Compared to before, however, the energy this time was clearly far more violent and powerful.
In the original story, Xiao Xiao had not spent much effort absorbing the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's Soul Ring, yet this Soul Bone had nearly cost her her life. That alone showed just how outrageous the energy contained within it was.
At the same time, the original description stated that what Xiao Xiao had been unable to withstand was precisely the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's tyrannical bloodline power.
Unfortunately for it, bloodline power was what Bai Chen feared least.
The black-gold domain appeared once more, and the proud, savage bloodline aura of the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff instantly suppressed the power within the right palm bone.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but Bai Chen felt the crushed Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear bloodline give off an almost tearful sense of despair.
The feeling flashed by in an instant. The next moment, Bai Chen's pressure suddenly eased, and the Soul Bone absorption process became much simpler.
Although absorbing a Soul Bone was more difficult than absorbing a Soul Ring, one had to remember that Bai Chen had just absorbed a Millennium Soul Ring, and his physical strength had improved as well.
The boost from the Millennium Soul Ring, combined with the increase of four ranks in Soul Power, had truly brought Bai Chen's physical strength under the domain's enhancement to the level of a Soul Ancestor.
As the Soul Bone absorption progressed, Bai Chen could clearly feel his physical strength continuing to rise.
This was the famous Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone. Its value was in no way inferior to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. It was a truly priceless treasure.
He spent noticeably longer absorbing this Soul Bone than he had absorbing the Soul Ring. Only after two full hours did Bai Chen open his eyes again.
His Soul Power had now reached the peak of Rank 15, only a single step away from breaking through to Rank 16.
The harvest from this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest had been terrifyingly abundant. Before today, he would never have imagined that he would obtain his first Soul Bone so quickly.
"How was it?"
Seeing Bai Chen awaken, Hua Tianyu, who had been guarding his side all this time, hurriedly stood and asked anxiously.
Bai Chen smiled faintly and raised his right hand. With a shing, five sharp claws suddenly shot out from his fingers.
With a casual swing, five golden streaks of light three meters long shot from his hand, instantly cutting all the surrounding trees in half.
Ning Jingchen was left staring in shock.
Clearly, this was not the kind of power a normal Soul Master's Soul Skill should possess.
Bai Chen explained,
"My Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Arm Bone mainly has two forms."
"One is the normal form you see now. In its normal state, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw consumes almost no Soul Power. It is no different from my own hand, and I can use it freely."
"The other is the Soul Skill form you just saw. When I use the Darkgolden Terrorclaw in its Soul Skill form, my Soul Power consumption increases drastically. That attack just now consumed roughly half of my Soul Power."
"The current maximum range of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw in its Soul Skill state is only three meters. However, I can sense that this right arm bone is absorbing my Soul Power at an extremely slow rate. It really can gradually evolve. As my cultivation rises, its attack power and range will most likely undergo tremendous improvements as well."
For any Soul Master, a Soul Skill that could evolve autonomously alongside its user was an absolute god-tier skill.
Why had Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection been valued so highly in the beginning? Aside from its unique effects, the most important reason was that as Huo Yuhao's cultivation improved, the range of his Spiritual Detection could expand as well.
Bai Chen's Darkgolden Terrorclaw worked on the same principle. This was a Soul Skill he could truly use forever. If he could become a God King, this Soul Bone might even have the potential to advance into a Super Divine Artifact.
First Soul Skill: Steel Bone Shaking Gold
"Good, very good!"
As the sect master of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect, Ning Jingchen naturally understood how precious a Soul Bone capable of evolving alongside a Soul Master was. His face was filled with delight, and his evaluation of Bai Chen rose to another level.
Hua Tianyu asked,
"Then, Bai Chen, what is your first Soul Skill?"
Generally speaking, the strength of a Soul Skill was closely related to the Soul Beast that produced the Soul Ring.
Although exceptions existed, such as Soft Bone Rabbits and Ice Silkworms, the rule was broadly correct.
At that, Bai Chen directly released his first Soul Skill.
As the purple Millennium Soul Ring lit up, a layer of dark-gold light suddenly appeared over Bai Chen's skin.
