After resolving the issue with the Dragon Man and Snake Woman, Yu Xiaowei was in a good mood.
As he had expected, the Meng family did not have a powerful backer. Faced with the favorable terms offered by the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family, it was unlikely they would refuse.
As anticipated, Meng Shu agreed without much hesitation.
When Yu Xiaowei received the Pope's order, he had already informed Yu Xiaomeng about the absorption of the Meng family and had written a personal letter asking her to hand it to Yu Yuanzhen.
There might have been some differences in what was promised to Meng Shu, but overall, it was within the acceptable range for the Meng family.
In dealing with a subordinate family that was nearly equal in title, Yu Yuanzhen would not be stingy with the family's resources.
With a major task completed, Yu Xiaowei felt relieved.
After a restful night's sleep...
Yu Xiaowei found something odd about his body.
Unconsciously, his soul power had increased.
"Hey, I didn't train last night, and I wasn't even trying to break through any bottleneck—so how did my power increase?"
Yu Xiaowei was a bit surprised. He repeatedly sensed his soul power and confirmed that he had indeed reached level 40.
"Could it be some delayed effect from the Ice and Fire Grass?"
After consuming the Ice and Fire Grass at the Yin-Yang Well that day, although his soul power hadn't increased at the time, some changes had occurred in his body.
For example, once his martial soul was possessed, his scales were no longer solid black as before. Now, they had a crystal-blue ring around the edges, and they felt slightly cold to the touch.
The flames originally attached to the scales had also expanded in range. Had he not sensed these changes, just by appearance, he might have thought he'd transformed into a red lotus.
The biggest change was in his breath. Whether it was a burst of flame or a beam of heat, the temperature was higher, and the outer edge was now encased in a layer of crystal-blue cold fire. When it hit a target, the collision between cold and heat caused a violent explosion.
More importantly, he was slightly thinner, yet visibly stronger.
It must be said that his original strength was already terrifying. Back in school, after defeating Tyrone, he had wrestled Tyno, who came to cause trouble.
As a result, Tyno's wrist was broken.
Just like when he had defeated Dai Mubai previously—Dai Mubai was down before Yu Xiaowei had even used his full strength.
He estimated that, even without considering soul skills or soul power, he could easily defeat a Soul King just with brute strength.
Yu Xiaowei's original plan had been to return to Soto City and wait for Yu Xiaogang after settling the matter with the Dragon King and Snake Queen.
He hadn't expected to suddenly advance to level 40. Fortunately, the Star Dou Great Forest wasn't far, so he could acquire a soul ring on the way without delaying anything.
Before leaving, he went to find the Dragon Father and Snake Mother but was told they had already left early that morning.
With no choice, he ventured into the Star Dou Forest alone.
A journey of over a hundred kilometers was no big deal for Yu Xiaowei, who often ran around Heaven Dou City. He arrived by noon.
Originally, he had planned to get a soul ring for his 40th level—meaning a soul beast at least 10,000 years old.
However, after taking Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum and the two Ice and Fire Grasses, his physical fitness had greatly improved, and he felt that even a 20,000-year soul ring might not be out of reach.
Logically, a 20,000-year soul ring could only be absorbed by a Soul Emperor-level being.
But a 20,000-year soul beast was roughly equivalent to a high-level Soul King or even a Soul Emperor. He wasn't sure if he could endure it.
Like the Sunset Forest, the stronger the soul beast, the closer it lived to the center of the area.
Afraid of getting lost, Yu Xiaowei didn't wander or take random turns—he just walked in a straight line.
This time, he was still looking for a soul beast with fire attributes or one of the power-type.
It would be great if he could find a soul beast like the Titan Giant Ape around ten thousand years old.
The deeper Yu Xiaowei went, the denser the forest became.
He didn't know the boundary between thousand-year and ten-thousand-year soul beasts, so he just kept walking.
Unlike when he accompanied Ning Rongrong to the Sunset Forest, this time he didn't have the Godzilla aura suppressing himself.
The reason was that ten-thousand-year soul beasts had a very strong territorial instinct. To them, an unfamiliar aura—especially a ferocious one like Godzilla's—was nothing less than a direct provocation.
