Chapter 419 Two Soul Skills, Two Talents — Crawl Over Here!
With a thought, that soul-stirring black soul ring slowly emerged. Although the Dark Devilgod Tiger martial soul had only a single soul ring, the overwhelming pressure it exuded was in no way inferior to that of top-tier experts.
Dai Yao carefully sensed it, and delight immediately appeared on his face.
"This… this single soul ring actually contains two soul skills, and it even grants me two talents?! How is that possible? Even a hundred-thousand-year soul ring only has two soul skills."
But after a moment's thought, he understood.
"Could it be the effect of the Dark Devilgod Tiger's natal pearl? That seems to be the only explanation. In the original story, Tang San only gained one soul skill after absorbing the Dark Devilgod Tiger's soul ring. That means the natal pearl truly contains the essence of the Dark Devilgod Tiger."
After a brief sigh of emotion, Dai Yao began to comprehend the two soul skills and the two talents.
The first soul skill: Evil God's Fury. It can be used for single-target or group attacks and possesses three attributes—evil, wind, and lightning. The explosive lightning attribute, combined with the all-pervading evil aura, makes the power of this soul skill several times greater than that of ordinary soul skills.
"Not bad. Although I already have plenty of offensive methods, there's no harm in having one more."
The second soul skill: Evil God's Guard. A shield formed from extreme evil, possessing defensive power comparable to an Invincible Golden Body. Even the strongest opponents would find it difficult to destroy. If not for encountering Dai Yao's Godslaying Spear, which completely countered it, the Dark Devilgod Tiger would not have fallen so easily.
"Tsk, this one's passable."
Dai Yao was not particularly interested.
After all, the second soul skill of his Chaos Azure Lotus martial soul—Azure Lotus Phantom—was true invincible defense. Although he had never seen its upper limit, Dai Yao was certain that even a peerless Douluo of this era would be absolutely unable to break through his defense before his soul power was exhausted.
Of course, he had no intention of ever being forced into gambling on the absolute defensive limit of the Azure Lotus Phantom.
These two soul skills emphasized offense and defense respectively. To an ordinary soul master, obtaining such powerful skills would be cause for ecstatic joy, but for Dai Yao, who possessed too many trump cards, they were nothing remarkable.
"Forget it. Let's take a look at the two talents the Dark Devilgod Tiger granted me."
Talent: Devour. Devour others' soul power to increase one's own cultivation. The Dark Devilgod Tiger relied on this trait to rise rapidly amid danger, growing to a level that even Da Ming and Er Ming, after reaching a hundred thousand years, could not ignore.
"Tsk, for me this talent is tasteless if used, yet a pity to discard."
Dai Yao couldn't help but think so.
He could cultivate on his own without resorting to shortcuts. Every shortcut taken on the path of cultivation would require a far greater price to pay in the future. Perhaps this talent had no side effects, but even with his drastically changed personality, Dai Yao refused to use such a method to increase his cultivation.
Then it occurred to him that while he need not use it to raise his cultivation, he could use it to store soul power. The space within him that could contain the soul power of a level ninety-nine peerless Douluo had been emptied when he gave everything to Bibi Dong back in the Spirit Hall.
He could use this talent to refill that empty reservoir of soul power and prepare his trump cards as quickly as possible.
However, when his gaze fell upon the final talent, his black eyes seemed to light up.
Talent: Tiger's Thrall. As the saying goes, "to act as a tiger's thrall" refers to the ghost of someone devoured by a tiger helping it harm others. Here, the meaning is similar: as long as Dai Yao uses this talent on someone, the target will unconsciously develop a sense of dependence on him, gradually sink deeper, and eventually become his toy—
A "thrall."
This talent is extremely powerful. Even if the target harbors extreme hatred toward Dai Yao, their emotions will be unknowingly influenced step by step, until they are completely controlled by him.
However, this powerful talent is not without limits. It can only bind four "thralls." If he wishes to bind a fifth, he must kill one of the existing four to free up a slot.
"What an excellent talent! With 'Tiger's Thrall,' I can make everyone who has offended me regret it for the rest of their lives! The other me keeps talking about revenge, but aside from the Star Luo Dai clan, who have you actually taken revenge on?"
"Even within the Dai clan, aside from the Emperor, the Empress, Dai Weisi, and Dai Yaming, who else did you kill? You even spared Dai Mubai, yet you claim you wanted to be ruthless? How laughable! Since you can't do it, then let me do it!"
