New Soul Bone Skill! Taking Whale Rubber! Xiao Wu Plays with Fire!

Once it had returned to his body, Tang Lan immediately summoned the Ice Jade Scorpion Tail.

A jade-green scorpion tail pierced through his pants, its tail hook curling around to hover before him.

Unlike an ordinary scorpion tail with many segments, the Ice Jade Scorpion Tail had only five segments. Each was jade-green, with the segment closest to his body being the widest and growing narrower toward the end.

The tail hook attached to the final segment was set with sparkling diamond-like granules, while its pointed tip gleamed with a silver-white mirror sheen.

Luxurious and noble!

At first glance, it looked less like a scorpion tail and more like a work of art.

Its looks suit me quite well. Tang Lan nodded in satisfaction.

He tried to curl it around a forging hammer, but failed.

The Ice Jade Scorpion Tail had a unique structure. Though it had only five segments, it stretched two meters long, making it difficult to coil.

But—

"Whoosh—"

"Crack—"

The Ice Jade Scorpion Tail stabbed through the air, producing an explosive crack.

It sacrificed flexibility in exchange for tremendous power!

Even a normal strike was as powerful as an ordinary Third Soul Skill.

Then there was the Soul Bone Skill—Flame Freeze Poison Needle!

The Ultimate Ice condensed by the Ice Jade Scorpion Tail collided with the "Ultimate Fire" of the Nine Yang Divine Skill's inner force—though it merely produced the effect of Ultimate Fire; the Nine Yang Divine Skill's inner force was not truly Ultimate Fire.

The collision erupted with immense thrust, launching the Ice Jade Scorpion Tail forward to break through defenses at a single point.

Shattering all defenses!

As it pierced the enemy's body, it injected the violent Ultimate Ice and "Ultimate Fire" within, detonating them inside.

A one-hit kill!

Tang Lan's eyes lit up!

Although this Flame Freeze Poison Needle had drawbacks such as high consumption, short range, and difficult control, its advantages were equally obvious—high attack power and devastating damage!

The Ice Jade Scorpion Tail's unique structure gave it more than twice the strength of Tang Lan's own body.

Once he got close and used Flame Freeze Poison Needle to enhance it, anyone below level 20 had no chance of blocking this sting!

Not bad. I've gained another trump card.

Tang Lan briefly checked himself.

His Soul Ring Age had increased by around 5,000 years, and his physique had been strengthened in tandem.

What a massive boost!

Tang Lan struck while the iron was hot.

He took out a piece of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber and placed it on the face of the Thunder Flame Haotian Hammer.

He roasted it with the fire attribute until it became a golden liquid that gave off a faint fragrance.

Then he swallowed it all.

His entire body immediately turned scorching hot, and his instinctive urges were stirred.

But the moment Tang Lan circulated the Nine Yang Divine Skill, all of it vanished.

In only a few minutes, he had fully digested it.

After checking again—

his Soul Ring Age had only increased by around 120 years?

Made sense.

Tang Lan's physique was already extremely powerful.

The effects of the whale rubber were naturally greatly reduced.

—He should have eaten the whale rubber first, then absorbed the External Soul Bone.

He had been too excited and miscalculated.

He ate two more pieces of whale rubber, gaining 70 years and 30 years respectively.

Eating any more had no effect.

He put away the remaining four pieces, planning to feed them to Xiao Wu later.

Tang Lan took out Chen Xin's insights and skimmed through them.

"Seven Kills Thunder Rises, one sword shatters the sky."

"A verse of thirteen strings within the cup; half a lifetime of wind and rain returns to a single sword."

"At Yanping Ford, peaks rise sheer as blades; the sword departs, the sky lies empty, and the water flows on."

Good grief!

Are you sure these were insights into the Seven Kill Sword and not inspiration for poetry?

Though the strokes were sharp and carried the hidden essence of the sword path, Tang Lan used a hammer. He had no intention of trying to comprehend them.

He flipped straight to the end.

There, he found an entry titled "Solidify Ring into Reality."

Since it was an insight rather than a secret technique, the writing was scattered and disjointed.

The general principle was this:

After a soul ring unfolded but before a soul skill was released, there was a "malleable" stage.

At that point, its form could be altered and turned into an object embedded on the martial soul.

Do not mistake this for something flashy but useless.

The timing came after the soul ring had unfolded.

When releasing a soul skill, there would be no need to unfold the soul ring again. The soul skill contained within could be activated directly.

Though it saved very little time, perhaps only around 0.01 seconds, one step ahead meant staying ahead at every step.

Chen Xin's Seven Kill Sword was faster than those of the same rank. He could seize the initiative from the start, disrupt his enemy's rhythm, and force them to reveal openings.

"An interesting idea."

Tang Lan summoned the Life Spirit Blue Silver Emperor and immediately spread the Blue Silver Domain.

Through God's Perspective, he searched for that "malleable stage."

As the saying went, a leaf could blind the eye.

With a clear objective in mind, his Mental Power quickly caught that fleeting instant.

After a little manipulation, he lifted the soul rings from beneath his feet.

He shaped them into black leaves and attached them to the Life Spirit Blue Silver Emperor.

Repeating the process, three black leaves appeared on the Life Spirit Blue Silver Emperor.

