"This is..."
Yuanen Yehui's eyes instantly lit up as she gazed into the distance, unable to tear her gaze away. Joy filled her voice.
Now appearing in everyone's line of sight were three towering ape-type Soul Beasts. Their golden fur exuded an air of nobility, each standing over ten meters tall with powerfully built bodies.
Their shoulders alone spanned more than seven meters, their arms as thick as giant pillars. But the most striking thing was...
Unlike the Wind Wolves that appeared in groups of a hundred or the White Bears in tens, these ape-type Soul Beasts numbered only three.
Yet, as the Soul Beasts of the twelfth floor, their quality and innate abilities far surpassed those of the previous ones.
"Diamond Apes—the strongest among ape-type Soul Beasts, even surpassing... the Titan Giant Ape."
Yuanen Yehui's mind raced before she exclaimed in excitement.
The Diamond Ape was a strength-type Soul Beast and the most formidable of its kind. At the same cultivation level, its size even exceeded that of Yuanen Yehui's Martial Soul, the Titan Giant Ape.
That's right—even the Titan Giant Ape, once hailed as the ruler of the forest twenty thousand years ago, couldn't match the Diamond Ape at the same level.
Its combat prowess lay in pure strength. Terrifying power granted it terrifying speed, and with both offense and defense, it possessed extraordinary agility—truly a warrior of all trades.
The reason the Titan Giant Ape stood above it wasn't due to strength or skills but... intelligence!
Ape-type Soul Beasts were generally smarter than other Soul Beasts, but the Diamond Ape was an exception in this regard as well. Its greatest flaw was its lack of brains.
Its intelligence was extremely low, relying solely on survival instincts. Fierce and bloodthirsty by nature, aside from brute strength, it possessed only one Soul Skill—Berserk!
"Luo Chuan, Gu Yue..."
"My Soul Spirit—it's decided. It has to be this one."
Yuanen Yehui took a deep breath, her eyes brimming with anticipation.
The Diamond Ape, as the apex of ape-type Soul Beasts, was undoubtedly the most suitable Soul Spirit for her—bar none.
Moreover, the Berserk Soul Skill it would undoubtedly provide was far too crucial. With such a skill, she couldn't even imagine how much her strength would improve!
After all, the most powerful abilities in the Soul Master world were percentage-based, all-attribute enhancements—and Berserk was one of them!
"Perfect, there are three of them, Yuanen..."
"Let's each take one."
Tang Luochuan responded softly.
"Alright!"
Yuanen Yehui agreed. In the next instant, she unleashed her Martial Soul and charged straight at the one in the center.
"First Soul Skill—Titan Force!"
Titan Force increased attack power by eighty percent while also granting a fifty percent boost to defense—truly a divine skill that balanced offense and defense.
"ROAR—"
The Diamond Ape's eyes glowed red as it fearlessly lunged at Yuanen Yehui, its gaze revealing nothing but pure, mindless aggression.
Its heart knew nothing but battle!
And that red glow was precisely its sole innate skill—Berserk. In an instant, relying on its towering frame and overwhelming strength, Yuanen Yehui was immediately pushed to a disadvantage.
"King Kong Titan!"
A flash of fighting spirit ignited in Yuanen Yehui's eyes. As her third purple Soul Ring blazed with light, her already formidable aura surged even higher.
All attributes increased by forty percent—at this moment, he feared not even a Soul Ancestor powerhouse.
"Roar—"
The Diamond Ape showed no signs of backing down, letting out two more furious roars before suddenly thrusting its right fist forward. Its rock-solid fist instantly smashed toward Yuanen Yehui.
"Air Cannon."
Yuanen Yehui remained calm as her figure swiftly retreated. In her hands, the air had already condensed, shooting straight toward the ape's glowing red eyes.
Second Soul Skill—Air Cannon!
"This is…"
"The Kamehameha?"
Tang Luochuan and the others had already dealt with the other two apes. Silently observing the battle before them, their gazes were drawn to the shockwave in her hands, their faces etched with contemplation.
"Condensing air…"
"That's certainly one way to do it," Tang Luochuan mused aloud.
