His bones gave off a faint series of cracks. His muscles swelled, his blood surged like a mighty river, and a dark golden sheen shimmered beneath his skin.
The essence of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, renowned for its strength and defense, was rapidly strengthening his body!
Within a few breaths, the enormous Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear vanished completely. All that remained was a pool of dark red blood and a floating Soul Ring radiating a deep purple glow.
Within the Soul Ring, the faint, savage phantom of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear seemed to roar silently.
Little Gold let out a satisfied burp. The golden light around it dimmed, but the mountain-like weight of its strength and the heart-stopping sharpness of its claws were impossible to hide.
It returned to Yu Tianlong's side and nuzzled him affectionately, sending the thoughts, "Strong. Satisfied. Want more."
Yu Tianlong fought back the urge to throw his head back and roar. Feeling the surging power within him, he looked at the purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring, his eyes free of hesitation.
He turned and glanced at Yu Xiaogang, whose face was deathly pale and whose gaze was confused, then suddenly spoke.
"Xiao Gang, do you want to let your Luo Sanpao give it a try too? Maybe what it needs isn't sticking to the rules, but a little... stimulation?"
This was his final gesture of goodwill. If Yu Xiaogang seized the chance and let his Luo Sanpao devour some of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's lingering aura or flesh, perhaps it could awaken a trace of its potential.
But Yu Xiaogang was in complete disarray. He was terrified by the extraordinary sight before him, jealous that Yu Tianlong had gained such a "stroke of fortune," and stubbornly unwilling to admit, deep down, that his "research" might be wrong.
He shook his head violently and stumbled back two steps as if avoiding a plague, his voice shrill.
"No! Don't! This is nothing but an unorthodox path! A Martial Soul eating a Soul Beast? I've never heard of such a thing! There must be something wrong with it! You'll suffer a backlash! And you're going to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring too? You're insane! Completely insane!"
Seeing him like this, the last trace of regret in Yu Tianlong's heart faded. Some people could never be woken up.
"If that's how it is, then we're on different paths." He stopped looking at Yu Xiaogang and turned toward the purple Soul Ring, sitting down cross-legged.
With a thought, Golden Luo San Pao became a streak of light and entered his body, resonating powerfully with the purple Soul Ring.
"Uncle, please stand guard for me."
After speaking, Yu Tianlong closed his eyes and used his Soul Power to draw the deep purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring toward him. It drifted over and began to settle around his body.
The Soul Ring descended upon him!
"Boom—!"
A violent, savage Soul Power, filled with a tearing force, burst into Yu Tianlong like a dam breaking! It was the Soul Power of a two-thousand-year-old Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear—overbearing and unstoppable, smashing through him as if intent on tearing apart every inch of his meridians and every bone in his body!
Pain crashed over him like a landslide. Yu Tianlong grunted, his face turning scarlet in an instant as veins bulged across his forehead. His body trembled uncontrollably.
A sneer of almost gleeful anticipation appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face. See? I told you it would happen. You overestimated yourself. You're asking for death...
But the next instant, an equally domineering yet far purer golden power erupted within Yu Tianlong!
It was the power Little Gold had returned to him—the origin of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear it had just devoured, "filtered" and "transformed"!
This power didn't fight the invading Soul Power. Instead, like a perfect guide and soothing balm, it quickly blended into Yu Tianlong's Soul Power, leading the violent force along a profound path as it circulated, refined, and absorbed it!
Yu Tianlong's trembling gradually subsided. The flush faded from his face, and a faint golden radiance even shone through his skin.
Inside him, his Soul Power surged wildly, his meridians expanded, and his constitution underwent a complete transformation as the power of the Soul Ring and Little Gold's returned energy tempered him together!
Time passed, moment by moment. Yu Yuanzhen went from tense, to surprised, and finally to utterly stunned.
At last, Yu Tianlong opened his eyes. A flash of golden light passed through them and vanished. He rose to his feet, and a steady, weighty surge of Soul Power, clearly surpassing that of a level-eleven Soul Master, rolled out from him.
"Level thirteen." Feeling the change within him, he smiled. His First Soul Ring had raised him by two levels at once! And the quality of his Soul Power far surpassed that of others at the same level!
Right after that, information about his First Soul Skill naturally surfaced in his mind.
Just then, an unexpected event occurred!
Perhaps drawn by the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's death and the fluctuations from its Soul Ring, a three-meter-long Green Wind Wolf, its body a dark greenish-black and its eyes cunning and vicious, darted silently out of the woods to the side.
