Yin Yang Treasure Liquid

Xiao Hongchen rubbed his cheeks, looking troubled.

"By the time I've mastered it, I'll probably have already broken through to the five-ring Soul King rank."

The auction continued.

The finale was a Class 7 Milk Bottle Soul Tool, and its final price settled at 6.8 million Gold Soul Coins, instantly igniting the entire venue.

Jiang Nannan's beautiful eyes widened. She looked like a lost little deer, astonished and bewildered.

She clenched her fists and silently made up her mind.

She had to work even harder at learning Soul Tools.

Milk Bottle Soul Tools were the most difficult to manufacture and imposed extremely high requirements on materials.

Because they had to store enormous amounts of Soul Power, they were even more difficult than ordinary Class 8 Soul Tools. That was why they sold for such astronomical prices.

A knock sounded at the door.

A young woman in a red dress pushed a small cart into the private room. She lifted the red cloth, revealing the items they had won at the auction.

There was Tiger Bone Marrow and rare metals.

Xu Tinglan opened the sandalwood box. Inside lay the precious Tiger Bone Marrow.

It was pure white like jade, around six inches long, its surface covered in fine golden threads that curled like tiger stripes. Its cross-section resembled a honeycomb, with faint golden liquid flowing through the pores and giving off a subtle fishy-sweet scent.

They stored the items in their storage Soul Tools.

Then, they prepared to leave.

At his roommates' recommendation, Xu Tinglan stopped by the Treasure Pavilion and bought twenty jin of Azure Water, intending to use it to stew the Tiger Bone Marrow.

Afterward, he went alone to the Auxiliary Cultivation Room.

Xu Tinglan took out a metal pot, placed the Ten-Thousand-Year Tiger Bone Marrow inside, poured in some Azure Water, and slowly heated it with a Soul Tool furnace.

It needed to simmer for about two hours for the effects to reach their peak.

He did not intend to waste time. Sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, he began to meditate.

Only when a rich fragrance overflowed from the pot did he open his eyes. The thick, platinum-colored broth had congealed without dispersing, turning into a soft jelly-like substance.

Xu Tinglan eagerly took out a spoon and swallowed a large mouthful.

A wave of heat spread from his abdomen through his limbs and bones.

Having broken through to Rank 40 Soul Ancestor, the young man's body craved nourishment more than ever.

This was also the time when he needed nutrients most. By a fortunate coincidence, the Tiger Bone Marrow's effects were brought out to the fullest.

Xu Tinglan's face flushed red, and an expression of comfort appeared on his face.

A faint platinum glow shimmered along the bones of his spine.

The Soul Power within his body unconsciously began circulating through his meridians.

Xu Tinglan stood up. His school uniform gave off a nauseatingly foul stench, but he himself was brimming with vitality, golden light shining in his eyes.

"Good stuff indeed."

He could still feel a current of heat lingering throughout his limbs and bones.

For the students' convenience.

The bathhouse was located right beside the Auxiliary Cultivation Room.

After taking a bath and changing clothes, Xu Tinglan felt completely refreshed.

He checked the time on his Communication Soul Tool and was shocked to discover that an entire day and night had passed.

He had not expected absorbing the Tiger Bone Marrow to take so long.

Fortunately, he had asked his teacher for leave in advance.

His homeroom teacher had no objections. After all, he was already used to it and knew that Xu Tinglan was Xuan Ziwen's student.

Kong Deming had sent him a message. Seeing that it had been sent two hours earlier,

the content was brief. "Come over here."

Xu Tinglan immediately replied, "Received."

The first time was unfamiliar, but the second came naturally.

He flew toward the Experimental Zone.

Xu Tinglan rode a Class 4 Flight Soul Tool through the sky. The breeze brushed against his hair and collar, making him feel especially carefree.

So this was what flying felt like.

Technology made people progress. Otherwise, one would probably have to wait until reaching the Title Douluo rank just to hover briefly in the air.

The Flight Soul Tool emitted a silver-black glow.

Xuan Ziwen had custom-built it for him using titanium.

