Douluo Continent: From Internal Martial Arts to the Law of Heaven and Earth

"I don't know where your talent ranks among humans, but I can guarantee that as long as you absorb my soul ring, your strength attribute will break through the limit. At that time, your talent among soul beasts will be comparable to legendary beings."

Tangshan was not as optimistic as the other side. Generally speaking, a five-ring Soul King corresponds to a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.

It's basic for a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast to fight a titled Douluo, and it's basic for a legendary soul beast to fight a super Douluo. To say that he can rival a legendary soul beast after absorbing his fourth soul ring is like asking him to fight a super Douluo when he becomes a Soul King. How is that possible? Let alone fighting a super Douluo, Tang Shan would be very satisfied if he could even encounter the basic combat strength of a titled Douluo when he becomes a Soul King.

"It may not be that easy."

Tangshan answered calmly.

"Oh."

The golden-haired lion-mastiff spirit did not refute, but asked curiously, "How did you, a mere human, become acquainted with the Imperial Beast and those two ferocious beasts?"

Tang Shan felt a slight ripple in his heart, but feigned surprise on the surface: "What do you mean by that?"

Seemingly pleased with the surprise on Tang Shan's face, the golden-haired lion-mastiff's spirit form revealed a terrifying smile: "Human, you don't even know this? The one I just fought was a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear with nearly 500,000 years of cultivation; the woman in the water-green dress was a Jade Swan with nearly 600,000 years of cultivation; and the little girl was holding the Imperial Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. You traveled with them, how could you know nothing about this?"

Tangshan cooperated perfectly by displaying a shocked and bewildered expression, which only made the golden-haired mastiff even more satisfied.

"As a Soul Master, you should know what the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and the Emerald Swan are, so I won't go into detail. I'll just tell you about the Imperial Auspicious Beasts..."

The golden-haired lion-mastiff made no attempt to hide anything, revealing all the details of the Emperor Beast, including its significance to soul beasts. It repeatedly emphasized this, leading Tang Shan to suspect that the other party wanted him to kill the Emperor Beast. The lion-mastiff's subsequent words completely confirmed Tang Shan's suspicions.

"Alas! The Imperial Beast, if only I had encountered it sooner and killed it, it would have attracted countless powerful enemies, and we could have had a great battle!"

Good heavens, your golden-haired lion-mastiff clan is truly outrageous. Others treat imperial auspicious beasts as treasures, but you treat them as bait.

Tang Shan speculated that the domineering domain of this golden lion-mastiff clan should be immune to the suppression of the Emperor Beast's status, just as it was immune to the suppression of Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King bloodline. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so rampant.

"Alright, kid, go all out and let me see your magnanimity. Although my mental strength is not as good as yours, there is still a difference between cooperating with your absorption and resisting your absorption. If you can satisfy me, I will grant you a great fortune."

The golden-haired lion mastiff's loud voice resonated throughout the spiritual sea of ​​Tangshan.

Tang Shan was surprised by this good thing. Recalling the other party's head-on approach, a bright smile appeared on his face.

"Look closely, this is my self-created soul skill—the Heaven-Opening Seal!"

Tangshan's spiritual body formed hand seals, and the surging seawater, drawn by Tangshan, frantically condensed. Although it lacked the support of blood and soul power, a chaotic, dark, and terrifying aura surged forth from Tangshan's spiritual body, instantly enveloping the golden-haired lion mastiff.

The golden-haired lion felt as if he had entered the beginning of time, a state of indistinguishable purity and turbidity, devoid of thought and desire. However, he quickly broke free from this state by relying on the terrifying fighting spirit within his consciousness.

A hint of surprise flashed in Tang Shan's eyes in the Sea of ​​Spirit. This was the first being to actively break free from the influence of his Heaven-Opening Seal's initial intent. Fortunately, the previous attacks were just incidental; the subsequent attacks were the true path.

