As Wu Ming stood up, the object in her hand came fully into view.
It was something resembling a human arm bone, about twenty centimeters long. Its entire surface was golden, and a faint golden glow shimmered around it.
The right arm bone of a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear!
"Holy crap, this luck is unreal!"
Shen Yao swore, snapping everyone back to their senses. After their initial shock, a hint of delight rose in every heart.
They'd really struck it rich this time!
Given the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's quality, this Spirit Bone was worth as much as some ordinary Ten Thousand Year Spirit Bones!
Naturally, the Spirit Bone belonged to Mu Guiyun, but that didn't mean the others had nothing to gain.
According to Shrek Academy's rules, Mu Guiyun had to provide treasures of equivalent value or Gold Soul Coins, distributed among the others who had accompanied him according to their contributions.
Of course, Spirit Bones were astonishingly expensive. Not just anyone could casually produce several million Gold Soul Coins, so this was where the academy came in.
The academy would lend the Spirit Bone's owner Gold Soul Coins without charging any interest.
Naturally, the students would feel grateful. That was exactly what Shrek Academy wanted.
There was a tiny bit of coercion involved, but it was a matter of one party being willing to fight and the other willing to take a beating. After all, Spirit Bones helped Soul Masters immensely—and besides, even if you had money, you couldn't necessarily buy one.
That was also why Wu Ming had dared to dissect the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear without permission: it didn't belong to Mu Guiyun alone. It was everyone's spoils of war.
"That brat's luck is just too good. I still don't have a single Spirit Bone!"
Wu Ming sounded a little envious, but not a trace of greed stirred in her heart. She was on her own and would definitely stay at Shrek in the future. A Spirit Bone would come along sooner or later.
"Heh heh heh, an unexpected bonus! Now I can give my Soul Tool a proper upgrade!"
Shen Yao licked his dry lips and let out a cackling laugh.
The Spirit Bone wasn't his, but given its value, he'd get at least a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. That was no small sum.
For a while, laughter and cheerful voices filled the entire camp.
"Guiyun's so lucky."
Zhang Lexuan smiled softly, genuinely happy for Mu Guiyun.
"Hmph. It's just a lousy Spirit Bone. A five-thousand-year Spirit Bone isn't good enough for our Guiyun!"
Ma Xiaotao lifted her elegant chin proudly, her tone full of disdain for the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's right arm bone.
She'd decided: once they got back to the academy, she'd hit up her teacher for a hefty payout!
With Guiyun's talent, forget a hundred-thousand-year one—he deserved a top-grade Spirit Bone of at least fifty thousand years!
At that moment, Yan Shaozhe, who was presiding over a meeting in Sea God Pavilion, suddenly sneezed.
Our Guiyun...
Zhang Lexuan picked up on the key phrase at once, and her lovely eyes narrowed slightly.
Recalling Mu En's aged figure and his nearly deathbed-like request, Zhang Lexuan's gaze grew even more resolute. With a pointed meaning in her voice, she said, "That's right. Guiyun deserves the very best."
"Exactly!"
Oblivious to the implications behind Zhang Lexuan's words, Ma Xiaotao continued to bask in the joy of Mu Guiyun's good fortune.
After their excitement subsided, everyone settled down again. Their top priority was to keep Mu Guiyun safe while he absorbed the Spirit Ring.
"Heh heh, we can have something extra for dinner tonight. Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear paws are a rare delicacy!"
Wu Ming licked her lips and brought her dagger down again.
"Crack!"
But a strange thing happened. The dagger, forged from refined iron, seemed to have struck something impossibly hard—and snapped on the spot!
What the heck was so hard?
Wu Ming knitted her brows, then waved to the others in the distance and called out sweetly, "Ruoruo, come give me a hand! We're having bear paws tonight!"
Three hours passed. Night had fallen deep over the Star Dou Great Forest. Apart from the occasional roar of an unknown Soul Beast and the chirping of insects from deep within the forest, it was eerily quiet.
Mu Guiyun's breathing gradually steadied. He had clearly reached the final moments of absorbing the Spirit Ring.
"It's been so long. Why hasn't Guiyun woken up yet?"
Ma Xiaotao, who had stayed by Mu Guiyun's side without taking a single step away, saw that he still showed no sign of waking and pouted in disappointment.
"He should be almost done."
Zhang Lexuan lowered her eyes, quietly studying Mu Guiyun's handsome features.
As soon as Zhang Lexuan finished speaking, the previously cloudless sky filled with dense black clouds, streaked with wisps of white lightning.
"What's going on? Is it going to rain?"
The bizarre sight left everyone bewildered.
Rumble—!
A thunderclap exploded overhead.
Crack!
As the thunder faded, a faint cracking sound, so slight it was nearly impossible to detect, came from within Mu Guiyun.
Mu Guiyun opened his eyes. His absorption complete, he slowly stood up. A pure white orb had appeared around the Elemental Stone in his hand, and now revolved around it in a steady rhythm.
When they saw Mu Guiyun wake, everyone was just about to congratulate him. Then three Spirit Rings—surpassing the ideal ratio—suddenly appeared behind him, nearly dropping everyone's jaws!
Yellow! Purple! Purple!
A thousand-year second ring!
They exchanged looks, each seeing the same unmistakable shock in the others' eyes.
"You're awake! How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
Ma Xiaotao, who already knew about Mu Guiyun's Spirit Ring Configuration, was the first to step forward. She placed both hands on his shoulders and carefully examined him from head to toe, her concern practically overflowing from her brow.
"Don't worry, Sister Xiaotao. I'm not only fine, I feel better than ever!"
He had never felt anything so wonderful!
Ma Xiaotao's concern warmed Mu Guiyun's heart. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and silver-white arcs of electricity flashed around him and vanished.
As thunder rolled through the clouds, as lightning lit up the earth!
I came with the storm, bringing the wrath of the gods!
Seventh Sense—Thunder Control Technique!
He looked up at the cloud-choked sky. Whenever lightning streaked across it, Mu Guiyun felt closer to it than ever before!
Starting today, I'm someone who comes with my own theme music!
"Congratulations, Guiyun."
"A ten-year-old Soul Elder—you really are the academy's greatest genius in thousands of years!"
Ten years old?!
He was only ten!
Zhang Lexuan's words struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving everyone frozen once more, just as they had begun to recover.
Whose lieutenant was this, to be so fiercely formidable?
They'd thought they had already overestimated Mu Guiyun. Turns out they still hadn't given him enough credit!
Quietly edging Ma Xiaotao aside, Zhang Lexuan held out the Spirit Bone to Mu Guiyun with a smile. "Guiyun, this is your spoils of war. Keep it safe."
Mu Guiyun took it and looked it over. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes. He hadn't expected it to be a brilliant golden Spirit Bone.
What incredible luck!
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear really was a tireless workhorse in Unrivaled Tang Sect. Its Spirit Bone drop rate was astonishing!
"Kid, there's another one here! Anyone who didn't know better would think you were the child of destiny. You're so lucky—other people can hardly ever find a Spirit Bone, and you get two in one go!"
Wu Ming tossed the item over, and Mu Guiyun caught it firmly.
He lowered his head to look. Well, would you look at that!
Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Palm Bone!