Zhu Zhu Qing successfully obtained her third Spirit Ring, and it even exceeded the standard age limit for a third Spirit Ring. She felt immensely accomplished.
Netherworld Ghost Slash.
Bang! Bang...
Zhu Zhu Qing tested her third soul skill. Two Ghost Blades formed in her hands, and she slashed at several trees in the distance, directly felling them. Its power was tremendous—a soul skill that combined strength and speed.
Ahh...
Just then, Zhu Zhu Qing felt a sharp pain in her left forearm. A black claw suddenly emerged and covered her left hand like armor. Five crescent-shaped blades extended from its front, much like the claws of the Ghost Leopard.
"Zhu Qing, what's wrong?" Ye Liangchen had been examining the Ghost Leopard's corpse. When he heard Zhu Zhu Qing cry out, he immediately thought something had happened to her.
"Brother Chen, what is this?" It was Zhu Zhu Qing's first time seeing something like this. She looked completely bewildered as she hurriedly waved her strange left hand at Ye Liangchen.
"Little Cat! You've hit the jackpot. This is an External Soul Bone."
Seeing the sharp Black Long Claw on Zhu Zhu Qing's left hand, Ye Liangchen was delighted. It seemed that having Little Cat beat up the Ghost Leopard earlier had filled it with intense resentment. As expected, there had been a reward.
Moreover, this External Soul Bone had fused into Zhu Zhu Qing's body along with her Spirit Ring, just like Tang San's Eight Spider Lances.
"Brother Chen, you're saying this is an External Soul Bone?" Zhu Zhu Qing felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky and landed right on her head.
"Zhu Qing, let me tell you. External Soul Bones are different from ordinary Spirit Bones. They can grow. Your External Soul Bone may only be around two thousand years old now, but its age limit will rise along with your strength. When you become a Titled Douluo, it may even evolve into a hundred-thousand-year External Soul Bone."
"Th-That's so incredible!"
After hearing about the wonders of External Soul Bones, Zhu Zhu Qing was stunned. Her cherry lips formed a little "O," and the sudden happiness left her overwhelmed.
"Your External Soul Bone hasn't fully fused yet. If other people see it, they may kill you and steal it. You need to make it fuse perfectly with your left hand as soon as possible."
"Even after it fuses perfectly, don't reveal your Spirit Bone carelessly until you're strong enough. Understand?"
"Now use your mind to retract the Spirit Bone. Practice often and make it a part of your left hand."
"Brother Chen, I understand."
Seeing Ye Liangchen's serious expression, Zhu Zhu Qing understood how important an External Soul Bone was.
"Try it slowly. I'm going to take these two Soul Beast corpses back. They should fetch at least a thousand Gold Soul Coins."
Spirit Bones were precious enough to make countless Soul Masters envious. Ye Liangchen gave Little Cat a warning so she would be more careful in the future.
Zhu Zhu Qing had never expected to obtain a legendary External Soul Bone. She felt both nervous and excited. But she knew that everything had been given to her by the young man before her. Thinking of this, Zhu Zhu Qing watched Ye Liangchen as he worked, her beautiful eyes filled with endless tenderness.
Slash...
Ye Liangchen took out a sharp long knife and removed the Wild Boar's innards, then wrapped it directly in a tent cloth, along with the Ghost Leopard.
"Little Cat, come help! These are all Gold Soul Coins!"
"Coming, Brother Chen."
The two hurriedly stuffed the two three-meter-long Soul Beasts into the tent cloth, and Ye Liangchen stored them in his Soul Tool.
"Brother Chen, just how large is your Soul Tool? Those two Soul Beasts are six meters long combined!"
Zhu Zhu Qing knew that he carried pots, bowls, utensils, and a heap of other things with him. Now he had also packed away two three-meter-long Soul Beasts weighing nearly a thousand kilograms in total. His Soul Tool had to be extraordinarily precious.
"My Soul Tool has fifty cubic meters of space. Storing this little stuff is child's play."
