"Boom!!"
The two attacks collided in midair, unleashing a ring of spatial ripples visible to the naked eye that scattered every cloud within a thousand-foot radius.
Tang Hao let out a muffled groan.
His internal organs had all been displaced, and the hidden injuries within his body grew even worse!
He was hurled a thousand feet backward, blood gushing from his mouth and nose.
Tang Hao used the recoil to put distance between himself and Jin Peng. Then, not daring to pause for even a moment, he immediately fled for his life, streaking across the sky and soon disappearing from above Shrek.
Only then,
did the aftershocks of their clash fade.
Jin Peng's figure appeared once more. He bore not a single scratch, and even his breathing remained steady.
"A pity. I excel at defense rather than offense. Otherwise, even with Ring Detonation, Tang Hao could forget about escaping from here."
Jin Peng shook his head.
There was nothing he could do about it. He lacked a means of killing with a single blow.
In this respect, Jin Peng was somewhat like Golden Crocodile Douluo. Both possessed extremely strong defenses but were somewhat lacking in offense.
In a head-on battle, even five more Tang Haos would have been no match for Jin Peng.
But with Tang Hao detonating five Soul Rings in succession and intent only on fleeing, even Jin Peng found it difficult to stop him.
Had it been the level 97 Du Busi instead, Tang Hao would have had absolutely no power to fight back. Even exhausting every trick at his disposal would not have saved him from death!
"Still, after this battle, Tang Hao's injuries are certain to deteriorate sharply."
Jin Peng gazed in the direction Tang Hao had vanished. He was confident that the next time they met, he would definitely be able to take him down.
Then Jin Peng turned and pursued the direction in which Chen Yuan had taken the others.
About an incense stick's worth of time later.
Jin Peng caught up with Long Aoyu and the others, landing in a clearing deep within a dense forest.
Chen Yuan had already brought everyone down to the ground. Long Aoyu, Long Aotian, Vina, and Zhu Zhuqing stood on one side, while Tang San and Xiao Wu stood on the other, restrained by Soul Power.
Tang San's gaze remained fixed on Xiao Wu. He wanted to speak but could not open his mouth.
Xiao Wu kept her head lowered, her body trembling.
She knew her identity had been exposed. Once a still-weak human-form hundred-thousand-year soul beast was captured, its end was destined to be miserable.
"Old Jin, how did it go?"
Chen Yuan looked at Jin Peng and asked.
"Tang Hao got away."
Jin Peng descended from the air and said, "Tang Hao was badly injured. Between Ring Detonation and his existing hidden injuries, recovering will be extremely difficult."
Chen Yuan nodded. "That will do."
Upon hearing that his father was seriously injured, Tang San's eyes immediately turned bloodshot, and he panted like an ox.
Jin Peng glanced at Tang San and discovered that his Soul Power was only level 29. Contempt rose within him. Could someone with such talent really become the future Sea God?
Long Aoyu, likewise twelve years old, was already a level 57 Soul King!
Long Aotian, Vina, and even quite a few Body Sect disciples had possessed higher Soul Power than Tang San at this age.
I thought Tang San's talent would be so impressive... but this is all? In that case, it isn't impossible for our Body Sect to produce a deity in this era! Jin Peng thought.
The rosy glow that their ascension to godhood had cast over Tang San and the Shrek Seven Devils vanished like smoke.
They were merely mortals!
Golden Crocodile's gaze fell on Xiao Wu before turning to Long Aotian. "Aotian, get ready."
Yet Long Aotian did not step forward immediately. Instead, he turned to Long Aoyu. "Aoyu, hundred-thousand-year soul beasts are rare. Why don't we keep her for now and wait until you reach level sixty to absorb her?"
"My physical strength can't withstand the impact of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring either."
Hearing this,
Long Aoyu smiled and shook his head. "Once I reach level sixty, we can simply ask Master and the elders to hunt another hundred-thousand-year soul beast."
"An opportunity to have a hundred-thousand-year soul beast sacrifice herself, on the other hand, can only be encountered, never sought."
