Tang Hao's Sneak Attack, Ah Yin's Seventh Soul Skill
The transformation of Ah Yin's Martial Soul lasted half a month.
At noon that day, the Blue Silver Divine Tree finally stirred and began to shrink.
Only after her Martial Soul returned to normal did Ah Yin slowly open her eyes. She had gained a touch of noble divinity.
Only at this moment did she have something of an emperor's bearing, rather than that of the idea queen she usually was.
But that divinity did not last long. The moment she saw Jiang Nian and Qian Renxue, she broke into a dazed grin.
"Master! I did it! I'm a seven-ring Soul Saint now too!" Ah Yin's Soul Rings descended, and her rank had shot straight up to level 74.
Jiang Nian nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Get used to your new power, then help your senior sister Xue'er find a suitable Soul Ring."
"Can we wait a few more days?" Ah Yin looked toward the Ghost Vine Dragon Serpent Tree's main root. "There are lots of nutrients down there. If I absorb them, I should be able to gain another two levels."
"Go on. Your senior sister and I will wait for you outside."
Another day passed. Suddenly, Qian Renxue grew alert. "Teacher, there's someone sneaking around over there!"
"Mm, I know."
"What's he trying to do?"
Jiang Nian said nothing, looking in Ah Yin's direction. "He's here to make trouble for your junior sister."
Qian Renxue was worried. "Aren't we going to help Senior Sister? That guy's presence seems really strong."
"No need. With me here, nothing will happen to your junior sister. Tang Hao's strength is passable, and your junior sister just broke through. She needs a suitable opponent she can fight without holding back."
Judging solely by Soul Master standards, Ah Yin had no chance of winning.
But Ah Yin had not only cultivated the Azure Emperor Longevity Mantra, she also had an Earth-tier Dou Technique at her disposal. With her newly transformed Blue Silver Divine Tree as well, she was not necessarily incapable of fighting Tang Hao.
Tang Hao did not know that his every move was being watched. The deep affection he had once shown Ah Yin was gone from his eyes, leaving only greed for her Soul Ring.
"Ah Yin, you forced me to do this!" Tang Hao summoned his Martial Soul, and Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet. His configuration of two yellow, two purple, and four black rings was already considered top-tier on the Douluo Continent.
He gripped the Clear Sky Hammer tightly and used the seventh of the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, Break. Power gathered in the hammer; he already intended to kill Ah Yin instantly with this strike, preventing her from self-detonating and destroying her Soul Ring and Soul Bone.
Once he was at the right distance, he sprang up and shouted, "Die!"
Boom!
The hammer came down, but before Tang Hao could show any delight, the "Ah Yin" he had struck turned into Blue Silver Grass. Then Ah Yin's voice came from behind him.
"You just won't stop haunting me!"
A mere Soul Saint actually dodged my attack. How is that possible?!
Before Tang Hao could turn around, Ah Yin had already summoned her new Martial Soul. A Blue Silver Divine Tree radiating a rich breath of life appeared in her palm.
"First Soul Skill, Blue Silver Spear!"
After Ah Yin's Martial Soul evolved, her First Soul Skill had changed as well.
She no longer needed to control Blue Silver Grass to bind Tang Hao. The roots of the Blue Silver Divine Tree were connected to the earth veins, and with a single thought from her, countless sharp Blue Silver spikes pierced up from beneath his feet.
Tang Hao was an experienced fighter, and this time he was determined to kill. An instant before the spikes appeared, he sensed the danger and retreated.
But the spikes that emerged continued to grow until they became spears nearly two meters long. They flew up like missiles, heading straight for Tang Hao.
Tang Hao smashed most of them with the Clear Sky Hammer, but a spear still slashed his face.
Ah Yin gave him no time to catch his breath. She used her Second Soul Skill again, and a Blue Silver Cage rose from the ground, wrapping Tang Hao so tightly that not even air could pass through. Then spikes shot out from the cage once more.
"Damn it!" Tang Hao could no longer hold back. As he channeled his Soul Power, the Clear Sky Hammer grew as large as a mountain and shattered the cage in an instant, though several bloody holes had already been pierced through his body by the spears.
