Soon, Yang Xiong and Lin Gong arrived at the training grounds to test Yang Xiong's true physical strength.
Yang Xiong summoned his martial soul and soul rings, his entire body turning blood-red as he swiftly charged toward Lin Gong.
Lin Gong appeared extremely relaxed, casually waving his hand to summon countless Purple Bamboo Spears that blocked Yang Xiong's path.
Yang Xiong unleashed a full-force punch on the Purple Bamboo Spears, which bent under the immense pressure.
However, no matter how powerful Yang Xiong's strength was, the Purple Bamboo Spears didn't break completely but instead bent to an extreme degree.
To Yang Xiong's surprise, the bent bamboo spears emitted a strong counterforce, sending him flying several meters back.
On the other side, Lin Gong couldn't help but smile: "Little Xiong, if this is all you've got, I advise you not to consider absorbing a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. However, your strength is indeed much greater than I imagined."
Without hesitation, Yang Xiong activated his third and fourth soul rings simultaneously—his third soul skill, Tyrant Dragon's Fury, and his fourth soul skill, Dragon Elephant Steel Body.
After activating both skills, Yang Xiong's near-1.9-meter frame instantly expanded. His muscles became incredibly dense, his bones hardened, and his strength and endurance increased by several times. Even his height surged to around 2.3 meters in an instant.
Yang Xiong then charged at Lin Gong again—or rather, directly attacked Lin Gong's Purple Bamboo Spears.
With a single strike of his Bone-Crushing Steel Fist, Yang Xiong struck the Purple Bamboo Spears. Despite their extraordinary resilience, they shattered into fragments under his punch.
Even Lin Gong was astonished by Yang Xiong's raw power. Judging purely by strength, Yang Xiong had undoubtedly reached the level of a Soul Emperor.
However, nine soul rings immediately appeared around Lin Gong's body, and countless Purple Bamboo Spears quickly surrounded Yang Xiong as if trying to envelop him.
Yang Xiong didn't hesitate either, throwing punch after punch at the bamboo spears. Unfortunately, every time he shattered one set of Purple Bamboo Spears, more would appear around him.
At this moment, Lin Gong suddenly activated his soul skill. Countless Purple Bamboo Spears transformed into sharp swords, attacking Yang Xiong like a storm—it was his second soul skill: Ten Thousand Purple Bamboo Thorns.
Yang Xiong concentrated all his soul power, channeling it into his skin and bones—this was his self-created soul skill.
Countless bamboo thorns struck Yang Xiong's body, but none could penetrate his defense.
This time, Lin Gong's main goal was to test Yang Xiong's physical capabilities, focusing primarily on his strength and defense. Therefore, neither side employed many advanced combat techniques.
Afterward, Yang Xiong felt as though countless bamboo thorns were piercing his skin, causing slight damage but still manageable.
However, before Yang Xiong could react, all the bamboo swords exploded simultaneously—it was Lin Gong's fourth soul skill: Exploding Purple Bamboo Spears.
Yang Xiong heard countless explosions around him, with bamboo shards piercing his body during the blasts.
Facing this attack, Yang Xiong let out a thunderous roar, releasing an overwhelming blood-red aura to resist the explosive force.
When the explosions finally subsided, Yang Xiong emerged from the smoke, his towering figure exuding an indomitable presence.
But in an instant, a green light shot out from Lin Gong's head. Yang Xiong felt his entire body go numb, as if paralyzed—it was Lin Gong's head soul bone skill: Spiritual Paralysis.
Yang Xiong felt a wave of numbness throughout his body. His head seemed about to split open, and even his soul and soul power felt completely out of control.
However, Yang Xiong gritted his teeth, his eyes turning blood-red. A crimson beam shot out from his eyes—it was the Asura Divine Light of the Purple Extreme Demon Eye.
Even Lin Gong was startled, not expecting Yang Xiong to have such a technique. But with his Title Douluo-level strength, Lin Gong emitted another green light. The red and green lights collided in midair, resulting in a massive explosion.
When the scene finally returned to calm, Yang Xiong had collapsed on the ground, his soul power completely drained.
Under normal circumstances, Yang Xiong's use of two top-tier enhancement soul skills increased his strength and defense by four times. Especially after using the Asura Body, his strength increased threefold on top of that. In other words, under his Body Martial Soul, Yang Xiong's strength alone had increased twelvefold, with even greater enhancements to his defense.
Under this terrifying amplification, a single strike from Yang Xiong now carried the force of over ten thousand jin—a level that absolutely matched a Soul Emperor.
However, Lin Gong was still a Title Douluo-level powerhouse. Even though Yang Xiong's short-term explosive strength and defense were extraordinary, the gap in their mastery and application of soul power was vast.
Lin Gong's expression turned serious: "Little Xiong, your strength surpasses my expectations, especially in terms of physical power and defense. Your physical capabilities likely already match those of a Soul Emperor. It seems your years of physical tempering haven't been in vain."
"Even your mental strength is impressive—I sense it has reached the peak of a top-tier Soul Emperor."
"But no matter how strong your physical abilities are, you're still only a quasi-Soul Emperor. The gap between our soul power is simply too great."
"The stronger a soul skill is, the more soul power it consumes. Correspondingly, it also drains your stamina significantly. While you might possess an extremely terrifying burst of power in the short term, you won't be able to sustain it for long."