"Pretty simple."

Tang Lan stretched lazily.

Only then did he realize that it was already dark outside.

Had time passed that quickly?

"Knock, knock, knock—"

"Brother!" Xiao Wu called softly. "It's been a whole day. Are you still busy?"

Tang Lan got up and opened the door, and Xiao Wu looked at him with concern.

Once she confirmed that Tang Lan was all right, she broke into a bright smile.

Then she threw herself into his arms.

"Brother, you're amazing!"

"When that Sword Douluo first looked at me, it was like he was looking at a soul ring."

"His eyes were so scary!"

"But he really didn't make a move against me. Brother, you're seriously incredible!"

Having survived a calamity, Xiao Wu's face brimmed with admiration.

Tang Lan smiled and ruffled her braid.

He still had that much confidence.

Even if Ning Fengzhi had truly lost his mind, Tang Hao was nearby.

Over those six years, the Nine Yang Divine Skill had healed most of his old injuries.

Taking down Chen Xin would be a piece of cake.

As for Ning Fengzhi wanting to provide support?

Against someone that weak, Tang Lan was confident he could take him down in three minutes.

Although Tang San's martial soul was a bit lackluster, with the Barrett and hidden weapons backing him up, temporarily holding off the other cannon fodder would not be a problem.

That was why Tang Lan had Xiao Wu face a Titled Douluo head-on.

It would help her get used to it.

Unexpectedly, Ning Fengzhi gave him a surprise.

With a flicker of his hand, Tang Lan took out the seventy-thousand-year Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.

Xiao Wu sniffed at it.

"What is this? It smells so good!"

"I swiped it from Ning Fengzhi just now." Tang Lan smiled. "A seventy-thousand-year Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng. It can speed up your transformation."

Xiao Wu was stunned!

Seventy thousand years?

She herself had not even lived that long!—A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast referred to cultivation, not age.

"Something this precious... you're just giving it to me?" Xiao Wu asked uncertainly.

"I'm only letting you look at it. Give it back," Tang Lan teased.

He made as if to take it back.

Xiao Wu darted aside and snatched it away, then stuck her tongue out at Tang Lan.

"I don't care!"

"Anything that reaches my hands belongs to me now!"

"Thanks, Brother~"

Then she scampered into the inner room of the dormitory.

Tang Lan smiled and shut the door.

He controlled the Blue Silver Grass to seal off the entire dormitory.

Tonight, he would stand guard over Xiao Wu.

This was a seventy-thousand-year immortal herb!

Its medicinal effects were incredibly potent.

Even though Xiao Wu cultivated the Nine Yang Divine Skill and her meridians had already been widened, it was still very difficult for her to digest.

So, Tang Lan first melted down four pieces of Whale Rubber and fed them to Xiao Wu.

They strengthened her physique and added roughly 1,100 years to her limit.

Only then did she consume the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.

Yet Inner Force still surged wildly throughout her body, as if she might explode at any moment.

That was when Tang Lan went over and absorbed some from her.

Using the "Absorption of Shared Origin" ability only available at the Great Perfection of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, he devoured part of Xiao Wu's Nine Yang Divine Skill Inner Force.

Once space had been cleared in her meridians, there was naturally no longer any danger of her body exploding.

Again and again, in and out.

The entire night passed just like that.

Tang Lan's Inner Force grew several degrees more profound, though exactly how much it had increased was unclear for now.

But Xiao Wu's level shot up at a visible rate!

And she became increasingly more "human."

Xiao Wu opened her eyes and excitedly leaped into Tang Lan's arms.

"Brother!"

"I'm level 37!"

"And the level at which I'll completely transform has been brought forward to level 50!"

"This is wonderful!"

"Hahaha—"

"Muah—"

"Mwah—"

"Mwah—"

Xiao Wu pecked away like a woodpecker, unleashing a storm of kisses.

It got Tang Lan so worked up that his temper flared!

Sensing the change, Xiao Wu's expression shifted!

She immediately jumped down, the Third Soul Ring beneath her feet lighting up.

Teleport!

She ran away.

Leaving Tang Lan burning with pent-up fire, baring his teeth in frustration.

Damn it!

This girl only knew how to light the fire and not put it out?

Sometimes, he really wanted to just toss aside this "Pure Yang Tenfold Accelerator" and punish this little minx on the spot!

"Huff—"

Tang Lan took a cold shower to cool himself down.

Only then did he leave the dormitory.

To his surprise, Ning Rongrong was waiting right outside. The moment she saw Tang Lan emerge, she hurried over.

"Sect Master, you're finally out!"

"Can you fulfill what you promised me now?"

Tang Lan had previously promised

that once the deal was complete, Ning Rongrong could choose any one cultivation technique to learn.

Naturally, Tang Lan would not go back on his word.

—Other than the complete version of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, there was no need to keep anything else hidden.

As long as she took care not to let it leak out, it would be fine.

"Which one do you want to learn?" Tang Lan asked.

He had thought Ning Rongrong would choose the Undying Imprint Technique.

But unexpectedly—

Chapter 2 was 6,500 words. I cut nearly 2,000 words and wrote a brain-dead plot, so I won't force myself to keep writing it, haha~