Dai Weisi gritted his teeth.
The cramping pain from the poison felt as though it would twist his internal organs into a knot, and his consciousness swung wildly between clarity and oblivion.
The cold mechanical voice descended once more.
[Option three: place yourself on the brink of death and fight your way back to life. The road to imperial power is paved with white bones! Are you willing to accept this? Choosing to continue competing for the throne means stepping onto an Asura's path filled with slaughter and conquest.] [Rewards: Martial Soul Evolution-Holy White Tiger! Soul Power increased by three levels! One Adaptive Soul Ring! One random Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!]
There it was!
This was how a transmigrator ought to be treated!
Dai Weisi nearly burst out laughing, a hint of near-maddened delight appearing on his face, twisted by agony.
Filled with slaughter and conquest?
An Asura's path?
The description sounded frightening, but to someone who had transmigrated from the twenty-first century's explosion of information and knew the entire story of the Douluo Continent, this was practically a script tailored just for him!
Power! Authority! Those were the truest things in this world!
"I choose three! I choose the third option!"
Dai Weisi shouted in his heart with the last of his strength.
[Ding! Choice confirmed!] [Distributing rewards...]
The instant the system notification sounded, a warm current burst from his heart!
The cramping pain in his abdomen, fierce enough to melt steel, was washed away by the warmth, vanishing in an instant like winter snow beneath the blazing sun.
Immediately afterward, a vast, pure life force began frantically repairing his poison-ravaged body.
Dai Weisi could clearly "see" his damaged meridians and organs recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming even tougher and more vigorous than before!
That wasn't all!
"Roar-!"
A tiger's roar exploded deep within his Sea of Consciousness!
Dai Weisi felt his whole body shudder as the Evil Eye White Tiger Martial Soul, the supreme inheritance of the Star Luo Imperial Family, emerged behind him beyond his control.
The original White Tiger Martial Soul had a powerful physique and blood-red eyes, filled with violence and killing intent.
But now, enveloped in boundless golden light, it was undergoing an earthshaking transformation!
Its body grew larger and larger, becoming ever more magnificent and imposing. A sacred golden halo suffused its snow-white fur.
The "king" mark on its forehead grew deeper and more ancient, with runes faintly flowing across it.
The most astonishing change was in its eyes!
The blood-red eyes that had represented wickedness and slaughter faded completely, transforming into a pair of dazzling golden eyes!
The pupils no longer held pure savagery alone; they now held a sacred majesty that looked down upon all living beings!
Holy White Tiger!
At the same time, the Soul Power inside Dai Weisi shot up like a rocket, breaking through the level-forty-nine bottleneck and surging onward with unstoppable force!
Level fifty!
What's more, he directly absorbed the so-called Adaptive Soul Ring!
His Soul Power soared once again!
Level fifty-one!
Level fifty-two!
Level fifty-three!
Level fifty-four!
Soul Power surged through him, finally settling steadily at level fifty-four!
Soul King!
In an instant, he had gone from a dying level-forty-nine Soul Ancestor to a level-fifty-four Soul King!
Dai Weisi sat bolt upright, feeling the unprecedented power within him!
He even had the illusion that...
One punch now would be enough to kill my former self!
"Is this... the power of the system?"
He opened his palm, and a ball of golden Soul Power danced above it, brimming with a sacred yet domineering presence. Compared with the power of the Evil Eye White Tiger before, the difference was like heaven and earth!
Before he could recover from the shock of his soaring Soul Power and Martial Soul Evolution, another force of extreme heat erupted in his chest!
[Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone: Golden Hawksbill Turtle Torso Bone. Fusion commencing!]
"Holy shit, nice!"
Dai Weisi couldn't help swearing.
Of all Soul Bones, torso bones were the most valuable, aside from External Soul Bones!
And this one was a hundred thousand years old!
Although it wasn't as powerful as the million-year-old Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's breastbone that Tang San obtained in the original story, getting this one now was better for him!
With a system, would I have to worry about not getting good things later?
