Unfortunately, while absolute defense skills were called "absolute," they weren't completely invincible.
Once the attack power reached a godly level or encountered methods that ignored defenses, even absolute defense couldn't withstand it.
Even so, one couldn't deny the strength of such absolute defense skills.
Of course, every advantage came with a drawback. While these absolute defense skills were incredibly powerful, their duration was extremely short—often just a few seconds, even for hundred-thousand-year soul bones.
The defensive technique used by the White Tiger Soul Douluo didn't show any signs of breaking before it abruptly failed and lasted only briefly. Clearly, this was an absolute defense skill with incredible defensive power but an ultra-short duration, not the hundred-thousand-year defensive soul bone skill Chu Chengzhou had initially assumed.
After firing another soul-powered arrow, Chu Chengzhou claimed Dai Yao's head.
A few minutes later, the sounds of battle on the battlefield gradually quieted down.
All four Title-level Netherworld White Tigers had fallen, and all eight of Dai Sheng's group were annihilated without a single survivor.
If the more than twenty Soul Sages and four Soul Douluos Chu Chengzhou killed recently were enough to severely damage the Star Luo royal family, then losing four Title-level Netherworld White Tigers in this battle was akin to severing one limb from an otherwise intact Star Luo royal family.
However, the Star Luo royal family had deep reserves. More accurately, cultivating direct-line descendants into Title-level experts was far easier for them compared to other factions. After all, an entry-level Netherworld White Tiger fusion was essentially equivalent to a White Tiger Soul Douluo paired with a Netherworld Spirit Cat Soul Emperor.
If this were the Tian Dou Empire, losing four Title-level fighters would surely lead to instability, if not outright collapse.
With the battle over, the next phase was cleaning up the battlefield and collecting the spoils.
Chen Xin and Gu Rong, maintaining their elder status and anticipating Chu Chengzhou's guidance in forming soul cores, willingly handed over all the spoils to Chu Chengzhou.
It must be said, although they were both White Tiger Soul Douluos, there was a significant difference between the royal elders capable of activating the Netherworld White Tiger fusion and ordinary White Tiger Soul Douluos.
Different levels of strength resulted in different statuses and treatments.
While both were Soul Douluos, the previous Dai Yi only had one twenty-thousand-year left leg bone. In contrast, these four Star Luo royal elders each possessed at least one fifty-thousand-year soul bone.
After tallying everything, Chu Chengzhou extracted two thousand-year soul bones, three soul bones aged between ten and twenty thousand years, and four soul bones aged over fifty thousand years from the eight individuals.
There was a slight disappointment—they were all limb bones, with no more valuable head or torso bones.
Among them, what caught Chu Chengzhou's attention most was a sixty-thousand-year-old left arm bone, shimmering like blue crystal and emitting a faint blue aura.
It wasn't because this soul bone was sixty thousand years old; in terms of age, there was actually another right arm bone older than it, reaching over seventy thousand years.
Rather, this soul bone was the only one obtained from the second White Tiger Soul Douluo he had killed.
Two days later, at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Under Chu Chengzhou's guidance, Chen Xin and Gu Rong successfully formed their soul cores.
As expected, after forming their soul cores, the two Titled Douluos who had been stuck at a bottleneck for several years immediately felt it loosen. Both went into seclusion to attempt breakthroughs.
If successful, Chen Xin would advance to Level 97 Titled Douluo, and Gu Rong would reach Level 96 Titled Douluo.
At Level 97, Chen Xin might still not be considered the strongest attacker on the continent, but Gu Rong, solely in terms of defense, might only be surpassed by Jin E, the second Worship of the Spirit Hall, whose martial soul was Golden Crocodile King and whose soul power reached the peak of Level 98. He might even rival Jin E.
If Jin E lacked a hundred-thousand-year defensive-type soul skill or soul bone skill, his defense might not necessarily surpass Gu Rong, a defensive-type Douluo.