He introduced it,
"This is my first Soul Skill, Steel Bone Shaking Gold. It hardens my body and greatly enhances both my defense and attack power. At the same time, this Soul Skill seems capable of linking with my Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone. While this Soul Skill is active, the power of every attack launched by the right palm bone doubles, while the consumption is halved."
"..."
Hua Tianyu and Ning Jingchen were nearly speechless.
Bai Chen's first Soul Skill was indeed simple and brutal to the extreme, but it was undeniably useful.
Even without considering the effect of strengthening himself, the latter effect of amplifying the Soul Bone was already absurdly powerful.
The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone already possessed terrifying attack power. Now that it had received such an enhancement, they did not even dare imagine just how strong it could ultimately become.
Extreme enhancement of one's own attack and defense was the defining trait of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear. As the absorber of its Soul Ring and Soul Bone, Bai Chen had clearly inherited that trait perfectly.
Hua Tianyu fell silent for a moment, then suddenly turned to Ning Jingchen and said,
"Sect Master, I want to delay our departure from the Star Dou Great Forest by one day."
"Oh? Why?"
"I want Bai Chen to become more familiar with the abilities of his Soul Ring and Soul Bone."
Hua Tianyu said solemnly,
"Obtaining powerful strength is naturally a good thing for a Soul Master, but rashly using unfamiliar power can instead lead to accidents. Before we head to the Sun-Moon Empire, I hope he can fully master the abilities he has just gained."
"Alright."
Ning Jingchen agreed without hesitation.
"We'll do as you say, Elder Hua."
Just as Hua Tianyu had said, Bai Chen needed to properly familiarize himself with his newly acquired abilities.
They did not think Bai Chen was weak now. Quite the opposite—he was simply too strong, far beyond Soul Masters of the same rank.
The power of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw was terrifying. At least in Hua Tianyu's understanding, not even a Soul Grandmaster could withstand Bai Chen's claw strike from earlier.
They were worried that after Bai Chen reached the Sun-Moon Empire, he might accidentally beat someone to death because he was unfamiliar with his own strength.
This was by no means an exaggeration. Those able to study at the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy either possessed extraordinary talent in the field of Soul Tools or held important social status. In the original story, Huo Yuhao had merely fought back after being bullied and injured several students from Xuan Ziwen's laboratory, yet he had been directly taken away by the Royal Inspection Squad and nearly punished.
The Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy carried the word "Imperial" in its name, which was enough to show where it stood. Within that academy, imperial relatives and nobles possessed nearly absolute authority. If Bai Chen caused trouble there, they truly would have difficulty rescuing him.
Thus, over the next day, the four wandered around the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, allowing Bai Chen to fight Soul Beasts.
During that process, they once again experienced the terrifying strength of this monster called Bai Chen.
Ten-Year Soul Beasts had no ability to resist him at all. Once he closed in, they would be killed instantly.
Century Soul Beasts could struggle a little, but they still could not withstand the sharp Darkgolden Terrorclaws and would soon die beneath his claws.
Only Millennium Soul Beasts had the ability to confront Bai Chen head-on. Yet even a Millennium Soul Beast would die instantly if struck directly by his Darkgolden Terrorclaw in its Soul Skill state.
In the end, Hua Tianyu gave his assessment of Bai Chen's current strength.
This kid's strength had already surpassed that of an ordinary Assault Combat Soul Elder and was not far from an Assault Soul Ancestor. If they waited another half year for Ning Tian to obtain her first Soul Ring, then with her support, he might even be able to contend against an Assault Combat Soul Ancestor.
Monster. Looking at the corpse of the Millennium Soul Beast torn to pieces by the Darkgolden Terrorclaw, Hua Tianyu silently gave his assessment in his heart.
Meanwhile, the person being called a monster simply shook his hand indifferently, flinging the blood from his claws.
A person whose strength relied on raw attributes would possess terrifying suppressive power against opponents who likewise relied only on raw attributes.
Because they had only been wandering around the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Soul Beasts he had encountered were not particularly strong. Even the Millennium Soul Beasts merely had higher attack, defense, and speed; they possessed no troublesome Soul Skills.
At least, he had not encountered another opponent like the Millennium Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear. Against a Soul Beast of that level, even he could only ask Hua Tianyu to help deal with it for now.
