Gu Rong reverted to his human form. His outer robes had been reduced to tatters by the activation of his Martial Soul Avatar, leaving only his specially-made undergarments to cover his dignity. Since breaking through to the Titled Douluo realm, he had rarely needed to use his Avatar.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was now encased in a Spatial Portal cocoon like a developing egg. Despite its desperate struggles, it could not break through the barrier; it had become a lamb to the slaughter. A Rank 97 Gu Rong was truly terrifying. If anyone were to witness this, they would surely suck in several sharp breaths of cold air, making a significant contribution to global warming.
Gu Rong stepped through a three-meter-wide Spatial Portal and returned to Gu Xuan and Dugu Yan. Gu Xuan smiled, his heart racing with excitement at the sight of the captured tiger in his grandfather's grasp. He was immensely satisfied with Gu Rong's strength; his grandfather was now far more powerful than his original self. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had undergone an earth-shaking transformation; if the Spirit Hunt Operation were to occur five years from now, they would surely give Spirit Hall a massive surprise.
"Grandpa, this fellow's abilities are too diverse. You should disable its ability to resist first," Gu Xuan suggested directly.
Gu Rong nodded. He curled his right hand, and the spatial barrier began to compress. The tiger fought back even more violently under the pressure. "Hmph!" Gu Rong snorted. "Evil beast, you still dare to defy me? Spatial Compression."
As Gu Rong increased the pressure, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's body was forced into a tight ball. Its bones were pulverized into dust. The eight-meter-long beast was compressed into a sphere only two meters in diameter. Its bones shattered, and clinging to its last breath, the tiger finally lost all capacity for resistance.
"Xuan'er, give it the final blow quickly. It won't last much longer," Gu Rong reminded him.
Gu Xuan nodded. His four soul rings rose around him, and the black fourth ring flared. Gu Rong opened a small gap in the spatial barrier, and Gu Xuan thrust his right hand—transformed into the Dark Gold Terrorclaw—inside, crushing the tiger's skull and heart instantly.
Even after the beast lost all signs of life, Gu Rong did not immediately withdraw the barrier. Above the mangled remains, a strange bead drifted. It was pitch black but pulsed with flashes of blue and green light. Remarkably, this bead seemed capable of resisting his spatial power.
Gu Xuan recognized it immediately. This was the Evil God Bead, the culmination of the tiger's essence and the Power of the Evil God. This artifact was the ultimate "cheat" that could grant an ordinary person talent comparable to a god.
"Grandpa, grab that bead! It's the tiger's essence, and it likely contains the Power of the Evil God!" Gu Xuan shouted.
Gu Rong flared his soul power, severing the connection between the bead and the tiger's corpse. The bead slammed against the spatial wall, but the impact grew weaker until it fell silent. After ensuring the bead's spiritual sentience had vanished, Gu Rong withdrew the barrier. The tiger's body lay on the ground like a puddle of modeling clay.
A deep black soul ring rose from the remains, radiating intense fluctuations. Gu Rong held the Evil God Bead in his hand; without its sentience, it looked like an ordinary pearl, though its aura of cold evil was still bone-chilling.
"Grandpa, that thing is the tiger's life essence. Keep it safe for me so it doesn't escape through space; it will be of great use to me in the future," Gu Xuan said. Gu Rong nodded, applied three layers of Spatial Imprisonment to the bead, and placed it in his storage tool.
"Xuan'er, absorb the ring first," Gu Rong instructed.
Gu Xuan wasted no time. After nearly three months of searching, he had finally found his fifth ring. He swallowed a jade-green pill to protect his vitals and sat cross-legged to meditate, bringing his state to its peak. Fifteen minutes later, he used his soul power to pull the ring toward him.
A gray current flashed from the black ring and settled over Gu Xuan's head. Simultaneously, a sharp, icy current pierced his body, rampaging through his meridians with intense malice. The shock was so great that Gu Xuan spat out a mist of blood.
"Xuan'er!"
"Xioa Xuan!"
Gu Rong and Dugu Yan cried out in concern.
Fortunately, Gu Xuan's preparations paid off. He bit down on the jade pill, letting its medicinal power coat his internal organs. After the initial shock, he adjusted his soul power to envelop the icy current. The absorption began.
As the ring integrated, the tiger's corpse began to dissolve into gray mist, vanishing as if it had never existed. Soul and spirit utterly destroyed!
The process was grueling and far longer than his previous four absorptions. For two and a half days, Gu Xuan sat motionless. His body cycled through flashes of green (wind), blue (thunder), black (darkness), gray (evil), silver (space), and white (time). Each attribute took ten hours to integrate, strengthening his soul power and meridians with every cycle.
Finally, at noon on the third day, the black ring settled into the fifth position. A tidal wave of soul power erupted from his body. Gu Rong's eyes widened—Gu Xuan had reached Rank 55. A Rank 55 Soul King under the age of fifteen; "genius" was no longer a sufficient word. "Monster" was more accurate.
"Grandpa, Yan'er, I did it!" Gu Xuan stood up, beaming. "Rank 55! The harvest from this ring is no less than that of a hundred-thousand-year ring. Not only did my strength triple, but my mental power has touched the threshold of a Soul Douluo!"
Gu Rong and Dugu Yan were genuinely happy for him. "Xuan'er, what about those six attributes that manifested?" Gu Rong asked.
Gu Xuan smiled. "I've digested the tiger's insights into those elements." He raised his hands, lightning coiling in his left and wind blades forming in his right. He casually tossed them at Gu Rong, who blocked the "sneak attack" with his bone claws.
Then, Gu Xuan merged dark and gray energies into a swirling sphere of gray-black current, similar to the tiger's tail hook light. He launched it at Gu Rong. Though he broke it easily, his expression changed. Gu Xuan now possessed four distinct elemental powers, and while they weren't at the "Ultimate" level yet, they were the purest and strongest among peers.
Deciding that a simple test wasn't enough, Gu Xuan activated four rings at once.
"First Soul Skill: Bone Dragon War Body!" (Now a 30% all-attribute boost).
"Second Soul Skill: Darkgold Terrorclaw!" (Attack and strength boost by 100%).
"Fourth Soul Skill: Spatial Portal!" He vanished into the void with pure style.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Evil God's Annihilating Thunder!"
This was now his strongest single-target attack, surpassing even his external soul bone skills. It merged Wind, Thunder, Evil, Darkness, Time, and Space into a force of pure annihilation.
A Spatial Portal opened behind Gu Rong. Gu Xuan's golden claw doubled in size, wreathed in the gray-black light of annihilation, and struck toward his grandfather's heart.
"You brat!" Gu Rong felt a genuine sense of crisis. If he took this hit undefended, he would be heavily injured. He flared his nine rings and activated his sixth. "Sixth Soul Skill: Bone Dragon Void Array!"
Six ten-meter-long bone dragons appeared, forming a profound formation. Light flared as Gu Xuan's claw slammed into the array. The power of annihilation was so great that one of the bone dragon's heads was completely dissolved!
Gu Rong was stunned. He was a Rank 97 Super Douluo using his strongest defense, and a Rank 55 Soul King had actually damaged it? This strike could instantly kill a Soul Saint!
Feeling a bit peeved at almost being sent off by his own grandson, Gu Rong lunged forward, grabbing Gu Xuan by the face and pinning him to the ground. "You little rascal, I'm going to clean up the family line today!" he grumbled, though he was clearly joking.
Gu Xuan realized he'd overdone it and shouted, "Yan'er, save me, or you'll be a widow!" He knew Dugu Yan was his best shield against his grandfather's "wrath."
(End of Chapter)
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