Absorbing a Soul Bone, the Victor's Declaration

After seeing Beibei and Zhang Lexuan off, Qiangu Qitian sat cross-legged on his bed and slowly took out the Soul Bone Mu En had given him.

Soul Masters faced many harsh restrictions when absorbing Soul Rings. The age had to be suitable, and their spiritual power threshold had to be prepared in advance. However, absorbing Soul Bones came with no such restrictions.

Even the most ordinary Level 1 Soul Scholar could absorb a hundred-thousand-year or even million-year Soul Bone without worrying whether it matched their cultivation level—provided they could obtain one.

Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Qiangu Qitian held the Soul Bone in his palm, clearly sensing its warm, jade-like touch and the vast Soul Power contained within.

This Hell Demon Dragon right leg Soul Bone had clearly never been absorbed before. The moment it touched his skin, Qiangu Qitian could feel the surging Soul Power within it. As for how he could predict the Soul Bone skill without absorbing it, the answer was simple.

Times had continually changed and advanced. This was no longer the era of ten thousand years ago, when one could not predict the Soul Bone skill attached to a Soul Bone.

Feeling the surging energy within the Soul Bone, Qiangu Qitian took a deep breath, made up his mind, and slowly pressed it against his right leg.

At the instant the two came into complete contact...

Boom!!!

A powerful wave of energy suddenly erupted from within him, sweeping wildly through the room. The rushing energy illuminated the entire chamber as brightly as day.

The Soul Power fluctuations raging through the room even caused Mu En, who was resting in the sun not far away, to raise his brows slightly, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

Yet Qiangu Qitian, standing at the center of the Soul Power vortex, remained completely unaffected.

He focused all his attention on absorbing the Soul Bone. He only felt streams of warm currents flowing through the meridians in his right leg, continuously transforming and tempering the entire limb, making it increasingly powerful.

Qiangu Qitian calmed his mind and concentrated fully, clearly sensing the entire process as his right leg gradually fused with the Soul Bone and underwent constant transformation.

An eighty-thousand-year Soul Bone was indeed far from easy to absorb.

An entire day and night passed before Qiangu Qitian slowly opened his eyes in the room.

At that moment, he had finally fused completely with the Soul Bone.

Just as he had expected, this Soul Bone had indeed never been absorbed before and contained a large amount of pure Soul Power.

After the Soul Bone fused with him, all that Soul Power was converted into his own, while greatly enhancing his physical constitution.

Qiangu Qitian now felt unbelievably powerful. He was even confident that when he awakened his first Soul Ring, he could attempt to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring.

And after absorbing the Soul Bone, he had obtained the Soul Bone skill he wanted—Teleportation!

The next second, Qiangu Qitian's figure suddenly vanished from the bedroom. When he reappeared, he was already standing in an open clearing.

After just one Teleportation, Qiangu Qitian clearly sensed that a full third of the Soul Power in his body had been consumed.

Just as Mu En had said, Teleportation consumed an enormous amount of Soul Power. With his current cultivation, this move could only be used as a trump card to turn the tables in a desperate situation. He absolutely could not use it lightly.

If he wanted to use Teleportation freely, he still needed to raise his strength as soon as possible. As he was now, he was ultimately still far too weak.

"Now that you have fused with the Soul Bone, you must become more familiar with its skill. Only through repeated practice will your Teleportation become faster and more fluid, allowing you to use it at will."

"On the battlefield, every second counts. Even an instant may determine victory, defeat, life, or death."

Just as Qiangu Qitian was lost in thought, Mu En, who had been sitting in a chair in the clearing and basking in the sun, slowly opened his eyes and earnestly instructed him in a solemn tone.

"I understand. I will cultivate diligently and live up to Teacher's expectations!" Qiangu Qitian answered respectfully.

"Mm. Cultivation is like rowing upstream: if you do not advance, you fall behind. If you can understand this principle, you will surely grow into one of the continent's greatest experts in the future."

"Now that you have fused with the Soul Bone, your physical constitution has reached its current limit. It is also time for you to obtain your first Soul Ring."

