Chapter 249: The Terrifying Eighth Soul Ring
As the God-given soul ring shattered, a powerful surge of energy quickly flooded into Yang Xiong's body.
Compared to the usual soul rings absorbed beyond their age limit, the energy of the God-given soul ring felt unusually gentle, gradually increasing over time.
Yang Xiong felt the energy surging in, growing stronger and stronger. By the end, the energy far exceeded the power absorbed from a 100,000-year soul ring.
Thinking about his long-term goal, Yang Xiong endured the pain in his body. Blood oozed from every inch of his skin, every bone feeling as if it had been struck.
Both his martial soul and all the soul bones on his body were enduring the immense pressure brought by the God-given soul ring, and it felt as if his entire being was about to collapse at any moment.
Each time Yang Xiong neared the brink of collapse, the Blue Silver King head soul bone in his brain repeatedly pulled him back, calming him over and over again.
Everyone watching Yang Xiong's struggle was filled with both worry and admiration.
Although they all absorbed the God-given soul ring, no one had pushed themselves as hard as Yang Xiong, nor had anyone shown such sheer willpower. No one had repeatedly broken through their limits, again and again, pushing the limits of their endurance like he did.
After an unknown amount of time, the golden energy around Yang Xiong grew denser, forming a giant cocoon. Inside the cocoon, Yang Xiong seemed to be trying to break free from it over and over again.
...
A full month passed before the cocoon around Yang Xiong seemed to run out of energy and began to crack open.
At that moment, Yang Xiong stood naked, his skin turning golden. Every inch of his skin appeared as though it had been cast from copper and iron, resembling an indomitable golden giant. He had also developed two purple, three black, and three red soul rings.
When Yang Xiong opened his eyes, they seemed to pierce through everything, as if they could see through all the things of the world.
The girls nearby screamed, and Yang Xiong snapped out of his blissful state and realized he was naked.
Ning Rongrong's face turned bright red as she hurriedly retrieved some clothes and covered him.
When everyone saw Yang Xiong's eighth soul ring, they were filled with envy and admiration.
At this moment, Yang Xiong was the only one among them who had a 100,000-year soul ring, and this time, it was obtained through the God-given soul ring, meaning it would have the soul skill most suited to him.
After learning about the process, everyone found that Yang Xiong had spent a full 50 days absorbing the eighth soul ring. During that time, Ning Rongrong had been by his side the entire time.
Others took turns watching over him, and even Dai Mubai and the others stayed by his side.
Throughout these 50 days, no one had relaxed. They meditated and trained, trying to improve their own strength, as they had now realized the difficulty of the Sea God's trials. More than that, they needed to rely on themselves in the future—perhaps Yang Xiong wouldn't be able to help them anymore.
Yang Xiong carefully sensed his soul power. His soul power had reached a terrifying level of 88.
In fact, Yang Xiong had almost reached level 80 two years ago, during the final stages of the Sea God's Light trial, when he had already reached level 80.
Over the past two years, including the nine months traversing the Circular Sea and the year spent on Tidal Body Tempering, his soul power had steadily increased. After passing three of the Sea God's trials, his soul power had increased by three levels, and after absorbing the God-given soul ring, his soul power finally reached level 88.
In comparison, the others had made even greater progress in their soul power. Oscar and Ning Rongrong had reached the bottleneck at level 80, but since they hadn't absorbed soul rings, their exact levels were unclear.
Yang Wei and Qin Shuang had reached levels 79 and 76, respectively. Both were now peak Soul Saints and among the strongest in terms of combat power.
Even Feng Xiaotian had just reached level 80, thanks to the reward from this Tidal Body Tempering, which gave him an additional level of soul power. In terms of soul power increase, he was one of the biggest gainers among Yang Xiong's group and was almost at the level of Oscar and Ning Rongrong.
As for Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er, both had gained a significant increase in soul power, but since they hadn't absorbed any soul rings since the second Sea God trial, their exact levels were still unclear.
This meant that among the entire group, Ning Rongrong, Oscar, Feng Xiaotian, Shui Bing'er, and Huo Wu all needed to obtain soul rings. Even Big Brother Yang Wei, at level 79, would soon require a soul ring if they were to pass the fourth trial.
In comparison, Tang San's group had also made excellent progress in their soul power levels. Tang San had reached level 77, and Xiao Wu had reached level 76.
However, Tang San was significantly weaker compared to the original novel. Due to differences in soul bones and the second awakening of his martial soul, his seventh soul ring was just a normal 10,000-year soul ring, and his eighth soul ring might not even be able to absorb a 100,000-year soul ring. This had clearly made the effects of the Tidal Body Tempering much less pronounced for him, as he couldn't hold on as long as in the original story.
Among the other four, Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng had reached level 70 and also lacked soul rings.
Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan were at levels 67 and 69, respectively, and were very close to obtaining their seventh soul rings.
