Over the next week, Oscar, the Titan Giant Ape, and the Azure Bull Python discussed the concept of spirit souls in detail. However, there were still many details and experiments that needed to be worked out. After finalizing some of these details, Oscar and Gai Yue left the Star Dou Great Forest.
Oscar had successfully broken through to level sixty and comprehended his own sword intent. There was not much point in staying any longer, especially since he had his own matters to take care of.
On the way back, Oscar took out the Spirit Condensing Wisdom Skull that he had obtained during the tournament. After successfully absorbing this head spirit bone, his spirit power rose from level sixty-one to level sixty-two.
With his current foundation, the improvement brought by a fifty-five-thousand-year head spirit bone was already quite limited.
However, his spiritual power increased greatly, reaching the same level as his physical strength—level ninety-two.
The reason his spiritual power could keep up with his physical development was because, from the very beginning, his spiritual power had been stronger than his physical body. Later, he had consumed the immortal herb brewed into a pill by the Dew of Autumn Water, which caused his spiritual power to skyrocket.
It was only later, after absorbing the spirit ring of the Dark Evil God Tiger and obtaining the external spirit bones Evil God Wings and Evil God Hook, that his physical strength surpassed his spiritual power.
Now that he had absorbed a head spirit bone that boosted his spiritual power, his spiritual and physical strength were once again on the same level.
Because of the effects of the Dew of Autumn Water he had consumed earlier, the skill of his head spirit bone had undergone some slight changes.
His head spirit bone skill was called Annihilation Divine Light. It not only unleashed a terrifying spiritual impact but also dispelled illusions, cutting through all deception and seeing the truth directly.
This meant that even without using his second soul skill, he would no longer fear spirit-control type techniques, such as charm.
Because Oscar's spiritual power was extremely strong, if he encountered an opponent whose spiritual power was less than half of his own, the opponent's spiritual sea would be shattered by this skill, leaving them in a vegetative state.
If an opponent's spiritual power was more than half but still lower than his, they would be stunned for at least three seconds when struck by this skill.
If their spiritual power exceeded his, they would still be stunned, but for three seconds or less, depending on their strength.
Overall, this spirit bone skill was extremely powerful and became another trump card for Oscar.
After absorbing the spirit bone, Oscar and Gai Yue headed straight to the Sunset Forest, where their Sword Sect was now truly based.
Although the public headquarters of the Sword Sect was in Morley City, most of the core members were based near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
When Oscar and Gai Yue arrived at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Bo and his granddaughter Dugu Yan were overjoyed. If not counting the clones, they had not seen each other in over a year.
Dugu Bo was doing quite well. He was now a level ninety-five Super Douluo and spent his days with Yang Wudi learning how to cultivate medicinal herbs and refine pills, living a very comfortable life.
Dugu Yan, on the other hand, had been somewhat bored. Although she had absorbed the Eight Spider Spears sent to her by Oscar's clone, greatly boosting her strength, she had been alone for too long.
Reunited after a long absence, the young couple ignored the two old men entirely as Dugu Yan pulled Oscar along to wander through the Sword Sect.
The sect was built around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but since the Well was a secret, the deepest areas were restricted.
Over the past year, Dugu Yan had familiarized herself with every corner of the newly built Sword Sect. Oscar, because of his clone, already knew the place well, but he still followed her around.
Even though their clones had been together constantly, meeting in person felt different, as though they had been apart for ages.
Hand in hand, they walked to a quiet pavilion by an artificial lake, watching the fish leap in the water, then sat down together.
"What level are you now?" Dugu Yan asked.
With no one else around, Oscar let go of her hand, stood in the center of the pavilion, and summoned a glowing orange sausage in his right hand as his spirit rings rose around him.
Two yellow, one purple, two black, one red.
Seeing the scarlet-red sixth ring, Dugu Yan's face lit up with surprise. "A hundred-thousand-year sixth spirit ring? You really did it?"
Oscar smiled faintly, withdrew his martial spirit and spirit rings, and sat down beside her again. "But this hundred-thousand-year spirit ring is special. Let me explain."
Oscar then told her how he had obtained the sixth spirit ring. Listening to his story, Dugu Yan found it hard to believe.
She hadn't known that spirit rings could be acquired this way, but she was overjoyed for Oscar's good fortune. Truly, the gods were watching over him.
Oscar continued, "Besides that, I now have a second martial spirit."
Hearing this, Dugu Yan's joy doubled. Oscar extended his left hand, and a sky-blue light bloomed as a jade sword appeared in his grasp.
Oscar said, "The Evil God Pearl not only gave me a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, but the Evil God Luyar also used my left palm bone to create a new martial spirit for me. Now, he resides within it."
Looking at the gray-black hexagram engraved on the hilt of the Sky Jade Spirit Sword, Dugu Yan's expression overflowed with admiration and happiness.
"I am already twenty years old and only level sixty-two. You are just sixteen and already caught up with me. Will you leave me behind one day?" she asked a little sadly.
Oscar smiled gently, rubbing her green head affectionately. "What are you thinking? I will never leave you. You must progress together with me."
Dugu Yan leaned on his shoulder. "Yes, I will."
She then asked, "When will we do that thing?"
Oscar thought for a moment and replied, "In two days. I want to enjoy a couple more peaceful days with you first."
Hearing this, Dugu Yan smiled happily. Their eyes met, emotions surged, and their lips touched under the setting sun.
