Chapter 257: Massive Harvest

As the Evil Demon Tiger Whale Clan was shattered, more than two hundred Evil Demon Tiger Whales were slain, and the entire sea region was stained red with blood.

Yang Xiong and the others were extremely excited; although the process was exceedingly brutal, and everyone sustained minor injuries in the fierce battle, they all felt that this trial was finally completed.

A voice sounded in Yang Xiong's ears.

"Yang Xiong, Top-Level Eight Trials Fourth Trial Peak Whale Shark Battle completed, reward: Soul Power increased by one level, all Soul Ring durations increased by one thousand years."

A golden light shone upon Yang Xiong, and he felt his Soul Power grow stronger, reaching as high as Level 89.

The others also received confirmation, all gaining one Soul Power level, and Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong each had all their Soul Ring durations increased by five hundred years.

As Yang Xiong had expected, Yang Wei finally reached Level 80 and could absorb the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King's Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Meanwhile, Yang Xiong deliberately kept three Evil Demon Tiger Whales older than eighty thousand years, leaving the choice to Ning Rongrong and the others.

But at this moment, Yang Wei was overjoyed.

"Xiao Xiong, let me tell you some good news: my Black Level Four Trials have been upgraded. Sea God just told me that because the first four stages performed well, Black Level Four Trials have been upgraded to Black Level Five Trials, and I still need to undergo the Fifth Trial to truly complete the assessment."

Yang Xiong was also pleased, and Qin Shuang beside him said that his own trial had likewise been upgraded, also becoming Black Level Five Trials.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiong was exceptionally delighted; perhaps Sea God truly calculated each stage of the trial, and during the first four stages, the enhancements for everyone were beyond imagination.

Now only the issue of Soul Ring absorption remains.

Earlier, Yang Xiong had already handed the choice of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring to everyone; judging their intentions, it was ultimately decided that elder brother Yang Wei would slay this Hundred-Thousand-Year Evil Demon Tiger Whale King.

The remaining three Evil Demon Tiger Whales of the eighty‑thousand‑year grade now lay dying in the sea.

These Evil Demon Tiger Whales possessed excellent attributes; they were not only top‑tier Power-Type Soul Beasts, but also had extremely strong bloodlines, making them very suitable for everyone present.

Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and Feng Xiaotian exchanged glances, each slaying an eighty‑thousand‑year Evil Demon Tiger Whale, apparently resolved to use them as the Eighth Soul Rings.

Under everyone's protection, Yang Wei, Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and Feng Xiaotian all prepared to begin absorbing the Soul Rings.

Especially elder brother Yang Wei, who looked extremely nervous; clearly, to absorb this Soul Ring he needed not only courage but also a resolve to die.

Sure enough, after the group began absorbing the Soul Rings, Ning Rongrong, Feng Xiaotian, and Oscar were relatively fast; in less than a day, the three had completed the absorption.

The Evil Demon Tiger Whale truly lives up to being the most elite Soul Beast in the ocean, especially those of the eighty‑thousand‑year grade; everyone gained respectable improvements, and the Soul Skills obtained were all excellent.

Yang Wei's absorption of the Soul Ring took a full five days, especially at the start when he was absorbing the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Ring; he looked utterly miserable, blood seeping from his entire body, his eyes about to burst, the seven orifices bleeding, as if he might collapse at any moment.

In the end, elder brother Yang Wei pulled through, reaching the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Eighth Soul Ring.

After Yang Wei absorbed the Soul Ring and Soul Bone, his strength increased significantly.

After completing Sea God's Fourth Stage assessment and absorbing the Soul Rings, Ning Rongrong's Soul Power reached Level 84, and Oscar reached Level 83.

Unexpectedly, elder brother Yang Wei also reached Level 83, making his Soul Power rank among the highest of all.

Especially after elder brother Yang Wei absorbed the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King's Soul Ring and Soul Bone, he gained four extremely powerful skills, and the Profound Iron Sword seemed to become even stronger.

