External Soul Bone, Dragon God's Claw

What kind of Pokémon had little Qingyu gotten hold of?

Those two looked even stronger than Big Brother.

Having bodyguards was nice too—better than having none.

After Guang Ling Douluo asked a few questions, got the answers he wanted, and confirmed they meant little Qingyu no harm, he stopped prying.

Seeing Jiang Qingyu and Bibi Dong absorbing their soul rings, Guang Ling Douluo knew they would not finish within a few hours. He then walked over to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who was licking her paws, crouched down, and asked with a grin:

"Auspicious beast, could you tell me what that tall, black-haired, golden-eyed man's true form was?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shot him a sideways glance and bared her teeth.

"You called me little kitty just now, and now you want me to tell you? Dream on."

Guang Ling Douluo paused. This auspicious beast really held a grudge. He cleared his throat.

"We're practically family. Besides, wasn't that all just a misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding my ass!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion snorted. "Since you're Jiang Qingyu's grandfather, I'll tell you."

"That tall man was the Beast God, the supreme ruler of the Star Dou Great Forest. His true form is the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, and his cultivation is eight hundred and ninety thousand years!"

Guang Ling Douluo's smile froze as his eyes widened.

"Eight... eight hundred and ninety thousand years!"

If they really fought, he would get the shit beaten out of him.

Even a hundred-thousand-year soul beast was ridiculously powerful. Eight hundred and ninety thousand years of cultivation far surpassed a Titled Douluo and was nearly comparable to those legendary gods.

No one knew just how powerful an eight-hundred-thousand-year soul beast truly was.

"What a bumpkin!"

Lying on the ground, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion sneered at Guang Ling Douluo's shocked expression.

Time passed bit by bit. After several hours, Jiang Qingyu was the first to absorb his seventh soul ring, and his soul power reached level seventy-two.

The instant he opened his eyes, the Flame Phoenix Sword—which had previously been infinitely close to ultimate fire—finally made up for that last deficiency after absorbing the Crimson Flame Sacred Phoenix. It had completely reached the level of ultimate fire.

"Not bad, not bad." Guang Ling Douluo hurried over with a beaming smile. "You absorbed it so quickly, and your soul power has reached level seventy-two too. A Soul Sage at such a young age—I like you more and more, grandson."

This trip had truly been bountiful!

Jiang Qingyu released his Flame Phoenix Sword again. With just a casual swing, the flame slash it sent out was far more powerful than when he had fought Bibi Dong before.

"Little Qingyu, what happened to you?"

Guang Ling Douluo noticed the change in the flames.

Jiang Qingyu replied, "Absorbing the Crimson Flame Sacred Phoenix made up for my weakness and fully brought my martial soul into the realm of ultimate fire!"

"Ultimate fire? Doesn't that make you invincible?"

Guang Ling Douluo was overjoyed.

Jiang Qingyu put away his martial soul. Besides reaching ultimate fire, his seventh soul skill, Martial Soul True Body: Phoenix Descends, could increase the power of all his soul skills by 200%. His fire-element abilities would also rise another level, while enemies within a ten-meter radius would suffer continuous burning damage.

The soul beast Di Tian had found was indeed excellent.

On the other side, the light slowly withdrew into her body. Bibi Dong opened her eyes, her soul power having risen to level sixty-two.

She turned to look at Jiang Qingyu, who had long since finished.

"Qingyu, you absorbed yours even faster than I did."

"Not bad."

Jiang Qingyu's tone was calm, and the scorching residual heat of ultimate fire still lingered at his fingertips.

Bibi Dong rose to her feet, several hair-thin dark-purple spider stings flicking out from her fingertips.

"My sixth soul skill, Vampiric Spider Sting, is a large-scale group attack. Tens of thousands of spider stings fire at once, draining others' blood and converting it into my own soul power."

"Not a bad soul skill."

Jiang Qingyu nodded, silently judging that the skill combined area damage with endurance and had great practical value.