"Perhaps you can absorb soul rings below a hundred thousand years, but if you want to absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, your current body isn't quite ready. You might be able to withstand the initial shock of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, but normally, absorbing such a soul ring takes a very long time. I doubt you'd be able to endure it until the end."
"So, unless your body undergoes another transformation, you won't be able to handle it for now."
After much thought, Yang Xiong finally spoke: "Teacher Lin, I still have some hidden cards up my sleeve. I'm certain I can make my body transform again and successfully absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring as my sixth."
Lin Gong couldn't help but sigh: "Little Bear, I don't know whether to call you determined or suicidal. Anyway, I can't stop you. If you're really sure, we old folks will accompany you to Sunset Forest."
"However, I'm not entirely confident that the soul beast there is a hundred-thousand-year one. Its aura feels slightly weaker compared to the Sky Azure Bull Python in the Star Dou Forest—as if it's on a slightly lower tier."
Yang Xiong didn't dwell on it and directly took out the core of the Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent.
"Teacher Lin, what level of energy do you think this core contains?"
Lin Gong took the core of the Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent from Yang Xiong, examined it carefully, and then replied: "It should be around sixty to seventy thousand years. If used as your soul ring, it might work quite well."
After careful consideration, Yang Xiong responded: "Teacher Lin, I still want a top-tier fire-attribute, strength-based soul ring. Let's first check out Sunset Forest—maybe we'll find other surprises."
Lin Gong sighed helplessly: "You're asking for too much, young one. You want a fire-attribute soul ring, and it has to be strength-based. Where are we supposed to find the hundred-thousand-year top-tier soul beast you're dreaming of?"
Yang Xiong smiled: "If I remember correctly, I once heard a bull-like roar. Bull-type soul beasts are generally strength-based. If it also has a fire attribute, such a combination is extremely rare. I hope the soul beast in Sunset Forest matches my expectations."
Lin Gong sighed again, ultimately handing Yang Xiong a lead box: "I don't know if I'm truly indebted to you in this life, but the item inside might be of some help to you."
Yang Xiong opened the lead box and found a green head soul bone inside. Its energy felt incredibly vibrant, brimming with boundless vitality.
Yang Xiong noticed that the head soul bone in the lead box seemed to share the same origin as the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor leg bone in his right leg.
Lin Gong continued: "My ninth soul ring was obtained when Sword Douluo and the five elders of the Body Sect hunted down an eighty-five-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Grass. That's when we acquired this head soul bone."
"You know I already have a head soul bone, so this one is useless to me. You can absorb it—it might come in handy at a critical moment."
Yang Xiong's lips twitched: "Teacher Lin, the Blue Silver Grass you hunted wasn't from the Star Dou Forest, was it?"
Lin Gong snorted coldly: "Look at your limited perspective—you only think of the Star Dou Forest. This time, I relied on information from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and my past experiences to find a unique forest filled entirely with Blue Silver Grass. Many of them had even cultivated to the ten-thousand-year level."
"However, this eighty-five-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Grass was incredibly difficult to kill. Its vitality was so strong that it left us feeling hopeless. If it weren't for Sword Douluo and the five of us working together, it wouldn't have been easy to defeat."
Yang Xiong was speechless. From the description, it sounded like the Blue Silver King from the Blue Silver Forest—and judging by the timeline, it must have happened some time ago.
After all, Tang San relied on the Blue Silver King to awaken a second time, evolving his martial soul from Blue Silver Grass to Blue Silver Emperor.
Now that the Blue Silver King had been killed, Yang Xiong wondered if Tang San had undergone his second awakening before this. If the Blue Silver King had been killed prematurely, Tang San might never get the chance to awaken again.
Originally, Yang Xiong and Tang San had been classmates and teammates, with a relatively average relationship. They had even made several trades in the past, and theoretically, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect shouldn't be hostile toward Tang San.
The only thing Yang Xiong had done that involved Tang San was taking the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone. Other than that, he felt he hadn't wronged Tang San in any way.
But now, thanks to Lin Gong's actions, their entanglement had deepened.
Nevertheless, Yang Xiong didn't dwell on it. He accepted the soul bone from Lin Gong—it was, after all, an exceedingly rare treasure.
After undergoing the blood river tempering in Slaughter City, the energy of the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor leg bone in his right leg had changed. The blue aura it originally emitted had been influenced by the killing intent of the blood river, gradually turning a faint blood-red.
Even if he used the Blue Silver Emperor leg bone in the future, it might be unrecognizable to Tang Hao. But now, with the addition of an eighty-five-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor head soul bone, using it in the future would almost certainly draw Tang Hao's attention.
After returning home, Yang Xiong carefully reviewed Lin Gong's words. A hundred-thousand-year soul ring was far more powerful than he had anticipated, and absorbing it would be extremely difficult—perhaps even more so than he had imagined.
Yet Yang Xiong felt a deep sense of reluctance. His opportunities far exceeded those of Du Busi. Why couldn't he achieve a physique stronger than Du Busi's?
Yang Xiong felt that the core of the Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent in his hand was somewhat disappointing. Though the Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent was formidable, Yang Xiong had always absorbed strength-based soul rings, and its age felt too low—far below his expectations.
In the original storyline, Ma Hongjun used the Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent as his seventh soul ring, causing his martial soul to mutate from an ordinary Fire Phoenix to a Ten-Headed Fire Phoenix.
But if Yang Xiong's Body Martial Soul absorbed this soul ring, would it result in something similar? If so, that would be quite troublesome.
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