Soul Bone

He had simply patted her back gently at the time, saying, "Don't be afraid, I'll protect you from now on."

From that day forward, Qian Renxue could no longer bear to be apart from him.

They cultivated together, took medicinal pills together, were scolded together, and grew up together.

She was no longer that unloved, paranoid, and lonely descendant of the angels.

She had transformed into a little girl who could laugh, make trouble, act spoiled, and rely on him.

Lie Xu looked at the figure before him, a gentle warmth spreading through his heart.

In this life, he would not only become strong, but he would also protect those around him.

"Brother Xu, what are you thinking about?" Qian Renxue turned back, looking at him with curiosity.

"Nothing much." Lie Xu smiled. "I was just thinking that we need to become stronger together in the future."

"Mm!" Qian Renxue nodded vigorously.

"I once heard Grandpa talk about the origin of our family's martial soul. He said that after reaching the hundredth level, one can become a god. So, I want to become a god with Brother Xu!"

Lie Xu ruffled her hair and replied softly, "Alright, we will become gods together."

Become a god?

No.

What he wanted, naturally, was to become an existence that transcended gods. Perhaps there was even a possibility of returning home...

In the evening, after seeing Qian Renxue off and returning to his quarters, Lie Xu began to consider the configuration of his first and second soul rings. Although they had settled on the attributes during his discussion with Qian Renxue, the question of which soul beast to hunt remained; after all, he really couldn't bring himself to settle for anything ordinary.

"Knock, knock, knock~"

The sound of knocking interrupted Lie Xu's train of thought.

"Little Xu, you aren't asleep yet, are you?" Lion Douluo's voice rang out from outside the door.

"Not yet, Grandpa." Lie Xu opened the door and welcomed his grandfather inside.

"Grandpa, why are you here so late?"

"Heh, can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong? Ever since you got that girl Little Xue, you haven't been close to your grandfather anymore." Lie Yan feigned anger and glared at his grandson.

"How could that be? Grandpa, how could I not be close to you? We are the second-best pair in the world."

"Then who is the best in the world?" Lie Yan leaned in close to Lie Xu and asked deliberately.

"Oh, Grandpa, you're the best in the world, okay?" Lie Xu helplessly handed a cup of tea to his grandfather.

"Hmph, that's more like it. Here, let me show you a treasure I've been keeping at the bottom of the chest."

The soul tool in Lion Douluo's hand flashed, and a rectangular black Mystic Jade Box appeared on the table.

"Grandpa, is there some great treasure you have that I don't know about?"

Lie Xu pouted. Over the years, in order to build his foundation and solidify his potential, he had frequently raided his grandfather's private treasury; he knew exactly how much wealth his grandfather possessed.

"Open it and you'll see." Lie Yan looked at his grandson with a beaming smile.

Amidst his grandfather's mischievous expression, Lie Xu opened the box in front of him with half-doubt.

Immediately, a scorching, manic, profound, and intimate aura rushed toward him. Focusing his gaze, he saw a gold-red, spine-shaped bone lying quietly in the Mystic Jade Box, shimmering with brilliant light and restraining its immense pressure.

"Grandpa, this is..." Lie Xu's pupils constricted.

"A soul bone?"

Lie Xu's voice trembled, his face filled with disbelief. Feeling this ancient pressure, this was the first time he had come into contact with a soul bone since he had transmigrated, and it was a hundred-thousand-year one at that.

Seeing his grandson's reaction, Lie Yan revealed a triumphant expression. "Didn't expect that, did you? I still had a trick up my sleeve. You little brat, you're still a long way from digging up all your grandfather's secrets."

"By the way, this isn't just an ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beast's soul bone."

It wasn't a hundred-thousand-year one? Lie Xu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be even higher? He immediately looked at his grandfather, eager to know the answer.

Seeing his grandson's eager expression, which was exactly the same as his own back in the day, Lie Yan couldn't help but laugh.

"This is our family's ancestral twenty-eight-thousand-year soul bone, taken from an eleven-thousand-year Crimson Flame Lion King."

"Twenty-eight thousand years?!" Lie Xu gasped.

"Then why..."

"Are you trying to ask why an eleven-thousand-year soul beast could produce a twenty-eight-thousand-year soul bone?" Lie Yan playfully interrupted his grandson's confusion.

Without waiting for Lie Xu to respond, Lion Douluo continued on his own.

"Because this is an external soul bone from the spinal region. After our ancestor obtained it, it went through generations of use and soul power nourishment, growing to its current age."

"So, this soul bone has become a unique soul bone belonging to our Lie Clan. It is the most compatible soul bone, one hundred percent. Only our family members will not suffer the soul impact or the resistance of the ancestor's will when absorbing this twenty-eight-thousand-year soul bone; it will even spontaneously cooperate with the fusion."

A storm surged in Lie Xu's heart.

A twenty-eight-thousand-year external soul bone!

This was no longer just talent; it was a foundation! It was a heaven-defying opportunity!

"Then why..."

Lie Xu's question was interrupted by his grandfather once again, leaving him to grit his teeth and hold back. Don't be angry, don't be angry. He's kin, he's a grandfather more genuine than real gold... He continued to listen to his grandfather's explanation.

"That is because I was already level eighty-nine when it was passed down to me, on the verge of breaking through to the Title Douluo rank. Although absorbing it before obtaining my spirit ring would have certainly allowed me to step into the Title Douluo realm immediately, or perhaps even higher, sparing me years of bitter cultivation, I already had your father at that time. Furthermore, I already possessed five spirit bones, so I intended to pass this spirit bone to your father..."

Speaking to this point, Lie Yan's tone involuntarily sank. "When I became a Title Douluo and obtained my ninth spirit ring, I was fortunate enough to acquire a spirit bone. Although it was not as high in age as this one, it shared the same origin as my ninth spirit ring. That made me even more determined to save this piece for your father, to give it to him when his cultivation slowed or when he encountered a spirit power bottleneck during his eightieth level."

"However, I never imagined that after that battle, all I would receive was the news of your father's death and the broken, dying body of your mother..."

"Therefore, today, I am handing our family's ancestral spirit bone over to you."

Lie Yan pushed the Mystic Jade Box on the tabletop further forward.

"Grandfather, this is too precious..."

"Precious, my foot!" Lie Yan shoved the spirit bone into his hands. "You are the only heir of the Lie Clan; if I don't give it to you, who would I give it to? Your spirit, your talent, and your foundation are completely worthy of it!"

"Moreover, the matter of your parents made me realize that if an opportunity is in your hands but not converted into your own strength, it will always be fake."

"So, you little brat, take it and absorb it quickly. Let me, your grandfather, see just how far the Qilin son of my Lie Clan can go. I will stand guard for you!"

Xiao Jiu hopped out from his embrace, circling the spirit bone with glowing eyes, whimpering incessantly as if desperate for Lie Xu to absorb it immediately.

Seeing this, Lie Xu no longer declined.

He immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and grasped the spirit bone in one hand...