"Xiao Zi!"
"Eight Gates!"
"Lightning Body!!!"
Li Sen roared.
The evolved Luo Sanpao stretched out his body, lightning blanketing his purple frame, which measured over thirty meters long.
All eight gates opened, and the blue silver tree emerged as countless electric currents magnetized his cells.
Lightning Body was a skill developed through the lightning control Luo Sanpao had gained after evolving.
It was nothing like Yu Xiaogang's martial soul, which could only fart.
After evolving, Xiao Zi could use his soul skills himself, and Li Sen could use them too.
Lightning Body employed precise lightning manipulation to stimulate every cell in the body, dramatically increasing strength, speed, reflexes, and breakthrough power.
Every close-range attack could inflict paralysis, while increasing the lightning output could deal massive magical damage.
With the enhancement complete, Li Sen's aura surged. He felt his newfound strength with some astonishment.
Besides strengthening his body, Eight Gates also boosted his soul power.
Previously, however, the gap between his soul power and physical strength had been so enormous that he had barely noticed.
Now that he had just broken through to level sixty, Li Sen discovered, to his surprise, that his soul power—already superior in quality and density to that of soul masters at his level—rivaled a Soul Douluo's with all eight gates open.
With Lightning Body layered on top, his physical body could already contend with a Titled Douluo using soul power and soul skills.
The only drawback was that the blue silver tree's regenerative ability was once again struggling to keep up with his body.
With Eight Gates alone, he could fight indefinitely. With Lightning Body added, he needed over an hour of rest after twelve hours of continuous combat.
Boom, boom, boom!
Facing the vines attacking him from the hundred-thousand-year soul beast, Li Sen punched relentlessly, blasting them aside with ease and even snapping some in half.
Meanwhile, Xiao Zi increased the distance and kept charging his lightning Dragon Breath. An energy sphere so deeply purple it was almost black continuously gathered and expanded at his mouth.
All five soul rings of the blue silver tree lit up. Its branches also extended and entwined with the Devouring Demon Tree, but they lacked sufficient strength. Many were shredded and scattered nearby.
"Human, I'll take you down with me!"
Seeing a level-sixty soul master with five rings trading blows with him on equal footing, the Devouring Demon Tree went mad.
If he had not been so severely wounded that even decades would not suffice to recover, how could he have fallen into such a predicament?
"Devouring Power!"
The Devouring Demon Tree roared and unleashed his strongest ability.
Devouring Power could devour soul power, Life Energy, and even the power of flesh and blood... among other things.
As he unleashed his full power, cracks kept appearing across his hundred-meter-long trunk.
His injuries were too severe. His body simply could not withstand mobilizing such vast amounts of soul power.
A sharp gleam flashed through Li Sen's eyes at the sight, and he activated his fifth soul skill, which was similar to Tang San's but far stronger.
"Lament of Life!"
Its second effect: detonating Life Energy.
Rumble!
The blue silver tree branches scattered around the Devouring Demon Tree, along with his own branches, exploded one after another with thunderous booms.
At the same time, Li Sen's second martial soul, Xiao Zi—the dragon Luo Sanpao had evolved into—released his long-charged Dragon Breath, blasting it savagely into the Devouring Demon Tree's trunk.
Rumble!
Under the tremendous impact, the Devouring Demon Tree's already cracked trunk broke apart with a deafening crash.
"Impossib..."
The Devouring Demon Tree's astonished voice abruptly cut off.
He could never have imagined that a five-ring soul master's soul skill could be so terrifying. Even severely wounded, he should not have been killed in an instant, should he?
His thoughts dissolved as his voice ceased. A crimson soul ring appeared above his fallen body, while a bone at its center shone red.
"It's actually a torso bone!"
Li Sen picked up the bone from the Devouring Demon Tree's body. After one glance, he could not help exclaiming in delight.
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast was guaranteed to drop a soul bone, and aside from external soul bones, torso bones and skull bones were the rarest and most precious.
A plant-type torso bone would surely increase his vitality, allowing his blue silver tree to grow even stronger.
Li Sen sat cross-legged, left Luo Sanpao on guard, and began absorbing it.
He relied on his powerful physique, his mind tempered through suffering, and Luo Sanpao's occasional help in sharing the pressure.
Half an hour later, Li Sen finished assimilating the soul bone and gained two soul bone skills.
First, Indomitable: his mental strength tripled, and every injury would grant him a certain boost in strength.
Second, Greed: energy absorption and conversion improved by one hundred percent, while his capacity to accommodate various energies increased fivefold.
Li Sen could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
"These two soul bone skills suit me perfectly."
"One strengthens my attacks when I'm injured, and using either Eight Gates or Lightning Body injures me."
"The other improves energy absorption and conversion, as well as my body's energy storage.
"It perfectly fits the cycle of getting injured while cultivating, then having to digest and convert vitality to heal."
Li Sen's eyes blazed. Striking while the iron was hot, he absorbed the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and gained another two heaven-defying soul skills.