At this moment, Yang Xiong felt a sense of confusion. According to the events in the original novel, after completing the trial, everyone would be granted an additional God-given soul ring. However, this was under the assumption that Tang San was the Sea God's heir.
Now, no one in their group had received the Sea God's Ninth Trial. Yang Xiong wondered whether the Sea God would still reward them with a God-given soul ring.
Given the soul power levels of Ning Rongrong, Oscar, and the others, if they didn't obtain soul rings, it would be difficult to pass the Sea God's Fifth Trial.
After thinking for a while, Yang Xiong spoke, "Now, let's first figure out how to help Shui Bing'er and Huo Wu get soul rings, and then think of a way to complete the Fourth Trial. Meanwhile, everyone should take some time to rest. After going through all these trials, everyone's nerves are tight. It's best to relax a bit."
Upon hearing Yang Xiong's words, everyone went to Sea Horse City to rest.
Yang Xiong carefully observed his martial soul and soul rings, especially the blood-red eighth soul ring. It not only looked incredibly powerful, but when he used his mental strength to probe it, he found that this soul ring contained eight golden lines.
At this moment, Yang Xiong was overjoyed. The age of the eighth soul ring had reached 800,000 years, meaning that his ninth soul ring should be able to absorb a million-year soul beast.
After obtaining the eighth soul ring, he also gained two excellent soul skills.
Eighth Soul Ring Skill 1: Shura God's Wrath - Use all of one's strength to launch a powerful strike, which can multiply the attack power countless times. The strike shatters the air and attacks the enemy from a distance, infused with the killing aura of Shura, ignoring the enemy's defenses. It can destroy everything.
Eighth Soul Ring Skill 2: Shura Blood Prison - When this soul skill is used, it's as if Shura's spirit possesses the user. A huge blood-red world forms within a few hundred meters, where the user is the ruler. The enemy's mental strength and soul power are halved, while the user's abilities are doubled. Any enemy is at the mercy of the user, and unless their mental strength is stronger, they cannot break through this prison.
Yang Xiong was stunned when he saw these two soul skills. The Shura God's Wrath was purely a strength-based attack skill, infused with killing intent. It maximized the power of his martial soul, allowing both close-range and long-range attacks, making full use of his martial soul's characteristics.
The Shura Blood Prison, on the other hand, was a mental-type skill with domain-like abilities, almost like a control skill. Its power was formidable, especially in terms of the damage it could inflict on enemies.
What was even more important was that his domain seemed to be evolving. He had nearly reached the peak of the Killing Field. If he used Shura Blood Prison, he could almost touch the threshold of the legendary Shura Domain, the true god-level domain.
At this point, Yang Xiong also finally paid attention to the content of the next trial.
"Top-tier Eight Trials, Fourth Trial: The Battle of the Peak Whale Shark. Assist the Magic Soul White Shark clan in repelling the Evil Magic Killer Whale clan, kill at least half of the Evil Magic Killer Whales, and severely wound the Evil Magic Killer Whale King."
Yang Xiong was a bit puzzled when he saw the trial content. Logically, with their group's strength and the Magic Soul White Shark clan, it should not be too difficult to severely wound the Evil Magic Killer Whales. Why did the trial seem so much easier than in the original story, with no mention of killing the Evil Magic Killer Whale King?
At this moment, Yang Xiong had doubts. Was the Sea God really planning to leave the Evil Magic Killer Whale clan for his successor? Unfortunately, neither he nor Tang San had received the Sea God's Ninth Trial, and it seemed like the Sea God intended to spare the Evil Magic Killer Whale clan.
Yang Xiong didn't worry about this for now. He simply followed Ning Rongrong and the others, relaxing and having fun in Sea Horse City.
Everyone changed into casual beach clothes, and they all looked exotic.
The girls wore the skirts from Sea God Island, their beautiful figures on full display, which made Feng Xiaotian and the others' eyes go wide.
The girls turned into shopping addicts. Having trained for three whole years, they relished this rare time of relaxation. They bought as much as they could in Sea Horse City, practically aiming to buy everything.
Yang Xiong, along with Oscar, Big Brother Yang Wei, and the others, also wore Sea God Island clothing. They were wearing sunglasses, relaxing by the beach, enjoying fine wine, soaking up the sun, and feeling the breeze.
Feng Xiaotian, now that he had some free time, followed Fire Dance around like a loyal puppy, always ready to serve her, almost wagging his tail.
Even Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng joined Yang Xiong's group for some relaxation, enjoying barbecue and the sea breeze.
Meanwhile, Tang San seemed somewhat affected. Even during his leisure time, he was alone, diligently training, occasionally walking with Xiao Wu.
This was the group's basic routine during the day. At night, they each had their own activities.
Yang Xiong spent quality time with Ning Rongrong in their room, enjoying this rare time together. It seemed like after not being together for so long, their feelings had grown even more intense.
...
(END CHAPTER)
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