Traveling Through Douluo, I Split into Five People

It was clearly only a Thousand-Year soul beast, yet the absorption took far longer than expected.

More than two hours later, Tian Rui finally opened his eyes. Tang Yin asked curiously.

"How does it feel?"

"It feels like something changed, but I can't quite put it into words."

He summoned his Martial Soul without possessing it, keeping it in its phantom state. Tian Rui noticed a faint fluorescent glow on the surface of its feathers. Unlike the scorching heat of Sunlight or the high temperature of Flame Light, this glow felt remarkably gentle.

"The soul skill's effect is very strong. For its duration, it makes me completely immune to negative conditions and can dissolve energy-based attacks. I can fly too, and my flight speed is insanely fast! At my current level, it's practically Teleportation!"

"Really? Let me see what that's all about."

Fast? Just how fast?

With a smug snap of his fingers, the Thousand-Year Spirit Ring he had just absorbed reappeared, and Tian Rui spread his wings. The Golden Feather Luan Bird's wings should originally have been orange-red, but they had somehow gained a faint golden sheen. It was so subtle that one would miss it without looking closely.

"Watch."

He lifted his chin toward Tang Yin. Tang Yin only saw his wings twitch before he vanished from the spot.

Tian Rui slammed into a tree more than ten meters away.

"Hey, hey, hey." Tang Yin's expression turned strange as he mocked, "That's the first time I've ever seen a soul master crash into a tree."

"Can't help it. The speed's too fast, and my reaction speed can't quite keep up. Besides, I feel like if I went any faster, my body would dissolve on the spot. No, burn up? That doesn't sound right either. Get sliced apart by the air? That doesn't seem quite right either... Anyway, if I could withstand it, I could go even faster."

He muttered to himself for a while, then gave up on thinking it through and waved a hand.

"Let's go. We can study it more after we get home."

"Can a Thousand-Year soul beast really provide a soul skill like this? Isn't that a little ridiculous?"

"What's so ridiculous about it? Isn't that Invincible Golden Body even more ridiculous? It claims to have invincible defense beneath the gods... In a world like this, what reason is there to talk about? There's no reason at all."

He was talking about more than just the bizarre variety of soul skills.

As the two spoke, they gradually walked away. The dark green figure standing straight as a javelin behind the bushes hesitated for a moment but did nothing. He had no grudge against them, they had not offended him, and they were not on opposing sides. Why needlessly create bloodshed?

A Martial Soul Fusion Skill was indeed a rare sight.

He would tell that brat and let him worry about it.

There could be no one other than Dugu Bo wearing dark green clothes and standing as straight as a javelin. He did want to recruit the two of them, perhaps leaving Dugu Yan some helpers Ning Yulin did not know about. But judging by their age, they were no longer young. At that age, they could not be raised into loyal subordinates, and he did not know their backgrounds or character. He could not be bothered to investigate.

Better to tell Ning Yulin and let that brat handle it, whether he wanted to recruit them or eliminate them.

Let him worry about it.

At their current level, the two had not sensed Dugu Bo's presence at all. Tian Rui had yet to develop electromagnetic sensing, and he did not have Zhou Xuefeng's rudimentary Blue Silver Domain. For now, his main means of perception still relied on his five senses.

They returned to their original route and rested for the time being. They caught two rabbits for dinner and lit a campfire.

"Are we still looking for the Mandarin Duck Pot?"

After searching everywhere without finding it, Tang Yin had long since grown impatient.

"Forget it, let's go. A place like that probably isn't within the range where Thousand-Year soul beasts roam. Either we get Zhou Xuefeng to search with Blue Silver Grass sensing, or we can only wait for Ning Yulin."

Turning the wooden skewers to keep the rabbits from burning, Tian Rui yawned. With just the two of them, finding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in a forest as vast as Sunset Forest would be difficult. And running into Dugu Bo while searching would be even more troublesome.

They should leave early and attend to other matters.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two rested and planned to leave the forest the next day. Though nighttime did not greatly hinder their movements, they could not be bothered to waste energy staying alert for potential nocturnal hunters. Traveling during the day was much easier.

Soul Bone Removal Experiment

Dugu Bo naturally moved much faster than the two of them.

While they were still roasting rabbits, he had already left Sunset Forest. He went back to the Dugu Family estate for a look and found that Dugu Yan was not there, so he knew she was with Ning Yulin. After their engagement, the agreement for the two of them to take turns living at each other's homes had been voided. The two children could go wherever they pleased.

After Ning Yulin heard what he had to say, he was utterly dumbfounded.

Seriously? They ran into each other too?

Good thing he had not made a move.

