The Second Method

Ye Lei's legs suddenly gave out just after he finished absorbing the soul ring, and he dropped straight to his knees.

Not knowing why, Ye Lei could only ask the system:

"System, what's... going on with me?"

The system fell silent.

After a moment, the system slowly spoke:

"Host, your situation is somewhat complicated. The Thousand Jun Ant Emperor harbored immense resentment and unwillingness when you killed it. At the same time, you consumed too much Soul Power to kill it, leaving your body weakened. It took advantage of that vulnerability. You'll be fine shortly."

"That's good." The weight in Ye Lei's heart finally lifted.

After adjusting his posture, Ye Lei closed his eyes again and slowly assimilated the restless soul power of the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor within his body.

Meanwhile.

After flying for who knew how long, Han Nuan stopped somewhere and turned back to look in Ye Lei's direction.

The next second, she saw a sight that shocked her:

A crimson pillar of light rose from the direction where Ye Lei was.

Han Nuan's heart skipped a beat. She instantly activated Martial Soul Possession and rushed toward Ye Lei...

Flying at full speed, Han Nuan did not take long to return to the place where she had parted with Ye Lei.

On the vast clearing, there were only two figures, one large and one small.

One had already lost all signs of life, while the other was Ye Lei.

After landing, Han Nuan quickly walked up to Ye Lei. He was sitting on the ground, his bangs slightly damp, his back soaked with sweat, and several streaks of sweat still marking his sharply defined face.

Even though Han Nuan did not know what had happened, the moment she saw the Myriad Ant Emperor's corpse nearby, she understood.

Ye Lei had yet to awaken, so Han Nuan could only wipe the sweat from his face before sitting down in front of him.

Looking at the boy before her, Han Nuan wore a lovestruck expression. Although she had seen this face many times, it was still so handsome.

Han Nuan shook her head, shaking those thoughts away. She then rose and walked over to the Myriad Ant Emperor's corpse. She remembered that whenever Ye Lei killed a soul beast, he would dig a palm-sized spherical object out of its brain, something called a Beast Soul.

Han Nuan examined the Thousand Jun Ant Emperor's head and found no signs that it had been cut open.

She wanted to help Ye Lei, but after staring at it for a long time, she had no idea where to begin. Then, as though she had suddenly thought of something, she took several steps back as a pair of ice-blue wings unfolded behind her.

Han Nuan slowly said:

"First Soul Skill, Feather of Ice."

Her wings flapped, firing streams of ice-blue, feather-shaped shards straight at the Myriad Ant Emperor's head.

Han Nuan attacked like this for two full minutes, but the Myriad Ant Emperor's head did not react at all.

Han Nuan was deeply puzzled. The cold wind kicked up by her wings made the person behind her shiver.

While meditating, Ye Lei felt a cold gust pass by him. It felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar that had existed for ten thousand years. He slowly opened his eyes and saw someone standing before him, a pair of ice-blue wings gently flapping behind her.

Ye Lei got up and walked over.

Han Nuan did not notice the movement behind her. She used her First Soul Skill on the Myriad Ant Emperor's head again, but this time, before the icy feathers could even touch its head, a scorching current of air spread outward from the Myriad Ant Emperor.

Caught off guard, Han Nuan stumbled. Her feet failed to find their footing, and she fell backward. Instinctively shielding her head, she instead fell into a warm embrace.

Han Nuan looked up and saw Ye Lei's deep eyes. She asked without thinking:

"Ye Lei, when did you wake up?"

"Just now," Ye Lei replied in a steady voice.

Then, the two of them raised their heads in unison and looked at the source of the air current.

A red light glowed from the Myriad Ant Emperor's back, growing brighter and brighter.

A possibility flashed through Ye Lei's mind. Could this be...?

Ye Lei set Han Nuan down and hurried over to the Myriad Ant Emperor.

The Thousand Jun Ant Emperor's back began to crack apart. A bone, predominantly black with red accents, emerged from its body and floated in the air.

The soul bone was pitch-black and shaped like the Myriad Ant Emperor. A pair of massive pincers split apart at the shoulder area, while the remaining three pairs of legs resembled ribs. Six red dots sat at the very center of the soul bone, like the Myriad Ant Emperor's six eyes, and its surface was covered in magma-like patterns.

The system's voice sounded at that moment:

"Congratulations, Host, for obtaining a soul bone. This soul bone is called the Myriad Ant Emperor Torso Bone. It is eighty-five thousand years old, and its skill is Thousand Jun Meteor Blaze Break!"

Ye Lei happily took the soul bone. Just as he was about to absorb it, he thought of a problem:

If he absorbed this soul bone now, there would be one fewer slot on his body for absorbing soul bones. After all, he would definitely kill hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in the future, and hundred-thousand-year soul bones would not be scarce either. What would he do then?

Ye Lei could only call the system in his mind:

"System, is there any way to solve this problem?"

System: ... ...

"Host, there are two methods. The first is the one you know: absorb it directly and lose one soul bone slot."

"What about the second method?" Ye Lei blurted out.

"The second method is to have your second Martial Soul, the Flame Lord, absorb this soul bone. After absorption, if you are not using the Flame Lord Martial Soul, you will be unable to use the soul bone skill!" the system replied.

Ye Lei suddenly understood. So that was how it worked.

Ye Lei immediately decided to use the second method.