Swift, precise, and ruthless.
That was Xiao Lin's evaluation of Tang Ni.
Even Xiao Lin hadn't expected it—nor had the Shi brothers or Ye Lingling.
None of them imagined that the seemingly "invincible" Frost Giant Spirit Bear would be dealt with so easily by Tang Ni.
Her speed was so overwhelming that Ye Lingling and the others didn't even have time to process their complicated emotions.
They had just been worried sick a moment ago, and now… it was already over?
At this moment, Xiao Lin looked at Tang Ni with lingering fear.
If it had been him, he probably wouldn't have been able to end the battle more easily than she had.
Tang Ni's combat experience was simply too vast.
If their earlier duel hadn't been a friendly sparring match but a true life-or-death struggle, Xiao Lin would have been forced to use his Martial Soul True Body or rely on his external soul bone to win.
And if it had been him against the Frost Giant Spirit Bear, his fighting style would have been nothing but brute force.
Tang Ni, on the other hand, made it look like an art form.
Very soon, Ye Lingling and the others found themselves staring in shock at the black soul ring floating above the corpse of the Frost Giant Spirit Bear.
They were utterly speechless.
Now they no longer had the slightest worry about whether Tang Ni could absorb this ten-thousand-year soul ring.
"A fifteen-thousand-year soul ring—Tang Ni, hurry and absorb it!"
By now, Xiao Lin had already determined the soul ring's age from the energy radiating off the beast's corpse.
In this situation, the only thing he could do was urge Tang Ni to absorb it quickly, lest anything unexpected occur.
Fifteen thousand years… if Xiao Lin didn't have the Jade Dragon Staff to share part of the soul power impact, even he would have had to think carefully before attempting such a ring.
"Mm."
Tang Ni nodded faintly. Not a single trace of blood stained her body—she looked like a noble and powerful dragon knight.
Before long, the Golden Dragon Spear's devouring ability activated, draining most of the Frost Giant Spirit Bear's remaining energy into her.
Then Tang Ni calmly sat cross-legged beside the corpse, using her Golden Dragon Martial Soul to draw the black soul ring toward herself.
Seeing her enter the absorption process, Xiao Lin exchanged a glance with the others, and together they formed a protective circle around her.
While Tang Ni absorbed the soul ring, Xiao Lin's gaze drifted to the bear's corpse.
Once a towering seven-meter behemoth, the Frost Giant Spirit Bear had already shrunk down to just five meters in length.
Clearly, its body had been drained of much of its energy.
Its flesh didn't look appetizing anymore.
Xiao Lin found himself debating whether it was even worth cutting off the bear paws to cook later.
"Golden Dragon Spear… isn't that the power of Lord Dragon God?"
Suddenly, in Xiao Lin's spiritual sea, the Ice Dragon King spoke, his voice filled with excitement after witnessing the devouring ability of Tang Ni's Golden Dragon Spear.
"It really is. Lord Dragon God once defeated the Phoenix God and took the Phoenix God's Life Force and Power of Destruction."
The Fire Dragon King chimed in.
"What's the relationship between this Tang Ni and the Golden Dragon King?"
"Could she be the Golden Dragon King's daughter? Xiao Lin, why don't you marry her?"
Within his consciousness, the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings began matchmaking with each casual remark.
"…Can you two be any more ridiculous? Tang Ni is the incarnation of an Auspicious Beast."
Xiao Lin was too lazy to argue, so he simply blocked out their voices.
Inside the spiritual sea, the two dragons exchanged a glance.
Auspicious Beast? Never heard of it.But she must be the Golden Dragon King's daughter!
"Hey, Old Ice, should we help Tang Ni become a god?"
The Fire Dragon King suddenly raised a finger, looking as though he'd just thought of a brilliant idea.
"Forget it. Even if she might be the Golden Dragon King's descendant, her talent and strength aren't on Xiao Lin's level. Why take the long road?"
The Ice Dragon King replied flatly. He still believed Xiao Lin had a much greater chance of reaching godhood.
More importantly, only Xiao Lin could withstand their combined power. Tang Ni could not.
…
Less than fifteen minutes later—
Tang Ni had completely absorbed the soul ring. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
Her mood was bright, her aura radiating strength. For the first time, she actively struck up a conversation.
"I succeeded. I'm very satisfied with my fourth soul ring."
At her words, Ye Lingling and the others stared at her in shock.
"Tang Ni, you succeeded already? That fast?"
Ye Lingling almost wanted to cry. Why had it taken her over an hour to absorb a seven-thousand-year soul ring, while Tang Ni had finished a fifteen-thousand-year ring in just a quarter of an hour?
"Mm. Maybe it's because my physical constitution is stronger."
Tang Ni smiled faintly, then glanced provocatively at Xiao Lin, as though throwing down a challenge.
"…Fine, fine. Once we both reach the Soul Ancestor realm, we'll duel."
Meeting her gaze, Xiao Lin sighed helplessly and agreed.
Then he walked over to the Frost Giant Spirit Bear, intending to hack off its two paws. After that, he'd carefully check the body for a soul bone.
"Tang Ni, what soul skill did you gain?"
Ye Lingling asked curiously.
"Uh…"
Tang Ni had originally planned to keep it a secret, hoping to catch Xiao Lin off guard in their eventual fight.
But then she reconsidered. If she was strong enough, it didn't matter whether she revealed it or not.
So she answered straightforwardly:
"My fourth soul skill is called Golden Dragon's Wrath. It doubles my strength. And when I fight in anger, my entire body's attributes will rise—the amount depending on the intensity of my fury."
"My soul power rank is now level 43."
Her words left Ye Lingling and the others gasping in shock.
Such a soul skill—wasn't it stronger than Yu Tianheng's fourth skill right from the start?
Even if it was "only" double strength, they understood this kind of ability scaled with the soul master's base stats.
If an ant could lift one hundred times its weight, would that make it stronger than an elephant? Of course not.
The same principle applied here. Tang Ni already had her first soul skill, which boosted all her stats twice over.
Now she had another skill that enhanced everything further. No one could imagine how far her attributes might soar if she went into a rage.
As for why her rank only rose slightly, it was because she had long obtained Xiao Lin's blood-force cultivation method. That method greatly slowed her soul power growth speed.
Meanwhile, Xiao Lin, busy cutting off the bear paws, overheard her description of the skill.
He didn't gasp like the others.
Instead, he began to doubt whether his choice to focus only on speed and strength-enhancing soul skills was really the best path.
But soon, he reaffirmed his conviction.
His Vajra Indestructible soul power already provided tremendous offensive and defensive ability, with unmatched resilience.
As long as he kept enhancing speed and strength, his destructive power would explode exponentially.
As for being "well-rounded"? He wasn't lacking—after all, he had the blood-force cultivation method, too.
And when it came time to choose a second martial soul, whether it was a beast-type or a body-type martial soul, then full-attribute enhancement soul skills would be even better.
Besides, the Jade Dragon Staff was just a staff. It was almost impossible for it to provide him with full-body attribute enhancement.
It wasn't a beast martial soul, after all.
Unless, one day, he absorbed the soul ring of a powerful dragon-type beast into the staff.
Then… it might be possible.
"All right, let's go. Next, we'll search for the Comet Snow Wolf I want as my soul beast. On the way, we'll also look for suitable ones for Shi Mo and Shi Mo."
At Xiao Lin's command, the Huangdou Five squad immediately returned to a cautious marching formation and departed the battlefield.
Not long after they left, the Blue-Eyed Crocodile crawled out from the Xuanming Ice Lake.
It lunged hungrily at the Frost Giant Spirit Bear's corpse and tore into it with savage bites…
(End of Chapter)