He had been generous with both materials and craftsmanship.

Its four pairs of jet-wing outlets were internally linked to two Class 4 Milk Bottles. Even if Xu Tinglan's own Soul Power ran dry, he could still use it to escape danger.

Only an orange-red identity card could grant access to the Zero Experimental Zone.

Otherwise, it would trigger a warning.

As he entered through the gate, a green pupil-like film swept over him, and a mechanical voice sounded.

"Welcome, Xu Tinglan. Please enter."

The silver-haired old man was operating at the experimental table with intense concentration. The carving knife in his hand moved fast at times and slow at others, following a peculiar rhythm.

Xu Tinglan did not disturb him and quietly waited at the side.

Only after the old man finished carving.

The old man turned around, his steady voice ringing out. "Without question, Soul Tools have tremendous potential for development. They can even threaten a Limit Douluo."

Remembering the fates of Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao in the future, Xu Tinglan deeply agreed.

He guessed that the Sun Moon Empire had likely already completed the research and development of the Linked Soul Tool Array. Otherwise, his adoptive father would not have said such a thing.

Kong Deming smiled faintly.

"The way you forge metals has given me great inspiration. Given enough time, I am even confident that I could challenge the gods."

Xu Tinglan raised his head, somewhat uncertain.

"Gods?"

Kong Deming clasped his hands behind his back. "So-called gods are merely stronger people who got ahead of everyone else in grasping the laws of heaven and earth."

He took out two Pear Jade Boxes from his storage Soul Tool.

"I say this only because I want you to broaden your horizons."

"However, the most important thing right now is to improve your physical strength."

The old man changed the subject.

He opened the jade boxes.

One item resembled lingzhi, crimson like blood all over, with dragon-scale patterns covering its surface. The edge of its cap curled slightly, seeping dark-red juice like coagulated droplets of blood.

The other was dark green and faintly luminous, its membrane semi-transparent. A thread of golden liquid moved within it like a living thing.

Kong Deming spread his hands.

The two items gradually melted in his palms.

The Dragon Blood Lingzhi was enveloped by a blazing Haori, bursting with fierce blood-gold radiance.

Meanwhile, the Spirit Turtle Gallbladder slowly transformed beneath the kneading of a Silver Moon, until it became a deep black color.

The two fused together, transforming into dark gold.

Kong Deming took out a jade bottle. The Yin Yang Spirit Liquid floating in the air all entered the bottle, without even the slightest trace of scent escaping.

"Drink one-third of the treasure liquid now. Then, when yin and yang converge, drink it twice more."

"In total, you will be able to absorb an additional six thousand years from your Soul Ring."

This prescription had been passed down through Kong Deming's family. The two main ingredients were extremely difficult to obtain. Over the past several centuries, fewer than ten people had used it.

Not only had the boy before him opened up an entirely new line of thought for Soul Tool forging, he was also willing to acknowledge him as his adoptive father.

Whether for sentiment or reason, the old man was willing to use this item on him.

Xu Tinglan looked astonished.

The value of this treasure was likely no less than that of an ordinary Immortal Herb, yet his adoptive father was being so generous.

Faced with such a precious treasure, he instead hesitated somewhat.

"Adoptive Father, I'm not from the Sun Moon Empire. Aren't you worried..."

He did not finish speaking, but the old man understood what he meant.

"My ancestors were also from the Heaven Dou Empire." Kong Deming smiled kindly, his tone gentle. "Are imperial borders truly so important?"

He gently patted Xu Tinglan on the shoulder and urged, "Take it as soon as possible."

Xu Tinglan was slightly surprised, then relieved.

Kong Deming's ancestors were from the Heaven Dou Empire?

On further thought, it made sense.

People of the Sun Moon Empire generally had average talent.

Throughout their history, no Soul Master had ever broken through to Rank 95, which was why they had painstakingly studied Soul Tools.

Yet Kong Deming possessed Twin Martial Souls and such astonishing talent, without any prejudice based on family background.

The only explanation was obvious: he was of mixed heritage from the two empires.