A Ticket to Break the Rules

Xiao Chen really hadn't expected that recycling a single Black Mane Wolf's soul would yield such generous rewards from the system.

Xiao Chen immediately opened the soul bone's description to inspect it.

Soul Bone: Black Mane Wolf Head Soul Bone.

Age: 400 years.

Soul Bone Effect: Enhances the spirit master's mental strength.

Attached Skill: Black Mane Devouring Thought—releases a mental energy impact, causing a dizziness effect on the opponent (dizziness duration related to the user's own mental strength!).

"What a good find!" Xiao Chen secretly rejoiced. Though this soul bone was only four hundred years old, its attached skill was quite impressive.

A scene of himself fully decked out in soul bones, unstoppable and invincible, had already surfaced in Xiao Chen's mind. His heart brimmed with barely contained anticipation.

But just as Xiao Chen was lost in that eager hope, the system spoke up in a low tone: "Host, this soul bone's age is too high. You cannot fuse with it."

Xiao Chen: "???"

"System, this isn't a spirit ring, dammit. Why can't I fuse with it?" Xiao Chen was deeply unconvinced.

System: "The essence of soul bones and spirit rings is actually the same, so Host can only fuse with soul bones within ten years of age!"

Xiao Chen: "..."

"Damn it, all that excitement for nothing!" Xiao Chen cursed under his breath. "So what's the point of rewarding me with something I can't use?"

"Host can give it away. That kid's second spirit ring was granted by a Black Mane Wolf, so this Black Mane Wolf Head Soul Bone is a perfect match for him." The System Spirit pointed at Ma Yan, who was currently fusing with his spirit ring nearby.

"More importantly, this system's soul bones have no connection to this world. That's essentially giving that kid a ticket to break the rules of this world, laying groundwork for Host's ultimate mission in advance!" the System Spirit added.

It had to be said, this system truly had a long-term vision.

Xiao Chen's gaze first landed on Ma Yan, then slowly swept over the others.

Though he had only just met these five people, after spending a few hours together, he could tell they were all decent-natured individuals.

"System, if a high-level spirit master sees this soul bone, will they notice anything unusual?" Xiao Chen asked.

The System Spirit patted its chest in assurance: "Host, rest a hundred percent assured. Even if those old fogies from the Divine Realm came down, they wouldn't be able to tell a thing!"

Xiao Chen gave a slight nod. In that case, he could safely give the soul bone away.

So, Xiao Chen deliberately made a bit of noise to draw the others' attention.

"Xiao Chen, don't mess with the Black Mane Wolf's corpse yet. The smell of blood is too strong—it might attract other nearby soul beasts!" Chu Ruolan called out in warning.

But just as she finished her warning, she saw Xiao Chen drive the dagger at his waist into the Black Mane Wolf's skull.

Lin Feng and the others, seeing Xiao Chen ignore the instruction, were about to scold him when they noticed a faint glow emerging from the spot where Xiao Chen had stabbed the wolf's head.

Then, a palm-sized skull fragment, shaped like a wolf's cranium, peeled away from the Black Mane Wolf's head.

"A soul bone?" Chu Ruolan gasped in shock.

Lin Feng, Su Qing, and Zhou Ming couldn't see this happening and all froze in place, too stunned to speak.

The four of them quickly crowded over, wanting to confirm if it was real.

"A soul bone? And a head soul bone at that... this is just a four-hundred-year Black Mane Wolf!" Lin Feng's hand gripping the Azure Steel Sword trembled violently, disbelief flooding his eyes.

Beside him, Su Qing covered her mouth, murmuring in equal incredulity: "A century-old soul beast dropping a soul bone... I've never seen that before. I've never even heard of it!"

Zhou Ming, meanwhile, stared wide-eyed, gaping at the soul bone, unable to utter a word for a long time, his heart filled with nothing but shock.