But the next moment, intense pain struck again!
This time, it wasn't the poison's chilling cold, but a fierce, searing heat, as though his bones were being forcibly dismantled and reshaped.
Dai Weisi clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead as beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his face.
He could feel his chest being torn open by a pair of invisible hands, which then forced a branding iron inside!
The pain was excruciating, but what came with it was an even more indescribable power!
A torso bone covered in wondrous golden patterns fused perfectly with his skeleton. Powerful blood and vitality surged through his heart, then spread from his chest to the rest of his body!
His Soul Power rose again, climbing from level fifty-four to level fifty-six!
What's more, this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone came with two powerful Soul Skills!
The first skill was called Golden Shell Defense Domain.
Its effect: upon activating the Soul Bone, a gilded hawksbill turtle shell covered his torso, reducing physical damage and energy attacks from opponents of the same level by 60%. For every three attacks the shell endured, it automatically reflected an equal amount of damage once, returning it in the form of a golden shock wave.
It lasted one minute, with a three-minute cooldown!
The second skill was called Spirit Armor Rejuvenation.
Its effect: it released streams of golden life light to envelop the body, instantly restoring a large amount of the user's life force and removing all negative conditions, such as poisoning, paralysis, and Soul Skill seals. For the following minute, it restored a small additional amount of life force every second.
This skill could only be used three times a day!
Dai Weisi slowly let out a breath of turbid air, which carried a faint golden glow.
He rose from the bed and walked over to a dust-covered bronze mirror.
In the mirror was a brand-new Dai Weisi.
His face was still handsome and sharply defined, but the dejection and despair that had once clouded it after his defeat had long since disappeared without a trace.
In their place were eyes as deep as the starry sky. A flash of gold flickered through their depths, carrying sharpness and majesty.
He merely stood there in silence, yet the presence he gave off without meaning to was enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone with ill intentions!
"Dai Mubai... Zhu Zhuqing... Tang San..."
Dai Weisi looked at himself in the mirror, the corners of his lips curling into a cold smile.
"The game has only just begun."
Just then.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Someone pounded roughly on the doors to his chambers, interrupting Dai Weisi's thoughts.
"Your Highness, First Prince! Are you awake? Stop playing dead in there!"
It was the same shrill voice as before, only its tone was even more insolent and contemptuous this time.
"His Majesty has summoned you! Hurry out and come with me to Chengtian Hall for an audience! Don't keep His Majesty and the ministers waiting!"
The eunuch's voice was full of schadenfreude.
Summoned?
At a time like this?
A cold gleam flashed through Dai Weisi's eyes.
He could have figured it out with his toes: this so-called summons was nothing more than a public trial.
His imperial father, the ruthless Star Luo Emperor, was probably already impatient to announce his deposition and pave the way for his "more outstanding" son, Dai Mubai.
Fine.
He would have to face this sooner or later!
He straightened his slightly wrinkled, luxurious robes and walked toward the doors, his expression indifferent.
"Creak-"
The heavy doors were pulled open from within.
Outside, the pale, beardless eunuch was pursing his lips, preparing to knock again with an impatient look on his face. He had even thought up a few harsher insults.
But when the doors opened and he saw the person walking out, he froze.
The "worthless" prince he had expected to see, ashen-faced and bereft of spirit, did not appear.
Instead, there was a man standing straight as a sword, his face cold and stern, his gaze looking down on all before him.
He was only standing there casually, yet he gave the impression of a primeval beast lying in wait, ready to choose someone to devour at any moment.
And those eyes above all!
The eunuch felt as though a single glance from those pale golden eyes had plunged him into an ice cave, as if all the blood in his body were about to freeze!
A fear from the depths of his soul made his legs go weak, and he nearly fell to his knees on the spot.
Th-this was still the First Prince after his defeat?
How could his presence be... even more frightening than His Majesty's when he was furious?!
"Y-you..."
The eunuch's voice trembled uncontrollably. He pointed at Dai Weisi, but couldn't get a single word out properly.
"Shut up!"