"I didn't expect Grandfather to encounter two people capable of using a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. I understand. We really cannot let talents like that slip away. I'll immediately arrange for people to investigate them."

He hurriedly humored him so the matter could be over with. He could not let this old man take it to heart.

After speaking, he looked at Dugu Bo expectantly, hoping the old man would say what he wanted to hear. But the old man seemed determined to oppose him. With an amused look in his eyes, he feigned confusion.

"Why are you looking at this old man like that?"

You old bastard! Just wait until I do this and that to Dugu Yan, then that and this to her!

After leaving Sunset Forest, the two returned to their respective residences. Tang Yin left a message in their shared space, asking Zhou Xuefeng to come help him perform surgery to remove the soul bone. It would not be convenient for him to visit Zhou Xuefeng, since there were outsiders there. Ning Yulin's place also had too many people watching, and someone would follow him if he left, so that would not work either.

Knowing what they were planning, Zhou Xuefeng had already been waiting for a long time, checking the messages in their shared space three times a day.

The moment he saw the latest message, he set out at once.

"I'm going out. You all stay here and don't run around."

After giving Zhu Zhuyun those instructions, he left directly. Before going, he stood at the doorway and glanced back at her.

"You can also try taking them and escaping while I'm gone. I definitely won't come looking for you."

Leaving her with an eerie smile, he quickly departed. Zhu Zhuyun went frantic with rage and stamped her foot. When she saw Zhou Xuefeng leave, she really had considered taking the chance to flee with her two younger sisters.

But even if they succeeded, where could they go in this vast world?

If they were discovered by people from the Star Luo Empire and captured, they would have to resume the bloody and cruel competition between sisters. Even if the loser survived after having her Soul Power abolished, she would become a Canary imprisoned in the imperial palace.

That was worse than death.

If they were not found by people from the Star Luo Empire but instead ran into some noble's Slave Hunters, they would be taken back and trained to become women for an Auction House. That would be even more tragic. She knew that because Spirit Hall had mediated the conflict between the Two Great Empires, the Heaven Dou Empire had enjoyed peace for a long time and had long forgotten the struggles of its founding era. The Heaven Dou nobles were far more corrupt than the Star Luo Empire's nobles, who kept their troops ready for battle and sought to earn merit.

Though the Star Luo Empire's nobles had all sorts of sordid dealings too.

Those who considered themselves beings above ordinary people had different ideologies. In their eyes, this was their right, neither a crime nor evil.

With a sigh, Zhu Zhuyun firmly locked the front door. She decided to "stay" for a while longer.

After leaving Heaven Dou City, Zhou Xuefeng summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and activated his Second Spirit Skill, splitting it into countless Blue Silver Fine Threads that wove themselves into a flying bird. He switched to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and bestowed it with vitality.

He stepped onto the Blue Silver Flying Bird and flew directly toward Tang Yin's location.

Anything granted vitality by the Glazed Pagoda Second Spirit Skill would completely obey its Martial Soul master's commands.

The village where Tang Yin was staying was not large, but it was "close" to Heaven Dou City and had quite a sizable population. To avoid drawing the attention of unrelated villagers, Tang Yin left the village in advance and met Zhou Xuefeng in the woods nearby.

Connecting to the Blue Silver Grass to keep watch over their surroundings, Zhou Xuefeng took out the tools he had prepared beforehand. They were various blades similar to scalpels, specially commissioned in advance to cut off the arm more quickly and cleanly.

"This..."

Looking at those things, Tang Yin swallowed.

"It really won't hurt, right?"

"Don't worry. I'll be quick. You won't feel anything too clearly."

Pinching a blade between his fingers, Zhou Xuefeng made two slicing motions through the air and calmly looked at Tang Yin. At this point, was he really planning to back out?

Tang Yin crossed his hands and cracked his knuckles. With a grin, he raised the arm that had absorbed the soul bone.

"Do it!"

But Zhou Xuefeng suddenly tossed aside the blade in his hand and threw over a small bottle—the anesthetic left over from the Zhu Family. Tang Yin downed it in one gulp, blinked a few times, and within several breaths, his vision went dark. He fell backward, kicked his legs once, and went limp.

Squatting down, Zhou Xuefeng summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and sent fine threads into Tang Yin's arm, directly carving out the soul bone. They were sharper and more convenient than scalpels, saving time as well.

"Which hand was it again?"

"Right, the right arm."

The rough work of digging out a soul bone was far easier than the delicate work of opening the meridians inside the two sisters' bodies. After locating the soul bone, he did not immediately remove it. Instead, he first used the fine threads to sense the soul bone's state within the soul master's body.

"This energy state will be difficult to handle."