Moreover, the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Bone that appeared in the Evil Demon Tiger Whale turned out to be a left leg bone, which happened to be one of the Soul Bones missing from Yang Wei's body, though unfortunately not a Head Soul Bone.

Feng Xiaotian also reached Level 83; his cultivation talent truly impressed everyone.

Qin Shuang reached Level 77, still some distance from becoming a Soul Douluo.

Both Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er improved exceptionally; Huo Wu is now Level 76, Shui Bing'er Level 75, each having advanced by about seventeen or eighteen levels since arriving at Sea God Island, the fastest progression among everyone.

Ning Rongrong's Eighth Spirit Skill also turned out to be Nine Treasure Body Protection Divine Light; it seems that regardless of which Soul Ring the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda absorbs, the skill is the same, though the Soul Beast's age, species, and bloodline affect the skill's effect to some degree.

Oscar's Eighth Spirit Skill is also excellent, identical to the original work, named "Myriad Phenomena Renewal Crystal Intestine", a top‑grade healing Soul Skill that works instantly, truly a masterpiece.

During the absorption process by Yang Xiong and the others, the Demon Soul Great White Shark clan was immensely excited; this was a rare great victory in their history, having slain all the top Evil Demon Tiger Whales, and without top masters, the Evil Demon Tiger Whales will likely find it hard to rise again.

Yang Xiong used the Vast Sea Cosmic Dome to gather all the Evil Demon Tiger Whale corpses; it would not be appropriate to dissect them in front of the Demon Soul Great White Sharks, after all they are also Soul Beast species.

After everyone finished their recuperation, they prepared to follow Xiao Bai back to Sea God Island.

Xiao Bai expressed gratitude to Yang Xiong himself: "Yang Xiong, although I don't like you indiscriminately slaying Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Beasts, I really thank you this time; if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have achieved such a great victory, nor slain so many Evil Demon Tiger Whales, and our Demon Soul Great White Shark clan wouldn't have suffered so little damage."

Yang Xiong laughed: "You shouldn't thank me; you should thank Sea God, as this was all arranged by Sea God."

After hesitating, Xiao Bai spoke: "Yang Xiong, with your strength you could have exterminated the entire Evil Demon Tiger Whale clan; why did you leave those over a hundred heads to escape?"

Yang Xiong shook his head: "Regardless of the Soul Beast clan, as long as they exist in this world they have a reason to exist. Though Evil Demon Tiger Whales are ferocious, Sea God did not eradicate them back then, so they naturally have a purpose."

"Moreover, the Demon Soul Great White Shark clan and the Evil Demon Tiger Whale clan are natural mortal enemies; my interference as a human is not ideal, perhaps leaving these Evil Demon Tiger Whales provides some pressure for you Demon Soul Great White Sharks."

Xiao Bai heard this and seemed half‑understanding, while Yang Xiong couldn't help but shake his head.

As a Soul Beast clan, the Demon Soul Great White Shark is undoubtedly the pinnacle among Sea Soul Beasts, yet this kind of Sea Soul Beast can only grow stronger through endless battles. Xiao Bai's allegiance to Sea God may have disrupted the balance among Soul Beasts; after ten thousand years, the Demon Soul Great White Shark clan might be annihilated—a different kind of retribution, perhaps because they have neglected their own enemies.

……

After everyone returned to Sea God Island, only then did they begin to focus on the Fifth Stage assessment content.

However, when they saw the assessment content, everyone was stunned.

And Yang Xiong's vision also displayed new assessment content: "Top-Level Eight Trials Fifth Trial, Challenge the Sacred Pillar Guardians. Timing starts from the first Sacred Pillar Guardian challenge; within thirty‑six hours, complete all challenges. Defeat the Seven Sacred Pillar Guardians to pass, with a one‑year time limit."

At this moment, Yang Xiong felt unusually strange, wondering why his assessment mirrored Tang San's in the original work—does a Top‑Level Eight Trial really need to be this difficult?

As for the others, each stared in horror, clearly frightened by the difficulty of the assessment.

After confirmation, Feng Xiaotian, Oscar, Qin Shuang, Yang Wei, Huo Wu, and Shui Bing'er each needed to defeat one of the Seven Sacred Pillars, meaning each must overcome a Title Douluo‑level master.

