Xiao Xiao's Third Soul Skill, Cauldron Suppresses Dark Gold

When they returned to the academy, the afternoon sun was pleasantly warm. Xiao Xiao followed behind Huo Chen as they passed through the outer academy's teaching district, drawing quite a few looks along the way. Her dark green fitted outfit was still stained with dust and dark golden blood, and her two braids had loosened from all the running. Yet her eyes shone startlingly bright, and she radiated a vitality utterly unlike when she had set out that morning.

Huo Chen did not send her back to her dormitory to rest. Instead, he brought her to a private cultivation room at the deepest part of the core disciples' training area.

This cultivation room had been specially prepared for high-ranking core disciples. Its walls were cast from special alloys and inscribed with layers of reinforcement arrays, enough to withstand the aftershocks of attacks at the Soul Emperor level.

"Sit down." Huo Chen pointed at the soul-gathering cushion in the middle of the room. "Strike while the iron is hot and refine that external spirit bone."

Xiao Xiao nodded, sat cross-legged on the soul-gathering cushion, and took the dark golden external spirit bone from her robes.

The spirit bone glowed softly in her palm. It was warm to the touch, as if it still retained the lingering warmth of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's life.

She lowered her head to look at the spirit bone, took a deep breath, then closed her eyes and slowly guided her soul power into it.

The spirit bone resonated with the soul power in her body and began to slowly merge into her right arm.

Refining an external spirit bone was more delicate than absorbing a soul ring. The energy within the bone had to be fused bit by bit with one's own bones, meridians, flesh, and blood.

Fine beads of sweat soon appeared on Xiao Xiao's forehead, and her breathing became somewhat rapid.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's spirit bone contained berserk power. Though the beast had already been slain, its innate savage aura still remained within the bone, rampaging through her meridians.

Huo Chen crouched in front of her and took hold of her right arm. Pressing his fingertips against the pulse at her wrist, he sent a thread of pure reincarnation power into her body.

That gentle yet vast power was like a clear stream, slowly flowing through her meridians. Wherever it passed, the berserk, vicious aura was gradually soothed and purified, transformed into the purest energy before fusing with her bones and flesh.

Xiao Xiao's breathing gradually steadied, and the furrow between her brows relaxed as well.

As the refinement deepened, dark golden patterns emerged over the surface of her right arm. Like vines, they spread from her wrist to her shoulder, glowing faintly beneath her skin.

The patterns seemed alive, subtly pulsing with her breath as they gradually merged with the network of meridians within her body.

Huo Chen's fingers remained pressed to her wrist pulse, continuously channeling reincarnation power into her body and guiding the flow of the spirit bone's energy, ensuring that every stage of fusion was precise and flawless.

There was a trace of warmth at his fingertips, a stark contrast to the slight coolness of the skin at her wrist.

Though Xiao Xiao's eyes were closed, she could clearly feel the temperature and pressure of his fingers. That steady, focused presence gave her a sense of security unlike anything she had ever known.

About half an hour later, the dark golden patterns finally disappeared completely beneath her skin, thoroughly merging with her meridians.

Xiao Xiao slowly opened her eyes, raised her right arm, and clenched her fist. She could feel explosive power contained within it, several times greater than that of her left arm.

"How does it feel?" Huo Chen asked, withdrawing his fingers.

"It feels... like my right arm has been replaced with a new one." Xiao Xiao flexed her fingers. All five moved as nimbly as before, but the sense of power was completely different.

At a thought, a layer of dark golden scales instantly covered the surface of her right arm. Five sharp claws of light sprang from her fingertips, gleaming coldly under the cultivation room's lights.

Dark Gold Terrorclaws.

She looked at the savage yet magnificent dark golden claw armor on her right arm in silence for a moment. Then she lifted her head to look at Huo Chen, a gentle smile appearing on her lips. "Teacher Huo, I've refined it."

"Test its power." Huo Chen retreated several steps and pointed to the testing pillar in the corner of the cultivation room, forged from refined steel and special alloys. "Use your third soul skill. Attack that pillar with everything you have."

Xiao Xiao nodded, rose to her feet, and walked to the center of the cultivation room. Taking a deep breath, she summoned the Three-Lives Soul-Calming Cauldron.

