External Spirit Bone

Before Lin Yao could even reply, he saw the Soul Emperor kick off the ground, rushing across the pond in a flash. Simultaneously, his hands transformed into wolf claws, clamping directly onto the jaws of the Shadow Earth Dragon.

The Shadow Earth Dragon's snout protruded quite a distance, and now that it was pinned by the Soul Emperor's hands, it instantly lost its primary means of attack. Its claws scraped frantically against the ground, looking utterly pathetic.

The Soul Emperor didn't waste words, using the momentum to fling the Shadow Earth Dragon out of the bushes and slamming it hard onto the ground on the other side of the pond.

As the Earth Dragon was flipped onto its back, belly facing the sky, its four legs struggling to right itself, the Soul Emperor tossed a U-shaped shackle, pinning the creature's neck firmly to the ground.

Once the U-shaped shackle secured the Earth Dragon's neck, the Soul Emperor rushed over to it, then ran his fingers over its belly, seemingly testing the texture and hardness of its hide.

"This is a soul beast between two and four thousand years old. Your luck is truly absurd; finding a suitable soul beast this quickly is a rare occurrence even in the hunting circles of the Star Dou Great Forest." When the Soul Emperor looked up, his face was filled with a smile as he beckoned to Lin Yao.

Lin Yao curled his lips, then stepped forward to look at the Shadow Earth Dragon before him.

The Shadow Earth Dragon's resentful gaze was locked onto Lin Yao, its furious eyes seemingly wanting to tear him to shreds. Lin Yao, however, paid it no mind, raising his hand to deliver a punch.

As the blow landed, black scales coated Lin Yao's hand, and the phantom of an Ender Dragon appeared behind him—he had simultaneously activated his Martial Soul Avatar and Dragon Transformation.

A punch in this state could be considered Lin Yao's strongest strike without using a soul skill. A cracking sound rang out instantly as the bones in the Shadow Earth Dragon's neck shattered under Lin Yao's blow.

The Shadow Earth Dragon let out a miserable shriek, glaring at Lin Yao with even more venomous eyes.

Lin Yao remained unmoved by that gaze, swinging his fist again. A purple soul ring floated up, accompanied by the flowing blood of the Shadow Earth Dragon.

Lin Yao sat cross-legged, reaching out to guide the soul ring toward his Ender Dragon Martial Soul.

The Ender Dragon Martial Soul began to circle above Lin Yao's head, each rotation stirring up waves of soul power that gradually compressed the purple soul ring and integrated it into Lin Yao's body.

The Soul Emperor no longer spoke, leaning quietly against a nearby tree to guard Lin Yao during the soul fusion process; in the Star Dou Great Forest, this was a critical task.

The period of absorbing a soul ring is the most vulnerable time for a soul master.

At this moment, a soul master cannot use soul skills to defend against sneak attacks. Without someone to stand guard, even the weakest ten-year soul beast could instantly kill a high-level soul master.

The Soul Emperor understood this well. Although he leaned against the tree trunk as if resting, his eyes constantly scanned every direction, fearing that a high-level soul beast might appear to drink water and interrupt Lin Yao's absorption.

Fortunately, Lin Yao's absorption process this time was not very long; after only three hours, he opened his eyes.

As he stood up, Lin Yao had bid farewell to his status as a one-ring soul master and officially stepped into the two-ring level.

Feeling the surging soul power within him, Lin Yao stretched his limbs and shrugged with satisfaction, saying, "The soul skill the Shadow Earth Dragon gave me is truly not bad."

"Do not easily expose your soul skills to anyone, even those you are familiar with." The Soul Emperor waved his hand at Lin Yao, signaling him not to reveal the nature of the skill, and then walked over.

The Soul Emperor examined the Shadow Earth Dragon's venomous gaze, then crouched down to search its body. "Although the chances of a thousand-year soul beast yielding one are slim, since its eyes were so full of resentment, it's worth a try."

Lin Yao naturally understood what the Soul Emperor meant. He didn't urge him to hurry, but watched the Soul Emperor's movements quietly, learning as he watched so that he could apply the knowledge himself when no Soul Emperor was around to accompany him.

Checking every soul beast killed was actually logical. After all, even if Lin Yao, with his transmigrator's perspective, looked down on soul bones, they could still be sold for a good price through a merchant guild—it was definitely a trade worth spending a little time on.

When the Soul Emperor's fingers reached the dragon claws of the Shadow Earth Dragon, his expression suddenly changed. He looked up with some delight and said, "My heavens, you actually managed to make it drop a soul bone, and it's the most precious type: an external soul bone!"

When he mentioned the words "external soul bone," the Soul Emperor deliberately lowered his voice, fearing that any passing soul master might hear and want a share.

One had to know that external soul bones could grow alongside the soul master's level, so even a thousand-year external soul bone held immense value, enough that some would even kill to obtain one.

The Soul Emperor's eyes grew increasingly fervent. Lin Yao prepared himself to hand over the soul bone, but saw the Soul Emperor immediately cut open the dragon claw, then handed the bone to Lin Yao with both hands. "This thing is far more valuable than a soul ring. Sit down quickly; I'll guard you while you absorb it!"

Lin Yao was somewhat surprised by the Soul Emperor's ability to suppress the fanaticism in his eyes, and asked curiously, "Doesn't Uncle Lin want this soul bone?"

The Soul Emperor shook his head and said to Lin Yao, "Master Lin has shown me immense kindness. Since this soul bone dropped while Young Master Lin was hunting, it rightfully belongs to you. Hurry and absorb it; this is a treasure far exceeding the value of a soul ring. If some expert passes by and tries to snatch it, we'll have suffered a huge loss."

Lin Yao reached out to take the soul bone and said to the Soul Emperor, "Then many thanks. I will tell my father about this so he can reward you properly."

As he spoke, Lin Yao gripped the soul bone. It was a left palm bone. As Lin Yao held it with his left hand, the energy from the soul bone began to channel into his left hand.

The Ender Dragon Martial Soul's imprint glowed brightly on Lin Yao's body, clearly helping him suppress the anger and unwillingness contained within the soul bone.

The Soul Emperor continued to watch the surroundings vigilantly, fearing that the process of fusing the soul bone might be interrupted.

Lin Yao's process of absorbing the soul bone was exceptionally smooth, finishing even faster than the time taken for the soul ring.