Head Soul Bone

"As a statue, you're not bad. You'd make a fine collectible, but unfortunately... I don't have the time." Zhongli spoke softly.

With that, he turned and left. A purple Spirit Ring gradually condensed over the Three-Eyed Scarlet Fire Ape's body, proof of its death. Yet another peculiar fluctuation rippled from its body as well.

"Hm?"

Just as Zhongli was about to leave, he sensed something unusual. Turning back for a closer look, he discovered that there seemed to be something strange in the Three-Eyed Scarlet Fire Ape's head. Narrowing his eyes, he raised a hand and used his control over the Geo Element to manipulate the petrified ape, extracting the foreign object from its head through the air.

It was actually a scarlet Spirit Bone!

Looking at the Spirit Bone in his hand, Zhongli gradually smiled. "Not bad. You weren't an ordinary soul beast—you possessed your own will. Then I'll call this the Advancing Scarlet Ape Head Soul Bone."

With that, Zhongli stored the Spirit Bone in his Soul Tool Belt. He had many Storage Soul Tools; otherwise, he would not have given one to Mo Yuqing so decisively, without even a hint of reluctance.

Back at their original spot,

a Black Iron Bear was attacking Mo Yuqing, trying to interrupt her absorption of the Spirit Ring. However, the Black Iron Bear was simply too weak. It had not even reached a hundred years of cultivation. Its paw strike against the Jade Shield did not cause the slightest reaction, and Mo Yuqing did not even notice that something was disturbing her while she absorbed the Spirit Ring.

But Zhongli had no intention of indulging it. He charged forward with brutal force. The instant the Black Iron Bear turned its head, his fist slammed into its chest and sent it flying far away. The Black Iron Bear immediately lost half its life.

"Those who make mistakes must pay the price."

Zhongli murmured as he exerted force beneath his feet again, rushing to the fallen Black Iron Bear. He pressed its head to the ground with one hand and dragged it wildly across the earth, then flung it into the air and beat it mercilessly... His fighting style was exceptionally savage and fierce at that moment. In just a few moves, he forcefully smashed the Black Iron Bear apart—literally.

"Phew~"

Seeing that the Black Iron Bear was dead, Zhongli stopped. He returned to Mo Yuqing's side, placed another shield around her, and silently continued guarding her. Judging solely by his expression and demeanor, no one could have detected the violence from moments ago. It was as if that scene had been nothing but an illusory dream.

"Mm..."

Mo Yuqing let out a soft groan, her brows faintly furrowing. It seemed she had encountered some difficulty while absorbing the Spirit Ring. Still, although she looked pained, the Spirit Ring was being absorbed steadily. As long as she endured, she would gain a Spirit Ring at the limit of what she could absorb.

Although Zhongli was quite knowledgeable, there was a difference between theory and practice. He could tell that the Lightning Leopard was between four and five hundred years old, but he could not determine the precise number of decades. After all, he was only six years old and only had a general understanding of the cultivation ages of various soul beasts.

Memorizing every detail precisely would take a great deal of time. He could not do that for now, though he should be able to in the future.

"Mm..."

Mo Yuqing groaned again. Her brows were tightly furrowed, and her body was trembling, but the yellow Spirit Ring had already faded considerably. Most of its Soul Power had nearly been absorbed. This was only the final sprint.

Not long afterward...

"Phew~"

Mo Yuqing deeply exhaled a breath of turbid air. She felt a powerful force surging within her body, and all her attributes had grown much stronger. The sensation of being restrained by a Soul Power rank bottleneck had also vanished, as though she had become an entirely different person.

"How is it? What do you feel?"

Zhongli asked with a gentle, refined smile.

"What do I feel..."

Mo Yuqing had wanted to hide it as best she could, but the corners of her lips rose uncontrollably. With a faintly proud tone, she said, "My Soul Power has already reached level thirteen. I feel like my speed and strength have both increased a lot, a lot. But the feeling isn't especially clear, so I can't say exactly how much stronger I've become."

"Then congratulations."

Zhongli smiled and asked, "By the way, what is your First Soul Skill? Could you demonstrate it for me?"

"Hmph, no problem~"

Mo Yuqing stood up and released her Mistsplitter Martial Soul. A yellow Spirit Ring rose around her, its color rather deep. That Lightning Leopard from earlier was probably around five hundred years old; otherwise, the Spirit Ring's color would not have been this dark.

"My First Soul Skill is called Flying Thunder Mark. It can directly throw out a Flying Thunder Mark that deals a small amount of direct damage. At the same time, the Flying Thunder Mark shares a deep connection with me. When I move toward it, I gain an additional 100% speed bonus, but unfortunately, it can only be used twice, and each use lasts two seconds."

"In addition, I can directly consume two layers of marks to gain a 200% speed bonus, lasting *****. When I touch the Flying Thunder Mark again, Mist Splitter's Reflection can absorb the energy dispersed by the mark and infuse itself with the Lightning Element. My following attacks can then deal additional Lightning Element damage."

Mo Yuqing said with an exceptionally proud smile.

"Oh, that sounds pretty strong."

Zhongli nodded slightly.

"Of course it is!"

Mo Yuqing spoke proudly, but the next moment, she placed one hand on Zhongli's shoulder and said, "Haven't you still not obtained a Spirit Ring? I'll help you. I'm amazing now—I can slaughter any soul beast under five hundred years old."

"Oh, how impressive."

Zhongli replied in amazement, "Then I'll have to rely on you to obtain my Spirit Ring. I really hope I can get such a good Spirit Ring too."

"Hmph, with me here, it'll be easy~"

Mo Yuqing was feeling rather inflated at the moment, as though she were capable of anything. Still, that was normal. She was only a six-year-old girl, and this was her first time obtaining a Spirit Ring. It was rather cute this way.

"Come on, I'll take you hunting for a Spirit Ring!"

Mo Yuqing directly grabbed Zhongli's hand and led him toward the depths of the Soul Beast Forest. Zhongli let her pull him along. Spirit Rings and such were irrelevant to him anyway; he had mainly come out to have some fun.

With the talent of the Geo Archon, he could grow stronger without Spirit Rings, and he was constantly growing stronger at every moment. To him, Spirit Rings were merely optional items. Even the growth potential of Spirit Bones produced by soul beasts was inferior to that of his own bones, so there was no need to fuse with them at all.

A few minutes later...

The two encountered another soul beast: a Scarlet Armor Earth Dragon, approximately six hundred years old. However, Mo Yuqing lacked the knowledge to judge its cultivation age, though that did not affect what she did next.

Mo Yuqing looked at the Scarlet Armor Earth Dragon, then turned back to Zhongli. Her face reddened slightly as she revealed an awkward smile. "Zhongli, shieldy shield!"

"Uh..."

Zhongli parted his lips slightly. He had thought Mo Yuqing intended to rely on her skill to fight it alone, so he had not put up a shield right away. Who would have thought... you were this kind of person!

Fine, let's do it this way~