After all, Jin E was an offensive-type Douluo, excelling more in attack than defense.
In the courtyard, Chu Chengzhou gathered his three wives.
"There are three soul bones here, each over fifty thousand years old. See if any of you want them?"
Sitting on a stone chair in the courtyard, Chu Chengzhou pointed to the three radiant soul bones on the table before him.
One emitted a metallic fluctuation—a seventy-thousand-year right arm bone. Another emitted a wind attribute fluctuation—a sixty-thousand-year right leg bone. The third emitted a water attribute fluctuation—a fifty-thousand-year left arm bone.
"Brother, is this what you caught during your recent fishing trip?"
Blinking, Xiao Wu asked.
"Mm, the Star Luo royal family is generous, always sending me soul bones. Moreover, the quality of these soul bones is quite good. They'll make us rich!"
Chu Chengzhou smiled and nodded.
"What about the effects of the soul bone skills?"
After examining the three soul bones on the table, Ning Rongrong asked.
"The metallic and wind-attribute soul bones have strong offensive skills, while the water-attribute soul bone has a passive skill that restores soul power."
Looking at the exterior of a soul bone alone, no one could tell what kind of soul bone skill it carried. But this was simple—just ask Ning Fengzhi to handle it.
How Ning Fengzhi tested them, who he found to test them, and whether there was compensation afterward—Chu Chengzhou didn't bother checking.
After handing over the three soul bones to Ning Fengzhi for testing, they were returned to Chu Chengzhou the next day, complete with detailed information about their soul bone skills.
To be honest, the passive soul power restoration effect was excellent, but this was a left arm bone, overlapping with the position of the soul bone carrying the absolute defense skill. After much deliberation, Chu Chengzhou still chose the absolute defense.
Again, as he said, staying alive was key to dealing damage.
"By the way, let me say something first. Once a soul bone is absorbed, it's very hard to replace. These soul bones aren't extraordinary in my eyes—their age is still too low.
Moreover, I'm certain I'll be able to obtain higher-quality and older soul bones in the future. Whether or not to absorb these soul bones is something you should consider carefully."
Chu Chengzhou spoke with a serious expression.
In his original plan, the soul bones for Xiao Wu and the others were to come from hunting ferocious beasts once he was fully prepared. He had no doubt he could gather a full set of beast soul bones for his sisters.
The ferocious beasts in the Star Forest had a powerful backer, so they were best avoided. However, beasts elsewhere—like those in the Extreme North, other continents, or the vast oceans—had no such protection. Across the entire Douluo Planet, ferocious beasts were abundant.
But plans often change. He had acquired several soul bones that were quite impressive in the eyes of others.
If he kept these soul bones hidden without saying a word, Xiao Wu and the others might think he was selfish, preferring to let them gather dust or sell them rather than allow them to absorb them.
Chu Chengzhou naturally didn't want to be misunderstood by his sisters, so he gave them the choice. Whether to absorb these soul bones was entirely up to them.
Would they choose these fifty-thousand-year bones now, or wait for better ones in the future?
Of course, absorbed soul bones weren't completely irreplaceable. For example, to replace a right arm bone, one could simply chop off their entire right arm, regenerate the limb, and absorb a new right arm bone.
However, aside from the cost, Chu Chengzhou hadn't yet mastered the ability to regenerate limbs.
Currently known, and still usable on others, the only method of limb regeneration was Tang San's hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone skill: Wildfire Cannot Destroy the Grass, It Grows Again With the Spring Wind.
"Are soul bones over fifty thousand years not good enough?"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes widened, looking incredulously at Chu Chengzhou.
Hundred-thousand-year soul bones were treasures coveted by all soul masters, but dreams were dreams, and reality was reality. How many soul masters on the continent dared hope to acquire a hundred-thousand-year soul bone?
Possessing a soul bone over fifty thousand years old was already top-tier!
