Chapter 35

Upon hearing Yu Tianyun say that, Dugubo instantly fell into confusion; for a moment he stood frozen, not moving, and only after a long while did he let out a breath, slowly saying: "Your soul skill is excellent, the amplification is terrifying—no wonder it took this old man great effort to capture that soul beast." However, his gaze toward Yu Tianyun turned somewhat odd, and he continued: "From your tone just now, do you mean your previous soul rings are also amplification soul skills?"

Beside him, Duguyan, upon hearing Yu Tianyun's description of the soul skill, was also dumbfounded.

Although she hadn't applied herself much to studying Soul Master knowledge, she still knew the basic common sense.

Yu Tianyun's fourth soul skill's amplification is practically comparable to the true form of some Soul Saints' martial souls.

Actually, upon reflection, it's quite reasonable: although a twenty-thousand-year Thunder Beast's age is one or two ten-thousands lower than a Soul Saint's seventh soul ring, the Thunder Beast is no ordinary soul beast.

Its strength is enough to contend with soul beasts of sixty or seventy thousand years, and it excels in speed and burst damage, making it extremely troublesome to deal with.

Therefore, it is only natural that Yu Tianyun would gain such a powerful soul skill.

Yu Tianyun looked at Dugubo and spoke in a calm voice:

"That's right, Grandpa. My first three soul rings are also amplification soul skills. The first soul ring can increase all attributes by fifty percent; the second soul skill is Thunder Dragon Claw, usable for both ranged and melee, and in melee it can boost attack power by one hundred percent; the third soul skill boosts defense and strength by two hundred percent, and lightning attribute by fifty percent."

Dugubo, who had already been shocked multiple times by Yu Tianyun, was now somewhat immune; he felt only slight surprise, then looked at Yu Tianyun with doubtful eyes and said: "Your four soul skills only one is an attack soul skill—isn't your combat style a bit too monotonous?"

In response to Dugubo's skepticism, Yu Tianyun spoke with extreme confidence: "Grandpa, once I become a Title Douluo, what use would attaching attack soul skills to my first few soul rings have? Amplification soul skills remain useful even at the Title Douluo level, and soul skills are valued not for quantity but for quality; besides, I currently lack no attack soul skills!"

Having said that, Yu Tianyun put his right hand together as a sword finger; the four soul rings on his body lit up simultaneously, a blue glow appeared at his fingertip, and before the light could fully bloom, he swung his arm out violently.

In an instant, a beam of light pierced the mountain two hundred meters away with the speed of thunder—before one could cover their ears—a booming roar followed; instantly, smoke and dust billowed, the whole mountaintop was shrouded in thick dust, and nearby animals scattered like birds and beasts.

After a while, when the smoke and dust cleared, the high moon shone, moonlight poured down, revealing a mountain peak riddled with scars; the entire summit had lost about half of itself, leaving only a semicircular gap.

At this moment, not only Dugubo and Duguyan were bewildered, but Yu Tianyun himself was stunned.

He merely wanted to show off in front of Dugubo and, feeling restless, test his soul skill's power; he never expected to cause such a commotion.

Yet he did manage to show off; Duguyan beside him looked at him with eyes full of little stars, wishing to squeeze him into her bosom and suffocate him, like a fangirl overcome with infatuation.

Meanwhile, Dugubo on the other side opened his mouth, unable to utter a word for a long while, his finger pointing at the mountain peak trembling incessantly.

Yu Tianyun estimated that even a defensive Soul Saint like Zhao Wuji would find it no easy task to block that strike of his just now.

He also felt a lingering fear; it seemed that in future spars with others he should restrain his power, not unleash amplification soul skills, otherwise even a slight exertion could cause loss of life! After waiting a long while and seeing Dugubo still not recovered, Yu Tianyun couldn't help but remind him:

"Grandpa, stop spacing out—I haven't even used my full strength yet; hurry up and help Yan'yu obtain a soul ring!"

Dugubo then turned his head to look at him and said in a dazed, foolish manner:

"Oh, let's go—give him…? What are you saying, kid? After all this, you still haven't used your full strength?"

After Dugubo processed what Yu Tianyun said, he was shocked again, and involuntarily laughed and scolded:

Yu Tianyun didn't answer; he simply clasped his hands behind his back, lifted his head to gaze at the sky, and gave a light smile.