The group exchanged glances, unable to hide their astonishment. None of them had expected that the very first soul beast they hunted upon entering the Star Dou Forest would drop an extremely rare head soul bone.

They didn't suspect Xiao Chen at all, simply assuming he had noticed something unusual about the Black Mane Wolf and moved in.

Xiao Chen tactfully stepped aside to give Chu Ruolan room. Because of his insufficient strength, he couldn't give the soul bone openly; he had to let them mistakenly believe it had dropped from the Black Mane Wolf.

"I wonder how Chu Ruolan will handle this soul bone," Xiao Chen thought to himself.

He knew all too well how precious soul bones were on the Douluo Continent.

Even among blood relatives or teammates who spent every day together, once a soul bone came into play, turning on each other and becoming bitter enemies was a common occurrence.

Chu Ruolan summoned the soul bone into her palm and examined it closely. Lin Feng and the others also stared at it with burning eyes.

After a moment, Chu Ruolan finally spoke slowly: "This soul bone dropped from the Black Mane Wolf. It shares the same origin as the second spirit ring Ma Yan is absorbing. Having him fuse with this soul bone would give the highest compatibility and be the most suitable choice. What do you all think?"

With that, her gaze shifted to Lin Feng and the others.

Though Lin Feng, Su Qing, and Zhou Ming's eyes still blazed with desire, upon hearing Chu Ruolan's words, the three immediately nodded in agreement.

Chu Ruolan gave a slight nod, then turned her gaze to Xiao Chen.

Seeing this, Xiao Chen promptly stated, "I have no objections!"

Chu Ruolan smiled and nodded, then said, "Good. Once Ma Yan finishes absorbing the spirit ring, we'll have him fuse with this soul bone as well!"

Before she even finished speaking, Chu Ruolan sensed a faint tremor in the soul bone in her hand, and a weak force of resistance came from it.

She could clearly feel that this soul bone seemed to possess a will of its own, eagerly trying to break free from her grasp and fly toward Ma Yan, who was still absorbing the spirit ring not far away.

Chu Ruolan frowned slightly. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation.

She knew very well that if a soul bone and a spirit ring were absorbed together, the spirit master might not be able to withstand the combined impact of the spirit power from both.

At worst, their meridians would be severed; at worst, they would explode and die. Even if the Soul Bone and Spirit Ring before them came from the same source, absorbing them together was still extremely dangerous.

But at this moment, waves of strange aura fluctuations continuously emanated from the Soul Bone, actually giving Chu Ruolan a faint feeling—that now was the perfect opportunity for Ma Yan to absorb the Spirit Ring and Soul Bone together.

She felt that if she missed this window of resonance from the same source, attempting to fuse them later would not only become far more difficult but might even cause her to lose something.

Thinking this, Chu Ruolan immediately let go.

The moment the Soul Bone was freed from restraint, it flew straight toward Ma Yan, who was absorbing the Spirit Ring, as if it had gained a will of its own, hovering above his head.

The Soul Bone emitted a soft, dark gray glow, resonating with the aura of the Spirit Ring Ma Yan was absorbing, seeping into it bit by bit, beginning a synchronized fusion.

The originally somewhat tense absorption process became exceptionally smooth after the Soul Bone joined in. The violent Spirit Power was quietly pacified, with no conflict or backlash whatsoever.

All of this was naturally the system's doing.

Under normal circumstances, when a Soul Master kills a Soul Beast, the beast harbors deep resentment toward the Soul Master in its dying moments, which is why the Spirit Ring it produces is difficult to absorb.

But the Soul Bone produced by the system contained a wisp of the Black Mane Wolf's spiritual essence. Thus, absorbing and fusing them together not only avoided conflict with the Spirit Ring but also stimulated the Spirit Ring's potential to a greater degree.

What would have taken about half an hour to fully absorb the Spirit Ring, with the Soul Bone's involvement, was completed in just over ten minutes—Ma Yan had finished attaching the Spirit Ring and fusing the Soul Bone.