Eighth Soul Skill, the Soul Ring and Soul Bone of the Demonic OrcaOn the azure sea, bright red blood slowly spread, and a heavy stench of blood lingered in the air. Corpses, still warm and radiating a terrifying aura, drifted with the current.
Clearly, a fierce battle took place here.
A massive, scarred great white shark, its tail swaying, swam towards its king. Gazing at the demon-like figure seated atop the king's back, a flicker of fear crossed its enormous, bell-like eyes, and it quickly lowered its head.
On the back of the 'King', the figure sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, a blood-red soul ring swirling around him, trembling occasionally, and huge waves swirling up and spreading outwards.
The oppressive aura it released instilled genuine fear even in a being second only to the 'King'.
Looking at the sea littered with corpses, a wave of heartache washed over him. He looked down at the 'King' and let out a low moan.
Xiao Bai exhaled a heavy breath, his brows furrowed with both the joy of avenging his sworn enemy and the sorrow of his compatriots who had perished in battle. Hearing his subordinate's report, he whispered:
"Go, settle the wounded clansmen, and then send someone to bring the bodies of our clansmen back to Seagod Island. We'll wait here until the adults have finished absorbing their soul rings, and then we'll go back together."
Upon hearing this, the demonic great white shark nodded, swam away, and began making arrangements.
Turning her gaze away from the corpses of her clansmen, Xiaobai turned her head to look at the massive carcass of the 'Evil Tiger' not far away, an uncontrollable desire shining in her eyes. If she could absorb the 'Evil Tiger's' essence, her strength would surely reach a new level.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the urge, because this was Dai Yao's spoils, and she had no right to deal with it.
Recalling everything that had happened not long ago, Xiaobai couldn't help but feel a deep-seated fear.
She knew that Dai Yao was very strong, even capable of shattering her Demon Shark Domain, but at that time, she needed to protect Seagod Island and could not dodge, which is why she was hit by Dai Yao's soul skill; otherwise, she would not have suffered such severe damage.
But the battle that happened not long ago was completely beyond her comprehension.
At first, Dai Yao took out a magical bottle, poured the liquid inside onto his bow and arrows, and began to hunt down the number of demonic orcas.
Although fewer than a dozen were killed in total, it caused great trouble for the orca population.
Under this mysterious and unpredictable attack, the entire pod of demonic orcas was restless and anxious, like someone who knew they were being targeted by a sniper, with nowhere to hide and no idea when the sniper would pull the trigger. This feeling of knowing certain death but being powerless to resist and waiting was truly agonizing.
Even with the evil tiger's full strength, he still couldn't find the culprit.
Thus, the entire pod of Demon Orcas was plunged into panic, living in constant fear. Several days later, the Demon Orcas were exhausted from the ordeal. And just then, the Demon Soul Great White Shark pod launched its all-out attack.
One side was in high spirits and conserving their energy, while the other side was demoralized and exhausted. With the help of several adults, the battle quickly became one-sided.
But the king of the Demon Orca pod, Little White's old nemesis, 'Evil Tiger', is still a huge problem!
With a cultivation of a full 100,000 years, even Xiaobai was no match for him. Only with Ning Rongrong's assistance could he gain the upper hand. But just as she was about to step forward to block the 'Evil Tiger's' attack, Dai Yao stopped her.
She wanted to refuse, but then she witnessed a scene she would never forget.
After a fierce melee, the soul power around Evil Tiger surged, and the dazzling eighth soul ring around Dai Yao also lit up.
The sky darkened, the sea calmed, and even the surrounding air became still. Just then, a pillar of energy pierced through the heavens and earth, and before anyone could react, it fell down and enveloped the 'Evil Tiger'.
The giant wave created by the aftershocks of the soul skill swept away all the surrounding soul beasts, and only Xiaobai was able to barely maintain his balance thanks to his own powerful strength.
