Rebellious Child

A purple Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet. Three Soul Rings—one yellow, two purple. If word got out, it would surely shock the entire continent.

But Zhou Qiubai did not care about any of that at the moment.

He was feeling out his newly acquired soul skill, Flowing Wind.

With a thought, Soul Power surged through him, and his body drifted out as lightly as the wind, covering thirty meters in an instant.

His sword speed was more than thirty percent faster than before. A string of afterimages trailed through the air like phantoms.

"Not bad!"

The enhancement from Flowing Wind made both his sword strikes and movement techniques faster. Combined with the Floating Cloud Nine Palace Steps, his mobility would reach a terrifying level.

If he encountered Tang Hao again now, he would still be no match for him, but his chances of escaping with his life would increase greatly.

After steadying himself, Zhou Qiubai began dealing with the Swift Wind Falcon's corpse.

Every part of a Spirit Beast was valuable. Its feathers could be made into arrows, its bones used in medicine, and its flesh eaten.

He skillfully dismembered it and packed away the valuable parts.

Just as he split open the Swift Wind Falcon's skull, his fingertips touched something hard.

He froze slightly.

He carefully took it out. It was a bone, bluish-gray throughout, with swirling wind patterns emerging across its surface.

A Spirit Bone?

A right leg bone, a speed-type Spirit Bone from a thousand-year Swift Wind Falcon!

Zhou Qiubai stared at the Spirit Bone in his hand, a complicated look in his eyes.

A Spirit Bone was a priceless treasure that Soul Masters dreamed of obtaining.

A suitable Spirit Bone could dramatically increase a Soul Master's strength and grant special abilities.

If he absorbed this Swift Wind Falcon Spirit Bone, his speed would rise to another level.

Yet he did not want to absorb it.

It was not that he could not. He simply chose not to.

Spirit Bones were undeniably powerful, but once absorbed, they fused with one's own bones and could never be changed again.

Although the Swift Wind Falcon's Spirit Bone was of decent quality, it was only a Thousand-Year Soul Bone. If he encountered a superior Spirit Bone in the future, the two would conflict.

He could not exactly chop off his own leg, could he?

More importantly, Zhou Qiubai had his own path of cultivation.

External power could be borrowed, but never relied upon.

Just like with soul skills, the Spirit Beast types he chose were basically never single-type. Whatever soul skill they produced, he would decide only after careful consideration.

Everything had to serve his swordsmanship first.

In the future, he might not even need to use soul skills anymore.

No matter how good a Spirit Bone was, it remained an external object.

"Sell it," he said softly, carefully wrapping the Spirit Bone in Spirit Beast hide.

A Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone was the treasure of Blood River. A Thousand-Year Soul Bone was worth at least fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins, perhaps even more.

With that money, he could buy better medicinal herbs, commission a finer sword sheath, and even acquire some life-saving items.

But carrying such a treasure naturally came with great risk.

In the Star Dou Forest, murder and robbery for treasure were common occurrences.

One Spirit Bone was enough to turn blood brothers against each other and masters and disciples into enemies.

Zhou Qiubai stuffed the bundle into the very bottom of his pack, concealing it beneath clothing and dried rations.

Then he swiftly cleaned up the scene, wiped away the bloodstains, and left at once.

He did not choose to head out of the forest. Instead, he decided to venture deeper in.

Because the most dangerous place was often the safest.

Everyone would assume that someone who had obtained a Spirit Bone would be eager to leave the forest, but he intended to do the opposite.

The Floating Cloud Nine Palace Steps combined with Flowing Wind, his speed unleashed to the fullest.

A white phantom flashed rapidly through the forest.

Just like that, he remained in the Star Dou Forest for another full three days.

During those three days, he encountered seven spirit-hunting teams and suffered thirteen attacks from Spirit Beasts.

But with his extreme perception and speed, he avoided them all or successfully shook them off.

The Spirit Bone remained safe and sound.

On the morning of the fourth day, Zhou Qiubai decided it was about time.

It was time to leave.

The sky had only just begun to brighten when Zhou Qiubai walked out of the Star Dou Forest.

He glanced back at the vast sea of trees, then turned and headed east.

He did not go directly to Heaven Dou City.

After all, he had only just broken through. He understood that rashly entering such a major city now would not be wise.

Moreover, it would not be peaceful there in the future, and Tang Hao would go there as well. Until he had sufficient strength, it was better not to set foot there.

He needed to find a quiet place and slowly digest the gains from this journey.

Fifty li away lay a small place called Blue Stone Town.

The town was not large, but it rested against the mountains beside the water and was far from the Star Dou Forest.

Zhou Qiubai chose an inn nearest the foot of the mountain and booked a window-side room on the second floor.

After closing the door and setting down his pack, the first thing Zhou Qiubai did was boil water for a bath.

After seven or eight days in the forest, he stank to high heaven.

His third Soul Ring had already stabilized, and his use of Flowing Wind was becoming increasingly proficient. But he knew that the Soul Power he had just broken through still needed time to be tempered before he could wield it freely.

He still had half a stalk of Earth Vein Lingzhi left. He needed to prepare medicine, and he also needed to sell the Spirit Bone soon, though he could not rush it.

He had to get a good price for it.

There were also the medicinal herbs he had brought back from the forest, enough to fill an entire pack.

"I need to get a Storage Soul Tool."

Zhou Qiubai looked at the pile of miscellaneous items on the table and frowned slightly.

Storage Soul Tools were rare in Douluo Continent. Only great families with long legacies and major sects possessed them.

Before the Sun Moon Continent collided with it, those things had all been "antiques."

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Clear Sky Sect, and even Spirit Hall naturally had them. But for a lone wanderer like him, getting one was harder than ascending to heaven.

They occasionally appeared on the market, but their prices were outrageously high.

Even the lowest-grade storage belt started at fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins, and the moment one appeared, every major power would scramble for it.

"I should sell the Spirit Bone first."

Zhou Qiubai decided to deal with the Spirit Bone first. Once he had money, he could try his luck.

After bathing and changing into clean white clothes, he took out the medicinal herbs one by one and began sorting them.

He dried the Clear Heart Moss in the shade, sliced the Red Blood Ginseng, ground the Evening Primrose into powder, and wasted not even the scraps, mixing them into simple healing salve.

These formulas were not exceptional, but they were practical.

After sorting the herbs, he began refining his Soul Power.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he slowly circulated his cultivation method. Soul Power flowed through his meridians like a stream washing through a riverbed, repeatedly cleansing and condensing itself.

The unstable feeling from his recent breakthrough gradually vanished, replaced by a weighty solidity, heavy as mercury and lead.

The process lasted for a full three days.

For those three days, other than eating and sleeping, he cultivated.

The innkeeper assumed he was a disciple from some great family in seclusion and did not dare ask questions. He delivered meals on time every day and treated him with great respect.

Martial Souls could mutate, but bearing could not be faked.

Of course, Yu Xiaogang was an exception.

On the evening of the third day, Zhou Qiubai finally opened his eyes.

His Rank 31 realm had completely stabilized.

Now, even against a Soul King-level opponent, he had the strength to fight.

If he used Flowing Wind and the Floating Cloud Nine Palace Steps in conjunction with his swordsmanship, he could even suppress a Soul Emperor.

But a Soul Saint was out of the question. That was already an entirely different level.