The torso bone gifted to Jing Shaoyu by the Dragon God's soul was called the Holy Demon Dragon King Torso Bone.
As the remains of the two great Dragon Kings, the benefits brought by the Holy Demon Dragon King Torso Bone to Jing Shaoyu were self-evident. First and foremost was the epic enhancement of his physique. Though there was no precise standard yet, he knew his current physical strength allowed him to absorb any Soul Ring below the divine level without pressure.
Simultaneously, due to the immense energy and high-quality source provided by the Dragon King Torso Bone, all the bones in Jing Shaoyu's body underwent a baptism. His height even increased slightly. More joyfully, the other two Soul Bones in his body were also strengthened. The Dark Gold Terror Claw Right Hand Bone, with its growth characteristic, reached the quality of a 500,000-year Soul Bone, while the Nightmare Demon Eye Left Arm Bone advanced to 400,000 years.
Moreover, the Holy Demon Dragon King Torso Bone, despite being a divine-level Soul Bone, only came with two Soul Bone Soul Skills.
The first was the Light Dragon King Shield. As the name suggested, it formed a shield constructed from light elements, with the phantom of the Light Dragon King reflected upon it. While the shield was active, no dragon except the Dragon Kings could harm him. Beyond its dragon-specific defense, the true effect of the Light Dragon King Shield was to absorb the energy contained in the opponent's attacks and convert it to replenish his own energy.
Clearly, this was a defensive Soul Skill that weakened the enemy while sustaining himself, originating from the Light Dragon King.
The second was the Dark Dragon King Claw. As the name implied, it unleashed a black dragon claw composed of dark elements and the Dragon King's might. While the claw was active, the phantom of the Dark Dragon King would simultaneously appear behind Jing Shaoyu, dealing double damage to all dragons except the Dragon Kings.
Beyond its dragon-specific offensive effect, the Dark Dragon King Claw had an additional effect: if the struck enemy did not die immediately, their Soul Power and physical strength would continuously be drained by Jing Shaoyu, replenishing his own. This was an offensive Soul Skill with sustainability, naturally originating from the Dark Dragon King.
One for offense, one for defense—a remarkably well-rounded Soul Bone.
Finally, Jing Shaoyu had broken through to the Soul Emperor level.
Though most of the energy released during the fusion process was absorbed and assimilated by the Dark Gold Terror Claw Right Hand Bone and the Nightmare Demon Eye Left Arm Bone, the remaining energy still slightly increased Jing Shaoyu's Soul Power.
In truth, from the time he disembarked onto the Star Luo Continent until now, a total of a year and a half, Jing Shaoyu had little time for dedicated cultivation. Thus, his Soul Power had only barely risen from level 58 to 59. However, after fusing with the Holy Demon Dragon King Torso Bone, his Soul Power directly broke through to level 60, reaching level 62.
Now, though several months remained until his seventeenth birthday, he was already a genuine Soul Emperor-level powerhouse.
Within the Dragon Tomb, Jing Shaoyu stood on the ground, his Origin Elf Soul manifested. The Crown of Nature hovered above his head, the Wings of Origin spread behind him, and his aura was solid and imposing. Six black Soul Rings radiated a profound, restrained light, yet carried an indescribable pressure.
"Hmm, feels pretty good!" A smile appeared on his face as he raised his hand, clenching his fist with ease.
After a Soul Master advances to a new realm, the first thing to do is naturally to inspect the new Soul Skill, and Jing Shaoyu was no exception.
His sixth Soul Skill was named Emerald Halo. Like his fourth and fifth Soul Skills, it belonged to the halo-type category. Its effect was to release an emerald-colored halo that granted all allies within its range immunity to all control effects while also bestowing a three-second golden body state that nullified all damage below divine level.
This was yet another divine-tier support skill. The group-wide control immunity alone was something many support-type Soul Masters wouldn't even dare dream of, and it came bundled with a group golden body effect. If other support-type Soul Masters learned of this, they'd probably faint from envy in the restroom.
Skills that even Titled Douluo might never obtain—Jing Shaoyu had acquired two such effects in a single sixth Soul Skill. Truly befitting a supreme Martial Soul, the embodiment of nature itself!
Additionally, it should be noted that Emerald Halo's control immunity was absolute. What did absolute mean? Exactly as the name implied—immunity to any control, including astral-based absolute controls like Indomitable Waves.
This sounded utterly unfair—because it was. But who could argue when this was Douluo Planet?
My rules are the rules!
After examining his sixth Soul Skill, most Soul Masters would conclude their excitement about breaking through to a new realm and begin working toward the next. But Jing Shaoyu was different. Upon advancing, he gained more than just new Soul Skills.
First was the Crown of Nature—a brand new Grand Dao Source Stone appeared. This stone was identical to the previous five, with only one difference: the runes inside formed a totem symbolizing the dark element.