"First, Devouring Power: it can devour and digest attacks of every kind to nourish soul power, the mind, the body... and more. Its upper limit is tied to the martial soul's strength.
"Second, Counterattack Power: it can reflect the devoured power back. Its upper and lower limits depend on the martial soul's strength."
Li Sen was stunned.
These soul skills not only greatly enhanced his defenses, but also gave him a way to improve his mental power, the one aspect that had been progressing relatively slowly.
After all, absorbing soul beasts over ten thousand years old involved a mental assault.
He could absorb soul beasts over ten thousand years old beyond his level because he had tempered his body since childhood.
Besides growing through pain, his mind also relied on the Mental Nourishment Method he had developed after turning fifteen, medicinal herbs that nourished the mind, and Luo Sanpao sharing the burden.
The stronger Luo Sanpao became, the more of the mental assault he could shoulder.
During this absorption of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, Luo Sanpao had shouldered roughly fifty thousand years' worth of mental pressure.
Meanwhile, the Mental Nourishment Method was struggling to keep pace.
His new soul ring skills neatly compensated for Li Sen's only weakness.
Furthermore, the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring strengthened his body once again, bringing it on par with a Titled Douluo's.
Luo Sanpao benefited as well and could now contend with a Soul Douluo.
After assimilating his gains, Li Sen examined the blue silver tree again. Its dense blue foliage had acquired a slight black tint, but its vitality remained vigorous.
When summoned, the martial soul had doubled in size, reaching nearly four meters.
Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy.
Yu Xiaogang, who was hesitating over whether to summon Liu Erlong to help force Li Sen to hand over his disciple, heard the hotly discussed news from Suotuo City.
Martial soul evolution theory!
Blue silver grass evolving into a blue silver king.
Yu Xiaogang became obsessed. He hurried to find Flender, his manner hysterical.
"Flender, my good brother, you have to help me!"
"Martial soul evolution theory! My Luo Sanpao is so weak—he can definitely evolve!"
"Li Sen must hand over a theory that could advance the entire Soul Master World!!!"
Flender's expression darkened. "Xiaogang, I can't beat him."
Yu Xiaogang roared heedlessly, "Then trade for it! Take out all our savings and trade for it!"
Flender had truly had enough. He shoved Yu Xiaogang away hard and said,
"Yu Xiaogang, are you thinking straight?"
"Li Sen is definitely strong enough to kill us easily. With that attitude, are you trying to trade or pressure him?"
"Do you want all of us to die in Suotuo City?"
"If you truly want it, we'll go find Erlong first. Only with enough strength to sit at the table will we have room to negotiate a trade!!!"
Yu Xiaogang paused.
"Flender, finding Erlong will take at least a week there and back. There isn't enough time."
"I can't wait even one second."
"You don't understand. Six years ago, Li Sen left right after taking Tang San as his disciple, and he was gone for six years."
"If he leaves again, I'm afraid that by the time I meet him next, I won't have any time left to cultivate!"
Flender fell silent for a moment before saying, "Xiaogang, our strength doesn't give us a voice."
Seeing that Flender still refused, Yu Xiaogang turned to leave. "Since you're unwilling, I'll go myself!"
Yu Xiaogang left as soon as he said it. Flender could not bear to watch him go alone; for the sake of their decades of friendship, he chose to follow silently and protect him.
In Suotuo City, Yu Xiaogang sprinted to the entrance of the Master Hotel.
The area outside remained packed, but fortunately, most of the crowd were ordinary people.
With his level-twenty-nine soul power, he forcibly squeezed his way into the hotel.
Tang San was also inside. After announcing that his master would only accept disciples a month later, he had remained on guard at the entrance to Heaven No. 1, where Li Sen was staying.
Inside were Li Xin, the other woman, and Zhu Zhuqing.
Upon seeing Tang San, Yu Xiaogang immediately said, "Tang San, hurry and call your master out. I have something important to discuss!"
Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang with disgust. "Tell me what it is. I'll pass it on."
He remembered Yu Xiaogang's foul mouth and conduct all too well.
All appetite and no ability, putting on airs despite having no talent, and always calling on his brothers for help despite having no strength himself.
With theories copied from Spirit Hall and support from his lover, the Supreme Pontiff, he spent every day claiming to be a grandmaster of martial soul theory.
He had even... tried to ruin Tang San six years ago!
Anger surfaced on Yu Xiaogang's face at Tang San's refusal.
How outrageous. A mere Soul Ancestor dared stand in my way.
I'm a grandmaster of martial soul theory!
Thinking of the martial soul evolution theory in Li Sen's possession, Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath. "I want to trade with your master for his martial soul evolution theory."
"Tell him he can name his terms. I'll do everything I can to meet them."
Tang San's mouth twitched, and he could not help saying, "You want his martial soul evolution theory so you can claim someone else's research as your own again?"
"Keep dreaming. My master only accepts disciples. He doesn't give things away."
What a joke. Before leaving, Li Sen had already told him to ignore everything except accepting disciples.
Before you continue