Darkgold Dreadclaw, External Soul Bone

"Mm, good thing you're all right. This way, I can still explain things to... the... young crown prince."

She Long nearly let the wrong words slip again and hurriedly corrected himself.

"By the way, Young Master Yun Chen, what is your first soul skill?"

Yun Chen froze for a moment upon hearing that. With a thought, the effects of his first soul skill appeared in his sea of consciousness. When he opened his eyes again, they were brimming with unconcealed delight.

"My first soul skill is Lion Mastiff's Fury!"

"When my first soul skill is activated, all my attributes increase by three hundred percent. At the same time, it grants my hands special properties—my left hand gains a tearing effect, while my right hand gains a crushing effect."

She Long opened his mouth, but in the end, no words came out. Seeing the somewhat vacant look in his eyes, Yun Chen knew that the effects of his soul skill had struck deep into his heart.

"Defying the heavens..."

After a long silence, She Long finally forced out those two words. As expected of something he had thought over so carefully—it was indeed concise and fitting.

Yun Chen sighed inwardly as well. He decided not to deal She Long any further blows, since he also had the Supreme Dominance Domain.

Its initial effects alone included a three-hundred-percent boost to all attributes, along with a continuous suppression effect on enemies that reduced all enemy attributes by two hundred percent.

Furthermore, within the domain was Lion King's Roar, which would continuously disrupt the enemy's mental state, slowing and confusing both their movements and thoughts.

I wonder whether these two soul skills can be used together?

"Ah, the waves behind the Yangtze River drive on those before them. Each generation is stronger than the last."

Though why does that sound so much like a Nanfu battery slogan?

After sighing with emotion, She Long turned to look at the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear's corpse. Materials from a super soul beast were valuable goods.

"Come on, kid. Learn how to dissect a soul beast with me. It'll come in handy when you go out to train on your own someday. Soul beast materials are quite precious, after all."

"A super soul beast like the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear is covered in valuable materials. After dissection, every part fetches a different price."

"Come, I'll teach you."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chen hurried over to She Long's side. She Long drew an exquisite short blade, twirled it lightly in his hand twice, then pointed at a part of the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear's body and began his lesson.

"Mm, right, just like that. Put more force into it—separate the organs from the meat."

"Yes, yes, that's it. You're doing very well, and you adapted quickly too. You're not even afraid of bloody things anymore."

With both hands covered in blood and grime, Yun Chen could only smile helplessly. There was nothing to be done about it. During their time in the Soul Beast Forest these past two days, She Long had often made him look at such bloody scenes.

They had even run into a group of bandits, and those bandits had naturally died at She Long's hands.

That scene... tsk, tsk, tsk... was simply disgusting beyond words.

After several hours of instruction, the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear's main torso and two legs had almost been completely dismantled. Even its bones had been packaged separately.

"Next, you'll be dismantling the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear's two arms, as well as its bear paws."

"Remember, the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear's paws are good stuff."

"To remove the bear paws, cut through the connecting bones like this, and then..."

She Long was about to say more, but he froze where he stood—the moment he had snapped off the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear's right paw, something astonishing happened.

The Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear's right paw suddenly burst apart. A crystalline, jade-like bone-shaped object that emitted a golden glow slowly floated out.

She Long could not help swallowing. His lips were trembling now, and his eyes were filled with irrepressible desire. He had already recognized what it was.

An external soul bone—and one from a Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear.

The instant Yun Chen saw the soul bone, delight first flashed through his eyes, followed by solemnity. Without drawing attention to himself, he retreated several steps, his gaze firmly fixed on She Long.

During the era of Douluo I, soul bones were not as common as they were in Douluo II. At this time, they could truly be called treasures bought with rivers of blood.

Even among Titled Douluo, few possessed a full set of soul bones.

And clearly, She Long had only known him for two days. It was impossible for him not to be tempted by a soul bone like this. If he wanted to keep it for himself, killing Yun Chen would be the best solution.

In truth, Yun Chen was already beginning to despair. He could not imagine how he might escape from the hands of a Titled Douluo who had developed the intent to kill.

In this situation, even Tang San would not be able to save him.

Gradually, She Long lowered his head, though his body still trembled uncontrollably. His right hand slowly reached out, only to jerk back just as it was about to touch the soul bone.

"Ah, what use would this soul bone be to these old bones of mine, even if I took it?"

When She Long raised his head again, a trace of bitterness had appeared at the corner of his mouth. The way he looked at the soul bone now held only helplessness.

An external soul bone was not something that could defy fate and change one's destiny. No matter how powerful it was, it merely offered great combat strength; it could not bring She Long sustained improvement.

Given She Long's current circumstances, it was not even as useful as an ordinary soul bone.

What made external soul bones so heaven-defying was their potential for growth. They could continuously advance alongside their host's growth, until reaching their peak.

But She Long himself had no opportunity to grow anymore, so what hope was there for a soul bone? Besides, this was not a devouring-type soul bone.

It was only a hundred-year soul bone. To nurture it into a ten-thousand-year, or even a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, was practically impossible within the rest of She Long's life.

And below that level, this soul bone would not be of much use to him.

It was even less worth the risk of silencing Yun Chen. After all, if such a genius died by his hand—or died because of him—the Hall of Worship would certainly not let him off.

More importantly, She Long did not know whether Lion Douluo had followed them. Perhaps he was hidden somewhere nearby, watching him right now.

After all, it was obvious that Lion Douluo had come here for Yun Chen. It was only natural that he would secretly assess him during this trip to Sunset Forest.

"Alright, kid. Stop worrying."

"Come over and absorb this soul bone quickly, before I change my mind."

Yun Chen swallowed, finally calming down for the moment. Besides, there was no point in being nervous now. The person before him was a Titled Douluo, while he was at most a one-ring Soul Master.

Yun Chen sat back down in front of She Long, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff martial soul appeared behind him once more. As he circulated his soul power, he drew the soul bone before him.

The next second, soul power even more violent than when he had absorbed the soul ring surged into Yun Chen's body.

But this time, the soul power had a clear destination, all of it gathering within Yun Chen's right palm.

Intense pain struck him, but Yun Chen had clearly been prepared this time. He did not scream, merely furrowing his brows tightly as large beads of sweat poured down like rain in an instant.

Amid a series of cracking sounds, Yun Chen felt as though every bone in his right hand had been crushed and reforged.

The process lasted two hours. When Yun Chen opened his eyes again, his right hand looked as though it had been forged from gold, radiating a golden glow.

She Long offered no comment, only watching the delighted Yun Chen with a complicated expression.

"Not bad... It seems you didn't do anything you would regret, She Long..."

A voice entered She Long's ears. His pupils suddenly contracted as he nervously looked around, yet he saw no one.

But in that instant, he understood who the voice belonged to.

'There is no need to search. You did very well today. You were able to hold fast to your true heart amid greed, and I am very pleased. I will truthfully report your actions to the Hall of Worship.'

'Rest assured, She Long. The Hall of Worship will not forget your merits.'