Ye Liangchen waved his hand indifferently. He also had his Game Backpack. No matter how large a Soul Beast was, he could fit it inside.
"Brother Chen, your Soul Tool is huge. Mine only has around ten cubic meters of space."
Although she had been born into a great clan, Zhu Zhu Qing felt that compared to the young man before her, she was nothing.
"Brother Chen, it'll be dark soon. We can only spend the night in this forest again."
"There's a creek over there. I'll go wash off the blood and grime. Guard me first, and then I'll guard you afterward."
Seeing how filthy she was, Zhu Zhu Qing dashed straight toward the distant creek, removed her clothes, and washed away the dirt on her body.
"Go ahead. I'll keep watch around us."
Ye Liangchen felt that this girl had completely lowered her guard around him. He helplessly shook his head, leaped into a large tree, spread out his Spiritual Sense, and kept watch over the surroundings.
Before long, after Zhu Zhu Qing finished washing, Ye Liangchen also ran to a distant pool and took a bath.
"Little Cat! No peeking!"
"Brother Chen, if I see you, would you really be the one losing out?"
"That's right. Aunt Lan and the others told me that when I'm traveling outside, I need to watch out for female hooligans."
"You're the hooligan!"
The two teased each other for a while, and the atmosphere was cheerful.
After enjoying a nice bath, night had fallen. Ye Liangchen casually caught two wild rabbits, cleaned them by the creek, and returned with Zhu Zhu Qing to their previous little cave.
After returning to the little cave, Ye Liangchen quickly started a fire and began roasting the rabbits.
Sizzle...
Before long, rabbit oil began to drip, releasing an enticing aroma of meat.
"Brother Chen, can we eat yet?" Looking at the golden-brown roasted rabbit meat, Zhu Zhu Qing could not help swallowing. After all, she had gone nearly a whole day without food.
"Little Cat, don't rush. I'll add some seasoning."
Ye Liangchen took out saltwater and chili powder, sprinkling them over the meat. The flavor immediately rose to another level.
"All right, dig in."
"Brother Chen, this tastes amazing."
"You're just hungry, so you think it tastes good."
"No, it really is delicious."
After enjoying a hearty meal of Roasted Rabbit Meat, Ye Liangchen thought of a way to help Zhu Zhu Qing quickly and perfectly fuse with her External Soul Bone.
"Little Cat, activate your External Soul Bone."
"Okay, Brother Chen."
Crack...
Although she did not know what Ye Liangchen intended to do, Zhu Zhu Qing knew that this man would not harm her.
"I'll use Soul Power to press down on you. Then fuse with the External Soul Bone with all your strength. Try to make it merge perfectly with you."
Buzz...
Ye Liangchen released his Martial Soul and applied a support buff to himself, then pressed his powerful Soul Power aura down onto Zhu Zhu Qing.
"Ha..."
Zhu Zhu Qing felt a powerful force of Soul Power pressing down on her body, as if a thousand-pound burden had been placed upon her.
"Zhu Qing, how is it? Can you still hold on?"
"Brother Chen, I can."
"Then use the pressure from my Soul Power to make the External Soul Bone fuse completely into your left hand."
"Okay, Brother Chen."
An hour later, with Ye Liangchen's help, Zhu Zhu Qing's External Soul Bone had completely fused into her left hand. She could now control it as easily as moving her own fingers.
"Brother Chen, this Spirit Bone feels completely like my hand now. There isn't the slightest discomfort. It feels wonderful."
With a thought, a sharp black claw covered Zhu Zhu Qing's left hand. With another thought, the black claw quickly retracted.
"Very good. Although it has fully fused into your body, don't reveal it carelessly outside." Ye Liangchen warned her again.
"Brother Chen, I understand. This External Soul Bone came from the Ghost Leopard, so I plan to give it a name: Ghost Claw. When I activate it, my strength increases by fifty percent. And when Ghost Claw attacks enemies, it can ignore defenses and has powerful penetrating force."