The Three-Lives Soul-Calming Cauldron floated before her. Its body was heavier and more stable than before, while the patterns on its surface had become deeper and more intricate.

She activated her third soul ring. The profound black ten-thousand-year soul ring lit up, and a layer of dark golden armor instantly covered the surface of the Three-Lives Soul-Calming Cauldron, encasing the entire cauldron tightly.

Metallic light flowed across the dark golden armor, radiating an indestructible aura.

Cauldron Suppresses Dark Gold.

Xiao Xiao pushed both hands forward, and the Three-Lives Soul-Calming Cauldron advanced with heavy pressure. Even the air around it seemed to thicken and congeal.

Then the cauldron body suddenly shuddered. A dark golden shockwave spread outward from it, and wherever the shockwave passed, a low hum erupted from the air. It carried a force that shook the mind—it was the soul roar of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, sealed within this third soul skill. Beyond its physical impact, it could also inflict a dizzying effect upon an enemy's spirit.

The shockwave crashed into the testing pillar with a thunderous blast.

Boom!

A dull, explosive roar erupted through the cultivation room. The entire testing pillar shook violently, and a thin crack appeared across its surface.

Dust on the floor around the pillar was swept up by the air currents unleashed by the shockwave, forming an expanding ring-shaped ripple.

Huo Chen raised a brow.

This testing pillar had been designed according to Soul Emperor-level impact resistance standards. It could withstand the full-force strike of a level-sixty soul master without sustaining damage.

Yet Xiao Xiao, using her third soul skill with only level-thirty-eight soul power, had actually left a crack in its surface. That meant the force of her attack was already enough to threaten a Soul Emperor above level sixty.

Even Xiao Xiao herself was startled by the power of that strike.

She stared at the clear crack in the testing pillar, then looked down at her hands. After a moment of silence, she turned toward Huo Chen, her eyes filled with incredulous delight. "Teacher Huo, I..."

"With level-thirty-eight soul power, you unleashed power at the Soul Emperor level."

Huo Chen finished the rest for her, a trace of approval in his voice. "This soul skill has enormous potential. Once your level rises further, its power will keep growing."

Xiao Xiao's lips curved into a broad smile, and joy filled her pale green almond-shaped eyes.

She withdrew the Three-Lives Soul-Calming Cauldron and walked up to Huo Chen. Looking up at him, her two dark green braids swayed softly against her chest, the silver phoenix-patterned ornaments at their ends scattering tiny gleams beneath the lights.

"Teacher Huo, I'm really so happy today." Her voice was soft, but it carried sincere, undisguised joy.

"From when you took me to the Star Dou Great Forest this morning, to helping me absorb the soul ring, then helping me refine the spirit bone, and even testing my soul skill with me... everything I experienced today was more exciting than the entire past year."

Huo Chen looked into her sparkling eyes and smiled. "There will be even more wonderful things to come."

Xiao Xiao nodded vigorously, then suddenly rose onto her tiptoes and quickly kissed his cheek.

The kiss was feather-light, like a dragonfly skimming the water—there and gone in an instant.

Afterward, her cheeks flushed bright red at once, the color spreading from the tips of her ears down to her neck. Her whole body seemed to have been set ablaze.

She lowered her head, too afraid to look Huo Chen in the eyes. Her hands twisted together unconsciously, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Teacher Huo... this is my thank-you gift..."

Huo Chen froze for a moment, then smiled. Reaching out, he gently ruffled her hair. "All right, I've received your thank-you gift. Go back and get some proper rest. You still have class tomorrow."

Xiao Xiao kept her head lowered and nodded hard before turning and hurrying out of the cultivation room.

At the door, she nearly tripped over the threshold. She staggered two steps before regaining her balance, then ran off without looking back. Her two braided pigtails swung behind her, the silver ornaments at their ends tinkling softly.

Huo Chen stood in the cultivation room, watching her flustered figure flee. He raised a hand to touch the cheek she had kissed and smiled helplessly.

He lowered his gaze to the crack in the testing pillar, then looked at his palm, where a trace of warmth still lingered from guiding the soul bone's refinement.

He withdrew his hand and turned to leave the cultivation room. The afternoon sunlight spilled over him, stretching his shadow long, long behind him.