Dai Weisi's mind was wholly immersed in absorbing the God-Given Soul Ring.
A tremendous surge of energy erupted through every limb and bone in his body!
Any ordinary Soul Saint would likely have burst apart and died under the impact of that energy.
But Dai Weisi was different!
He had consumed the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and forged an Indestructible Vajra Body long ago. He had also completed Ice and Fire Body Tempering and absorbed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!
His body was far stronger than those of Soul Masters at the same level!
The defining trait of a God-Given Soul Ring was that its age matched the limit of what the absorber's body could withstand!
What was the limit Dai Weisi's body could withstand?
"Hum-!"
The six Soul Rings Dai Weisi already possessed suddenly lit up.
Purple, yellow, purple, purple, black, red!
Immediately afterward, a dazzling light erupted where the seventh Soul Ring should be!
It was a Soul Ring... scarlet as blood!
Its bloody glow was a shade deeper than that of the Sixth Soul Ring!
When the red Soul Ring finally stabilized, a violent presence burst forth from Dai Weisi!
Soul Power, level seventy-four!
"Roar-!!!"
The Titan Giant Ape's roar shook the mountains and forests as he raised his mountain-sized palm high once more. This time, black energy visible to the naked eye had gathered in his palm, warping the space around it.
He would crush the arrogant human who dared absorb a Soul Ring before him, along with that hard turtle shell, into dust!
Yet just as he was about to bring his enormous palm down, his movement abruptly froze.
He was not the only one. Even Xiao Wu, who had been blinded by rage on his shoulder, was stunned.
Before Dai Weisi, the God-Given Soul Ring, formed from pure energy, was merging into his body at an incredible speed.
As it did, his own Soul Rings appeared one after another.
Purple, yellow, purple, purple, black...
When the sixth Soul Ring lit up, its glaring scarlet made Xiao Wu's pupils contract sharply!
A hundred thousand years!
This man's Sixth Soul Ring was actually at the hundred-thousand-year level!
How was that possible?
How could a Soul Emperor's body withstand the impact of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring's energy?
Yet that was not the end.
The seventh Soul Ring, the one that had just merged into his body, appeared as well.
It was a deeper red than the Sixth Soul Ring.
"No... impossible!"
Xiao Wu murmured involuntarily.
She had watched Dai Weisi absorb the Soul Ring with her own eyes, but there was no trace of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast having died anywhere nearby!
He hadn't hunted a Soul Beast! Then had this Soul Ring... appeared out of thin air?
Just what kind of monster was he?!
As she stood there in a daze, Dai Weisi slowly rose to his feet, feeling the Soul Power surging through his body.
He did not even look at the astonished Titan Giant Ape. He merely cast a glance at Zhu Zhuyun, who stood nearby.
Zhu Zhuyun understood at once.
She glanced at her younger sister, who lay limp on the ground with a vacant stare. A complex look flashed across her face, but it ultimately gave way to resolve.
She strode forward and brought the edge of her hand down in one swift, clean chop to the back of Zhu Zhuqing's neck, knocking her unconscious.
Then she took off her outer robe and draped it over Zhu Zhuqing's naked body, covering her snowy skin.
After doing all this, she took a deep breath and flashed to Dai Weisi's side.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"
The two of them cried out in low voices almost simultaneously.
Brilliant golden light and deep black radiance shot into the sky, intertwining and merging in midair. Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun vanished, replaced by a terrifying tiger whose size rivaled the Titan Giant Ape's!
The giant tiger's fur looked as though it had been cast from gilded gold, and brilliant golden light seemed to flow faintly between its black stripes.
Its tiger eyes were filled with the overbearing majesty and authority of one who looked down upon the world.
The Hell White Tiger had descended!
"This... this is..."
Xiao Wu shuddered once more.
The life field and energy fluctuations radiating from the Hell White Tiger before her, formed by a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, were nothing like those of a Soul Power construct. It was more like a living, breathing, peerless Ferocious Beast!
The strength of its presence had even surpassed that of a seventy- or eighty-thousand-year Soul Beast, approaching the ninety-thousand-year level!
But how could the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of a Seven-Ring Soul Sage and a Five-Ring Soul King reach such a terrifying level?!
"Roar-!!!"
The Titan Giant Ape sensed an unprecedented threat. He abandoned his attack on Shi Mo below and focused all his attention on the newly appeared tiger.
He beat his chest with both fists and let out an earth-shaking roar. His enormous body suddenly sank, and an invisible gravitational field instantly enveloped the entire valley!
Titan Giant Ape domain, Gravity Control!
But the Hell White Tiger raised its head.
"Is that all you've got?"
Dai Weisi's voice came from the White Tiger's mouth, metallic in tone and tinged with lazy mockery.
"Let me show you my power."
"Hell White Tiger, God-Slaying Holy Light!"
Before his words had finished, the Hell White Tiger opened its bloody maw. A massive beam of light, a mixture of sacred gold and nether black, tore through the restraints of the Gravity Domain like a god's spear and blasted toward the Titan Giant Ape's chest with unstoppable force!
Dai Weisi held almost nothing back in this attack, pouring all of his newly increased Soul Power and Zhu Zhuyun's Soul Power into it, regardless of the cost!
For the first time, a grave look appeared in the Titan Giant Ape's eyes. He dared not be careless in the slightest. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, every muscle in his body tensing instantly as his skin took on the texture of rock.
"Boom-!!!!!"
The black-and-gold beam struck the Titan Giant Ape's arms head-on.
Violent energy exploded instantly, forming a small mushroom cloud.
"Cough... has this kid... gone mad?"
Dugu Bo could not help cursing from inside the serpent's body.
"He's burning through Soul Power so recklessly just for this one attack?!"
At the heart of the storm, the Titan Giant Ape's enormous body was driven back step after step by the blow, each footfall leaving a giant crater dozens of meters deep in the earth.
When the light faded, charred patches had appeared on his arms, which were strong enough to withstand mountains collapsing and the earth splitting apart.
He... was injured!
Although it was only a light injury, it was enough to shock Xiao Wu once again.
Er Ming, the king of the forest, had actually been driven back head-on and injured by a human Soul Master's skill!
She quickly surveyed the battlefield.
A Titled Douluo with defense so monstrous that he remained standing after taking two heavy blows from Er Ming head-on.
A Poison Douluo with a chilling presence watching like a tiger eyeing its prey, yet to make a move.
And on top of that, the Martial Soul Fusion Skill before her, formed by two monsters and capable of clashing head-on with Er Ming...
They couldn't keep fighting!
If they did, even if Er Ming won, he would surely pay a terrible price, and the Poison Douluo might even take advantage of his weakness!
"Er Ming, let's go!"
Xiao Wu made a snap decision and shouted in a piercing voice.
"First, let's go find Da Ming! We'll come back for revenge afterward!"
Though the Titan Giant Ape was burning with rage, he was no fool. He too understood that the situation was extremely unfavorable to him.
He let out one last, unwilling roar, filled with frustration and fury.
Then he stomped down hard, using the recoil to launch his enormous body into the sky like a cannonball. In a few bounds, he and Xiao Wu vanished without a trace into the thick mist deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.