After arriving at the Star Dou Forest, Gai Yue and Flender parted ways with Zhao Wuji and the others. This was because the soul beasts Flender needed were deep within the Star Dou Forest, and their paths would diverge.
Oscar didn't insist on them staying together. After all, for him, Gai Yue, and the others, time was money—perhaps even more precious than money itself.
So after reaching the Star Dou Forest, the group split up. Each person confirmed their destination and set off immediately without any delay.
After parting ways with their teacher Gai Yue and the others, Oscar and Dai Mubai followed Zhao Wuji directly to a special location that Dai Mubai had mentioned.
It was located within the Star Dou Forest, within the borders of the Star Luo Empire, at the boundary between the core zone and the outer zone.
There was a clan of Vajra White Tigers there, numbering around a hundred or so. The strongest among them was approximately twenty thousand years old.
This clan of Vajra White Tigers was the only place Dai Mubai knew of in the Star Dou Forest where Vajra White Tiger soul beasts could be found.
The three of them spent another week reaching this place, and the Vajra White Tiger clan was indeed much as Dai Mubai had described.
The strongest Vajra White Tiger in the clan was indeed over twenty thousand years old, and there were more than a hundred Vajra White Tiger soul beasts, with strengths ranging from a hundred years to ten thousand years.
If Zhao Wuji had to face the entire clan at once, even he might not necessarily be their opponent. However, Zhao Wuji wasn't foolish. He only needed to lock onto one suitable for Dai Mubai's third soul ring and then capture it.
According to Dai Mubai, this Vajra White Tiger clan was one of the sources from which the imperial family raised their own Vajra White Tigers.
The clan here was a natural wild clan, while the Vajra White Tigers raised by the imperial family were captured from here.
It was considered one of the imperial family's backup resources. Hearing this, Oscar could only express immense envy. After all, only with sufficient strength could one have the ability to control such a vast resource.
Zhao Wuji didn't waste any words. He directly locked onto a Vajra White Tiger with two thousand nine hundred years of cultivation. This Vajra White Tiger could be said to perfectly match Dai Mubai's current physical condition.
After locking onto his target, Zhao Wuji consumed the Swift-as-Wind-and-Rain Swallow Intestines that Oscar had given him. With a flight speed comparable to a ten-thousand-year-level pointed-tail rain swallow, he directly captured this two-thousand-nine-hundred-year-old Vajra White Tiger.
Afterward, the three quickly moved to a cave far from the Vajra White Tiger clan, allowing Dai Mubai to deal with this Vajra White Tiger and then providing him with protection while he absorbed his third soul ring.
Dai Mubai looked at the dying Vajra White Tiger, an indescribable excitement coursing through him. After absorbing this soul ring, he would be a genuine Soul Elder.
And from this moment on, he would fundamentally surpass his elder brother Dai Weisiin potential, and from this moment on, the gap between him and Dai Weisiwould gradually narrow.
Until one day, Dai Mubai could truly surpass Davis, achieve a comeback against all odds, and become the true Crown Prince of the Star Luo Empire, or even an emperor...
Dai Mubai let out a tiger's roar. His White Tiger martial soul instantly possessed him, and a pair of tiger claws shot out ten sharp blades. The blades pierced the head of the dying Vajra White Tiger, completely finishing it off.
Afterward, a purple soul ring slowly condensed around the Vajra White Tiger's body. Dai Mubai sat down cross-legged nearby, waiting for the soul ring to fully condense before he would use his soul power to begin absorbing it.
His current physical condition had no problem absorbing this soul ring. However, this was his first time absorbing a soul ring from a higher-tier beast, and naturally, he would have to endure considerable pain.
But Dai Mubai, though only thirteen years old, had indeed grown a lot over the past year. Moreover, the fact that he chose to return to bring Zhu Zhuqing with him showed his determination.
So even if he had to endure more pain, Dai Mubai would absolutely not give up. Instead, he became more courageous with each challenge, because only this way could his strength improve more.
In the future, when facing his elder brother, he would have the strength and confidence to defeat the other and become the ultimate victor.
Dai Mubai spent a full day absorbing this soul ring. It wasn't until the next day that the third purple soul ring on his body finally solidified.
When the three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—completely hovered around Dai Mubai, his entire aura greatly increased. The soul power fluctuation of thirty-two levels indicated that this time, by absorbing a soul ring from a higher-tier beast, his soul power had broken through another level, reaching thirty-two.
After a long while, Dai Mubai opened his eyes. A brilliant light flashed in his heterochromatic pupils, which was then replaced by endless excitement and agitation.
Obviously, he was very satisfied with this improvement. After all, this was his first time absorbing a soul ring from a higher-tier beast, and the boost it brought was indeed substantial.
Dai Mubai looked at Zhao Wuji, then at Oscar, before slowly saying, "Teacher Zhao, Brother Oscar, my improvement this time was significant. My soul power directly reached thirty-two levels."
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji and Oscar nodded. They were both experienced in these matters and weren't particularly surprised. However, Zhao Wuji still asked:
"What about the soul skill? Is it what you wanted?"
Dai Mubai nodded and explained the effects of his third soul skill: "My third soul skill is fine. It's indeed White Tiger Vajra Transformation. After using this soul skill, my attack, defense, and strength will all increase by one hundred percent, and it will last until my soul power is exhausted."
Hearing Dai Mubai's words, Oscar was quite pleased. Although the effect of this soul skill in the original novel hadn't changed from now, the duration had.
In the original novel, Dai Mubai could only use this soul skill for half an hour, whereas now it had changed to last until his soul power was exhausted.
In the early stages, half an hour might seem long, but at higher levels, with vast soul power as support, having the soul skill end only when soul power is depleted would undoubtedly be more practical.
Even with just this small change, it would make a huge difference to Dai Mubai's future strength improvement and evolution.
Regarding this, Oscar didn't offer much comment, but he did congratulate Dai Mubai on obtaining his third soul ring and reaching thirty-two levels of soul power.
This extra level of soul power saved Dai Mubai two to three months of arduous training. It could be said that the whale glue he consumed wasn't wasted and brought quite good results.
However, even so, he was still far behind Oscar and Ma Hongjun. After all, Oscar and Ma Hongjun had consumed whale glue long ago and had been absorbing soul rings from higher-tier beasts for quite some time.
Furthermore, the two had also consumed immortal-grade pills and herbs, so even with Dai Mubai's current improvement, he still couldn't compare to them.
But Dai Mubai did have the advantage of age. He had already reached the Soul Elder level. Although his strength was a bit lacking, the gap in soul power was narrowing.
(End of Chapter)