Deep Blue Soul Bone Skill and New System Function

"Extraction successful."

"Extraction point: Haagen-Dazs City-Classified"

"Duration: 00:58:22"

"Session earnings: 1891564"

"Total kills: 28"

Returning to the real world, a pale blue light screen popped up.

31>>>32

207EXP↑

12585/68000

Closing the experience page, Zhang Yang immediately withdrew the spirit bone from his storage.

The moment the spirit bone appeared in Zhang Yang's hands, an intoxicating energy fluctuation instantly flooded the entire room.

In the system, the torso bone was 4x4 in size, comparable to a Tier 6 armor.

However, when materialized, it shrank to the size of a palm.

Its appearance resembled a miniature skeletal model, consisting of a full thoracic spine and 24 ribs.

The spirit bone was deep blue, with a texture as warm and smooth as jade, emitting a faint blue glow.

"So beautiful," Zhang Yang couldn't help but exclaim.

Delay invites trouble; Zhang Yang immediately sat cross-legged, his internal spirit power surging from his hands to directly envelop the torso bone.

As the spirit power wrapped around the torso bone, the blue light it emitted suddenly intensified.

In almost an instant, the soft blue light shrouded Zhang Yang's body.

Enveloped in the blue light, the first thing Zhang Yang felt was a trace of icy spirit power fluctuations wrapping around his upper body.

It was an energy fluctuation that made him feel steady and heavy.

Zhang Yang felt every breath become unobstructed, and every circulation of spirit power through his upper body became fluid.

Just then, the icy airflow suddenly intensified, submerging his body in an instant.

Zhang Yang straightened his posture uncontrollably; the Deep Blue Anti-Riot Shield Torso Bone had grown to the same size as his body without him noticing.

The moment Zhang Yang puffed out his chest, the torso bone expanded again, shrouding his upper body like a suit of skeletal armor before slowly shrinking.

As it neared Zhang Yang's chest, the entire torso bone turned into a phantom and quietly merged into his body.

At this moment, Zhang Yang was submerged in a cool ocean. It felt as if his body and senses had been stripped away, leaving him unable to perceive anything around him.

And just as Zhang Yang's consciousness disconnected, the system page quietly popped up.

"Detected that you are equipping a tactical gear, checking the attributes of this gear."

"Check complete."

"Tactical gear not found in the database, matching with the closest similar tactical gear."

"Match successful, modifying."

"Modification complete."

"Congratulations to the user for obtaining tactical gear--[Deep Blue Anti-Riot Shield Torso Bone]."

The system page closed, as if nothing had happened.

Unconsciously, Zhang Yang's sitting posture became more upright, and his physique improved significantly.

Through his clothes, Zhang Yang's skin became fairer, his body contours more defined, and his muscles more sculpted.

The next day, Zhang Yang opened his eyes.

A system prompt appeared before Zhang Yang's eyes immediately.

31>>>32-->32>>>33

101460EXP↑

17932/68000-->55045/73000

"Congratulations, you have obtained a piece of tactical gear; the tactical gear slot has been unlocked; Forging Bench has been unlocked."

"The [Gun Modification Bench] and [Forging Bench] have been merged into [Workbench]."

"You can now view your currently equipped tactical gear via the Workbench-Forging Bench path."

"Spirit bone age enhancement function has been unlocked; please learn more via the Workbench-Gun Modification Bench-Enhance Spirit Ring Age path."

Having just opened his eyes, Zhang Yang was stunned by this barrage of messages.

First, the skill of this spirit bone.

[Deep Blue Anti-Riot Shield Torso Bone]:

When the spirit bone skill is not activated, this spirit bone provides an ultra-high base defense for Zhang Yang's upper body.

To put it into perspective, attacks without armor-piercing properties released by ordinary Soul Masters below level 40 can no longer inflict damage upon Zhang Yang's torso.

After all, since Zhang Yang absorbed a torso bone, the defensive capabilities of the bone naturally only affect the torso area.

No issues there.

However, when Zhang Yang activates the torso bone skill One Man Guards the Pass, the situation changes.

When Zhang Yang triggers the soul bone skill, a steel shield equipped with an observation window appears in front of him.