"Haotian Sect, Tang San, Tang Hao, Yu Xiaogang—they will all have to pay the price! Back in the Spirit Hall, Tang Hao nearly killed me!"
"Heh, killing them outright would be letting them off too easily. I'll make good use of this talent and give them a huge surprise!"
A streak of evil light flashed through Dai Yao's pitch-black eyes.
Some say the greatest joy in life is to defeat one's enemies, drive them away, seize everything they have, watch their loved ones weep in sorrow, ride their horses, and take their wives and daughters. With his drastically changed personality, Dai Yao felt there was nothing wrong with using such methods on his enemies.
"Sigh, I'm really too kind. When dealing with my enemies, I didn't even think of killing them directly."
Dai Yao sighed.
"Hypocrite! Bastard! You're nothing but a despicable villain! If you have the ability, let me go back and let Third Brother face you in a fair and square duel. Winning like this—what kind of skill is that?!"
In the spiritual world, Xiao Wu roared angrily.
Dai Yao's thoughts sank, and after entering the spiritual world, he looked at Xiao Wu with a smile, pondered for a moment, and said,
"You're right. If I want to defeat Tang San, I should defeat him fair and square."
Xiao Wu froze—not only because of his words, but also because of Dai Yao's drastically changed appearance. His hair was completely black, and though his features were the same as before, the frivolous, evil air about him was utterly different from the past.
Though she didn't fully believe him, Xiao Wu immediately brightened.
"Really?"
"Of course not, idiot!"
Dai Yao mocked her without hesitation.
Xiao Wu was struck as if by lightning. It took her quite a while to recover, staring daggers at Dai Yao, her teeth clenched in rage.
Seeing this, Dai Yao smiled softly. But that smile made Xiao Wu's scalp prickle. Dai Yao pinched her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, and in the gentlest tone spoke words that chilled her to the bone.
"Oh~ naïve little rabbit, do you really think you and Tang San are true love? Everything you've experienced was nothing more than a prearranged script."
He extended a finger and tapped Xiao Wu's forehead. Scenes of his transactions with the soul beast clan were all injected into her mind.
Dai Yao's memories replayed endlessly in Xiao Wu's consciousness. When she learned that her meeting with Tang San was merely one part of a grand plan devised by the upper echelons of the soul beast clan—to infiltrate humans and secure another path of survival—Xiao Wu completely collapsed.
She didn't want to believe it, yet everything felt so real. Moreover, all the strange occurrences she had experienced throughout nearly a hundred thousand years of life could now be explained. She curled into herself, eyes vacant, murmuring,
"Impossible… impossible…"
Seeing this, Dai Yao did not stop, still smiling as he said,
"Ah, judging by your expression, you still don't quite believe it. But it doesn't matter. Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant. I now have two martial souls, requiring a total of eighteen soul rings. After I become a Titled Douluo with my Sacred White Tiger martial soul, I'll then let the Dark Devilgod Tiger martial soul absorb soul rings."
"I think the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Bull Python are quite good—both are powerful hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. And they're old enemies of the Dark Devilgod Tiger. If I slaughter them, the Dark Devilgod Tiger's spirit in heaven can finally rest in peace."
Upon hearing Da Ming and Er Ming mentioned, Xiao Wu snapped awake. Her beautiful face was streaked with tears as she pleaded anxiously,
"No, don't! Please don't hurt Da Ming and Er Ming. As long as you don't hurt them, I'll do anything you want."
"Really anything?"
Xiao Wu raised her head, looking at Dai Yao as though staring at a demon. After struggling for a long time, she said,
"Anything… at all."
She didn't know what awaited her, but at this moment, she had no other choice. Dai Yao's power was unquestionable, and once he became a Titled Douluo, no one on the continent would likely be able to stop him. Moreover, the soul beasts hidden beneath the Lake of Life would not help them.
If Dai Yao accepted their conditions, those soul beasts might even personally beat Da Ming and Er Ming half to death for Dai Yao to absorb their soul rings.
Hearing this, Dai Yao withdrew his smile and said coldly,
"Then kneel down. Crawl over here."
Xiao Wu was stunned, but she had no choice. Trembling, she knelt down and inched forward, crawling slowly toward Dai Yao, her waterfall-like hair trailing across the ground.
Moments later, she reached Dai Yao's feet and slightly raised her head. Dai Yao seemed like a god, gazing down at her from the clouds. She couldn't even see his face clearly.
His voice rang out like a divine decree.
"Lick my shoes clean."
