Leveling Up Eight Times in a Row-Wait, This Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Isn't a Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!

Just then, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff moved.

Its nearly closed eyes suddenly flew open.

Its limbs clawed at the bloody mud beneath it, which had turned into a swamp, and it actually trembled as it pushed its exhausted body back up.

It stood with great difficulty, its limbs shaking uncontrollably as though it might collapse at any moment.

Its wounds split open again with the movement, blood instantly seeping out.

But it did not fall.

Supporting its battered body, it slowly raised its head and looked toward the full moon in the night sky.

Moonlight poured down, coating its bloodstained fur in a layer of silver radiance.

"Roar—!"

It let out the final long howl of its life.

The howl shook heaven and earth, echoing through the valley for a long time!

"Yip—roar!"

A young, immature howl followed.

The Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff in Yang Jian's arms imitated its mother, raising its tiny head and letting out its first long howl at the moon.

Its howl was still immature, even carrying a milky softness, yet it already possessed a faint hint of majesty.

After the howl, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff lowered its head and gave its child one final deep look.

Then, it gathered all its emotions and looked at Yang Jian.

"Roar..."

It let out a low growl. The sound was soft, yet filled with determination.

The next moment, fierce blood-red flames erupted from its body!

The flames burst forth from within, engulfing its entire body in an instant.

The blood-red flames shot into the sky, illuminating the entire valley.

At the same time, an invisible magnetic field spread from beneath its feet. It covered an area ten zhang wide, enveloping Yang Jian and the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff in his arms.

"This is..."

Yang Wudi's pupils suddenly contracted.

A sacrifice!

A sacrifice unique to Soul Beasts!

A method of offering up one's life and Soul Power without reservation, allowing a Soul Master to absorb a Soul Ring without any restrictions.

Since ancient times, records of Soul Beasts sacrificing themselves to Soul Masters had been exceedingly rare, fewer than one could count on a single hand. Yet today, Yang Wudi was not only fortunate enough to witness one—the Soul Master receiving the sacrifice was even his own grandson!

Yang Wudi looked at Yang Jian, who was enveloped by the magnetic field, his eyes filled with pride.

The blood-red flames blazed fiercely as the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's body gradually became transparent within them.

Golden light poured out from its body, turning into countless specks of light that surged toward Yang Jian and the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff in his arms.

Yang Jian stood where he was, holding the curled-up Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff in one arm and the dark gold Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear in the other. Without moving, he slowly closed his eyes.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, once he had confirmed that nothing had gone wrong with Yang Jian's absorption, Yang Wudi turned his gaze toward Luo Feng's corpse not far away, his eyes still wide open in death.

He had not forgotten the Soul Bone Skill Luo Feng had used while fleeing. There was no reason to pass up such a rare treasure.

With that thought, Yang Wudi strode toward Luo Feng's corpse.

Black light surged in his hand as he gripped the Soul-Breaker Spear tightly.

His hand rose, and the spear fell.

"Pfft!"

The tip of the Soul-Breaker Spear swept past, severing Luo Feng's right leg at the knee. Yet no blood spurted out.

The moment the severed leg hit the ground, a cloud of black mist spread from it, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

Yang Wudi frowned slightly. All his Soul Rings emerged beneath his feet, and then the first Soul Ring lit up as he thrust the Soul-Breaker Spear at the severed leg.

"Buzz—"

An invisible force of vibration spread from the spear tip, enveloping the severed leg.

The leg shook violently. Flesh and blood shattered, raining down onto the ground.

The spear tip lifted, leaving behind only a broken leg bone as black as ink.

The bone was pitch-black throughout, with faint dark patterns flowing across its surface.

The night wind passing through the gaps in the bone gave off a faint whimper, like the mournful wailing of ghosts.

More than nine thousand years—less than a hundred years away from ten thousand.

"No wonder."

Yang Wudi muttered softly.

"If it had been a true Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, then with such an enhancement, he really might have escaped from this old man."

Unfortunately, it had ultimately fallen just short.

Yang Wudi casually put away the Soul Bone, then returned to Yang Jian's side and silently stood guard.

Time passed bit by bit. Half an hour later, the magnetic field around Yang Jian suddenly began to contract.

At the same time, a distinct wave of Soul Power spread from his body.

Level eleven... level twelve... Yang Jian's Soul Power Level began to rise at a terrifying speed.

At first, there was no obvious change in Yang Wudi's expression.

But as time passed, the look on Yang Wudi's face changed from delight to shock, before finally becoming disbelief.

In less than a minute, Yang Jian's Soul Power Level had risen by eight levels!

Even with a sacrifice, even with an utterly unreserved offering of Soul Power, and even though Yang Jian had only been at level ten, an eight-thousand-year Soul Beast could never provide eight full levels of Soul Power unless...

Yang Wudi seemed to think of something. A glint flashed through his eyes, but he suppressed the speculation in his heart. Once Yang Jian woke up, everything would become clear.

A quarter of an hour later.

The magnetic field around Yang Jian completely vanished, and his tightly shut eyes finally opened slowly.

In an instant, two rays of golden light burst from his eyes, almost tangible.

They stretched for several zhang before gradually dissipating.

Wherever the golden light passed, even the air gave off faint tearing sounds.

For that instant, even Yang Wudi subconsciously averted his gaze.

"Grandfather."

Hearing Yang Jian's soft call, Yang Wudi turned his gaze back to his grandson.

"Jian'er, this Soul Ring of yours..."

He did not finish his sentence, but his meaning was already clear.

Yang Jian fell silent for a moment, then gently placed the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff from his left arm onto the ground.

Standing upright again, he raised and lowered his right hand, which held the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear.

"Buzz—"

A Soul Ring as black as ink instantly spread out from beneath Yang Jian's feet.

The Soul Ring was black and profound, like the darkest night, without a trace of any other color.

It stopped once it had expanded to a radius of five meters around Yang Jian, slowly circling beneath his feet like breathing.

"I don't know what happened either, but this Soul Ring truly is ten thousand years old."

The instant the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff sacrificed itself, Yang Jian had already known that it was a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Yet strangely, the aura it had displayed was only around eight thousand years.

So that was it!

Yang Wudi's pupils contracted sharply, though a look of understanding appeared on his face.

"Grandfather knows the reason?"

Yang Wudi took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart before speaking slowly.

"After giving birth, Soul Beasts enter a period of weakness."

He looked at Yang Jian and spoke word by word.

"If I'm not mistaken, this Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff should have been around ten thousand years old. The reason it only displayed the strength of an eight-thousand-year Soul Beast was because it had just given birth and was in its weakened period."

After hearing Yang Wudi's explanation and recalling the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's eyes, which had not yet opened when they first met, Yang Jian understood the reason. All he could say was that it had been fate.

"Oh, right. This is the Soul Bone from that Soul Saint."

Remembering something, Yang Wudi took out the Soul Bone and handed it to Yang Jian.

"Though it is not yet ten thousand years old, it is close enough. The Soul Skill this Soul Bone provides should be speed-type, and it ought to be of considerable help in your future battles."

Yang Jian looked at the Soul Bone in Yang Wudi's hand. It was indeed precious, but for some reason, he felt a faint resistance toward it. It was not because of its age, but something else he could neither explain nor understand.

"Grandfather, I..."

Just as he was about to refuse, an urgent emotional fluctuation suddenly appeared in Yang Jian's mind...