"Alright, we'll stop here."
Hua Tianyu clapped his hands and said to Bai Chen,
"You should now fully understand your own strength. Remember, Bai Chen, unless your life is in danger, never casually use the Soul Skill of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone. Understand?"
This warning was not only meant to prevent Bai Chen from accidentally killing others, but also to avoid attracting greedy eyes.
In truth, Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear palm bones were extremely rare among the continent's Soul Masters. Throughout human history, only Black Left Douluo had ever fortunately obtained a Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear Left Palm Bone.
If Bai Chen did not use the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Soul Skill, almost no one would recognize that what he possessed was actually an External Soul Bone.
After all, Martial Souls across the continent came in every conceivable variety. As Hua Tianyu knew, the Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy had admitted a student with a Terrorclaw Bear Martial Soul in recent years. It was said that this student had even been selected as a member of the Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy's reserve team.
Like the Darkgolden Bear of the Douluo III Era, the Terrorclaw Bear was merely an inferior substitute for the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear. As long as Bai Chen insisted that his Martial Soul was something similar, no one would suspect that he possessed the incomparably precious Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone.
Bai Chen naturally understood the meaning behind Hua Tianyu's words and nodded obediently.
Hua Tianyu relaxed slightly.
Recently, he had increasingly felt that Bai Chen's thoughts were so mature that he seemed nothing like a six-year-old child.
Ning Tian was already mature enough, but compared to Bai Chen, she was still far behind.
Had the early deaths of his parents given him such a mature mind?
Before he could think of an answer, Ning Jingchen came over and asked,
"Then shall we set off now? It is getting late, and Tian'er should get some proper rest."
Just as he said, dusk was approaching. They had already spent an entire day in the Star Dou Great Forest.
The other three could endure it, but Ning Tian, a six-year-old support-type child, could not. She was clearly exhausted by now.
"Alright, we'll leave the Star Dou Great Forest now."
Hua Tianyu immediately agreed.
The group left the Star Dou Great Forest and headed toward the Sun-Moon Empire.
The Xu Siblings
Over the following days, Bai Chen from all three eras encountered nothing unusual and spent a peaceful stretch of time.
The Bai Chen of the Douluo I Era occasionally cultivated in the Star Dou Great Forest and occasionally considered the problems encountered by his counterparts from the other two eras.
The Bai Chen of the Douluo II Era headed directly toward the Sun-Moon Empire. Because Ning Tian was with them, their travel speed was much slower, but they were not in a hurry. There were still two full months before registration for the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy closed.
As for the Bai Chen of the Douluo III Era, he mainly studied the Soul Spirit Ritual by himself in his room.
By the Douluo III Era, the Soul Spirit Contract was no longer a secret. Any adult Soul Master could basically construct a Soul Spirit Contract on their own.
The Spirit Pagoda mainly controlled the methods for creating Artificial Soul Spirits. They did not care about the spread of such insignificant techniques.
With Bai Chen's talent, it would not take him long to learn this technique.
However, before he had mastered it, the people Bai Jiaming had mentioned a few days ago arrived.
"Brother Bai Chen, did you really get another little sister?"
In the living room of the Bai family residence, a blue-haired girl asked him excitedly.
Bai Chen nodded calmly.
"Yes, it's true. Do you want to meet her?"
"Of course!"
The girl said without hesitation,
"I want to see what qualifications she has to be Brother Bai Chen's little sister!"
"Hey, hey, Xiaoyan, what does it have to do with you whether she deserves to be Bai Chen's little sister?"
The boy beside her seemed unable to listen any longer and spoke up.
"It's fine."
Bai Chen waved at the boy, stood up, and said,
"Since you want to see her, come with me. She's studying arithmetic by herself in her room right now."
"Alright!"
The girl hurriedly stood up as well and followed Bai Chen to Na'er's room on the second floor.
Bai Chen knocked gently on the door and said,
"It's me, Na'er."
Soon, hurried footsteps sounded from inside. The door was flung open, and Na'er's delicate little face immediately appeared before Bai Chen and the girl.
"..."
Without even looking, Bai Chen could feel the girl's body beside him stiffen noticeably.
Before you continue