External Soul Bone

"Still, Sister Jun, judging by this first soul skill of yours, it doesn't seem like an explosive-type skill. It feels more like one suited for close-quarters combat." Tang Fu'er spotted the blind spot.

Ma Hongjun let out an "Ah~." "Right, this isn't what I had in mind. Should I still look for explosive-type soul skills for the next few?"

Ming Lunyu propped his chin on his hand and pondered. "In my opinion, this first soul skill seems very suitable as the core of an entire skill set."

Facing the looks the two of them gave him, Ming Lunyu explained.

"Xiao Jun, I think you can build your later soul skills around your first one. You said yourself that it consumes very little of your power. That means it can support prolonged close-range combat."

"Honestly, I think you might prefer this kind of close-quarters fighting style. After all, that was how you fought in the Hell Slaughter Arena."

Tang Fu'er chimed in as well. "Yeah, yeah. Sometimes, the soul skills you obtain are the result of subconscious choices. Out of all the available options, you picked the soul skill that suited you best. You just couldn't sense that subconscious choice yourself."

"If we build a soul skill system around your first soul skill, then I'd suggest stacking defense, boosting recovery, and inflicting negative effects on enemies."

Ma Hongjun's eyes lit up. "I get it, I get it. A battlefield shit-stirrer, right? Hard to kill, disgusting to deal with, and with plenty of attack power too! Now that I think about it, I really like that!"

"Hehe, I just love it when enemies can't stand me but can't do anything about me!"

She gave a disdainful laugh.

Ming Lunyu helplessly rubbed his forehead. This girl really hasn't changed. He could already imagine what she would do once she truly developed this fighting style. She would definitely rely on her high defense and rapid recovery to relentlessly taunt her enemies in battle.

She had loved doing that in the Hell Slaughter Arena too, constantly spewing trash talk while fighting, acting like a bratty little demon girl. Even Ming Lunyu sometimes wanted to teach her a lesson.

"Oh? Brother, Sister Jun, hold on to me! I've found our next target."

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun immediately took Tang Fu'er's hands.

In midair, Tang Fu'er's first Soul Ring flashed. Then she threw the hammer in her hand, sending it arcing beautifully through the sky before it smashed down heavily in the distance, kicking up clouds of dust.

Not long after, the three of them landed in a forest clearing.

A strange-looking giant fox had been smashed into two halves.

"This is a Five Spirit Immortal Fox that's nearly thirty thousand years old. It's an extremely rare soul beast. I didn't expect to encounter one here. Brother, look at its tail."

Following Tang Fu'er's finger, Ming Lunyu saw the giant fox's most unusual feature.

The fox actually had five large tails, colored gold, green, blue, red, and brown.

"This kind of soul beast possesses the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, which are stored within its tails. They can release elemental projectiles from the tips of their tails, or condense the elements in their mouths and fire them out." Tang Fu'er recalled the knowledge in her mind.

After listening carefully, Ming Lunyu asked, "It has five elements. Can I absorb it too?"

Tang Fu'er answered with certainty, "No problem at all. Brother's martial soul doesn't actually have any particular elemental attribute. It's like a blank sheet of paper. In other words, it can contain every element."

What she did not say was that having no particular elemental characteristics meant possessing limitless potential for growth. If his opportunities were sufficient, Ming Lunyu might even be able to master multiple extreme attributes.

Because his martial soul itself possessed no elemental attribute, it could be dyed with the color of any element. It was unlike other martial souls. For example, Ma Hongjun's Fire Phoenix would always be a Fire Phoenix for as long as she lived.

But extreme attributes were still far too distant, especially extreme attributes formed after birth.

To possess an extreme attribute, one generally had to be born with the talent. Even then, mastering the extreme form of a single attribute was already the limit for most prodigies.

For example, Ma Hongjun's Fire Phoenix possessed Extreme Fire. But she could only master Extreme Fire. With her entire martial soul occupied by Extreme Fire, let alone another extreme attribute, even mastering a new ordinary attribute was nearly impossible.

So Tang Fu'er chose not to discuss the subject yet. She did not want to give Brother some vague, nearly unattainable goal that would bring him nothing but worry.

Ming Lunyu slowly approached the Five Spirit Immortal Fox, his jade-bone, gold-faced Folding Fan clenched in his hand as he prepared to deliver the final blow.

The Five Spirit Immortal Fox lay on the ground, barely alive. Its pair of eyes, shimmering with five-colored light, stared deeply at Ming Lunyu as he approached. No emotion could be seen in them.

Man and fox met each other's gaze.

Yet Ming Lunyu strangely sensed its emotions through those fox eyes, still as ancient wells.

The Five Spirit Immortal Fox died when Ming Lunyu drove his Folding Fan into its eye socket.

Unexpectedly, Ming Lunyu's absorption of the Soul Ring went exceptionally smoothly. There was not even the soul tremor that a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring was certain to bring.

Ming Lunyu understood that the giant fox did not resent him.

