"You!" Xiao Yan glared at Tang Hao. This guy was truly beyond saving.
He had even liked the existence of transformed Soul Beasts, yet he could actually kill one that was the same as his wife!
Tang Hao said coldly, "Stop with the 'you this, you that.' I'm still your senior, after all. I'm doing this for your own good. It's fine that you like transformed Soul Beasts, but… the world won't accept it. You should find a human woman in the future."
"For my own good? Thanks a bunch!" His teeth were chattering, revealing the words clenched between his teeth. Xiao Yan clenched his fists, his dark eyes burning with rage.
Watching Xiao Wu's life fade away, Xiao Yan knew that the development of the Douluo Continent would likely have a bleak future.
After learning about the information of the Douluo Continent, Xiao Yan had carefully analyzed the Soul Master group.
As long as one had the qualifications to become a Soul Master, even a useless person like the Great Master, they would need at least two Soul Beasts to contribute Soul Rings in their lifetime.
This was just the number of Soul Beasts he had to kill to obtain Soul Rings, not counting the Soul Beasts accidentally killed during the hunting process.
And Soul Masters with strong aptitude would need to hunt even more Soul Beasts.
The growth of Soul Beasts is extremely slow. Soul Masters primarily absorb Soul Rings from the hundred-year and thousand-year levels. Soul Masters at a higher level can absorb Soul Rings from the ten-thousand-year level.
However, regardless of whether it's a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand years, the Soul Beast's growth lags far behind that of a Soul Master.
Compared to a Soul Master's lifespan of only about a hundred years, a Soul Beast needs hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years of accumulation to appear and match the needs of a Soul Master.
During this long period, one must account for the losses from Soul Beasts fighting each other in the forest. The actual number available for Soul Master absorption is probably even less.
Given enough time, the extinction of Soul Beasts is inevitable. Without Soul Beasts, the Soul Master community will also head down a dead end.
However, Xiao Yan knew very early on that he was an extremely unique existence on the Douluo Continent, with the potential to change this situation.
He possessed half the bloodline of a Soul Beast, and his first Soul Ring came from himself.
Furthermore, he had a transformed Soul Beast by his side, who, according to observation, could condense Soul Rings without relying on hunting other Soul Beasts.
If they could find another Soul Master with pure human blood, combining the factors of a half-beast-half-human, a transformed Soul Beast, and a human Soul Master, they might be able to explore a method for Soul Masters to condense their own Soul Rings.
The crisis of Soul Masters' extinction, which would occur on the Douluo Continent many years later, could be erased.
Unfortunately, this entire blueprint had been ruined by Tang Hao, that reckless man.
Tang Hao urged from the side, "Don't hesitate any longer. If this transformed Soul Beast suddenly dies, you'll only be able to fuse with the Soul Bone.
The Soul Ring produced by a transformed Soul Beast is at the Hundred-Thousand-Year level, something countless Soul Masters in the entire Soul Master world dream of. It can grant you two Soul Skills, and killing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast will definitely drop a Soul Bone. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone will also grant two Soul Bone skills.
One Soul Beast yields four skills. That's the preciousness of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
You obtained your second Soul Ring four years ago. With your innate full soul power cultivation speed, you should have obtained your third Soul Ring long ago. Although your soul power level hasn't reached the level to absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, your physical fitness already meets the requirements, even exceeding them by far.
Previously, I also heard your judgment of this transformed Soul Beast, and I mistakenly thought you had already seen through its essence. I've kept it by your side, preparing it to be your third Soul Ring."
This old dog, Tang Hao, had been hiding beside him all along!
Xiao Yan thought he was being very cautious, but he hadn't expected to be so naive.
Tang Hao's usual display of emotions had led him to wrongly believe that Tang Hao was someone without much depth, causing him to believe the leaving note and think he had truly departed.
He hadn't anticipated that Tang Hao had been hiding nearby all along, and he hadn't sensed his presence even once.
Watching Xiao Wu's increasingly pale face, Xiao Yan grit his teeth and raised his hand, pressing heavily on several major acupoints on her back, severing her heart's meridians.
Xiao Wu's injuries were beyond saving; every extra second she lived would bring unimaginable pain.
The only thing Xiao Yan could do now was to give her a quick death.
The instant Xiao Wu died, crimson light surged from her body, and the intense energy even pushed Xiao Yan back.
Xiao Yan was shocked to discover that within this red light, Xiao Wu's body began to dissipate as the light emerged.
Before long, all the red light expanded into a huge soul ring. Its blood-red color indicated that it was a rare Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Besides this, as Xiao Wu's body dissipated, a bone floated in mid-air. This bone was completely transparent, with a feel like red crystal. It seemed to have red light constantly flowing within, extremely brilliant.
Tang Hao didn't look at this left arm Soul Bone, but instead watched the blood-red Soul Ring in mid-air with a complex expression. He also had one of these…
"Such powerful energy, is this a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?" Xiao Yan looked at the Soul Ring formed from Xiao Wu with some surprise.
The energy of this Soul Ring was more than twice that of the Golden Silk Vine Soul Ring he had absorbed.
The energy of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was actually this terrifying! No wonder in the information circulating among Soul Masters, only those who reached level ninety could possibly absorb such a powerful Soul Ring.
Xiao Yan picked up the Soul Bone floating in mid-air and attached it to his left arm. He sat cross-legged on the ground and released his Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul, beginning to prepare for the fusion of the Soul Bone and Soul Ring.
Xiao Wu was already dead. Despair and self-degradation wouldn't change anything. He had a long road ahead of him.
For example: improving his strength, and in the future, subdue Tang Hao, this troublemaker, and hand him over to the Clear Sky Sect for disposal.
Today, Xiao Yan couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't slip up and say something that would lead to someone else dying at Tang Hao's hands, now that Xiao Wu was gone.
Tang Hao, as an adult, had to be responsible for his actions.
The most reasonable course of action was to hand him over to the Clear Sky Sect for judgment, since his relationship with the transformed Soul Beast had caused a major blow to his family. Let those who had suffered trauma punish him.
Xiao Yan believed that the Clear Sky Sect members, who had lost loved ones because of Tang Hao, would definitely not let him off the hook.
Crimson light surged, and a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring landed almost instantly on the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul in Xiao Yan's palm.
(End of Chapter)