Chapter 200: Ancient Spirit Tree

Everyone waited in place for a while, waiting for the disciple of the Earth Dragon Gate to finish absorbing his soul ring, before moving forward again.

This time, however, their formation shifted slightly; the previously well-protected Tang Wulin now stood at the front, leading the way.

Tang Wulin's displayed combat power was terrifying; even the disciple who had just broken through to Soul Emperor had no confidence he could defeat him.

At this moment, Nan Qiuqiu, standing at the rear of the group, had fallen completely silent; thinking back to how she had shown off in front of Tang Wulin earlier, she wished she could find a crack in the ground to hide in.

But he was also at fault—why, when she had just boasted, didn't he reveal his own strength? Nan Qiuqiu silently complained to herself.

Nan Qiuqiu, eager to clear her name, didn't consider that even if Tang Wulin had no obligation to explain his strength to her, and even if he did tell her, she wouldn't believe it until she saw it with her own eyes—instead, she would mock Tang Wulin for overestimating himself.

They continued forward like that, when suddenly Tang Wulin, who was walking at the very front of the group, stopped and looked toward Gong Changlong.

"Teacher, I can feel that we're about to arrive."

"I know."

Gong Changlong nodded and said to the members of the Earth Dragon Gate:

"Rest, rest, get ready—there's another big one ahead."

When Tang Wulin arrived, he had told him that his Blue Silver Emperor martial soul was extremely sensitive to life force; evidently, they had now reached their target.

The Honored Douluo spoke, and everyone, without doubt, immediately sat down where they were to recover their soul power.

Tang Wulin approached Gong Changlong and asked, "Dean, what kind of soul beast do you think we'll encounter this time?"

He had only studied theory for one year at the Academy, and in terms of knowledge about soul beasts, he considered himself far inferior to Gong Changlong.

Gong Changlong said seriously:

"There are several possibilities, but judging by the current situation, the most likely is the Ancient Spirit Tree, and judging by the growth of the surrounding plants, its cultivation is at least ten thousand years."

"Ancient Spirit Tree..."

Upon hearing Gong Changlong say that, Tang Wulin's mind instantly flashed with information about the Ancient Spirit Tree.

The Ancient Spirit Tree is not a particularly rare soul beast, so it is covered in the plant-type soul beast course.

It is a soul beast that cultivates life force; during its growth it emits vigorous life force that benefits surrounding plants and animals, so most soul beasts do not treat it as an enemy.

Even when the Ancient Spirit Tree reaches a certain age, a specialized guardian soul beast will appear beside it, forming a symbiotic relationship; the ten-thousand-year Earth Crystal Bear we just faced is this Ancient Spirit Tree's guardian soul beast.

Aside from its guardian soul beast, the Ancient Spirit Tree itself also possesses strong combat ability.

Its combat method is to forcibly draw life force from the surroundings to strengthen itself, thereby repelling opponents; this is also why its guardian soul beasts generally do not want it to act, for although growing nearby can be highly beneficial, having one's life force forcibly absorbed feels quite unpleasant.

Evidently, this plant-type soul beast is very suitable for Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Emperor martial soul; if its age is appropriate, it can be chosen directly.

After everyone rested a bit more and quickly recovered, they set off again. Parting the bushes before them, Tang Wulin's goal for this trip appeared before his eyes.

A large green tree grew amidst a sea of flowers and grasses, exuding a rich life aura.

Upon seeing it, Tang Wulin instantly felt refreshed and delighted; inhaling that rich life aura made one feel extremely comfortable.

Gong Changlong glanced at it lightly and judged, "Thirty thousand years—can you handle it?"

A thirty-thousand-year age is more than enough even as a sixth soul ring; for a normal Soul Master to absorb it as a third soul ring would only result in bodily explosion.

However, Tang Wulin confidently nodded.

"I think I can."

The battle just now against the ten-thousand-year Earth Crystal Bear gave him a clearer understanding of his current physical strength.

One could say that if he exerted himself fully, he would be on par with an ordinary Soul Emperor expert, and since his forte is martial arts, absorbing a soul ring of this age would be just right.

"All right then." Gong Changlong nodded satisfactorily, turned to the Earth Dragon Gate members, and said, "Everyone, this Ancient Spirit Tree is perfect as Tang Wulin's third soul ring—get ready."

Upon hearing his words, everyone's expressions turned somewhat strange.

There were too many points to criticize; they didn't know where to start.

They had overheard the two's conversation just now—this Ancient Spirit Tree is thirty thousand years old, yet it supposedly suits a ten-year-old child's third soul ring? And isn't Tang Wulin's martial soul dragon-attributed? Why use an Ancient Spirit Tree as his third soul ring? But they dared not ask, for martial soul matters are always the most important secret of Soul Masters; in the Soul Master World it is taboo to pry recklessly, and besides, given that their opponent's strength far surpasses theirs, if they learned something they shouldn't have, even if Gong Changlong wiped them out here they would have nowhere to seek justice.

In the end, they could only suppress their doubts and charge into the Ancient Spirit Tree's territory together with Tang Wulin.

Sensing the approach of Tang Wulin and the others, the Ancient Spirit Tree immediately acted; a green halo spread from its body, enveloping the surrounding hundred meters, and began rapidly absorbing the life force within.

At the same time, the Ancient Spirit Tree's brown trunk emitted a dazzling green light, and countless branches elongated, reaching out to draw life force from Tang Wulin and the others.

When enveloped by that green halo, Tang Wulin felt his body grow heavy, and his inner life force began to drain rapidly.

He couldn't help but frown and let out a low shout.

"Quiet down!"

As he spoke, a flash of green-gold light flickered in his eyes; instantly, the green halo that had enveloped them shattered with a boom, and the Ancient Spirit Tree's steadily rising aura came to an abrupt halt.

Gong Changlong looked at Tang Wulin in surprise, wondering if the Blue Silver Emperor's power could be that strong; then he shook his head.

Never mind—Tang Wulin is Mu En's disciple, meaning he is someone Mu En approves of; he doesn't need to act smart and meddle, just help this kid obtain his soul ring properly.

After that, the process was simple; as a plant-type soul beast, the Ancient Spirit Tree's combat ability wasn't remarkable to begin with, and now its strongest life-force absorption ability had been nullified by Tang Wulin—adding insult to injury—so under the assault of Tang Wulin and several Earth Dragon Gate disciples, it quickly lost all combat ability and turned into a soul ring.

Tang Wulin drew the jet-black soul ring to his side and began to absorb it.

(End of chapter)