Soul Bone

Back then, he had merely patted her back gently and said, "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you from now on."

From that day on, Qian Renxue could never bear to be apart from him.

They cultivated together, took pills together, got scolded together, and grew up together.

She was no longer the loveless, obsessive, lonely heir to the Angel Martial Soul.

She became a little girl who could laugh, fuss, act spoiled, and rely on him.

Looking at the figure before him, Lie Xu felt a gentle warmth in his heart.

In this life, he wouldn't just grow stronger. He would also protect the people by his side.

"Brother Xu, what are you thinking about?" Qian Renxue turned around and looked at him curiously.

"Nothing." Lie Xu smiled. "I was thinking that we should grow stronger together."

"Mm!" Qian Renxue nodded emphatically.

"I once heard Grandpa tell the story of our family's Martial Soul. Once you reach level one hundred, you can become a god, so I want to become a god with you, Brother Xu!"

Lie Xu rubbed her hair and replied softly, "All right. We'll become gods together."

Become a god?

No.

What he wanted, naturally, was to become an existence beyond the gods. Perhaps then, he might even be able to return home...

At dusk, after seeing Qian Renxue off, Lie Xu returned to his residence. Now he began considering the configuration of his first and second Soul Rings. Although he and Qian Renxue had settled on their attributes during their discussion, deciding which Soul Beasts to hunt was still a problem. After all, he wouldn't settle for anything ordinary.

"Knock, knock, knock~"

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

"Xiao Xu, you haven't gone to bed yet, have you?" Mighty Lion Douluo's voice came from outside.

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

"Grandpa, what brings you here so late?"

"Hey, can't I come see you for no reason? Ever since you got that girl Xiao Xue, you haven't been as close to your grandpa anymore." Lie Yan pretended to glare at his grandson angrily.

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

"Then who's the best pair in the world?" Lie Yan leaned closer to Lie Xu and asked deliberately.

"Oh, Grandpa, fine, you're the best pair in the world." Lie Xu helplessly handed his grandfather the tea in his cup.

"Hmph, that's more like it. Here, take a look at this treasure I've been keeping hidden."

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

"Grandpa, what great treasure have you got that I don't know about?"

Lie Xu pursed his lips. Over the years, he had been helping himself to his grandfather's private stash to build a strong foundation and bolster his reserves. He knew every last detail of his grandfather's wealth.

"Open it and see." Lie Yan smiled at his grandson.

Under his grandfather's sly grin, Lie Xu hesitantly opened the box before him.

A scorching, violent, deep, yet familiar aura surged toward him. He focused his gaze and saw a single, crimson-gold, spine-shaped bone lying quietly inside the box. It shimmered with flowing light, its fearsome pressure held in check.

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

"A Soul Bone?"

Lie Xu's voice trembled, his face full of disbelief. Feeling its ancient, imposing pressure, he realized this was his first time encountering a Soul Bone since coming to this world—and it was even a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.

Seeing his grandson's reaction, Lie Yan looked smug. "Didn't expect that, did you? I had one more trick up my sleeve. You little brat still have a long way to go before you can dig up all your grandpa's secrets."

"Oh, and this isn't just an ordinary Soul Bone from a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast."

Not ten thousand years? Lie Xu's heart quivered. Could it be even older? He immediately looked at his grandfather, desperate to know the answer.

Seeing his grandson's eager expression, Lie Yan couldn't help laughing. He'd worn the exact same look himself back in the day.

"This is our family's heirloom: a two-hundred-and-eighty-thousand-year Soul Bone, taken from an eleven-thousand-year Soul Beast, the Crimson Flame Lion King."

"Two hundred and eighty thousand years?!" Lie Xu cried out.

"Then why...?"

"Are you wondering how an eleven-thousand-year Soul Beast could produce a two-hundred-and-eighty-thousand-year Soul Bone?" Lie Yan cut off his grandson's question with a teasing grin.

Before Lie Xu could respond, Mighty Lion Douluo continued on his own.

"Because this is an External Soul Bone from the spinal region. Since our ancestor obtained it, generations of our family have used it and nourished it with Soul Power, allowing it to grow to its current age.

"That's why this Soul Bone has become unique to our Lie Clan. It's a perfect match for our family. Only our own people can absorb it without suffering the spiritual impact of this two-hundred-and-eighty-thousand-year Soul Bone or resisting our ancestor's will. In fact, it will even cooperate with them as it fuses."

A storm surged through Lie Xu's heart.

A two-hundred-and-eighty-thousand-year External Soul Bone!

This wasn't just talent. It was a deep foundation—an unbelievably heaven-defying stroke of fortune!

"Then why...?"

His question was interrupted by his grandfather once again. Lie Xu gritted his teeth and held it in. Don't get mad. Don't get mad. He's my real grandpa—more real than gold... He continued listening to his grandfather's explanation.

"That's because I was already level eighty-nine when it was passed down to me, on the verge of breaking through to Titled Douluo. If I'd absorbed it and then obtained a Soul Ring, I'd definitely have reached the Titled Douluo level immediately, perhaps even higher, and saved myself years of arduous cultivation. But by then, I already had your father, and I'd already acquired five Soul Bones, so I planned to pass this one on to him..."

At this point, Lie Yan's voice sank. "When I became a Titled Douluo and obtained my ninth Soul Ring, I was lucky enough to get another Soul Bone. Although it wasn't as old as this one, it shared the same origin as my ninth Soul Ring. That only strengthened my resolve to save this one for your father, to give it to him when his cultivation slowed down or he hit a Soul Power bottleneck while at level eighty."

"But I never imagined that after that battle, the news I'd receive would be your father's death—and your mother's mortally wounded body..."

"So today, I'm giving you our family's heirloom Soul Bone."

Lie Yan pushed the Mystic Jade Box on the table closer.

"Grandpa, this is too precious..."

"What do you mean, too precious!" Lie Yan shoved the Soul Bone into his hands. "You're the only heir of the Lie Clan. Who else would I give it to? Your Martial Soul, your talent, your foundation—you're completely worthy of it!

"Besides, what happened to your parents made me realize that an opportunity in your hands is worthless if you don't turn it into your own strength.

"So, you little brat, take it and absorb it! Let your grandpa see how far the pride of the Lie Clan will go. I'll protect you while you do it!"

Xiao Jiu leaped out of his arms and circled the Soul Bone, eyes shining as it squeaked incessantly, wishing Lie Xu would absorb it at once.

Seeing this, Lie Xu stopped refusing.

He immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and gripped the Soul Bone...