Immediately afterwards, the thunderous sound of this soul skill slowly echoed out, and a huge hole appeared in the sky. Golden sunlight shone down on the dark sea, as if a god had descended to earth.
As soon as the commotion subsided, Xiaobai rushed to the place where the soul skill had landed. Looking at Dai Yao, who was safe and sound and had a calm expression, he was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
"My Lord, what kind of soul skill is this?"
After a long pause, Xiaobai respectfully inquired.
"A god descended."
Dai Yao answered slowly.
The surging sea, the pierced sky, the turbulent currents in the air—all silently testify to the power of this soul skill…
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Before long, the fluctuations of the red spirit ring weakened and eventually subsided, before slowly merging into Dai Yao's body.
"Phew~"
Dai Yao exhaled a breath of stale air, felt the soul power within his body, and then revealed a delighted smile.
After absorbing the spirit ring of the Demonic Orca, his spirit power level increased from level 84 to level 86. If it were an ordinary spirit master, the 100,000-year spirit ring of the Demonic Orca would be enough to increase their spirit power by more than four levels.
Moreover, Dai Yao's physique has improved to a certain extent in all aspects. After being forged by the Demonic Tiger Whale Soul Ring, Dai Yao's physical attributes can be said to be among the top in the entire continent. The reason why it is not said to be in a class of its own is because Dai Yao is not sure whether he has surpassed the former Haotian Douluo - Tang Chen.
After all, he was a peerless expert at level ninety-nine. Without ever fighting him, Dai Yao dared not make any rash conclusions.
As for their soul skills, they are the same as in the original work: two control-type skills, Demonic Orca Mirror's Capture and Demonic Orca Mirror's Annihilation, both single-target attacks. These two soul skills are extremely powerful. Defeating Dai Yao, however, would merely be icing on the cake.
However, releasing the Demonic Orca's spirit ring requires using the Dark Demonic God Tiger martial spirit, which then causes another personality to appear. To avoid trouble, he simply didn't bother releasing the spirit ring.
"Brother Yao, you succeeded? A 100,000-year spirit ring must have given you a significant boost, right?"
Seeing that Dai Yao had finished his cultivation, the women gathered around him. Sensing Dai Yao's increasingly unpredictable aura, Ning Rongrong asked in surprise.
"That's right, my soul power level has increased from level 84 to level 86. After cultivating on Seagod Island for a while, I will be able to break through to level 87."
Dai Yao said with a smile.
Despite having accompanied him all the way and witnessed countless miracles Dai Yao had created, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but be amazed by him. After taking a few more glances at Dai Yao, she exclaimed in astonishment:
"Brother Yao, if I remember correctly, you are about the same age as me, around twenty-three years old, yet you have already become a Soul Douluo, and your true combat strength is even comparable to a Super Douluo. In the entire history of the continent, there is no one who can compare with you. Even the modern Clear Sky Sect Master Tang Chen and the Spirit Hall Grand Elder Qian Daoliu are far younger than you."
"You're a real monster."
Dai Yao ruffled Ning Rongrong's hair and smiled:
"You're not bad either, Rongrong. If there were a suitable spirit ring for you here, you could also become a Soul Douluo. When we return to the mainland, Uncle Ning, Grandpa Jian, and Grandpa Gu will be very proud of you."
Upon hearing this, Ning Rongrong imagined the astonished looks on her father's and grandfathers' faces when she returned, and couldn't help but laugh.
Dai Yao turned around, looked at the other four women, and asked:
"Zhu Qing, Yan Yan, Xiang Xiang, what level of soul power have you reached after absorbing soul rings?"
Even before they arrived, it had been decided that Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan would absorb the spirit ring of the Demonic Orca, while Bai Chenxiang would also search for a suitable spirit ring. As for Feng Wutong and Ning Rongrong, they would wait until they returned to the mainland to find suitable spirit rings.
