External Soul Bone, the Third Eye

The purple halo rose above Lin Yao's head. Then, the five-thousand-year Soul Ring contracted and settled around his body as its power surged into him.

The dominance of a five-thousand-year Soul Ring was indeed far beyond that of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, especially since this Molten Demon Bear was no ordinary soul beast.

Lin Yao felt as though he had been plunged into a sea of fire. Both his body and soul were being scorched by blazing flames.

In an instant, it felt as though his insides were on fire. His body hurt so badly it was about to burst apart. The Star Body actively protected its master, rapidly repairing Lin Yao's body.

"Yao, Fire Attribute Soul Rings are inherently more domineering than those of ordinary attributes. No matter how the Soul Ring's power assaults your body, you must stay conscious. Remember, once you fall, you'll never get back up."

Ever since Chen Xin had advanced to become a Title Douluo, there had been little left in the world that could move him.

Yet, he could not help worrying about Lin Yao, who had reached such a critical moment.

Lin Yao gradually began to acclimate to the flames' scorching heat. His first Soul Ring possessed the wood attribute, and wood fueled fire. Empowered by the Star Sword, the flames' temperature rose once again.

As he adapted, the power continued to accumulate, raising the limits of his endurance and silently strengthening a physique that already far surpassed others of the same rank.

Lin Yao entered a state of inner vision. His Spiritual Sea was extraordinarily stable; no matter how violently the flames outside raged, they could not destroy it.

Seeing his disciple's complexion gradually calm, Chen Xin finally relaxed. The most dangerous moment had passed. This brat had really absorbed a five-thousand-year Soul Ring beyond his level.

"Roar!"

But at that moment, Lin Yao seemed to hear an enraged roar. When he turned around, he saw the Molten Demon Bear's dark red eyes appear within his spiritual world.

Then, they released a sharp gleam that shot directly into his eyes.

"Ah!"

Lin Yao could not help letting out a soft cry. His body fell backward, and he passed out just like that.

"Yao, what's wrong?"

Chen Xin's face paled in shock.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Xin picked Lin Yao up and rushed back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect at top speed.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Yao lay on the large bed in his room. Beside him, Ning Fengzhi and the two sect-protecting Douluo all wore anxious expressions.

Ning Rongrong was deeply upset. The peer she had acknowledged now lay there unconscious, filling her heart with emotions she found hard to accept.

"Brother Yao, wake up and look at Rongrong. Didn't we promise to grow stronger together, travel the continent in the future, and see even more beautiful scenery?"

"Be good, Rongrong. Your Brother Yao will be fine. That brat's talent won't let us down."

Bone Douluo felt sorry for his granddaughter and picked Ning Rongrong up to comfort her.

"There's nothing wrong with him after examination. Perhaps this means the child is quietly growing stronger in some way we cannot perceive. But why won't he wake up? Could we have overlooked something?"

Chen Xin was extremely anxious.

Ning Fengzhi shook his head. "I don't understand it either. According to what Uncle Sword said, Lin Yao had clearly absorbed the Soul Ring successfully, yet he suddenly fell unconscious at that moment. I've never seen anything like this."

The reason Lin Yao had not awakened was that his soul had suffered an inexplicable attack. Yet not only had the attack failed to harm him, it had instead expanded his Spiritual Sea considerably.

For the past few days, his consciousness had remained in his Spiritual Sea, sorting through his suddenly surging spiritual power.

"Whew! Finally done."

Within his Spiritual Sea, Lin Yao let out a long breath. He did not know why the Molten Demon Bear had suddenly appeared there, but the benefits he had gained were undoubtedly enormous.

Now that his spiritual power had been sorted out, his Spiritual Sea was even more stable than before. He felt that if he extended his spiritual power outward now, its effects would definitely be much stronger than before.

Of course, that was not the most important part. His greatest gain this time was neither his second Soul Ring nor the strengthening of his spiritual power, but the fact that he had organized his own system in his mind, no longer leaving it so chaotic.

Another day and night passed. Lin Yao completely immersed himself in organizing his own system, and the sensation of his overall strength steadily rising made him faintly addicted.

"Brother Yao, why aren't you awake yet?"

Ning Rongrong held a towel as she wiped Lin Yao's face.

If the others in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had seen this, their jaws would have dropped. Since when had their tyrannical young miss become so well-behaved?

This was the dependence one felt toward someone they cared about.

Outside the door, Ning Fengzhi sighed. "Thanks to Yao, Rongrong has truly become much more sensible than before. Sigh, I only hope Yao wakes up soon."

As a father who doted on his daughter, he truly could not bear to see her no longer as lively as before.

She was still just a child.

Moreover, he firmly believed that the terrifying genius who represented the future hope of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, perhaps even someone who could reign over the entire Douluo Continent, would not meet his end because of a five-thousand-year Soul Ring.

"Brother Yao, let me tell you, Rongrong's Soul Power has reached level fifteen too. I'm not as amazing as you, but Father always says I'm the Support Type Soul Master with the fastest Cultivation speed. Once you wake up, I'll definitely give you a surprise. You can't break our promise."