Indeed, the sixth Grand Dao Source Stone granted Jing Shaoyu an affinity for the dark element—immunity through the Monarch of Darkness and the dark-element Soul Skill Shadow Art.
Shadow Art's manifestation closely resembled Ice Concealment Art, both generating dense fog. However, while Ice Concealment Art produced white mist of ice element, Shadow Art created black fog of dark element. Their effects also differed significantly—Ice Concealment Art blocked perception, whereas Shadow Art corroded souls.
The black fog from Shadow Art eroded Soul Power, mental power, and life force. Any creature within the fog would have these attributes gradually worn away. While the loss of Soul Power and mental power was manageable, the erosion of life force was irreversible.
Thus, while Shadow Art appeared to be a control-type Soul Skill, when used skillfully, it could kill without a trace.
A true fog of death.
Secondly, the third Grand Dao Source Stone representing the wind element underwent subtle changes. The pure white jade gained a layer of bright purple luminescence, and the wind-element totem inside incorporated a new element—lightning.
Just as the second stone's Monarch of Water had advanced to Monarch of the Sea, the third stone's Monarch of Wind evolved into Monarch of Heaven after Jing Shaoyu's promotion to Soul Emperor.
The Monarch of Heaven governed both wind and lightning elements—a perfectly logical progression.
With Heaven and Sea established, Jing Shaoyu could easily predict which Grand Dao Source Stone would advance next. There was a ninety percent chance it would be the fourth earth-element stone, likely progressing toward Monarch of Earth.
Getting back to the main topic, the new element naturally came with new elemental abilities. Thunderstrike Technique was an extremely pure offensive Soul Skill, the second purely offensive Soul Skill awakened by the Crown of Nature after the Blazing Fire Technique. Its effect was simple—summoning lightning to strike enemies.
In its basic form, the Thunderstrike Technique merely summoned a single bolt of lightning from the sky to strike the enemy. Its advanced form, however, was a true descent of heavenly thunder, with a sea of lightning crashing down. At the very least, if Jing Shaoyu went all out without considering the consequences, the lightning he summoned could cover the entire Dragon Tomb Valley.
How big was the Dragon Tomb? Jing Shaoyu had never measured it, but it was definitely larger than Star Luo City.
Finally, the Wood Spirit Guardian of the Crown of Nature had also unlocked a new Wood Spirit—an ancient plant-type Soul Beast called Iron Phoenix Tree. This was an exceptionally resilient plant, as its name suggested.
The branches and leaves of the Iron Phoenix Tree were incredibly tough, comparable to thousand-fold refined steel—hence its name. This plant had few natural predators, as almost no attacks could cause substantial damage to it aside from lightning-based ones, including the flames feared by most plants.
Jing Shaoyu mentally categorized the Iron Phoenix Tree as a tank-type Wood Spirit while reflecting on the previous four Wood Spirits. The Azure Moon Willow was undoubtedly a control-type, while the Demon Flower and Obsidian Sword Hemp were clearly strong attack-types. The Seven-Colored Sea God Grass was a support-type. With two more speed-type Wood Spirits, he could practically assemble a complete team for group battles.
Ahem—getting sidetracked.
After organizing the gains from his breakthrough to the Soul Emperor realm, Jing Shaoyu cheerfully went to bid farewell to the old dragon.
"Old Dragon, I'm getting ready to leave," Jing Shaoyu shouted, peering down into the pit where the Dragon God's soul resided.
"Go on, go on. I have no intention of keeping you here," the old dragon replied without lifting its head, its tone carrying a sense of relief and ease.
Jing Shaoyu grinned. "Do you have any messages you want me to pass on to Gu Yue?"
"No! Now scram!" the old dragon barked ruthlessly. "The Dragon Valley Small World is already beginning to detach from Douluo Planet. If you don't leave now, you really won't be able to. Unless you want to wander the cosmos with me?"
"Uh—" Jing Shaoyu immediately stood up upon hearing this. "Goodbye!"
Rewinding time to half a year earlier.
Star Luo Continent, Hanhai City.
"Elder Cai, can't we really wait for Brother to come back with us?" Na'er pleaded unhappily, staring at the solemn-faced Cai Yue'er. "Can't we wait just a little longer?"
Behind Na'er stood Xu Xiaoyan and the other girls, all equally unwilling to leave. Xu Xiaoyan chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, let's wait a bit longer. We've already waited half a year—what's another half year?"
"No!" Cai Yue'er's tone was firm. "Because of this matter, the envoy group has already stayed three months longer. We can't delay any further. You've all met His Excellency, the Amorous Douluo. He has already confirmed that Jing Shaoyu is safe, so there's no need for us to remain here. Once the Tang Sect opens that small world, the Amorous Douluo will personally escort Jing Shaoyu back to Douluo Continent."
"But—" Despite Cai Yue'er's clear explanation, Na'er still couldn't shake her unease.
"Additionally, returning to the academy is the Pavilion Master's decision!" Cai Yue'er said, looking at Na'er.
