Unlock Kamen Riders in Douluo's Way Ch 62

Kamen Rider Souki, the sound-striking Oni warrior unlocked by the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin, proved his mettle by easily dispatching a seven-hundred-year-old soul beast in his debut. But a seven-hundred-year-old soul beast didn't pack much punch; it couldn't truly showcase Souki's capabilities.

Su Xuan, during their trek to the lava mountains to unlock Souki's power, had pressed Yin Xiaoya about his strength, and his answer had stunned her.

"Souki," Yin Xiaoya had said, "forget the environment and what he stands for. If you just look at his raw strength, only Amazon Alpha comes close. But if you factor in his unique abilities, Amazon's a little weaker. As for potential? Souki takes the cake."

Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha—the brutal, piranha-like Rider. Yin Xiaoya had transformed into him several times in front of Su Xuan, displaying a savagery that had left her shaken. Yet, Yin Xiaoya claimed that even Amazon couldn't compare to Souki, highlighting just how potent this new Rider was.

"Besides the Flame of Emotion, Souki can resist mental attacks thanks to the fusion with the power of the Oni. Any poor psychic soul master who tries to mess with him is in for a world of hurt. A soul master below the Spirit Saint realm? Their mental attacks will get reflected back at them by the Oni's power. And the sound waves from Souki's attacks? They don't just cause physical damage; they can induce mental collapse."

Remembering what Yin Xiaoya had told her, Su Xuan glanced at the still-pinned Shi Nian, stunned and silent under Souki's relentless blows.

No wonder Su Xuan hadn't been worried about Souki's chances against Shi Nian. Souki wasn't just fighting him; he was hard-countering him.

For a psychic soul master, mental breakdown was a devastating blow. Every hammer strike inflicted agony far beyond physical pain.

Seeing Souki's relentless assault, Su Xuan couldn't help but sigh in relief. Good thing Ma Hongjun lacked any sense of rhythm; otherwise, according to Yin Xiaoya, the sustained sonic assault could obliterate something dozens of times larger. As it was, the fight was more like a severe punishment.

Against a different, equally leveled soul master, even an agility type with limited offense, Souki wouldn't have inflicted nearly the same damage as he had against Shi Nian.

But soul masters like Shi Nian, specializing in mental attacks, often neglected their physical strength, a year-on-year decline in their level of physical strength. In terms of pure brawn, Souki likely outmatched him.

"Stop! Please stop! We surrender! We give up!"

The Canghui students, unable to watch any longer, frantically shouted their surrender.

Souki ceased his assault, glancing at Shi Nian, who lay prone, a victim of mental overload. Souki sighed with feigned regret.

"Oh, what a pity. I was supposed to make you cry. If you're an idiot, you can't cry."

With that, Souki withdrew the Eagle Head Sound Hammer. The eagle's beak, which had been clamped onto Shi Nian's neck, released its grip and returned to its original position. The remaining Canghui students rushed forward, dragging Shi Nian away. As they retreated, still dazed, he muttered incoherently.

"Hold on!" Souki called out, stopping them. He pointed towards Astra. "Starting today, Astra's under our Kamen Riders' protection. If you have a problem with that, take it up with us. Don't go picking on the wrong person."

After the Canghui students cast resentful looks in their direction, they fled in embarrassment under the gazes of the assembled soul masters.

They were in front of the Soul Master Guild, surrounded by witnesses who were practically all soul masters. The humiliation Shi Nian had suffered—defeated and ridiculed by a younger soul master, the tale would soon spread throughout the soul master community. There was no way Canghui Academy would let this insult go unanswered.

Ma Hongjun, still transformed into Souki, suddenly felt a spark of clarity in his often-muddled brain. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he'd invoked the name of the Kamen Riders to prevent Shrek from taking the heat for his actions.

"That fat man's got some brains," Su Xuan mused, watching the defeated Canghui students retreat. "But Xiaoya's going to be furious when he finds out the name of the Kamen Riders is being used as a shield." Seeing the transformation dispelled, and a crowd of people peppering Ma Hongjun with questions, Su Xuan wryly smiled, looking toward the lava mountains. "I wonder if he's settled things over there."

Meanwhile, Yin Xiaoya stood atop another volcano in the lava mountain range. He turned away from the distant town, saying to the Ghost-Faced Griffin King and Azure Phoenix King, "The fight's over. Quick work. Must've just been some small fry."

Not long after the Ghost-Faced Griffin King and Azure Phoenix King had arrived, guided by him, both sensed the activation of the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin's power. Yin Xiaoya knew Ma Hongjun had transformed thanks to the system notification.

But the fight had lasted only three or four minutes before Ma Hongjun dispelled the transformation. Yin Xiaoya surmised that the opponent hadn't been anything significant. Probably just someone looking for trouble—a common occurrence in Douluo World.

Ceasing to pay attention to the situation, Yin Xiaoya gestured to the magma in the crater. "The soul beast I'm looking for should be down there. The magma doesn't bother me, but it'll limit my movement. Can you help me get it out?"

The Ghost-Faced Griffin King and Azure Phoenix King exchanged glances before focusing their soul power on the not-so-large volcano. As they sensed the soul beast within, strange expressions crossed their faces.

Azure Phoenix King lowered his head, asking, "Boy, what's the name of this soul beast you're after?"

"Don't know. I can just sense it's down there."

That was the limitation of the system Xiaoman; it could only mark the location of the soul beast and indicate whether it would unlock a main or support Rider. Nothing else. Only by finding the soul beast and seeing it for himself could Yin Xiaoya determine its exact nature and which Rider's power it would unlock.

