The Rudiments of a Talent Domain

Tang Xuan and Ning Rongrong parted ways with the Imperial Dou Fighting Team outside Sunset Forest.

He had originally planned to release the Mysterious Wing Soul Bone somewhere deserted and fly straight back to the sect with Ning Rongrong in his arms.

But imagination was plump, while reality was bony.

The not-yet-fully-fused Mysterious Wing Soul Bone was harder for Tang Xuan to control than a pig waiting to be slaughtered for the New Year.

He could forcefully flap it a few times and barely glide for a short distance.

But Sunset Forest was at least several hundred li away from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Leaving aside whether he would get tired, if he flew all the way back like that, the falls alone would knock the stuffing out of him.

Left with no choice, the two could only obediently take a carriage.

Even so, it took them another half a day to return to the sect.

The sky gradually darkened.

Inside the familiar Seven Treasures Great Hall, the trio of old fogeys was all present.

"Grandpa, Uncle Ning, Grandpa Bone, Rongrong and I are back!" Tang Xuan greeted them, unable to hide his delight.

He had been away from home for nearly half a year, so naturally he missed it.

"Mm. I calculated that you would probably return within these next few days. Have you broken through to Level 20?" Chen Xin smiled as he stroked his beard.

Breaking through two levels in four months might have sounded like a fantasy to ordinary people.

But for his grandson with an Innate Sword Heart, it was probably just routine.

"More than that, Sword Grandpa. Brother Xuan has already obtained his Second Soul Ring. And he even has one—no, two huge surprises for everyone." Ning Rongrong blinked mischievously.

She thoroughly piqued the trio of old fogeys' curiosity.

"Xiao Xuan, did the Soul Skill's effects exceed expectations? How does it compare to Mountain Collapse?" Chen Xin asked expectantly.

Tang Xuan's strike of Mountain Collapse back then had left far too deep an impression on Chen Xin.

It had remained in his heart, impossible to dispel.

Tang Xuan smiled mysteriously. "They each have their own strengths. It's nothing more than a somewhat stronger Buff Skill. But the important part isn't the Soul Skill. It's this..."

As he spoke.

One yellow and one purple ring of light rose beneath Tang Xuan's feet in succession.

Immediately afterward.

With a sharp tearing sound, the Mysterious Wing Soul Bone spread open from Tang Xuan's back.

"A Thousand Year Soul Ring!?" The three cried out in unison.

Ning Fengzhi's reaction was the most intense.

At a glance, he noticed Tang Xuan's Mysterious Wing Soul Bone.

Without a care for anything else, he rushed forward, feeling it on the left and examining it on the right. He even pulled out a magnifying glass.

"It resembles bone and extends from within the body. Th-this is an External Soul Bone?" Ning Fengzhi's excited voice trembled.

The moment he said that.

The shock in the Sword and Bone Douluos' hearts deepened severalfold.

With their knowledge, they naturally understood what an External Soul Bone meant.

It was an existence second only to Hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings and Soul Bones.

And Tang Xuan had obtained an External Soul Bone at such a young age and such a low level.

In the future, it might even rival—or surpass—a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

"Xiao Xuan, besides you and Rongrong, who else has seen your Soul Bone?" Bone Douluo's ugly face was filled with killing intent.

There was no need to explain the rarity of Soul Bones.

Obtaining a Soul Bone by hunting Spirit Beasts was the least efficient method.

Killing someone and taking their bone was the easiest and most common way to obtain one.

Although even if the owner of an External Soul Bone were killed, the Soul Bone would not drop.

Those Spirit Masters consumed by greed neither knew nor cared about that.

As Tang Xuan's Second Grandpa, Bone Douluo would eliminate every possible danger to Tang Xuan before it could take root.

Tang Xuan naturally understood this, and warmth rose in his heart. "Don't worry, Grandpa Bone. Aside from the people in our Imperial Dou Fighting Team, no one else has seen my Soul Bone. And I trust them."

"If they had harbored ill intentions, Rongrong and I wouldn't have made it back to the sect safely."

Bone Douluo's eyes rolled as he thought it over. It was indeed true.