Upon hearing it was Yun Ming's decision, Na'er opened her mouth slightly, wanting to say something but unsure what. Of course, she knew Jing Shaoyu would be fine—she simply wanted more time with him.
"But... isn't it wrong for us to just abandon Shaoyu like this?" Though Na'er fell silent, others still had things to say. Wu Siduo spoke up.
"That's right. No matter what, Shaoyu is still our captain and class president. Leaving him behind like this isn't something a team should do," Ye Xinglan said with a grave expression.
"I feel the same way," Mo Hentian agreed.
"Elder Cai, why don't we stay and let the delegation return first? Once Brother comes back, we can take the Tang Sect's ship back to Douluo Continent," Xu Xiaoyan suggested cheerfully, thinking she had come up with a good solution.
"No!" Cai Yue'er refused firmly, her expression unreadable. "I told you, returning is the Sea God Pavilion's decision, not something I can change alone."
"But..." The girls were still dissatisfied.
"Enough!" Gu Yue, who had been silent until now, spoke up. Her tone was resolute. "We're going back."
Once Gu Yue spoke, Na'er, Xu Xiaoyan, Wu Siduo, Ye Xinglan, and Mo Hentian, despite their objections, had no choice but to comply. After all, she was the acting captain appointed by Jing Shaoyu himself. More importantly, none of them dared openly defy Gu Yue—it felt like something terrible would happen if they opposed her.
And so, the Douluo delegation concluded their year-and-three-month visit to the Star Luo Continent and set sail back to Douluo Continent.
Time returned to the present.
In the mountain range where the entrance to the former Dragon Valley once stood, a group of people clad in Tang Sect uniforms continued their exhaustive search. Each held a specialized spatial device, scanning for new spatial nodes that could serve as an entrance.
"Zang Xin, still no satisfactory news today?" Leng Yaozhu appeared before Zang Xin, her expression icy.
Zang Xin wasn't surprised by her arrival—she had shown up nearly every day for the past year, asking the same question. Honestly, if he didn't know her so well, he might have suspected Jing Shaoyu was her secret son rather than her disciple.
"Yaozhu, I understand how you feel, but rushing won't solve this," Zang Xin explained with an awkward smile.
Leng Yaozhu's eyes burned with anger. "Remember what you told me a year ago? You said it would take at most a year to bring A Yuan back. It's been a year now—why haven't I seen her?"
"I said at least a year," Zang Xin tried to defend himself with a nervous chuckle.
But Leng Yaozhu's hands were already wreathed in the scorching flames of the Heavenly Phoenix. As the golden fire blazed before him, Zang Xin swallowed hard, his expression stiffening. Though both were Limit Douluo, if it came to a fight, he stood no chance against her.
"Calm down, Yaozhu, calm down!" Zang Xin hastily waved his hands and said urgently, "Give it seven more days! If we still can't find a suitable spatial node within this week, I'll personally intervene—even at the risk of spatial backlash—to ensure Jing Shaoyu is brought back safely!"
The flames in Leng Yaozhu's hands instantly dissipated, and a cold glint flashed through her beautiful eyes. "Fine, I'll give you seven more days!"
"Whew!" Zang Xin let out a long sigh of relief at her response.
Just then, a Tang Sect fighter rushed over at full speed.
"Hall Master, we have a situation!" The fighter's voice arrived before he did.
"What is it?" Zang Xin and Leng Yaozhu reacted almost simultaneously, both grabbing the fighter as they asked in unison, "Did you find a suitable spatial node?"
The fighter seemed startled by their intensity and shook his head woodenly. "N-no, not that."
Leng Yaozhu released him in disappointment, while Zang Xin sensed something amiss and pulled the fighter aside to ask why he was in such a hurry.
"Hall Master, the Dragon Valley Small World's coordinates are growing increasingly unstable. This suggests it might be detaching from the Star Luo Continent!" The fighter delivered news that shattered Zang Xin's composure.
"What did you say?"
Leng Yaozhu appeared before the fighter in an instant, golden flames rising in her eyes as an overwhelming aura condensed around her, draining all color from the fighter's face.
The full fury of a Limit Douluo was not something an ordinary Soul Master could withstand.
"Yaozhu, stay calm!" Zang Xin quickly stepped between them, shielding the fighter from Leng Yaozhu's oppressive might—otherwise, he might have been crushed on the spot. "Right now, our priority is to open the Dragon Valley Small World before it vanishes completely. If its coordinates disappear, Shaoyu might truly be lost forever!"
"Tell me, what should we do?" Leng Yaozhu's gaze was icy as she stared at Zang Xin.
"The two of us must combine our strength to forcibly tear open a spatial rift," Zang Xin said with grave seriousness. "And then—who's there?!"
Zang Xin and Leng Yaozhu turned simultaneously toward a previously empty spot, where a flash of silver light suddenly appeared—and a figure materialized out of thin air.
(End of Chapter)