When Dai Mubai heard about gaining three levels of soul power in a day, his first reaction was that it was a rumor, not worth his attention.
When he heard about a thousand-year second soul ring, he stopped in silence.
When he heard about three rings crushing four, his pupils widened, and waves surged through his heart.
All along, he had borne the weight of his imperial family's fate, overshadowed by an elder brother several years his senior, without the slightest chance of victory.
For the Star Luo Imperial Family, losing the struggle meant death.
And so he had fled in disgrace, occasionally making an effort to deceive himself into believing he was doing it to grow safely.
But most of his time had been spent enjoying life, giving up and drifting through his days.
Now, he seemed to have truly glimpsed a chance to survive.
When Dai Mubai heard that the Thousand-Hand Asura's martial soul, Blue Silver Grass, had evolved into a Blue Silver King, his pupils abruptly narrowed, and his resolve hardened.
"Blue Silver Grass—that's Tang San! He really does have a thousand-year second soul ring!"
"Everything they said is true!"
"And Tang San owes all that strength to his master, that man called Li Sen!"
"I want to become his disciple!"
Having made his decision, Dai Mubai no longer hesitated. He frantically asked passersby for directions as he sprinted along.
A dozen or so minutes later, at the Master Hotel.
Dai Mubai stared at the sea of people around him and froze on the spot.
There were far too many people. The entire hotel entrance, along with the street, was packed without a single gap.
And unless he remembered incorrectly, this Master Hotel had still been called the Yuancheng Hotel yesterday.
Outside the hotel, Tang San announced loudly, "If you want to become disciples, you'll have to wait patiently for six months before the assessments begin. My master has no time right now."
Most of those crowding the entrance were ordinary people with children who had cultivation potential, while the soul masters had all heard how powerful Li Sen was.
Tang San turned to leave, only to spot a familiar figure, making his brows furrow.
Dai Mubai, his new master's wife's former fiancé.
Tang San muttered, "I hope he knows what's good for him and doesn't bother my master."
Inside the hotel, Li Sen planned to begin Zhu Zhuqing's body tempering. He took out thousand-year whale rubber and prepared a large tub of cold water to cool her down.
Considering that she was not very familiar with Li Xin and the other woman, Li Sen did not call anyone over.
Refined with soul power, the whale rubber turned golden.
"Zhu Qing, eat this and refine it."
At his words, Zhu Zhuqing gripped her long dress tightly with both hands, lying on the soft bed with her eyes squeezed shut.
Whale rubber was something the empire's nobles used daily. She understood it all too well.
Thinking Li Sen intended to have his way with her before teaching her, Zhu Zhuqing spoke in a trembling voice.
"Sen, be gentle."
Li Sen froze at her words, then chuckled.
"This is proper cultivation. When specially processed and consumed, whale rubber can strengthen the body. Soaking in cold water suppresses the heat."
"With your current physical strength, absorbing five-thousand-year whale rubber is just right."
"Ah, oh..." Zhu Zhuqing paused, then realized she had misunderstood. She hurriedly sat up and swallowed the whale rubber.
When she stood before the tub of cold water, she stopped again.
There was no helping it. The long dress she wore was designed to look beautiful and accentuate her figure, and it would become very sheer when wet.
Thinking that she was already Li Sen's woman, Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth and sat inside.
Splash!
Once the water covered her, her black dress turned transparent and clung to her body, revealing every curve.
The formerly bashful Zhu Zhuqing became expressionless. She felt a powerful force remolding her body and had no attention to spare for anything else.
She hurriedly activated Martial Soul Possession to assist her, black cat ears appearing atop her head and a black cat tail rising to rest against the tub's rim.
Li Sen instinctively sniffed, feeling a warm trickle stirring in his nose.
Zhu Zhuqing's figure was simply incredible. She had not even reached her prime yet, but she already outshone Li Xin and the other woman.
Most importantly, once the cat ears and tail appeared, combined with her cool, aloof face, her allure soared to its peak, making him want to conquer and ravish her.
Li Sen forcibly suppressed the heat within him, erected a Soul Power Barrier, and summoned Luo Sanpao, who could shrink after evolving. He began feeding him Dragon Beast meat, then sat cross-legged to cultivate himself.
Humm...
Several hours later, both of them broke through at the same time.
Li Sen opened his eyes, a brilliant gleam flashing through them.
