Combining Dark Gold Dreadclaws, Super Dark Gold Dreadclaw!
This Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear had not only given him a super bloodline, but also gifted him an External Soul Bone. It was simply too generous.
"Brother Bear, no wonder my transmigrator predecessors coveted your body. You're a treasure from head to toe, a must-eat for sure."
Jiang Taichu sighed.
He picked up the dark-gold Soul Bone from the ground. It was the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's External Soul Bone, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw.
But unlike Huo Yuhao, who would struggle to absorb the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's Soul Bone ten thousand years later,
Jiang Taichu could sense that absorbing the Dark Gold Dreadclaw External Soul Bone would be extremely easy for him.
That was because he had the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's bloodline.
The next moment,
Jiang Taichu sat down cross-legged and pressed the dark-gold Soul Bone against the bones of his left palm.
He began circulating his Soul Power, gradually fusing the External Soul Bone into his body.
The process went unexpectedly smoothly. In just a few minutes, Jiang Taichu successfully fused with the Dark Gold Dreadclaw External Soul Bone.
He slowly opened his eyes and took a moment to assess his body's condition.
"A 1,500-year-old External Soul Bone raised my Soul Power Level by another level. Looks like this trip has been quite rewarding."
After fusing with the External Soul Bone, a thought suddenly occurred to Jiang Taichu:
"I already have the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's bloodline, so I can use Soul Power to form an illusory Dark Gold Dreadclaw and attack with it."
"Now I have a physical Dark Gold Dreadclaw as well."
"If I overlap the physical Dark Gold Dreadclaw with my original illusory Dark Gold Dreadclaw, will its power double the next time I use it?"
Jiang Taichu's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to test his idea.
He summoned the Dark Gold Dreadclaw External Soul Bone, and a force of extreme sharpness radiated from it.
Next, Jiang Taichu used the power in his bloodline, and an illusory Dark Gold Dreadclaw gradually overlapped with the physical one.
Just as Jiang Taichu had expected, the overlapped Dark Gold Dreadclaw was indeed even more powerful.
He looked at the ground not far away and fired another Dark Gold Dreadclaw at it.
A giant dark-gold claw appeared, tearing toward the ground ahead.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous crash, a ten-meter-wide crater appeared in front of Jiang Taichu.
Looking at the destruction he had caused, Jiang Taichu couldn't help swallowing.
"What terrifying destructive power."
Jiang Taichu then checked the total amount of Soul Power in his body.
"But there's one drawback. Although the Dark Gold Dreadclaw's power has doubled, using it once consumes four times as much Soul Power as before."
"I'll call this move Super Dark Gold Dreadclaw."
Jiang Taichu was hopeless at naming things himself, and he hadn't thought of giving it some grand, impressive name.
After all, the move's power came from stacking two Dark Gold Dreadclaws together.
It's perfectly reasonable for me to call it Super Dark Gold Dreadclaw, right?
"Ah Yin, let's go back."
Jiang Taichu spoke to Ah Yin with a grin.
But the next moment,
Jiang Taichu suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Damn, how could I have forgotten about that?"
Jiang Taichu's words caught Ah Yin's attention, and she looked at him curiously.
"Master, what's wrong?"
"Now that I've broken through to Soul Grandmaster, and the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear has been recorded, I can summon it."
Jiang Taichu summoned his Martial Soul, the Myriad Beasts Record, and released the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear that had been successfully recorded within it.
Dark-gold light flickered, and a giant bear about four meters tall appeared before Jiang Taichu. A pair of sharp, meter-long claws extended from its paws.
It was the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Jiang Taichu had just killed.
But there was one slight difference from before.
The recorded Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's eyes were no longer fierce and wild. Instead, it looked a little goofy, yet rational.
"Master, why do you keep staring at me?"
The goofy Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear scratched its head, a little uncomfortable under Jiang Taichu's stare.
"You can talk?"
Jiang Taichu was stunned.
The goofy Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear pointed at Ah Yin beside it.
"Boss Ah Yin can talk, so why can't I?"
The goofy Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear couldn't understand it at all.
"Ahem, master, perhaps I should explain."
At that moment, Ah Yin spoke up.
Jiang Taichu turned his attention from the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear to Ah Yin.
"Master, here's how it works."
"Any Soul Beast recorded by your Martial Soul is not only completely loyal to you, but also gains the full intelligence that only Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts possess, and can speak human language."
Only then did Jiang Taichu understand.
"So that's how it is. Ah Yin, you were a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had sacrificed herself, so I thought rebuilding your body would only restore the intelligence you had in life."
"It seems this Myriad Beasts Record is even more powerful than I imagined."
Jiang Taichu realized that he knew far too little about his own Martial Soul. He couldn't even grasp the Myriad Beasts Record's most basic abilities, let alone its more powerful, hidden ones.
If not for Ah Yin, Jiang Taichu would probably have had to spend quite some time figuring it out himself.
"Master, master, I don't have a name yet."
"I want my own name too, just like Boss Ah Yin."
The goofy Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear looked expectantly at Jiang Taichu, hoping he would bestow a name on it.
Jiang Taichu stared at the goofy Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear for quite a while before finally managing to come up with a single sentence.
"Your name will be Xiong Da."
The goofy Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear grinned and laughed with delight.
"I have a name! From now on, I'm Xiong Da!"
After formally naming Xiong Da, Jiang Taichu put the bear back into his Martial Soul, the Myriad Beasts Record.
Xiong Da couldn't take human form and couldn't appear in the human world in everyday life, or he would cause too much of a sensation.
"Ah Yin, we really can go back this time."
"But let's take a carriage straight back. We were in a hurry on the way here, so we had no choice but to rush here ourselves."
"But now there's nothing urgent, so we can take our time on the way back and enjoy the scenery."
Ten days later,
Jiang Taichu and Ah Yin finally returned to Heaven Dou City.
After returning, Jiang Taichu put Ah Yin back into his Martial Soul, the Myriad Beasts Record. He checked the time, then headed toward the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
At this time, Ning Rongrong should be at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling.
"Brother Taichu has been gone for more than ten days. Why hasn't he come back yet?"
"Nothing bad happened to Brother Taichu, did it?"
Ning Rongrong's voice was full of worry.
"Rongrong, don't worry. It's only been ten days. The round trip from Heaven Dou City to the Star Dou Great Forest takes time to begin with, and he also has to search for a Soul Beast in the forest."
"When high-level Soul Masters enter the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain Soul Rings, they sometimes stay for a whole month."
Ye Lingling comforted Ning Rongrong from beside her.
Though Ye Lingling said that, she was a little worried herself.
"I'll wait another ten days. If Brother Taichu still hasn't come back then, I'll ask Grandpa Sword to take me to the Star Dou Great Forest to find him," Ning Rongrong said, determination in her eyes.