"Tomorrow, I will have Xuanzi take you and Beibei to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain Soul Rings. Qitian, go back and make your preparations."

Mu En spoke with a kindly expression. Seeing that Qiangu Qitian understood, he immediately waved a hand, signaling for him to leave and stop interrupting his sunbathing.

The claim that absorbing the Soul Bone had brought his physical constitution to its limit was no joke.

Whether ordinary people or Soul Masters who had awakened Soul Power, everyone had a limit to their physical constitution.

If one wished to forcibly break through that limit, the resources required would be astronomical. The cost-effectiveness would be extremely low, and it might even prove more loss than gain.

Qiangu Qitian naturally understood the limits of the body. Upon hearing Mu En's words, his eyes immediately lit up, and he could not hide the joy on his face.

He could finally obtain a Soul Ring. This was tremendous news!

Because once he obtained a Soul Ring, his strength would increase once again!

Hm?

Something was wrong! Someone wanted to harm me!

When he heard Mu En say that Xuan Zi would take him and Beibei along, Qiangu Qitian's heart suddenly sank. His eager anticipation for a Soul Ring instantly faded by more than half, replaced by the urge to wait and build up his foundation a while longer.

Xuan Zi's strength ranked among the very best on the entire Douluo Continent, but the problem was that he was far too unreliable. In the original story, whenever he led a team, he had caused the entire team to be wiped out twice.

The Holy Spirit Cult had failed to accomplish something even after exhausting every scheme, yet Xuan Zi had "achieved" it all. He truly deserved the title of Shrek's number one talent supplier!

Still, Beibei would be going with him this time, so there probably would not be any major mishaps.

No matter how unreliable Xuan Zi was, surely he would not fail to take Mu En's only junior seriously, right?

With that thought in mind, Qiangu Qitian used Teleportation and returned to his residence in an instant, where he began carefully taking stock of and checking the supplies needed for the trip.

Early the next morning, Qiangu Qitian, having finished packing his supplies, met Zhang Lexuan and Beibei in the clearing as planned.

Xuan Zi had not arrived yet, while Zhang Lexuan had changed into neat, practical travel clothes. Clearly, she would be accompanying them to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Seeing this, Qiangu Qitian could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. With Zhang Lexuan there, their chances of returning safely to Shrek had undoubtedly increased considerably.

"Sister Lexuan, Beibei!" Qiangu Qitian casually greeted them before walking straight over.

"Qitian." Zhang Lexuan nodded amicably and replied in a gentle tone.

"Qiangu Qitian, you finally showed up!"

"After I obtain my Soul Ring this time, I will definitely defeat you!"

Beibei's face was full of excitement as he stared intensely at Qiangu Qitian. His tone brimmed with confidence, and because of his agitation, even the Soul Power around his body rippled slightly.

"I will not lose. Beibei, you are my defeated opponent today, and for the rest of your life, you will only ever be my defeated opponent."

"I have never taken a loser's provocation to heart. This is the tolerance the strong show the weak."

Seeing Beibei looking so confident, Qiangu Qitian became interested as well. He snorted softly and mocked him in a somewhat arrogant tone.

"Qiangu Qitian! You will regret this! Sooner or later, I'll show you the might of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!" Beibei gritted his teeth and retorted stubbornly.

"Beibei, I am the victor. A loser's barking is not worth wasting my attention on. Right now, you are far too weak."

That single sentence left Beibei speechless and completely robbed him of his confidence.

There was no helping it. He had voluntarily admitted defeat last time. He really was the loser, so was not his earlier shouting exactly the barking of a loser?

Ah... I lost again!

As the victor, Qiangu Qitian cast Beibei a disdainful glance, his face full of arrogance.

All he could say was, little bro, you still needed a few more years of training!

Watching the two little troublemakers bicker endlessly, Zhang Lexuan rolled her beautiful eyes helplessly, though a trace of amusement lingered in her gaze.

Another two or three chapters. The author will give it a try.