"I have long heard of the Nine-Section Jade's great renown, yet never in my life have I seen a Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor, much less fought one."
"Seeing such an extraordinary beast today has truly left my hands itching for a fight!"
A trace of fiery fighting spirit flashed through Meng Zhongqi's eyes. The Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad was also an extraordinary beast among frogs, and harbored the poisons of water and fire besides.
Both numbered among the five poisons. As for which was stronger, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad or the Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor, he still did not know.
"Today, let us see which of us is superior!"
This battle would determine not only superiority, but life and death. Having said this, Meng Zhongqi strode forward, Soul Rings flashing beneath his feet.
Two yellow, two purple, and four black!
Eight Soul Rings appeared beneath Meng Zhongqi's feet, layered one upon another from the inside out. A terrifying pressure of Soul Power swiftly spread in all directions!
Boom!
Suddenly, Meng Zhongqi's seventh Soul Ring blazed with light. A pitch-black Soul Ring rose, enveloping him completely.
Soon, Meng Zhongqi's figure vanished, and an ice-blue giant frog appeared on the battlefield. Its body was also extremely robust, covering an area roughly a zhang across.
"Seventh Soul Ring-Martial Soul Avatar!"
"The Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad is a top-tier Beast Martial Soul on the Douluo Continent. Thus, after its Soul Master becomes a Soul Saint, activating the Martial Soul Avatar also manifests an Innate Domain around them!"
"This is my Innate Domain-Ice Prison Poison Swamp. It forms a poisonous swamp domain within a hundred meters, restricting movement, dealing continuous damage, and weakening the enemy's circulation of Soul Power."
Meng Zhongqi's voice came from the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's mouth.
There were countless Martial Souls in this world, but without exception, only top-tier Martial Souls could produce domain skills.
Generally speaking, only top-tier Martial Souls had a chance of awakening an Innate Domain to bolster themselves after their users became Soul Saints.
Awakening an Innate Domain also depended on luck!
But once a user of the Meng Family's Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul became a Soul Saint, they had an eighty-percent chance of awakening an Innate Domain to bolster themselves.
Although the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul brought many harms to its Soul Master, this was also one of the few bright spots of the Meng Family's hereditary Martial Soul.
The Vermilion Clear Ice Toad possessed an icy fire poison formed by alternating ice and fire. Wherever it passed, even its path retained deadly poison.
Combined with the Ice Prison Poison Swamp domain, everything within a hundred meters fell under Meng Zhongqi's control, showing just how freakishly powerful it was.
"Hiss!"
The Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor writhed uneasily. Although blades and swords could scarcely harm its body, and its venom could melt gold and dissolve jade, the poison produced by alternating ice and fire still made it uneasy.
This was a magnificent art of fire and ice!
The Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor coiled its body like a gigantic spring. Its serpentine body reared high, its enormous venomous fangs gleaming coldly.
Striking first was the way to subdue an enemy!
The Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor became a speeding arrow, opening its blood-basin maw and attacking Meng Zhongqi. It intended to kill him in one strike.
"Eighth Soul Skill: Vermilion Clear Feast!"
The calm voice rang out. The Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad crouched in place, its entire body flashing with ice-blue, frigid light as its eighth Soul Ring blazed with an eerie glow.
Freezing rain abruptly fell from the sky, carrying an intense, deadly poison with an extremely potent ability to spread and diffuse.
Drops of freezing rain struck the Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor. Like maggots clinging to bone, they corroded their way into its body.
The Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor's defenses ranked among the very best in the Soul Beast Realm. Yet the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's cold poison could ignore them and inflict tremendous damage.
Terrifying! Terrifying!
At that moment, Meng Zhongqi's Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul shone with dazzling brilliance. Its toxicity was truly terrifying.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"
Having suffered such grievous injuries, the Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor no longer dared approach. It promptly opened its mouth again and spat out a stream of venom!
This venom was truly formidable, powerful enough to melt gold and dissolve iron. Even the air sizzled as the venom corroded it.
"Third Soul Skill: Ice Refraction!"
Meng Zhongqi's third Soul Ring came from a Mirror Shadow Beast of the Far North. This Soul Skill was also his most important defensive Soul Skill.
A mirrorlike ice disc abruptly appeared around the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad, enclosing it completely like a cocoon of light.
Through the refraction of light and shadow, the ice disc slowly shone with strange light, instantly reflecting the attack back onto the Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor.
As it turned out, the Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor's venom was indeed formidable. Through the wounds on its body, it even injured the snake itself.
"While you're weakened, I'll take your life!"
"Fifth Soul Skill: Ice and Fire Poison Dragon Drill!"
Meng Zhongqi shouted, then opened his mouth and spat. An ice-blue beam of deadly poison entwined with scarlet shot from the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's mouth. The two mingled, forming the opposing poles of ice and fire.
This was a hymn of ice and fire. This move combined the dual attributes of ice and fire with deadly poison, dealing high burst damage to an enemy.
As it turned out, all schemes and tricks were futile before absolute strength. Meng Zhongqi was far too powerful.
Meng Zhongqi's Soul Power had broken through to Level 90. Although he had yet to hunt down a Soul Ring, his combat strength could no longer be compared to before.
An enormous gulf separated a Soul Douluo from a Titled Douluo, not to mention that Meng Zhongqi had absorbed five inherited Soul Bones.
These five inherited Soul Bones were no mere decorations!
After a smooth little combo, the Nine-Section Jade Snake Emperor was beaten within an inch of its life. By the look of it, it was about to be finished.
"Hiss-roar!"
At this sight, the Queen Medusa nearby also grew furious. Without further hesitation, she dragged her exhausted body into battle!
But before absolute strength, she too was soon dealt with.
Now, Meng Zhongqi possessed five inherited Soul Bones, and his Soul Power had broken through to Level 90. His strength was truly terrifying.
Even though he had yet to hunt down a Soul Ring, his current combat strength was enough to rival some low-level Titled Douluos.
With more rings and more bones, unleash a wave of skills!
With fewer rings and fewer bones, turn tail and run!
This was also a universally acknowledged truth in the Soul Master World. After all, a Soul Master's strength was directly proportional to the number of their Soul Skills.
If a Titled Douluo had absorbed no Soul Bones and had nothing but basic equipment, then no matter how high his Soul Power was, he would only have nine Soul Skills.
Although Soul Power was a Soul Master's foundation, Soul Skills could often determine victory or defeat in battle. There was no doubt about this.
Just imagine: how could an ordinary Soul Master's lifetime of accumulation surpass the legacy a great secluded family had amassed over thousands of years!
The deep reserves of an established family were no empty words!
Things ordinary Soul Masters could only encounter by chance, never obtain at will, were merely commonplace possessions in the eyes of established families.
The Meng Family's thousand years of accumulation and fifteen generations of inheritance were now all embodied in Meng Zhongqi, showing just how terrifying they were.
"Old woman!"
"Hurry over here and finish it off yourself!"
The Queen Medusa had already lost vitality from giving birth. Now, after a fierce battle, it looked as though it was about to be finished.
At this critical moment, Meng Zhongqi spoke.
"This is a Soul Beast over seventy thousand years old!"
"Normally, a Soul Master's eighth Soul Ring should be between fifty and sixty thousand years old. Isn't this a little too high?"
Nangong Wan hesitated somewhat. The Queen Medusa was an extraordinary beast among snakes, commanding an unusual law of time, and was exceedingly rare and precious.
For Power Attack System Soul Masters, the Soul Ring of such a rare Soul Beast was compatible with anything. In truth, she coveted it greatly too!