It lunged straight at Yu Tianlong, who had just absorbed his Soul Ring and seemed not to have steadied his aura yet! It was as fast as a green bolt of lightning, its foul breath rushing over him!
"Beast! You dare!" Yu Yuanzhen shouted, about to strike.
"Uncle, let me handle it!" Yu Tianlong laughed boldly, his thoughts racing.
"Little Gold, use your First Soul Skill—Golden Dragon Claw!"
Little Gold sprang forward and extended its forepaw.
The golden light rapidly spread and reshaped itself, instantly forming a phantom dragon claw over a meter long, covered in fine golden scales, its five fingers fierce and fearsome. It shrouded Little Gold's right arm and hand!
Most striking of all were the hooked claws extending from the tips of its five fingers. Each was half a foot long, curving like a hook and glinting with a dark golden chill!
The savage phantom of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear faintly coiled around the claw, but deeper within, a far more ancient and noble dragon might was awakening!
As the Green Wind Wolf lunged at it, Little Gold's right arm, wrapped in the phantom Golden Dragon Claw, swung straight at the wolf's head!
"Riiiip—!!!"
The skin-crawling sound of leather tearing rang out.
There was no violent collision, no clash of glowing Soul Skills. There was only a streak of dark golden claw-light, cutting effortlessly through the Green Wind Wolf's tough fur, muscles, and bones like a hot knife through butter!
The Green Wind Wolf's lunge came to an abrupt halt. Bloodlust and confusion still lingered in its eyes, but momentum carried its enormous body through the air, split cleanly into two. Its organs and blood poured down like a waterfall. It slammed to the ground, twitched twice, then fell still. A pale purple Soul Ring slowly appeared above it.
One strike! A one-hit kill against a thousand-year-old Green Wind Wolf!
The scene fell deathly silent.
Yu Xiaogang's mouth hung open, his eyes wide as if he'd witnessed the most unbelievable sight in the world.
Th-that was Luo Sanpao's Soul Skill? That fierce, mighty golden dragon claw? That terrifying power to tear through anything?
What did that have to do with the "farting thunder" and "defensive support" in his research? Not even half a Copper Soul Coin's worth!
Yu Yuanzhen stood stunned for a full three breaths, then sucked in a sharp breath. An uncontrollable look of delight burst across his face, and even his voice broke with excitement.
"Good! Good! What a Golden Dragon Claw! What a Yu Tianlong! Hahahaha! A genius! This is a true genius! A Martial Soul that devours Soul Beasts, absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring beyond its level, and a First Soul Skill with such power! Wonderful, wonderful! There's hope for the revival of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan! Hope for its rise!"
The family's future seemed to have gained a wholly different new star—one that might shine even brighter!
Yu Yuanzhen strode over to Yu Tianlong, clapped him hard on the shoulder, and declared in a ringing voice.
"Tianlong! Once we return, I'll double your monthly allowance! Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins a month! The first floor of the family treasury will be open to you! Ask for whatever you need! The family will spare no effort to cultivate you!"
His words landed like a stone tossed to the ground. In front of Yu Xiaogang, he was giving Yu Tianlong his highest recognition and pledge.
Yu Tianlong could feel the elder's genuine joy and esteem. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Uncle! Tianlong won't let the family down!"
Yu Yuanzhen laughed heartily. The more he looked at Yu Tianlong, the more he liked him. He almost wished Yu Tianlong were his own son.
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang had passed through shock and confusion. Now he listened as his father lavished praise on Yu Tianlong and promised him the generous rewards of "ten thousand Gold Soul Coins" and "access to the treasury."
Compared with the hundred Gold Soul Coins he received and the way no one paid him any attention, a scorching, indescribable bitterness—jealousy, resentment, and hatred—gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake!
He stared at Yu Tianlong's confident, spirited profile, at the phantom Golden Dragon Claw fading away but still striking fear into the heart, and at the Green Wind Wolf's corpse, killed with such ease.
Finally, his gaze fell upon the pale golden Luo Sanpao at his feet. It was still cringing and trembling under the lingering waves of that terrifying aura.
Why?!
How was this fair?!
They both had Luo Sanpao! How could his devour Soul Beasts, absorb a Soul Ring beyond its level, and possess such a terrifying Soul Skill? How could Yu Tianlong receive all the praise, all the resources, all the attention?
And why was Yu Xiaogang the only one left to be a good-for-nothing, a laughingstock—even someone his own father couldn't be bothered to look at?!