"You two, stand back."
Xiao Mu rested a coin on his thumb, his knuckle slightly bent. Blue arcs of electricity danced across it.
Na'er didn't hesitate. She darted backward.
Gu Yue also retreated, the elements stirring restlessly in her palm, ready to step in at any moment.
The Dark-Gold Dread-Claw Bear roared at the sky, its dark-gold fur gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen in the sunlight. It slammed both paws against the ground, sending tremors through the entire forest. Like a moving mountain, it charged straight at Xiao Mu.
Xiao Mu's gaze remained calm, without a trace of panic. He looked at the coin on his fingertip. Its silver surface reflected the cold light, like a twinkling star.
"Watch this!"
His First Soul Ring suddenly blazed to life. Electricity flashed around him as high voltage ionized the air, forming orange arcs that spiraled up his right arm.
The coin sprang into the air. The instant it touched the track of electricity, the arcs erupted. Electromagnetic force, like an invisible giant hand, hurled the silver disc forward.
The intense heat from friction with the air melted the coin into a blazing streak of light. Like a searing spear of lightning, it tore through the darkness.
A conical shock wave spread through the air, sweeping away the fallen leaves, rocks, and broken branches around Xiao Mu.
The orange track left a scorching afterimage in the air, shooting straight toward the Dark-Gold Dread-Claw Bear's chest.
The Dark-Gold Dread-Claw Bear instinctively raised its paws and crossed them to block the attack. Its dark-gold fur stood on end as Soul Power flooded its body, bringing its defense to the limit.
But the streak of light pierced through its defense like a war spear, plunging into its chest.
"Pfft—"
The flesh vaporized in the heat. A bowl-sized hole burst open in the Dark-Gold Dread-Claw Bear's chest. Its dark-gold fur curled and blackened, its bones melted through, exposing the charred muscle beneath.
Its body toppled sideways from the force of its momentum and crashed heavily to the ground, plowing a trench ten yards long.
The orange streak continued onward after piercing the bear, punching through three ancient trees one after another before finally exploding against a cliff a hundred yards away.
The rocks shattered, flames soared into the sky, and the shock wave swept away all the surrounding shrubs.
At that moment, outside the Spirit Ascension Platform, Wu Zhangkong was also certain of Xiao Mu's strength. Ordinary Soul Masters couldn't pose any real threat to him.
"This level of strength..." the Spirit Pagoda staff member couldn't help saying.
He felt that this recording needed to be reported to the higher-ups. Someone in the upper ranks would surely be interested.
Inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, Xiao Mu stood where he was, his right arm hanging at his side as the arcs of electricity in his palm slowly faded.
"Brother." Na'er rushed over, shock in her eyes. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Xiao Mu's voice was a little hoarse. "I just used up a lot of Soul Power."
He looked down at his palm, feeling that the move was still a little too weak.
Gu Yue walked over from the side. She looked at the Dark-Gold Dread-Claw Bear's remains in the distance, then at Xiao Mu, her feelings unreadable.
"That's the strength of a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster?"
She couldn't understand it. She would have believed he was a Soul King.
"This is the power of science. As long as something can be observed repeatedly and affected through interaction, then it must be science."
As he spoke, Xiao Mu flipped a new coin between his fingers. "Science is the culmination of human development."
Gu Yue was speechless. Could this really be explained as Soul Guidance Technology?
By his logic of repeated observation and interaction, was he going to start studying gods hands-on too?
"How would you explain gods?" she suddenly asked.
"If you found me a god to dissect, I could definitely open the door to technological progress," Xiao Mu said without hesitation. "Just give me time, and I'll figure it out."
Tang Hao ought to contribute to the progress of Douluo Continent. Let me dissect him.
"Exactly! Gu Yue, find a god and let my brother dissect him," Na'er chimed in with a grin.
"Go find one yourself." Gu Yue folded her arms and said no more.
After the Dark-Gold Dread-Claw Bear fell, its body slowly faded away.
But something on the ground glimmered with a dark-gold light.
Xiao Mu walked over and confirmed that it was a hundred-year Soul Bone: the Dark-Gold Dread-Claw Bear Right Palm Bone.
It wasn't large, only about the size of a palm, like a miniature hand skeleton. Five long, narrow blades extended from its tip, resembling a smaller version of the Dark-Gold Dread-Claw Bear's right paw. Dark-gold light rippled along the blades like water, gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen in the dim forest.
Xiao Mu crouched down, holding his fingertip above the bone without touching it.
"A Soul Bone?" Gu Yue asked, puzzled, suppressing the restlessness in her heart.
"This is the Dark-Gold Dread-Claw Bear Right Palm Bone," Xiao Mu said, picking it up. "An External Soul Bone. One that can grow. This is also the reward for defeating the Spirit Ascension Platform Guardian."
"Was this your other goal?" Gu Yue asked.
"More or less." Xiao Mu stood up, turning the bone over in his palm before pressing it against his right hand. "I'm going to absorb the Soul Bone. Keep watch for me."
He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. Soul Power surged from his palm and seeped into the bone.
At first, the Soul Bone was warm. But as Soul Power flowed into it, the warmth soon became a burning heat. Dark-gold light suddenly flared, completely swallowing his right hand.
The surface of the bone began to soften, turning into a pool of dark-gold liquid that flowed between his fingers and seeped inside.
Three yards away, Gu Yue watched Xiao Mu's right hand. The skin there was turning transparent, its bones faintly visible. Dark-gold patterns crawled and spread across them like vines.
"Ugh..." Xiao Mu groaned. Absorbing a Soul Bone was a little more painful than he'd expected.
The moment the pool of liquid seeped into his palm bone, it turned violent, like a ferocious beast woken from sleep, rampaging through his right palm.
The frenzied will of the Dark-Gold Dread-Claw surged upstream along his Soul Power, trying to invade his consciousness. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Xiao Mu's forehead, and his knuckles turned white from the strain.
The liquid spun, compressed, and condensed within the force field. The raging beast became a gentle river, and at last, it fully fused with his palm bone.
The dark-gold light slowly receded, like the tide going out.
Xiao Mu opened his eyes and raised his right hand. Beneath the skin of his palm, dark-gold patterns flowed quietly. Five blades sprang out from the ends of his fingers, glinting with a cold light.
"So this is the Dark-Gold Dread-Claw? It looks pretty good. Now I have at least some way to cut things apart." His voice remained calm. He was sure he could combine this with his First Soul Skill.
After all, his First Soul Skill was quite versatile.
Gu Yue walked over and asked, "How does it feel?"
Xiao Mu clenched his fist, and the blades folded between his fingers. "My strength increased by thirty percent, but my attack range didn't really improve."
He stood up and headed deeper into the forest. "Let's go straight to the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform and raise the age of our Soul Rings as much as we can."
Gu Yue and Na'er followed behind him. It seemed they had passed through an invisible barrier.
They arrived in another world. It was more serene here, and more dangerous.