Seeing that his son had made his decision, Yang Zhentian finally breathed a sigh of relief. His son's second Soul Ring was settled at last.
"Son, stay here and be careful. This Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger is extremely dangerous. I'll go deal with him now."
With that, the Soul Breaking Spear appeared in Yang Zhentian's hand, and seven Soul Rings lit up around him. He charged toward the Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger and thrust his spear at it.
Yet Yang Zhentian's fierce strike actually missed. The Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger vanished, then reappeared several dozen meters away.
Immediately afterward, the Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger let out a roar and instead pounced swiftly at Yang Zhentian. Mid-pounce, it flashed and appeared beside him, a massive tiger paw swiping straight at him with incredible speed.
Yang Zhentian raised his spear to block, but the blow actually forced him back a fraction. As expected of a top-tier Soul Beast, its combat strength was terrifying. Yang Zhentian was already a high-ranking Soul Saint, after all. He could easily kill even a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, let alone a mere Soul Beast less than a thousand years old.
Yang Zhentian seemed a little annoyed. A dignified Soul Saint like him had not only failed to kill a tiger less than a thousand years old in one strike, but had even allowed it to counterattack.
Before the Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger could teleport again, Yang Zhentian swiftly raised his spear and thrust at it once more. The Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger seemed to recognize his strength as well. With a roar, it mustered every ounce of strength to block, but was wounded nonetheless. A huge puncture wound in its back streamed blood.
But Yang Zhentian paid no attention to the Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger's injuries. Had he not feared killing him outright with that thrust, the spear would have pierced straight through the Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger.
Yang Zhentian immediately thrust at the Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger again. This time, it finally teleported away. But the instant it finished teleporting, a Soul Breaking Spear flew straight through the air, pierced its body, and pinned it to the ground.
The Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger lay pinned to the ground, barely breathing, blood pouring out in torrents. It would not survive.
"Son, it's ready. Come over and kill this Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger yourself."
Hearing this, Yang Podi quickly came to his father's side and drove his own Soul Breaking Spear straight through the Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger's eye. The tiger breathed its last at once. Immediately afterward, a yellow Soul Ring appeared above its corpse.
Yang Zhentian looked at his son with some concern. "Son, think this through. This Soul Ring is nearly a thousand years old. It's already far beyond the upper limit of what an ordinary Soul Master can absorb."
"Dad, don't worry. You know how strong my body is. Absorbing this Soul Ring shouldn't be a problem."
Then, under Yang Zhentian's worried gaze, Yang Podi sat down beside the Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger's corpse and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
The absorption process brought tremendous pain this time as well. His entire body felt as though it were engulfed in a sea of fire, and torrents of Soul Power flooded every cell in his body. Yang Podi simply endured it in silence.
Absorbing this Soul Ring took a full three hours. Once it was complete, Yang Podi felt an incomparable sense of ease throughout his body. Two yellow Soul Rings now encircled the Soul Breaking Spear in his hand. Within his mind, an image showed a giant holding a Soul Breaking Spear with two Soul Rings around its shaft, and the giant seemed to have grown considerably stronger again.
After completing the absorption, Yang Podi summoned his Soul Breaking Spear Martial Soul and felt that the whole spear had grown considerably heavier again. Its weight had already exceeded three hundred jin, while his physical strength had also increased substantially.
Looking at his Soul Breaking Spear, Yang Podi could not help thinking of Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer. During the Soul Master Tournament, Tang San had only been a Soul Ancestor, but even without adding a single Soul Ring to his Clear Sky Hammer, its weight had already reached five hundred jin. It could be counted among the heaviest Martial Souls.
Seeing that his son had finished absorbing the Soul Ring, Yang Zhentian could not resist asking, "Son, how is this Soul Ring? What sort of Soul Skill does it have?"
"Dad, this Soul Skill is excellent. Let me show you."
Yang Podi stood up and summoned his Soul Breaking Spear. Two yellow Soul Rings appeared beneath his feet, and the second began to flash. He raised his spear and thrust forcefully ahead. A miracle occurred: Yang Podi appeared directly beside a large tree roughly twenty meters ahead, and then pierced straight through its trunk, which measured a meter around.
"Son, this Soul Skill is excellent. What exactly does it do?"
"Dad, my Soul Skill is called Devil Tiger Destruction Kill. It lets me teleport beside an enemy and attack them. When I use it, my Soul Breaking Spear's weight and attack power both increase by fifty percent. Each use consumes about ten percent of my Soul Power."
"Of course, as my Soul Power gradually grows stronger, the consumption should decrease. Also, my teleportation range is currently thirty meters at most. The exact distance depends on how much Soul Power I consume. The range should increase in the future, though probably not by too much."
Hearing his son's explanation, Yang Zhentian looked delighted. "Son, even I'm envious of this Soul Skill of yours. Its effects are probably better than many people's thousand-year Soul Skills, and it's extremely practical."
"Son, what level is your Soul Power now?"
"Dad, I've already reached level twenty-two."
"Son, you're truly impressive. That's my son for you."
Yang Podi seemed to suddenly think of something. "Dad, let me ask you something. How did you determine where that Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger would be after it teleported?"
Yang Zhentian could not help chuckling. "Son, I think you're worried someone might see through your Soul Skill."
"You can rest easy about that, son. You probably won't encounter an enemy of that level anytime soon."
"Son, remember this: any teleportation-type Soul Skill produces fluctuations in Soul Power during teleportation. That includes fluctuations in your own Soul Power as well as in the Soul Power in the air, especially at the very instant you appear. You can't sense those fluctuations yet. Ordinary Soul Masters can only sense them after reaching Soul Saint, though some Soul Masters with particularly strong spiritual power can do so as well."
"Only at the Soul Saint level does a Soul Master's spiritual power undergo a qualitative leap. Son, you probably won't encounter an opponent of that level for now."
"Besides, as your own strength increases, your control over Soul Power will grow stronger too. That will make the fluctuations your teleportation causes in the Soul Power in the air smaller and smaller, so you don't need to fear anyone seeing through this Soul Skill at all."
"That's also why teleportation-type Soul Skills are called divine skills. They don't consume much, but they're impossible to guard against."
After talking for a while, the two began preparing to leave.
Of course, they carefully dismembered the Purple-Eyed Demon Tiger, but found no Soul Bones. This left Yang Podi speechless for a time. Tang San got the Eight Spider Soul Bone by absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his limit, yet I've absorbed Soul Rings beyond my limit twice in a row and gotten nothing.