Above them, the blazing sun scorched the sky. Beneath their feet stretched endless golden sands.
A tall and a short figure wandered aimlessly through the vast desert.
Suddenly, Yu Tianming sensed a massive creature approaching from beneath the ground. Due to the obstruction of the sand, he could only vaguely feel that it was a giant serpent-like being.
The ground began to tremble ever so slightly, and a few grains of sand on the tall dunes started to slide downward.
Yu Yuanzhen stopped walking. His large hand gripped Yu Tianming's shoulder.
Moments later, a gaping maw filled with fangs burst up from the sand beneath their feet, lunging at the two.
Yu Tianming felt the world spin around him, but Yu Yuanzhen swiftly pulled him several meters away, letting the jagged-jawed behemoth bite nothing but air.
Without hesitation, Yu Yuanzhen struck back—launching a bolt of Thunderclap Dragon Claw at the Thunderflame Jiao.
If it were any other soul beast, it would have been instantly paralyzed and left helpless. But the Thunderflame Jiao's entire body shimmered with a flash of light as its golden-red scales resisted the effect, and it dove back into the sea of sand without even looking back.
Seeing this, Yu Yuanzhen transformed both hands into dragon claws and pierced through the creature's body as easily as a hot knife through butter. His claws gripped its spine as he roared, "Up!"
The Thunderflame Jiao, which had already buried its head into the sand, was forcibly yanked out and thrown onto a nearby sandbank.
From the moment it leapt up to strike to when it was torn out of the sand, not even a full breath had passed. Only now did Yu Tianming get a good look at its full form.
It was over three meters thick and nearly sixty meters long, its entire body covered in enormous golden-red scales.
Though called a "jiao," it had no mane on its back—only sharp ridges. It had no limbs and resembled a giant snake, except for its dragon-like head.
Now, with its spine broken and completely paralyzed, it lay on the sand, mouth agape, howling in pain.
Yu Yuanzhen shook off the blood on his body, grabbed its car-sized head, and said, "This Thunderflame Jiao is untamed and immensely strong. As expected of a soul beast with a top-tier bloodline."
In the desert, the Thunderflame Jiao was comparable to the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear of the forest—not only did it possess immense strength and defense, but it was also resistant to many negative conditions.
Though it had only cultivated for 5,000 years, its power was equivalent to that of an ordinary soul beast that had cultivated for tens of thousands of years.
When Yu Yuanzhen placed its massive head before him and pried open its mouth filled with rows of fangs, Yu Tianming didn't hesitate. He grabbed his spear and thrust it straight into one of the beast's headlight-sized eyes.
With a piercing, tragic screech, a circle of purple light—its soul ring—slowly emerged.
Having undergone two rounds of body refinement through the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum, Yu Tianming found absorbing this ring to be a breeze.
Two hours later, Yu Tianming opened his eyes.
Yu Yuanzhen quickly asked, "What soul skill did you gain?"
Yu Tianming smiled slightly and replied, "My third soul skill is called Thunderflame Scale Armor. It increases strength, defense, and resistance to abnormal statuses by 60%, and refreshes any current debuffs. It can stack multiple times, though each stack's effect drops by 5%."
As he spoke, he activated his spirit, and golden-red scales flickered across his body. He continued, "By using it four times—at the cost of half my soul power—I can boost my strength, defense, and status resistance by 210%."
Dai Mubai's third soul skill came from a 1,000-year-old Vajra Tiger, doubling his resistance, attack, defense, and strength for half an hour.
But Yu Tianming's soul skill came from a 5,000-year soul beast overlord, the Thunderflame Jiao, so this effect was right on point.
Yu Yuanzhen grew slightly nervous. "Now that you've absorbed your third soul ring, try to see if you can enter dragonification."
Yu Tianming moved as if instinctively gaining a new ability. A blinding golden light erupted from his forehead.
In the next instant, the light spread across his body. Strands of golden electricity slithered around him like small serpents.
On the surface, the changes weren't dramatic—aside from the golden glow on his forehead and his arms transforming due to his spirit possession.
His sleeves burst apart as his arms swelled and burned to ash. Each arm grew by over half a foot, thickened, covered in golden scales, and his hands transformed into claws. Each joint was now massive, and golden electricity danced across his arms.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—a top-tier martial soul—had unique traits. For one, soul masters of this spirit could only absorb soul rings from draconic soul beasts, like how Oscar obtained his from the Phoenix-Tail Crest Serpent.
From the 30th level onward, each new soul ring would make the wielder's body increasingly dragon-like. By level 70, they could fully transform into a dragon, unleashing terrifying power—earning them the title of the strongest offense-type soul masters among their peers.
But unlike typical users whose dragonification only affected one arm, Yu Tianming's transformation covered both arms.
Now, his arms no longer resembled those of a human—they were true dragon arms. Scales covered the skin, and his hands had become claws.
This wasn't just a boost to strength, defense, and flexibility. His internal energy also flowed more naturally than ever.
Previously, he could only release electricity uncontrollably throughout his body. Now, with a single thought, golden lightning gathered in his hand, and he could release a bolt at will with a flick of his palm.
Yu Yuanzhen gasped in shock. "Tianming, you actually dragonified both arms—and even used Thunderclap Dragon Claw!"
Yu Tianming smiled. "My Thunderclap Dragon Claw is just a basic electric attack using my hand—its damage is low without a soul skill boost. But I don't just know that. I also have Flame Dragon Claw and Hurricane Dragon Claw."
As he spoke, his left dragon claw gathered a fireball, while his right summoned a wind orb. Pressing his palms together in a pose like Kamehameha, he pushed forward, releasing a crimson fire column spiraling into the distance.
The fire beam hit a nearby sand dune. Under the fusion of Ultimate Wind and Ultimate Fire, the dune was directly pierced, and some of the sand turned to glass.
Yu Tianming turned to the stunned Yu Yuanzhen and grinned. "That's Flame Dragon Claw plus Hurricane Dragon Claw. I call it—Flame Hurricane Wave."
Seeing his delighted expression, Yu Yuanzhen chuckled with a mix of pride and helplessness. "At this point, you're probably truly invincible among your peers."
"I jumped straight to level forty after absorbing the soul ring. When are we going to hunt for the fourth one?"
"No rush. You just jumped ten levels—you need to stabilize your cultivation first. In the meantime, I'll go add another Title Douluo to our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
—
Author Note:
Dai Mubai's third soul skill already boasted one of the strongest buffs in Douluo.
Our protagonist's third soul ring not only came from a soul beast overlord but also had 4,000 years of cultivation.
At this point, a soul skill could easily be either absurdly overpowered—or so weak it didn't match the beast.
Thunderflame Scale Armor grants a 60% boost each time (with a 5% decay), and each use also clears negative effects.
This gives it a high potential ceiling (up to 390% boost), while the diminishing returns (60%-5%) keep it from being broken.
(End of Chapter)
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