"Indeed."
"And it could also be integrated with various attributes, like wind bubbles, fire bubbles…"
Beside him, Gu Yue also wore a thoughtful expression. Clearly, this had given her some inspiration regarding elemental skills, but what she couldn't help but think was…
The Titan Giant Ape actually had a Soul Skill like this!
"Oww—"
On the other side, after enduring three consecutive Air Cannons from Yuanen Yehui, the Diamond Ape clutched its eyes in pain, letting out a pitiful whimper.
"Titan Giant Fist!"
But Yuanen Yehui gave it no time to recover. A massive fist, infused with her strongest Soul Power, arrived right before its forehead.
"…"
As the Diamond Ape's figure shattered into fragments, the voice she had been eagerly anticipating echoed in everyone's ears.
[Soul Spirit Pagoda, Twelfth Floor]
[Five-thousand-year Diamond Ape—Absorb?]
[Twelve seconds remaining…]
"I choose to absorb."
Yuanen Yehui retracted her Martial Soul, her face brimming with anticipation as she quickly responded with a smile.
The moment her voice rang out, the Diamond Ape, now enveloped in a glow of Soul Power, shrank several times in size and floated gently before her.
Having broken through its defenses, it blinked up at her.
"Roar… roar…"
The tiny Diamond Ape nestled in Yuanen Yehui's palm, whimpering softly while waving its little arms, leaving her momentarily stunned.
"This Diamond Ape…"
"Must be the same one you just fought," Gu Yue remarked with a faint smile, her tone thoughtful.
"Huh?"
"So it works like this."
Hearing this, Yuanen Yehui was taken aback. After a closer look, she finally noticed the similarities to the previous ape and couldn't help but smile.
"Little one."
"Become my Soul Spirit. Let's grow stronger together."
Yuanen Yehui smiled gently, stroking the small creature's head as she spoke softly.
"Roar…"
"Roar!"
Whether the Diamond Ape truly understood was anyone's guess, but at this moment, the tiny Soul Beast seemed to ponder before nodding quietly.
"Let's go."
Gu Yue wore a faint smile. Now that she had helped the other obtain the ideal Soul Spirit, it was time to leave.
"Let's go."
Yuanen Yehui glanced at Tang Luochuan before cradling the small, ball-like Diamond Ape in her arms, smiling as she spoke.
For a moment, the three of them stepped through the golden gate again, only this time they weren't transported to the next level but returned to where they'd been before entering.
"Good Luo Chuan..."
"Your friend's talent is quite impressive too."
Just then, a figure in red robes appeared before the three—none other than Leng Yaozhu.
"Senior Heavenly Phoenix."
"Teacher."
Seeing the person before them, Tang Luochuan and Gu Yue immediately greeted her with smiles.
"Your Majesty, Heavenly Phoenix!"
Beside them, Yuanen Yehui also bowed respectfully upon hearing this, never imagining this beautiful woman who looked like an older sister would be the Sky Phoenix Douluo, Leng Yaozhu.
"Hello there."
"So you chose the Diamond Ape as your Soul Spirit... So you're that family's little one, hm..."
Leng Yaozhu smiled faintly, but when her gaze landed on Yuanen Yehui, her expression momentarily froze before she turned thoughtful, looking between Tang Luochuan and Yuanen Yehui.
"Yue'er, come here for a moment."
Leng Yaozhu sighed and spoke bluntly.
Her greatest worry...
Had still come to pass.
"What is it, Teacher?"
Following her to the side, Gu Yue wore a puzzled expression as she asked softly.
"Yue'er."
"You really need to be more careful."
Leng Yaozhu's face was contemplative as she spoke frankly.
"Huh... What?"
Gu Yue looked utterly bewildered, at a complete loss.
What did her teacher mean by that?
"That young man."
"You must have noticed something was off, right?"
Leng Yaozhu shook her head and said slowly.
"Young man..."
"Could it be...?"
Gu Yue frowned, a flash of astonishment crossing her mind. No way...
Don't tell her...
Her worst fear had actually happened?
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