There was no direct hand seal pressing down; that was the most suitable way to use the Heaven-Opening Seal driven by Qi and blood. For spiritual power, the best way to use it was of course to transform the seal into an axe.

Boom!

The sea of ​​spirit surged with towering waves, and Tangshan's body expanded rapidly under the influx of the surging seawater, almost instantly reaching the limit of the sea of ​​spirit's size.

With a flick of his wrists, Tang Shan grasped an ancient, massive axe formed from pure spiritual energy. The axe's body was as solid as an ancient boulder, and its blade was shrouded in swirling chaos. It appeared simple, yet it contained a domineering power capable of splitting the heavens and earth.

The moment Tang Shan grasped the giant axe with both hands, his aura suddenly changed, as if he were an ancient god who had created chaos, walking from the origin of time to the present.

The giant axe cleaved down, and although it was formed from pure spiritual energy, it gave people the feeling of containing immense power. Chaos was divided under the axe blade, and disorder was dissolved by it.

When the golden-haired lion mastiff grew larger in Tangshan, its body swayed, enlarging its spiritual form. Facing the terrifying giant axe descending from the sky, it exclaimed excitedly: "This artistic conception, this domineering power, this sense of strength, is too wonderful! This is power, this is true power!"

Roar!

The golden-haired lion-mastiff, which had also transformed into a colossal beast of immeasurable size, roared and leaped up without hesitation, heading head-on towards the world-splitting giant axe. There was no hesitation, no retreat, no wavering...

On their quest for the essence of power, it is an honor for these golden-haired lion mastiffs to die at the hands of even greater power!

Great sound!

The axe collided with the mastiff's body with a resounding crash, but there was no earth-shattering noise; instead, an invisible shockwave swept across the entire sea.

The entire sea of ​​spirit was clearly churning up a raging torrent, but in the face of those two figures who were like giants, the towering torrent was nothing more than a tiny ripple at their feet.

The ancient, massive axe cleaved down without any frills, leaving a huge gash in the golden-haired lion-dog's body. A large amount of spiritual energy unconsciously dissipated from the golden-haired lion-dog's spiritual body and fell into Tang Shan's spiritual sea, becoming nourishment for his rapid spiritual growth.

With a single axe strike, Tang Shan did not continue his attack. Instead, he quietly watched the golden-haired lion-mastiff shrink back to its original size. At this moment, the lion-mastiff's originally bright spiritual body had dimmed considerably, and its spiritual fluctuations had also weakened dramatically. However, it did not care at all about the severe damage to its spiritual body. Instead, it laughed wildly, and the intense spiritual fluctuations added even more waves to its already turbulent spiritual sea.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent! What a powerful Heaven-Opening Seal! What a wonderful soul skill! What a strong will! What a profound artistic conception!"

Tang Shan's spiritual form also shrank, and the giant axe in his hand transformed into spiritual power, surging back into the seawater. He looked at the golden-haired lion-mastiff and asked calmly, "What do you think?"

“Very good! Young man, your artistic conception and approach are very much to my liking. Since that’s the case, I will keep my promise.”

The golden-haired lion-mastiff's voice was full of satisfaction: "Let's talk about the soul bones first. Since you already have two palm bones, I will give you a pair of foot bones as well, along with matching soul bone skills... Hmm, judging from your fighting style, which is similar to mine, these two moves should be most suitable for you."

As the golden-haired lion-mastiff muttered to itself, Tang Shan clearly sensed that the violent soul energy was beginning to invade his body, rampaging through it.

He dared not be careless, and quickly calmed his mind, diverting most of his mental energy to prepare to absorb and break through.

"Wait, kid, don't rush into meditation! I haven't asked you what kind of soul skill you want yet. Although I can't choose one for you directly, it's not difficult to help you pinpoint a general direction."

Chapter 268 Refining and Dialogue (Bonus Chapter for 100 Monthly Tickets)

"I will choose my own soul rings and soul skills."

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, Tangshan's partial consciousness looked up and casually replied before continuing to focus on absorbing the energy of the soul ring.

