Nine-Headed Xiangliu

Seeing that everyone had begun to absorb their immortal herbs, Di Lintian went up to the second floor alone.

There were seven rooms on the second floor, corresponding exactly to the seven members of the Imperial Dou Team. He pushed open the door to Na'er's room.

He saw an envelope placed on the table at a single glance.

He walked to the table, picked up the envelope, and tore it open. After scanning the contents, Di Lintian rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Returned to the Star Dou Forest."

Di Lintian stared at the only sentence on the letter, lost in thought.

Why would Na'er suddenly return to the Star Dou Forest?

Weren't they supposed to head to the Extreme North together?

Di Lintian could not fathom Na'er's reasoning. In the end, he shook his head and decided to ask her about it tomorrow.

The next day, morning light filtered through the windows, spilling onto the five people.

They opened their eyes one after another.

Di Lintian sat on the sofa in front of them, waiting for them to wake.

If it weren't for the fact that the evolution of Dugu Yan's martial soul and the changes in Ye Lingling were unknown variables, he would have already left the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"Boss, the medicinal effect of this immortal herb is truly astonishing! It increased my soul power by a full four levels; I've become a Soul Ancestor!" Oslo shouted loudly when he saw Di Lintian sitting on the sofa.

"I've reached level forty as well," Yu Feng said, standing up excitedly.

"My soul power has also increased by five levels," Yu Tianheng said after sensing his own internal state.

"Oslo and Yu Feng likely increased by more than four levels; it's just not showing yet because you haven't obtained your fourth soul rings," Di Lintian said calmly, then turned his gaze toward Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling.

Ye Lingling was the last to wake. Because she had absorbed the Seed of Life before the Ice Immortal Jade Muscle Bone, she woke up slightly later.

"My martial soul... has undergone a change," Dugu Yan said, releasing her martial soul.

Behind her, a giant emerald-green snake emerged, featuring nine hideous snake heads.

"Nine-headed snake body! Xiangliu!"

Dugu Yan's transformation exceeded Di Lintian's expectations; he had assumed she would evolve toward a dragon.

"Yes, Boss. My martial soul is now called—Nine-Headed Xiangliu," Dugu Yan nodded.

Di Lintian noticed that three of the nine heads had changed color.

Noticing Di Lintian's gaze, Dugu Yan explained, "I am a Soul Grandmaster now, so I have gained three special soul skills. The first is the Corrosive Poison Mist from the purple head on the far right, and the second is the Blood Poison from the blood-red head on the far left."

Dugu Yan pointed to the deep green main head and said, "And my original Jade Phosphorus Snake poison."

"Your martial soul evolution was a great success. Its quality is now above Tianheng's," Di Lintian remarked.

"Boss, my martial soul has also undergone a significant change," Ye Lingling said after Dugu Yan finished her introduction.

"Lingling, has your martial soul evolved as well?" Oslo, already deflated by Dugu Yan's progress, clutched his face in disbelief, his earlier excitement gone.

"Not quite that," she said, raising her hand to summon the Nine Heart Begonia.

As she held it in her palm, a pure and dense life force radiated outward, instantly permeating the entire room.

Ultimate Life.

Di Lintian was not in the least bit shocked; all of this was within his expectations. Ultimate Life was different from other ultimate attributes; its level was extremely high. Even Bi Ji, known as the ceiling of healing-type soul beasts, did not possess the Ultimate Life attribute.

Now that Ye Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia had evolved into Ultimate Life, the day she became a Titled Douluo, she would truly be able to bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh and bone. As long as Ye Lingling took action, it would be impossible for anyone to die.

"Your life attribute has been enhanced, and your healing capabilities have increased significantly."

Di Lintian did not explicitly say "Ultimate Life." The concept of ultimate attributes did not exist during the era of the first generation, and explaining it would be a waste of breath.

"By the way, Dugu Yan, have you considered it? Do you want to take the gamble?" Di Lintian took Tang San's original third soul ring out of a bag capable of storing living things.

