Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear Palm Bone!

Sure enough, in the split second that the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear launched its surprise attack and was intercepted by Elder Song, Yan Shaozhe's finishing move had already finished brewing.

The Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's attention had already been diverted, and it was left wide open due to two all-out bursts of power and the grievous wounds inflicted by the phoenix flames.

"It's over." Yan Shaozhe's voice was icy, and the seventh soul ring on his body suddenly erupted with a dazzling brilliance!

"Seventh Soul Skill, Avatar of the Martial Soul!"

"SCREE--!"

A piercing, impassioned phoenix cry resounded through the heavens!

Yan Shaozhe's entire being seemed to transform into a white sun, with endless light and flames surging forth.

The phantom of the Radiant Phoenix behind him expanded instantly, manifesting into a physical Radiant Phoenix with a wingspan exceeding twenty meters, as if cast from white gold!

A sacred, scorching aura permeated the world, completely purging the darkness and ferocity from this patch of forest.

Immediately following, his second and third soul rings lit up in unison.

The phoenix flames, bolstered by the Avatar of the Martial Soul, transformed into an overwhelming sea of white-gold fire, instantly engulfing the entire area where the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear stood!

Within the sea of fire, every wisp of flame contained the power of ultimate combustion.

At the same time, the Radiant Phoenix avatar flapped its wings.

Countless phoenix feathers burning with white-gold flames rained down like a torrential storm, merging into the sea of fire and triggering a continuous series of violent explosions!

"ROAR... Ugh..."

The Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's roars were quickly drowned out by the sounds of explosions and combustion.

It struggled frantically within the sea of fire, its dark-gold radiance flickering desperately as it tried to resist.

But under the full-force bombardment of a Super Doulu's Avatar of the Martial Soul combined with his soul skills, all resistance proved futile.

The flames and explosions lasted for a full dozen breaths.

When Yan Shaozhe withdrew his soul power, the Radiant Phoenix avatar slowly dissipated, and the sky-filling flames gradually extinguished, leaving the original clearing reduced to scorched earth.

In the center of the scorched earth, the once-arrogant ten-thousand-year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear lay with its massive body charred black; only the imperceptible rise and fall of its chest proved that a sliver of life still remained.

Its dark-gold claws, which had once torn through everything, rested limply in front of it, having lost all their luster.

It was on the verge of death, stripped of all ability to resist.

Yan Shaozhe landed slowly, his face slightly pale; the continuous use of soul skills, especially maintaining the Avatar of the Martial Soul, had consumed a massive amount of energy.

Yet his gaze was burning as he looked at Xia Ming:

"Junior brother, go. This ten-thousand-year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's soul ring is yours. Absorb it carefully; we will stand guard for you."

Xia Ming nodded and walked to the giant bear's head.

He slowly clenched his right fist, not using any flashy soul skills, but simply concentrating his pure soul power and his own formidable strength into his knuckles.

"Thud."

A muffled sound echoed.

The force of the punch penetrated precisely into the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's skull, instantly shattering its last spark of life.

The Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's massive body twitched one last time before falling completely still.

A deep, black soul ring slowly rose from its body.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Ming sat cross-legged beneath the soul ring.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his state to its peak, and then used his own soul power as a guide to slowly communicate with the hovering black soul ring.

"Hum--"

The soul ring trembled slightly as it felt the pull.

It then transformed into a solid stream of black light, descending swiftly to settle firmly around Xia Ming, where it began to rotate slowly.

Surging, razor-sharp soul power began to pour into Xia Ming's body like a tidal wave.

In the distance, Yan Shaozhe and the two elders stood in a triangular formation to guard him, their mental energy highly concentrated as they closely monitored Xia Ming's condition.

"This child Xia Ming has a physical constitution far superior to those power-attack system Soul Kings, and his mental energy is equally refined and stable."

"Absorbing this ten-thousand-year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear soul ring might bring some impact during the process, but there is no reason for him to fail."

Yan Shaozhe watched the steadily fluctuating soul power around Xia Ming, his tone certain as he delivered his assessment.

The two elders nodded slightly, clearly in agreement with this conclusion.

While Xia Ming was focused on absorbing the soul ring, Yan Shaozhe did not remain idle.

His gaze fell upon the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's giant claws, which were still emitting a faint, chilling light even in death.

He walked to the side of the giant bear's left forelimb, crouched down, and extended his right hand.

His palm was covered in a layer of gentle radiant soul power, which he slowly brushed over the creature's thick arm bone, finally coming to a stop at the position of the left palm bone.

As his soul power delved deeper to perceive it, the calm on Yan Shaozhe's face was gradually replaced by a hint of irrepressible surprise.

"The rumors were true indeed!" he whispered, a brilliant light flaring in his eyes.

The next moment, he pressed his fingers together like a blade, a layer of white-gold light as thin as a cicada's wing coating his palm.

With a swift, lightning-fast motion, he brought his hand down, cutting with absolute precision along a specific seam.

"Sshhh—"

A soft sound rang out.

The left forelimb of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear was severed cleanly.

Yan Shaozhe did not pause, dissecting the limb in a few quick movements.

Finally, a strange piece of bone appeared in his hand.

It was a left palm bone, roughly the size of a human hand, its texture crystalline like jade yet possessing a metallic, dark-gold luster.

Extending from the front of the bone were five long, narrow claws shaped like curved blades!

These claws were identical in form to the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's claws while it was alive, only scaled down, resembling a divine weapon forged by nature itself.

"The Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Left Palm Bone!" Elder Zhuang walked over, and upon seeing the object, he could not help but exclaim in a low voice, his face filled with shock and envy.

"This is formed from the very essence of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's offensive power! Its value even surpasses that of ordinary soul bones produced by some Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts!"

Yan Shaozhe carefully cradled the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Left Palm Bone in his hands, feeling the unruly energy contained within, his smile growing more pronounced.

This was truly the greatest unexpected joy of the trip, even more exhilarating than obtaining a top-tier ten-thousand-year soul ring as originally planned.

About an hour later.

The violently fluctuating soul power around Xia Ming gradually calmed, and the deep black soul ring had completely vanished, fully integrated into his body and martial soul.

"How is your soul power?" Yan Shaozhe asked with a smile.

"A significant increase; I'm at about the middle stage of level thirty-eight," Xia Ming reported after carefully sensing his state.

"Very good." Yan Shaozhe nodded in satisfaction.

His expression then turned serious as he held out the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Left Palm Bone toward Xia Ming. "Take a look at this."

"Did this come from it?" Xia Ming understood immediately.

"Correct," Yan Shaozhe said solemnly.

"The Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Left Palm Bone; this is undoubtedly a top-tier offensive soul bone.

What makes it even rarer is that it is an External Soul Bone, meaning it does not occupy a standard soul bone slot and possesses the potential for growth."

"You have just absorbed a soul ring of the same origin, so your body and martial soul have already begun to adapt to and carry the power of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear," Yan Shaozhe continued to explain.

"Absorbing this soul bone of the same origin now will result in the highest level of compatibility, and the process will be relatively smooth.

The power of the soul bone and the soul ring will resonate and merge to the greatest extent, producing an effect where one plus one is greater than two."

"Furthermore, the palm bone of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear has an exceptionally high degree of compatibility with you."

Elder Song also added, "The Dark-Gold Terrorclaw represents the ultimate power of offense.

If you can successfully absorb this soul bone, your left hand will possess a terrifying tearing ability that rivals, or even surpasses, that of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear itself.

This will be enough to become one of your strongest trump cards in the future."

Elder Zhuang smiled encouragingly, "Rest assured, with the three of us here to protect you, you can focus entirely on the fusion."