Seeing that Yue Hongchen had entered its attack range, the Nile Crocodile whipped its tail at him. What good were Soul Skills? Its mouth and tail were far more useful.
"Clang!"
A dull crash rang out. The expected sight of Yue Hongchen being knocked into the ground by a single tail strike never came. The blade collided with the crocodile's tail, sending tiny sparks flying.
"That's one tough tail!" Yue Hongchen couldn't help praising it.
Yue Hongchen's sword could've cut through the iron tail, but it wasn't enough. The crocodile's tail held firm, blocking his strike perfectly.
"But that's all you've got."
Yue Hongchen put his full strength into a slash. The tremendous force threw the Nile Crocodile off balance, nearly flipping it over. Its tail struck the ground again, launching its body into the air before it came crashing down. The impact sent it stumbling backward.
Not giving the Nile Crocodile time to use another Soul Skill, Yue Hongchen lit his third Soul Ring. The moment the crocodile steadied itself, the sword shadow of the Divine Authority Sword drove neatly into the crack left by his earlier strike.
Without its armor to protect it, the sword easily pierced through its body and plunged into the ground.
The intense pain made the Nile Crocodile fear for its life. All four claws and its tail thrashed against the ground. It spotted a nearby lake, its Soul Power surged, and it began planning an escape route.
Yue Hongchen didn't give it a chance to use that Soul Skill. A Soul Skill that boosted all its attributes would be difficult to deal with.
The effect of the Divine Authority Sword activated, pinning the Nile Crocodile firmly to the ground and forcibly interrupting the flow of Soul Power through its meridians.
"Was that your first time drawing blood?" Yue Hongchen looked at the sword in his hand. Without hesitation, he thrust it into the weakest point in the armor on the Nile Crocodile's head.
A black Soul Ring drifted out of its body. Its life force had vanished completely.
Yue Hongchen beckoned Meng over from where she was hiding in the forest, then crouched down to process the Nile Crocodile's corpse.
The Soul Ring was useless to him, but its tail and teeth were excellent materials for making Soul Tools.
By the time Meng came over, Yue had just cut off the Nile Crocodile's tail and stored it in his Soul Tool. Then, he found a branch from somewhere and propped open the crocodile's mouth. Wearing gloves and holding a pair of pliers, he began pulling out its teeth one by one.
"Thirteen thousand years of cultivation. It's not quite enough for a Level 5 Soul Tool, but it should make a pretty powerful Level 4 Soul Tool." After putting away the materials he needed, Yue Hongchen smiled with satisfaction. He hadn't expected to get an extra prize, too.
"Brother, I think it dropped a Soul Bone." Meng was poking at the Nile Crocodile's corpse with a branch when she noticed a strange Soul Bone beneath it. "But it doesn't look like a Soul Bone from any of the usual body parts. Could you have shattered it with your sword?"
With that, Meng handed the strange Soul Bone to Yue.
Yue took it and examined it carefully. It wasn't one of the traditional six types of Soul Bone, but rather...
"An External Soul Bone."
"An External Soul Bone?" Meng Hongchen didn't know much about them. She'd only heard her brother mention them once while he was reading.
"External Soul Bones aren't among the traditional six. They're comparable to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, don't take up one of the six Soul Bone slots, and can increase in age as their bearer's cultivation rises." As he spoke, he casually tossed the Soul Bone to Meng. She hurriedly caught it, startled.
"You're just going to toss something so precious around like that?" Meng pouted and complained.
Yue Hongchen waved her off, tossed the Nile Crocodile's corpse into the water, and covered up the smell of blood around them. "It's yours. This External Soul Bone is from the right shoulder, and it has ice attributes. It suits you well. Absorb it quickly and see if you can get the Nile Crocodile's all-attribute boost Soul Skill."
"Huh? You should absorb it, Brother." When Yue gave her the Soul Bone, Meng's heart warmed, but she felt such a precious Soul Bone ought to go to her brother.
"Just absorb it." Yue poked Meng in the forehead, exasperated. "It's only a Soul Bone. You're worth more than that."
With that, Yue sat down where he was. The Blood Oath Pact floated quietly beside him, while the three divine swords settled at three points around them.
Seeing this, Meng stepped forward and hugged him from behind. "Thank you, Brother."
Yue chuckled softly. "There's no need to thank me. Hurry and absorb it. It's still early, so we might have time to find that Soul Beast today."
"Mm!" Obediently, Meng sat cross-legged at the center of the three swords and began absorbing the Soul Bone in her hands.
Meng's body was now as strong as that of a high-ranked Soul King, so she absorbed a Soul Bone just over ten thousand years old without the slightest discomfort.
Before long, the External Soul Bone had completely melded with her body.
"Brother, I think I got the Soul Skill you mentioned. It's called Bone Condensation, and it boosts all attributes by thirty percent!" After learning what the Soul Bone did, Meng stared in shock. A thirty percent boost to all attributes—and a percentage-based boost, at that.
"Not bad." Yue nodded with satisfaction and withdrew his Soul Skill and Martial Soul. "When we get back, come with me to the Sword Tomb. We'll use the sword intent there to help you fully fuse with this External Soul Bone. Once it's completely fused, it'll be part of your body, so you won't have to worry about someone killing you to take it."
Meng smiled and nodded. She wondered whether she could beat Yue after getting her fourth Soul Ring. If she could, she'd make sure to pin him down then.
There were no other Soul Beasts in the lake besides the Nile Crocodile. Yue took Meng across it and back into the forest, hoping to find the Ice Fire Poison Horned Beast soon. Then he'd have time to take Meng to Far North City and show her around.
They spent the next two days without seeing any Ice Fire Poison Horned Beasts. They did encounter a few Snow Velvet Moths, but those Soul Beasts generally didn't attack unless their territory was invaded. So Yue took Meng in another direction.
It was now the fifth day since they'd arrived in the Far North. That morning, they finally found traces of an Ice Fire Poison Horned Beast. All that remained at the site was a dead Soul Beast, apparently the victim of a run-in with the Ice Fire Poison Horned Beast.
Following the traces it had left behind, Yue soon found it in a somewhat open area. It was badly injured and was currently tending to its wounds.
It was as agile as a spirit deer, with a shoulder height of eight chi. Ice-crystal patterns covered the fur on its left side, wreathed in chill, while dark red flames marked its right side, radiating heat. A spiraling black horn grew from its head, its tip beaded with pale purple venom. Wherever its four hooves stepped, they left scorched marks and frost prints interwoven with ice and fire.
"Sometimes you search everywhere and find nothing, only for what you need to turn up without effort. We finally found it." Using his power of separation, Yue led Meng into hiding and quietly approached.
Meng, whose hand Yue held, looked at him curiously. What shoes? What iron? She didn't understand. Her brother was so strange.
"Hide here and don't reveal yourself yet. This Soul Beast is badly injured. I'll fight it first, then you can attack while it's weak." Yue sent the message to Meng with his Soul Power.
Meng obediently nodded, hid where she was, and quietly watched the large deer tending to its wounds.
Before you continue