"That's the one." Looking at the Gengjin Tiger nearby, Lin Changgeng quickly nodded. This soul beast was practically a perfect match for his martial soul, almost on par with a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. The only difference was that its bloodline was not as lofty.
What was more, this Gengjin Tiger's age was just right. If he passed it up, finding another so suitable would not be easy.
Soul rings usually had either a suitable age or suitable attributes. Finding one with both was exceedingly rare, yet this one checked both boxes. Why wouldn't he absorb it?
"All right, wait here." Dugu Bo nodded, then walked toward the Gengjin Tiger.
The Gengjin Tiger seemed to sense Dugu Bo approaching as well. He rose from the rock and assumed a fighting stance.
But Dugu Bo was a Titled Douluo, and his strength had risen after his poison was cured. The difference between his current and former strength was like heaven and earth. Before the Gengjin Tiger could attack, Dugu Bo crippled him in just a few moves.
After crippling the Gengjin Tiger, Dugu Bo carried him over to Lin Changgeng.
Thud!
Dugu Bo casually tossed him down, raising a cloud of dust from the ground.
"I've already beaten him half to death. Go ahead." Dugu Bo pointed at the Gengjin White Tiger on the ground. Having more strength feels fantastic. It's been ages since every punch landed so solidly.
Swish!
Lin Changgeng pressed two fingers together, and a sharp streak of soul power pierced the Gengjin Tiger's brain.
The Gengjin White Tiger, who had already been clinging to his last breath, was now dead beyond any doubt.
Then a purple soul ring emerged from the Gengjin Tiger's body.
Whoo-
Lin Changgeng took a deep breath, then sat cross-legged on the ground and began refining the soul ring.
As the soul ring entered his body, powerful soul power battered Lin Changgeng's flesh.
"Are you sure nothing will happen?" Dugu Bo asked Wang Qiu'er beside him.
"If I said he'll be fine, he'll definitely be fine. Relax. If you have this much time on your hands, you'd be better off thinking about which soul beast to kill for your granddaughter's third soul ring," Wang Qiu'er said helplessly. I'm not even worried, so what are you worrying about, Dugu Bo? The emperor isn't anxious, but his eunuch is.
"Oh, right." Dugu Bo scratched his head and began considering his granddaughter's third soul ring.
Meanwhile, Dugu Yan watched Lin Changgeng absorb his soul ring without blinking. She wanted to know how he cultivated.
Six hours later, the purple soul ring finally settled around Lin Changgeng.
Lin Changgeng opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, then examined his condition.
His soul power level had reached twenty-three. Normally, absorbing a soul ring only raised it by one level, but absorbing one beyond the usual limit had raised his by three. The medicinal power of the ice and fire immortal herbs had mostly strengthened his body; the three-level increase in soul power was merely a side benefit. Otherwise, he would not have hit a bottleneck.
"How is it?" Dugu Bo looked at Lin Changgeng. With his cultivation, he could tell at a glance that Lin Changgeng had reached level twenty-three.
"I feel great. My soul power level has reached twenty-three. As for the soul skill, I've named it White Tiger Gengjin Transformation." As he spoke, Lin Changgeng activated his soul skill.
Lin Changgeng's aura surged, and his height increased by more than a head.
"This is my second soul skill, White Tiger Gengjin Transformation."
"It triples all my attributes. While the soul skill is active, my attack power increases directly by sixty percent, and my attacks ignore forty percent of defense. It also provides a shield that can block attacks one rank above me until my soul power runs out. And the soul skill's effects are fixed."
"What?!" Dugu Bo's eyes widened. Are these effects even human? Is this really a second soul skill?
Enhancement soul skills were not particularly useful in the later stages, especially those granted by the first few soul rings. After all, hundred-year and thousand-year soul skills could hardly compare with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill. But the fixed effects of Lin Changgeng's skill left Dugu Bo at a loss for words.
Dugu Yan was equally stunned. Her mind struggled to comprehend Lin Changgeng's words, but no matter how she rearranged them, she could not make sense of them. What did he mean by fixed soul skill effects? And what did he mean by a sixty-percent increase in attack and defense penetration? How was anyone else supposed to compete?
Wang Qiu'er, however, had grown accustomed to it. Ultimate gold element deserved nothing less.
"Uh..." Lin Changgeng scratched his head sheepishly. "I know you're shocked, but hold on. If I stack my domain on top of it, the current effect lets me ignore sixty-five percent of defense."
"Hiss!" Dugu Bo sucked in another sharp breath. An absurdly powerful soul skill was bad enough, but he even had a domain. Having a domain was bad enough, but it could also stack with his soul skill. With sixty-five percent of defense ignored, how was that any different from taking a hit directly to the body? Would it even reduce the damage by much?
At that thought, Dugu Bo could only think that he had accidentally wandered into the imperial household.
"A very powerful soul skill." Dugu Bo felt as though his entire career as a soul master had fallen into darkness. "It's time to find Yanyan a soul ring. Let's go."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dugu Bo took flight. He wanted some time alone to collect himself.
At the sight, Lin Changgeng could not help singing inwardly, Dugu Bo can fly, Dugu Bo knows how to fly.
Then Wang Qiu'er took Dugu Yan and Lin Changgeng with her and followed Dugu Bo.
An hour later, Dugu Bo stopped.
Wang Qiu'er followed close behind and set Dugu Yan down on the ground.
"Yanyan, see if you like this dragon." Dugu Bo pointed at the Thorn Dragon ahead.
Not far from the three of them, an enormous creature was sleeping soundly beside the river, with a large bubble swelling from his nose.
Even lying down, he stood over two meters tall. His immense body resembled a small mountain, covered in black spikes. His skin was silver, and his massive head accounted for nearly a quarter of his entire body.
"What soul beast is that?" Dugu Yan asked in confusion.
Hearing her question, Wang Qiu'er explained, "A Thorn Dragon, a lesser dragon soul beast with a spatial attribute. He possesses tremendous attack power and defense. But soul beasts like him are extremely rare. You could barely find a handful across the entire continent. You're quite lucky."
"A Thorn Dragon?" Dugu Bo frowned. "I've heard that Gu Rong from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect absorbed a soul ring from this kind of soul beast and gained a spatial soul skill. I wonder whether you'll get one too, Yanyan."
"I see." Dugu Yan nodded thoughtfully. "Then can I absorb it?"
"Yes," Wang Qiu'er said. "You soaked in a medicinal bath and took an earth dragon golden melon to evolve your martial soul. You can absorb this soul ring."
"Then I want this one." Once Wang Qiu'er confirmed that she could absorb it, Dugu Yan made up her mind.
"All right. Be good and wait here. I'll be right back." Dugu Bo stroked Dugu Yan's head.
"Mm-hmm!"
A Thorn Dragon was no ordinary soul beast. Dragon soul beasts were generally very powerful; a thousand-year one fighting a ten-thousand-year one was perfectly normal. A dragon soul beast with spatial ability, like the Thorn Dragon, would be even harder to handle, so Dugu Bo did not let his guard down.
Dugu Bo activated Martial Soul Possession, and a powerful, oppressive aura spread outward.
The large bubble on the Thorn Dragon's nose burst. He opened his eyes and let out an angry roar.
Roooar-
With a thunderous dragon roar, the Thorn Dragon rose to his full height of six meters. His eyes fixed on the enemy before him, saliva spilling from his mouth as his fighting spirit reached its peak.
The Thorn Dragon roared and stamped one foot against the earth. In the next instant, he flashed to Dugu Bo's side.
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