Time passed second by second. The two children's foreheads had long been covered in bead-sized droplets of sweat that slid down their cheeks.
Qian Renxue had her eyes shut tightly, biting down hard on her pale lips as she endured the pain.
Qian Renheng's face was pale, and his entire body trembled, yet neither of them made a sound.
"A first Soul Ring at a thousand years..." Watching his two great-grandchildren absorb their Soul Rings amid such pain, Qian Wushuang's heart pounded wildly.
He tilted his head slightly toward the sky and murmured, "Angel God, if you can see this, then please bless your children and let them successfully absorb their Soul Rings."
An hour later.
The violent Soul Power within the siblings gradually settled at last, and their Soul Rings had begun to show signs of fusion.
Sensing that the two had passed the most dangerous stage, Qian Wushuang and Qian Daoliu finally began to relax their tightly wound nerves.
Two hours later.
Pure, sacred radiance suddenly burst from Qian Renxue's body and shot into the heavens.
She was the first to successfully absorb her Soul Ring. Her incomparably beautiful Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul had also automatically manifested during the absorption process.
Beneath her feet, a dazzling purple Soul Ring rhythmically rose and fell.
Six years old, a one-ring Soul Master, with a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as her first ring!
Qian Renxue slowly opened her eyes and let out a long breath. Although the initial stage of absorbing the Soul Ring had been extremely painful.
After getting through that painful stretch, however, she had felt as though she had returned to her mother's embrace—warm and comfortable all over.
She did not cheer in delight. Instead, she immediately withdrew both her Martial Soul and Soul Ring into her body and sat quietly where she was.
Because not far from her, her brother was still absorbing his Soul Ring, with no sign of finishing.
She looked at her brother with a face full of worry and prayed inwardly, Why hasn't Brother succeeded yet? Please don't let anything go wrong!
Just then, an unexpected change occurred!
Riiip—
Accompanied by the sound of cloth tearing, the clothes over Qian Renheng's once-smooth back suddenly burst apart.
Then, before the horrified eyes of Qian Wushuang and Qian Daoliu, three pairs of pure gray wings forcibly tore out from Qian Renheng's back.
The three pairs of wings were a profound black, every feather utterly dark, yet wreathed in gray mist.
"This... this is... an External Soul Bone!!!"
Qian Wushuang and Qian Daoliu cried out nearly in unison. Despite their vast experience, both stared wide-eyed at those black six wings in disbelief.
After the shock came overwhelming joy!
Who would have thought that this hunt would bring such an unexpected windfall? That was an External Soul Bone, the most unique type of Spirit Bone, independent from the six standard Spirit Bones.
"Great-Grandfather, Grandfather, what is going on? Why did black wings suddenly grow from Brother's back?"
Qian Renxue was so worried she was nearly crying. "Brother isn't going to turn into a giant black bird and fly away, is he?!"
Though she had received an elite education, she clearly had not yet studied lessons concerning Spirit Bones and External Soul Bones at her age.
Seeing his darling granddaughter's adorable expression as she nearly cried from worrying about her brother.
Qian Daoliu could not help laughing heartily before explaining, "Xiao Xue, don't worry about your brother. Not only will he not turn into a bird and fly away, he has instead stumbled upon tremendous luck!"
"This is called an External Soul Bone. Other than the six conventional Spirit Bones, it is the most special and rarest kind of Spirit Bone in the Soul Master world!"
Qian Daoliu looked at the black six wings, his eyes full of envy. "What makes this type of Spirit Bone so special—and so outrageously powerful—is that it possesses the rare ability to grow!"
"It will continuously evolve and become stronger as the Soul Master's strength increases!!!"
"The chance of such a Spirit Bone appearing is extremely low. Its rarity and strategic value are in no way inferior to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"
Qian Daoliu sighed. "Who would have expected Xiao Heng to gain such a heaven-defying opportunity while absorbing the Soul Ring of this Six-Winged Black Crow?"
Even Qian Daoliu, whose cultivation had reached the realm of an Ultimate Douluo, coveted an External Soul Bone immensely.
Its special nature ensured that every Title Douluo would desire one. Who would not want a Spirit Bone that could grow?!
While the grandfather and granddaughter spoke, Qian Renheng also completed the final step of absorbing his Soul Ring.
