Douluo: Starting with an Engagement to Zhu Zhuqing

Chapter 12: First Soul Ring

When Dai Yao shouted "Captain of the Guards," it wasn't a random shout. The guard in front of him had appeared in this place, and the Captain of the Guards certainly couldn't have been unaware.

He called out to test the waters. If the Captain really appeared, that would mean the Captain was also one of the Queen's subordinates, and hunting soul beasts here in the future would be dangerous.

But to his surprise, the guard actually turned around in a flustered manner.

"Good opportunity!"

Seizing the moment the guard turned, Dai Yao channeled the half of his energy he had just recovered into his legs. With a thundering sound, the frozen earth beneath him cracked like spider webs, and his body shot toward the guard like a cannonball.

The guard hadn't even turned fully around before he felt a cold sensation running across his neck, followed by the world spinning in front of him. His head fell to the ground.

Thud—Thud—

Drops of blood slowly dripped from the blade.

Dai Yao gasped for air, gripping the blade with his less injured left hand. His body had already been severely depleted, especially his right arm. After channeling forty percent of his energy to perform the Eight Extremes Crash, his right arm had gone numb.

Thankfully, he had used the Eight Extremes Crash while in his Martial Soul-possessed state. Otherwise, his right arm would have been completely useless by now.

After this strike, Dai Yao had no energy left. Even the power of his Martial Soul was now spent.

Forget about the throne competition, the marriage engagement, or any duels. All he wanted was to rest for a while.

One hour later.

Dai Yao had recovered a little. He was once again grateful to be alive, and the hatred for the Queen in his heart deepened. "Damn Queen, not only did she not send Soul Masters to hunt soul beasts for me, but she even sent people to try to kill me in the Beast Garden. Just wait, everything that happened today, I will repay it a hundredfold."

As he thought about channeling his energy into his feet and using his speed technique, he came up with a name: "Since I have the Eight Extremes Crash, this technique will be called Explosive Step."

The Eight Extremes Crash was a fighting technique that Xiao Yan had perfected after countless trials, and besides that, Yao Lao also trained him in techniques like Explosive Step and Absorbing Palm.

Dai Yao looked at the corpse of the Xuan Shui Turtle. The yellow soul ring, tinged with purple, began to glow and flicker, and if he didn't absorb it soon, it would disappear.

"What a pity, the soul ring from the 700-year-old turtle far exceeds the limit of the first soul ring, so I can't absorb it. I'll have to let it go to waste."

However, just as Dai Yao was about to gather his things and leave, a faint light began to emanate from the Qing Lian in his spiritual world. The yellow soul ring, drawn by the glow, started to float toward him.

"What the heck? How did this soul ring get so close to me?" Dai Yao was still stunned when the soul ring entered his body.

"Am I... absorbing this soul ring?"

A sharp pain surged through him. He quickly sat down in meditation, trying to absorb the soul ring. The absorption of a soul ring couldn't be stopped once it started; it either succeeded, or the powerful energy would cause his body to explode.

"Damn it, what is this Qing Lian? How did it draw in this soul ring? Absorbing a soul ring that exceeds the limit is usually a death sentence, let alone one that is more than three hundred years over the limit. And my body is in such a weakened state—absorbing this soul ring is certain death!"

But now, there was no choice. He regulated his breath and tried to calm the turmoil in his heart. In the face of danger, only calmness and composure could solve the problem.

A burning energy surged inside him, and in an instant, his internal organs felt as though they were being incinerated. It felt like his entire body was submerged in magma.

This burning energy flowed into his dantian, and as it spun, the once empty dantian began to fill. With the influence of the Qing Lian's image, this "energy" gradually began to transform into "liquid."

The hot energy then rushed toward his brain, turning into a blazing fire ring in his spiritual world.

The fire ring circled in his spiritual world, but upon seeing the Qing Lian, it seemed to realize something terrible, and it fled rapidly.

It found the Sacred White Tiger not far away, and the fire ring immediately enveloped it, creating a sea of flames around the tiger.

The White Tiger roared in pain as it was scorched by the flames. Dai Yao, too, let out a scream of agony, as his bones were shattered and his flesh burned.

His face turned red, and soon his entire body was engulfed in a deep redness. His body temperature soared, and steam rose from him, as though he were inside a steam chamber.

He was on the verge of being torn apart by the overwhelming energy!

At this critical moment, the Qing Lian in his spiritual world emitted a soothing blue glow. The process of his body about to explode was immediately halted.

His meridians, which had been torn apart by the energy, began to repair themselves at an astonishing speed as the blue glow spread over him.

However, before they fully healed, the energy tore them apart again. His meridians continuously shifted between destruction and restoration, and the energy in his body was gradually absorbed during this cycle.

The pain felt like being torn apart, but the blue light kept him awake, preventing him from passing out. Eventually, he became somewhat numb to the pain.

He didn't know how much time passed, but eventually, his meridians stopped breaking, and the energy that had been surging inside him disappeared without a trace.

The Sacred White Tiger in his spiritual world, as if reborn from the flames, opened its large copper-ringed eyes with newfound vitality. Its white fur became even more brilliant. The flames around it slowly diminished, finally turning into a yellow soul ring that encircled the Sacred White Tiger.

When the yellow soul ring shone brightly around the White Tiger, a white barrier appeared around it.

First Soul Skill — White Tiger Protection Barrier!

Dai Yao struggled to open his eyes. He found that he had lost even more weight. He forced a smile, "This time, I've really become skin and bones."

But the final result was astonishing.

His first soul ring had reached 700 years! This was unprecedented in the history of the Douluo Continent! Of course, others would come after him, and many would surpass him.

Additionally, his physical strength had increased exponentially, several times stronger than before. On one hand, the soul ring had provided a massive boost, and on the other, the repeated destruction and repair of his body under the influence of the Qing Lian had made it more solid. Previously, his body could only withstand 20% of the energy without injury, but now he could endure 40% without harm. Even under certain injuries, he could withstand 60%.

When he examined his dantian, he noticed something strange. After absorbing the soul ring's energy, his previously empty dantian was now filled with "energy"—no, it should be called "soul power." This energy was gradually converting into a liquid state around the image of the Qing Lian.

He could feel that this liquid soul power contained energy several times greater than gaseous soul power.

And for those who didn't have the Qing Lian, their soul power remained gaseous. This meant that in the same rank, his soul power was several times stronger than that of a normal Soul Master.

However, Dai Yao suddenly realized, "Doesn't that mean my cultivation speed is several times slower than others?"

The advantage of liquid soul power was obvious, but it also greatly delayed Dai Yao's cultivation and the time it took to absorb soul rings.

As a prince, the most important thing was his cultivation speed. If he didn't improve quickly, he would fall further behind in the competition for the throne. However, since the Qing Lian could accelerate his cultivation, as long as it could counteract the side effects of liquid soul power, the delay would not have a significant impact on him.

(End of Chapter)

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