As for why he allowed the golden-haired lion-dog's spiritual power to exist, even though most of its consciousness was currently refining soul power, Tang Shan was still confident that he could easily suppress the opponent with this portion of spiritual power.

"What? You choose your own soul skill?"

The golden-haired lion-mastiff was stunned. It could understand every word Tang Shan said, and the meaning of the words was clear. But it just didn't understand what "I can choose my own soul rings and soul skills" meant.

At this moment, Tang Shan had no time to pay attention to the golden-haired lion's chaotic thoughts; he had already begun to refine the violent energy surging from his soul ring.

The domineering soul power surged into Tang Shan's body like a raging torrent, rampaging and wreaking havoc through his meridians. Fortunately, thanks to the numerous rare treasures and the transformations brought about by his martial soul awakening, Tang Shan's meridian strength far exceeded his current level. Even though he was absorbing the energy contained in the soul ring of a 20,000-year-old legendary soul beast, it only caused his meridians to swell slightly, without any tearing or excruciating pain.

Soul power originates from the dantian and rapidly circulates along the twelve meridians, dismantling and refining the accumulated and swollen soul ring power in the meridians layer by layer, and merging it into the torrent of one's own soul power, circulating endlessly.

Card wipe!

The invisible bottleneck shattered instantly, and the increasingly powerful and surging soul force broke through the shackles, steadily climbing towards a higher realm.

Having confirmed that his cultivation had broken through, Tang Shan immediately entered the most crucial step in absorbing the soul ring—selecting his own soul skill.

hum!

Under the watchful eyes of Gu Yue, Bi Ji, and other beasts, three purple soul rings appeared on Tang Shan's body as he meditated cross-legged. The first two purple rings were of a normal color, but the third one was as clear and translucent as amethyst, exuding a mysterious and noble aura.

Immediately afterwards, the pale purple spirit ring at the bottom suddenly flashed, and an invisible force of control began to permeate Tang Shan's body.

Xiong Jun raised an eyebrow and said in a deep voice, "I've seen Soul Masters absorb Soul Rings before, and I don't recall any requirement to unleash Soul Skills, right?"

Gu Yue's eyes suddenly sharpened, her jade lips parted slightly, and her voice was calm and authoritative: "Don't speak, carefully comprehend it. This should be the manifestation of the rules of Douluo Star. Although most of it is related to the rules of the Soul Ring, comprehending the rules to a certain extent will also be of great help to you in condensing your second Soul Core."

At this moment, she finally showed some of the demeanor of the Silver Dragon King, the ruler of all soul beasts.

Bi Ji and Xiong Jun were stunned for a moment, but the next moment, their expressions changed slightly. They clearly felt that a special rule fluctuation spread out instantly from Tang Shan's body. After Gu Yue reminded them, they did not dare to be careless and quickly focused their minds to comprehend it.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion yawned, its three eyes fixed on Tang Shan, clearly bored. She hadn't sensed any of the rules; the difference in their cultivation levels was too great. She couldn't understand how this human, with only a quasi-Soul Master level, could access rules that only a near-Limit Douluo could comprehend.

The rose-gold vertical pupils on its forehead blinked, and as it looked at the fate line above Tang Shan's head, the auspicious beast instantly sensed something was wrong and cried out in surprise and confusion in its clear female voice:

"My lady, Tangshan's fate has changed again. The line of destiny is beginning to twist, and the overall direction of development is rapidly changing."

Could the chosen one of the planes be nearby?

As the thought arose, silver light flashed in Gu Yue's eyes, and her spiritual power of the Spirit Abyss Realm spread out unrestrainedly from her body, trying to find the hidden Chosen One of the Planes, but still found nothing.

Could it be that the chosen one of this plane has become a terrifyingly powerful being, beyond my current mental strength to detect? How could he have grown so quickly in just a few years?

While harboring doubts, Gu Yue hesitated, unsure whether she should pay a price, and forcefully used the Silver Dragon King's divine sense to search.

