Breathing heavily, blood streaked his lips.
"I did it."
"Good lad. You nearly scared me to death. I'm too old to take scares like that."
Mu Xuanheng glanced at the shaken Xuan Zi. "Old man, how about that? I told you I could do it."
Mu Xuanheng pointed his right thumb at himself, looking quite confident.
"Fine, fine, you did it. I almost didn't make it back to Shrek."
Xuan Zi felt he must have lost his mind to agree to let him absorb the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's Soul Ring.
"Next time, I'm not coming along. I'm too old to run around with a little rascal like you. When I get back, Mu En will lecture me again."
He patted Mu Xuanheng twice on the shoulder and laughed. "Hahaha! Never mind all that. To absorb such a good Soul Ring as your first one is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You really are the future star of Shrek."
Mu Xuanheng laughed along with him. He knew that, at this point in time, there really was another future star.
Before they left, he first rummaged around on the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's corpse.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking for a Soul Bone."
Xuan Zi smacked his palm against his forehead. "What are you thinking? How could you expect all the good luck to fall to you? Absorbing the Soul Ring was lucky enough. Now you want a Soul Bone too? You could kill a hundred Hundred-Year Soul Beasts and still not find one."
"Looks like there really is one."
"What?"
Xuan Zi followed Mu Xuanheng's gaze. A Soul Bone lay right there before them.
His expression changed dramatically. This wasn't an ordinary Soul Bone—it was a claw. "An External Soul Bone?"
He swiftly sealed off the area around them. "Quick, Xuan Heng. Absorb it right away. This is an External Soul Bone!"
It was common knowledge that a Soul Bone worked best when absorbed by the same person who had produced its corresponding Soul Ring.
But common knowledge aside, External Soul Bones were still irresistible.
Even Xuan Zi himself didn't have one.
"An External Soul Bone is one of the most coveted things a Soul Master can get, second only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring."
With Xuan Zi guarding him, Mu Xuanheng began absorbing the External Soul Bone.
Compared with the agony of absorbing the Soul Ring, this Soul Bone was much easier to bear. But that was only relative; the pain was still every bit as real.
Once he had finished absorbing the Soul Bone, Xuan Zi withdrew the protective barrier around them.
"We can talk about the rest back at the Sea God Pavilion."
Though Xuan Zi was confident in his own strength, Mu Xuanheng was far too important.
On the way back, Xuan Zi began explaining how rare and valuable External Soul Bones were.
Mu Xuanheng could only pretend he didn't know and listen attentively.
As soon as they returned to the Sea God Pavilion, Xuan Zi hurried off to find Mu En.
He wasn't seeking protection. He was showing off.
"The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's Soul Ring, and an External Soul Bone too."
When he heard about the External Soul Bone, surprise crossed Mu En's face. "Xuan Heng, let me see it."
Compared with a Soul Ring, a Soul Bone was even more valuable.
Mu Xuanheng immediately activated the Soul Bone, and a powerful claw appeared on his right hand.
"What Soul Skill does it come with?"
Mu Xuanheng focused and sensed it carefully. "Sky-Ripping Claw. It's an offensive Soul Skill, and it takes a lot of energy."
"Can you use it now?"
"Yes."
Mu En said calmly, "Use it on me with all your strength. You won't hurt me."
"Old man, watch out." Mu Xuanheng knew he couldn't hurt Mu En, given the immense difference in their strength.
He activated the Soul Bone, and the Sky-Ripping Claw struck Mu En directly.
Mu En didn't defend himself, and his expression remained unchanged. "What a powerful attack. It's nothing like a hundred-year-old Soul Bone. The attack of a One-Ring Soul Master is comparable to a Soul Elder's full-strength blow."
And Mu Xuanheng was only at level 11.
The effect was powerful, but the cost was clear too. At that moment, Mu Xuanheng felt as if all his Soul Power had been drained.
"Damn, what a Soul Skill."
"Serves you right." Xuan Zi took the chance to kick him twice.
Mu En helped Mu Xuanheng recover his Soul Power, wanting to see his first Soul Skill.
"My first Soul Skill is Chaofeng Dragon Claw."
"Come on, let me take the hit this time," Xuan Zi volunteered.
"Then I won't hold back, Second Old Man."
Mu Xuanheng formed a claw with one hand and struck swiftly, piercing through Xuan Zi's defenses and leaving a faint mark.
Mu En beamed. "It ignores defenses!"
"Exactly." Mu Xuanheng lifted his chin confidently. "And that's not all."
"Ah, there's more?" As a Super Douluo, Xuan Zi already found it humiliating to be scratched. Now there was more?
Mu Xuanheng explained, "Chaofeng Dragon Claw has three strikes. The first ignores defenses at close range. The second is a powerful grab from a distance."
A dragon claw imprint flew from Mu Xuanheng and struck Xuan Zi. But this one didn't cause any damage.
Xuan Zi said, "It has a bit of a restraining effect. Close-range offense and long-range control—what a Chaofeng Dragon Claw!"
Mu En asked, "Xuan Heng, you said there were three strikes. What about the third?"
"The third stays hidden in the void most of the time. It takes a lot of effort to call it out."
He looked at Xuan Zi. With such a good target, he had to give it a try. "Second Old Man, watch out."
Xuan Zi immediately caught the dragon claw as it suddenly emerged from an unseen spot. He couldn't hide his delight. "That third strike really is powerful."
Seeing Mu Xuanheng's surprised expression, he asked, "What? Did you think you could hurt me, a Titled Douluo?"
"I just didn't expect you to catch the third strike so easily."
Mu En reassured him, "Your senior brother was prepared for it. Someone else might not be able to stop that move."
An attack from the void was hard to predict even for high-level Soul Masters, let alone those of a lower rank. Much less could they react and stop it.
"Even if every Soul Skill is fixed, your first one is already this powerful. The others can't be bad either." Mu En had initially been a little dissatisfied that Chaofeng's Soul Skills were fixed, but now he thought that might not be a bad thing.
"This is beyond what you could call a top-tier Martial Soul. You could call it a god-level Martial Soul."
Mu Xuanheng nodded repeatedly, because Chaofeng was a First-Level God to begin with.
"Looks like your training will need to be specialized from now on."
Mu En naturally wouldn't treat a peerless genius like him the same as everyone else.
To get the best results, he would need special support.
"From now on, you'll be given specially prepared meals, a complete nutrition plan. But your training will have to increase considerably too."
"Ah, I'm still growing. Shouldn't we cut back a little?"
Mu En said, "I've looked through the ancient texts. A long time ago, people already conducted similar experiments. Training doesn't affect a Soul Master's physical development. What you're thinking of applies to ordinary people without Soul Power. So don't worry about your body. On the contrary, training will help you develop."
Good news, and bad news too.
Starting today, his training would be more intense than ever.
As an excellent Soul Master, he had to learn to make someone else share the burden. "Then, old man, do I have a training partner?"
"Then Bei Bei can train with you. He hasn't enrolled yet anyway."
Nine-year-old Bei Bei was still out running, unaware that even more grueling training awaited him.
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