What was a Soul Bone?
It was a Soul Master's treasure, the best way for a Soul Master to gain powerful skills beyond those provided by Soul Rings.
Soul Bones were scarce, and could only be obtained through hunting Soul Beasts, with an extremely slim chance of success.
Even mighty Titled Douluo were desperately short of them. Take Dugu Bo, for example: he only had a single Head Soul Bone, with nothing to fill the other slots. That showed just how rare they were.
So when Fang Xuan brought up Artificial Spirit Bones, the three of them naturally got so excited.
"Don't get excited. I was only speaking hypothetically."
Seeing the three take the bait, Fang Xuan prepared to continue his performance.
"Soul Tools can't completely replace Soul Bones, but they are indeed somewhat similar."
"Both work by channeling Soul Power. One is internal, the other external, but at their core, they're both auxiliary tools driven by Soul Power."
"And since Soul Bones are so scarce these days, I've been wondering whether studying Soul Tools might help ease that scarcity."
"Of course, this is only a theory of mine. Its feasibility still needs further verification."
After laying out such a tempting vision, Fang Xuan left the three of them utterly spellbound.
After all, to people of this era, Fang Xuan's idea was simply absurd. And yet, it made a certain amount of sense.
Soul Tools weren't something he'd imagined out of thin air. They were real objects, and their effects were more or less as Fang Xuan had described.
But no one had ever claimed they could serve as substitutes for Soul Bones.
Perhaps someone had. But not everyone had the chance to stand where he did now and make such a claim.
The same words could have a different effect depending on when, where, and by whom they were spoken.
That was the so-called convergence of the right time, place, and people.
As it happened, Fang Xuan had all three on his side, and the results were especially striking.
Watching the three men sink into thought, Fang Xuan couldn't help the corners of his mouth from curling upward.
"Looks like the plan worked."
As a transmigrator, how could he not know how important Soul Tools were?
The feeling of copying an assignment when you already had the answers—once you'd tried it, you knew. It felt incredible.
After a brief silence, the three of them raised their heads together and looked at Fang Xuan. Compared to their earlier confusion, their eyes now held a hint of solemnity.
Clearly, Fang Xuan's words had struck a chord. After all, most people were much the same when faced with enormous benefits.
If they remained unmoved, it only meant the bait you'd dangled wasn't tempting enough.
"Truly, heroes emerged in youth. Such perceptive and original ideas are rare indeed. It's only a pity that I was born when you were young, and you were born when I was already old."
Xue Ye sighed wistfully. Fang Xuan, meanwhile, thought he was talking nonsense.
He couldn't even see something this obvious right in front of him. The old emperor was clearly trapped by conventional thinking.
But that was exactly the effect Fang Xuan wanted. If everyone could see through it, how would he get a chance to reap the benefits?
Besides, those words hadn't really been meant for Xue Ye. They were for Xue Qinghe, standing beside him.
Spirit Hall was far stronger than this decaying empire. If Fang Xuan wanted to research Soul Tools, he would need their help.
Dugu Bo was just along for the ride. Otherwise, Fang Xuan wouldn't have had a good excuse.
Fang Xuan's words had struck Xue Ye deeply, so he went ahead and sweetened the deal on top of his original offer.
"How about this? Since Minister Fang has such an ambition, I shall naturally support you."
"Besides what I already promised—allowing you to choose any one treasure from the treasury—I'll grant you permission to freely access and study all the Soul Tools and related ancient texts it contains."
Xue Ye's offer was extraordinarily generous, but in truth, it was much like Fang Xuan's earlier promise: both were just dangling bait.
It looked like he'd offered a great deal, but there wasn't much that would actually end up in Fang Xuan's hands.
Fang Xuan didn't react. It wasn't as if he could make Xue Ye lose face on the spot.
Once Xue Ye had finished making his offer, Xue Qinghe picked up where he left off.
"Since Father has already granted you a reward, I can hardly be stingy."
After all, Fang Xuan was someone he'd recruited, so it was only right to show him some support.
"Researching Soul Tools will likely require a good number of people, as well as a place to work, research materials, and funding."
"Since this is for the good of the empire, I should cover those expenses."
Xue Qinghe was highly skilled with words. He'd offered Fang Xuan support while also preserving Xue Ye's dignity, without stealing the spotlight.
Xue Ye smiled and nodded at his words, clearly pleased with the answer from his successor.
Dugu Bo stood to one side, silent. There was no room for him to join the conversation.
That didn't stop his mind from wandering.
"Soul Tools can replace Soul Bones? Does that mean they could help Yanyan with her poison, too?"
"If that's true, then we can do without the Soul Bone from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan..."
Dugu Bo had never used the Soul Bone that Yu Yuanzhen had sent as betrothal gifts. The main reason was that using it would mean he approved of the marriage between Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan.
Then Dugu Yan would have to marry into their family. Just as Fang Xuan had said to Dugu Yan before, Dugu Bo didn't want her to marry so young.
He hadn't had a choice before, so he could only accept the arrangement for the time being.
But if he did have a choice, he didn't particularly care for that Soul Bone.
Dugu Yan mattered far more to him than any Soul Bone.
Now that Fang Xuan had put the idea in his head, Dugu Bo began to consider other possibilities.
For instance, turning his disciple into his granddaughter's husband.
Between a half-son and a granddaughter's husband, the latter was still closer.
On top of that, Fang Xuan was better than Yu Tianheng, and there were no powerful factions interfering in his affairs. Naturally, he fit Dugu Bo's requirements much better.
In short, Dugu Bo had already started thinking about kicking Yu Tianheng aside and letting Fang Xuan take his place.
Of course, it was only a thought. If Dugu Yan disagreed, he couldn't force her. It wasn't as if he could drug his own granddaughter and toss her into Fang Xuan's bed.
If he did that, he'd probably end up on bad terms with both of them. It would be downright vile.
With everything settled, Fang Xuan finally got his hands on the Heart of the Sea God, the treasure he'd been longing for.
Looking at the blue, diamond-shaped crystal in his hand, Fang Xuan couldn't help smiling.
"I finally got it."
It was one of the items needed to inherit the Sea God Godhood, an essential requirement for anyone seeking to become the Sea God.
He'd now taken half a step through the gates of the Divine Realm. All he had to do was wait for the right moment, then go to Sea God Island and inherit the Sea God Godhood.
He knew the process inside and out, but this was only a backup option. The inheritance he truly wanted was that of the Asura God in Slaughter City.
"I'll have to get a few more godhoods. Just one or two won't be enough to go around."
Ye Lingling would definitely need one, and his mother-in-law should have one, too.
Both of them had eaten Immortal Herbs that had been enhanced by Energy Beans, and their Martial Souls had evolved.
Even though Ye Qinru was getting on in years, she shouldn't have much trouble passing the trials for a Second-Level Godhood.
But it seemed too early to be thinking about all that.
"Forget it. I'll take things one step at a time. Some things can't be rushed."
He put the Heart of the Sea God into his Hundred Treasure Pouch. Outside the Imperial Treasury, Xue Ye and Dugu Bo had already left, leaving only Xue Qinghe waiting there.
"I've kept my promise. Now it's time we had a proper talk about us."