After saying that, Long Aoyu's gaze fell on Long Aotian, and he suddenly went silent for a moment.
He remembered something from long ago.
In the third year after Long Aoyu transmigrated here, his parents passed away.
The brothers ended up on the streets. Long Aotian, only six years old, begged by the roadside, carried goods for people, and ran errands in exchange for steamed buns and thin porridge, feeding them to him mouthful by mouthful.
Back then, Long Aotian himself was so hungry that his face was sallow and his body emaciated, but every time, he said, "I'm not hungry."
Later, Du Busi happened to pass through that small town and saw the brothers, then brought them both back to the Body Sect.
Precisely because of this,
the brothers had always been extremely close.
Long Aoyu said, "Brother, this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring has to be yours."
Long Aotian froze. His mouth opened as he wanted to say something, but looking into his younger brother's eyes, he ultimately left it unsaid.
After a moment of silence, Long Aotian firmly patted his younger brother's shoulder.
"All right. We'll do as you say."
Seeing this,
Jin Peng gave Chen Yuan a meaningful look.
Chen Yuan immediately understood. With a beckoning motion, he pulled Tang San in front of him and pressed a dagger condensed from Soul Power against Tang San's neck.
"Mmph..."
Tang San's pupils abruptly contracted, and muffled whimpers escaped his mouth, but his body could not move.
Jin Peng looked at Xiao Wu with a smile. "Little girl, a sacrifice requires your own willingness. If you refuse, there's nothing we can do."
"But then there will be no need to keep Tang San alive!"
Xiao Wu's body jolted. She raised her head to look at Tang San, then at the dagger pressed against his neck. Her lips trembled violently, and tears instantly welled up.
"You... how could you..."
Jin Peng looked at her, his tone calm. "We were never good people to begin with."
"Choose for yourself-sacrifice yourself to Aotian, and Tang San lives. Or refuse, and Tang San dies. Later, we'll kill you for your Soul Ring and Soul Bone."
Tang San looked at Xiao Wu, his eyes filled with despair and anxiety.
He shook his head desperately, but he could not utter a single word. All he could do was look at Xiao Wu and struggle with every ounce of strength in his body.
Xiao Wu looked at Tang San, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"Brother San, I'm sorry..."
Xiao Wu took one last look at Tang San before turning to Jin Peng, her voice hoarse and trembling. "I... I'm willing to sacrifice myself."
"But you must swear on your Martial Souls-let Brother San leave, and never capture or hurt him again."
Jin Peng and Chen Yuan exchanged a glance.
"Agreed."
Jin Peng nodded. "I, Jin Peng, swear on my Martial Soul that as long as Tang San does not provoke our Body Sect first, we will not lay a hand on him."
Chen Yuan followed with an oath of his own.
"Your turn."
"Yes."
Xiao Wu lowered her head and slowly walked to the center of the clearing. She looked back at Tang San one last time, her lips moving soundlessly.
Tang San's body trembled violently, his eyes filled with unwillingness and despair.
"Brother, farewell forever..."
Xiao Wu closed her eyes. Pale pink light rose from within her, and her body began to turn transparent.
The next instant.
A massive pillar of pink light shot into the sky!
It pierced straight through the clouds, dyeing the sky for hundreds of meters around a magnificent pink!
The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit left arm bone separated first, merging into Long Aotian's left arm.
Xiao Wu's body dissolved into pink motes that filled the air, pouring into Long Aotian's body and merging into that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
"Boom!"
Long Aotian stood at the very center of the pillar of light, his aura rising higher and higher.
A short while later,
the fluctuations of Soul Power finally stabilized.
Long Aotian slowly descended to the ground. Six Soul Rings lit up beneath his feet in succession-yellow, purple, purple, black, black, red.
"Hahaha!"
Long Aotian threw back his head and laughed.
"A hundred-thousand-year Sixth Soul Ring, a level sixty-five Battle Soul Emperor! This feels amazing!"
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