Fusing a Spirit Bone was much faster than absorbing a Spirit Ring.
Moreover, this was a life-attribute Spirit Bone, making the fusion even smoother.
The Spirit Bone began to merge into Ye Han's right leg.
A warm, spring-like power instantly surged in, far gentler than Ye Han had expected.
The blue-gold light slowly sank into his body, and the stone chamber returned to darkness.
Ye Han closed his eyes and fully immersed himself in the process of fusing the Spirit Bone...
Time passed, second by second.
An hour later.
The blue-gold light completely withdrew into his body.
Ye Han opened his eyes.
A stream of information entered his mind, concerning the Spirit Bone's abilities.
As expected, the Spirit Bone came with two abilities.
One was low-consumption flight.
The other was a powerful recovery ability.
Ye Han stood up and stretched his limbs.
He felt much lighter.
His Soul Power had risen another two levels, reaching Level Forty-Eight.
This hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone not only granted him formidable vitality, but also greatly strengthened his spiritual power.
Ye Han could not help but smile.
Tang Hao, Tang Hao.
You fool, you did not keep something so valuable on you.
Well, how did that work out for you?
But if you had carried it with you, you probably would have felt guilty too, wouldn't you?
To obtain Spirit Bones, you slaughtered countless soul beasts.
Your Clear Sky Hammer had long been stained with the blood of innumerable living beings.
The Blue Silver Emperor might have been part of your schemes as well.
Ending up like this was entirely your own doing.
You deserved it!
Ye Han put the empty lead box back into the Seven-Star Dragon-Pattern Belt. It might come in handy someday.
Then he turned and quickly left the stone chamber, passed through the waterfall, and landed by the pool.
At the top of the cliff, Demon Subduing Douluo sat cross-legged, faint blood-red baleful energy swirling around him.
Ye Han released the right leg bone and felt its new power.
With a slight exertion of his right leg, he soared into the air, turning into a streak of light as he reached the other side of the cliff top.
He did not disturb Demon Subduing Douluo. With a light leap, he landed steadily beside the pool.
Only an hour later did Demon Subduing Douluo awaken from cultivation and descend in a streak of light.
"Kid, are we going somewhere else?"
"No."
"What? You're not looking for what you came for anymore?"
"Mm. I have no leads for now. I'll look again later."
Demon Subduing Douluo chuckled.
"Then we'll stay here for a few more days. That Bloodthirsty Berserk Right Leg Bone invigorates the blood and boosts one's energy, and it has greatly benefited my cultivation. I feel like I'm about to break through my bottleneck. It should happen within the next few days."
"That's wonderful! I'm not in a hurry. We'll leave after you break through."
Three mornings later.
The sky had yet to brighten fully, and the waterfall above the pool still roared like thunder.
Ye Han was awakened by an extremely violent aura.
He flipped upright inside his tent and looked up.
From the area atop the cliff, golden-red light shot into the sky.
That aura was deep and blazing, carrying a nearly frenzied fighting intent. Even the air was distorted by its force, while the mist scattered in all directions.
Feeling that oppressive pressure, Ye Han secretly marveled.
Demon Subduing Douluo's bottleneck had finally broken!
The blood-red light continued for about the time it took to burn an incense stick before gradually receding.
Then a burst of laughter rang out from the cliff.
Though the voice was old, it was full of vigor, and its echoes reverberated endlessly through the valley.
Ye Han was just about to fly up when a figure suddenly flashed down before him.
Demon Subduing Douluo landed firmly beside the pool.
His eyes gleamed brightly, and his entire presence was completely different from three days ago.
"Kid! I broke through! I finally broke through! I've reached Level Ninety-Seven, hahaha~~~~"
Demon Subduing Douluo grinned and laughed heartily.
Level Ninety-Seven already counted as one of the absolute peak combat strengths on this continent.
Among the Worship Hall's seven great worshippers, only Level Ninety-Nine Qian Daoliu, Level Ninety-Eight Golden Crocodile Douluo, and the Level Ninety-Seven Azure Luan Douluo and Mighty Lion Douluo possessed greater Soul Power than him.
