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*****
In a forest near the coastline, the Demon Soul Great White Shark, Xiao Bai—who had taken on a human form—suddenly felt her body go out of control and reverted into a sleek, twenty-meter-long great white shark.
"What's happening? What's going on? I can't use my soul power—I can't maintain my human form! Sea Dragon, hurry and get me back to the ocean! If this keeps up, I'll suffocate to death!"
Sharks are marine creatures that breathe through gills, which cannot absorb oxygen from the air.
"Xiao Bai, I don't know what's going on either. I can't use my soul power—I can't even summon my martial soul. I can't help you."
Sea Dragon Douluo's face was filled with shock. He kept trying to circulate his soul power, only to find his body completely empty—devoid of any energy. He couldn't even summon his martial soul.
The martial soul is something innately possessed by all humans. Even soul masters with zero innate soul power can manifest their martial souls after awakening. Yet now, he couldn't even sense his own martial soul—as if it no longer existed at all.
"Then what do we do? Hurry! Push me back into the sea! I'm seriously out of air!" the Demon Soul Great White Shark cried out, already feeling the pain in her brain from oxygen deprivation.
"Push you?"
Sea Dragon Douluo looked at the massive twenty-meter-long shark before him, then at his own relatively small frame. He couldn't help but wonder if Xiao Bai was delirious from lack of oxygen. Without soul power to strengthen himself, how much strength could he possibly have?
"I didn't expect such an unexpected bonus."
Just then, a cold, detached voice rang out.
Sea Dragon Douluo and the Demon Soul Great White Shark turned toward the source of the voice. Hovering in mid-air, Qian Renhan's tired eyes looked down at the pair.
Soul rings and soul bones only emerge when a soul beast is killed by a human. Qian Renhan would never let the Demon Soul Great White Shark die on her own from suffocation.
The moment Xiao Bai saw Qian Renhan, she flew into a rage. "You criminal who dared to defy Lord Sea God's authority! Was it you who did this to me? I am the Sea God's personal mount! I warn you—send me back to the sea at once, or you won't be able to bear the Sea God's wrath!"
After being struck by the pitch-black soul power, she was unable to use her own. And now, the only person nearby capable of such power was Qian Renhan.
Xiao Bai believed that Qian Renhan, in his quest to obtain nine soul rings for his twin martial souls, dared to go against Bo Saixi but had refrained from killing her due to her identity as the Sea God's mount. She didn't realize that Qian Renhan hadn't even considered her soul ring worth taking. He intended to kill her and harvest her soul bone before moving on to slay the Deep Sea Demon Whale King—even if it meant bringing trouble upon himself from the Sea God Island.
Qian Renhan smirked with disdain. Forming a sword with his hand, he slashed out a wave of pitch-black sword aura.
A gory sound rang out as blood and flesh splattered.
In the final moments of life, the Demon Soul Great White Shark's eyes went wide, filled with utter disbelief. How dare he? How could this human dare to kill the Sea God's personal mount?!
Moments later, the light in her eyes faded, and a soul ring shimmering with a crimson glow appeared, along with a right arm soul bone glinting with radiant gold-tinged white light.
"This shark's corpse can still be put to good use."
With a flash, Qian Renhan appeared next to the Demon Soul Great White Shark and stored the right arm bone into his soul tool.
He would soon go to kill the Deep Sea Demon Whale King. As a 999,999-year-old soul beast, the whale king's soul bone was sure to be of extraordinary quality. Such a rare and top-tier soul bone was destined to become either his torso or head bone.
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast always yields a soul bone from a slot that the soul master doesn't already possess. Since Qian Renhan had already absorbed a torso bone, he now needed to remove it. But with his soul power less than half its usual level, relying on the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone to recover his torso's injuries was not enough. So, he turned to the last remnants of life force within the Demon Soul Great White Shark's corpse to serve as a substitute.
"You dared to kill Lord Sea God's mount? That's a direct insult to the Sea God's authority!" Sea Dragon Douluo bellowed in fury.
Qian Renhan didn't even glance at him. With a casual motion, he extended his hand, grabbed Sea Dragon Douluo, and flung him like garbage a hundred meters away into the ocean. Deprived of soul power and unable to summon his martial soul, once in the sea, the outcome was obvious.
The first ever Titled Douluo in history to drown was born.
"Finally, some peace and quiet."
Qian Renhan placed his right hand over his torso, and pitch-black soul power surged from his palm, spreading across his chest. His other hand extended toward the Demon Soul Great White Shark's corpse, similarly emitting waves of black soul energy to envelop the body.
He took a deep breath, then violently yanked with his right hand. A tearing sound rang out as blood and flesh were forcefully separated. Blood gushed from his chest.
Even someone as composed as Qian Renhan couldn't hide the pain that flashed across his face. The torso bone was connected to the largest number of bones in the body. This soul bone, originating from the Titan Giant Ape—one of the most powerful beasts on the continent—still held a fragment of its consciousness. It was fully aware that Qian Renhan had captured Ah Rou and Xiao Wu and bore him immense hatred.
Sensing Qian Renhan's attempt to remove it, the soul bone clung to his flesh and bone like a powerful suction cup, determined to inflict as much injury as possible.
This soul bone had a will of its own. Attempting to remove it slowly would only magnify the physical pain.
After a moment of contemplation, Qian Renhan gritted his teeth and focused all his mind and strength on his torso. Retracting his left hand, he gathered soul power into both palms and yanked backwards with full force. The sound of tearing flesh echoed out as blood sprayed everywhere, soaking his black clothes. The sickening crunch of bones separating followed.
His expression remained eerily calm, as if the pain wasn't even his. But the bloodshot whites of his eyes and the drenched strands of hair stuck to his face revealed the truth.
Finally, with the sound of fabric ripping, a yellow-brown glow burst from his chest and embedded itself into a nearby tree—it was a bone, the torso bone of the Titan Giant Ape.
"I really did bring this on myself... thank goodness I didn't absorb the head bone."
Qian Renhan's vision blurred. His chest had been completely torn open—his ribs, expanding lungs, and beating heart were fully visible. His cultivation level, too, had dropped from the peak of level 98 to the mid-tier of level 98. That earlier increase had come directly from absorbing the Titan Giant Ape's soul bone.
After tearing out the Titan Giant Ape's torso bone, Qian Renhan extended his hand and began absorbing the life force still lingering in the Demon Soul Great White Shark's corpse, redirecting it into his body. The corpse visibly withered at a rapid pace, its youthful vitality fading entirely.
Meanwhile, the flesh on Qian Renhan's chest regenerated at astonishing speed, restoring itself to its original form. His complexion grew rosy again.
"Recovered."
He changed into a fresh black robe and stored the Titan Giant Ape's torso bone in his soul tool.
Even as a corpse, the Demon Soul Great White Shark—as a hundred-thousand-year soul beast—still held a terrifying amount of life force. Qian Renhan had only absorbed less than one-tenth of it and had already fully healed. Technically, he could have continued absorbing the remaining energy to convert it into soul power. Perhaps it could've even compensated for the cultivation drop from removing the Titan Giant Ape's soul bone.
But doing so would make him no different from an evil soul master. His cultivation method would become tainted, his martial soul severely affected, his temperament twisted, and his soul power corrupted—chaotic and impure. That would be sheer folly.
(End of Chapter)