Guang Ling Douluo happily came over, his gaze sweeping over the two of them.

"Good! One newly advanced Soul Sage and one who has broken through to Soul Emperor. You've both improved greatly. This trip to Star Dou was not wasted."

Though he smiled on the surface, he still remembered Di Tian, the eight-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year Beast God. He only hoped they could leave the core region soon. If they truly provoked that being, even ten lives would not be enough to pay for it.

Standing nearby, the Ice Dragon King waved her hand.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Qingyu still has a gift waiting for him. Wouldn't leaving now waste this opportunity?"

"What gift?"

Guang Ling Douluo was baffled. They already had nearly everything they could need.

"A soul bone."

The Ice Dragon King made it clear that the soul bone was not for him, but for Qingyu. Why was he rushing off? If he wanted to leave, he could leave by himself.

A... a soul bone!

Guang Ling Douluo excitedly shook Jiang Qingyu by the shoulders.

"Amazing, little Qingyu, you're amazing! Soul bones are incredibly rare. As I recall, you don't have a suitable soul bone yet, right?"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Jiang Qingyu was shaken so hard that his head spun, and he quickly stopped him.

"Grandpa Guang Ling, I don't have a single soul bone. Where does suitable or unsuitable even come into it?"

He wanted soul bones too, but the previous few had never dropped any.

Other than the arm bones of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King.

What soul bone could Di Tian bring him?

A moment later, a dark shadow streaked over. Di Tian landed before them, a dark-gold palm-bone soul bone resting in his hand.

Its claw-blade patterns were sharp and distinct, its baleful aura restrained within. It was the external soul bone, Darkgolden Terror Claw.

"Aunt Ice, Aunt Fire, this is the external soul bone, Darkgolden Terror Claw."

The Ice Dragon King took it, lifted it with soul power, and sent it toward Jiang Qingyu.

"Come. It's an external soul bone—absorb it quickly."

Jiang Qingyu looked at the soul bone, his heart stirring slightly.

External soul bones were one in ten thousand to begin with, and this was a top-tier offensive one like Darkgolden Terror Claw. Di Tian's gift was truly substantial.

The Fire Dragon King suddenly spoke.

"Di Tian, I remember the Dragon God bestowed Dragon God's Claw upon you. You should pass it on to Qingyu as well."

Di Tian froze, his expression changing drastically. "Aunt Fire, that is the innate divine skill the Dragon God passed down to me. It is handed down solely from one Black Dragon Clan patriarch to the next."

The Ice Dragon King gave Di Tian an indifferent glance.

"Qingyu's martial soul is the Ice Dragon King. What is wrong with passing it to him? It's not as if he is an outsider."

Di Tian fell silent, his gaze landing on Jiang Qingyu.

Jiang Qingyu's expression remained calm. There was no eager greed in his eyes, only composed steadiness.

Di Tian weighed it silently. Both the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King had spoken, and Jiang Qingyu possessed the Ice Dragon King martial soul. Passing it down to him would not disgrace the Dragon God's inheritance.

"Fine," Di Tian agreed. "Once he finishes absorbing the soul bone, I will teach him the cultivation method and every essential principle of Dragon God's Claw."

Jiang Qingyu accepted the soul bone, sat cross-legged, and began absorbing it.

The process went smoothly, and Jiang Qingyu soon completed the absorption.

Di Tian walked over without changing expression.

"Jiang Qingyu, I will bestow a move upon you. This move is called Dragon God's Claw. I hope you will comprehend it well."

Passing it on was one thing. How much he could comprehend would depend on Jiang Qingyu himself.

Di Tian transmitted every essence of Dragon God's Claw into Jiang Qingyu's body.

Ever since the Dragon God had passed it down to him,

this was the first time in tens of thousands of years that he had taught it to a human.

Aunt Ice and Aunt Fire had spoken, so he did not dare disobey.

As a vast energy entered his sea of consciousness, Jiang Qingyu felt that his future was bright.