External Palm Bone, Materialization

Fu Qin slowly opened his eyes, feeling the surging soul power within his body, and a satisfied smile curled the corners of his lips.

The External Soul Bone in his right palm had not drawn the attention of Tang San or Yu Xiaogang during the fusion process.

Furthermore.

The effect of this soul ring far exceeded his expectations, directly boosting his soul power to level fifteen.

"Success!" A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face, his heart filled with extreme excitement.

"A 400-year mutated soul ring, you actually succeeded in absorbing it! Fu Qin, you really are a genius!"

His resolve to take Fu Qin as his second disciple grew even firmer.

Tang San was also somewhat astonished; he hadn't expected Fu Qin's talent to be this high.

A 400-year soul ring was something even some assault-system soul masters might not successfully absorb, yet Fu Qin, an auxiliary-system soul master, had done it, and it even looked effortless.

[Tang San's thoughts: Fu Qin's talent is even better than I imagined. I must take him as my little brother; he will definitely be my capable assistant in the future!]
[Favorability toward Fu Qin +5 (82), Possessiveness +10]

"Fu Qin, congratulations!"

Tang San stepped forward and patted his shoulder, his tone carrying a hint of admiration, "I didn't expect you to be this impressive; you didn't let me down."

"It's all thanks to Brother Xiao San and Master Grandmaster!"

Fu Qin said modestly, his face still wearing that same well-behaved smile.

However, when he saw the "Possessiveness +10" notification appear on the panel above Tang San's head, he felt a chill run through his heart.

Damn it, after his rebirth, has Tang San developed some kind of twisted fetish?

Over the next five days, the trio continued to search for a Datura Snake in the Soul Hunting Forest.

Tang San found it strange; he had searched every area where the Datura Snake had appeared in his past life, yet he hadn't caught a glimpse of one.

"What's going on? Logically, the Datura Snake should be appearing here."

At this moment, he frowned, a bad premonition forming in his heart.

Could it be that his and Fu Qin's appearance had caused the plot to deviate?

Fu Qin, however, knew very well that this was the effect of his God-Level Luck.

His luck was so overwhelming that it eclipsed Tang San's, leading him to encounter a top-tier mutated soul ring and inadvertently altering the movements of the Datura Snake.

It made it impossible for Tang San to encounter that snake.

On the sixth day, just as the three were about to give up, a rustling sound suddenly came from the grass ahead.

"There's movement!"

Tang San immediately became alert. He activated his Purple Demon Eye and vaguely saw a completely emerald-green "Datura Snake" coiled atop an ancient tree, its markings almost indistinguishable from those of a real Datura Snake.

[Soul Beast: Snake Vine Flower]
[Age: 250 years]
[Attributes: Entanglement + Camouflage]
[Soul Ring Effect: Unlocks basic Entanglement soul skill, average toughness, no toxins]
[Quality: Common (Camouflaged as a Datura Snake, but is actually a plant-type soul beast)]
[Current Status: Camouflaged Hunting]

Fu Qin's panel clearly displayed the information for this soul beast, but Tang San and Yu Xiaogang were misled by the Intelligence-Reducing Halo.

[Intelligence-Reducing Halo active, Tang San judges "This is a century-old Datura Snake (380 years)"]
[Yu Xiaogang judges "Finally found it! The age of this Datura Snake is perfect for Tang San!"]

"It's a Datura Snake!"

A look of wild joy appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face.

"Xiao San, that's it! This Datura Snake is over three hundred years old and of excellent quality; it's perfect for you!"

A flash of excitement also crossed Tang San's eyes; he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Without overthinking, his figure flickered as he charged directly toward the "Datura Snake."

Having returned through rebirth, his strength was much greater than it had been at the same stage in his past life, and dealing with a century-old Datura Snake was as easy as turning over his hand.

"Blue Silver Grass, Entangle!"

Tang San gave a low shout, and several strands of Blue Silver Grass flew out instantly, binding the body of the Snake Vine Flower.

The Snake Vine Flower felt the pain and tried to struggle, but Tang San's control over the Blue Silver Grass was extremely strong, and it couldn't break free in such a short time.

Tang San seized the opportunity to step forward, the Mysterious Iron dagger in his hand stabbing directly toward the Snake Vine Flower's seven-inch mark.

"Puchi!"

The dagger hit its mark precisely, and after a few twitches, the Snake Vine Flower stopped moving.

"Done!"

Tang San sheathed his dagger, a smug smile appearing on his face.

He turned to look at Fu Qin and Yu Xiaogang, eager to receive their praise.

Yu Xiaogang stepped forward, examining the corpse of the Snake Vine Flower closely, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"This isn't right. The scales of a Datura Snake should be much tougher, and where is its venom sac?"

However, because Tang San looked down on Yu Xiaogang from the bottom of his heart after his rebirth, he simply ignored his words entirely.

Watching an earthy-yellow spirit ring drift out from the corpse of the Snake Vine Flower, a triumphant smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He was already at level ten spirit power and had to absorb a spirit ring to break through as soon as possible, otherwise, it would affect his subsequent cultivation.

"A century-old Datura Snake spirit ring! I, Tang San, have returned!"

Tang San gritted his teeth, sat cross-legged, and reached out toward the spirit ring.

Yu Xiaogang wanted to say something more, but seeing that Tang San had already begun absorbing the spirit ring, he had no choice but to let it go.

Although he felt a bit suspicious, he didn't overthink it, assuming this particular Datura Snake just had a unique constitution.

Fu Qin stood to the side, struggling to hold back his laughter.

He feigned a look of adoration in his eyes.

"Wow! Little San, you're just too amazing! This is a century-old Datura Snake! A Datura Snake that rivals a thousand-year spirit beast!"

Hearing Fu Qin's praise, the pride in Tang San's heart soared to its peak.

Look at that; this is what a qualified lackey should be like.

He doesn't need to know too much; he just needs to know that his boss is strong and that following his boss means he'll have meat to eat.

Fu Qin's performance made Tang San absorb the century-old spirit ring of the Snake Vine Flower even more rapidly.

He thought to himself that the effect of the Intelligence-Reducing Halo was truly powerful; even Tang San, a God King reincarnated, had been deceived.

Although the spirit ring of this Snake Vine Flower was also at the century level, its quality was far inferior to a real Datura Snake spirit ring, and the power of the spirit skill gained after fusion would naturally be greatly discounted.

An hour later.

Tang San finished absorbing the spirit ring. He slowly opened his eyes, sensing the spirit power within his body.

But he was soon dumbfounded.

Because after absorbing this "300-year Datura Snake spirit ring," his spirit power had only risen to level twelve, which was more than a little short of the peak level thirteen he had reached in his past life.

Furthermore, when he absorbed this spirit ring in his past life, the pain had been so intense that a montage of his life flashed before his eyes, and he had nearly died; yet now, he hadn't felt that kind of agony at all.

And most importantly, he could sense that his Blue Silver Grass martial soul had undergone almost no changes.

He knew that in his past life, after absorbing his first spirit ring, not only had his martial soul's toughness increased significantly, but it had also imbued his martial soul with the paralyzing venom of the Datura Snake.

But now?

Not only had he failed to inherit the venom, but there wasn't even the slightest change in the toughness of his martial soul!

This is unscientific!