Tang Wulin focused his gaze on the ball of red light to find that it contained two soul bones. That's right, two!

They were a pair of leg bones, most likely one for the right and one for the left.

Were these the leg bones of the Evil Spirit Orca King?

As expected of a Great Beast to yield two soul bones at once, both of which were over the 100,000-year level!

Up to this point, Tang Wulin had actually only gathered two soul bones, one of which was the Mountain Dragon King torso bone, while the other was the right-hand bone of the Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear.

Soul bones were far rarer than soul spirits as they very rarely emerged in the first place, and many of them were lost or damaged through the passage of time, so only very few pieces existed in the current world.

Furthermore, soul beasts were virtually extinct at this point, so it was impossible to procure new soul bones. Thus, it was an enormous boost for Tang Wulin to receive two leg bones at once.

It was no wonder that the Soul Masters of the past would do everything in their power to hunt soul beasts; a suitable soul beast really could drastically enhance a Soul Master's powers. In particular, a soul bone was guaranteed to elevate a Soul Master's powers significantly, and this was one of the contributing factors to the near-extinction that soul beasts currently faced.

Similarly, prior to the rise of the human race, humanity had been forced to struggle for survival under the reign of the soul beasts. Regardless of what era it was, this was always a world where the strong reigned supreme, and the weak were at the mercy of those above them.

At this point, humans had developed to such a level through their intelligence that ecological balance had become an issue to be considered. After all, there was still a limit on man-made soul spirits. Currently, there was no technology capable of creating 100,000-year-old soul spirits, and man-made soul spirits yielded different things compared with true soul beasts.

With that in mind, Tang Wulin couldn't help but think back to the Myriad Beast Plane that he had entered once during the Joust For a Spouse event.

That was the first time he had truly experienced what it was like to be in a soul-beast-inhabited forest of the distant past, and that was truly a world that was teeming with vitality.

It had to be said that the Spirit Pagoda had made a significant contribution to the world through the creation of the Myriad Beast Plane; it was just a pity that all of the soul beasts in there seemed to be illusory in nature.

He really wanted to return to the distant past to see what the soul beast world was really like back then. According to historical records, the soul beasts had initiated countless soul beasts tides in the past to attack human civilization, and Shrek City had been on the receiving end of many of those beast tides.

Those would've definitely been battles for the ages.

"Hey, what are you thinking?" A pleasant voice rang out in Tang Wulin's mind, startling him as he turned his gaze to the side.

The Demon Spirit Great White Shark princess had returned to his side, and she was staring at him with a peculiar light in her large eyes.

Tang Wulin replied, "I was just thinking about what the past soul beast world would've been like."

The Demon Spirit Great White Shark princess said, "I don't know about that. The world on land is too hard to imagine, but the sea has always been a paradise for us with only those terrible Evil Spirit Orcas posing any serious threats. Thank you for chasing them away."

Only then did Tang Wulin realize that he hadn't been teleported away even though he had already completed this trial.

"Can you take me back to shore?" Tang Wulin asked.

"Sure I can, but what's in it for me?" the Demon Spirit Great White Shark princess asked as she stole a glance at the two soul bones.

Tang Wulin was struck by a sense of speechlessness upon hearing this. He had just helped her chase away the sworn enemies that had been terrorizing her race!

"What do you want?"

The Demon Spirit Great White Shark princess giggled, "I was just teasing you! I don't want the filthy soul bones of that Evil Spirit Orca King. Besides, only you humans can fuse soul bones into your bodies. What do you think it would be like if I became a human? Would it be really fun? I should give it a try and reincarnate as a human."

Tang Wulin faltered slightly upon hearing this. "According to historical records, all soul beasts who cultivate to the 100,000-year level can choose to take on a human form. Even though they'll develop very quickly, there's still a very long period where they'll be vulnerable, and during this period, if they're killed, then they'll really be dead. Hence, if you decide to take on a human form, then make sure to disguise your identity. Otherwise, you'll be in big trouble."

"Oh! You humans are so bad! Why do you insist on killing us?" the Demon Spirit Great White Shark princess grumbled.

A resigned look appeared on Tang Wulin's face as he replied, "Well, there was a time when humans were also prey for soul beasts, but the relationship was flipped due to a shift in the power balance. We've also been working hard to better our relationship with soul beasts, trying to fulfill the needs of Soul Masters by creating artificial soul spirits. Unfortunately, the land-dwelling soul beasts are close to extinction. Alright, that's enough rambling from me; please take me back to shore."

A hint of yearning flashed through the Demon Spirit Great White Shark princess's eyes. "The human world must be really fun, right? I have to go and play in the human world some time in the future!"

Tang Wulin chuckled, "If you do that, make sure to never tell any human at any time that you were once a soul beast; the temptation of a 100,000-year level soul ring and soul bones are simply too much for most humans to resist, and greed often leads to disaster."

"I know, I know. I'm actually still quite far away; I'm still not even 90,000 years old yet. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been afraid of that Evil Spirit Orca King. It's just that I had royal blood, so I attained intelligence very early, and that's why I'm able to speak your human language. In just over 10,000 years, I should be able to reach the 100,000-year level; I really may just reincarnate as a human once that happens. You'll already be dead by then, right? That means I won't be able to play with you in the human world."

Tang Wulin chuckled, "Not necessarily; what if I'm still alive by then? If I'm still alive, you can come to me if you need any help."

The Demon Spirit Great White Shark giggled, "Don't forget what you just said; it's a promise! You owe me a favor now!"

Tang Wulin nodded in response, but he didn't think much of this. Who knew what was going to happen after 10,000 years? If he couldn't ascend to godhood, then he would be long gone by then.

Even if he did become a god, he would've most likely set off to search for his parents and could be anywhere in outer space, so it was highly unlikely that he would ever see the Demon Spirit Great White Shark princess again.  

[1]

The Demon Spirit Great White Shark princess said, "Let's go then. Let me show you what I'm capable of!"

She gently swished her tail as she spoke and swam on ahead. To Tang Wulin's surprise, the seawater in her wake suddenly began to turn white and freeze into ice, including the seawater beneath his feet.

Ice was buoyant, so Tang Wulin was naturally carried toward the surface of the sea.

"You're an ice-attribute soul beast?" Tang Wulin exclaimed.

According to what he had learned, Demon Spirit Great White Sharks didn't possess ice-attribute abilities!

"That's right! My abilities mutated, so I have more than just my innate attributes. Heehee, by the way, I gave myself a human name; do you want to hear it?" the Demon Spirit Great White Shark princess giggled.

"Sure."

"Heeheehee, I'm not telling you!"

[1] [I believe in the business, we call this foreshadowing ;)]

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter