Xiao Se smiled calmly.
"Why don't we just try it and see?"
As he spoke, his long, fair left hand slowly lifted. In the next instant, a wisp of pink flame appeared out of thin air.
His two palms gradually moved closer together.
An eerie scene unfolded. Even at such close range, the red flame showed no sign of bowing to the pink fire. It continued to rise and dance proudly, maintaining its own posture.
"When a Heavenly Flame appears, all flames submit. Yet the Heavenly Flame has no effect on this flame at all… What kind of fire is this?"
Having noticed the anomaly, the Little Fairy Doctor couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
Xiao Se pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "Heavenly Flames are still flames at their core—just the strongest ones born of heaven and earth. I think this flame is an absolutely pure fire, free of any impurities. In my perception, the reason the Heavenly Flame isn't reacting isn't because this flame is overwhelmingly powerful, but because the Heavenly Flame sees it as a part of itself."
As he spoke, his right hand—holding the red flame—also released pink fire, enveloping it completely.
The moment the two came into contact, the pink flames began to gather and merge into the red flame. In the blink of an eye, the originally light-red flame, after absorbing the Heavenly Flame, transformed into a deep crimson color.
And the instant the flame turned dark red, something even more bizarre happened.
The pink flames that had been steadily rising from Xiao Se's left hand suddenly leaned toward the deep-red flame, the posture resembling subjects bowing in reverence before their sovereign.
"This… The Heavenly Flame is submitting to the flame?"
Xiao Se took a deep breath. It seemed he had truly struck gold this time. That originally ultra-pure flame, which lacked much offensive power on its own, had gained the ability to make even Heavenly Flames submit after merging with one.
"Xiao Se, it looks like you've awakened the Martial Soul most suited to you," Bibi Dong said. "In anyone else's hands, this flame would just be an ordinary fire—probably unable to cultivate to a high level, perhaps not even possessing soul power at all. But you wield a Heavenly Flame. In your hands, it can unleash power so great that even Heavenly Flames bow before it."
"And most importantly, you have an advantage no one else has—your cultivation level is already extremely high. You can directly attach powerful soul rings. This flame can absorb Heavenly Flames, so I believe absorbing other attributes won't be a problem either."
Bibi Dong's insight was razor-sharp. She grasped the key point at a glance.
"Indeed."
Xiao Se smiled, dispersing the flames around him. Turning to the Little Fairy Doctor, he said gently, "Xian'er, stay inside the Vast Ocean Protective Barrier and kill those three Man-Faced Demon Spider Emperors one by one. Then use the Eight Spider Lances to absorb their essence, and finally absorb the soul rings. Remember—soul rings only last for one hour, and the Eight Spider Lances need time to absorb essence, so take them down one at a time."
"I understand."
The Little Fairy Doctor nodded lightly.
"Dong'er, I'll take Zhuqing to obtain her fifth and sixth soul rings. I'll also see if there's a suitable soul beast for myself. I'll leave Xian'er to you," Xiao Se said, looking at Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong smiled. "Don't worry. But you should be careful too—the two beasts in the core area are no pushovers. Don't force things."
"What about your disciple, Hu Liena?" Xiao Se asked, a little surprised.
"There are plenty of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in the Great Sea. I'll take her hunting later," Bibi Dong replied.
Xiao Se nodded slightly. Purple Cloud Wings shot out from his back. With a powerful flap, he transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon together with Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing's soul rings weren't difficult to find. With the combined effort of Xiao Se and Long Kui's powerful soul perception, they quickly located two soul beasts of suitable age for her. After that, they waited quietly nearby.
"Brother, there's a strange soul beast appearing to the northwest. It seems to be fleeing in our direction."
Long Kui's voice suddenly sounded in Xiao Se's mind.
Hearing this, Xiao Se frowned and extended his soul perception. Sure enough, ten miles to the northwest, he detected a soul beast. Its aura was somewhat weak, clearly injured to a certain extent. More importantly, it radiated an extremely cold, evil, and dark presence.
Compared to this, even the little cat's dark attribute was insignificant. In terms of pure darkness alone, it was already on par with Bibi Dong herself.
"The northwest… that's the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest. Judging by its state, it must have challenged Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape and gotten injured. With such extreme evil… could it be the Dark Devilgod Tiger?"
The thought flashed through his mind. Xiao Se's pupils shrank. He immediately raised his hand, recalling the Vast Ocean Universe Shield, then released the Vast Ocean Protective Barrier to shield Zhu Zhuqing.
With Bibi Dong by the Little Fairy Doctor's side, he wasn't worried about her safety.
"Long Kui, looks like my luck isn't bad. This soul beast is perfect for me."
Xiao Se smiled. He tapped the ground lightly with his toe, and his figure dissolved into a wisp of smoke as he swept toward the Dark Devilgod Tiger's location.
He didn't choose to fly. This soul beast was extremely rare—only one existed on the entire Douluo Continent. He needed to feign weakness first, lest it grow wary and flee.
It wasn't just its soul ring he wanted. That bead condensed from all its essence—containing the six attributes of evil, darkness, lightning, wind, time, and space—was even more valuable. If refined, even obtaining a single attribute would bring tremendous benefits.
As Xiao Se locked onto the Dark Devilgod Tiger, the beast clearly noticed him as well. Sensing that Xiao Se's aura hadn't even reached the level of a human Soul Douluo, it naturally regarded him as prey.
Both sides accelerated, racing straight toward each other.
As the distance closed, Xiao Se felt the surrounding light dim and the air grow cold.
"A dark-attribute domain?"
Xiao Se sneered. With a flick of his right hand, the Demonic Sword appeared as he activated the Ice-Fire Domain.
The Ice-Fire Domain originated from the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King, while the Dark Devilgod Tiger's domain was said to come from a so-called Evil God. At best, that Evil God was only comparable to one of the two Dragon Kings. And Xiao Se even had the support of a Heavenly Flame. Under the washing force of the Ice-Fire Domain, the surrounding darkness was instantly dispersed.
"Roar—"
At the moment its domain was broken, a low, furious tiger's roar echoed through the air.
Xiao Se saw a huge soul beast standing atop a nearby mound of earth, glaring viciously in his direction.
It was a massive tiger, pitch-black from head to toe without a single stray color. Its body stretched over eight meters long, muscles like carved granite, towering and imposing. Most striking was its tail—raised high, ending in a hooked barb. It was long beyond reason, composed of countless bone segments, shrouded in a gloomy, mist-like darkness.
Several deep bloodstains marred its back, proof that it had suffered serious injuries. Yet even so, it didn't put Xiao Se in its eyes at all. A beast that dared to challenge hundred-thousand-year soul beasts—how could it fear a human whose aura hadn't even reached Soul Douluo?
When Xiao Se shattered its domain, the Dark Devilgod Tiger's blood-red eyes flared with light. Facing Xiao Se's Demonic Sword, it showed not the slightest intention of dodging. Amid a roar filled with rage from its previous defeat, it raised its massive paw and lunged straight toward Xiao Se. Its speed was ghostlike—almost like teleportation.
"I've been waiting for this."
Xiao Se sneered.
Having already gathered strength in secret, his eyes ignited with wisps of pink flame. His body trembled as Dou Qi erupted without warning, pink flames coating his entire form.
"God of Fire's Wrath—First Layer: Heavenly Serpent's Rage!"
"God of Fire's Wrath—Second Layer: Ancient Dragon's Rage!"
"Crimson Flame Sword—Extreme Break: Hundred-Step Flying Sword!"
With consecutive roars in his mind, Xiao Se's aura surged violently, instantly climbing to the peak of a Dou King—then, empowered by the Demonic Sword, reaching Dou Emperor.
Red light pulsed from the Fire Dragon King's divine soul bone in his left arm.
Soul bone skill activated—Fire Attribute Amplification!
Fire power increased tenfold!
Guided by the crimson glow, all the pink flames on Xiao Se's body surged into the Demonic Sword in his right hand.
At the same time, the tiny dark-red flame Martial Soul was summoned and attached itself to the blade.
Under the flame's absorption, the Crimson Flame Sword—originally over forty meters long in its extreme form—compressed down to just two meters. Then, under the control of the Hundred-Step Flying Sword technique, it shot forward at a speed even faster than the Dark Devilgod Tiger, aimed straight at its throat.
Though the sequence of techniques seemed complex, it was completed in nearly an instant.
Xiao Se's sudden surge in power caught the Dark Devilgod Tiger completely off guard. Intelligent as it was, how could it imagine that Xiao Se wasn't even a native of the Douluo Continent—someone who possessed secret arts to amplify strength, along with terrifying pink flames and combat techniques beyond its comprehension?
Dodging was no longer possible. It swung its claw, choosing to clash head-on.
Clang!
Man and beast crossed paths in a flash.
A massive black tiger paw, soaked in blood, flew through the air and slammed heavily onto the ground.
Falling beside it was the Dark Devilgod Tiger's corpse. A fist-sized bloody hole had appeared in its neck.
This time, the Dark Devilgod Tiger paid the price for its arrogance. Underestimating Xiao Se—a human whose cultivation hadn't even reached "Soul Douluo"—it died before it could unleash its full power.
Faint black light gathered, forming a jet-black soul ring above the corpse.
At the moment the soul ring took shape, a strange bead flew out from the tiger's body, hovering in midair. The bead was pitch-black, yet it emitted both cyan and blue radiance. Xiao Se reacted instantly. While the secret art's effects still lingered, he stored the bead into the system warehouse at top speed.
In the next second, the Dark Devilgod Tiger's corpse released a small black hole, generating a powerful suction force—its final struggle. Unfortunately, with the bead already taken, there was nothing left to absorb. After a few blinks of time, its energy was exhausted, and the black hole collapsed.
"Truly a cunning creature. If I didn't know the original story and prepare in advance, the bead would've been gone."
Xiao Se muttered inwardly, wiping nonexistent sweat from his brow.
He then stored the tiger's corpse into his storage ring, spread his Purple Cloud Wings, and sped back toward Zhu Zhuqing.
It was time to absorb this soul ring.
(End of Chapter)
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