Only after a full day of recuperation did Xu Zhengyang recover enough strength to barely walk.
Clutching the fist-sized piece of Gold of Life, Xu Zhengyang slowly made his way down Azure Thunder Mountain. His injuries were too severe this time; he probably would not recover so quickly.
Near the foot of Azure Thunder Mountain, Xu Zhengyang found a secluded place to recuperate, wash his body, and replenish his energy.
To Xu Zhengyang's surprise, he recovered considerably faster than he had expected. After only about ten days, the charred black skin on his body began gradually peeling away. In contrast, his previously bronze muscles had gained a hint of whiteness and a touch of tender pink.
From the looks of it, his body was a little like lightning-struck wood, reborn amid destruction.
In particular, Xu Zhengyang felt that his physical constitution seemed to have grown stronger, a little like the legendary ability to grow stronger when facing strength-or perhaps a new birth amid destruction, as though heavenly lightning had tempered his body.
Of course, aside from the changes in his own body, another important reason he could recover so quickly was the Gold of Life in his hand.
Though the Gold of Life was only the size of a fist, it weighed dozens of jin. The immense breath of life it radiated felt extraordinarily soothing, as though his body were bathing in a mysterious ocean, every cell exceptionally active, like all things awakening to life.
Being struck by lightning this time had not been entirely bad. Unexpectedly, the rank-twenty-nine bottleneck that had troubled Xu Zhengyang for some time had actually broken during the lightning strike, and his Soul Power had finally reached rank thirty.
A twelve-year-old Soul Elder would be considered a genius anywhere. Even at Shrek Academy, it seemed only three people in this year's intake could achieve that. But when he thought of Shrek's enormous size, and how almost every intake had twelve-year-old Soul Elders, Xu Zhengyang's initial delight vanished without a trace.
Ten days later, Xu Zhengyang put his weights back on and felt that they seemed considerably lighter than before.
This time, Xu Zhengyang headed straight for the Star Dou Great Forest. Now that he had reached Soul Elder, he still intended to absorb a Soul Ring before returning home. Besides, in terms of the variety and number of Soul Beasts, the Star Dou Great Forest was the most renowned on the entire Douluo Continent.
When Xu Zhengyang stepped into the Star Dou Great Forest again, his eyes remained filled with vigilance, as well as admiration.
When Xu Zhengyang had first gone to Shrek Academy, he had taken a detour around the Star Dou Great Forest. But back then, he had only traveled along its outer edge and had never truly entered it.
Only after truly entering the Star Dou Great Forest did Xu Zhengyang understand what vastness and danger meant.
Even on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, towering trees reached a hundred meters high, while Soul Beasts were as numerous as the stars. Every few hundred meters, he encountered all kinds of Soul Beasts.
Thick weeds also covered the ground. The slightest lapse in attention could invite an ambush from an insect or reptilian Soul Beast, and these Soul Beasts were exceptionally skilled at hiding and possessed extremely powerful attacks.
Compared with the already declining Sunset Forest, the Star Dou Great Forest had far greater numbers and varieties of Soul Beasts. Even its outskirts far surpassed the Jingyang Mountain Range.
Xu Zhengyang held his breath and focused, opening the Devil Tiger's Eye between his brows to carefully observe everything within several hundred meters, ensuring his safety while searching closely for Soul Beasts.
Being struck by lightning this time had brought Xu Zhengyang another benefit: he could clearly feel that, under the lightning's blows, his Devil Tiger's Eye had fused completely with his body.
More than two years had passed since Xu Zhengyang absorbed the Devil Tiger's Eye. Its power had increased considerably, its range of vision had extended farther, and even his spiritual power had improved to a certain extent. Judging by the Soul Bone's age, it had reached at least the four-thousand-year level.
Xu Zhengyang searched cautiously through the Star Dou Great Forest, far more carefully this time than in the Sunset Forest. After all, the Class 5 Soul Tool he used to defend himself had been utterly destroyed. It had been one of the foundations that kept him alive in Soul Beast forests.
The Star Dou Great Forest truly contained an enormous variety of Soul Beasts. Even on the outskirts, in just three short days, Xu Zhengyang discovered many extremely rare and precious Soul Beasts. He even found two thousand-year subdragon-attribute Soul Beasts with exceptionally powerful attacks. Had he not been set on pursuing tiger-type Soul Beasts, he probably would have been unable to resist wanting to absorb them.
In particular, he had encountered a five-thousand-year Iron Armored Thorn Dragon, a supreme specimen among dragon-attribute Soul Beasts, which left Xu Zhengyang burning with desire.
As for the age of his third Soul Ring, after analyzing his own physique, Xu Zhengyang felt it should be between four and five thousand years, preferably not exceeding five thousand. Any higher would probably exceed what his body could withstand.
The Star Dou Great Forest was indeed extraordinarily dangerous, with all manner of bizarre Soul Beasts. In just three days, however cautious Xu Zhengyang was, he suffered a full seven attacks, each coming with extreme suddenness. These Soul Beasts were like natural-born hunters.
That evening, Xu Zhengyang had been planning to find a secluded tree hollow to rest in when he suddenly heard an exceptionally terrifying tiger's roar, accompanied by a bear's bellow.
Xu Zhengyang's expression changed. He could clearly sense boundless intimidation within that tiger's roar, like a true king of beasts. Although the bear's bellow was slightly weaker, it held not a trace of cowardice.
From the sounds alone, Xu Zhengyang understood that this was definitely a battle between two top-tier Soul Beasts. Although the Star Dou Great Forest was filled with killing, true battles between Soul Beasts of the same level were extremely rare. They might find ways to defeat their opponents, but they would never fight to the death.
Top-tier Soul Beasts like these already possessed a certain degree of intelligence. If they fought a Soul Beast of the same level to the death, they could easily become food for other Soul Beasts. Tiger- and bear-type Soul Beasts in particular were overlord-like existences; they usually only exchanged a few probing attacks before leaving.
Yet judging by those two roars just now, both Soul Beasts seemed exceptionally furious, fully poised to fight to the death, and the scale of their battle was undoubtedly tremendous.
Even from so far away, Xu Zhengyang could feel the ground trembling, which showed just how ferocious and overbearing these two Soul Beasts were.
Xu Zhengyang hesitated only briefly before concealing himself and swiftly sneaking toward the center of the battle.
When Xu Zhengyang actually reached the battlefield, shock flashed through his eyes, and he even found it somewhat unbelievable.
Fighting before him were an enormous bear and an enormous tiger. The bear stood over three meters tall, nearly four meters, and its sharp claws in particular were a full two feet long, even giving off gleams of cold light. Moreover, this enormous bear's fur was actually a rare dark gold.
Xu Zhengyang's attention was truly focused on the enormous tiger. It was nearly seven meters long and actually black all over, its claws likewise looking exceptionally sharp. Only on top of its head were alternating black and gold markings, forming a huge character for "king."
"Nether Flame Demon Tiger! To think it was actually a Nether Flame Demon Tiger!"