A Close Call

After resting for a while and taking some medicine, Xiaofei felt his body gradually recovering. Aside from some burns on his left hand that would need to be treated with medicine later, he had mostly recovered.

Glancing at the Earth Fire Lizard still wriggling on the ground, Xiaofei was startled. It still wasn't dead? Its vitality was far too tenacious. He then examined it carefully. This Earth Fire Lizard was around 1.7 meters long and roughly seven thousand years old. For some unknown reason, it had mutated and grown two heads.

Xiaofei had no time to think further. At this point, there was no way back. He slashed a claw at the Two-Headed Earth Fire Lizard's heart. The Two-Headed Earth Fire Lizard finally stopped wriggling, and a purple soul ring appeared above its corpse.

Xiaofei sat beside the Earth Fire Lizard and guided the soul ring onto his Fire Phoenix. Suddenly, a mountain-like force began pressing down on him.

Xiaofei's face filled with terror. "Something's wrong. There's a problem with this soul ring. This isn't a thousand-year soul ring. This is probably a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. But how could a thousand-year soul beast possess a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring? A mutated Two-Headed Earth Fire Lizard?"

"I understand now. This was actually two Earth Fire Lizards, similar to twins from my old Earth. Because of the mutation, they shared one body but had two heads. So although there's only one soul ring after killing them, it contains the energy of two soul rings. In other words, this is a purple Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, and it's as old as fourteen thousand years. Aside from lacking a spiritual shock, it completely meets the standards of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Many people probably wouldn't be able to absorb it even as their fifth soul ring."

Xiaofei groaned inwardly. This was serious trouble. The absorption had already begun, and there was no retreat. He felt as if a massive mountain were crushing him, while his body gradually began to collapse. Gritting his teeth, Xiaofei activated his two External Soul Bones and his Kirin Arm Martial Soul.

Yet all kinds of abnormalities still appeared in his body. The skin all over him began splitting open, blood constantly seeping out. In the blink of an eye, his skin was covered in blood. Then flames began rising from his body. The blood seeping from his wounds actually ignited, somewhat resembling phoenix flames.

This continued for an entire day. During that day, Xiaofei's body collapsed countless times, only for him to awaken again and again. It was somewhat like ancient death by a thousand cuts—constantly being roused, constantly suffering pain throughout his entire body, even deep in his bones. In the end, Xiaofei passed out from the pain. After he lost consciousness, both his Martial Souls and his two External Soul Bones began to glow.

Another day passed before Xiaofei slowly opened his eyes. Every bone in his body hurt, and he was completely weak, as though all the blood in his body had been drained away. He carefully exerted some strength and shifted his body. Thinking back on what had just happened, he truly felt lingering fear.

He then examined his body and discovered that he had no serious internal injuries. Looking more closely at his Meridians, he found that they had actually thickened again. It was just that he had almost no Soul Power left, and the blood in his body had nearly run dry.

Xiaofei sighed softly. "Sigh, this is troublesome."

Xiaofei slowly moved his body and used his remaining Soul Power to take out some food and medicine from his Soul Tool. He shifted himself enough to eat a little, then fell into a groggy sleep. Xiaofei lay there for nearly half a month before he could barely move around. This was the Soul Beast Forest, and in his current condition, he did not dare move recklessly. Another half month passed before his body recovered to eighty percent. He estimated that it would take another month to fully recover.

Xiaofei summoned his Martial Soul. Two yellow soul rings and one purple soul ring lit up, and his Soul Power had actually reached level 35. Summoning his Kirin Arm again, he felt that it had become even stronger. He estimated that if he absorbed another soul ring beyond his level, he could undergo a Secondary Awakening.

"Next should be the next target." Xiaofei could not help looking toward Heaven Dou City. "It's time to visit the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well too."

Half a month later, Xiaofei arrived in Heaven Dou City. After entering the city, he found a hotel first, then headed to the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Combat Arena. His funds were nearly exhausted, and after a month without fighting, he felt that only battle could help him recover better.

Xiaofei registered a new account. This time, he listed himself as twenty-two years old and level 35, naming himself "Phoenix Flames." The name came from his third soul skill.

Xiaofei's third soul skill transformed his right hand into a phoenix, somewhat similar to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Dragon Transformation. His right hand became a phoenix claw and could last for half an hour. His attack power and speed increased by fifty percent, flame damage increased by one hundred percent, piercing power increased by one hundred percent, and the physical qualities of his right arm greatly improved. Its name was Phoenix Flame Claw. This also allowed Xiaofei to partially undergo Beast Transformation.

Xiaofei had always found it strange. How could an Earth Fire Lizard possess such a skill? Could the legend be true? According to the legend, Earth Fire Lizards had evolved from ordinary lizards. Their transformation had occurred because they drank phoenix blood, which gave them a trace of Phoenix Bloodline and the ability to control flames.

Xiaofei fought seven consecutive matches at the spirit arena and won all seven. In the eighth match, he encountered someone special. After carefully examining the other party's Martial Soul and Soul Power, he found that it was actually Yu Tianheng from the Imperial Fighting Team.

Yu Tianheng was already level 36, only one level higher than Xiaofei. The two fought for around ten minutes, and Yu Tianheng ultimately lost to Xiaofei's third soul skill. He also suffered many burns across his body. However, Xiaofei had not used his Second Soul Skill. Recently, he had been studying how to manifest the Second Soul Skill—turning the sparks from Sparks Like Rain into a piercing sword, or making every feather resemble a sword.

After the match, Yu Tianheng invited Xiaofei to meet privately, but Xiaofei politely declined. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was famously domineering. If they discovered his true age, they might force him to join their clan. Most major clans were essentially like that now.

Xiaofei lingered around the great spirit arena and the Heaven Dou Auction House for some time, hoping to spot Dugu Bo and preferably learn his routine. In the end, he did not find even a trace of him. He did see Prince Xue Xing several times, however.

He could not keep waiting around in Heaven Dou City. He had to go to Sunset Forest. Moreover, Xiaofei had heard some news: next month would be Xue Ye's birthday, and it seemed there would be grand preparations, with the entire empire celebrating. At such a time, Dugu Bo, a guest of the Heaven Dou Empire, would certainly attend. Especially since Dugu Bo was the Heaven Dou Empire's only publicly known Titled Douluo.

Thus, during this period, Xiaofei fought soul beasts in Sunset Forest many times to train his body. At last, he found a Poison Mist Zone in the center of Sunset Forest. Now, all he had to do was wait for Dugu Bo to leave.

Sure enough, Heaven did not disappoint the determined. Two days before Xue Ye's birthday, Dugu Bo left Sunset Forest. Xiaofei gave a low laugh. This was the rarest opportunity. His gaze inevitably turned toward the center of the poison mist.