"My lady, things have changed again, they're still changing."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's voice continued to ring out, causing Gu Yue to frown deeply.

"Auspicious beast, can you sense what caused this change in fate?"

Gu Yue's voice was steady as he deduced various possibilities, only to have them refuted.

"Okay, it seems like he's the one changing."

The hesitant voice of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion caused Gu Yue's rapidly racing thoughts to suddenly stop.

What do you mean by "he is changing on his own"?

"It's, it's..."

The three-eyed golden lion struggled to find the right words, its mind racing, before finally arriving at a more vivid explanation:

"As he absorbed the spirit ring, his fate line kept changing, racing in a completely different direction from the original one."

Listening to the auspicious beast's explanation, Gu Yue suddenly realized a problem she had overlooked for a long time: wasn't she also a variable when she came to Tang Shan's side? Wasn't it only natural that her fate was changed by her? For example, this golden lion mastiff would never have become Tang Shan's spirit ring originally, but due to her influence, Tang Shan obtained it. In a sense, she had also changed Tang Shan's fate.

Oh no, I've become the chosen one of this world!

Gu Yue shook her head, forcibly suppressing her uncontrollable and somewhat wandering thoughts. No, something's definitely wrong. When she first met Tang Shan, the other's fate had already taken a significant turn for the worse; clearly, that was the work of a chosen one. As for what happened after meeting Tang Shan…

Gu Yue suddenly fell silent. She really didn't know how much of Tang Shan's subsequent fate was due to her own influence and how much was due to the influence of the chosen one.

Only by leaving Tangshan and reducing interference can we better observe him.

No!

Gu Yue subconsciously denied her own thoughts, but she couldn't explain why.

Gu Yue actually overlooked a very important point: the auspicious beast was saying that Tang Shan's own fate was changing, not that Tang Shan's fate was changing because of her. This means that the change in Tang Shan's destiny was driven by him, not influenced by others. If Gu Yue could have understood this, her confusion would naturally have been resolved.

Tangshan changed the course of his destiny not because he was chosen by fate, but because of his own efforts.

……

Tang Shan had no idea that simply absorbing a spirit ring would cause such a huge problem for the Silver Dragon King, who possessed "world-shaking wisdom." After releasing the aura of the spirit ring, he focused his control into his spirit power and martial spirit, skillfully searching for the point of convergence between his body and the spirit ring.

Soon, as the spirit ring gradually merged with his body, an invisible connection was quietly established. Most of his will followed this faint connection and suddenly plunged into it, leaving only a small part to continue refining the figure and spirit ring energy in his sea of ​​consciousness.

In the sea of ​​spirits, the golden-haired lion-dog's spirit body, curious about how Tangshan should choose his soul skills, ran to the edge of Tangshan's sea of ​​spirits, poked its head out, and began to explore around with its spiritual power.

"You're not dead yet!"

Unable to understand the changes in his destiny line, the Silver Dragon King was not in a particularly good mood. Sensing the spiritual power that was so different from Tang Shan's, he frowned, gathering his spiritual power to forcefully pull out the golden-haired lion-mastiff and prevent it from interfering with Tang Shan's breakthrough.

"Hey, hey, don't do anything. I mean no harm. I'm just curious about how humans choose their soul skills."

Perhaps it was because he was no longer affected by his physical body, but the golden-haired lion-mastiff's mental power gradually showed a bit of wildness.

But who is Gu Yue? She is a half-dragon god, a silver dragon king with "world-shaking wisdom". How could she be affected by the golden-haired lion-mastiff? Her fair little hand, wrapped with terrifying spiritual power, still pressed towards Tang Shan's head.

"No, no, no! Human soul masters only have one chance to devour a soul and strengthen their spiritual power without side effects when absorbing a soul ring. If you kick me out, this opportunity will be wasted."

Ultimately, it was the matter of Tangshan's cultivation that made Gu Yue stop her little hands.