Xiao Wu's Sacrifice!

"I agree!"

When those five words slipped from Xiao Wu's trembling lips, it was as if the last shred of strength had been drained from her entire body.

She slowly closed her bright, lively eyes. Two streams of tears slid down her fair cheeks and fell onto the rough tree trunk.

Ling Xuqing looked at the girl before him, who was willing to give up everything for revenge and survival. A complicated emotion flickered deep in his eyes, but it was quickly buried beneath the absolute rationality brought by the Golden Dragon King Bloodline.

He released his grip on Xiao Wu's throat and slowly raised his right hand, palm up. In a voice that sounded almost sacred yet brooked no defiance, he said:

"Then give me your body and soul, your spirit, your everything."

Xiao Wu did not hesitate again. She took a deep breath of the air, fragrant with night dew and grass and trees, then abruptly opened her eyes.

Her eyes, once pink, held no fear now—only resolve and a deep longing.

She rose onto her toes and threw herself into Ling Xuqing's arms without a second thought.

"Ling Xuqing... if all of this is real, then Xiao Wu... will be your Soul Spirit in every life, forever."

The instant the words left her lips, the power at the source of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit within Xiao Wu burst forth without restraint.

"Boom—!"

A dazzling pink radiance, tinged with a hint of tragic beauty, erupted from Xiao Wu and instantly enveloped them both.

The light was not blinding, yet it carried a tenderness and heat that could melt all things.

Ling Xuqing felt her weight grow suddenly light in his arms. Xiao Wu's body was turning transparent within the radiance.

Her flesh and blood, her bones, her hundred thousand years of cultivation—all of it transformed in that instant into the purest life force and soul power, surging through their touching chests and madly pouring into Ling Xuqing.

"Ah—!"

Even Ling Xuqing, with the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, could not help letting out a low growl.

The energy released by a willing sacrifice from a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast was so vast it was like a flood bursting through a dam, rampaging through every limb and bone in his body.

His meridians stretched to their absolute limit in an instant. His bones creaked under the strain, and a fine layer of blood beaded across his skin.

But he did not retreat. Instead, he roused the Golden Dragon King's blood and vitality within him, turning them into dark-golden chains that wrapped tightly around the wild pink energy, refining and absorbing it bit by bit.

Meanwhile, deep within his sea of consciousness, an even more wondrous transformation was taking place.

Xiao Wu's soul did not vanish. Instead, it became a soft pink halo, quietly floating at the center of Ling Xuqing's sea of consciousness, which had once been filled with dark-golden, violent energy.

The Golden Dragon King's aura and the Soft Bone Rabbit's soul reached a kind of perfect balance in that instant, one hard and one gentle, blending together.

"I... I'm still here?" A wave of disbelief stirred in Xiao Wu's soul. She realized that not only had she survived, but she could clearly sense everything Ling Xuqing was experiencing.

She could feel his blood flowing and hear his heart beating. She could even share his sight and hearing.

"I told you. You'd become my Soul Spirit. We share in each other's glory and suffer in each other's ruin." Ling Xuqing's voice rang out in her mind, soothing her.

At the same time, the energy fluctuations in the outside world finally reached their peak.

"Vmmm—"

With a clear dragon's cry, a hundred-thousand-year red Soul Ring radiating a dense, blood-red glow slowly rose from beneath Ling Xuqing's feet.

It was not an ordinary red. Faint golden patterns flowed through the blood-red light, proof that the Golden Dragon King Bloodline had perfectly fused with the hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.

The hundred-thousand-year red Soul Ring settled firmly around the Golden Overlord Spear in Ling Xuqing's hand.

The spear trembled violently, letting out a series of bloodthirsty murmurs, as if rejoicing at the infusion of this supreme power.

Next, another core power born of Xiao Wu's sacrifice took shape in the void as a crystal-clear left leg bone glowing with a soft pink light. It instantly melded into Ling Xuqing's left leg.

