Within the halls of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, Sect Master Ning Fengzhi sat in stunned silence as he read through Lin Gong's detailed report. His usually composed expression showed clear signs of bewilderment as he processed the unexpected information.
"Uncle Bone," Ning Fengzhi called out, his voice carrying a note of confusion, "didn't Yang Xiong absorb the Xuanming Turtle's spirit ring as his first spirit ring? I was certain he intended to follow the path of defense. Why does he now seek to absorb the Golden Cypress's spirit ring instead?"
Bone Douluo's weathered face darkened with disappointment, his expression growing stern as he considered the implications. "I originally believed this Yang Xiong to be a remarkably intelligent young man. Not only did he secure an excellent opportunity for his first spirit ring, but his daily training methods at home were also quite impressive. I genuinely thought he wanted to pursue the defensive path. How could he suddenly choose this Golden Cypress? You must understand that this particular Golden Cypress has reached nine hundred and eighty years of age - otherwise, how could this boy even have a chance at obtaining it?"
The elderly Titled Douluo shook his head in frustration. "I considered him quite promising because he was diligently training his physical body, but I never expected him to be someone who doesn't understand the true immensity of heaven and earth."
Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment before responding thoughtfully, "That doesn't seem quite right, Uncle Bone. All of us experienced Spirit Masters understand that absorbing spirit rings isn't merely about their age, but more importantly about whether the spirit beast itself possesses true power. Although this Golden Cypress hasn't reached a thousand years, the difficulty of absorbing its spirit ring is definitely higher than that of ordinary thousand-year spirit beasts."
"Yang Xiong has studied countless books in our library. Surely he wouldn't fail to understand such a fundamental principle? Could it be that the whale glue's enhancement effects on the human body have reached such an extraordinary level?"
Yang Xiong was indeed considered one of the most closely watched students in Class One, particularly after he discovered the miraculous properties of whale glue and dutifully reported his findings to the sect. This contribution had earned him the privilege of freely choosing from such high-quality, top-tier spirit beasts.
Bone Douluo snorted with clear irritation. "This boy is far too cunning for his own good. Since gaining access to our library, he has not only studied my 'Way of Defense' extensively, but he's also been practicing distraction control techniques. I completely fail to understand what this child is truly planning. I originally believed his physical training regimen indicated he was a promising candidate for cultivating the Way of Defense, but now he's actually chosen a plant-type spirit ring. This is genuinely disappointing to me."
Ning Fengzhi found himself at a loss for words upon hearing this. Bone Douluo's comments clearly contained substantial resentment, which was understandable since finding good candidates who specialized in the Way of Defense was relatively rare. Following the defensive path required enduring particularly intense pain and hardship.
"Uncle Bone," Ning Fengzhi suggested carefully, "would you like to go observe the absorption process? Perhaps you could save his life at a critical moment if needed. I've grown quite fond of this Yang Xiong."
After the entire group finally entered the Spirit Beast Forest, Yang Xiong immediately felt that the surrounding environment had undergone tremendous and remarkable changes. The entire forest was lush and magnificently verdant. Except for a narrow winding path, virtually everything was covered with Blue Silver Grass and various other wild vegetation.
Every single tree towered at least tens of meters high, and many of these ancient trees were actually spirit beasts themselves. The entire Spirit Beast Forest was saturated with an incredibly rich aura of life that seemed to pulse through every living thing.
Upon entering the Spirit Beast Forest, Yang Xiong felt as though he had stepped into a legendary paradise. This powerful aura of life filled him with unprecedented joy and excitement, making his spirit soar with anticipation.
The occasional small spirit beasts that darted across their path, though not particularly high in age, were sufficient proof of the vast numbers of spirit beasts that called this forest home. Each glimpse reminded Yang Xiong of the incredible biodiversity thriving within these protected boundaries.
It was important to remember that this was merely the Spirit Beast Forest maintained by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and its total area was probably less than one-tenth the size of the famous Sunset Forest, let alone the terrifyingly vast Star Dou Great Forest that dominated the continent.
Due to the presence of experienced teachers and official sect tokens, the group moved through the Spirit Beast Forest under the careful guidance of specialized forest managers and professional spirit beast hunters. These guides possessed invaluable knowledge accumulated over years of experience.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School maintained relatively strict and comprehensive management policies for this Spirit Beast Forest. It contained not only various spirit beasts that had been carefully captured from the outside world, but also numerous captive-bred spirit beasts, and the sect even conducted legitimate spirit beast trading operations.
The experienced managers possessed intimate familiarity with the types, numbers, and precise distribution patterns of spirit beasts throughout the entire forest. This expertise allowed them to locate desired spirit beasts efficiently and quickly.