"Average, in my opinion, a hundred thousand years is the standard!"
This statement caused all three sisters to look at him as if he were daydreaming. Smiling, Chu Chengzhou didn't explain further.
After some discussion, the three sisters ultimately decided to absorb the soul bones.
Ning Rongrong chose the fifty-thousand-year left arm bone with the soul power restoration skill. Zhu Zhuqing chose the sixty-thousand-year wind-attribute right leg bone. Xiao Wu chose the seventy-thousand-year metallic right arm bone.
It wasn't that they lacked foresight but rather that they believed if Chu Chengzhou obtained hundred-thousand-year soul bones in the future, he should use them himself instead of giving them to them unless there were extras.
But were there ever extra hundred-thousand-year soul bones?
Dream on—it's all in your dreams!
Chu Chengzhou didn't comment on their choices, but thoughts of replacing soul bones lingered in his mind.
The method of chopping off limbs to replace soul bones was too brutal.
Tang Hao from the original story did this, cutting off one hand and one foot, causing his soul power to drop by 20 levels.
Of course, dropping 20 levels wasn't the strangest part—the truly miraculous part was that after reattaching the two soul bones, Tang Hao's soul power level recovered!
Whether it was strange or not didn't matter to Chu Chengzhou. He just felt there should be a more refined, less bloody, and less brutal way to replace soul bones.
Though soul bones appeared material and solid, they were actually solidified energy since beasts didn't grow human bones.
Since they were energy, shouldn't they fall within the scope of his Absolute Control technique?
Perhaps he could safely and side-effect-free extract already absorbed soul bones using the Absolute Control technique?
If the current red-quality Absolute Control couldn't do it, perhaps the Gold-Tier version or even higher versions in the future could achieve this.
After giving the three soul bones to Xiao Wu and the others, Chu Chengzhou began absorbing his own soul bone.
For the past two days, he had been guiding Chen Xin and Gu Rong in forming their soul cores to prevent accidents, so he hadn't yet absorbed the sixty-thousand-year left arm bone with the absolute defense skill.
After half a day, Chu Chengzhou completed the absorption process, increasing his soul power level by nearly one rank, rising from just below Level 64 to the later half of Level 64.
As for determining which soul beast this soul bone came from, Chu Chengzhou had no way of knowing based solely on one soul bone.
After all, there were countless types of soul beasts, and occasional mutations occurred. Different soul beast species could produce soul bones with similar skill efficiencies.
After some thought, Chu Chengzhou named it the Crystal Shield Left Arm Bone. Its soul bone skill, Crystal Body, provided absolute defense against physical and energy attacks below the god level for a duration of three seconds.
The Crystal Body skill was peculiar. As a seventy-thousand-year soul bone skill, its effect was inferior to Xiao Wu's fourth soul skill, Invincible Golden Body. While both had the same "invincibility" duration, Xiao Wu's Invincible Golden Body also increased her strength attribute during its duration.
However, the seventy-thousand-year Crystal Body skill was identical to the hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit right arm bone skill from the original story: Invincible Golden Body.
Could it be that a certain mischievous rabbit was unusual?
Glancing at his attribute panel, Chu Chengzhou discovered the Crystal Shield Left Arm Bone was just over sixty thousand years old. At the current upgrade rate, it would take over a year to fully upgrade.
After some thought, Chu Chengzhou didn't place the Crystal Shield Left Arm Bone in the AFK slot.
After this counterattack, the Star Luo Empire likely wouldn't trouble him again for a while. Hundred-thousand-year defensive soul bones could wait.
After all, for an absolute defense skill like this, the gap between sixty thousand years and a hundred thousand years likely wasn't significant.
Moreover, the AFK efficiency for techniques was higher. The benefits of upgrading techniques far outweighed those of upgrading soul bones.
As for soul rings? Big Bear and Big Black were his trump cards. Even if their upgrade efficiency wasn't as high as techniques, they still needed to be upgraded as soon as possible.