Huff—
Qian Renheng opened his eyes and let out a long breath, his tightly tense body instantly relaxing.
He slowly rose to his feet, and a dazzling purple Soul Ring steadily emerged beneath him, rising and falling rhythmically.
The moment he stood, he felt a heavy sensation on his back. Turning his head, he saw three pairs of black wings.
"Holy shit?!" Qian Renheng jolted in shock, then instantly realized what they were. "An External Soul Bone? My luck is fucking incredible!"
He was all too familiar with External Soul Bones. These exceptionally rare Spirit Bones with growth potential were worth no less than Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings and Spirit Bones.
Calling one an alternative cheat would not be an exaggeration. After all, once ordinary Spirit Bones from the six standard positions were absorbed, their age was generally fixed, with almost no possibility of improvement.
But External Soul Bones were different. They continuously evolved as their Soul Master grew stronger, becoming more powerful the further one progressed.
You could tell that just from a certain third guy's spider legs.
With a thought, Qian Renheng tried controlling the Black Raven Six Wings behind him. This Spirit Bone was connected to his bloodline and obeyed him completely.
With the slightest withdrawal of his intent, the Black Raven Six Wings turned into specks of black light and sank into his back, vanishing without a trace.
"Hahahaha! Good! Wonderful!"
Qian Wushuang was so excited that his aged face turned red. He threw back his head and laughed as if he, rather than Qian Renheng, had obtained the External Soul Bone.
"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring as your first ring at six years old, and now an incredibly rare External Soul Bone as well. You siblings have laid down a foundation that may be the strongest Spirit Hall has seen in ten thousand years!"
"The future of Spirit Hall rests upon you two. I am deeply relieved, and I eagerly await the day you fully mature!"
The more he looked at the siblings, the more he liked them. The more he looked, the more he felt that whether Spirit Hall could advance even further depended entirely on them.
As for Qian Daoliu? Qian Xunji?
If Spirit Hall placed its hopes on them, it would probably only have the brightness of noon left, because it would be finished sooner or later.
"Xiao Heng's opportunity truly is remarkable. This old man has only heard of External Soul Bones and has never seen one with his own eyes."
Qian Wushuang's burning gaze swept over the two of them as he said expectantly, "You two, don't keep hiding things. What kinds of Soul Skills did your Thousand-Year first Soul Rings grant you?!"
"Xiao Xue, you are the younger sister, so you go first. After absorbing an ancient variant Soul Beast like the Dawn Golden Crow, what effect does your first Soul Skill have?"
Qian Renxue answered crisply, "Great-Grandfather, Grandfather, my first Soul Skill is called Holy Flame Manipulation. Its effect is that I can freely control my own Soul Power and shape it into any form of attack I wish."
"Like this!"
As she spoke, Qian Renxue's purple Soul Ring suddenly lit up beneath her feet, and she stretched out her fair little hand.
A blinding sphere of light fused with the three attributes of holiness, light, and flame condensed in her palm.
"Go!"
Qian Renxue gave a soft shout and fiercely hurled the sphere of light toward an open patch of ground in the distance.
Boom—
The sphere landed and produced a rather small explosion, blasting a pit half a meter wide into the ground.
"Uh..."
Seeing this, the expectant expressions on Qian Wushuang and Qian Daoliu's faces instantly froze.
"That shouldn't be possible?! The Dawn Golden Crow is an ancient variant Soul Beast. How could a Thousand-Year Soul Ring it produced grant such a weak Soul Skill?" Qian Daoliu frowned.
"This... this is Xiao Xue's first Soul Skill? It only blew out such a tiny pit?!"
Qian Wushuang stood there dumbly, feeling deeply surprised and disappointed. This was a Soul Ring produced by a Dawn Golden Crow, a Soul Beast exceptionally compatible with the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. How could its Soul Skill be so weak?!
This power was only at the level of a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, wasn't it?
Could this Dawn Golden Crow's Soul Ring have been a dud?
Qian Renxue also looked troubled, not knowing how to explain herself. She believed that the Soul Skill attached to her Soul Ring was very powerful; she was simply too weak at the moment.
"Great-Grandfather, Grandfather, don't be so quick to judge. Things are far from that simple. This Soul Skill is not weak at all!"
Before you continue