After the group had walked steadily for a full thirty minutes through the dense forest paths, they finally arrived at the carefully protected core area of the Spirit Beast Forest.
Before them stood a truly magnificent cypress tree whose impressive height had reached nearly fifty meters into the sky. The massive trunk measured a full three meters in diameter. The entire cypress tree gleamed with a brilliant golden color - even its leaves shimmered with the same radiant golden hue. Remarkably, no other plants grew within a hundred-meter radius around it. This was the legendary Golden Cypress.
Lin Gong gazed at the Golden Cypress with genuine amazement and respect. "The Golden Cypress is renowned as one of the most powerful plant-type spirit beasts in the entire spirit beast world. Its vitality is extraordinarily tenacious and nearly indestructible. The entire trunk is as hard as refined iron, and even individual leaves possess extreme hardness. Moreover, it has absorbed virtually all nutrients from the soil within nearly a hundred meters around its base, creating a barren zone where no grass can grow."
He continued his explanation with growing excitement. "When it encounters enemy attacks, its branches and leaves shoot out like deadly sharp swords. Many of its branches and leaves can entangle enemies with incredible strength - even thousand-year spirit beasts find it difficult to resist. Its most terrifying ability is its incredible capacity for survival. Even if cut completely in half, it can rapidly regenerate. Its root system extends dozens of meters underground, making it nearly impossible to kill through conventional means."
Yang Xiong felt overwhelming eagerness as he stared at the Golden Cypress before him. This was precisely the rare power-type plant spirit beast he had searched for through countless books and research sessions in the sect's extensive library.
Plant-type spirit beasts were generally more challenging to defeat than animal-type spirit beasts, and since Yang Xiong needed to personally deliver the final killing blow, the difficulty increased exponentially.
Whether it was the professional spirit hunting team, his father Yang Lin, or even instructor Lin Gong, they all coordinated their attacks against the Golden Spirit Fir together. Each fighter was exceptionally strong and attacked from various strategic angles.
Yang Lin wielded a gleaming iron sword with practiced skill, and six brilliant spirit rings materialized around his body in sequence. After consuming whale glue and training diligently for several years, Yang Lin had successfully broken through to the Spirit Emperor realm. His current spirit power had reached an impressive level sixty-two.
Lin Gong summoned countless purple bamboo stalks that emerged from the earth like spears. They quickly wrapped around the Golden Spirit Fir, effectively restraining all the branches and preventing the spirit beast from moving freely.
Within just a few intense minutes, virtually all the branches of the Golden Spirit Fir had been severed, and Yang Lin had managed to cut away a substantial section of the main trunk. However, the vitality of this Golden Spirit Fir remained remarkably strong and showed little decline. The entire remaining trunk continued to exude tremendous power, and the surrounding ground began to visibly dry up as the spirit beast desperately attempted to absorb and utilize available energy to restore its damaged body.
Yang Xiong could no longer afford to hesitate. He gripped an iron sword firmly and slashed with all his accumulated strength, but when the blade struck the trunk, it produced the sharp sound of metal colliding against metal. Even when the sword managed to pierce the bark, it only caused some golden liquid to seep out slowly.
Gritting his teeth with determination, Yang Xiong activated his original martial soul. A yellow spirit ring appeared around his body simultaneously, and he pushed the power flowing through his body to its absolute limit.
Under this enhanced attack, a large section of the Golden Spirit Fir's trunk broke away completely, but the ancient spirit beast still showed no clear signs of approaching death.
Lin Gong shouted urgently from his position, "We cannot allow Yang Xiong to kill this Golden Spirit Fir in such a manner! We must force it into a truly desperate situation first!"
Lin Gong's spirit ring flashed with brilliant light, and countless purple bamboo stalks suddenly erupted from the ground with tremendous force. The entire earth cracked dramatically as the massive Golden Spirit Fir was literally lifted from the soil by the emerging bamboo forest.
The Golden Spirit Fir's golden roots, extending more than ten meters in length, looked absolutely terrifying as they writhed in the air like enormous tentacles, still capable of deadly movement even when exposed.
Yang Xiong retracted his long sword and transformed it into an extremely large and heavy axe. Without any hesitation, he began chopping relentlessly at those exposed roots with savage determination.
After delivering countless powerful strikes in rapid succession, he had essentially severed all the major roots. Even the main trunk had been split open completely, and golden liquid now covered the entire ground around the dying spirit beast.
At that crucial moment, a yellow spirit ring finally appeared above the defeated Golden Spirit Fir. This spirit ring appeared slightly deeper and more intense than ordinary hundred-year spirit rings, indicating its exceptional quality. Only then did Yang Xiong allow himself to breathe a sigh of relief - at least his second spirit ring was now within his grasp.
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Author's Note
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