"Ling, I did it!"
Zhu Zhuqing was absolutely thrilled. Her third Soul Ring was nearly five thousand years old, far beyond the maximum age of one thousand seven hundred and sixty years for a third Soul Ring.
"Try out your third Soul Skill."
Yu Tianling was very curious whether hunting a different Soul Beast would change the Soul Skill she received. Presumably, it could no longer be Zhu Zhuqing's original third Soul Skill, Netherworld Slash.
"Ling, the Soul Skill my over-age third Soul Ring gave me boosts speed. I named it Netherworld Flash. The instant I activate it, it gives me a seventy-percent speed boost, letting me move in an instantaneous flash. It also lets me ignore fifty percent of damage when I stop supplying Soul Power."
"Does it only boost your movement speed, or...?"
"It boosts attack speed too. You could say anything related to speed gets a boost."
As she spoke, Zhu Zhuqing's purple third Soul Ring suddenly lit up. Her figure appeared right beside a distant tree, and she snapped its trunk, thick enough for one person to wrap their arms around, with a fierce kick. Only then did the afterimage left by her rapid movement beside Yu Tianling slowly fade.
"Not bad."
Yu Tianling raised an eyebrow at the sight, quite satisfied with Zhu Zhuqing's third Soul Skill. If it merely increased speed, it would naturally overlap somewhat with her earlier Soul Skills, but now that her third Soul Skill actually offered a degree of damage reduction, it was something else entirely.
After all, in a life-and-death fight, even one percent of damage could become the final straw that broke the camel's back, let alone fifty-percent damage reduction. That really could play a tremendous role.
After absorbing their Soul Rings, Yu Tianling and Zhu Zhuqing did not linger in the Star Dou Great Forest. After resting in town for a night, they boarded a carriage and left.
"Ling, aren't we going straight back to Spirit City?"
Seeing that the carriage was clearly not heading toward Spirit City, Zhu Zhuqing looked in confusion at Yu Tianling beside her, unsure where he intended to go.
"You're already at level thirty-eight. With several factors working together, you should be able to break through to level forty within a month or two. I plan to help you obtain your fourth Soul Ring then before returning to Spirit City. As for now, we'll explore nearby Suotuo City first, and stop by the Great Soul Arena to improve your ability to fight opponents."
Hearing Yu Tianling's explanation, Zhu Zhuqing nodded in understanding.
Indeed, reaching level forty would be a breeze for her now. There was little point in returning to Spirit City too early, and she also wanted to stay by Yu Tianling's side alone.
Thinking this, Zhu Zhuqing could not help stealing a glance at the reclining Yu Tianling, her little face flushing slightly. She also forgot that Suotuo City was not the closest town to them, and to wonder why Yu Tianling insisted on going there.
Yu Tianling naturally noticed Zhu Zhuqing's little movements, but he did not point them out. Zhu Zhuqing was rather interesting like this, wasn't she?
As for why he was going to Suotuo City, naturally, he intended to take a look at Shrek Academy there and make some arrangements in advance along the way.
He had certainly not forgotten that Shrek's storyline would begin very soon.
The central area of the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Having just received word from her clansmen, Bi Ji hurried to Di Tian's side and offered her analysis. "Di Tian, my clansmen sent word that an immortal-grade herb appeared in the inner region some time ago. Quite a few dark-attribute Soul Beasts went to fight over it, and there were many casualties. Traces of Ultimate Ice were also found there. The clue to the Ice Dragon King may very well be there."
"Whether or not it's related to the Ice Dragon King, let's go take a look first."
There was no time to lose. Di Tian immediately set off with Bi Ji and the others for the place where the Dark Night Bodhi Fruit had appeared.
Both were top-tier Soul Beasts, so naturally, the journey took little time. In mere moments, they arrived at the spot where Yu Tianling had just fought the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
"Hmm? It's actually a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger!"
Bi Ji stared in disgust at the thoroughly dead corpse of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger on the ground, her words also brimming with revulsion.
As a powerful Soul Beast who cherished the lives of Soul Beasts, and who would even work hard later to mediate relations between Soul Beasts and humans, Bi Ji deeply loathed Soul Beasts like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, which increased their cultivation by devouring their own kind.
Under normal circumstances, a powerhouse like her would disdain attacking a mere ten-thousand-year Soul Beast. But if she encountered a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, even one only a thousand years old, she would certainly strike without hesitation and eliminate it completely.
"A human Soul Master did this? Those damned human Soul Masters are getting bolder and bolder. They actually dared to come into this area!"
Upon seeing the wounds on the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, clearly left by a human Soul Master's Soul Skills, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear behind Di Tian spoke furiously, wishing he could tear that person to pieces on the spot.
"Hehe, Xiong Jun, perhaps they're even stronger than you."
Xiong Jun was one of the kings of the Star Dou Great Forest. Possessing extraordinarily powerful assault capabilities and a pair of enormous claws that could even tear space apart, he was the patriarch of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear clan and the strongest bear-type Soul Beast.
"Zi JI, don't look down on this bear. That brat just happens not to be here. Otherwise, I'd make sure he never returned."
Xiong Jun waved a bear paw as he spoke with exceptional confidence.
At the sight of Xiong Jun, everyone could not help smiling. Only then did they approach the immortal-grade plant's location to investigate what had happened.
"Consider yourself lucky!"
Seeing Di Tian and the others move ahead, Bi Ji sent the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's corpse flying with a fierce kick. Out of sight, out of mind. Then she hurried forward to catch up.
The place where the Dark Night Bodhi Fruit had originally grown was tightly encased in Ultimate Ice. Even though a considerable time had passed, it still had not melted.
"Hmm?"
After approaching, Di Tian and the others could not help exchanging glances.
"It's very likely that the Ice Dragon King's power did indeed appear here."
Di Tian spoke with his brows tightly knitted, yet his words were full of certainty.
The reason was that they sensed a dragon's might within the Ultimate Ice before them. Among ice-attribute dragon Soul Beasts, only the Ice Dragon King, one of the Nine Great Dragon Kings, could have this effect on them.
"Yes!"
The others also nodded, their faces solemn.
"But there are dark-attribute Soul Beast corpses everywhere here, and the Dark Night Bodhi Fruit is only especially useful to dark-attribute Soul Beasts. The Ice Dragon King's successor, who possesses Ultimate Ice, would have absolutely no need to fight over something like this."
Bi Ji raised the question in confusion.
The Dark Night Bodhi Fruit had the most pronounced effects on dark-attribute Soul Beasts and Soul Masters. For other attributes, its effects were ordinary. Logically, a Soul Beast that had inherited the Ice Dragon King's legacy could not possibly take risks to seize the Dark Night Bodhi Fruit.
Hearing Bi Ji's words, Xiong Jun, Zi JI, and the others wholeheartedly agreed. As one of the Nine Great Dragon Kings, the Ice Dragon King's legacy was surely extraordinarily rich. Surely its inheritor could not think much of something like the Dark Night Bodhi Fruit.
Yet they would never have imagined that this so-called successor, Yu Tianling, had only obtained the ability to wield Ultimate Ice and nothing else.
Moreover, the Dark Night Bodhi Fruit happened to have excellent effects after Zhu Zhuqing consumed it, which was why Yu Tianling had stuck his foot into the affair. He had never imagined that it would leave the absolute powerhouses of the Star Dou Great Forest racking their brains without finding an answer.