After about an hour at full speed...
Yu Xiaowei stopped and, after blinking, looked toward a towering tree on his left, where a strange reptilian soul beast was hiding.
Its body was long and cylindrical, with a triangular head, a pair of bulging eyes that kept shifting, a long curled tail, and a back covered in spines.
Its color blended into the trees beneath it. If Yu Xiaowei weren't born with the sharp instincts of a Godzilla soul, he might not have spotted it.
The Fantasy-Colored Dream Lizard was a dragon species. The spikes on its body were highly venomous. Its body color changed constantly with the surroundings, and it was skilled at using mental power to attack enemies.
Judging by the twelve rings on its scales, it was a 12,000-year-old soul beast.
This soul beast was known as one of the most troublesome creatures recorded by the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex clan.
Not because it was hard to kill—it was actually quite weak physically. If one got close enough, even a low-level Soul Master could kill it.
But it had exceptional camouflage skills, was great at stealth attacks, and extremely cautious. When attacking, it would lure targets into illusions and wouldn't consume them until they completely collapsed.
If a Soul Master skilled in spiritual power faced this creature, they could resist or even kill it by locating its real body.
However, if a brute-strength Soul Master or an agility-type like a Scout faced it, even a ten-thousand-year Dream Lizard could kill a Soul Emperor.
At this moment, the Fantasy-Colored Dream Lizard was creeping toward Yu Xiaowei.
Since its attributes weren't compatible, Yu Xiaowei had no intention of provoking it. He quickly fled into the distance.
Suddenly, a wave of invisible energy struck from behind. Before Yu Xiaowei could react, his vision darkened, and his senses were blocked.
When light returned to his eyes, he saw the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex clan in ruins.
Yu Xiaowei's eyes turned red as he trembled through the rubble. Beneath a collapsed wall, he saw familiar figures one by one.
Yu Xiaomeng, Yu Tianheng, Yu Tianxin...
When he saw Yu Luomian's mutilated body, Yu Xiaowei burst into tears. He rushed forward, frantically dug out the bricks and tiles pressing down, then held Yu Luomian's body and wept bitterly.
"Xiao Wei, run."
"Uncle, run quickly."
"Xiao Wei, don't come back—leave!"
The voices kept echoing in his mind, and familiar faces appeared one by one before quickly fading away.
Yet Yu Xiaowei ignored it all and just knelt there, hugging Yu Luomian's body and sobbing deeply.
"Xiao Wei, come! Hurry!"
Yu Yuanzhen's voice jolted Yu Xiaowei awake—but the scene before him enraged him.
Yu Yuanzhen's right leg was gone.
Yue Guan, whom Yu Xiaowei had met before, was tearing off Yu Yuanzhen's right arm. A strange shadowy figure laughed eerily as it decapitated him with a bizarre dagger.
"You beasts—!"
Yu Xiaowei howled in anguish as he watched Yue Guan and the others strip Yu Yuanzhen's soul bones.
His eyes immediately changed color—from black pupils on a white background to black pupils on an orange background.
With a long roar, his body rapidly grew—not just into a half-dragon but fully into a dragon form.
As red flames glowed, large patches of scales covered his entire body. His muscles bulged.
In just a few breaths, Yu Xiaowei transformed from a human into a true twenty-meter-tall Godzilla.
With a deafening roar, Godzilla took a thunderous step forward, and the illusion created by the Dream Lizard shattered like glass.
In the Star Dou Forest...
In the terrified eyes of the Dream Lizard, the now-awakened Yu Xiaowei grabbed its neck and, with a vicious expression, ripped out its venomous spines one by one, crushed its limbs, tore it apart, and used his dragon claws to slash open its belly, pulling out its organs piece by piece.
The Dream Lizard deeply regretted having such strong vitality—Yu Xiaowei tortured it to pieces before it finally died.
A dazzling black soul ring emerged, and at the same time, a soul bone glowing in multicolors also appeared from the Dream Lizard's body.
Yu Xiaowei, without expression, took the soul bone and placed it in his soul guide. As for the black soul ring, he didn't even look at it and walked away.