Chapter 76: High Damage in the Left Hand, Even Higher Damage in the Right Hand
"Success!"
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly opened her eyes from within the remains of the soul beast.
Excited, she raised her right hand and examined it carefully.
From the outside, her right hand looked no different from before.
But she could feel it clearly: within it was a terrifying power capable of tearing everything apart.
"I didn't expect that with my help, the difficulty of absorbing the Dark Gold Terror Claw would be much lower than expected."
Bai Lu came to a realization afterward. When Huo Yuhao absorbed the Dark Gold Terror Claw, the process had been extremely difficult, and the main culprit could be said to be Xuan Zi.
If Xuan Zi had not been present, Electrolux, Tianmeng, or the Ice Empress would not have needed to worry about exposing themselves. Any one of their wills suppressing it would likely have allowed Huo Yuhao to easily fuse with the Dark Gold Terror Claw.
Of course, helping or not helping did not matter much anyway. After all, Huo Yuhao possessed the Life Guardian Blade, so he absolutely would not have died.
As for Zhu Zhuqing, she had Bai Lu's spiritual power helping to suppress it, along with the support and healing from the Blue Silver Emperor's Right Leg Bone. Moreover, this was not a midway "seizure," so the lower difficulty was only natural.
"Try it and see just how strong this Dark Gold Terror Claw really is."
Bai Lu was very curious. In the Douluo series, the Dark Gold Terror Claw was considered the strongest physical-type soul skill. Just how powerful was it exactly?
"Alright!"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded and moved with a thought.
"Buzz—!"
A dark golden light burst from her right hand.
From the tips of her five fingers, strange blade-like extensions grew outward.
Her fingers and the sharp blades became one and the same, indistinguishable from each other.
Then the glow rippled like water, turning the girl's entire right hand dark gold.
Zhu Zhuqing tested her hand by moving it slightly.
She gently placed her fingertips against the ground.
The claw blades sliced into the earth and sank in effortlessly.
There was absolutely no resistance.
The girl came to a conclusion.
"I feel that the armor-piercing ability of this Dark Gold Terror Claw is definitely not inferior to the Eight Spider Lances."
One had to know that the Eight Spider Lances had already evolved twice, making their armor-piercing power extremely terrifying.
Yet now they were being surpassed by a Dark Gold Terror Claw that had not even begun to evolve yet.
"That can't be helped."
Bai Lu sighed.
"How could there be a perfect soul bone in this world?"
The Eight Spider Lances were filled with unique mechanisms and were arguably the most perfect external soul bone.
But if one had to nitpick, its only weakness was that its raw numerical power was not high enough.
The Dark Gold Terror Claw, on the other hand, was the opposite.
Its mechanics were simple, but its numbers were overwhelming.
"True!"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded.
She raised her right hand high and gathered soul power into the claw.
The soul skill that came with the Dark Gold Terror Claw was activated.
Facing a giant rock thirty meters away, she swung her arm with force.
Slash!
A massive dark golden claw beam tore through space and shot forward.
Even its aftershock ripped the ground apart.
Clang!
The claw beam passed through the boulder, leaving it seemingly unharmed.
A gentle breeze blew.
The rock split into two.
Behind it, a large swath of towering trees was severed cleanly at the waist.
Every cut surface was smooth like a mirror.
"So strong!"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes lit up.
The power of the Dark Gold Terror Claw could easily kill ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beasts instantly.
However…
"Using it as a ranged attack consumes a bit too much soul power."
With just one strike, one-third of the soul power in her body had been drained.
If she poured even more soul power into it, the attack's power would likely increase even further.
Afterward, she tried other methods of attacking.
Instead of releasing claw beams, she used the Dark Gold Terror Claw purely in close combat.
She struck down with one claw on the corpse of a thousand-year soul beast known for its defensive strength.
Rip!
The thousand-year soul beast was instantly split into two.
"So strong… and the soul power consumption is far lower than ranged attacks."
The girl murmured to herself.
As long as she fought in close combat, the Dark Gold Terror Claw could be integrated into her normal battle style.
"Don't celebrate yet. Try it after using your martial soul possession."
Bai Lu reminded her.
"Hell Spirit Cat, possess!"