Only then did he realize that his earlier idea would not work. Unless Tang Yin's right arm was detached from his body and its Soul Power connection severed, the soul bone, though attached to the soul master's arm, would remain in an energy state, entwined with the soul master's Soul Power. The two were inseparable, making direct removal impossible.

This form...

If he had enough samples, perhaps artificial soul bones could be created.

But he would probably need to collect an enormous amount of data and also master the technology of materializing energy.

Materializing energy... Soul Cores?

Why had it circled back to that again?

Shaking his head, Zhou Xuefeng refocused and controlled the fine threads to begin separating Tang Yin's right arm.

In less than a minute, he removed Tang Yin's intact, undamaged right arm. He temporarily sealed the wound with Blue Silver Fine Threads. Switching to the Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul, he could not directly add vitality yet; he had to wait for the energy to condense back into a soul bone.

It did not take long. A few minutes later, Zhou Xuefeng sensed the soul bone reappear. He swiftly removed it, then reattached Tang Yin's severed limb. The cut surfaces still showed strong signs of life, having only lost a little blood and vitality.

After arranging the severed blood vessels, meridians, and so on, Tang Yin woke up more than half an hour later.

"How was it?"

Tang Yin meditated and sensed his current Soul Power. His expression was not very pleased.

"I dropped more than three levels. I'm probably only level thirty-one now."

"I'm afraid removing the soul bone was not the main reason. The more crucial factor was the loss of blood and vitality while the severed limb was detached." Zhou Xuefeng offered a possibility, then added, "Don't forge for a while. Cultivate as soon as possible and see how long it takes to recover the lost Soul Power."

If Ning Yulin prepared some nourishing medicinal ingredients as well, there should not be any major aftereffects.

If it was like the cultivation after they had first awakened their Martial Souls, merely refilling a bucket that was not full, then the speed of rebuilding should not be too slow. If all went well, they could continue down the path of absorbing soul bones to improve their physiques and forcibly absorb higher-age Spirit Rings. Before absorbing Immortal Herbs, they could raise their foundations another step.

Serious Business

After their brief meeting, Zhou Xuefeng left directly. He took the soul bone with him. If Tang Yin's condition remained good afterward, this soul bone could be used for experiments on others.

Heaven Dou City.

"Your Majesty, Poison Douluo has now effectively joined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Because of what happened before, I have a fairly good relationship with Poison Douluo. Perhaps we can use this opportunity to bring the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect onto the Heaven Dou Empire's war chariot. With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's support, we may even be able to influence the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's stance."

"Furthermore, although Clear Sky Sect's base is still unknown, we can be certain that it lies within the Heaven Dou Empire. If we can win them over as well, then whether we face Spirit Hall or the Star Luo Empire, Heaven Dou will stand as firm as Mount Tai."

After the brief court session ended and the ministers dispersed, Xue Xing sought out Xue Ye alone and spoke those words.

Xue Ye sighed. How could he not understand the importance of the Three Great Sects? But it was not as though he had not sent signals of goodwill over the years. Blue Lightning had completely ignored them. Seven Treasures Sect had politely brushed them aside. Their dignity had been preserved, but they had gained none of the substance they wanted.

"Perhaps, like Poison Douluo, we could form a marriage alliance with Ning Fengzhi."

Xue Ye fell into thought and glanced at Xue Xing.

"You mean Ning Fengzhi's daughter?"

"No, no, no!"

Xue Xing's expression changed, and he hurriedly denied it. He did not know whether Ning Fengzhi had informants in the palace. If these words reached Ning Fengzhi's ears and he learned that the Emperor had designs on his daughter, it would be disastrous. He quickly said, "I mean Xue Ke. Ning Fengzhi's sixth son is engaged to Poison Douluo's granddaughter. Given Xue Ke's age, Ning Fengzhi's fifth son should be about right as well."

But Xue Ye shook his head.

"Let us discuss it later. Let me consider it."

Just as Ning Fengzhi doted on Ning Rongrong, Xue Ye also cherished Xue Ke, one of his few princesses and perhaps even his only one. He was somewhat reluctant to use her as a bargaining chip.

Seeing Xue Ye's expression and sensing his attitude, Xue Xing shook his head and left in disappointment. He really has grown old. He no longer has the resolve he had when he first ascended the throne.

Since Xue Ye would not agree, Xue Xing himself did not dare go around the Emperor and contact Ning Fengzhi. He could only suppress his thoughts.

After sitting for a while, Xue Ye also rose and left. Xue Xing's words still lingered in his mind.

"A marriage alliance won't work. Then..."

"What about taking a master? Of the four princes, choose one to become Ning Fengzhi's disciple. Given Ning Fengzhi's character, he should not refuse outright. Once there is a superficial relationship, it will be easier to develop it further."