That night, Chu Chengzhou didn't sleep well.
It wasn't because he was juggling three virtual scenarios with his wives, enjoying triple happiness while paying triple effort.
Rather, Chen Xin and Gu Rong consecutively broke through in the middle of the night, creating significant disturbances. Their powerful auras enveloped the entire Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and both had the habit of shouting after their breakthroughs.
The sudden rise of powerful auras and shouts twice in one night naturally disrupted his rest.
Interrupting someone's rest—no, interrupting someone's sleep in the middle of the night—only the two Titled Douluos' fists allowed them to get away with it. If it were anyone else, they might have been taught a lesson.
Over the next three days, three more people formed soul cores.
Two were senior elders of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, whose soul power levels had been stuck at the peak of Level 89 for many years.
The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's strength was inferior to the Spirit Hall's. The proper Spirit Hall elders were all Titled Douluos.
Compared to the Spirit Hall elders, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect elders were a tier lower. Even Soul Douluos could serve as elders within the sect.
Although Chen Xin and Gu Rong were also elders, they were guardian Douluos, differing in rank from ordinary elders, much like how Spirit Hall elders were divided into regular elders and Worships.
Unsurprisingly, after forming soul cores, these two Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect elders broke through to Level 90. Once they added their ninth soul ring, they would become Titled Douluos.
With the soul core technique, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's Sword Bone Douluos consecutively broke through, and two more Titled Douluos would emerge in a short time.
From this glimpse, one could imagine how many Spirit Hall elders would break through their bottlenecks and how many new Titled Douluos would emerge if the Spirit Hall obtained the soul core technique.
Perhaps the Spirit Hall could unify the continent with dozens or even hundreds of Titled Douluos under its command?
The third person was Xiao Wu, who had absorbed the seventy-thousand-year right arm bone, boosting her soul power level by one rank and advancing to Level 69 Soul Emperor.
Although Xiao Wu's soul power level was relatively low, she also practiced Immortal Golden Body, Eternal Thought, and Absolute Control. Her physical attributes, spiritual power, and soul power control far exceeded those of typical soul masters at her level. For her, forming the first soul core wasn't particularly difficult.
However, since the soul core didn't directly increase a soul master's cultivation, and Xiao Wu had just entered Level 69, forming the soul core didn't allow her to break through to Level 70 immediately.
As for Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, they were even farther behind. Even after gaining one or two levels from absorbing soul bones, their current soul power levels were only at Level 57 Soul Kings.
Six days later, in the Star Luo Imperial Palace.
In the magnificent hall, the Star Luo royal family's high-ranking members gathered once again.
However, unlike last time, out of the eleven golden-haired figures who should have been present, only seven arrived this time.
"Old Patriarch, Your Majesty, the intelligence division in Tian Dou reported that Elder Dai Sheng and the others have gone missing."
Responsible for this assassination mission, Royal Elder Dai Feng reluctantly addressed Dai Tao and Dai Yutian.
Though they called it "missing," after so many days without contact, Dai Sheng and the others were likely dead.
"Four royal elders—these are four Title-level experts... Who did this?!"
Dai Tao's tone was extremely dark, and by the second half of his sentence, he was roaring furiously.
Dai Feng instinctively shrank back and replied, "After investigating, someone reportedly saw a river of sword energy and a black skeletal dragon shadow in the sky near the battlefield..."
"Crack—"
An innocent chair armrest was mercilessly crushed by Dai Tao's grip.
The next moment, Dai Tao's roar echoed through the hall: "Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, I will never forgive you!"
The river of sword energy and skeletal dragon shadow—how could they not belong to Chen Xin and Gu Rong of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect? If they didn't, Dai Tao vowed to stand while relieving himself!
"Father, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect has gone too far! Our empire has been preparing for years. Let's launch an attack on Tian Dou!"
Dai Yutian stepped forward, addressing his grandfather, the retired emperor.
