with it. He would remember that debt of gratitude.

But now wasn't the time to repay it.

"Fine. Let's hunt Soul Beasts first. Once we're done, find a way to track down Yan and Xie Yue."

Qian Yu felt that he had put off obtaining his First Soul Ring for far too long.

It had already been nearly half a year since he awakened his Martial Soul.

Hu Liena had no objections. After fusing with a fifty-thousand-year-old Right Leg Bone, her Soul Power had increased, and her combat strength had grown stronger too.

She was now more confident.

Then Qian Yu demonstrated the destructive power of gunpowder, and Hu Liena became even more confident.

His target for his First Soul Ring was the Holy Golden Beetle, a Soul Beast with its basic stats maxed out. Its speed, strength, and defense were all astonishing.

With Twin Martial Souls, he didn't need to worry about running out of Soul Skills. That was why he hoped the first three Soul Rings for his Angel Martial Soul would all have enhancement effects—especially percentage-based boosts.

Of course, a rule-based Soul Skill would be even better.

Bibi Dong's Eternal Wound and Undying Body were abilities he coveted greatly.

The two of them followed the directions provided by the Soul Hunting team and ventured deep into the Star Dou Great Forest, heading toward their target.

As it turned out, the information they'd bought was reliable.

They soon reached the destination. The information was reliable, all right—almost too reliable.

There wasn't just the twenty-nine-thousand-year-old Holy Golden Beetle they needed, but also one that was forty thousand years old and another that was sixty thousand years old. The strongest Holy Golden Beetle here was already close to eighty thousand years old.

Clearly, this was the Holy Golden Beetles' nest.

"Leave me that bomb you made. I'll try to lure out the twenty-nine-thousand-year-old Holy Golden Beetle. Find a place to hide, and set up bombs to protect yourself too."

Qian Yu had thought Hu Liena would back down. He hadn't expected her stubborn streak to flare up; even knowing it was dangerous, she still wanted to take the risk.

There was something Qian Yu didn't know: when Hu Liena had taken the Whale Rubber and her mind had grown hazy, she had still been thinking of Tang San.

Strictly speaking, she hadn't been thinking of Tang San, but Tang Yin.

Perhaps it was because she was obsessive, or perhaps she had fallen to an extreme. After waking and learning that Tang San had drained the life force of both her and her brother during the Soul Master Tournament, further shattering the beautiful image she had held in her heart, Hu Liena had plunged into another extreme.

The person she admired was Tang Yin, not Tang San.

Tang San was despicable. He was the one who had destroyed the beautiful image in her heart.

How to put it? Once a woman went mad and became utterly obsessed, no one could predict what she might do.

Hu Liena had now reached the point where she was determined to destroy Tang San. He was the reason Tang Yin's perfect image had been ruined.

She knew very well that Tang San had already become a god, and that she could never take revenge, no matter what she did.

But the boy who had forced Qian Renxue to sacrifice all her power still had one sliver of hope left.

For that one chance, Qian Renxue had been reduced to a wisp of remnant soul. Could she, a former Saintess of Spirit Hall, really fail to deal with a Soul Beast that wasn't even thirty thousand years old?

She had decided to stake everything too.

"Come back alive!"

Seeing the determination and madness in Hu Liena's eyes, Qian Yu knew there was no stopping her in this state.

Though he didn't know what she had gone through to reach this point, given the situation, it was to his advantage. Why should he stop her?

Qian Yu left her some of the gunpowder, then went to the valley where they had agreed to meet. He set up the gunpowder there.

Then he waited in silence!

Two days later, Hu Liena returned.

She hadn't lost an arm or a leg, but she was covered in blood.

That wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that a nearly fifty-thousand-year-old Holy Golden Beetle was following right behind her.

The Holy Golden Beetle was wounded too, but it pursued Hu Liena relentlessly.

"Did you fail?"

Seeing Hu Liena return empty-handed, Qian Yu gave a soft sigh.

But he immediately activated his Angel Domain to support her.

"Run here as fast as you can. I'm going to light the fuse."

After boosting Hu Liena, he estimated the distance between them, waited for the right moment, and lit the gunpowder fuse he had set up earlier.

At the same time, his Second Martial Soul, the Blazing Holy Sword, appeared in his hand.

His Soul Power wasn't enough to fully unleash this Soul Skill, but he could still force it to activate for a second or two.

If he found the right opening, that would be enough to kill it.

Hearing Qian Yu's words, Hu Liena immediately poured all her strength into sprinting toward him.

BOOM!

At that moment, the gunpowder buried in the valley exploded.

The fifty-thousand-year-old Holy Golden Beetle was right at the center of the blast.

Hu Liena had been only a little short of dying on the spot.