"I trust you, Boss."

The purple head of the Nine-Headed Xiangliu instantly spat out a stream of purple toxic mist, enveloping the Human-Faced Demon Spider. A moment later, when the mist dissipated, the Human-Faced Demon Spider had already melted into a pool of foul-smelling liquid.

Only a single purple soul ring remained, floating in isolation.

"Yanzi, your martial soul is too monstrous," Yu Tianheng shivered.

"This is just the beginning. Once I finish absorbing this fourth soul ring, I'll show you what a true Source of Ten Thousand Poisons looks like." Dugu Yan tossed her light purple hair and sat cross-legged on the ground to begin the absorption.

A short while later, an anomaly occurred behind Dugu Yan. Thick, purple spider lances extended from her back, with drops of venom occasionally dripping from the tips.

The venom hissed as it hit the floor.

"Is this an external soul bone?" The five members of the Imperial Dou Team leaned in to observe the Eight Spider Lances closely.

Dugu Yan was wearing her Imperial Dou Academy uniform, which was of high quality and did not tear under the pressure of the Eight Spider Lances.

Dugu Yan's absorption was very stable, lacking the difficulty Tang San had faced.

"Ahem."

Yu Tianheng pretended to cough twice.

The five members of the Royal Team understood instantly and ducked to the side, no longer staring at the Eight Spider Lances.

"Boss, you're being way too good to Dugu Yan. When are you going to get me an external spirit bone too?" Oslo sidled up to Di Lintian, feigning envy.

"These things are found by chance, not sought. Dugu Yan just got lucky," Di Lintian said, sounding inscrutable.

Two figures, a man and a woman, streaked across the sky above the Star Dou Forest. They did not linger in the outer perimeter, flying straight to the mixed zone before touching down on the ground.

"The mixed zone already has a small number of ten-thousand-year soul beasts. We shouldn't be too conspicuous."

Di Lintian reined in his soul power and walked forward.

The two did not stop in the mixed zone either. Qian Renxue's target was a soul beast of around fifty thousand years; the habitat for such high-age soul beasts was the boundary between the mixed zone and the core zone.

Di Lintian's thoughts were set firmly on the core zone. If he didn't have to hide his identity as a soul beast for the time being, he would have flown straight to the eighty-thousand-year Holy Light Pegasus.

Outside the Star Dou Forest, in a small town.

"Brother Pufferfish, Brother Snake Spear, we four brothers truly met too late! Come, drink!" Mystic Water pulled Snake Spear, Pufferfish, and Red Fire to sit inside an inn, downing large gulps of wine.

"Brother Mystic Water, the Young Mistress has already entered the Star Dou Forest. How can you and I still be drinking?" Pufferfish and Snake Spear tried to leave, but were held back firmly by the other two.

"No need to rush. Our Second Elder, Thunder God Douluo, is right by the Young Pavilion Master's side. With the protection of Thunder God Douluo, what could possibly go wrong?" Mystic Water draped an arm over Snake Spear's shoulder.

"Thun... Thunder God Douluo?"

"The Thunder God Douluo known as the Valkyrie, Yu Yuzheng," Pufferfish confirmed.

"Nothing to worry about now, come, drink!" Mystic Water raised his cup again and drained it in one go.

There was no Thunder God Douluo protecting them from the shadows; only Di Lintian and Qian Renxue had entered the Star Dou Forest.

As for Red Fire, he had been assigned by Di Lintian to Shrek Academy to keep an eye on Xiao Wu.

Long before they set out, Di Lintian had issued orders to the two of them: one was responsible for stalling Pufferfish and Snake Spear, and the other was responsible for ensuring Xiao Wu did not escape.

ps: There is no information regarding Ultimate Life in the second installment of the series. Even Zhuang Yusen, who possessed the Tree of Life martial soul, was never described as having Ultimate Life, and Bi Ji was not introduced as such either. If they were Ultimate Life, the author surely would have introduced it.

Consider this a little bit of fan-fiction by the author~(￣▽￣~)~