Ning Rongrong kept talking, hoping her words could reach Lin Yao's heart.

With such persistence, Lin Yao, within his Spiritual Sea, really heard someone calling for him.

"That voice... Rongrong!"

I should have cared more about the people who care about me instead of getting so absorbed in organizing my power system and making everyone worry for nothing. I really shouldn't have done that.

Lin Yao immediately felt regret. He could not let himself make the same mistake again—thinking only of himself and ignoring those who cared about him.

With that thought, Lin Yao immediately brought his consciousness back. In reality, he slowly opened his eyes and found Ning Rongrong staring blankly beside him, looking utterly lost. He felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Rongrong, I'm back. Sorry for making you worry!"

Seeing that Lin Yao had awakened, Ning Rongrong was overjoyed. She ran outside as fast as she could and shouted, "Sword Grandfather, Bone Grandfather, Father, hurry and come! Brother Yao is awake!"

"Yao, how are you? Is there anywhere you still feel uncomfortable?"

In the room, Ning Fengzhi examined Lin Yao's body once more. Whether physically or mentally, he found Lin Yao to be vigorous beyond belief.

Theoretically, there was not the slightest problem, but Chen Xin was still uneasy and asked several more times.

"Master, don't worry. I'm really completely fine. Actually, I wasn't unconscious these past few days. My consciousness was simply staying in my own Spiritual Sea."

Lin Yao reassured him. His current condition truly was excellent.

After he told them that his Spiritual Sea had expanded greatly, they finally understood that Lin Yao had spent the past few days sorting through his suddenly surging spiritual power.

"Spiritual Sea... Yao can actually observe his own Spiritual Sea now. That's something only many Spirit System Soul Masters can accomplish. Not only has his spiritual power increased, but its quality has improved as well.

"This isn't something a sword-type Martial Soul could achieve. It seems the powerful Martial Soul he calls the Star Body, this Body Martial Soul, has accomplishments in the spiritual aspect as well."

Ning Fengzhi pondered inwardly.

However, one point still puzzled him. Why would absorbing a Soul Ring cause Lin Yao's Spiritual Sea to expand?

The Molten Demon Bear had launched an attack with its eyes. It was clearly an Attack Type soul beast, yet it could unleash a Spirit System attack. It was truly bizarre and impossible to guard against.

Had it been an ordinary genius, they would likely have exploded and died while absorbing the Soul Ring. Fortunately, it was Lin Yao.

In truth, with Lin Yao's talent, if he had not pushed his limits by absorbing a five-thousand-year Soul Ring in hopes of gaining even greater growth from it, so many things would not have happened.

"Yao, can you tell me exactly what happened when you absorbed the Soul Ring?"

Ning Fengzhi was simply too curious. Something must have happened to Lin Yao.

Everyone here was trustworthy, so Lin Yao did not intend to hide anything from them. He recounted everything that had occurred in his Spiritual Sea.

Other than reviewing in his mind the experiences of the many versions of Lin Yao from other worlds that had accumulated within him, he concealed nothing else.

To his surprise, Ning Fengzhi was overjoyed after hearing it.

"I understand now. So that's how it is. No wonder your spiritual power expanded so much. Yao, you've struck it big this time!"

"Fengzhi, stopping halfway through makes people want to hit you. Good thing we're in the sect. And what exactly happened to Yao?"

Chen Xin said with a smile, clearly curious about Lin Yao's situation as well.

"Hehe, Uncle Sword, don't be impatient. If I'm not mistaken, the thing that attacked Lin Yao in his Spiritual Sea should have been a Soul Bone, specifically from the Molten Demon Bear's terrifying eyes that allowed it to explosively stack its own power!"

Ning Fengzhi said with a smile.

Soul Bone!

The term stunned everyone present. Soul Bones were priceless treasures in the world of Soul Masters. Whenever one appeared, it inevitably led to Soul Masters fighting and killing each other to claim it.

Even the immensely wealthy Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had only a small stockpile of them.

"Wait, that's not right."

At that moment, Bone Douluo looked doubtful.

"A Soul Bone should only have six positions: the head, torso, and four limbs. So what is this eye located at the brow? Could it be...?"

He clearly already had a guess. What Lin Yao had obtained was likely something even more precious than an ordinary Soul Bone.

"Uncle Bone, it's exactly what you think. What Yao absorbed was an External Soul Bone!" Ning Fengzhi said, his tone filled with excitement.

The value of an External Soul Bone was far beyond that of an ordinary Soul Bone.

It could be said that throughout the same era of the Douluo World, and even ten thousand or twenty thousand years later, it was practically standard equipment for a protagonist.

Especially in the great age of conflict after the God Realm vanished twenty thousand years later, one would be too embarrassed to go out and call oneself a genius without an External Soul Bone.

Among Soul Masters, there was a ranking for the most precious things to a Soul Master, called the Soul Master Dream Ranking.

