The mere thought of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts made Yu Xiaogang's hair stand on end.
A chill ran down his spine, and goosebumps erupted across his skin. Instinctively, he crossed his arms and rubbed them, trying to suppress the uneasy feeling creeping through his body.
His reaction did not escape the Grand Elder's notice.
"What is it?" the Grand Elder asked immediately. "Have you thought of something?"
Yu Xiaogang hesitated for a moment before sharing the speculation that had just occurred to him.
As soon as the Grand Elder heard it, his expression froze.
He was stunned.
Because Yu Xiaogang had raised a question that no one had ever seriously considered before.
What happens to a Soul Beast after it reaches one hundred thousand years of cultivation?
Records of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts had existed since ancient times. The earliest documented cases were so old that their origins had long since been lost to history.
Throughout countless generations, powerful Spirit Masters had occasionally succeeded in hunting Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and obtaining their soul rings.
Yet no one had ever asked an obvious question.
Where did all the others go?
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast stood at the pinnacle of the beast world. Such creatures possessed extraordinary intelligence, terrifying strength, and lifespans far beyond human comprehension.
Could they really have all died of old age?
The Grand Elder found that difficult to believe.
Humans grew old and died—that was natural.
But Soul Beasts?
That was an entirely different matter.
Over countless generations, the number of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts should have accumulated to an astonishing degree.
If even a small percentage survived and continued cultivating, then just how many terrifying creatures might be hidden throughout the Douluo Continent?
The thought alone was enough to send a shiver through anyone's heart.
At that moment, the Grand Elder suddenly felt that the world he had lived in for decades was unfamiliar.
Terrifyingly unfamiliar.
---
It wasn't only the Grand Elder who felt that way.
Countless viewers watching the heavenly screen experienced the same sensation.
A cold chill spread through the audience of the Black World.
At Shrek Academy, everyone wore expressions of shock.
Flender's face turned pale.
"That's right..."
He swallowed hard.
"Why has nobody ever considered the possibility that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could continue cultivating and become a Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year or even Three-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"
The more he thought about it, the more frightening the implication became.
Anyone with basic reasoning ability could see the problem.
There were undoubtedly more Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in existence than historical records suggested.
So why had there never been any detailed records of stronger ones?
Why had no one ever encountered them?
Why were there no documented examples?
The silence itself was suspicious.
"Maybe there were records."
Zhao Wuji suddenly spoke.
"Maybe they were erased."
Everyone immediately turned toward him.
Zhao Wuji's expression was unusually serious.
Unlike most people present, he had personally encountered a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast before.
The Titan Giant Ape.
Even now, merely recalling that encounter made his scalp tingle.
The pressure radiating from that monster had been overwhelming.
It was a level of power that left no room for resistance.
If a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was already that terrifying, then what would a Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast look like?
A Three-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?
The thought was absurd.
Zhao Wuji couldn't imagine such beings existing without anyone recording their presence.
Therefore, in his opinion, there was only one possible explanation.
The records had been deliberately erased.
Otherwise, the absence of information made no sense.
Flender frowned.
The more he considered the theory, the more plausible it seemed.
Unable to reach a conclusion on his own, he turned toward Yu Xiaogang.
"Xiaogang, what do you think?"
Yu Xiaogang snorted.
"What difference does it make whether the records were erased or not?"
He folded his arms.
"Look at the current state of the Douluo Continent."
"Among all the Titled Douluo alive today, not a single one possesses a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring."
His eyes narrowed.
"If even a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring is already so difficult to obtain, then what about one that comes from a Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"
"Even if someone somehow managed to kill such a creature, who could survive absorbing its soul ring?"
His words left everyone speechless.
Because they made sense.
The gap between ninety thousand years and one hundred thousand years was already enormous.
A Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring would likely be beyond human limits.
However, after finishing his sentence, Yu Xiaogang unconsciously glanced toward Tang San.
Tang San noticed the look immediately.
Their eyes met.
A strange light flashed within Tang San's gaze.
For ordinary Spirit Masters, Yu Xiaogang's words were undoubtedly true.
But Tang San was different.
He possessed twin martial souls.
As long as he cultivated his first martial soul normally and strengthened his body step by step, his second martial soul would have tremendous potential.
Its first soul ring could begin at an exceptionally high level.
After that, he could continue increasing the age of every subsequent soul ring.
If everything went perfectly...
Perhaps he really could absorb a soul ring from a Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
A Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring...