As for Ning Rongrong, she needed to participate in all six battles, assisting them in completing the assessment.

Oscar must face the Sea Horse Douluo, Feng Xiaotian the Sea Delusion Douluo, Qin Shuang the Sea Ghost Douluo, Yang Wei the Sea Spear Douluo, Huo Wu the Sea Star Douluo, and Shui Bing'er the Sea Witch Douluo.

No wonder everyone was extremely serious; among those present, Qin Shuang, Shui Bing'er, and Huo Wu were only top‑tier Soul Saints, and having them duel Title Douluo‑level masters presented a huge gap.

As for the others, having recently absorbed Evil Demon Tiger Whale Soul Rings and with Ning Rongrong's support, the hope might actually be greater.

Yang Xiong did breathe a sigh of relief; among the Seven Sacred Pillars, he truly feared the Sea Dragon Douluo, and as long as no one faces the Sea Dragon Douluo, there remains some hope.

Of course, there is also the biggest issue: when battling Title Douluo, the location will be the main arena of the Seven Sacred Pillars, meaning a genuine underwater combat, which imposes certain limits on Land Spirit Masters, especially severely restricting Huo Wu.

Yang Xiong glanced at everyone: "This clash with the Evil Demon Tiger Whale clan was just a warm‑up; from now on everyone should strive to fight in the sea. I will train you as hard as possible and show no mercy. With your current strength, to truly defeat Title Douluo in the sea, you must have a resolve to die."

Having just faced the Evil Demon Tiger Whales, everyone now better understood the sea's dangers and their own limits; defeating a Title Douluo in the sea is no easier than battling the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King.

Before Yang Xiong began training the group, they first found a relatively quiet spot to review this harvest.

This time they killed a full 210 Evil Demon Tiger Whales: over a hundred and ninety were older than ten thousand years, three exceeded eighty thousand years, eleven exceeded fifty thousand years, and the rest were ten‑thousand‑year grade.

Soul beasts of the Yi Wan Nian level have a certain probability of producing soul bones, while soul beasts above the fifty‑thousand‑year level have a very high probability of producing soul bones.

After a round of dissection, everyone seemed extremely excited.

There were four soul bones before everyone's eyes: two of the eighty‑thousand‑year level, one of the fifty‑thousand‑year level, and one of the thirty‑thousand‑year level.

The less fortunate part is that the eighty‑thousand‑year bones are the left‑arm and right‑arm soul bones, the fifty‑thousand‑year one is a right‑leg soul bone, and the thirty‑thousand‑year one is an extremely rare torso soul bone; no head soul bone appeared.

Everyone, although the soul bones were hot, left all of them to Yang Xiong to arrange; in this great battle, Yang Xiong was the true leader and key executor.

Yang Xiong thought carefully for a moment, gave the eighty‑thousand‑year left‑arm soul bone to Feng Xiaotian, and the right‑arm soul bone to Shui Bing'er.

This eighty‑thousand‑year left‑arm soul bone was obtained from the soul beast that Feng Xiaotian obtained by absorbing a Soul Ring, and it matches him best.

The eighty‑thousand‑year right‑arm soul bone was given directly to Shui Bing'er; it was obtained by Oscar absorbing a Soul Ring, but Oscar already has a right‑arm soul bone and cannot use it themselves, and Shui Bing'er's upcoming assessment will be relatively difficult, perhaps this bone can help them.

Yang Xiong thought carefully and gave the fifty‑thousand‑year right‑leg soul bone to Qin Shuang.

As for the final thirty‑thousand‑year torso soul bone, Yang Xiong simply gave it directly to Shui Bing'er.

Compared with Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and Yang Wei, Shui Bing'er is now the most troublesome; they are at the Red Level Seven Trials, and the difficulty of the final two trials is probably not low.

As for Huo Wu, they are of Fire Attribute, which does not match the Evil Demon Tiger Whale's attribute, so there is currently no soul bone for them.

(End of Chapter)