Losing four Title-level fighters was a significant blow.
However, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's mountain gate was outside Tian Dou City, and as one of the three great sects on the continent, the sect's strength wasn't weak. Unless a large army was dispatched, the Star Luo Empire couldn't destroy the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
But if they sent a large army, how could the Tian Dou Empire remain indifferent?
Not only were the two empires close allies, but even if they were mortal enemies, the Tian Dou Empire wouldn't allow the Star Luo army to march to its capital!
Thus, the Star Luo Empire could only hold the Tian Dou Empire accountable.
There was no helping it—the Tian Dou Empire was easier to bully than the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
"Smack—"
Before Dai Yutian finished speaking, a loud slap landed on his face with lightning speed.
"Hmph, is this how you rule as emperor?"
Retracting his hand, Dai Tao coldly questioned without mercy.
I said "never forgive," and you immediately wanted revenge?
The world wasn't just filled with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and Tian Dou as enemies. There was also the much stronger Spirit Hall lurking nearby!
Losing four elders was already a heavy blow. If they engaged in battle with Tian Dou and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and lost a few more elders, would the royal family's legacy survive? Would the empire survive?
The royal family's legacy martial soul was the White Tiger, not some brainless pig! Could you use your brain?
At this moment, Dai Tao couldn't help but question the empire's succession mechanism.
Promotion through strength ensured that the empire's heirs weren't weak. Combined with the Netherworld White Tiger fusion technique, the strength of every emperor in history at least reached the Titled Douluo level.
But strength was strength, and brains were brains—they couldn't be equated.
Unless one's strength reached the level of "Unrivaled on Land" Tang Chen or "Unrivaled in the Sky" Qian Dao Liu, brains were crucial, especially for the ruler of a vast empire.
"Father, are you just going to let this go?"
Ignoring the pain on his face, Dai Yutian quickly asked.
If someone else had slapped him, Dai Yutian would have ordered their execution.
But alas, a father slapping his son was natural. What could he do? He could only stand straight, endure the slap, and pretend nothing happened.
"Grand Elder, were there any others involved in the deaths of the four elders?"
Glancing at Dai Yutian, Dai Tao turned his attention to Dai Feng and asked sternly.
Dai Tao knew the strength of Dai Sheng and the others—they were equivalent to four Titled Douluos, and not the bottom-tier Level 91 ones. If their opponents were only Chen Xin and Gu Rong, even if they lost, they shouldn't have been completely annihilated, right?
"I don't know, but scouts reported that the battle didn't last long. There must have been unknown powerful individuals involved."
Dai Feng shook his head.
During a chaotic battle among Title-level experts, low-level soul masters or even ordinary spies wouldn't dare watch from the sidelines—wouldn't they be risking their lives?
However, the battle's commotion was immense. Even though these spies were far away, they clearly noticed the battle ending in less than ten minutes.
"Investigate! Killing our royal elders is an unforgivable crime. I will settle this later!"
Dai Tao growled menacingly.
Clearly, the younger generation's Chu Chengzhou still hadn't earned the respect of Dai Tao, a veteran in the soul master world.
In Dai Tao's view, Dai Sheng's group's defeat wasn't due to Chu Chengzhou but rather the combined efforts of Chen Xin, Gu Rong, and unknown powerful individuals who counter-killed them.
"By the way, thoroughly clean up our intelligence division in Tian Dou.
The first assassination plan was compromised before it even began, and this time, Dai Sheng and the others were counter-killed shortly after arriving in Tian Dou. How could such coincidences happen? It must be due to leaked intelligence!"
As he spoke, Dai Tao glared fiercely at Dai Yutian.
Failing at intelligence work—it was no wonder Chu Chengzhou was still alive and kicking!
Come to think of it, excluding the assassination outside Suotuo City, the two failures in Tian Dou City seemed indeed to be due to intelligence leaks.
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