Could Brother Be a Soul Beast Too?

[Ding—]

[Xiao Wu Rescue Progress +10%]

[Current Rescue Progress: 55%]

[Detected: Tang Hao has lost an arm, sustained severe injuries, and lost a Spirit Bone. A key factor in Xiao Wu's sacrifice has been eliminated, and Tang San's backing has been dealt a blow. Special reward: one Adaptive Spirit Ring. Soul Ring Growth function unlocked.]

[System-produced items are always premium. This is a Five-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and can be absorbed painlessly.]

[Soul Ring Growth: Consume useless Spirit Bones and soul power to infinitely increase a Soul Ring's age.]

[Spirit Bone consumption increases age at a 1:1 ratio. For example, consuming a Three-Thousand-Year Spirit Bone will increase the selected Soul Ring's age by 3,000 years.]

The corners of Ye Hua's lips rose. The system was generous indeed!

If it had been an ordinary Soul Ring, Ye Hua might have hesitated, worrying that it would be too weak and hold him back later on.

But now that Soul Rings could grow without limit, there was no need to hesitate at all!

With the reward in hand, Ye Hua did not fleece the sheep completely in one go.

After all, he had secretly asked Tie Xiong to sense Tang Hao's presence, and Tang Hao was not carrying the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Spirit Bone—the Spirit Bone Ah Yin had left behind after her sacrifice.

When Ah Yin sacrificed herself, Tang Hao had already possessed a full set of Spirit Bones, so he could only absorb the Soul Ring. The Spirit Bone was later given to Tang San.

But since Ye Hua knew about it, that Spirit Bone was already his for the taking!

Killing Tang Hao now would, first, cost him a useful tool for farming Rescue Progress, and second, make it difficult to find the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone. It was not worth it.

"You can get lost now." Ye Hua waved a hand. "Feel free to tell everyone that I have a transformed Soul Beast here, so long as you don't care whether Tang San lives or dies."

As if granted amnesty, Tang Hao ignored even his injuries and scrambled toward the door, vanishing into the night.

Only after fleeing the city and returning to the blacksmith shop in Holy Soul Village did Tang Hao finally allow himself to rest.

"Fuck..." Tang Hao panted heavily, forcing the word out through clenched teeth.

A twelve-year-old kid had a level ninety-six Super Douluo by his side!

Was this really someone coming to Notting City to study?

This was practically a covert inspection tour!

Had he known that such a figure stood behind Ye Hua, he would never have allowed Tang San to provoke him.

And now, his son's arms and legs had been broken, his own left arm had been severed, and he had even lost a Thirty-Thousand-Year Spirit Bone!

And that useless Grandmaster, spouting nonsense without getting the facts straight, had cost him an arm and a Spirit Bone!

The more Tang Hao thought about it, the more stifled he felt. He slammed a fist into the wall of his home!

"Ye! Hua!"

"Sooner or later, I'll make you pay the price!"

Tang Hao's teeth ground loudly as he dug a wooden box out from a corner of the house and slowly opened it.

In an instant, the aura of life burst forth. Lying inside the wooden box was none other than the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone Ye Hua had long coveted!

Countless streams of healing energy poured into the stump of Tang Hao's severed arm!

The bloody wound was wrapped in newly grown flesh in mere moments!

At that moment, Tang Hao was incomparably relieved that he had not carried Ah Yin's Spirit Bone on him. Otherwise, Ye Hua would certainly have taken it today!

But regrowing an entire arm was obviously impossible.

At the thought of being crippled for the rest of his life, Tang Hao's eyes turned bloodshot.

"Ye Hua, just wait!"

"Xiao San has Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power. I've already taught him the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique. His future will go far beyond mine!"

"The day he matures will be your last. When that day comes, I'll make you repay a thousandfold, a hundredfold, for the Spirit Bone you carved from my left arm today!"

"I'll twist your arms and legs until blood seeps out, then tear them off piece by piece, making you wish you were dead!"

Meanwhile, in the villa's living room, Ye Hua toyed with the Vajra Giant Ape Left Arm Spirit Bone, utterly satisfied.

A Thirty-Thousand-Year Spirit Bone produced by a strength-type Diamond Giant Ape was a perfect match for the Coiling Dragon Staff's overwhelming attack attributes.

Once he broke through to level thirty and absorbed this Spirit Bone, his strength would surge again!

"Elder Tie, you worked hard tonight. I'll also need to trouble you to stand guard for me later."