In that final exchange of gazes, all he had seen in its eyes was calm acceptance. Calm acceptance of death.

He did not understand why the Five Spirit Immortal Fox possessed such a mindset.

Was it resignation to fate after the outcome had become inevitable? Or a profound understanding of the law of the jungle?

Did it understand the principle of the strong devouring the weak so well that, upon becoming the weak one, it wisely chose to submit?

Or was it a true warrior fox that dared to face any outcome and feared no threat of death?

Shaking his head, Ming Lunyu stopped thinking about such meaningless questions. He rose to his feet, ready to inspect the gains from his first Soul Ring absorption.

But when he looked up, he found Ma Hongjun and Tang Fu'er staring at him in shock.

"What is it? Do I have flowers on my face?" Ming Lunyu asked jokingly with a smile, touching his cheek in confusion.

Ma Hongjun hesitated before saying, "You really do, except... they aren't on your face. They're on your butt..."

My butt? What was this girl talking about? How could there be—

Ming Lunyu reached behind himself blankly, then froze completely.

"What is going on?!"

He turned around and saw that five huge fluffy tails had extended from his tailbone! They looked exactly like the Five Spirit Immortal Fox's tails.

"Why did I grow tails?" Ming Lunyu was astonished as well, but he did not panic. Instead, he immediately looked toward Tang Fu'er. She was the most likely person to understand what was happening.

Tang Fu'er smiled. "Congratulations, Brother! You obtained a soul bone from your very first Soul Ring absorption! And it's the most precious kind too—an External Soul Bone!"

"Hiss!"

Ming Lunyu suddenly shuddered all over and whipped his head around. At the same time, one of his tails reflexively lashed out.

A silly scream came from behind him.

It turned out that Ma Hongjun had somehow snuck behind him and was hugging one of his fluffy tails, rubbing it enthusiastically.

That last twitch had happened because she pinched it too hard, stimulating Ming Lunyu.

"Brother, your new tail feels so nice! Just asking, can I pull out some of this fur and knit myself a scarf?" Ma Hongjun asked with a cheeky grin.

Ming Lunyu controlled his tail and smacked her. "Pull what? Knit a scarf? You'd suffocate to death."

Ma Hongjun giggled and ran over to hug Ming Lunyu's arm, blinking cutely at him. "Come on, Brother. You wouldn't have the heart to treat your adorable Sister like that, would you?"

Ming Lunyu helplessly pushed her away.

Watching the scene, Tang Fu'er covered her mouth with the corner of her clothes and giggled.

"Alright, alright. Fu'er, keep explaining."

After the brief horseplay, Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun listened seriously as Tang Fu'er explained.

"First, what are soul bones? Soul bones are precious resources that only have a very small chance of appearing after a soul beast is killed. However, killing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is guaranteed to produce a soul bone."

"There are seven types of soul bones: skull bones, torso bones, left arm bones, right arm bones, left leg bones, right leg bones, and External Soul Bones. These soul bones can fuse with the corresponding parts of a soul master's body. Once fused, they can provide the soul master with a soul skill. Now you understand how valuable they are, right?"

"That's true. Having a soul bone is equivalent to having another Soul Ring." Ming Lunyu understood.

"Then what exactly is an External Soul Bone?" Ma Hongjun raised her hand like a good student and asked.

"Good question!" Tang Fu'er looked like a tiny teacher.

"Before explaining External Soul Bones, I need to explain the quality of soul bones. For example, the most precious torso bones and skull bones are both complete pieces. But other types of soul bones are different. Take a left arm bone, for instance. It might only be an upper arm or only a forearm. Soul bones like that are of lower quality, and the soul bone skills they provide are correspondingly weaker."

"Also, aside from External Soul Bones, the higher the age of a soul bone, the higher its quality tends to be. And they do not have growth potential. In other words, a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone will only ever be a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, while a hundred-year soul bone will only ever be a hundred-year soul bone."

"External Soul Bones, however, are the most unique of all soul bones. They are generally body parts that humans do not naturally possess, such as wings or tails. With External Soul Bones, there is no need to consider whether they are complete, nor is there any need to consider their age. That is because External Soul Bones can grow, growing alongside the soul master. Furthermore, External Soul Bones are even harder to obtain than ordinary soul bones."

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun nodded, fully understanding just how valuable an External Soul Bone was.

Ming Lunyu thought to himself, I must not casually expose my External Soul Bone in front of outsiders, lest petty people covet it.

After all, there was no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days.

An External Soul Bone was precious enough to make even Titled Douluo covet it. If he used it without restraint, some Titled Douluo with no sense of honor might set their sights on him one day.

Tang Fu'er was strong enough, but she could not necessarily remain by his side at all times. What if someone ambushed him on a day when she was temporarily away?

Perhaps I should find myself some powerful subordinates...

Thinking of his Second Martial Soul, Ming Lunyu developed that idea. After all, he did not know how much time he would need to grow stronger. It would be safer to have enough powerful forces under his command.