External Soul Bones had always ranked second on the Soul Master Dream Ranking, surpassed only by the tied first-place Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

The most special trait of an External Soul Bone was that it would evolve as its owner's Soul Power increased. Therefore, the earlier one absorbed an External Soul Bone, the better.

Tang San had absorbed an External Soul Bone at level thirty in the original story, which was already incredibly fortunate. Lin Yao had obtained one even earlier this time, so he had won by a small margin.

Of course, this level of achievement could at most dominate Soul Land 1. In Soul Land 2, it would only be average, while in Soul Land 3, it would not even rank among the notable.

"So it's an External Soul Bone. No wonder it's so powerful."

Lin Yao finally understood what opportunity he had gained this time.

He directly gathered the Soul Power within his body between his brows. Soon, a third eye opened above his two eyes. Unlike ordinary black eyes, it gleamed crimson, and flames seemed to burn within its pupil.

The temperature inside the room began to rise sharply. Seeing the third eye between Lin Yao's brows shine with an enchanting light, Ning Fengzhi and the others knew that Lin Yao had activated his External Soul Bone.

Beyond their shock, they were also curious about the wonders of his Flame Demon Eye.

Lin Yao walked to the window and gazed into the distance. Everything in his vision seemed to slow to a standstill. Even a mosquito far away—he could clearly see how many times its wings flapped in a second.

Its range was also extremely great. Within a radius of ten li, it was almost no weaker than the Byakugan of the Naruto World.

Lin Yao turned back to look at Ning Fengzhi and the two Douluo.

"Uncle Ning, Master, Elder, after activating my External Soul Bone, I discovered that all my attributes have increased, especially my spiritual power and perception. They've been strengthened to an extremely terrifying degree."

Ning Fengzhi nodded.

"Just as I thought. An eye-type External Soul Bone would primarily enhance spiritual power and perception. What about its Soul Skill? Does it come with any actively cast Soul Skill?"

"Yes. Right now, I have a move called Soul Annihilation Demonic Flame. It's a spiritual attack Soul Skill that erupts with terrifying flame power within an enemy's Spiritual Sea and delivers a fatal blow, though its consumption is rather high."

Lin Yao had indeed obtained a powerful Soul Skill, but it was only natural that such a formidable spiritual Soul Skill would consume a great deal of spiritual power. Ning Fengzhi and the others understood.

Moreover, Lin Yao could only use it because he had connected with the spiritual power of several versions of himself from other worlds. If it were an ordinary Soul Master of the same rank, they would likely fall unconscious after using it even once.

To obtain such a terrifying Spirit System External Soul Bone truly meant his fortune was excellent.

"It's fine. Its consumption is high now because the age of your External Soul Bone is still low. As your strength and spiritual power grow in the future, it will become increasingly powerful as well.

"Not only will its consumption decrease, but the Soul Skill's power will grow even more frightening. Spirit System attacks may be somewhat underwhelming early on due to the limits of spiritual power, but in the later stages, they become an extraordinarily terrifying force—impossible to guard against and invincible among those of the same rank."

Chen Xin agreed.

"Yao's Star Sword surpasses even my Seven Kill Sword and the Clear Sky Hammer, whose power can be raised through Ring Detonation, in terms of ultimate offensive power.

"With his newly added Soul Ring Soul Skill, the concept of Five Elements Mutual Generation, and now such terrifying soul attacks... the new generation is pushing the old aside. The old generation is dying on the beach. I'm almost unable to keep up with the times."

Of course, as long as a master and disciple shared a normal relationship, a master would be gratified to see his disciple surpass him. Chen Xin was no exception.

"Wow, an External Soul Bone second only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone! Brother Yao is amazing! And this Soul Bone doesn't take up any of the other Soul Bone slots, so he has one more than everyone else from the start. It can also grow stronger alongside its Soul Master. So amazing! Rongrong doesn't even have one yet. I wonder if I'll ever get the chance."

Ning Rongrong's adorable voice was filled with envy.

"Don't worry, Rongrong. As long as I have meat to eat, you'll never be short of a pot to scrub."

Lin Yao smiled and patted Ning Rongrong's little head.

"Ah, Brother Yao, you're so mean! You don't even want to share any soup with me—you just want me to scrub the pot..."

Ning Rongrong tugged at Lin Yao's sleeve, her face full of dissatisfaction. In anger, she fiercely bit him with her little tiger teeth.

Watching the two play around, Ning Fengzhi smiled. Ning Rongrong and Lin Yao were becoming closer and closer, exactly what he hoped to see.

"Yao, you are the most terrifyingly talented Soul Master I have ever seen, even among all those recorded since Soul Masters first appeared. Perhaps your future will not be limited to the Douluo Continent. Perhaps you can break through that mysterious and terrifying realm and witness domains beyond the reach of ordinary people like us. I only hope that once you have grown up, you can take care of Rongrong and the sect. Then I will be completely satisfied."

"Don't worry, Uncle Ning. I may not know what the future holds, but my heart that wishes to protect Rongrong will never change."

Lin Yao spoke earnestly, his tone full of unwavering determination. Every word came from the bottom of his heart.