Absorbing the Third Spirit Ring, External Spirit Bone

High in the sky, the frustrated Thunder Roc refused to descend, its eyes fixed on Han Yu as it scrutinized him from above.

Having already suffered a loss, it was now filled with vigilance, tirelessly adjusting its angle.

Han Yu stared at the Thunder Roc's silhouette, his left hand brushing over the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword as four cyan sword shadows emerged, hovering on either side of the blade.

During his two years in the sect, his martial soul, the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword, had been fully nurtured by his second martial soul, increasing the number of split sword shadows to four, each possessing thirty percent of the original's attack power.

Clack.

Han Yu raised his right hand, and the five Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords connected at their hilts, beginning to spin rapidly in a ring formation, their edges transforming into a brilliant, high-intensity cyan blade of light.

He thrust his right hand forward, and the ring of blades shot out like a cannonball, closing in on the Thunder Roc in the sky at high speed.

The Thunder Roc scrambled to evade, its tattered wings flapping frantically in an attempt to dodge the sudden cyan ring.

However, the ring of blades seemed to possess a life of its own; it carved a bizarre arc through the air, suddenly doubled back, and shot toward the Roc's other, intact wing.

The Thunder Roc had no choice but to turn and force a block with its dark gold talons.

At that exact moment, the scale armor on Han Yu's body erupted with golden light, and all the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder within him was channeled to trigger his second soul skill, Accumulate Power.

A tremendous force exploded from his body, cratering the ground beneath his feet as he shot into the sky like an arrow released from a bowstring.

"Sword, come!" Han Yu commanded softly.

The main body of the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword detached from the ring, bypassed the Thunder Roc's body, and flew back into Han Yu's hand.

With a flick of his wrist, Han Yu held the blade before him, its tip pointing straight toward the firmament.

In an instant, countless cyan sword shadows converged.

The three-foot blade in Han Yu's hand transformed into a giant, ten-foot-long sword of light; he gripped the hilt with both hands and swung it down with a roar.

The Thunder Roc sensed a familiar aura, its eyes filled with terror.

It weighed its options, shifted its orientation, and flew backward and upward, exposing its toughest dark gold talons to parry the massive, gold-veined cyan sword.

Meanwhile, the ring of blades was frantically shredding its wings.

It let out a shrill, miserable cry, flapping its tattered wings violently and spraying a massive amount of crimson fluid across the sky.

But it had no time to dwell on this; with a vacant gaze, it could only watch in despair as the giant cyan sword crashed down upon it.

BOOM.

A massive roar echoed through the air.

The ground was smashed into a crater over ten meters wide.

The Thunder Roc's talons were shattered, its entire body embedded in the soil, its head lolling limply to one side.

A black soul ring slowly rose from its body.

After resting for a moment, Han Yu set up several auxiliary arrays to assist with absorption and sat cross-legged at the edge of the crater.

He closed his eyes and drew the soul ring toward him.

As the ring descended and enveloped him, a vast surge of soul power rushed into his body like a floodgate being opened.

The violent soul power rampaged through his meridians, as if trying to tear them to shreds.

A piercing, agonizing pain struck him instantly.

Han Yu's body trembled violently, veins bulging on his forehead as he skillfully mobilized the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder to purge the intrusion.

With the addition of the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder, the onslaught of the foreign soul power weakened slightly.

Just then, an anomaly occurred.

Han Yu jerked his head up, clutching his skull with both hands as an unbearable tearing sensation washed over him.

The Thunder Roc's resentment had manifested as a purple phantom within his sea of consciousness, radiating a violent and savage aura as it desperately sought to destroy everything in sight.

Soul Shock.

This was the most difficult hurdle in absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring, and the final step.

Once he endured this, the rest would be a simple matter of absorbing the soul power.

Golden light flashed in Han Yu's eyes, his gaze sharp.

Several golden bolts of lightning, condensed from his mental energy, crashed down, forming an electric cage that captured the Roc's resentment, instantly closing in and dissipating it into nothingness.

A look of relief appeared on Han Yu's face as he let out a soft breath.

Yet, a warm current suddenly surged into his body, wandering through his veins.

Han Yu frowned, accelerating his absorption of the soul power.

His face was filled with bewilderment; he had clearly already resolved the Soul Shock, so there should be no further obstacles to absorbing the soul ring.

Seeing this, Chen Xin's mood tightened.

What is happening? He clearly overcame the Soul Shock just now; why does Han Yu look troubled again?

Time slipped away quietly.

The soul power within his meridians was absorbed to the last drop.

However, just as the process was about to conclude, another anomaly occurred.

Han Yu felt a tearing, excruciating pain erupt from his back.

He arched his spine, collapsing onto the ground with a ferocious expression, his fingers digging deep into the earth and leaving behind jagged furrows.

Chen Xin was stunned, unable to believe his eyes. He stepped closer, focusing intently for a few moments, and a look of shock appeared on his face.

Han Yu was truly blessed by sheer luck; an External Spirit Bone, a thing of legend, had sought him out on its own. It was truly a case of comparing people only to be driven to frustration.

Every Spirit Master could absorb at most seven spirit bones.

The External Spirit Bone was a special existence outside of the six main spirit bones.

The probability of its appearance was a thousand times lower than that of spirit bones for other parts of the body.

Every External Spirit Bone possessed the potential for growth, capable of increasing in age and power alongside the Spirit Master.

Across the entire continent, those who possessed an External Spirit Bone could be counted on one's fingers.

At this moment, Han Yu was suffering through a form of torture, as if someone were pulling his spine out piece by piece, only to forcefully shove it back in and grind it from side to side.

Han Yu gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging as he let out low growls. His body trembled violently, and he felt dizzy and disoriented.

"Ah—!"

Han Yu threw his body upward and let out a long cry, his spirit surging as he suddenly snapped his eyes open.

A crisp sound echoed from his back.

A circle of silver-white cracks bloomed at his shoulder blades, within which flickered bursts of blue electric light.

Two wing bones sprouted from his shoulder blades, and translucent cyan wind feathers appeared out of thin air, their surfaces covered in dense, intricate thunder patterns.

A pair of wings, roughly three meters long with silver crystal frames and purple lightning dancing between the translucent membranes, fully unfurled, occasionally shedding lingering arcs of electricity.

With a violent flap of his wings, a gale swept across the ground.

Han Yu shot upward instantly, his figure reaching high into the sky in a heartbeat.

He felt the unfamiliar organs on his back, struggling to control the two wings as he wobbled in the air, rising and falling erratically.

He adjusted his orientation in the air bit by bit, trying his best to remain stationary.

Once he could turn freely, he flapped his wings with all his might, his figure blasting forward and leaving behind a few cyan feathers in his wake.

At high speed, he tilted one wing slightly, grazing past the edge of a giant tree.

His eyes lit up, and he learned to channel the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder within his body toward his back.

Suddenly, countless golden arcs of electricity flashed across the entire surface of his wings, and his speed increased several times over.

The scenery before Han Yu's eyes blurred into streaks of light with trailing tails, eventually transforming into lines of brilliant radiance.

A spatial rift filled with golden electric arcs appeared instantly before him; he dove into it and vanished from sight.