After successfully advancing to Spirit Emperor, Oscar had used the stored clone sausages to create a batch of clones during his stay in the Star Dou Great Forest and had prepared some Beyond-Limit Black Gold Sausages.
Now back at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Oscar left behind some clones to create his sixth soul skill.
He also distributed some of the Beyond-Limit Black Gold Sausages to Gai Yue and Dugu Yan. After experiencing their effects, Niu Gao and the others were overjoyed.
With this external aid, their time to break through to Title Douluo would be greatly shortened. It would not take long before they could use the Beyond-Limit Black Gold Sausages to break through to level ninety.
After spending a week at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Oscar and Dugu Yan left. Only Dugu Bo and Gai Yue knew where they were headed.
This time, they traveled incognito, since their clones remained in Morley City to serve as a distraction and draw others' attention.
A month later, Oscar and Dugu Yan arrived at an unknown small town.
Although the town was not large, it gave off a strange feeling. As they walked through the streets, it felt as though a cold aura clung to everyone they passed.
Oscar confidently led Dugu Yan to a tavern.
Both of them were dressed in fitted black clothing, looking sharp. Each wore a mask with a smiling face, comical in design, but their presence was so intense that no one dared to approach them.
From the exposed skin, one could tell they were young, but their sharp eyes made others afraid to meet their gaze.
They walked hand in hand into the tavern. The air inside was foul and the decorations were all black, perfectly matching their clothing as if they belonged there.
Although it was daytime outside, stepping inside gave an eerie, cold, and dark feeling.
Only a few people were seated inside. The tavern was quiet since no one was speaking much.
Oscar led Dugu Yan straight to the bar. The black-clad bartender asked coolly, "What will you have?"
Oscar placed two gold soul coins on the counter. "Two Bloody Marys."
The bartender's expression changed slightly. "Are you sure?"
Oscar said nothing, simply giving him an icy glance. The bartender immediately turned away to prepare the drinks.
After a short while, two murky dark-red drinks were served, giving off a strong bloody smell, almost nauseating.
Dugu Yan frowned. "Are we supposed to drink this?"
Oscar shook his head. "No. I just wanted you to see it. This is real human blood, taken from corrupt and fallen people. Long-term consumption causes great harm to the mind."
"But in the coming days, this will be the most valuable currency here. We do not have to drink it, but we must recognize it."
Hearing this, Dugu Yan recalled what Oscar had told her about the City of Slaughter and understood more clearly what they were about to face.
By now, the bartender had realized they were not naive newcomers but people who knew the rules.
Then, to everyone's shock, Oscar smashed the two Bloody Marys onto the ground and asked Dugu Yan softly, "Have you ever killed a person?"
Dugu Yan shook her head. "No."
Oscar smiled faintly. "Everyone who comes here has blood on their hands. Some might have been forced, but all have chosen the path of death."
"Kill them all. Leave no one alive. Can you do it?"
Dugu Yan looked at Oscar, her expression gradually firming. She knew his ambition and what kind of path lay ahead of him.
She wanted to stand by his side and be his support.
She suddenly smiled at the bartender. Green light flashed at her fingertips and a thin poisoned needle shot straight into his heart.
This was a poison needle condensed from her own toxins. The moment it entered his body, the bartender turned into a puddle of pus.
At the same time, the burly man closest to them leapt up. "I'll kill you first!"
He swung a huge blade toward their necks with lethal precision, clearly experienced, aiming to decapitate them in one strike.
But his imagined result never came. Six spirit rings appeared around Dugu Yan.
Two yellow, one purple, three black. The moment they appeared, an overwhelming aura crushed the man to the ground.
Dugu Yan turned around. A green diamond-shaped crystal appeared at her forehead. Small dragon horns sprouted from her brow, and a long green dragon tail appeared, curling protectively around her body like a guardian spirit.
Her delicate hands turned into hardened green dragon claws. Her cold gaze swept over the man, and she flicked another transparent poison needle.
It pierced his brain. Before he could scream, he turned into green pus, like a puddle of slime, releasing a faint fragrance.
But this fragrance was toxic. Anyone who inhaled even a little would rot alive until they became just like the puddle before them.
Seeing this, the remaining people tried to flee, but more poison needles flew, piercing their skulls. Their fates were no different from the first man.
After it was done, Dugu Yan suppressed her nausea, turned to Oscar, and smiled faintly, as if waiting for his praise.
Oscar stroked her green dragon head gently. "If you want to vomit, just do it. My first time was no better."
Dugu Yan could not hold it in anymore and turned aside to vomit.
Killing humans was different from killing spirit beasts. Although the result was just a puddle of "fragrant slime," thinking about the fact that it had once been a person made her feel sick.
Oscar was only so calm because his clones had experienced this before him.
When he obtained his fourth spirit ring, he had sent clones to explore the continent and discovered the entrance to the City of Slaughter.
Those clones quickly adapted to its environment but, lacking strength, the furthest any of them got was fifty-five consecutive victories.
But since the clones shared memories with the original, Oscar had already experienced enough bloodshed and seen the true ugliness of human nature, which was why he was so calm now.
Once Dugu Yan recovered, Oscar smashed the bar counter where the Bloody Marys had been placed, revealing a dark, cold tunnel below.
"This is the start of our new training. Are you afraid?" Oscar asked gently, holding Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan shook her head and hugged him tightly. "No."
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