The soul beasts that Tang San had sympathized with, upon seeing Tang Hao's arrival, unexpectedly teamed up with the Mighty Ape to surround him.
As a 95th-level Title Douluo, Tang Hao didn't take the attacks of soul beasts below ten thousand years seriously at all.
He held no sympathy for these soul beasts. With a swing of his Hao Tian Hammer, he unleashed overwhelming power.
Aside from the Mighty Ape, the other soul beasts were instantly killed.
Bringing back the barely alive Mighty Ape, Tang Hao reminded him, "A nine-thousand-year soul ring is sufficient as the fifth soul ring for an ordinary Soul King. Xiao San, have you thought this through?"
Tang San smiled confidently. "Father, isn't the one I'm hunting for my fifth soul ring?"
In a sense, he was right.
As for the deaths of those "kind" soul beasts, he didn't blame Tang Hao. Instead, he felt they were a bunch of ungrateful wretches for attempting to attack their savior.
Tang Hao didn't dwell on it further. As Tang San entered the state of absorbing the soul ring, he stood guard beside him to protect him.
The process of absorbing the soul ring was relatively smooth. By late night, Tang San completed the absorption.
A deep purple soul ring appeared on his Hao Tian Hammer martial soul, and his soul power level rose two levels, reaching level 46.
Tang Hao didn't inquire about the effects of the soul skill but instead focused on Tang San's physical condition.
On the continent, the first twin martial soul user died while adding a soul ring to their second martial soul.
If Tang San's body showed any abnormalities, the soul ring absorption must be stopped immediately.
"I'm fine. The two martial souls in my body are maintaining a stable state, and there's no clash between their soul powers."
Tang Hao let out a sigh of relief and asked, "How did absorbing this soul ring feel? Do you have confidence in absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring?"
Tang San nodded solemnly.
While absorbing the soul ring earlier, he hadn't felt much pressure and found the fusion of the soul ring and martial soul quite stable.
With this reassurance, Tang Hao also relaxed.
---
Over the next few days, father and son consecutively obtained three ten-thousand-year soul rings. Tang San's Hao Tian Hammer martial soul now had a soul ring configuration of purple-black-black-black.
Such a configuration almost surpassed any other soul master on the continent.
"Father, my soul power is stuck at level 49, and I can't obtain another soul ring," Tang San said with a bitter smile.
Originally, he was determined to break through to level 50 by obtaining soul rings for his Hao Tian Hammer martial soul. Unexpectedly, after absorbing the fourth soul ring for the Hao Tian Hammer, his soul power didn't increase much.
Tang Hao didn't dare to be careless and immediately examined Tang San's physical condition.
As his soul power delved deeper into Tang San's body, his brows gradually furrowed.
"Xiao San, don't you feel the two streams of soul power within your body clashing against each other?"
Tang San shook his head, feeling inexplicably excited. "No, I feel great right now."
Tang Hao made him sit down and used his own soul power to alleviate the damage caused by the clashing soul powers.
Since Tang San had just absorbed a soul ring, his soul power was exceptionally abundant, and he didn't feel any pain.
However, as this surge of soul power gradually dissipated, excruciating pain quickly overwhelmed Tang San.
His entire body collapsed to the ground, and moans of agony escaped his lips.
Tang Hao grew extremely anxious. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have allowed Tang San to hunt for the fourth soul ring of the Hao Tian Hammer.
Just moments ago, it wasn't that the soul power provided by the soul ring was insufficient for Tang San to break through to a Soul King. Rather, the two streams of soul power within his body clashed, preventing the soul power needed for his advancement from gathering within him. Ultimately, it flowed toward his limbs.
This soul power couldn't be retained in his limbs and attempted to escape his body, only to be blocked by his meridians.
In an instant, Tang San's limbs began to swell, showing signs of imminent self-destruction.
Tang Hao didn't dare to be careless. Relying on his Title Douluo-level soul power, he forcibly dispersed the excess soul power, barely stabilizing Tang San's condition.
---
At noon the next day, Tang San regained consciousness.
To stabilize his condition during this time, Tang Hao had expended a great deal of soul power and was somewhat drained.
Fortunately, Tang San's life had been saved.
"Father, what happened to me?"
He only remembered enduring immense pain before losing consciousness. Everything else was a blur.
Tang Hao's expression was heavy as he sighed, "If we can't resolve the issue of conflicting soul powers in twin martial souls, in the future, you might only be able to cultivate one martial soul."
Tang San carefully sensed his body and realized the severity of the situation.
However, if he had to choose one martial soul, he decisively said, "Father, from now on, I'll cultivate the Hao Tian Hammer."
Tang Hao shook his head. "Cultivating the Hao Tian Hammer means your Blue Silver Grass martial soul will lose all possibility of cultivation."
After much deliberation, Tang Hao decided to let Tang San continue cultivating the Blue Silver Grass martial soul.
Seeing Tang San's puzzled expression, he explained, "Xiao San, there's something I've never told you. Your Blue Silver Grass isn't ordinary Blue Silver Grass—it's the Blue Silver Emperor, which possesses the royal bloodline of the Blue Silver Grass."
"When you break through to level 50, you can go to the Blue Silver Forest to awaken your martial soul a second time. At that point, you'll receive a core soul ring."
The theory of second awakening had been discussed by Yu Xiaogang with Tang San before.
However, the limitations of the Blue Silver Grass martial soul were clear. Once soul power reached higher levels, this martial soul would perform exceptionally weakly in battles against opponents of the same level.
Tang Hao shook his head. "The Blue Silver Emperor martial soul possesses powerful vitality, which will greatly alleviate the clash of the two soul powers within you. Even if we can't find a way to cultivate twin martial souls, once the Blue Silver Emperor reaches nine rings, there may still be a chance to cultivate the Hao Tian Hammer in the future."
Tang San lowered his head, remaining silent. He seemed to regret adding soul rings to the Hao Tian Hammer.
Tang Hao added a reminder, "Xiao San, given your current condition, after using the Hao Tian Hammer, you must wait a full day before using the Blue Silver Grass martial soul again. Moreover, during the recovery period, you cannot use the Hao Tian Hammer in battle."
"Whether or not we can find a method to cultivate twin martial souls, ask your teacher when we return."
Currently, there were only four days left until the promotion matches began.
How could they possibly find a method to cultivate twin martial souls in such a short time!
---
After finishing the soul hunting, father and son headed toward the edge of the forest.
Tang San's mood was low. He kept searching for ways to save himself in his mind but found nothing.
At some point, Tang Hao suddenly pulled him back. "Xiao San, watch where you're going. There's thick toxic mist ahead—we'll go around it."
Toxic mist?
Tang San abruptly raised his head.
This place was none other than the mountain peak they had discovered during their previous soul hunting expedition.
Back then, Dugu Bo had been hunting souls nearby and happened to run into them.
Thinking about it now, Tang San felt something was amiss.
With the strength of a Title Douluo, how could he let a thirty-thousand-year soul beast escape from his grasp? And how coincidental was it that they just happened to bump into each other?
"It's very likely that Dugu Bo deliberately led us away from here. This place is probably his backyard garden!" Tang San formed a conclusion in his mind.
The medicinal herbs here might not only cure his current condition but also potentially solve the problem of conflicting soul powers in twin martial souls.
"Father, there might be medicinal herbs in this toxic mist that could solve my problem. Could you go in and take a look?"
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