After Yang Xiong and Lin Gong entered the depths of Sunset Forest, they quickly arrived in a region filled with dense black miasma. The visibility was extremely poor, and traces of highly toxic gas lingered in the thick air.
Yang Xiong had searched many locations throughout his quest to find the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and he felt particularly excited when he encountered this ominous black miasma.
Unfortunately, this was not the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well he sought, but rather appeared to be some kind of boundless abyss or chasm. During Yang Xiong's last venture into this black miasma, he had encountered an exceptionally fierce soul beast immediately upon entering the area.
This soul beast had apparently considered Yang Xiong's presence an invasion of its territory and had pursued him relentlessly for an extended period. If Yang Xiong hadn't mastered his teleportation abilities and possessed exceptional speed, he would have been killed during that encounter. Even with his escape skills, he had been struck once, resulting in countless broken bones—the most dangerous moment of his life.
After carefully navigating through the treacherous black miasma, the two finally discovered a massive cave entrance.
From a considerable distance, they observed an exceptionally powerful dragon-like creature, measuring over twenty meters in length. Its entire body gleamed with a dark luster resembling refined iron, covered completely with metallic scales that appeared virtually flawless. Its dragon claws were extremely sharp and menacing, while the pair of silver dragon horns adorning its head looked particularly deadly.
This soul beast was the Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon, which should be considered among the top-tier dragon soul beasts. Not only did it possess tremendous power, but its offensive capabilities were also extraordinarily strong. Its pair of razor-sharp dragon claws emanated an aura of cold menace. It represented a premium-quality metal soul beast that also possessed the formidable strength inherent to the dragon race.
Lin Gong spoke with unusual gravity and concern. "Yang Xiong, you need to consider this decision very carefully. This Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon has reached four thousand three hundred years in age. In terms of pure combat power alone, it has already surpassed ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Setting aside the question of a third soul ring, even the fourth soul ring of a normal soul master might not be capable of absorbing such intense energy."
Yang Xiong maintained a solemn expression as he responded. "Teacher Lin, have you ever witnessed me attempt anything without absolute certainty? Since I have specifically chosen this Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon, I possess complete confidence in my abilities."
Lin Gong shook his head with deep concern. "Absorbing soul rings is not a simple process, especially as the energy contained within soul rings becomes increasingly powerful in later stages. The difficulty is also directly related to the individual strength of the soul beast itself. This Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon is extraordinarily powerful in both offensive capability and defensive strength, and is probably already positioned at the pinnacle of soul beast hierarchy. If you are not extremely careful, you may suffer explosive death from energy overload."
Yang Xiong replied with unwavering determination. "Teacher Lin, I maintain complete confidence in my ability to absorb this soul ring successfully. I should understand my body's capabilities and limitations better than anyone else."
Lin Gong sighed with resignation. "Very well, since you stubborn little fellow insists on this course of action, then I will risk these old bones of mine to assist you. If you die or become permanently disabled, I suppose I'll simply have to care for you for the remainder of your life."
Yang Xiong couldn't help but roll his eyes at Lin Gong's pessimistic attitude. Why didn't this old man trust his judgment more? It seemed as though he expected certain failure. Besides, who could predict who would be caring for whom in their later years?
The Battle Begins
Lin Gong flew forward into action, and two yellow, three purple, and three black soul rings suddenly materialized around his body, accompanied by the manifestation of a massive Purple Radiance Bamboo martial soul.
The Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon reacted with lightning speed, quickly sensing the invasion of its territory. Even when confronted by a Spirit Douluo-level powerhouse, it showed no signs of submission or retreat. Instead, it charged directly forward, attacking with tremendous force using its enormous dragon claws. A visible scratch appeared on the huge Purple Radiance Bamboo, looking quite alarming.
Even Yang Xiong felt surprised at this display. The attack power of this Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon exceeded his expectations, especially its terrifying metallic properties. If it encountered another soul beast of equivalent level, its dragon claws could probably ignore most defensive measures. It truly deserved its reputation as the premier metal soul beast, and its strength was even more intimidating than anticipated. With a single strike, the Purple Radiance Bamboo was bent into a bow-like shape.
