Still, Spirit Kite Douluo picked up a piece of Thousand-Tribulation Nirvana Feather Pastry and brought it to her mouth... even faster than before.
It was as if only food could save the world that had utterly collapsed around her.
But Magic Bear, still kneeling stiffly on the ground, couldn't spare a thought for anyone else's gaze.
His mind had long since been consumed by one cold, despairing fact.
External Soul Bone!
The ecstatic joy those four words had brought was now being mercilessly doused by another ironclad rule.
To absorb an External Soul Bone, one needed a Soul Ring from the same kind of Soul Beast!
But in all his years of hunting Soul Beasts, when had Magic Bear ever come across a legendary creature like the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?
In an instant, he had gone from heaven to hell.
Boundless joy had turned into even deeper despair and absurdity.
It was like a mortal who had prayed to the gods his entire life, only for them to finally bestow upon him a peerless divine weapon—then tell him that the key to activating it lay on the other side of the world.
How ironic!
How cruel!
His bear-like eyes were fixed on the Dark Gold Soul Bone hovering before him, bloodshot. His burly frame trembled violently with crushing disappointment.
"Senior..."
Magic Bear Douluo struggled to raise his head. His voice was as hoarse as a broken bellows, every word steeped in raw despair.
"This... this External Soul Bone... I can't... absorb it..."
He had to summon nearly all his strength to utter those heart-shattering words.
Lin Feng, who had almost laughed at Spirit Kite Douluo's ridiculous display just moments ago, was pulled back from his wandering thoughts by those words.
Of course he knew what Magic Bear Douluo was upset about.
In fact, from the moment he drew this Soul Bone from the system, he had expected this scene.
Lin Feng didn't even look at Magic Bear Douluo's despairing face. He merely extended one finger and gave the Soul Bone, radiating boundless sharpness, a casual, gentle tap.
As if he were brushing away a speck of insignificant dust.
Bzz—!
In an instant, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Right Arm Bone burst into blinding light and became a domineering stream of dark-gold light!
It gave no one time to react!
Nor did it follow any of the established rules of this world!
"Pfft!"
The streak of light ignored the barrier of flesh and blood, and the so-called ironclad rule of Soul Bone absorption. It simply slammed straight into Magic Bear Douluo's right arm, brazenly and without a shred of reason!
At the sight, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, huddled in the corner, clutched each other's hands tightly. Their eyes brimmed with shock and fervor.
A forced fusion!
This wasn't something a mere mortal could do! It was a divine miracle!
They were so envious their eyes had gone red!
An External Soul Bone! A treasure worth no less than a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!
Why! Why wasn't it me?!
And when Tuoba Xi witnessed this miraculous feat, his body jolted!
He turned his head stiffly, inch by inch. A brilliance unlike anything before blazed in his aged dragon eyes as they locked onto Hu Liena and the other two!
There was no longer the slightest trace of a senior's kindness or warmth in his gaze.
In its place were shock, elation, and a gratitude that came from the depths of his soul!
He had never imagined that the great opportunity he had never dared to hope for in his entire life would be placed before him so easily... by these three children!
What kind of juniors were they?
They were benefactors who had dragged him, by sheer force, out of the dead end where his cultivation had stagnated!
After a long while,
he finally let out a long, long breath, as if expelling all the frustration and confusion that had weighed on him for half his life.
"You three children..."
He extended a large, calloused hand, one powerful enough to crush rocks, but merely patted Xie Yue's shoulder, the closest to him, with utmost care.
"I'm afraid I'll never repay you for this kindness in my lifetime."
Whatever Tuoba Xi was feeling, after Spirit Kite Douluo had endured that mortifying scene and then witnessed the divine miracle of an External Soul Bone being forcibly fused, she... lowered her head once more.
She picked up the plate of Thousand-Tribulation Nirvana Feather Pastry, opened her red lips, and took a big bite.
Soul Bones? Opportunities?
They could wait until she finished eating!
Until she could finally forget what had happened, she didn't want to speak to any of them!
Meanwhile, Magic Bear Douluo finally came to his senses. He instinctively clenched his right fist.
An unprecedented explosive force, as if capable of tearing the heavens apart, surged back from his palm!
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear External Soul Bone had fused perfectly with his arm. They were one and the same, as if it had always belonged there!
A divine miracle!
This was a goddamn divine miracle!
The next second,
thud!
A muffled thump rang out.
Magic Bear Douluo, a stubborn brute by nature, dropped to the ground and prostrated himself, then gave Lin Feng a deeply reverent kowtow!
"Senior, you've given me a new lease on life. Magic Bear... can never repay you!"
His voice was hoarse and trembling, yet filled with unshakable resolve.
"From this day forward, should you ever have need of me, my life is yours!"
Yet in the face of this show of loyalty—enough to move any emperor—Lin Feng didn't so much as lift an eyelid.
"There's no need to call it a kindness."
Lin Feng's voice was as calm as water, without the slightest hint of emotion. Yet it rang through everyone's hearts like an imperial decree from on high.
"You drew it because you were lucky. Fusing it into your body is simply my rule."
"That's all."
Magic Bear Douluo shuddered violently. The fervent worship in his eyes as he looked at Lin Feng had transformed into absolute reverence for a god.
He understood.
In this senior's eyes, his life was utterly worthless.
The only thing that mattered was obeying the rules he had set!
Meanwhile, after witnessing everything with his own eyes, Tuoba Xi was so stirred that he could no longer remain seated.
He slowly rose and straightened his robes.
The face of this Holy Dragon Douluo no longer held any of its usual kindness or warmth.
In their place was a resolve to burn his boats, and an absolute determination to stake every ounce of his lifelong cultivation and honor!
He faced Lin Feng and bowed deeply, solemnly. His manner was more respectful than it had been toward anyone he'd met before.
"This junior, Tuoba Xi, pays his respects to Senior!"
Lin Feng gave a faint "Mm" in reply.
Tuoba Xi slowly straightened and took a deep breath. A flame long extinguished blazed anew in his aged dragon eyes!
He hadn't come here to eat!
He had come to seek the Dao!
To seek a path to heaven that could break the deadlock of his cultivation, stagnant for more than a decade!
"This junior dares to order three dishes!"
His voice was no longer a question. It was a declaration brimming with boundless longing!
"Golden Dragon Whisker Noodles!"
"Holy Light Qilin Arm!"
"And a jug of... Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Brew!"
"I'm sorry for the trouble, Senior. Please grant my request!"