After all Tang Ya's persuasion and tempting offers, Huo Yuhao finally chose to join the Tang Sect and become one of its disciples.
Bei Bei immediately taught Huo Yuhao the Tang Sect's closely guarded secret arts, including the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Purple Demon Eye, and Mysterious Jade Hand.
While Bei Bei guided Huo Yuhao in circulating his soul power along the routes prescribed by the cultivation method, Tang Ya extended another invitation to Chen Tianyuan.
"Tianyuan, even little Yuhao has joined the Tang Sect. Why don't you..."
Before Tang Ya could finish, Chen Tianyuan shook his head and turned her down.
With Huo Yuhao included, the Tang Sect now had three people in total. Put all three together, and they still couldn't scrape together a pair of parents. Never mind that he had no interest in the Tang Sect-if he actually joined, wouldn't it become an orphanage?
Especially when he remembered Tang Ya's "That's wonderful!", Chen Tianyuan could barely keep a straight face. Besides, if he remembered correctly, everyone who joined the Tang Sect in the original story seemed to be an orphan...
Could this be the Tang Sect's ultimate secret?
The main purpose of their trip to the Star Dou Great Forest was still to help Tang Ya obtain her third soul ring so she could face the upcoming advancement assessment.
With Chen Tianyuan's strength, he could easily have advanced to the fifth or sixth year if his soul power level had been high enough. In fact, if he wanted, he could have gone straight into the Inner Court to study, and no one would have found anything wrong with that.
Upon learning that they needed to search for a soul beast, Huo Yuhao immediately used the million-year soul skill bestowed on him by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm: Spiritual Detection Sharing.
Looking at the conspicuous white soul ring beneath Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei and Tang Ya simply couldn't believe that a ten-year soul beast could provide such a soul skill.
According to the research of countless soul master scholars, a soul ring's age was directly proportional to the strength of its soul skill. The older the soul beast, the stronger the soul skill its soul ring could produce. Yet Huo Yuhao had defied that theory...
With Spiritual Detection Sharing assisting them, the group found a soul beast suitable for Tang Ya in less than an hour: a thousand-year Mandala Snake.
A classic example of a poisonous soul beast, Mandala Snakes ranged in age from ten years to ten thousand years. Their bodies were dark green, with hard scales and venom capable of paralyzing nerves, making them the soul beast of choice for many poison-type soul masters.
Tang Ya's martial soul was Blue Silver Grass. In Chen Tianyuan's eyes, its greatest advantage was its tenacious vitality. Yet ever since Sea God Tang San attained godhood ten thousand years ago, countless soul masters with Blue Silver Grass had become almost possessed, turning toward the path of poison in the hope of recreating a broad road to success...
Bei Bei took antidote pills from his Storage Soul Tool in advance and distributed them to everyone. Then he looked at Chen Tianyuan and said, "Outer Court's Number One, you're up."
Tang Ya stood to one side, giving him two thumbs up and cheering him on.
Hearing Bei Bei's title for Chen Tianyuan, Huo Yuhao was puzzled. He asked, "Eldest Senior Brother, Brother Chen looks younger than both you and Teacher Xiao Ya. Why do you call him the Outer Court's Number One?"
Bei Bei patted his shoulder and chuckled. "Watch closely. You'll find out in a moment."
"Oh," Huo Yuhao replied, widening his eyes and fixing his gaze on Chen Tianyuan's back.
At that moment, the Mandala Snake had no idea danger was approaching. It was still adjusting its angle as it swallowed the Soft Bone Rabbit in its mouth.
With every step Chen Tianyuan took forward, his imposing aura grew stronger. Against a thousand-year soul beast, he couldn't even be bothered to launch a sneak attack.
After ten steps, his aura had reached its peak. Flickering purple lightning coiled around him, and an overbearing, savage, destructive presence spread outward. Even Huo Yuhao and the other two standing behind him could feel it clearly.
Seeing such terrifying lightning for the first time, Huo Yuhao felt every hair on his body stand on end. A bead of cold sweat slid down his back.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his Sea of Consciousness naturally saw it as well. His horror was beyond words, and in the end, he managed only one sentence: "Yuhao, whatever you do, never make an enemy of him."
Huo Yuhao was puzzled. He had no grudge against Chen Tianyuan, so naturally, he wouldn't become his enemy. Still, his curiosity prompted him to ask, "Why, Brother Sky Dream?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stared without blinking. "You'll understand in a moment."
Sensing the threat, the Mandala Snake immediately spat out the Soft Bone Rabbit. It coiled its slender body, stretched out its neck, and flicked its scarlet tongue, trying to frighten off the approaching figure.
One yellow and two purple soul rings slowly appeared beneath Chen Tianyuan.
All of Chen Tianyuan's soul rings exceeded the standard age limits. His first soul ring was eight hundred years old and came from a Thunderclap Hellvine; his second was two thousand nine hundred years old and came from a Pureblood Pterosaur; his third was six thousand seven hundred years old and came from a Golden Earth Dragon.
Huo Yuhao was dumbstruck. He had read books on the basics of soul masters. The ideal soul ring configuration was two yellow, two purple, and five black, yet Chen Tianyuan...
Seemingly sensing that terrifying ultimate lightning, the Mandala Snake immediately turned around and tried to flee.
Chen Tianyuan remained unhurried. Lightning wreathed his body, and a Silver Whip appeared in his hand.
He swung the Silver Whip. In the blink of an eye, it shot more than ten meters forward and wrapped around the Mandala Snake, binding it.
Bound by the whip, the Mandala Snake was like someone with death's hand clamped around their throat.
Ultimate lightning spread along the Silver Whip, and the Mandala Snake immediately began twisting and struggling. Chen Tianyuan controlled the lightning's power to keep it from being electrocuted outright.
He gave a sharp pull with his right hand. The Silver Whip drew back, bringing the Mandala Snake with it.
Scorched crisp outside and tender within by the ultimate lightning, the Mandala Snake now lay at death's door, clinging to its last breath.
Tang Ya hurriedly ended its life with a dagger, then sat cross-legged and began absorbing its soul ring.
The entire battle had lasted less than a minute.
Huo Yuhao was now too shocked to speak. A living thousand-year soul beast hadn't even lasted a minute against Chen Tianyuan.
Earlier, he had nearly died at the hands of a ten-year Wind Baboon. Without comparison, there was no sting.
Looking at Chen Tianyuan, who was only a few years older than him, Huo Yuhao was filled with envy. If only I could be that strong too...
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm patted his head and reassured him. "Don't worry, Yuhao. As long as you listen to me, I guarantee I'll make you the strongest person in the world. Our goal is godhood!"
Huo Yuhao's spirits soared at those words. "Yes! Brother Sky Dream, let's become gods together!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it. You're the one I chose, after all. Once you reach rank twenty, I'll get you a martial soul with an ultimate attribute too."
Something occurred to Huo Yuhao, and he asked, "Brother Sky Dream, why did you tell me not to become Brother Chen's enemy earlier?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said, "Once members of our Soul Beast Clan reach a hundred thousand years of age, we have to survive tribulation lightning every hundred thousand years."
"The older we are, the stronger the tribulation lightning becomes. Even so, that heavenly thunder still doesn't reach the level of ultimate lightning."
"Ultimate lightning's greatest characteristic is its tremendous penetrating power. It can even ignore defenses..."
As Huo Yuhao listened, a chill ran down his spine, and he silently placed Chen Tianyuan on his list of dangerous people...
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