"Hunt a ten-thousand-year lightning-type Soul Beast?"
"That'll be a tough hunt."
"And absorbing its Soul Ring will be just as difficult."
An ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had the combat strength of a Soul King above level fifty.
Lightning-type Soul Beasts were among the strongest of their kind, with combat strength at least equivalent to a Soul Emperor.
Zhou Tong had only 23 levels of Soul Power. As a Soul Grandmaster, he couldn't take on a ten-thousand-year lightning-type Soul Beast by force. He'd have to outsmart it.
Besides, absorbing a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring placed great demands on one's constitution—and even greater demands on one's mental strength.
"To hunt a ten-thousand-year lightning-type Soul Beast, I'll first have to find a way to get an Immortal Herb from Dugu Bo and temper my body."
Zhou Tong quickly settled on his next goal.
Immortal Herbs!
More Immortal Herbs!
Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Yu Tianheng, who had lost to Zhou Tong, wore a face as dark as the bottom of a pot. He was utterly dispirited.
He could hardly believe he'd lost so easily to Zhou Tong, who was so much younger than him.
What's more, he was a Soul Elder, while his opponent was only a Soul Grandmaster.
How humiliating.
Reality had dealt a heavy blow to his pride, and he was deeply unwilling to accept it.
"Well, Tian Heng, are you giving up that easily?"
Just then, a crisp female voice, edged with a hint of teasing, rang out from afar.
A girl who looked about ten years old approached, dressed in a dark green outfit that accentuated her still-developing figure.
She had short, deep-purple hair, a pretty face, and fair skin. Her emerald-green eyes gleamed with the petulant confidence of someone used to being spoiled.
She was Dugu Yan, the undisputed queen of Heaven Dou Royal Academy and the granddaughter of Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo.
"Dugu Yan, you don't know how strong Zhou Tong's control over lightning is."
"Even the lightning power the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan prides itself on was defeated by him."
Yu Tianheng sighed heavily, feeling utterly dejected.
But disdain appeared on Dugu Yan's face.
"Have you forgotten what the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is best at?"
Her words struck Yu Tianheng like a bolt of lightning. His eyes suddenly lit up.
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's greatest strength is Dragon Transformation!"
"I'm only a Soul Elder now. I won't be able to activate Dragon Transformation until I reach Soul Ancestor."
"When that happens, Zhou Tong won't stand a chance against me!"
Yu Tianheng murmured. His aching body seemed to come back to life, and his expression brightened.
"Once I become a Soul Ancestor, I'll wash away this humiliation."
At that moment, Yu Tianheng had forgotten that he'd been the one to provoke Zhou Tong and get humiliated in the first place.
"Why wait?"
"Watch me deal with him!"
"That boy does have some backbone."
"I want to see just how capable he really is!"
As Heaven Dou Royal Academy's queen bee, Dugu Yan wanted to find out whether Zhou Tong, who had entered her territory, was all swagger or truly had the skill to back it up.
For the past few days, Zhou Tong had been training in the Mimicry Environment.
After a month of hard cultivation, the time had flown by.
On this day, dark clouds gathered above the Mimicry Environment, and Heaven Lightning poured down from them without pause.
Bolts of lightning crashed into the Thunderous Hell Vine, then coursed into Zhou Tong.
Faced with countless bolts, Zhou Tong remained perfectly still. He assimilated each one and turned it into Soul Power.
The Soul Power Level within him gradually climbed, finally reaching his current level.
"I finally broke through to level twenty-five."
"All that hard training in the Lightning Mimicry Environment paid off."
He woke from meditation and glanced around. To his surprise, he spotted a beautiful figure quietly watching him from outside.
She had short, deep-purple hair, a pretty face, and a tall, slender figure. She wasn't an absolute beauty, but she had a spirited, heroic air.
What caught his attention most was her soft waist beneath the deep-purple qipao, and her long, slender, fair legs.
At that moment, Dugu Yan and Zhou Tong's gazes met, sparks seeming to fly between them.
Dugu Yan hadn't expected him to be such a handsome young man, with striking brows and bright eyes.
He was quite good-looking.
Although Dugu Yan had plenty of admirers at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, there was something unique about this boy that left her feeling oddly captivated.
She became interested in Zhou Tong at once.
But her way of showing interest in a man was to fight him first.
"I'm Dugu Yan, the queen of this academy."
"Zhou Tong! I hear you're a young genius, especially skilled with lightning."
"Even Yu Tianheng lost to you."
"Let's have a match."
"I hope you won't disappoint me!"
Looking at Dugu Yan, Zhou Tong was quite surprised.
He hadn't expected her to come looking for him before he had a chance to seek her out.
A confident smile tugged at Zhou Tong's lips. His opportunity had arrived.
"You want to Soul Fight me?"
"I'd be happy to."
"But as for the wager..."
Though Zhou Tong didn't spell it out, anyone who'd heard about his wager with Yu Tianheng should know he wouldn't fight for free.
"I understand. One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. How does that sound?"
Dugu Yan said. A million Gold Soul Coins was no small sum, and she didn't have a family as wealthy as Yu Tianheng's.
"Deal!"
Zhou Tong agreed immediately.
His chance to get the Immortal Herb was right in front of him. Why wouldn't he accept?
Besides, there was a reward of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.
He had to fight, no matter what.
"Then let's begin!"
Dugu Yan didn't think she would lose. She was a control-type Soul Master.
Control-type Soul Masters had a considerable advantage in fights against opponents of the same level.
What's more, both of her Soul Skills involved the highly potent poison of the Jade Phosphor Snake.
Most Soul Masters who came into contact with Jade Phosphor Snake venom would melt into a puddle of thick liquid.
She was confident she could defeat this little brat.
"First Soul Skill: Jade Phosphor Red Poison."
"Second Soul Skill: Jade Phosphor Blue Poison."
Dugu Yan immediately activated Martial Soul Possession. Her soft red lips released a vast cloud of sweet, enticing fumes.
Two yellow Soul Rings appeared. Both of her first two Soul Rings granted enhancement-type Soul Skills.
Jade Phosphor Red Poison stimulated her nerves, increasing her speed and strength by twenty percent.
Jade Phosphor Blue Poison numbed her sense of pain and increased her defense by thirty percent.
Neither Soul Ring granted an attack, but the poison mist released by the Jade Phosphor Snake was devastating.
With both Soul Rings enhancing her, Dugu Yan was extremely dangerous.
At the same time, Zhou Tong moved.
Soul Power surged through him. The Thunderous Hell Vine in his hand became countless blue-and-gold vines, swiftly spreading outward.
"Crackle!"
As the vast green poison mist swept toward him, Zhou Tong remained calm.
He watched the mist with composure and guided the Thunderous Hell Vine toward it.
Golden lightning flashed along the Thunderous Hell Vine.
The instant the golden lightning touched the poison mist, the mist seemed to encounter something terrifying.
The lightning instantly shattered the poison mist around it. No matter how the rest of the mist spread, it couldn't break through the Thunderous Hell Vine's barrier.
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