Underling? Not Even a Dog Would...

"Clang... clang-clang!!~~"

The massive cauldron shook, sending layer upon layer of hidden force spiraling through its interior. Su Bo was immersed in enlightenment, holding nothing back with his strikes.

Every palm strike contained immense power comparable to that of a Gang Realm martial artist.

His blood and qi, condensed until it resembled blood aura, merged with his divine intent and seeped into the broth within the cauldron. The Soul Vine and numerous heavenly treasures used as supplementary ingredients—

were rapidly shaken apart and reduced to powder, blending into one.

The impurities were also separated by the shaking force, rising to the surface of the broth before Yi You skimmed them away ladle by ladle.

By now, he had long stopped using his own strength to stir the cauldron.

There was no need. The vibrating force unleashed by Su Bo had perfectly replaced his role at the cauldron. All that remained for him was to scoop out the medicinal impurities.

He even had to devote part of his attention to resisting the violent force transmitted through the cauldron.

Otherwise, one careless moment and Su Bo's terrifying strength might send him flying.

The golden radiance emanating from the martial meal broth within the cauldron became increasingly condensed. Dense Dao intent filled the air, and the cauldron could no longer contain that vast medicinal power.

A faint medicinal fragrance spread out, and Yi You and Liu Yue gradually began to lose themselves in it.

Their souls quietly grew stronger...

Not far away, the Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton, having filled in grave after grave, sensed the Dao intent around the cauldron. The ghostly green soul flames in its eyes flickered.

It had witnessed Soul Vine being used to brew medicinal concoctions and martial meals many times.

After obtaining Soul Vine, the human prodigies undergoing the trial would immediately refine medicinal concoctions and martial meals, striving to open their divine apertures and nurture divine abilities.

They sought to lay a stronger foundation for their future martial paths.

The Starry Sky Trial had begun ten thousand years ago, while Beast Planet had been designated as a trial ground for the Starry Sky Trial for two thousand years.

That the Soul-Spirit Burial Grounds could produce Soul Vine, brew medicinal concoctions and martial meals, open divine apertures, and nurture innate divine abilities...

was no secret!

After all, Soul Vine was only suitable for Body Realm martial artists. Once one surpassed that realm, Soul Vine became ineffective.

Furthermore, the other great trial planets possessed similar opportunities, or even better ones.

The Soul Vine on Beast Planet had a relatively low chance of opening divine apertures and nurturing innate divine abilities. Among the forbidden lands of all those trial planets, it could not be considered a top-tier opportunity.

Thus, no powerful martial artist cared much for it.

Yet in all its centuries of guarding the forbidden land, this was the first time it had encountered a monstrous prodigy like Su Bo, as well as a martial meal refined with such dense Dao intent.

In past Starry Sky Trials, the prodigies who entered the Soul-Spirit Burial Grounds were mostly martial geniuses of average strength like Yi You and Liu Yue.

A small number were slightly stronger than them, but only slightly.

Of course, a small number were weaker as well, perhaps unable to obtain even the Soul Vine.

As for a monstrous prodigy like Su Bo, it had never even heard of one in its centuries guarding the Soul-Spirit Burial Grounds, much less seen one with its own eyes.

Logically, shouldn't a top-tier prodigy like Su Bo be competing on a trial planet with fiercer competition?

The Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton did not understand...

Feeling the dense Dao intent around the cauldron, the soul flames of the skeleton flickered as it pondered in secret: the chance of Soul Vine opening divine apertures and nurturing innate divine abilities...

had risen from less than one in a hundred... to at least one or two in ten.

"Crack..." How about an investment?

"Click-click... crack..." Su... Su Bo, worth it...

The Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton's soul flames trembled violently.

As a skeletal lifeform with intelligence and spirituality no weaker than a human's, it had ambitions of its own. It did not wish to remain trapped here like its predecessors.

Until its soul flames extinguished and it perished.

It wanted to leave the Trial Star. It wanted to venture into the starry sky. It wanted to see the higher realms of the skeletal race.

A small segment of Soul Vine...

Compared to the segment of Soul Vine it had previously given Su Bo, this one bore an additional fruit—hazy and illusory, as though it did not exist in the present.

Three pale golden halos drifted around the hazy, mist-like yet seemingly solid fruit.

"Three-Turn Soulfruit?" The instant the Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton moved, Liu Yue looked over. At a single glance, he spotted the segment of Soul Vine and the fruit in its hand.

He cried out in disbelief, staring at the Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton.

How could the Soul-Spirit Burial Grounds possibly produce Soulfruit?

If martial artists outside learned that the Soul-Spirit Burial Grounds could produce Three-Turn Soulfruit, even King-sealing martial artists would be moved. They would come directly to seize it.

Soulfruit was a heavenly treasure said to be capable of instantly saving a martial artist even if their soul had been extinguished.

It could even allow martial artists above the Divine Ability Realm to open divine apertures and nurture innate divine abilities.

One-Turn Soulfruit corresponded to the Divine Ability Realm.

Two-Turn... the Dharma Form Realm!

Three-Turn... Nirvana King-sealing!

A single Three-Turn Soulfruit, if placed in the Federation, could be traded for three life-bearing planets!

"Crack..." Not bad... you know... a little something...

After glancing at Liu Yue, the Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton flicked its hand and tossed out the Soul Vine and Three-Turn Soulfruit. The vine and fruit spun through the air...

then fell straight into the massive cauldron, transforming into vast soul power and life force that merged into the broth.

Yi You froze for a moment. "What was that?"

"Three-Turn... Soulfruit!" Liu Yue darted over and stared into the cauldron.

"Th-three... three, three... Three-Turn, Three-Turn Soulfruit?" Yi You's eyes nearly popped out as he stared at the cauldron in disbelief.

Was this martial meal really something he was qualified to eat?

Three-Turn Soulfruit was something even Nirvana King-sealing martial artists coveted desperately.

As for his own future, before opening divine apertures and nurturing innate divine abilities, he only believed that he would probably reach the King-sealing realm.

But that was merely a probability. If anything went wrong along the way...

he might perish early in the starry sky.

Geniuses dying before reaching their potential were never rare in the starry sky. It happened far too often.

"Then this is..." Liu Yue and Yi You looked toward the Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton.

"Crack..." An investment~

The Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton glanced at the two of them and calmly said, "Crack~" You two got lucky...

"Crack-crack-crack..." From now on, you two... are his, um... underlings. That's right, underlings...

"Crack..." Underlings, benefits... rewards...

Intense mental waves surged madly into the minds of the two men.

The Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton continuously brainwashed them with its thoughts, telling them to become underlings. As long as they did well as underlings, there would be plenty of rewards.

Like this Three-Turn Soulfruit—if not for Su Bo, they would not even have had a chance to glimpse it.

Liu Yue and Yi You exchanged a glance. Both could see the resentment on the other's face, and neither of them felt very good about this.

Were they not even worthy of being Su Bo's good brothers?

Were they only fit to be underlings?

Pursing their lips, the two simultaneously shut out the mental waves. Not listening, not listening, a turtle chanting scripture. For the sake of the Three-Turn Soulfruit, they would pretend they had heard nothing.

Underlings? Not even a dog would do that...

As the Soul Vine and Soulfruit fused into the broth, Su Bo's palm strikes sent vibrating force seeping through it, and the life force and soul power within the cauldron instantly surged by a great margin.

If the martial meal brewed from the previous Soul Vine had a one- or two-in-ten chance of opening divine apertures and nurturing an innate divine ability,

then the martial meal with Three-Turn Soulfruit added to it

had gained another fifty percent chance out of nowhere of helping someone open divine apertures and nurture innate divine abilities.

The dense Dao intent around the cauldron surged once more. The Bixi Divine Form behind Su Bo became increasingly solid as it inhaled and absorbed the power of Dao intent.

It strengthened its own divine form and essence, becoming Su Bo's greatest foundation.

At the same time, Su Bo's understanding of the Baxia Coiling Dragon Stance deepened further. He had thoroughly altered the entire stance beyond recognition.

The stance had completely become Su Bo's own shape.