Zhu Zhuqing smiled, exchanged a glance with Dugu Yan, and said:
"The soul ring I absorbed is about 95,000 years old. Its current soul power level is 83. It should have been 82, but I was rewarded with 1 level of soul power after completing the assessment, so it is 83."
"Like Zhu Qing, my soul power level has also reached level 83, and the soul ring I absorbed is around 94,000 years old. It is worth mentioning that the two soul beasts that Zhu Qing and I killed were both female, and they seemed to be the wives of the Demonic Tiger Whale King."
Dugu Yan gave Dai Yao a charming look and teased him.
Dai Yao raised an eyebrow. This Demon Orca King and his family were indeed destined to be with them, having become their soul rings. Sure enough, a family should always be complete.
"Xiangxiang, what about you?"
Dai Yao turned his head to look at Bai Chenxiang and asked.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Bai Chenxiang said somewhat nervously:
"I absorbed a spirit ring that is about 18,000 years old, which directly increased my spirit power by 10 levels. My current spirit power level is 60. Sister Yan told me that my spirit power level increased too quickly and that I need to stabilize my foundation before absorbing the sixth spirit ring."
"Otherwise, the foundation will be unstable, which will be very detrimental to future development."
Bai Chenxiang reached level 50 as soon as she entered Seagod Island. Although she completed the assessment, she stayed with Dai Yao and the others, experiencing the Seagod's Light and Tide Body Refinement assessments. Because she did not obtain a soul ring, the soul power hidden in her body was immeasurable.
After obtaining the fifth spirit ring, it is only natural that he would break through to level 60.
"Yan Yan is right. Suddenly increasing your soul power by ten levels and rashly absorbing the sixth soul ring is definitely not a good thing. When I obtained the sixth soul ring, which was the 100,000-year soul ring, my soul power level directly increased to level 68. I spent about half a year recuperating before I continued to cultivate."
"Although the Demon Orca's spirit ring is quite good, don't feel regretful because of it. I will give you an even better spirit ring later."
Stroking Bai Chenxiang's head, Dai Yao comforted her.
Bai Chenxiang obediently leaned against Dai Yao, feeling touched, and nodded.
"Oh, by the way, among all these demonic orca corpses, has anyone found any soul bones?"
Dai Yao suddenly asked.
In the original novel, apart from the 100,000-year-old demonic tiger whale that Tang San hunted, no soul bones were found in the corpses of any other demonic tiger whales. Dai Yao wanted to see what the result would be this time.
At this point, Dugu Yan couldn't help but glance at Zhu Zhuqing, and said with some envy:
"Of course, besides the 100,000-year-old soul beast you hunted, we also found two soul bones. One came from the demonic tiger whale that Zhu Qing absorbed the soul ring from, and the other came from a 9,000-year-old demonic tiger whale."
"The soul bone that Zhu Qing possessed naturally belongs to Zhu Qing, while the other soul bone, which is about nine thousand years old, has been allocated to Xiang Xiang. Once we return, she will absorb and fuse with it."
The soul bones from the hunted soul beasts, when absorbed together, often have a synergistic effect greater than the sum of their parts, which Dugu Yan couldn't help but envy.
Upon hearing this, Dai Yao couldn't help but burst into laughter. It seemed that his luck wasn't bad at all, as the ending was completely different from the original story.
"Well, I've been quite lucky, but Brother Yao, you should get that 100,000-year-old soul bone as soon as possible. The corpse of the Demon Orca King is just sitting there; it probably won't be long before it's swept away by the ocean currents."
Zhu Zhuqing said with a smile.
Dai Yao nodded and rushed toward the corpse of the Demon Orca King. As his soul power surged, a dark red soul bone burst forth from the corpse.
The dark red soul bone, like amber, seemed to have dark red blood flowing within it, devouring the surrounding light. Like a demonic killer whale, it was savage and unrestrained.
