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"Brother, come help me! I've already negotiated with Sister Ah Liu. After we plant these willow branches in the Sunset Forest, she'll sacrifice herself to me."
{T/N: 'Ah Liu' refers to the Willow King. 'Ah' is used to refer to someone casually and 'Liu' means willow in Chinese.}
Without a word, Ye Wen silently began helping.
Though spirit beasts lacked an obvious social structure, these kings of plant-type spirit beasts seemed exceptionally dedicated to the continuation of their species. Perhaps this was the profound truth of life they had realized over their long lifespans.
The Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King, despite being 80,000 years old and having over 80 branches, was quickly planted by Ye Wen and Ah Yin in various concealed yet resource-rich locations throughout the Sunset Forest within half a day.
However, they kept one newly sprouted branch behind. Though as slender as an ordinary willow branch, its leaves emitted faint golden light. This was the final life core cultivated by the Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King—the seed for the next generation of Ten-Thousand Sword Willow Kings.
At the level of an 80,000-year-old Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King, if this branch survived, it had the potential to become a 100,000-year spirit beast after another 10,000 years.
"Let's begin~" The weary voice of the Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King echoed in A Yin's mind.
A Yin nodded solemnly and sat cross-legged before the Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King, her heart heavy with sorrow. Perhaps it was the shared plight of plant-type spirit beasts that made her feel this way.
A green light enveloped A Yin, emanating from the Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King.
When a 100,000-year spirit beast sacrificed itself, it formed an impenetrable defensive barrier, ensuring no external force could interrupt the process. However, this premise was debatable—after all, a 100,000-year spirit beast was equivalent to a Super Douluo at around level 95. Even someone like Qian Dao Liu, a Limit Douluo, might have the power to disrupt such a ritual.
But the Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King, not yet reaching 100,000 years, naturally lacked this ability.
Fortunately, there were no enemies nearby, so the process went uninterrupted.
Ah Yin summoned her Blue Silver Emperor, and a black soul ring abruptly encircled her body—a sign that the sacrificial ritual had truly begun.
There was no pain, only a sense of comfort akin to perfect harmony. A Yin couldn't help but let out a soft moan.
After a while, the green light completely vanished, and the once towering Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King dissipated into thin air, leaving only a large pit on the ground as evidence of its existence.
In the original story, after a 100,000-year spirit beast sacrificed itself, its soul would reside within the soul ring and soul bone, while its body would revert to its initial infant form. Even the Titan Ape and Azure Sky Pythons, despite being poisoned and having their bodies destroyed, ultimately returned to their infant forms.
But alas, this wasn't a 100,000-year spirit beast. Once it sacrificed itself, its body disappeared entirely, much like Wang Qiuer in Douluo 2.
"How do you feel, Ah Yin?" Ye Wen asked with concern.
A Yin opened her eyes, brimming with joy, and grinned mischievously. "My soul power has finally surpassed yours, Brother. I'm now at level 72!"
As a 100,000-year spirit beast who had fully materialized with innate maximum soul power, Ah Yin's soul power had always been slightly lower than Ye Wen's, which had frustrated her for quite some time.
Ye Wen rolled his eyes. "That's not what I asked. Did your martial soul evolve?"
Ah Yin stuck out her tongue playfully and summoned her martial soul again.
The previously silk-like Blue Silver Emperor now exuded a sharpness. With a casual flick of her wrist, golden-blue sword qi surged forth, carving a deep gash into the ground.
"My martial soul evolved, inheriting part of Sister Ah Liu's sharpness. It should now be called the Blue Silver Sword Emperor. All six of my previous soul skills have also transformed:
- First Soul Skill: Sword Bind. On top of the original binding effect, it can now slice through opponents.
- Second Soul Skill: Blue Silver Sword Sea. Summons a massive wave of evolved Blue Silver Sword Emperors to attack and hinder opponents.
- Third Soul Skill: Blue Silver Sword Guard. Summons protectors formed from the Blue Silver Sword Emperor. Looks like I'll need to learn swordsmanship when we get back, or I won't be able to control them properly.
- Fourth Soul Skill: Blue Silver Absorption. No major changes, but it now has two additional effects: bloodletting and blood absorption.
- Fifth Soul Skill: Blue Silver Tyrant Spear. Its sharpness has increased even further. Even defensive-type Soul Douluos can now be pierced.
- Sixth Soul Skill: Blue Silver Lethal Formation has become the *Blue Silver Slaughter Formation*. In addition to trapping, it now includes a frenzied slashing ability.
Moreover, Sister Ah Liu gave me an 80,000-year-old Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King head soul bone. Its soul skill, Ten-Thousand Sword Domain, overlaps with my Blue Silver Domain, doubling its power.
With the seventh soul skill's True Body, I feel like I can take on three versions of my former self."
Watching Ah Yin's pure and joyful demeanor, like a child proudly showing off a new toy, Ye Wen smiled warmly and congratulated her.
Still, it was impressive that the abilities granted by an 80,000-year-old Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King, capable of rivaling a Title Douluo, had completely transformed Ah Yin's predominantly control-oriented soul skills into those of a domain-based offensive soul master.
Once pulled into her domain, unless one possessed skills like intangibility or invincible golden body, survival at the same level was nearly impossible.
Furthermore, with the evolution of the Blue Silver Emperor, what was originally a mid-tier super martial soul had now gained the potential to rival top-tier super martial souls.
Moreover, the addition of sword attributes to the Blue Silver Emperor allowed it to unleash far greater power than the original Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King's willow form, thanks to the Blue Silver Grass's innate low-cost proliferation trait.
If the Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King could emit 10,000 sword qi slashes, then A Yin, if serious, could potentially unleash hundreds of thousands of sword qi attacks. As for their power, opinions may vary.
Regardless of their strength, at Ah Yin's current cultivation level, this ability was an absolute battlefield killer. In her True Body state, even an army of ten thousand soldiers might be wiped out in a short time.
After tidying up, the two returned to the Ice and Fire Dual Eye and planted the core seed of the Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King there.
Repaying kindness and settling debts—it was only right.
Though the Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King's sacrifice wasn't entirely selfless, actions spoke louder than intentions. No one was perfect when judged by intent alone.
The Ten-Thousand Sword Willow King's willingness to sacrifice itself to A Yin was already a great boon. Planting its offspring here was a small gesture in return—why not do it?
After entrusting Ah Lan to care for the young sapling, the two set off on their journey back to Tian Xing Academy.
Though this trip had taken nearly half a year, the rewards were bountiful. If the continent's top powers knew that Ye Wen carried twelve treasures capable of evolving martial souls, it would surely spark a bloody storm.
If Ye Wen wanted to use these essence extracts to cultivate a large-scale force, he'd need to wait until he became a Super Douluo. Otherwise, it would be courting disaster.
For now, aside from his nine direct disciples, he didn't have many truly trustworthy subordinates, so there was no rush.
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