Tang San's breathing became slightly heavier.
He didn't even dare imagine the benefits.
And if such a beast also produced a soul bone...
A Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone would be an unimaginable treasure.
Its value could not be measured.
The thought alone made his heart race.
---
Among everyone present, however, no one was more shaken than Xiao Wu.
Unlike Flender and the others, who could only speculate based on theories and historical records, Xiao Wu was a genuine Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form.
Her understanding of the Soul Beast world far exceeded theirs.
Because these were not theories to her.
They were memories.
And that was exactly why she felt afraid.
When she lived within the Star Dou Forest, she had always been confident.
With her own cultivation, her mother, and the protection of Da Ming and Er Ming, she had rarely encountered anything she feared.
She had traveled throughout vast regions of the forest.
There were very few places she had never visited.
Yet despite all that, she had never encountered a Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Not even once.
Did that mean Yu Xiaogang's speculation was wrong?
No.
It couldn't be wrong.
Because Xiao Wu knew something that ordinary humans didn't.
After reaching one hundred thousand years of cultivation, Soul Beasts did not stop growing stronger.
Da Ming and Er Ming were proof of that.
Even if they spent every day eating, sleeping, and doing nothing else, their cultivation would continue increasing naturally.
Ten thousand years later, they would become Hundred-and-Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
That was simply how cultivation worked.
So where had the older generations gone?
The question echoed repeatedly in Xiao Wu's mind.
Then, suddenly, forgotten memories resurfaced.
She remembered a conversation from long ago.
Her mother had once warned her that the Star Dou Forest was not as simple as it appeared.
Even with her mother's cultivation, there were places she dared not go.
There were existences she dared not provoke.
If she crossed certain lines, punishment would follow.
At the time, Xiao Wu had paid little attention.
After all, she had just become a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Her confidence had been at its peak.
Her mother was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
She herself was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Da Ming and Er Ming possessed bloodlines far superior to hers and would eventually reach the same level.
With such strength, what was there to fear?
But now...
Recalling those words made her scalp go numb.
Her mother had lived far longer than she had.
She possessed greater experience and deeper knowledge of the forest.
Yet even she had spoken with fear.
Not caution.
Fear.
A being capable of making a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast afraid...
Just what kind of existence was that?
And more importantly—
Why had Xiao Wu never seen it?
Why had Da Ming and Er Ming never seen it?
Could it be that, in the eyes of those hidden beings, even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were insignificant?
Were they simply too weak to deserve attention?
The possibility was terrifying.
Even when her mother was hunted by powerful human Spirit Masters, those mysterious existences had never intervened.
It was as though they existed on an entirely different level.
A level completely detached from the world Xiao Wu knew.
The deeper she thought, the colder she felt.
---
Meanwhile, deep within the Star Dou Forest, Da Ming and Er Ming were experiencing similar emotions.
Both giant beasts stared at the heavenly screen in silence.
Neither spoke.
After a long moment, they exchanged uneasy glances.
Then they instinctively looked around their surroundings.
For the first time in many years, they felt as though invisible eyes were watching them from the darkness.
What they didn't know was that their intuition wasn't entirely wrong.
Deep beneath the Lake of Life...
Hidden within a secret dimension unknown to the outside world...
Several terrifying beings were indeed observing everything.
"Tsk."
One voice chuckled.
"To think that kid actually figured it out."
"He's not bad."
Another voice snorted.
"A human gathering that much luck... it seems a new god may truly be born in that parallel world."
A third voice laughed.
"Interesting."
"Very interesting."
"The Yu Xiaogang of that world has a chance to ascend to godhood."
"Meanwhile, the Yu Xiaogang of our world is complete trash."
"Forget about him."
Another voice interrupted.
"We should focus on our own matters."
"It's my turn to absorb the Ice Silkworm's energy this cycle."
The atmosphere relaxed slightly.
Then another voice spoke.
"Honestly, who would have expected such a bizarre creature to exist?"
"An Ice Silkworm that relied entirely on luck to surpass our cultivation levels."
Laughter echoed through the hidden realm.
"Unfortunately for it, its combat ability is pathetic."
"Which is exactly why it became our food."
The laughter continued.
Then someone suddenly asked:
"By the way..."
"What exactly is the origin of that Ice-Fire Spring?"
The moment those words were spoken, the entire space fell silent.
Not a single voice answered.
As if even these ancient and terrifying beings found that question difficult to explain.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)