However, Lin Gong was indeed a Spirit Douluo-level powerhouse. In just an instant, countless Purple Radiance Bamboos appeared throughout the sky, each one resembling a sharp arrow, almost completely covering the surrounding area. Even with the Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon's formidable defense, it could not effectively resist this overwhelming assault.
The ground also sprouted countless Purple Radiance Bamboos, creating the appearance of a vast bamboo forest. All the Purple Radiance Bamboos formed what resembled an enormous cage around the dragon.
At this critical moment, the Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon recognized the true strength of its opponent and desperately attempted to charge around while roaring furiously, but it could not break through the Purple Radiance Bamboo barrier to escape.
Within just a few minutes, the Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon had been completely surrounded and constrained by the Purple Radiance Bamboo formation. Its entire body was rendered completely immobile, with several massive Purple Radiance Bamboos piercing through its flesh. Crimson blood flowed freely across the ground.
Yang Xiong approached the scene and couldn't help but express his amazement to Lin Gong. "Teacher Lin, are you classified as a Strength Attack System or Control System soul master? Why do I feel that your Purple Radiance Bamboo's control abilities are significantly stronger than its offensive capabilities?"
Lin Gong responded with obvious pride. "You little rascal only knows how to study books but doesn't truly understand martial souls in practice. Although you can recognize the Purple Radiance Bamboo, what represents the most distinctive characteristic of this martial soul?"
Yang Xiong contemplated the question before responding. "The greatest characteristic of bamboo martial souls and soul beasts should be their exceptional toughness and resistance to pressure. Offensive capability should only be a secondary feature. In terms of control ability, it's probably no weaker than the Wisdom Forest Spirit Douluo of Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
Lin Gong immediately bristled with indignation. "Wisdom Forest Spirit Douluo is merely level eighty-three, while I have achieved level eighty-seven. Are you underestimating my abilities so dramatically?"
Yang Xiong smiled diplomatically. "You both possess different specializations and inclinations. Wisdom Forest Spirit Douluo's martial soul is the Sky Blue Vine, and he excels at precise soul power control. The Sky Blue Vine martial soul possesses special properties, and he's probably the most formidable Control System soul master I have ever encountered."
"Teacher Lin, your Purple Radiance Bamboo demonstrates superior attack power, especially its extreme toughness and sharpness. You can utilize it effectively for both powerful offensive strikes and defensive protection. However, Spirit Douluo Wisdom Forest's limitations are much more significant. Even his Sky Blue Vine is relatively vulnerable to fire and sharp cutting attacks, which cannot compare to the versatility of your Purple Radiance Bamboo."
Lin Gong nodded approvingly. "You haven't wasted your time studying all those books, young man. It's unfortunate that you don't seem to have any intention of pursuing advanced academic studies."
"Don't concern yourself with that matter for now. Let's prepare for the soul ring absorption process. You should reconsider this decision very carefully. It's not too late to change your mind now. Once you begin absorbing the soul ring, even I won't be able to provide any assistance."
The Absorption Ritual
Without further hesitation, Yang Xiong approached the immobilized Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon. Observing it closely at this moment, the creature appeared even more ferocious and intimidating, especially with its eyes filled with pure violence. It continued emitting faint groaning sounds, befitting its status as a premium-grade dragon-attribute soul beast—it was indeed fierce enough to inspire fear.
Yang Xiong directly retrieved a long spear and forcefully stabbed it into the Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon's eye. After delivering several consecutive strikes, the Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon ceased its struggling with an expression of complete unwillingness, and a purple soul ring began to emanate light.
Lin Gong revealed traces of deep concern. "Yang Xiong, why are you so obsessed with pushing the age limits of soul rings?"
Yang Xiong directly seated himself beside the fallen Silver Horn Tyrant Dragon, summoned his martial soul and existing soul rings, and his entire body instantly transformed to a silver hue as he began the absorption process.
This soul ring's energy proved indeed powerful and violent beyond expectations. The moment he guided the soul ring toward the position of his existing soul rings, it felt as though a tremendous force began pouring into his body. His entire being suddenly felt as though it was submerged in molten magma, with all the blood in his body beginning to boil intensely. Even his skin seemed on the verge of cracking from the internal pressure.
In particular, powerful energy flooded through all his meridians, and every pathway seemed to be burning from within. His entire body appeared to be approaching complete collapse.