"You came all the way here without knowing what it is?" The Ghost-Faced Griffin King asked incredulously, "And you know there's only one soul beast here?"

Xiaoman had indicated only one soul beast during the scan, but the possibility of soul beasts older than 100,000 years that couldn't be scanned couldn't be ruled out. Hearing the Ghost-Faced Griffin King's tone, it seemed certain there was only one soul beast down there.

But for some reason, both the Ghost-Faced Griffin King and Azure Phoenix King seemed reluctant for Yin Xiaoya to disturb it.

"Huh? Why?"

Yin Xiaoya was perplexed. Xiaoman indicated this was a soul beast he could subdue, so it shouldn't be anything too powerful.

"Didn't you two promise to help me? Are you going back on your word?"

The Ghost-Faced Griffin King and Azure Phoenix King appeared embarrassed. They had made promises just moments ago, only to grow hesitant as soon as they knew what lay within.

"If it were any other soul beast, we'd help," the Ghost-Faced Griffin King said. "But this one…even if we intervened, it might not listen to us. And we dare not do anything to it."

"The Griffin's right," Azure Phoenix King added. "This soul beast is…special. We don't recommend touching it directly."

Having come this far, was he really supposed to just turn around? Was this some kind of twisted multiple-choice question? He'd come because this soul beast could unlock the power of a main Rider! To turn back now would be pointless.

"Can you at least tell me what's down there? Let me know why I can't touch it."

They exchanged a look. Azure Phoenix King nodded to the Ghost-Faced Griffin King, who took flight and plunged into the lava.

Yin Xiaoya blinked, looking at Azure Phoenix King. "What was that all about?"

"Instead of us trying to explain, we'll let you see it for yourself. Just bringing it out for you to look at? Emperor Yan won't blame us for that."

"Take it out?" Yin Xiaoya asked, confused. "Wait…it has something to do with Emperor Yan? Is Emperor Yan backing it?"

Azure Phoenix King glanced at him, scoffing. "Otherwise, what else in this lava mountain would make us afraid?"

Emperor Yan was the undisputed master of the lava mountains—a well-known fact, though his true form and cultivation remained a mystery.

When the Ghost-Faced Griffin King and Azure Phoenix King had discussed their children, they'd mentioned entrusting their care to Emperor Yan.

According to them, Emperor Yan wasn't just the ruler of the lava mountains, but the overlord of all soul beasts dwelling there. Even when they had first gained spiritual awareness, Emperor Yan had already been in charge 100,000 years ago.

"Even we five overlords don't know Emperor Yan's cultivation," Azure Phoenix King said. "We don't dare ask, and we don't dare even think about it, because it's beyond our comprehension. As for its identity…"

As if on cue, the magma in the volcano erupted, and the Ghost-Faced Griffin King leaped out, landing in front of Yin Xiaoya. In his grasp, he held a ball of light.

The ball radiated a warm, golden glow. As Yin Xiaoya's eyes adjusted, he realized it wasn't just a ball of light. It was a wriggling, fleshy worm.

Its body was smooth, resembling a ruby when still. It was no bigger than his palm.

The little creature lazily stretched, blinking its peanut-sized black eyes at the Ghost-Faced Griffin King, as if questioning why it had been awakened. It didn't seem afraid.

The moment he laid eyes on it, the system Xiaoman had identified the soul beast. Yin Xiaoya recognized it from a name he'd heard before.

"What? A Red Jade Silkworm?"

Yes, the seemingly harmless creature was, in fact, one of the three soul beasts that Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had deemed most suitable for Ma Hongjun. It was also the rarest—the Red Jade Silkworm.

Its elusiveness was precisely why it hadn't been considered a viable option for Ma Hongjun. Yin Xiaoya had never imagined the soul beast they were so hesitant to disturb would turn out to be this.

"Wait, so Emperor Yan…is a Red Jade Silkworm?"

The two overlords nodded.

Yin Xiaoya fell silent. A high-quality soul beast might not unlock a main Rider, but a soul beast capable of unlocking a main Rider had to be exceptional. The quality of the Red Jade Silkworm was not to be doubted. But its quality was so high, it had grown to be a domain of the soul beasts ecological system. That seemed like a load of rubbish.

Sensing his skepticism, the Ghost-Faced Griffin King gestured to himself. "In any soul beast group, there are commanding bloodlines, just like the one within me and my children. The Red Jade Silkworm is the same. Emperor Yan possesses such blood."

Azure Phoenix King added, "Though Red Jade Silkworms possess exceptionally pure fire power, they're rare, lack self-defense, and develop intelligence slower than other soul beasts. It takes them almost 50,000 years to reach human-level intelligence, making them precious. That's why we advise against touching it. In the entire lava mountain range, there are less than ten."

Yin Xiaoya understood now. Despite everything, he had to give up. A forced result was not a sweet one. It was time to make a turn-about, he realized with a wry smile.

"You could've just told me. I'm not stubborn."

They surprised Yin Xiaoya with another solution.

"We said you can't touch it. Since we promised to help, we can compromise and let Emperor Yan decide."

"That's right," Azure Phoenix King agreed. "We're taking you to Emperor Yan. I think Emperor Yan would be interested in this Kamen Rider power, don't you think, Emperor Yan?"

Just as Azure Phoenix King finished speaking, an ethereal voice resounded in their minds.

"Bring this human to me."