Zhu Zhuqing activated her martial soul, somewhat confused.
Her right hand still shone with dark golden light, but the claw blades merged into the cat claws.
Overall, it looked far less obvious than before.
"Hell Piercing Strike!"
"Hell Rush Stab!"
"Hell Hundred Claws!"
The girl tried activating the Dark Gold Terror Claw together with her other soul skills.
The difficulty increased dramatically, and sometimes it worked, while sometimes it did not.
"The Dark Gold Terror Claw is too domineering, so coordinating it with other soul skills is harder. You'll need more practice."
"Mhm, that makes sense."
The girl smiled casually.
She had already obtained such a powerful ability.
Practicing more was only natural.
"Your combat strength has risen to another level."
Bai Lu evaluated.
"Once you fully master your current power and successfully absorb your fifth soul ring, killing a Soul Douluo head-on will no longer be a problem!"
"Mhm! I feel incredibly powerful right now!"
Zhu Zhuqing proudly lifted her chest.
She simultaneously activated the Dark Gold left hand and the Dark Gold Terror Claw, swinging them through the air.
The left hand carried heavy fist power, capable of shattering mountains.
The right hand possessed razor-sharp claws, capable of shaking heaven and earth.
High damage in the left hand.
Even higher damage in the right hand!
Even without using soul bone skills, she could easily become a pure stats monster.
"Yes, yes, you're strong, you're amazing, alright?"
Bai Lu estimated that if they compared only the soul masters themselves at the age of twelve, even Huo Yuhao might not necessarily be Zhu Zhuqing's opponent now.
"Of course!"
At this moment, the usually cold girl's face was filled with pride.
"By the way, helping you out really exhausted me."
Bai Lu smiled playfully, hinting at something.
"Don't you plan to give me some reward?"
"A reward? What reward?"
Zhu Zhuqing paused, a sly look flashing in her eyes.
"When did I say I'd give you a reward? Why should I give you one?"
She turned her head aside and huffed.
"I won't give it to you! I won't give it to you! Meow!"
"You really won't?"
Bai Lu threatened.
"If you don't, I'll get angry."
"Next time for sure!"
Zhu Zhuqing said with a grin.
"I want it this time."
As Bai Lu spoke, he raised his hand and made a grabbing motion.
The moment his words fell, Zhu Zhuqing suddenly felt the world spin around her.
When she regained her senses, she found herself inside the spiritual sea.
"How did I get here?"
Zhu Zhuqing looked around in confusion.
After being transformed by Bai Lu and the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, most of the spiritual sea had become a vast sea of surging spiritual energy.
At the center, where soul power gathered, there was a special island.
And she was standing on that island.
The surroundings were beautiful and strange.
But—
"Where are my clothes?"
The girl's face flushed with embarrassment.
Her body was completely bare.
"Sure enough, rewards are more interesting when you take them yourself."
At the center of the island, Bai Lu sat upon a spiritual throne, looking at the girl with teasing eyes.
An evil smile appeared on his handsome face.
"What are you trying to do?"
Zhu Zhuqing instinctively covered her body and stepped back.
Bai Lu thought for two seconds and nodded seriously.
"That."
He waved his hand, pulling the girl into his arms and lowering his head slowly.
"Y-you better not do anything reckless… I'm not ready yet."
"Relax. I know my limits."
Starlight flowed, and mist surged.
Within the spiritual world, the two figures intertwined.
A long time passed.
When Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes again, she realized she had returned to the outside world.
Her body was still seated among the remains of the soul beast, but her mind had never felt more relaxed.
"Feeling good?"
Bai Lu's voice carried a smile.
They had done many things but had not truly crossed the final line.
He had simply used his skillful techniques to help the girl relax her tightly wound nerves.
And release some accumulated stress.
The effect was obvious.
"…"
Zhu Zhuqing blushed and said nothing.
"Since you're comfortable now, it's time to get back to business."
Bai Lu's smile faded slightly.
"Let's find a Man-Faced Demon Spider."
"Then… you're not allowed to do that again next time!"
The girl made a demand.
"Sure, sure."
Bai Lu smiled in agreement.
"Hoo…"
Only then did Zhu Zhuqing finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Stretching her body, she stepped back into the dark forest.
End of Chapter