All three spoke in unison, and the air seemed to freeze under the weight of their shock.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast sacrificing itself!
How many Soul Masters had ever seen such a thing? Most had never even heard of it.
This wasn't like buying a cabbage at the market. It was a heaven-sent opportunity that could send any Soul Master soaring to the heavens on the spot.
Tang Wu drew a deep breath of the bone-chilling air of the Far North, forcibly calming the frantic pounding in his chest.
He didn't rush to agree. Instead, he stared straight into the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor's six shadowy eyes and asked in a low voice:
"Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor, why do you want to sacrifice yourself for me? I want to know the reason."
When such incredible fortune dropped into an ordinary person's lap, they would have rushed to accept it, overjoyed.
But Tang Wu hadn't lost sight of himself.
He knew all too well that there was no such thing as a free lunch. And if there was, a debt too heavy to repay was sure to be lurking behind it.
He had never heard of a Soul Beast possessing a human, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"You're remarkably composed."
The Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor's three tails swayed lightly, and undisguised admiration shone in his six eyes.
"Faced with such an incredible opportunity, I'd have happily accepted it right away."
Far from being displeased by Tang Wu's caution, he found himself liking the young man more and more.
This was the one he had chosen.
Greedy, but not without reason. Calm, but not without courage.
Then the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor lifted his head and gazed at the gray sky, forever shrouded in dark clouds, letting out a long sigh.
His sigh held the weight of time, resentment, and relief.
"It's simple. I don't have much time left."
He lowered his head and saw the undisguised astonishment on the faces of the three. He shook his head with a rueful laugh.
Bitterness filled his smile.
"I know why you're so surprised. The voluntary sacrifice of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to a human is a rare occurrence on the Douluo Continent."
"Our Mirror Shadow Beast clan can transform into countless forms, mimicking other Soul Beasts and gaining their abilities."
"But that very ability has made us subject to the laws of this world. We'll never break through the Hundred-Thousand-Year threshold."
"Once we reach a hundred thousand years, the tribulation that descends upon our clan is three times as powerful as the one other Soul Beast clans face."
"All these years, I only managed to break through the hundred-thousand-year mark thanks to a stroke of fortune."
"But even so, my source has been damaged and my life force has dwindled severely... I won't live for more than a few years."
Tang Wu, Tang San, and Dugu Bo all nodded slightly, turning the matter over in their minds.
It made sense...
Every clan had its own gifts and limitations.
If a whole group of Hundred-Thousand-Year Mirror Shadow Beasts roamed the continent, their ability to mimic other clans—even at just seventy percent of the original's strength—would be enough to turn the Douluo Continent upside down.
Every species was born with different strengths.
Take a Soft Bone Rabbit and a dragon. If both had a hundred thousand years of cultivation, could the rabbit really beat the dragon?
The answer was obvious...
Before a dragon, a Soft Bone Rabbit was little more than a snack to whet its appetite. One crunch, and it was gone.
"I'm sorry." Tang Wu fell silent for a moment, then raised his head, his gaze still clear.
"That reason isn't convincing enough. I can't trust you completely."
Even though the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor spoke with heartfelt sincerity, Tang Wu still hadn't let down his guard entirely.
"The continent is vast. Why... did you choose me in particular?"
Exactly!
The wariness Tang San and Dugu Bo had just set aside returned at Tang Wu's words.
The two of them edged half a step closer to Tang Wu without drawing attention to themselves.
But the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor showed no anger. Instead, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
He spoke without a hint of haste, his tone confident and gentle.
"It's quite simple..."
"From the moment you stepped into the Far North Snow Forest, I could sense your abundant life force from thousands of miles away."
To put Tang Wu completely at ease and let him feel his goodwill, he continued explaining.
"More importantly, just as I was running out of time, you happened to need a Mirror Shadow Beast's Soul Ring."
"It all feels as if it were destined, as though someone had arranged everything."
At that, the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor paused, his six eyes narrowing slightly, as if recalling something from long ago.
"I once encountered a nine-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year Ice Silkworm."
"Who would have thought that the weakest creatures in the Soul Beast Realm, the Ice Silkworms, could reach such a level just by being lucky?"
The Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor's meaning was simple enough.
What he couldn't accomplish himself might not be beyond Tang Wu.
Ever since the last god ascended ten thousand years ago, the Douluo Continent had been quiet for far too long.
Rather than wait to die in this frozen wasteland, he'd rather take a gamble.
A gamble could turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.
In short, the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor desperately wanted to advance.
But the bombshell he'd dropped left Tang San and Dugu Bo thunderstruck.
"N-nine hundred and ninety thousand years?" Dugu Bo's voice trembled, all the color draining from his face.
"C-could a Soul Beast really live that long?"
Even a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was already beyond his ability to fight, let alone a being far older than that.
He couldn't begin to imagine how powerful a being at that level would be.
Tang San fared a little better. He knew only that the age was incredibly high, without any real understanding of what it meant.
He simply clenched his fist, his knuckles turning slightly white.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm...
If he remembered correctly, that seemed to be a character who wouldn't appear until the second installment.
At the information revealed by the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor, a flicker of understanding passed through Tang Wu's eyes.
He knew that several more installments of Douluo Continent followed, though he hadn't looked into them in detail. He only knew the broad strokes of the plot.
Still, that was enough.
Now that he understood what had led to this, he had nothing left to worry about.
Tang Wu drew a deep breath, then slowly broke into a bright smile.
His earlier caution and solemnity vanished, and the lively Tang Wu was back.
He rubbed his hands together, looking just like a crooked merchant who'd spotted a bargain and couldn't wait to snap it up.
"Great! In that case, let's get the sacrifice started! I can't wait—"
"Mm. I have a lot of energy, so remember to bear with it."
As his voice fell, an invisible force field abruptly enveloped Tang Wu.
Once the sacrifice began, there was no stopping it.
The Mirror Shadow Beast's hundred-thousand-year source was simply too vast for Tang Wu, who was still a Soul Elder.
If not for the awakened Blue Silver Emperor and its astonishing recovery speed, he really would have been bawling for his parents.
The sacrifice proceeded smoothly and without a hitch, even more easily than they'd expected.
By the time the blood-red Soul Ring settled into the position of Tang Wu's fourth ring, the process was drawing to a close.
The Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor's form was now almost entirely insubstantial and transparent, as if he could vanish at any moment.
"By the way..."
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast always produces a Soul Bone. I've chosen the strongest Soul Bone of our Mirror Shadow Beast clan for you: a Head Soul Bone."
At that moment, the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor reminded Tang Wu of one last thing.
Tang Wu had no reason to refuse. Delighted, he nodded in agreement.