Eighth Soul Skill, Clear Sky Pole Vault

Space tore open, followed by a series of crisp clattering sounds. Colorful bamboo stalks tumbled out and scattered before Da Ming.

Red Lone Bamboo, black Lone Bamboo, green Lone Bamboo, ordinary Lone Bamboo... As far as the eye could see, it was all Lone Bamboo, only in different colors and shades.

At the same time, another voice transmission sounded in Da Ming's mind.

Da Ming's expression turned exceedingly strange when he heard it. His enormous body paused, then he coiled around a stalk of Lone Bamboo that gave off a pale golden glow and another that shimmered silver. He held them out to Tang Hao and asked:

"Young human, are you going to absorb this four-hundred-year Golden Lone Bamboo, or this eight-hundred-year Silver Lone Bamboo?"

Tang Hao, who could no longer get up, was struck speechless. Where the hell had all this bizarre Lone Bamboo come from?

But on second thought, four hundred and eight hundred years at least fell within the range of Hundred-Year Soul Rings. They were vastly better than a deathly pale Ten-Year Soul Ring.

A faint glimmer had suddenly appeared in the lightless abyss of hell. Most of Tang Hao's despair faded, and he even felt a trace of relief.

He answered impatiently, "I choose the eight-hundred-year Silver Lone Bamboo."

But after hearing him, Da Ming shook his bull's head slightly and said displeasedly:

"What a greedy human."

"In that case, you can absorb this ten-year Blackwater Lone Bamboo."

Tang Hao: "???"

Xiao Wu: "???"

Their eyes turned red at the same time, and they panted like bulls.

Clearly, Tang Hao was not the only one affected. Xiao Wu's Tang Family Tang Syndrome had also flared up in full at that moment, and the two fellow patients began a musical performance of panting.

Da Ming, however, gave them no chance to object. He swept his snake tail:

"All right, human, there's little time and much to do. Hurry up."

A pitch-black bamboo stalk was flung in front of Tang Hao.

A pungent stench rose from the surface of its stem, and it was covered from end to end in sticky black stains. It looked as though it had just been fished out of a sewer.

Suppressing his nausea, Tang Hao moved over to the Blackwater Lone Bamboo and asked in a trembling voice:

"What variety of Lone Bamboo is this? How come I've never seen it before..."

A certain little loli surnamed Gu, who preferred not to reveal her name, swung her snowy-white feet as she watched the scene, the corners of her mouth curling up uncontrollably.

This was merely a shoddy test product he had casually cobbled together while trying to create life with the Creation Godhead.

The Golden Dragon King's stats were indeed terrifying. After all, he had inherited the Dragon God's stats and was a pure brawler.

The Silver Dragon King's combat power was a fraction inferior, but her mechanics were far superior.

The Creation Godhead possessed the power of creation, and creating life was one of its abilities.

In the original story, Gu Yuena had held the Creation Godhead in vain, hardly ever using it until the Myriad Beast Platform at the very end, when she had combined it with the Dragon God Core to create numerous extinct Soul Beasts.

Now, Gu Yue naturally intended to grind these skills to full proficiency ahead of time.

The foul-smelling Blackwater Lone Bamboo before them was a defective product made during her attempts to create life. It could not have been more suitable as Tang Hao's Eighth Soul Ring.

One could say that Tang Hao should even thank Lady Gu Yue for her gift. He could never repay Lady Gu Yue's kindness.

Under the icy gazes of the two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, Tang Hao closed his eyes and crushed the slimy ten-year Blackwater Lone Bamboo between trembling fingers.

A faint white light slowly rose from the bamboo.

With his heart as dead as ashes, Tang Hao drew the ten-year white ring toward himself and absorbed it.

The Soul Ring settled over him, and a moment later, eight pulsing Soul Rings slowly appeared around Tang Hao.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black... white.

Tang Hao sensed the flow of Soul Power within him. His Soul Power had not advanced in the slightest; he remained at Level 80.

The Soul Power a Ten-Year Soul Ring could provide was so pitifully meager that it was almost negligible.

Da Ming looked Tang Hao up and down and spoke indifferently:

"Foolish human, show us your Eighth Soul Skill."