The defensive power of this shield is extremely formidable, capable of blocking attacks from Soul Masters below level 60 without any trouble.

The observation window itself is sturdy enough to withstand three direct attacks from a level 50 Soul Master without being destroyed.

Furthermore, when Zhang Yang actively uses the shield to bash an enemy, the target suffers a special crowd-control effect called Knockdown.

Any target with a Soul Power Level lower than Zhang Yang's will require two seconds to climb back up after being hit by Knockdown.

During this duration, the enemy Soul Master's Martial Soul is forcibly retracted into their body, and any soul skills currently being channeled will be interrupted.

However, soul skills that have already been released are unaffected, and status-type soul skills applied by other Soul Masters remain in effect.

If the target's Soul Power is higher than Zhang Yang's, the duration of the Knockdown state will be shortened accordingly based on the gap in their levels.

Additionally, while Zhang Yang is holding this shield to defend against enemies from the front, he is similarly unable to use his own Martial Soul or soul skills, unless he temporarily plants the shield into the ground or carries it on his back.

Planted in the ground, it serves as a sturdy bunker; carried on his back, it becomes a literal "solid backing."

Beyond the soul bone and its skill, there is Zhang Yang's level.

Because he absorbed this soul bone, Zhang Yang gained over 100,000 experience points, causing his level to jump directly from the early stage of level 31 to the late stage of level 32.

One must remember that he only returned from the Star Dou Forest at noon, and it hasn't even been 24 hours since he obtained his third soul ring.

Furthermore, Zhang Yang learned through system prompts that the system can increase the age of soul bones.

Although it is a fact known to all Soul Masters across the continent that soul bones themselves can evolve alongside the growth of a Soul Master's strength, having a clear path for improvement is still a good thing for Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang immediately went to the system interface, entered the original Gun Modification Bench, now the Workbench interface, and then selected the Forging Bench interface.

The Forging Bench page is divided into three columns.

On the left is a blurred human silhouette, with six boxes of varying sizes dividing the body into six parts: head, torso, left arm, right arm, left leg, and right leg.

In the bottom right corner of these six boxes, there is a line of small text reading "Head Bone," "Deep Blue Torso Bone," "Left Arm Bone," "Right Arm Bone," "Left Leg Bone," and "Right Leg Bone."

In the largest box, the Deep Blue Torso Bone, there is now a deep blue torso bone.

Above the torso bone, a line of small text clearly labels it: "Deep Blue Torso Bone."

Clicking on his only torso bone, a torso bone suddenly appeared in the previously empty middle column.

Above it is its name: [Deep Blue Anti-Riot Shield Torso Bone]

Below are two lines of small text.

"Age: 10,146 years.

"Upgradeable: 4,854 years."

On the right side of the page, similar to the Soul Ring Age Enhancement Function page, five boxes are arranged in order, containing "White," "Yellow," "Purple," "Black," and "Red" soul rings.

Seeing this, Zhang Yang suddenly realized that it seems soul bones also require consuming soul rings to increase their age.

Zhang Yang tried clicking the plus sign next to "Ten-Year Soul Ring," and the number in the bottom right corner of the box jumped directly from "0" to "10."

"Huh? One click equals 10 white soul rings?" Zhang Yang doubtfully clicked the [Confirm Upgrade] button.

A system prompt appeared.

"Are you sure you want to consume the material [Ten-Year Soul Ring] * 10 to increase the torso bone's age by [1] year?"

"Note: The age of the material will be converted into soul bone age at a ratio of 100:1."

"Hiss." Zhang Yang gasped.

100 to 1?

Is the ratio really that high?

Clicking cancel, Zhang Yang checked his soul ring inventory again.

Zhang Yang rarely visits soul-hunting maps, but because he can consume the soul rings on the Martial Souls found in boxes, his soul ring inventory is still quite abundant.

However, the true heavy consumer of soul rings has finally arrived.

At a 100:1 ratio, the number of soul rings required to upgrade all six soul bones to one hundred thousand years would be an astronomical figure.

It seems that Zhang Yang cannot afford to slack off on accumulating soul rings in the future.