Xiao Wu felt as if struck by lightning. She wanted to raise her head and refuse—this was simply too humiliating. But just as she tried, her head felt unbearably heavy. Da Ming, Er Ming, Third Brother—layer upon layer of pressure pressed down on her like mountains.
Slowly, she lowered her head.
In truth, there was no dust at all in the spiritual world. Dai Yao was merely deliberately humiliating her.
Yet just as Xiao Wu was about to touch his shoes, she found she could no longer lower herself—an unseen force stopped her. She looked up, and the source of that force was Dai Yao himself.
"What do you mean?" Xiao Wu asked in confusion.
Dai Yao smiled. "Get up. I never truly intended to humiliate you. What happened today ends here."
Looking at Dai Yao's face—the one she hated to the core—Xiao Wu froze. She suddenly felt that Dai Yao wasn't quite as detestable as before.
She had already prepared herself to shatter all her dignity, but at the final moment, Dai Yao stopped her. That feeling of being pulled back from the brink made her heart race.
"No, Dai Yao is still just as hateful!"
Xiao Wu thought viciously.
"But… he does have his good points…"
She added one last thought.
Glancing lightly at Xiao Wu, Dai Yao turned away, the corner of his mouth lifting into a satisfied smile. Manipulating hearts was now the method he excelled at most after absorbing the Dark Devilgod Tiger.
A single Xiao Wu was not worth wasting one of his precious "Tiger's Thrall" slots.
True evil is not about murder and arson, but about having no fear in one's heart—doing whatever one pleases. When displeased, overturn rivers and seas, turn heaven and earth upside down; when pleased, be gentle and kind, upright and elegant. No one can restrain him.
That was Dai Yao's current creed.
As he was about to leave the spiritual world, he looked toward the Thunder Prison Vine restraining the two giant beasts and nodded solemnly in gratitude.
If not for Lei Yu Teng's help, even if he hadn't died, he would have suffered terribly.
After Dai Yao disappeared, Lei Yu Teng revealed her peerless form. Gazing at the spot where he vanished, a faint, elusive smile appeared on her cold face.
"You… you clearly decided to become evil, yet why do you still thank me? The morality in your heart still binds you—you're destined to never truly become evil."
"You've lived under repression for too many years. After avenging your great grudge, you finally relaxed and set down the burden on your back. But because of that trace of evil intent from the Evil God within the Dark Devilgod Tiger's natal pearl, the darkness in your heart was awakened."
"In truth, both of these forms are you. You just haven't quite come to terms with it yet."
"Do your best. You'll return to who you once were."
Lei Yu Teng's figure slowly faded away.
...
God Realm Committee.
The towering palace shimmered with a faint golden glow under the radiance of the God Realm. This was the highest point of the entire God Realm, and the place that controlled everything within it.
At the round table in the main hall sat five figures.
One black, one white occupied the upper seats, while the other three sat below.
Sensing something unusual in his old friend, the God of Kindness asked in confusion,
"Oh? Evil, what's wrong?"
His words immediately drew the attention of the other three, who all turned to look at the God of Evil.
The God of Evil opened his eyes—like black holes devouring all light. He swept his gaze across the gods and said with a half-smile,
"I've discovered something interesting. Perhaps… the successor to my position as the God of Evil has already appeared."
Hearing this, the God of Kindness became a little anxious.
"Evil, don't leave me alone! We're in the middle of handling matters on the Five Elements Continent. If your godhood is inherited, our wager won't count anymore."
At this moment, the two God Kings and the three law-enforcement gods of the God Realm were gathered to discuss Ji Dong and the Flame Empress of the Five Elements Continent. One had to admit—the God Realm of Douluo Continent was truly childish. To outsiders, these gods were incomparably powerful, yet their very existence seemed to revolve around finding successors…
The two God Kings of Kindness and Evil casually entrusted the heavy responsibility of the God Realm to Ji Dong and Lie Yan. It could be said that the future turmoil of the God Realm and its eventual control by Tang San could not be separated from the negligence of these two God Kings.
The God of Evil shrugged helplessly.
"If it doesn't count, then it doesn't count. I've finally found a successor—I can't let him slip away. I'll have to keep a close eye on him!"
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to the God of Slaughter and laughed.
"Heh heh, Shura, you found a perfect successor on the Douluo Continent. I have a feeling that my successor won't be inferior to yours!"
The God of Slaughter was slightly startled. He knew all too well the talent of his successor—so much so that even he felt a bit of pressure. If she were at the same level as him, he would most likely not be her match.
He clasped his fists and smiled.
"Then congratulations to the God King on finding a successor to your liking."
... (End of Chapter)
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