Disliked

(The previous chapter has been revised. Chrysanthemum Douluo's rank has been changed to Soul Douluo, the same as Spirit Vulture Douluo. He has not received a title yet!)

Bibi Dong jumped away as if she had encountered a bug she was afraid of.

If Bibi Dong had initially loved Gu Ziyi's Purifying Heart Mantra, she gradually came to dislike it.

Other than when she was studying, she did not want Gu Ziyi to stick one on her at all.

Because she had discovered that after a Purifying Heart Mantra talisman was applied, everything became dull and uninteresting.

So whenever she was not studying, Bibi Dong was extremely resistant to Gu Ziyi's Purifying Heart Mantra talismans.

Besides, she had wanted to watch Gu Ziyi conduct his research precisely to satisfy her curiosity.

Once the Purifying Heart Mantra talisman was applied, she might as well not watch at all.

Because after it was applied, she no longer had any curiosity!

"Then promise you won't move around..."

Gu Ziyi gave Bibi Dong a speechless look. His Purifying Heart Mantra had actually been disliked—and this was not the first time.

"I promise!"

Bibi Dong immediately raised her hand with a grin and swore.

Yeah right, as if I'd believe that...

Gu Ziyi grumbled inwardly. Bibi Dong could not be trusted unless he put one on her.

Perhaps because they had grown familiar with each other, Bibi Dong showed the mischievous side of a little girl around him and had teased him plenty of times.

After all, she was still only a ten-year-old girl! "Fine..."

Once he realized he could not drive Bibi Dong away, Gu Ziyi stopped bothering with her.

Since Bibi Dong was unwilling to have a Purifying Heart Mantra talisman applied, Gu Ziyi applied one to himself instead.

In an instant, the faint irritation and impatience in his heart vanished.

"Boring—"

Seeing Gu Ziyi apply a Purifying Heart Mantra talisman to himself, Bibi Dong curled her lip disdainfully from the side.

Other than for studying, she truly despised the thing.

But Gu Ziyi no longer paid Bibi Dong any attention. He took out his Spirit Bone with his left hand, while summoning a blank talisman in his right.

Spirit Bone Skill - Azure Wind Swift Travel!

Gu Ziyi, holding the Spirit Bone in his left hand, suddenly activated the Spirit Bone skill within it.

It was only after he had gone to the Spirit Hall's Soul Skill Research Department that Gu Ziyi discovered other researchers there were also using Spirit Bones to develop Soul Skills.

Moreover, the researchers there had long since developed a method to activate Spirit Bone skills.

In other words, they could directly activate the Soul Skills on a Spirit Bone without absorbing it.

Although this method had long been developed, it could not be widely adopted.

Spirit Bones were simply too rare. Who would use a Spirit Bone as a weapon? If anyone dared to carry a Spirit Bone around outside as a weapon, they would not draw astonishment from others—they would draw their plunder.

This was also why no one in the Soul Master World used Spirit Bones as weapons.

Not only were Spirit Bones incredibly rare, but one also had to worry about displaying one's wealth and being robbed.

Furthermore, when using a Spirit Bone's skills this way, the number of uses was limited. Afterward, one had to wait for it to slowly recover. One could, of course, use Soul Power to nourish it and speed up its recovery, but that still took a long time. In the end, it was simply not as convenient as directly absorbing and refining the Spirit Bone.

That was the most convenient option! ...

As Gu Ziyi activated the Spirit Bone, a streak of azure light immediately bloomed from it. Under his control, it descended onto the blank talisman in his other hand.

After the azure light landed on the blank talisman, ripples immediately spread across its surface before eventually settling down.

By then, Gu Ziyi's blank talisman had changed as well. Several runes had appeared on it out of thin air.

Self-Created Soul Skill - Windwalk Talisman! The blank talisman in Gu Ziyi's hand had now become a Windwalk Talisman containing a Soul Skill.

After use, it could increase speed by 30%.

For a thousand-year Spirit Bone skill, a 30% boost was fairly standard.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's Third Soul Skill provided boosts of over 40%, and it was also a group enhancement.

Bibi Dong was not at all surprised by what she saw from the side.

Because Gu Ziyi had accomplished something of this level long ago.

But research of this level was not what Gu Ziyi wanted.

What he had accomplished now was merely transferring the Soul Skill from the Spirit Bone onto a blank talisman. Moreover, it had a time limit—if it was not used within a certain period, it would dissipate.

If that was all it could do, Gu Ziyi might as well carry the Spirit Bone directly.

So this sort of transfer was not particularly useful.

This research result had stunned the entire Research Department at the time, even alerting Qian Xunji.

Because aside from Gu Ziyi's Talismans, they had actually tried transferring some Spirit Bone soul skills onto other auxiliary martial soul tools, but they had never succeeded.

Yet Gu Ziyi's Talismans had accomplished it.

It was as though Gu Ziyi's Talismans had been naturally suited to carrying soul skills.

Afterward, they found other Spirit Bones for Gu Ziyi to try, but only one succeeded while all the others failed, because that one had also been a thousand-year-quality Spirit Bone.

But even that was enough to shock Qian Xunji and the Research Department.

In the end, Qian Xunji gave that Spirit Bone to Gu Ziyi as a reward.

However, everyone eventually realized that Gu Ziyi's research result seemed rather useless. It merely transferred a Spirit Bone soul skill onto a blank Talisman, with much the same effect as simply holding the Spirit Bone itself.

That was getting off topic. Back to the research site.

What came next was what Gu Ziyi had truly been researching all along.

Buzz—

Gu Ziyi summoned another blank Talisman.

He first placed the completed Windwalk Talisman on the table. Then, with the Spirit Bone in one hand and the blank Talisman in the other, he began again.

But this time, Gu Ziyi did not directly activate the soul skill on the Spirit Bone. Instead, he looked at the inscriptions on the Windwalk Talisman and began copying them stroke for stroke.

And the tool he used to draw was the Spirit Bone in his hand.

Gu Ziyi's Soul Power passed through the Spirit Bone, emerged from its tip, and finally fell upon the blank Talisman.

Gu Ziyi had tried engraving directly with Soul Power before, but it had been useless. Not even the slightest mark appeared on the blank Talisman.

Only by channeling it through the Spirit Bone could he leave behind an inscription.

Gu Ziyi focused on engraving, and a rune identical to the one on the previous Windwalk Talisman gradually appeared on the blank Talisman.

He proceeded quickly through the earlier stages.

That was because those were the results of countless previous attempts. Gu Ziyi remembered every detail clearly: which stroke needed more Soul Power, which needed it gradually increased, and which needed only a light pass.

Just as he was about to finish, the blank Talisman in Gu Ziyi's hand suddenly vanished with a bang.

A fierce gust exploded outward, leaving Gu Ziyi covered in dust and grime.

He had failed again...

Just a little more! Gu Ziyi calmly accepted the failure and prepared to continue.

"Ahh~ It was just a little more!"

"Junior Brother, let me do it this time!"

Before he could begin, Bibi Dong snatched away the Spirit Bone in his hand, along with the blank Talisman he had just summoned.