At this critical moment, all the soul power within his body was drawn together, as if entering a massive Yin-Yang symbol. As the energy entered this formation, the Yin-Yang fish gradually began to grow and expand, and his entire being seemed to break through some kind of fundamental limitation.
This represented the Yin-Yang Meditation Method, which could also be called Tai Chi. There was a very famous principle in Tai Chi philosophy: "One produces two, two produces three, and three produces all things!"
The soul power flooding into his body was like individual drops of water within all creation, gradually merging into this Tai Chi formation, causing the Yin-Yang fish to steadily grow and develop.
Lin Gong, observing from the sidelines, watched Yang Xiong's face with considerable apprehension. Yang Xiong's body, which had originally become extremely agitated and violent, quickly calmed down again, making Lin Gong somewhat suspicious of what he was witnessing.
"What's happening with this boy's physical condition? Why do I sense that the soul power surrounding him forms a unified whole, and even the soul ring's energy is rapidly integrating into his body? This feels quite different from normal absorption processes."
Successful Integration
When Yang Xiong had completely absorbed the soul ring, he felt significantly more comfortable and at peace. The surrounding miasma seemed to dissipate naturally, and the sky revealed a brilliant display of stars, as if the world had become infinitely vast and expansive at this moment.
In particular, Yang Xiong felt that the Yin-Yang Meditation Method seemed to have become more complete and flowed more smoothly. Some meridians throughout his body that he had been unable to access previously seemed to have been opened and activated.
Yang Xiong understood clearly that this probably represented the so-called Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Although he couldn't achieve completely unobstructed meridian flow throughout his entire body, his condition was much stronger than before. Even his cultivation speed would be improved to a certain measurable extent.
Lin Gong marveled from his position nearby. "Yang Xiong, I underestimated your capabilities completely. This was a soul ring with a full four thousand three hundred years of accumulated energy. I didn't expect you to absorb it successfully, and you don't appear to have suffered any negative side effects. Your physical constitution is much stronger than I had imagined possible."
Yang Xiong asked with genuine confusion. "Teacher Lin, didn't you allow me to attempt this absorption because you believed I was certain to succeed? Could it be that you weren't optimistic about my chances of success?"
Lin Gong snorted with dry humor. "Who would dare express confidence in such a situation? This was four thousand three hundred years of accumulated power, more than twice the age of a normal soul master's third soul ring."
"I once stated that Yu Xiaogang's proposed soul ring age limits are fundamentally unreliable. His first three soul ring recommendations are supposedly accurate to specific years. Tell me, for ordinary soul beasts like this, who can determine the exact number of years with such precision?"
Yang Xiong couldn't help but smile knowingly. "Teacher Lin, what traditional knowledge passed down in the soul master world can be taken completely seriously? Moreover, with the ongoing development of soul master techniques, especially as soul masters pay increasing attention to physical fitness improvement, Yu Xiaogang's theories will probably be superseded sooner or later."
Lin Gong couldn't help but sigh with agreement. "You possess a remarkably open-minded perspective. Just as you suggested, these theories may have been accurate during their time, but they will probably be replaced eventually."
Yang Xiong couldn't help but shake his head thoughtfully. This represented nothing extraordinary compared to future developments. Lin Gong should understand that after ten thousand years, the Body Sect's seventh soul ring could reach one hundred thousand years. So-called theory was like the physics of Earth—it might have seemed amazing during its era, but was later proven incorrect by subsequent generations.
Lin Gong snorted with continued irritation. "I simply cannot tolerate Yu Xiaogang's arrogant attitude. Those with discerning judgment understand exactly where the knowledge he published originated, and many of his theories contain fundamental errors. Yet he still maintains an extremely arrogant demeanor. His educational approach feels somewhat misleading to students."
Yang Xiong smiled diplomatically. "One should take the essence while discarding the useless elements. Yu Xiaogang has indeed studied many texts extensively, but unfortunately, his personal strength remains too limited. He doesn't understand the fundamental gap between high-level soul masters and low-level practitioners, so it's natural that he would publish some fallacious conclusions."
An Unexpected Development
Just at this moment, Yang Xiong, who had been maintaining a calm and composed appearance, suddenly felt something unusual occurring within his body. His hands, in particular, experienced extremely painful sensations, as if his palms were about to be torn apart from within.
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