Experiment! A Powerful Attack! This Was the Right Path!

Oscar's face went completely pale.

He lowered his head to look at that golden bear paw of his, feeling fear for the first time.

This was not a treasure.

It was a hot potato.

"So remember this."

Flender's voice was like a blade, every word stabbing into Oscar's heart:

"In front of outsiders, do your best not to reveal your External Soul Bone. If you accidentally expose it, then anyone who has seen you use it—kill them if you can. Leave no one alive. That is the safest way to handle it."

Oscar shuddered from head to toe.

Killing.

Flender was talking about killing people.

For an eight-year-old child, this was the first time he had heard the word "killing" spoken so casually—and the target was himself.

"I... I'll remember." Oscar's voice trembled slightly, but he still nodded hard. "I definitely won't expose it carelessly."

Seeing his terrified expression, Flender's tone softened somewhat.

"Don't be afraid. As long as you don't reveal it, no one will know you have this. Using it in front of us is fine. Using it in front of friends you trust is fine too. But remember what I just said—any outsider who might leak the secret cannot be allowed to leave alive."

Oscar took a deep breath and tried his best to calm down.

"I understand."

He looked at his bear paw, his gaze complicated.

It was his treasure, but it was also a death warrant.

He had to learn how to find a balance between the two.

Ma Hongjun watched everything silently from the side without saying a word.

He knew there were quite a few precedents for External Soul Bones in the original story.

Tang San's Eight Spider Lances had been acquired when he hunted a Man Faced Demon Spider. Tang San had carefully hidden them in the early stages, only daring to reveal them publicly during the tournament when he had no other choice.

Oscar's bear paw was the same.

But this also proved one thing—

Oscar's luck had truly been activated by him.

A Food-Type Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power had obtained an External Soul Bone from his second Soul Ring.

That kind of luck could no longer be explained by merely being "talented."

Perhaps Oscar himself was someone favored by fate.

It was only that in the original story, his luck had always been overshadowed by Tang San's brilliance.

In this life, what Ma Hongjun needed to do was gradually release all that hidden brilliance.

After the excitement faded, Oscar looked at his golden bear paw and suddenly thought of a question.

"Just how powerful is this bear claw of mine?"

Flender glanced at him and pointed at a massive boulder not far away.

"Why not try it and find out?"

The boulder was more than a person's height tall, its surface covered in moss and cracks. It weighed at least a thousand jin.

It was a common giant mountain rock in the forest, hard in texture. Ordinary swords could not even leave a mark on it.

Oscar walked up to the boulder and took a deep breath.

First, he ate one of his own Strength Sausages.

"Daddy Has a Strength Sausage!"

The instant the incantation left his mouth, Oscar felt a warm current rise from his lower abdomen and flow through his limbs and body.

His muscles swelled slightly, his bones let out faint cracking sounds, and his entire body filled with strength.

He had never felt anything like it before.

He lowered his head to look at his right palm and activated his Soul Power.

Golden light flared, and his right palm instantly changed shape.

His five fingers thickened, his nails lengthened, and brown fur emerged across the surface of his skin. A majestic bear claw took shape.

Oscar took a deep breath, swung his bear claw, and smashed it down at the enormous boulder.

Boom!

A deafening crash rang out.

Mu Jin shards flew everywhere.

The enormous boulder, taller than a person, was split cleanly in two by a single claw strike.

The cross-section was as neat as though it had been cut by a sharp blade. A crack ran from the top to the bottom, and the entire boulder collapsed to either side, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Oscar stared blankly at his right claw, his mouth wide enough to fit a fist inside.

"Th-this... was that me?"

Flender's eyelid twitched.

Zhao Wuji cursed outright. "Damn it, this kid really stepped in dog shit."

Li Yusong and Lu Qibin exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.

Shao Xin opened his mouth, and only after a long while did he squeeze out a sentence. "A Food-Type Soul Master... shattering rock with one claw?"

Ma Hongjun stood to the side, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

It was not dumb luck.

This path really worked.

Oscar came back to his senses and became excited like a madman. He slashed and chopped at the remaining rubble, claw light shooting from his fingertips and carving three golden arcs through the air, further cutting several chunks of Mu Jin into pieces.

"Enough, enough!"

Flender grabbed him by the back of the collar and lifted him up like a chick,

"If you keep chopping, you'll tear this whole forest apart."

Oscar dangled in midair, but he still wore a foolish grin.

"Teacher, I can fight now... I really can fight now..."

Flender looked at him, his expression complicated.

A Food-Type Soul Master had relied on his own soul skill and an External Soul Bone to shatter a thousand-jin boulder with one claw.

Previously, Flender would never have even dared to imagine it.

But today, he had witnessed it with his own eyes.

"Alright, get down." Flender set him back on the ground. "Clean up. We're getting ready to head back."

--

Ma Hongjun walked over to the Vajra Bear's corpse and crouched down to inspect it carefully.

Though the bear was dead, every part of its body was valuable.

Its hide was tough and thick, an excellent material for making armor.

Its meat was rich in Soul Power essence. Turning it into a medicinal bath would greatly benefit a Soul Master's cultivation.

Its bones, gallbladder, and paws could each fetch a considerable price.

Several teachers also walked over.

"The Storage Soul Tool has limited space, so we can only take the most valuable parts."

Flender said, "Take the hide, bones, gallbladder, and paws. The meat takes up too much space, so bring as much as you can."

Without another word, Zhao Wuji pulled out a dagger and began dismantling the bear's corpse.

His movements were highly practiced. Clearly, this was not his first time doing such a thing.

He skinned it first, then removed the bones, then took out the gallbladder and cut off the paws—all in one smooth, clean motion.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar did not stand idle either, helping from the side.

Ma Hongjun was responsible for putting the dismantled parts into the Storage Soul Tool.

As he packed them away, he calculated in his heart.

The bear hide could make two sets of armor, the bones could be ground into bone powder for medicine, the gallbladder was precious medicinal material, and the paws were an excellent restorative food.

These things were no longer of much use to Soul Saints and Soul Emperors like Flender and Zhao Wuji.

But for Soul Masters at the level of a One-Ring Soul Master or a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster like him and Oscar, they were rare treasures.

"Bring as much of the bear meat as you can."

Shao Xin reminded them from the side, "The meat contains the Vajra Bear's essence of strength. Take it back and make soup with it—it will be greatly beneficial for both of you. Especially Little Oscar. He just absorbed a Soul Ring and an External Soul Bone, so this is exactly when he needs nourishment."

The moment Oscar heard the words "make soup," his eyes lit up.

He knew Teacher Shao Xin's cooking skills.

Once ingredients reached his hands, they were no longer merely food—they were medicine.