Zhu Zhu Qing explained Ghost Claw's abilities, leaving Ye Liangchen momentarily stunned. He felt that the enhancements granted by these External Soul Bones to their hosts were probably all similar. His Wind Thunder Wings also increased his strength by fifty percent, and Tang San's Eight Spider Lances in the original story were much the same.
"Very good, but you can't rely too much on Spirit Bones. Becoming strong yourself is what truly matters."
"Brother Chen, I understand. Thank you for letting me obtain such a wonderful opportunity."
"You're welcome. We're friends, aren't we? Helping each other is only natural."
"Brother Chen, let's rest. We still need to travel tomorrow."
After chatting for a while, Zhu Zhu Qing directly pulled Ye Liangchen into the sleeping bag they had laid out.
"Little Cat, something's off with you."
Ye Liangchen felt that this little cat was becoming increasingly proactive. How was he supposed to withstand this?
Blushing, Zhu Zhu Qing whispered into Ye Liangchen's ear, "Brother Chen, I want to cultivate with you..."
"Don't let your imagination run wild. Go to sleep. Tomorrow, we need to prepare to return to Skywater Academy."
Ye Liangchen raised a finger and lightly flicked Little Cat on the forehead, stopping her from thinking such messy thoughts.
"Brother Chen, once I cancel my imperial marriage contract in the future, I'll stay by your side forever and never leave you." Zhu Zhu Qing looked at Ye Liangchen and spoke deeply.
"What are you thinking about again? We'll talk about the future when it comes."
Good grief, they had known each other for less than a month, and this little cat was already confessing to him. Ye Liangchen could only sigh that the women of this world were all hopeless romantics.
"Brother Chen, I'm serious. You're the only one in my life. No matter what happens in the future, I'll follow you and always be your Little Cat."
Little Cat no longer hid her feelings. She declared her intentions directly, then threw herself into Ye Liangchen's arms and hugged him tightly.
"Is that really necessary?"
"Little cats are usually gentle and quiet, but right now, you're acting like a female hooligan."
Seeing Little Cat's affectionate expression, Ye Liangchen understood that this girl had fallen for him completely. She had even begun confessing to him.
"Brother Chen, what kind of Little Cat do you like? I can change for you anytime."
Zhu Zhu Qing lay quietly in Ye Liangchen's arms, her large eyes fixed on his handsome face. Unfortunately, it was already dark, so she could see nothing clearly.
"Don't overthink it. As long as you live happily, that's enough. Don't care about what others think."
Ye Liangchen rubbed Little Cat's soft long hair, feeling wonderful. Petting a cat really did feel great.
"Brother Chen, do you know why I didn't object when you called me Little Cat after we met in the Star Dou Forest?"
"Why?"
"Because Brother Chen is too handsome."
"Hey! Little Cat, something's off with you. So you've been lusting after my looks."
"Brother Chen, you're right. I do want you. Ever since you saved me in the Star Dou Forest, I've never been able to forget you. My aunt told me to fight to stay alive, break free from the cage of fate, and find my own happiness. I escaped to the Heaven Dou Empire this time because I wanted to find you. Thankfully, the heavens let us meet in the Border Mountain Range. Brother Chen, don't you think that's fate?"
"Aren't you looking for Dai Mu Bai? He's your fiancé."
"What would I look for him for? So we can fight my sister and Dai Weisi together? How could we possibly win? The difference in our strength is far too great. We were meant to be nothing more than whetstones for Dai Weisi's path to becoming the imperial heir. I'm not an idiot. Why would I go die with him?"
Listening to Zhu Zhu Qing's explanation, Ye Liangchen felt as though his expectations had been completely overturned. He had thought this little cat had come to find that Dai tiger, but she had actually come looking for him.
But it did not matter. Little Cat could not escape him anyway. Besides, he still needed to obtain the Immortal Herbs later. Without the Immortal Herbs, the Shrek group could only become mediocre. And he could not possibly stand by and watch Little Cat go to her death.
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