"Crack!"

Ling Xuqing felt warmth spread through his left leg, and an abstruse power coursed through his entire body in an instant.

"Xiao Wu, feel the power you've given me."

Ling Xuqing spoke softly within his sea of consciousness.

Xiao Wu's soul stirred, and she instantly understood the mysteries of the four skills.

"First Soul Ring skill: Void!"

A flash of understanding crossed Xiao Wu's mind. "When activated, your body will enter a state of void in which you cannot be locked onto. You'll be immune to all physical and energy attacks, and the duration will increase as your Soul Power grows. It's a divine skill for staying alive!"

"Second Soul Ring skill: Explosive Eight-Stage Throw!"

Pride and ferocity, befitting a Soft Bone Rabbit, colored Xiao Wu's voice. "This is my strongest single-target burst skill. Once you lock onto an enemy, you'll become a blur and execute eight consecutive throws in an instant, leaving no angle uncovered. The final blow unleashes a crushing burst of Soul Power, powerful enough to slay a formidable opponent above your level!"

Ling Xuqing gave a slight nod, feeling the surging power within him as he continued to sense the abilities of the left leg bone.

"First left leg bone skill: Teleport."

Xiao Wu explained, "There's no wind-up at all. Just a thought, and you can move instantly to any position within a hundred meters. In battle, it'll be your greatest wild card."

"Second left leg bone skill: Invincible Golden Body."

Xiao Wu's tone turned utterly solemn. "This is the ultimate defense of the Soft Bone Rabbit lineage. Once activated, your body will turn pure gold. For three seconds, you'll be immune to all damage, and your strength and defense will increase by a hundred percent. It only lasts three seconds, but at a critical moment, that's enough to turn the tide!"

Void, Explosive Eight-Stage Throw, Teleport, Invincible Golden Body.

These four skills perfectly made up for Ling Xuqing's shortcomings in mobility, single-target burst, survival, and absolute defense.

With his already unrivaled Golden Overlord Spear and external Dragon Wings, Ling Xuqing could now retreat unharmed even before a Soul Elder or Soul Ancestor, despite having only reached the peak of level twenty Soul Power—and might even turn the tables and kill them.

"Thank you, Xiao Wu." Ling Xuqing spoke softly in his sea of consciousness.

"We're one and the same, aren't we?" Xiao Wu's soul sent him a warm smile. "From now on, your enemies are my enemies. We'll avenge my mother together."

A confident smile curved Ling Xuqing's lips.

He slowly withdrew his Martial Soul. The Golden Overlord Spear dissolved into specks of golden light, and the hundred-thousand-year red Soul Ring beneath his feet faded from view.

The divine dragon wings on his back and the Dragon Claws on his hands also retracted.

All the strange phenomena subsided, and the forest fell silent once more.

Ling Xuqing straightened his slightly disheveled clothes, felt the unprecedented fullness of power within him, and turned to head toward Nuoding City.

But the instant he took his first step—

"Rumble—!!!"

Without warning, a terrifying energy beyond words came crashing down from the distant horizon, like a black waterfall pouring from the heavens!

It was so powerful that the space around it visibly twisted and tore.

Every Soul Beast within a hundred li fell prostrate to the ground, trembling all over, not daring even to breathe.

It was the pressure of an absolute superior, the mark of the mightiest beings on the continent.

Ling Xuqing's steps halted abruptly. His expression changed, and he jerked his head up to look toward the source of the energy.

For the first time, a grave look appeared in his dark-golden eyes.

He could sense a faint, hidden aura within that energy—one that inexplicably unsettled the Golden Dragon King Bloodline inside him.

"What's going on? What happened?!"

In his sea of consciousness, Xiao Wu's voice was full of fear and panic. She had clearly sensed this world-destroying pressure too.

"This aura... it's terrifying! Even more terrifying than Pope Bibi Dong! Ling Xuqing, can you feel it?!"