Demon King and Demon Empress

"No good, it's going to self-destruct! Stop him!" Tian Meng reacted swiftly, while Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and Sea Princess also prepared to act.

Qian Xunyi raised a hand to stop them. "No rush. Let him perform."

If a Soul Beast wanted to keep its Soul Ring from falling into an enemy's hands, there was a simple way: die before the enemy killed it.

The world's rules dictated that only the person who personally killed a Soul Beast could absorb its Soul Ring.

The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King self-destructed. Its thousand-meter body and the Soul Power accumulated over 990,000 years erupted at that moment, instantly overturning the surrounding sea. Its might even rivaled the force of Qian Xunyi's earlier punch.

The price was that its flesh exploded into bloody fragments, while the intact pieces of its divine consciousness scattered in every direction.

Qian Xunyi formed a barrier with Soul Power, blocking the world-ending storm.

"This is the moment!" Qian Xunyi unleashed the Zhe Character Secret!

This secret technique of his could even be used on others.

Chains of Order enveloped the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's flesh fragments and divine consciousness fragments, drawing its shattered body and soul together and fusing them back into one.

A perfectly intact Deep Sea Demonic Whale King appeared before them, round and whole as ever.

"I..." The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King wore an expression of utter disbelief.

"It's alive! A Soul Beast that self-destructed actually came back to life!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's grub-like body trembled wildly.

Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and Sea Princess also looked as though they had seen a ghost.

"If you want to die, you still have to go through the proper procedure first." A purple-gold spear appeared in Qian Xunyi's hand. He raised it high and aimed it at the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. This time, he gave it no chance to self-destruct, directly piercing it with an Angel Overlord Spear.

A Soul Ring that was almost golden emerged from the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's corpse. Qian Xunyi sat cross-legged above the sea, summoned a clone of his Overlord Angel Twin Bodies, and said to Snow Empress and the others, "Guard me."

Then, he began absorbing the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's Soul Ring.

For Qian Xunyi, absorbing a 990,000-year Soul Ring took little more than an hour.

After absorbing his fifth Soul Ring, Qian Xunyi unlocked the Black Tortoise Divine Form and the Jie Character Secret of the Nine Secret Techniques.

The Jie Character Secret was also a domain-type skill. It could suppress all domains and laws. Within the domain, every technique Qian Xunyi used had a chance to trigger the Jie Character Secret, and once triggered, its effect was multiplied tenfold.

For example, the effect of Overlord Angel Twin Bodies was to create one clone possessing eighty percent of his abilities, capable of using the first six Soul Skills of the Overlord Angel Martial Soul. If the Jie Character Secret triggered, it would create ten such clones. If paired with the Zhe Character Secret, it would produce ten times the effect of the Zhe Character Secret. If paired with the Xing Character Secret, it would produce ten times the effect of the Xing Character Secret...

"Though I'm already invincible, having the Jie Character Secret makes me even more invincible."

The immense Soul Power provided by the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's Soul Ring allowed Qian Xunyi to leap directly to Rank 97, entering the realm of a Super Douluo.

That step brought another exponential surge in power, making him confident enough to challenge the Asura God!

But Qian Xunyi quickly suppressed that thought.

I should lie low for now. Since I can crush the Asura God like clay at Rank 99, why fight him at Rank 97?

Tian Meng scampered back from the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's corpse and handed Qian Xunyi a Soul Bone with a fawning expression. "Sir... ah, no, Brother Yi, look! This is the 990,000-year Soul Bone dropped by the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. I brought it back for you."

"Mm, well done." Qian Xunyi took the Soul Bone. Mm, it was a 990,000-year Spinal Bone. Tang San's opportunity—gone with a snap.

Looking at the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's corpse, Qian Xunyi said, "The Whale Rubber inside can't be wasted either."

Qian Xunyi handed the Soul Tool to Tian Meng, letting this lackey continue collecting Whale Rubber from the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's corpse.

When Tian Meng finished, the Soul Tool was full, yet the Whale Rubber they had collected was less than one-thousandth of the total.

So Qian Xunyi used the Overlord Angel's eighth Soul Skill to open a Wormhole, dragging the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's corpse into it for storage.

That settled it.

Qian Xunyi revived the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King above this stretch of sea.

Having regained his life for the second time, he quickly accepted reality. On the spot, he transformed into a simple-looking burly man and knelt before Qian Xunyi.

"Master, if you had a method like this, you should've said so earlier. I would've just sacrificed myself to you." Thinking of how he had first taken a punch, then self-destructed and been revived, only to be pierced through afterward, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King could not help but smile bitterly.

"I told you to give me your Soul Ring and Soul Bone, and I'd help you become a god," Qian Xunyi said. "You just didn't believe me."

You made it far too easy to misunderstand, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King grumbled inwardly.

"I recall that you have a wife, also a Soul Beast of the Deep Sea Demon Whale Clan. How many years of cultivation does she have?" Qian Xunyi asked.

"Reporting to Master," the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King said, "my wife currently has 450,000 years of cultivation."

"450,000 years? It's not much, but it'll do. Lead the way," Qian Xunyi said.

"Hehehe, sir, this way please."

With the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King leading the way, Qian Xunyi soon found traces of another demonic whale in the sea.

Deep Sea Demon Whale Queen

After some persuasion from the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, she sacrificed herself to Qian Xunyi and became his sixth Soul Ring.

His sixth Soul Skills were the Great Bell Divine Form and the Number Character Secret.

The Number Character Secret was far more effective than Qian Xunyi's eighth Soul Skill, Overlord Angel Twin Bodies. Simple and brutal, it directly created three clones. The three clones possessed all of his abilities and could bear his karmic consequences in his place. For example, if a Soul Beast mastered the Number Character Secret, then when facing lightning tribulation, its clones could bear the karmic consequences of that tribulation.

The Demon Empress's Soul Power was not enough to propel him from Rank 97 to Rank 98, but it allowed him to touch the threshold of Rank 98.

After absorbing the Demon Empress's Soul Ring, Qian Xunyi's second Martial Soul was now configured as: brilliant gold, brilliant gold, brilliant gold, brilliant gold, brilliant gold, brilliant gold!

Among them were Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's and the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's two 990,000-year Soul Rings.

After obtaining its sixth Soul Ring, the Overlord Body Martial Soul unlocked its second ability: Overlord Body Treasure Blood.

It could condense Overlord Blood and grant it to humans. Overlord Blood was comparable to the world's greatest treasures. It could imbue Martial Souls, raise their quality, and form a unique Overlord Martial Soul. The Overlord Martial Soul possessed its one-of-a-kind Overlord Domain.

Any human Martial Soul imbued with Overlord Blood would submit wholeheartedly to its master.

With matters at sea settled, Qian Xunyi revived the Deep Sea Demon Whale Queen, then gave the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and Deep Sea Demon Whale Queen a task.

"Remain in the sea and gather the Evil Orca King and all Sea Soul Beasts that oppose faith in the Sea God. I will have use for them in the future," Qian Xunyi said.

"Yes, Master." The Demon King and Demon Empress accepted the order.

"With matters at sea settled, it's time for the seventh Soul Ring." Qian Xunyi looked toward another direction over the sea.

His target was the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler.