Spirit Bones

After listening, Ma Xiaotao did not speak immediately. Only after confirming the information she had secretly obtained from her teacher in her mind did she say, "Yes, three spirit bones."

Yue Ling's eyes widened, his astonishment seeming ready to spill out.

To Spirit Masters, Spirit Rings were already exceedingly precious, because every Spirit Master had to obtain them in order to break through their bottlenecks.

But Spirit Bones were a hundred times more precious than Spirit Rings. Every Spirit Master could fuse with six Spirit Bones: a head spirit bone, a torso spirit bone, and spirit bones for the four limbs.

Each Spirit Ring could grant a Spirit Master one skill, while a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring could grant two.

In other words, if an ordinary Spirit Master cultivated to the level of a nine-ring Titled Douluo, they should possess nine skills.

Spirit Bones, however, were an entirely additional system. Every Spirit Bone could also grant a Spirit Master one skill, while greatly enhancing the physique of the body part it was attached to.

Every Soul Beast was guaranteed to produce a Spirit Ring, but Spirit Bones were different. Only Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were guaranteed to produce Spirit Bones.

For Soul Beasts below the hundred-thousand-year rank, the chance of producing a Spirit Bone was only one in ten thousand! The appearance of any Spirit Bone would inevitably provoke a scramble among Spirit Masters.

There was a saying in the Spirit Master world: if one wanted to become an outstanding Spirit Master, one had to work hard to increase one's Soul Power and obtain Spirit Rings with the highest possible cultivation age.

But if one wanted to become a top-tier Spirit Master, a true powerhouse of the Douluo Continent, then one had to possess one's own Spirit Bones. The more Spirit Bones one had, the stronger one would be.

In some sense, Spirit Bones were equivalent to consuming unrestricted Soul Ascension Pills. Fusing with any Spirit Bone would increase a Spirit Master's Soul Power.

"The academy is being way too generous, isn't it? Some Spirit Masters might never obtain even one Spirit Bone in their entire lives, yet the academy is giving out three at once."

Gongyang Mo was both shocked and delighted, already imagining whether he might receive a Spirit Bone himself.

Yue Ling's brows knitted together as he calculated silently before slowly speaking.

"I'm afraid these Spirit Bones won't be so easy to take."

"What do you mean?"

Ma Xiaotao was somewhat surprised.

"They want to gradually bind us to the academy on a psychological level."

Yue Ling pointed at Ma Xiaotao, then at himself.

"You and I already have teachers at the academy. We already belong to Shrek, but Gongyang Mo doesn't."

"You mean..."

He licked his somewhat dry lips and nodded gently.

"A genius support-type Spirit Master no less talented than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. That is their real reason for trying to win him over."

Ma Xiaotao froze for a moment and was about to say something, but Yue Ling glared her into silence.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little off, Gongyang Mo hesitated.

"But should I take this Spirit Bone or not?"

"Take it. Of course you should take it. Why refuse a reward the academy is giving away for free? Maybe the rewards will be even better in the future."

"Then what did you mean just now?" Ma Xiaotao could no longer hold herself back. That glare had made her a little irritated.

"Don't be angry." After soothing Ma Xiaotao, Yue Ling looked seriously at Gongyang Mo.

"Gongyang Mo!"

"I'm here, I'm here."

Yue Ling looked at him gently, making Gongyang Mo's scalp tingle as he grew a little nervous.

"I hope that when you face the academy in the future, especially when making major decisions or facing dangers that concern your life, you'll think more about yourself. Don't let the benefits they gave you earlier force you into binding yourself to them."

Gongyang Mo swallowed against his dry throat, and his tense heart gradually relaxed.

"So that's what this was about. Don't worry, I value my life quite a bit."

"The way you looked just now, I thought you were going to confess to me. You scared me half to death!"

The tenderness Yue Ling had just managed to summon shattered instantly. His expression twisted as he gritted his teeth and stared at him.

"I told you already, I! Am! Not!"

He lowered his head, looking somewhat aggrieved and a little embarrassed.

"But I... I'm just a little scared..."

The moment the words left his mouth, Gongyang Mo seemed to recall something and suddenly stiffened up.

"Still, I should be on guard... Your martial soul isn't just a chrysanthemum, even your everyday stuff is f..."

Before he could say it, Yue Ling shot him a fierce glare, cutting off that word.

Meanwhile, Ma Xiaotao listened curiously to this explosive exchange.

"You're scared? We've slept together for so many days, and now you're telling me you're scared? Who falls asleep first every time and snores the loudest...?!"

Watching the two argue, Ma Xiaotao could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.

A few tears hung at the corners of her eyes, and the ends of her eyes were flushed red from laughing so hard.

Gongyang Mo and Yue Ling were stunned for a moment. Drawn in by her, they could not help but laugh as well.

Before long, the laughter of the three of them filled the Shrek campus.

Students passing by cast curious glances at the laughing group but did not linger, walking straight past them. They had their own matters to attend to.

Their smiles continued for a while before finally fading away.

After wiping away the tears at the corners of their eyes, they felt much more at ease.

"Let's go. We'll head back and wash up first, then go eat."

"I'll be leaving first. My teacher brought back a piece of Mystic Ice Marrow from an auction yesterday. I should be able to cultivate for quite a long time with it."

"What a cultivation maniac."

"Hmph, none of your business..."

Ma Xiaotao looked eager to get started. After speaking, she impatiently waved at them.

Just as she was about to leave, she seemed to remember something and turned back. Her tone carried a hint of warning.

"Don't forget tomorrow's elimination round. If I don't see you two... hmph."

Yue Ling's face was practically written with disbelief.

"Don't worry. There's no way I'd sleep late over something that concerns my future."

"That's for the best." With that, she left without looking back.

Yue Ling turned to Gongyang Mo. "It seems earning good results in the elimination round won't be easy either. In the upcoming matches, we'll be facing real opponents."

"Yeah."

"Let's go back to the Dormitory first. I'll take a shower and change clothes. After we eat, we can prepare for tomorrow's match."

"Mm." Gongyang Mo nodded, though deep in his heart, a seed had been planted.

After returning to the Dormitory, Yue Ling took clean clothes and a towel and went to shower.

Gongyang Mo was left sitting alone on the bed.

Bang. The Dormitory door shut.

A breeze curled around the little chrysanthemum on the windowsill and gently brushed against his black hair and fair cheeks.

Perhaps feeling a little tired, he curled up on the bed.

Another breeze swept in. No one knew those complicated thoughts, nor could anyone understand them.

--

Special thanks to Ru Shenmeyang de Naodianbo f Ganjue for the tip. Thank you, boss, for the support!

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