It was a head Soul Bone, dazzling as a gem and colored a deep silver-gray throughout. A faint sheen flowed across its surface, as though starlight were coursing within.
It wasn't as outlandish as the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor's true form, with its six eyes, but a third eye was still embedded vertically in the Soul Bone's forehead.
Lines extended from both sides like veins to the ears, giving it an overall appearance that was both mysterious and exquisite.
As Dugu Bo looked at the Clear Eyes and Sharp Ears Head Soul Bone, his breathing suddenly quickened.
The emerald Soul Power hidden around his right wrist began to seep out involuntarily, like a venomous snake, sensing its prey and stirring restlessly.
Deep in his heart, an uncontrollable greed grew like wild grass.
He already had a Head Soul Bone, but with a treasure of this caliber right before him, who would complain about having too many?
Besides...
Even if Dugu Bo couldn't use it himself, couldn't he give it to Yanyan to absorb?
The girl had good talent. With a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone at her disposal, her path ahead would be much smoother.
His fingers curled slightly.
"Forget it..."
After a long while, Dugu Bo took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the surging greed.
"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone like this belongs only to someone blessed with great fortune. It's not something I can claim for myself."
In the end, he gave up on the idea of taking it.
It wasn't that he didn't want to. He didn't dare.
It would be fine if he succeeded, but what if he failed?
The Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor had willingly sacrificed itself to Tang Wu. If Dugu Bo took the Soul Bone but Tang Wu escaped his pursuit...
The chosen one personally selected by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would grow for a few decades, then chase him to the ends of the earth.
What's more, Tang San was standing right beside them. Neither of those brothers was someone to trifle with.
It was only after considering all this that Dugu Bo completely stamped out the improper notion in his heart.
He withdrew his gaze, folded his arms, and struck an aloof pose that said, "As if I'd want the thing."
Meanwhile, the Soul Power inside Tang Wu continued to surge wildly.
The instant he obtained the Soul Ring, the bottleneck at level forty shattered.
It was like a flood bursting through a dam. Nothing could hold it back anymore.
The Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor's vast Spiritual Origin poured into Tang Wu like a river breaking its banks.
His Soul Power Level climbed at a visible pace.
Forty-one, forty-two, forty-three... It soared all the way to level forty-seven before finally coming to a halt.
Level forty-seven.
He was only three levels away from absorbing his fifth Soul Ring.
Tang Wu slowly opened his eyes. A flash of silver flickered in them and vanished.
He took a deep breath and summoned his Martial Soul.
Four Soul Rings appeared one after another beneath his feet.
Yellow, purple, purple, red.
The last Soul Ring was a startling blood-red.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
This utterly astonishing Soul Ring Configuration was laid bare before Tang San and Dugu Bo.
The air fell silent for a moment.
"That kid Tang Wu really hit the jackpot."
Dugu Bo's tone was sour, his eyes brimming with envy and resentment.
He was a dignified Titled Douluo who had lived for more than half his life, yet he hadn't managed to get his hands on a single Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Meanwhile, that brat across from him had one handed to him on a silver platter as soon as he broke through to Soul Ancestor.
Anyone would feel bitter at such a stark contrast, wouldn't they?
Tang San didn't say anything, but a trace of envy flickered in his eyes.
It passed in an instant, though.
As a devoted older brother, what could be happier than seeing his little brother soar to new heights?
"Xiao Wu, what does your fourth Soul Skill do? Is it what we thought it would be?"
Tang San couldn't help asking.
Faced with his own older brother's question, Tang Wu had no intention of hiding anything. He grinned.
"Brother, my fourth Soul Ring gives me two Soul Skill abilities."
As he spoke, he raised his hand. Blue Silver Grass surged across his palm as he began a demonstration on the spot.
"First, Blue Silver Thousand Strange Transformations."
As the words left his mouth, the Blue Silver Grass in his palm abruptly swelled, twisted, and changed shape.
First, it became a silver-gray giant wolf, its fangs bared and its gaze fierce. Then it turned into a nimble leopard, with long limbs and sleek, well-defined muscles.
Finally, it leaped into the air and transformed into a giant eagle with wings outstretched. It circled overhead once before slowly landing.
These Soul Beasts, formed from Mimicked Blue Silver Grass, didn't just look the part. Even the Soul Power fluctuations they gave off carried faint traces of the originals.
They inherited seventy percent of the abilities of the Mirror Shadow Beasts they Mimicked.
That meant that as long as Tang Wu had enough Soul Power, he could conjure an entire army of Soul Beasts by himself.
"Second, Mirror Shadow Myriad Transformations."
Tang Wu drew back the Blue Silver Grass and took a deep breath. His body began to change.
A fine layer of blue-gray scales quickly appeared across his arms, their cold, metallic sheen glinting in the icy light.
They were dragon scales, with a defense so absurdly strong it was almost unfair.
He casually slapped the nearby ice wall. The wall shattered, but his arm was completely unharmed.
Next, his shoulder blades bulged sharply, and a pair of broad blue-gray wings burst through his back. With a powerful beat, they lifted him three feet into the air and sent a gust of wind surging outward.
"These wings belong to the Wind Shadow Falcon." Tang Wu spun halfway around in the air and said with a grin,
"Running away will be a lot easier from now on."
He landed, and the wings slowly folded away, vanishing as if by magic.
"Most importantly..." Tang Wu raised a finger and emphasized his next words:
"The fourth Soul Skill's enhancement comes from a hundred percent boost to the original Soul Beast's physique, not from my own."
"Hiss—"
Dugu Bo sucked in a sharp breath, shock written all over his old face.
It was calculated based on a Soul Beast's physique?
Everyone knew that humans excelled in intelligence, while Soul Beasts excelled in strength.
Apart from Defense-type Soul Masters who specialized in defense, Soul Masters of other types simply couldn't match Soul Beasts of the same level in hard measures like stamina, strength, and resistance.
What did that mean?
It meant that from now on, when Tang Wu faced Soul Masters who weren't too many levels above him, it would be like an adult facing a child.
They wouldn't even be in the same league.
"You little brat... How can you be this ridiculously overpowered?"
Dugu Bo couldn't help cursing. His tone was no longer sour; only pure shock remained.
"Once you absorb this Head Soul Bone, you'll be almost level fifty."
The Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor's figure had grown increasingly indistinct, nearly transparent, as though the wind might scatter it at any moment.
"Don't forget our agreement."
It lowered its head and gave the Mirror Shadow Beasts below one last look.
The creatures, large and small, gazed up at it. Tears glimmered in all six of their eyes, but not one made a sound.
"All right, don't crowd around here. Everyone, go on now."
The words had barely fallen when the Mirror Shadow Beasts raised their heads and howled as one.
Their mournful cries lingered over the icy plain, shaking snow from the treetops and startling birds from their distant roosts.
Once Soul Beasts passed fifty thousand years, their intelligence developed by leaps and bounds.
Soul Beasts that had lived for eighty or ninety thousand years were already no less intelligent than an ordinary human adult.
They all understood that from this day onward, their leader would vanish from this world forever.
"Since I'm going to die anyway, I have no use for this anymore... Give it back to your master."
Before it vanished completely, the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor took a large mass of silver-white Spiritual Origin from its Sea of Consciousness.
With no one left to control it, the Spiritual Origin drifted slowly through the air, breaking into countless points of light that flew south.
Then its body turned into countless tiny particles of light, like fireflies flowing backward, and fused piece by piece into the Head Soul Bone.
The silver-gray Soul Bone grew faintly warm, and its third eye slowly closed.
Everything fell still.