Only then did his expression ease somewhat.

"Xiao Xuan, tell me everything about how you absorbed a Soul Ring beyond your level, including how that Spirit Beast died." Chen Xin suppressed the shock in his heart and said with a frown.

An External Soul Bone was certainly good.

But Tang Xuan's disregard for his own life made him furious.

Tang Xuan gave an awkward smile, drew back his neck, and was just about to explain.

But Ning Rongrong beat him to it.

The Little Girl's account was even more detailed than Tang Xuan had imagined.

She had not missed even the slightest change.

It was clear that she had truly focused all her attention on Tang Xuan.

"The ground sank? Wait, Rongrong, are you saying the ground sank while I was absorbing the Spirit Ring? And after that, I got through the most dangerous period?" Tang Xuan asked, his eyes wide.

At the time, all his attention had been drawn to the Soul Skill and Ning Rongrong.

He had not noticed such a subtle change at all.

"That's right! The sinking was very slight, but it definitely happened. Teacher Qin and Sister Yanzi saw it too." Ning Rongrong looked utterly certain. "Brother Xuan, is that a new ability you developed?"

Tang Xuan frowned so deeply he could have crushed a few flies between his brows.

It definitely was not a new ability.

If his guess was correct, the thing that had caused the ground to sink was precisely that "momentum" that had surged from the depths of his soul.

Yet even now, he had no idea what that "momentum" truly was.

If it was Mental Power or Soul Power, then with Tang Xuan's current strength, he was still far from capable of projecting it outward.

But if it was Sword Momentum, then his Sword Momentum had always only locked onto enemies.

It had never been able to affect the environment at all.

Just as Tang Xuan was racking his brains without finding an answer, Chen Xin rushed forward and asked excitedly, "Xiao Xuan, tell me—what did you feel while absorbing the Spirit Ring?"

Tang Xuan did not understand why he was asking.

But he still described the matter of that "momentum."

As he listened, Chen Xin suddenly threw back his head and laughed wildly. "Hahaha! That's it, that's it!"

"Getting a thousand-year Second Ring and an External Soul Bone wasn't enough—you actually comprehended the beginnings of a Talent Domain on your own! My grandson Tang Xuan has the bearing of a god!"

Tang Xuan felt as though he had been struck awake, smacking his forehead hard.

How had he forgotten about this?

What ability could affect the environment besides a Talent Domain?

The ability that crushed the ground into collapse—

wasn't that the embodiment of the Mysterious Iron Heavy Sword's terrifying weight and its essence of overwhelming others with sheer force?

Though the ground had not caved in deeply, his Talent Domain was still only in its infancy—perhaps it could not even be considered an infancy yet.

But once it was refined in the future, even at its worst, it would be equivalent to a Slowing Domain.

After all, how could an ordinary person possibly walk about freely under such terrifying pressure?

In the Original Work, Tang San seemed to have gone through something similar before awakening the Blue Silver Domain.

But at that time, Tang San's Mental Power had already entered the Mustard Seed Realm, enough to rival a Soul Saint with ease.

It was only because Heart Separation Control had greatly strengthened his Mental Power that he could briefly enter the state of the Blue Silver Domain.

The current Tang Xuan was completely incapable of comparing to Tang San of that time in any respect.

So why could he also enter the state of a Talent Domain?

Unable to hold back any longer, Tang Xuan finally voiced the question in his heart.

Chen Xin panted heavily, unable to hide the delight in his eyes. "According to Rongrong, you were already on the verge of being unable to hold on when your Talent Domain suddenly erupted. That means your Mental Power underwent a certain degree of evolution under the pressure of the Spirit Ring. And a Talent Domain is precisely the manifestation of Mental Power and momentum!"

"Ordinarily, even if your Mental Power evolved, it still would not have been enough to support the formation of a Talent Domain. But by coincidence, you possess an Innate Sword Heart and have reached the realm of Sword Momentum! Once your Mental Power broke through, your Sword Momentum naturally advanced as well. Only through the overlap of the two could the beginnings of a Talent Domain be formed through such a fortunate coincidence."