But in terms of actual combat strength, Azure Luan Douluo and Mighty Lion Douluo were probably no longer his match.
That was because after breaking through his Soul Power bottleneck, the first move of the Unyielding Staff Technique, Battle Heaven and Earth, had also naturally come to fruition.
"Grandpa Demon Subduing, congratulations! Your strength has risen another level!"
"Hahaha~~ Not only has my Soul Power reached Level Ninety-Seven, but Battle Heaven and Earth has succeeded too!"
As Demon Subduing Douluo spoke, he could not resist summoning the Coiling Dragon Staff.
The dragon patterns coiled around the staff came alive beneath the golden-red blood light, their scales and claws seeming ready to burst free from the weapon.
Demon Subduing Douluo slammed the long staff against the ground.
Boom!
A muffled blast rang out.
The earth beneath their feet trembled.
The pool exploded upward in a column of water several yards high.
Then Demon Subduing Douluo's figure flickered. Before his afterimage had faded, his true body had already appeared dozens of yards away in midair.
He spread his arms and swept the Coiling Dragon Staff horizontally.
A golden-red beam shot skyward from the staff, transforming in midair into a massive dragon-shaped phantom.
It was the Heaven-Awakening Sacred Golden Dragon sealed within his staff.
The giant dragon roared at the sky as if it wanted to tear open the heavens.
The entire mountain forest trembled.
Demon Subduing Douluo held the long staff as he floated in midair, the golden dragon circling around him.
At that moment, he was like a war god descending upon the world.
A few breaths later, Demon Subduing Douluo withdrew his Soul Power, turned into a streak of light, and landed beside Ye Han.
Ye Han could not help but exclaim:
"Grandpa Demon Subduing, your presence is incredible. I told you, the Unyielding Staff Technique would definitely unleash even greater power in the hands of you and Grandpa Qian Jun."
"Hahaha~~ It's all thanks to you, kid!"
Demon Subduing Douluo laughed openly and rested a hand on Ye Han's shoulder.
"If you hadn't taught me this Unyielding Staff Technique, and if I hadn't unexpectedly obtained that Bloodthirsty Berserk Bone, who knows how many years it would have taken me to break through!"
"We're family. Why say things like that?"
Ye Han smiled as well.
"Next, we can practice the second move of the Unyielding Staff Technique. Shaking Heaven, Shattering Earth focuses on explosive power, creating tremendous impact through the staff technique and inflicting powerful physical blows on the enemy."
"No rush. I only broke through today, so I'll stabilize my cultivation a little more. By the way, where are we going next?"
"To the Soul Arena for actual combat."
"The Soul Arena?"
Demon Subduing Douluo thought for a moment.
"You are currently a Soul Ancestor. At the Soul Arena, you can only challenge opponents of the same level. Your opponents cannot be too weak, so ordinary Soul Arenas will not meet the requirements. We can only go to a Super Great Soul Arena. Aside from Spirit City Great Soul Arena, there are only Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena and Star Luo Great Soul Arena."
"Then we'll go to Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena."
"Good. We can also visit an old friend while we're there."
As Demon Subduing Douluo spoke, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Ye Han guessed that he was referring to Qian Renxue, who was hidden within Heaven Dou Palace.
Before Qian Renxue turned nine, she had lived in the Worship Hall.
Those worshippers were all loyal to the Angel Lineage, so they naturally cared deeply for Qian Renxue as well.
Demon Subduing Douluo seemed to remember something, and his expression suddenly changed.
"Kid, there's another issue we haven't considered."
"What is it?"
"When you fight in the Soul Arena, you may not reveal your Spirit Rings, but you will reveal the Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Soul. Those young juniors won't recognize the Coiling Dragon Staff, but old fellows at the level of Titled Douluo or even Soul Douluo should be able to recognize it. You're the Spirit Hall Academy Team's secret weapon. Wouldn't that expose your identity ahead of time?"
"Then I won't use the Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Soul."
Demon Subduing Douluo froze slightly, then frowned at Ye Han.
"Kid, what do you mean? Are you going to fight others bare-handed?"
Ye Han smiled and shook his head.
"I'll use my other Martial Soul, the Sky-Piercing Spear."
Before you continue