"You honor this old man too much, my lord. It is simply my duty."

Ye Hua put the Spirit Bone back into the Azure Jade Bracelet, rose to his feet, then retrieved the Thirty-Thousand-Year Diamond Giant Ape Spirit Bone from the Azure Jade Bracelet and took out the Soul Ring granted by the system.

The Five-Thousand-Year Soul Ring hovered above his palm, its grape-purple patterns flowing across its surface, much darker than the color of his first Soul Ring.

Ye Hua sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and pressed the Soul Ring onto his Martial Soul.

Warm power flowed from his Martial Soul into his body, surging through his meridians.

The Five-Clawed Golden Dragon pattern on the Coiling Dragon Staff lit up once more. The dragon raised its head and released a faint, almost imperceptible roar.

His soul power began to surge wildly.

The level-twenty bottleneck was more fragile than paper before a Five-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, shattering at the slightest touch.

Ye Hua's soul power level began climbing from level twenty!

Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three... until it finally stabilized firmly at level twenty-five.

An ordinary Soul Master's second Soul Ring was only seven or eight hundred years old, perhaps even less. Thus, even after breaking through, they could only gain a single level of soul power.

But Ye Hua was different. With the system's help, he could easily absorb a Five-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Such an unprecedented feat naturally granted an immeasurable increase in soul power!

Only five more levels remained before he could challenge level thirty and become a Soul Elder!

His second Soul Ring skill gave him an enormous surprise as well.

[Second Soul Skill: Heaven-Shaking Stonebreak]

[Effect: The Coiling Dragon Staff strikes the ground, transforming soul power into shockwaves that spread outward. All enemies within range suffer concussion damage and are slowed.]

[It has an additional shattering effect against the shields of defense-type Soul Masters. Grants one second of invincibility after use.]

Ye Hua opened his eyes and nodded in satisfaction.

Area damage, slowing, shield-breaking, invincibility frames!

With all four effects stacked together, the second Soul Skill granted by this Five-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was simply a team battle weapon!

If his first Soul Skill, Fire Dragon's Roar, leaned more toward stacking buffs and increasing damage, then this second Soul Skill was all about burst damage and area attacks, perfectly completing his combat options.

For prolonged battles, he also had the god-tier Soul Skill [Nine Heavens Staff Technique]. His burst, area damage, and endurance were all maxed out!

Ye Hua recalled the Coiling Dragon Staff into his body, then took out the Vajra Giant Ape Left Arm Spirit Bone from the Azure Jade Bracelet.

The dark golden bone gleamed with a gentle luster. If converted into Soul Ring age, it would surely elevate his strength to another level.

After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately did not do so. The Diamond Giant Ape's attributes were highly compatible with the Coiling Dragon Staff, but its age was still somewhat low and might not suit him.

He remembered that there were quite a few strength-type goddesses on the harem list, such as Wang Qiu'er. Saving this Spirit Bone for her would be more worthwhile than feeding it to a Soul Ring.

But the instant he put the Spirit Bone away, a faint sound suddenly came from behind him.

Ye Hua turned around and saw Xiao Wu standing barefoot at the foot of the stairs in her pajamas, her large eyes staring blankly at him.

His heart tightened. He had focused fully on breaking through just now and had no time to set up a soundproof barrier for Xiao Wu. The commotion from his breakthrough had still awakened her.

Fortunately, the instant Xiao Wu's footsteps sounded, Tie Xiong had silently slipped into the shadows.

Only Ye Hua and Xiao Wu remained in the living room, their eyes meeting.

"Brother..." Xiao Wu's voice trembled as she threw herself into his arms.

She hit him with such force that the unprepared Ye Hua was knocked straight to the floor.

The two rolled together for half a turn. Ye Hua's back struck the leg of the sofa, while Xiao Wu ended up on top of him, her hands braced against his chest and mist gathering in her eyes.

"Brother, I understand now why I felt close to you the very first time I saw you."

With tears shimmering in her eyes, Xiao Wu said, "So you're also..."

Ye Hua was bewildered. "I'm also what?"

"Huff, huff." Xiao Wu tried hard to calm herself, forcing out a smile. "Nothing. Don't worry, we need to know how to protect ourselves. I won't tell anyone."

"Huh?" Ye Hua had no idea what she meant.

Wait, that tone... could this girl possibly...

Ye Hua's mouth twitched violently!

No way, did this girl think he was a transformed Soul Beast too?