Tang Hao's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

But under the pressure of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, he had no choice but to steel himself and activate the white Soul Ring:

"Eighth Soul Skill..."

"Clear Sky... Pole Vault!"

The next moment, the long handle of the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand stretched even longer, and the surface of the hammer was even smeared with foul-smelling, sticky black water.

Gripping the stinking hammer handle with both hands, Tang Hao took a few running steps forward, then planted the hammerhead against the ground. Using the handle's springiness, he launched himself into the air in a clumsy pole vault.

When he landed, he stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.

Tang Hao's face grew darker and darker. He swore that from this day forward, even if he, Tang Hao, were beaten to death, died out in the wilds, or jumped off a cliff in the Star Dou Great Forest, he would never use this Eighth Soul Skill even once.

Of course, Tang Hao could not have foreseen that in the near future, in an era when even Titled Douluo could only stay aloft briefly using Soul Power, this lousy hammer that launched him into the air regardless of obstacles would seem so irresistible to him.

Da Ming watched the scene, struggling to hold back his laughter. He raised his enormous bull's head and gazed up at the sky over the Star Dou Great Forest, a profound look and a trace of relief appearing in his eyes.

After a long while, he murmured:

"Wu's dad, back then you didn't jump fast enough or ruthlessly enough. Now, I've finally seen someone who can surpass you."

Beside him, Er Ming scratched his big head and looked at his elder brother in bewilderment, not understanding why he had suddenly mentioned Xiao Wu's deceased biological father.

Seeing that they had successfully completed the task entrusted to them by the Beast God, the two beasts looked at Xiao Wu, wanting to speak but stopping themselves, then wanting to speak again. In the end, they said nothing. Their enormous bodies withdrew, and moments later they vanished without a trace.

"Brother Hao, are you all right?"

Xiao Wu hurried forward and carefully helped the foul-smelling Tang Hao into her arms, comforting him gently:

"It's all right, Brother Hao. In Xiao Wu's heart, you'll always be the bestest."

As she supported him close against her, Tang Hao, whose senses had transformed after his breakthrough to Soul Douluo, clearly detected the fluctuations in Xiao Wu's presence before he could say anything.

The presence of a Soul Beast?

A transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

Tang Hao shuddered violently from head to toe.

Was Xiao Wu's true form actually a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

The utter humiliation that had nearly driven Tang Hao mad was swiftly washed away by a wave of indescribable elation.

Heaven had not treated him badly.

His Eighth Soul Ring might have been ruined, but as long as he kept Xiao Wu firmly in his grasp, he could use her red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone to make up for it when he eventually cultivated to Level 90 and became a Titled Douluo.

Then, with one white ring paired with one red ring, he would still be the Clear Sky Sect's foremost genius.

No, no. Tang Hao hurriedly shook that dangerous thought away.

Sister Xiao Wu loved him so much. How could he not love Xiao Wu in return?

For Xiao Wu's sake, he had even been willing to absorb a Ten-Year Soul Ring.

So...

Surely it would be all right for Sister Xiao Wu to give him her Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?

Tang Hao's cerebrum began elbowing his cerebellum again, his love-struck brain and his future engaging in a passionate brawl.

Suddenly, two sharp sounds of rushing air rang out.

A tall, powerfully built man stepped out, accompanied by a mature beauty with a graceful face.

They were Tang Xiao, whom Tang Hao had not seen in years, and Ah Rou, who had trained him like a dog.

Ah Rou had also just broken through to Level 80. After a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast took human form, reaching Soul Saint marked the Mature Stage, when its Soul Beast presence would no longer be exposed. Conversely, it could no longer form Soul Rings on its own and had to hunt for them instead.

When their eyes met.

"Second brother?"

Tang Xiao got a clear look at the Iraqi-style man opposite him and cried out in surprise.

"Big brother?"

Tang Hao's pupils likewise contracted.

But compared with the brothers' astonishment at meeting, the clash of gazes between the two women was no less than a thunderclap from the clear ground.

Ah Rou looked at the girl opposite her, whose features were eighty percent similar to hers, and caught the rabbit musk rushing toward her. There was no mistaking who this was.

"Xiao Wu?"

Xiao Wu, who was supporting Tang Hao, also froze at that moment.

"Mom?"