Not only that, Tang Hao also used Divine Slaughter's Domain, which boosted his own strength by 110% and suppressed his target's strength by 10%.
"Clear Sky True Body: Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer! Smash!" With nothing but killing intent left in him, Tang Hao was laying all his cards on the table.
Before coming here, he had already noticed that other forces were searching for Ah Yin in the Star Dou Great Forest. Once a battle broke out, it was bound to draw other experts.
When those experts arrived, this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would truly be beyond his reach.
But then a sight that stunned him unfolded.
No matter how he attacked, Ah Yin seemed able to predict his strikes, dodging every time before the Clear Sky Hammer came down.
After several consecutive blows, Tang Hao sensed that something was wrong. His Soul Power was being rapidly depleted, and he could not keep this up.
He stopped and stared fixedly at Ah Yin. "Impossible! You're only a Soul Saint. How did you manage to dodge my Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer?!"
"Because the divine tree told me all your moves. Now that you're done attacking, it's my turn, scumbag." Ah Yin held up the divine tree. "Seventh Soul Skill, Blue Silver True Body: Advent of the Tree World!"
As her voice fell, the Blue Silver Divine Tree in Ah Yin's hand turned into a seed and fell to the ground. The entire Star Dou Great Forest began to tremble, and a sacred Blue Silver Divine Tree rose from the earth, its crown covering nearly thirty percent of the forest.
Tang Hao's eyes widened. "Impossible! You're a mere Soul Saint. Even if you're a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who took human form and started cultivating again, you couldn't possibly have this much Soul Power as a Soul Saint!"
"And aren't you the Blue Silver Emperor?! Why is your Martial Soul a tree?!"
Ah Yin looked up at the tree's crown, a blissful smile spreading across her face. "Because I have the best master in the whole world!"
She waved her hand. "Go, divine tree! Tear this scumbag apart!"
Ah Yin had no fear of the rapid drain on her Soul Power. As the Blue Silver Emperor, she had a vast supply to begin with, and in the Star Dou Great Forest, she could draw an endless stream of life force from the Blue Silver Grass and convert it into Soul Power.
Even if her Soul Power ran dry, she was not afraid. The divine tree had told her that her master was watching from nearby; the guy before her must have been deliberately let in by her master so she could practice on him.
Roots surged out of the ground and rushed toward Tang Hao like flowing rivers, absorbing all the Soul Power in their path.
Tang Hao sensed the danger posed by the roots and kept retreating to avoid them, but Ah Yin's Advent of the Tree World covered an enormous area. He had nowhere to escape.
But he was not one to sit and wait for death. He smashed the ground with the Clear Sky Hammer, using the resulting force to briefly launch himself into the air.
Then he locked onto Ah Yin's real body. "Clear Sky Nine Absolutes: Void!"
Tang Hao shot toward Ah Yin's true body like a bullet, the air cracking around him.
Countless branches surged out along the way, predicting every position Tang Hao would pass through and trying to intercept him.
But Clear Sky Nine Absolutes: Void was a move that incorporated and accommodated all things. The branches flying at him not only failed to stop him, but also became footholds after he redirected their force.
When he was only ten meters from Ah Yin, Tang Hao changed moves. "Clear Sky Nine Absolutes: Collapse!"
Tang Hao understood that he could not simply defend. Since Advent of the Tree World was an area attack, he would use an area attack of his own to break it.
Yet just as he was about to land, he saw no panic on Ah Yin's face. Instead, she smiled faintly. "You fell for it!"
Ah Yin's clear voice sounded like a devil's whisper in Tang Hao's ears.
Ah Yin raised her hand, and the Blue Silver Divine Tree extended tender branches that wrapped around her body to form defensive armor. At the same time, she circulated her Dou Qi to form a Dou Qi Gauze Garment, using every defensive measure at her disposal.
Her approach was to play it safe-and avoid pain.
Her gaze sharpened slightly. "Ah Yin knows a thing or two about close combat too. Eight Extremes Collapse!"