He had reached level sixty. He could hunt the hundred-thousand-year Devouring Demon Tree now.
He glanced at Zhu Zhuqing beside him, who had also gained a level but was crouching in the tub with her arms over her chest and her head lowered, and said,
"I'll be going away for a few days. Once you've washed up and changed, let Xiao San know."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded repeatedly.
Li Sen rose and left.
Outside the hotel, the crowds were still packed tightly together.
Li Sen paid them no mind. Sensing a powerful presence nearby, he transmitted his voice.
"I'll be away for a few days. Sorry for the trouble, Your Eminence, but please look after Xiao San and don't leave just yet."
Hidden in the shadows, Tang Hao's mouth twitched.
He had intended to observe for a few days to see whether Li Sen planned to seize the soul bone.
He had never expected that he had been discovered long ago.
All that time lurking in the shadows made him look like a clown.
Tang Hao transmitted irritably, "He's my son. Of course I'll look after him. Get lost!"
He lost all desire to keep observing and decided to leave the moment Li Sen returned.
Since he had already been discovered, observing would yield nothing anyway.
Li Sen smiled, ignored the countless cries to become his disciple, and used his powerful physique to squeeze through the crowd.
Relying on the information Li Kui had given him, Li Sen traveled alone.
When it came to hunting a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, his parents could no longer help him. He could only depend on himself.
As it happened, he had never used his full strength before. He could test his abilities against a gravely injured hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
Of course, he also felt completely at ease about the three women remaining in Suotuo City.
Because Tang San was there, and so was Tang Hao.
Given Tang San's respect for his master, if anyone dared touch his master's women, he would surely fight with his life.
And if Tang Hao saw Tang San injured, he would certainly intervene.
Three days later, in the mountains on the Bakla Kingdom's border.
Li Sen confirmed that he was in the right place, checked that no one was around, and deployed his soul power before taking out a map.
Deep in the mountains, Li Sen slipped into an inconspicuous little cave entrance.
At first it was extremely narrow, barely admitting one person. After traveling another several dozen li, the way suddenly opened wide.
The space that greeted his eyes resembled an underground world, stretching as far as he could see, with only thick stone pillars supporting the ceiling.
"No wonder there's a hundred-thousand-year soul beast here. This place really is huge."
Li Sen murmured, "The original Douluo story didn't describe even a ten-thousandth of this world's locations."
Following the small map, Li Sen traveled another day and a half, arriving at a gorge where he finally saw the Devouring Demon Tree.
Its trunk stood over a hundred meters tall, its bark ink-black. It was fully one hundred and thirty thousand years old, but severe injuries had severed seven-tenths of its roots, leaving its aura incredibly weak.
No wonder Li Kui had remained certain, even after several decades, that its grievous injuries had yet to heal.
Li Sen considered it. A sacrifice would be better than a kill.
Since the creature struggled to recover, perhaps he could tempt it with the promise of taking it into the Divine Realm once he became a god.
Li Sen called loudly, "Devouring Demon Tree, are you still alive?"
Rumble!
The Devouring Demon Tree moved its branches, immediately shattering the ground with thunderous crashes.
"Human!"
The instant the Devouring Demon Tree spoke, its voice brimmed with murderous intent.
"Die!"
Several decades ago, it had been gravely injured in a battle with another soul beast, only to be ambushed by humans afterward.
That hatred left it unwilling to exchange even a single word with humans. It wanted only to kill.
With no one around, Li Sen spread his dragon wings without the slightest reservation and put some distance between them.
"Devouring Demon Tree, you don't look well. Why not consider sacrificing yourself?"
"I'm twenty-six this year, with level-sixty soul power. I need just one soul ring to become a Soul Emperor, and I'm confident I can create my own godhood and ascend."
"Sacrifice yourself to me, and once I become a god, I'll bring you into the Divine Realm and resurrect you."
Even as Li Sen displayed his talent and dangled the temptation of godhood before it, the Devouring Demon Tree remained completely unmoved.
It spoke with seething resentment. "Despicable, treacherous humans! I'll never trust you!"
"Die!"
Rumble!
Countless vines shot from the ground, their terrifying strength and speed making the air wail incessantly. The ground and the rock walls on both sides of the gorge burst apart under their blows.
If words would not work, then he would fight!
If it would not sacrifice itself, then he would kill it!
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