Such a Big Son

The next morning, Qian Xunji summoned Qian San to the back mountain once again. "I've brought you something good this time, son."

Qian Xunji smiled mysteriously, his right hand brushing lightly over his storage ring.

In an instant, a soft, pure white radiance illuminated Qian San's face. Resting quietly in Qian Xunji's palm was a strange skull bone.

An indescribable mental fluctuation rippled outward like a spring breeze. Qian San took a single deep breath and felt the mental energy he had exhausted practicing the Zheng Fuyu Sword Technique over the past few days instantly recover.

"Is... is this a soul bone?" Qian San gasped, staring intently at the object in his father's hand.

"To be precise, this is a 190,000-year-old head soul bone from a Sacred White Nine-Glory Illusion Butterfly." Qian Xunji's tone was indifferent.

"This butterfly wasn't skilled in physical combat, but its mental power was terrifying. It could even create illusions capable of trapping a Peerless Douluo. Your soul skill combinations are already quite good, but if you want to construct more complex weapons, you need immense mental power to support them. Even with that strange eye technique of yours, you are still too weak."

Qian Xunji handed the soul bone to Qian San. "This head soul bone will allow your mental power to undergo a qualitative leap. To you, it is a priceless treasure."

Qian San was completely stunned.

Nineteen thousand years? A head soul bone?

"Gulp." Qian San swallowed hard, his eyes instantly turning red. Instead of reaching out to take it, he stumbled back a step, stammering:

"Da... Dad, this... this is too valuable! You... you should use it yourself! A soul bone of this level can only reach its full potential on you!"

Seeing his son's reaction, Qian Xunji felt a warmth in his heart, but he glared and scolded him irritably, "Stop talking nonsense! I finished absorbing mine ages ago."

"I absorbed the Six-Winged Angel head soul bone inherited by the sect centuries ago. A person only has one head; how do you expect me to absorb a second one? Do you want me to strap it to my backside?"

Qian Xunji grabbed Qian San's hand and forcibly shoved the soul bone into his arms, his tone brooking no argument:

"Stop being so sentimental! I risked my life to get this, so if you don't absorb it, who will? Hurry up, sit cross-legged. I'll guard you."

Qian San clutched the warm soul bone tightly, feeling the vast mental energy radiating from it. Looking at his father's eyes—which appeared annoyed but were actually filled with doting affection—two lines of hot tears could no longer be held back.

In his past life at the Tang Sect, disciples schemed against one another for profit, willing to kill for even a tattered manual. Yet in this life, his father had shoved a treasure that would drive the entire continent mad into his hands without a second thought. This heavy weight of fatherly love was ten thousand times more profound than a 190,000-year soul bone.

"Thank you, Dad..." Qian San choked back his tears and stopped refusing. He sat down solemnly, pressed the Sacred White Nine-Glory Illusion Butterfly head soul bone against his forehead, and slowly closed his eyes, beginning to circulate the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

In an instant, the soul bone transformed into a mass of pure white liquid, seeping bit by bit through Qian San's brow and into his mental sea.

The vast white mental energy surged through his consciousness like a tsunami. Qian San gritted his teeth, desperately guarding a sliver of clarity in his mind. The internal energy of the Mysterious Heaven Skill intertwined with the mental power, slowly consuming and organizing this massive external force.

Qian Xunji stood to the side, his fingertips radiating a soft golden holy light, ready to step in and stabilize his son's mental sea should he be unable to hold on.

Time ticked away, second by second.

The chill in the woods was gradually dispersed by the pre-dawn breeze, and two hours passed in silence.

"Hum—"

A beam of purple-gold light, as solid as a blade, erupted from Qian San's eyes. It shot out over three feet before slowly dissipating into the air. Under the nourishment of this 190,000-year soul bone, Qian San's Purple Demon Eye had bypassed the Micro realm and reached the Mustard Seed Realm!

It wasn't just a transformation of mental power; the soul power fluctuations on Qian San's body also erupted at this moment.

Level 40!

Qian San felt the vast mental sea in his mind and trembled with excitement.

"How does it feel?" Qian Xunji asked with a smile.

"Dad, it's incredible!" Qian San stood up abruptly.

"I feel like my brain is working like several people at once. This soul bone pushed my soul power straight to level 40, and it really did grant me two soul skills!"

"Oh? Tell me about them." Qian Xunji's eyes were full of admiration.

Qian San excitedly held up two fingers:

"The first skill is called [Nine-Glory Divine Net]. It's a detection skill that combines passive and active effects. My mental power can instantly cover a radius of one thousand meters. Within this range, every movement—even the flow of an enemy's soul power—is presented in my mind in absolute slow motion. There are no blind spots!"

Qian Xunji nodded. This skill was practically tailor-made for Tang Sect hidden weapons. It was somewhat similar to the mental detection of the past, and with this 360-degree radar and slow-motion dynamic vision, it would be a powerful aid for both combat and crafting.

"And the second one?"

"The second skill is called [Phantom Heart Multi-Thread]!"

"It's a clever method of Heart Separation Control. Once activated, my mental power can instantly split into dozens of independent parts, each capable of precisely controlling an object."

It was somewhat similar to the Heart Separation Control of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, though it appeared far superior in effect.

To demonstrate, Qian San immediately activated his first soul skill.

A large mass of blue-silver liquid metal surged from his palm. Then, under the control of [Phantom Heart Multi-Thread], the metal instantly shattered in mid-air into dozens of tiny components: gears, springs, slots, triggers... The metal parts seemed to possess a life of their own, rapidly assembling and interlocking in mid-air.

In just two seconds, a complete, intricately crafted Godly Zhuge Crossbow, shimmering with a cold metallic luster, hovered in front of Qian San out of thin air!

"With this soul bone skill, my liquid metal is no longer limited to simple blades. As long as I have the blueprints in my head, I can instantly use my mental power to simultaneously process dozens, or even hundreds, of parts and assemble any complex hidden weapon out of thin air!" Qian San was so excited he almost shed tears.

Hidden weapons were practically his faith. This soul skill allowed him to craft all kinds of weapons with ease; he couldn't imagine a more suitable soul skill.