Dai Yao reached out and took it, examined it briefly, and then flicked his finger. The dark red soul bone, like a sword returning to its sheath, emitted a soft sound and attached itself to his left leg.
Within the soul bone, the remaining spiritual power of the demonic tiger whale sensed that it was about to be absorbed and began a frantic counterattack. Even Xiaobai dared not approach its violent aura. Just as Zhu Zhuqing and the other girls were extremely anxious, Dai Yao's cold eyes narrowed, his soul power surged, and eight soul rings rose one by one.
Yellow, purple, purple, black, black, red, red, red.
With the appearance of the eight spirit rings, an almost tangible pressure instantly appeared, and the surrounding sea surface seemed to stand still, pressed down to be as smooth as a mirror.
The demonic orca's spiritual power deflated instantly, like a punctured balloon, as if resigned to its fate, and was absorbed by Dai Yao.
"The Demon Orca's soul bone is indeed excellent, even among the many 100,000-year soul bones, it is considered one of the top. However, compared with those ferocious beasts, it is slightly inferior. But 100,000-year soul bones are not so easy to obtain. This is not the era of Douluo Continent II: The Legend of the Condor Heroes, when 100,000-year soul beasts were everywhere."
"It's strange, actually. Soul beasts should be decreasing as you kill them, but after ten thousand years, there are more hundred thousand-year-old soul beasts."
"If possible, I should absorb the spirit rings and spirit bones of those ferocious beasts in the future, as they will provide a greater boost to me. However, if it is the spirit ring or spirit bone of the Azure Bull Python or the Titan Giant Ape, it will be fine, as the quality of their spirit rings and spirit bones is enough to make up for the difference in the age of the spirit rings."
Dai Yao thought to himself.
In just a moment, Dai Yao successfully absorbed the soul bone of the demonic tiger whale, and once again soared into the air, landing on Xiao Bai's back.
After chatting with the women for a few moments, Dai Yao looked at the boundless sea and gave the following instructions:
"Xiaobai, that's enough. Let's head back now."
Xiao Bai hesitated for a moment, then asked nervously:
"My Lord, you have absorbed the soul ring and soul bone of that 'Evil Tiger' fellow. Its corpse is no longer of any use to you. If possible, could you bestow it upon me? If I absorb it, my strength may experience a qualitative leap."
Dai Yao glanced at Xiao Bai sideways and said indifferently:
"If you do not retaliate against me after your strength increases significantly, I can certainly give it to you."
Xiao Bai's body tensed up immediately, and he said somewhat embarrassedly:
"My lord, rest assured, you helped me eliminate the 'Evil Tiger,' you are my greatest benefactor. Although I am a soul beast, I will never forget your kindness to me, so how could I possibly harm you?"
Dai Yao hummed in agreement and said calmly:
"Go ahead, I'll give it to you."
Overjoyed, Xiao Bai said, "Thank you for the reward, sir!"
Dai Yao picked out another Demon Soul Great White Shark, landed on its back, and watched as Little White rushed towards the 'Evil Tiger' corpse with great joy, then nodded slightly.
Although Xiaobai was not the mastermind behind the murder, her stupidity certainly played a part.
As for the corpse of the 'Evil Tiger,' it was of no use to Dai Yao anymore. Giving it to Xiao Bai was simply a kind gesture. However, before giving it to her, Dai Yao put Xiao Bai down to prevent her from thinking that it was something she deserved.
As expected, these methods were quite effective, and Xiaobai became increasingly obedient to his orders.
It would take some time for Xiaobai to absorb the essence of the 'Evil Tiger,' so everyone had to stay a while longer. Dai Yao sat down cross-legged again, because for each soul ring he obtained, he would receive a lotus flower produced by the Chaos Green Lotus.
Now that he has obtained his seventh and eighth spirit rings in succession, he didn't even have time to see what kind of lotus it was because of the urgency of the assessment. Now he can sink into his spiritual world to see what's going on.