He indeed hadn't used his full strength; he still had Dragon Transformation unused! If he added Dragon Transformation, he'd likely be able to fight a Soul Saint head-on.

Watching Yu Tianyun's smug attitude, Dugubo felt embarrassed, his face darkened slightly, he snorted coldly, and even in front of his granddaughter he dared not reprimand Yu Tianyun, so he could only leave resentfully, sleeves flicked.

Duguyan smiled sweetly, wrapped her arms around Yu Tianyun's arm, exchanged a glance, her eyes full of undisguised joy.

Thereafter, the two followed Dugubo. Next, they followed Dugubo into an ordinary dense forest, and soon Dugubo found the Mandrake Snake that had just surpassed ten thousand years of cultivation.

This time, unlike his somewhat embarrassed struggle against the Thunder Beast earlier—he didn't even release his martial soul true form—but the fight wasn't short at all; after a full hour, Dugubo returned carrying the Mandrake Snake, covered in wounds and on the brink of death, and threw it before the two.

Perhaps Dugubo was venting the frustration he'd received from Yu Tianyun onto this Mandrake Snake; at this moment the snake's eyes showed a human-like expression, as if pleading for the two to quickly kill it.

Yu Tianyun held Duguyan, gently touched her forehead, and said softly:

"Yan'yu, go ahead and absorb it—I believe you can do it!"

"Mm!" Duguyan replied softly to Yu Tianyun, her gaze firm as she looked at the Mandrake Snake.

Approaching it, she extended her right hand transformed into Dragon Transformation, claws shooting out violently, piercing the snake's brain; its body convulsed violently, obviously in extreme pain.

She didn't struggle long; the writhing gradually weakened, and soon she lay motionless on the ground.

Black specks of light kept rising from the Mandrake Snake's corpse, gradually gathering and finally forming a black soul ring.

Duguyan sat cross-legged, began to draw in the soul ring, and not long after the black soul ring vanished into her body.

Time passed slowly; during this period Duguyan showed little change, merely frowning once, but soon she relaxed and calmly absorbed the soul ring.

Soon, an hour passed unnoticed. At that moment, a vast aura emanated from Duguyan's body, slightly weaker than when Yu Tianyun had finished absorbing his soul ring earlier.

She opened her eyes, a flash of excitement crossing her face—clearly she had successfully absorbed this ten-thousand-year soul ring.

Dugubo and Yu Tianyun stepped forward together, asking: "Yan'yu, how do you feel?"

The two were stunned for a moment, then stared at each other; Yu Tianyun took the initiative to break the awkwardness with a hearty laugh, then said:

"Yan'yu, how do you feel, what did you gain?"

Duguyan excitedly shared her joy: "Tianyun, you were right—Lovesickness Red left a great deal of medicinal power in my body; I seem to have directly broken through to level forty-six, and that soul shock wasn't intense either; plus, this Mandrake Snake granted me a very powerful soul skill, 'Azure Phosphor Poison Dragon Break'!"

As she spoke, the fourth soul ring on Duguyan's body flashed bright, emerald light blazing between her dragon claws, and in an instant it condensed into a small green dragon.

About a foot long, it shot swiftly sideways, repeatedly slamming into towering trees, each at least as thick as a person can embrace.

Then the green dragon boomed, and instantly a thirty-meter radius was filled with dark green smoke.

If you listen closely, you can hear a continual hissing sound; when the smoke clears, the thirty-meter area is littered with debris, everywhere showing corrosion marks, and plants turn yellow and withered.

Clearly, Duguyan's fourth soul skill is also extremely formidable.

Regarding Duguyan's claim that the soul shock wasn't strong, Yu Tianyun felt there could be two reasons.

One reason is that Duguyan is already seventeen; her body and soul are fairly mature, and with the enhancement of Lovesickness Red, her mental power far exceeds that of the Mandrake Snake.

Another reason is that this Mandrake Snake, before its death, had been vented upon and tortured by Dugubo, seeking only death, so it harbored little resentment toward Duguyan, who helped it find release.

Setting aside their thoughts, the three then simply rested and chatted a few words before beginning their return journey.

(End of chapter)