Version Children Gathered, but the Eras Were Misaligned

Compared to before, however, the energy this time was clearly far more violent and far more powerful.

In the original story, Xiao Xiao had not spent much effort absorbing the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's Soul Ring, yet this Soul Bone had nearly cost her life. That alone showed just how terrifying the energy contained within it was.

At the same time, the original description stated that what Xiao Xiao could not endure was precisely the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's tyrannical bloodline power.

Unfortunately for it, bloodline power was exactly what Bai Chen feared least.

The black-and-gold domain appeared once more, and the proud, domineering 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 radiating a despairing, tearless sorrow.

The feeling vanished in an instant. The next moment, Bai Chen's pressure abruptly eased, and the process of absorbing the Soul Bone became much smoother.

Although absorbing a Soul Bone was even more difficult than absorbing a Soul Ring, one should not forget that Bai Chen had just absorbed a Millennium Soul Ring, and his physical strength had improved as well.

The enhancement from the Millennium Soul Ring, combined with the increase of four ranks of soul power, had brought Bai Chen's physical strength under the domain's enhancement truly to the level of a Soul Ancestor.

As the absorption process continued, Bai Chen could clearly feel his physical strength still rising.

This was the famed Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone. Its value was absolutely no less than that of a hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone. It was a truly priceless treasure.

It took him noticeably longer to absorb this Soul Bone than it had taken to absorb the Soul Ring. Only after two full hours did Bai Chen open his eyes again.

By then, his soul power had reached the peak of Rank 15. He was only a step away from breaking through to Rank 16.

This trip to the Star Dou Great Forest had yielded absurdly rich rewards. 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 him the entire time, hurriedly stood and anxiously asked about the result.

Bai Chen smiled faintly and raised his right hand. With a sharp shing, five razor-sharp claws shot from his fingers.

He casually swung his hand, and five three-meter-long golden streaks shot out, instantly severing all the surrounding trees at their waists.

Ning Jingchen was left dumbfounded by the sight.

Clearly, this was not the kind of power a normal Soul Master's Soul Skill should possess.

Bai Chen explained,

"My Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Soul Bone mainly has two forms."

"One is the normal form you see now. The normal Darkgolden Terrorclaws consume almost no soul power. They are no different from my own hands, and I can use them freely."

"The other form is the Soul Skill form you just saw. When I use the Darkgolden Terrorclaws in Soul Skill form, my soul power consumption instantly increases. That attack just now consumed roughly half of my soul power."

"The current maximum range of the Soul Skill form is only three meters. However, I can sense that this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Arm Bone is absorbing my soul power at an extremely slow rate. It really can gradually evolve. As my cultivation rises, both its attack power and attack range will likely undergo tremendous growth."

For any Soul Master, a Soul Skill that could evolve on its own alongside its user's growth was an absolute divine skill.

Why had Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection been so highly valued back then? Aside from its unique effect, the most important reason was that as Huo Yuhao's cultivation increased, the range of his Spiritual Detection could expand as well.

Bai Chen's Darkgolden Terrorclaws now worked by the same principle. He could truly keep using this Soul Skill indefinitely. If he could one day become a God King, this Soul Bone might even possess 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 that could evolve alongside its Soul Master was. His face was filled with delight, and his assessment of Bai Chen rose 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.

There were exceptions such as the Soft Bone Rabbit and the Ice Silkworm, but broadly speaking, the rule held true.

Hearing that, Bai Chen directly unleashed his first Soul Skill.

As the purple Millennium Soul Ring lit up, a layer of dark-golden radiance suddenly shone across Bai Chen's skin.

He introduced it,

"This is my first Soul Skill, Steel Bone Shaking Gold. Its effect is to harden my body, greatly increasing both my defense and attack power. At the same time, this Soul Skill seems able to interact with my Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone. While using this Soul Skill, every attack unleashed through the right palm bone has doubled power and halved consumption."

"..."

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 incredibly useful.

Even without counting the preceding enhancement to himself, the later effect of boosting the Soul Bone alone was already outrageously powerful.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone already possessed terrifying attack power. Now that it had received such an enhancement, neither of them dared imagine just how powerful it could ultimately become.

Extremely enhancing one's own offensive and defensive abilities was the defining trait of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear. As the absorber of both its Soul Ring and Soul Bone, Bai Chen had clearly inherited this trait exceptionally well.

Hua Tianyu fell silent for a moment before suddenly turning to Ning Jingchen.

"Sect Master, I would like to leave the Star Dou Great Forest one day later."

"Oh? Why?"

"I want Bai Chen to become more familiar with the abilities of his Soul Ring and Soul Bone."

Hua Tianyu said gravely,

"Gaining powerful strength is naturally a good thing for a Soul Master. But rashly using unfamiliar power can instead lead to accidents. Before heading to the Sun-Moon Empire, I hope he can fully master the abilities he has newly obtained."

"Alright."

Ning Jingchen agreed without hesitation.

"We'll do as you say, Elder Hua."

Just as Hua Tianyu had said, Bai Chen now needed to properly familiarize himself with his new abilities.

It was not that they thought Bai Chen was weak. Quite the opposite—Bai Chen was simply too strong now, strong enough to far surpass Soul Masters of the same rank.

The Darkgolden Terrorclaws were terrifyingly powerful. At least in Hua Tianyu's understanding, even a Great Soul Master would not be able to withstand Bai Chen's claw strike from earlier.

They feared that after Bai Chen arrived in the Sun-Moon Empire, he might accidentally beat someone to death because he was unfamiliar with his own strength.

This was absolutely not alarmist. Those able to study at the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy either possessed exceptional talent in the field of Soul Guide Devices 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.

Since the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy bore the word "Imperial," its stance was self-evident. Within that academy, imperial relatives and nobles possessed nearly absolute authority. If Bai Chen caused any trouble there, they truly might not be able to save him.

Thus, over the following day, the four of them wandered through the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, allowing Bai Chen to fight Soul Beasts.

During this process, they once again experienced the terrifying strength of the monster known as Bai Chen.

Ten-Year Soul Beasts had no ability to resist him at all. Once he closed in, they would be instantly killed.

Century Soul Beasts could struggle a little, but they could not withstand the sharp Darkgolden Terrorclaws and would soon die beneath them as well.

Only Millennium Soul Beasts possessed the ability to confront Bai Chen head-on. Yet even a Millennium Soul Beast would instantly die if it was struck directly by his Soul Skill-form Darkgolden Terrorclaws.

In the end, Hua Tianyu gave his evaluation of Bai Chen's current strength.

This boy'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 contend against an Assault Combat Soul Ancestor.

Monster. Looking at the corpse of the Millennium Soul Beast torn into pieces by the Darkgolden Terrorclaws, Hua Tianyu silently gave his evaluation in his heart.

The person being called a monster, however, casually flicked his hand, shaking the blood from his claws.

A powerhouse built on raw stats would possess terrifying suppressive power when facing opponents who relied on nothing but raw stats as well.

Since they were only lingering around the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Soul Beasts he had encountered were not particularly powerful. Even the Millennium Soul Beasts merely had higher attack, defense, and speed; they possessed no troublesome Soul Skills.

At the very least, he had not encountered another opponent like the Millennium Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear. If he faced a Soul Beast of that level, even he could only ask Hua Tianyu to help deal with it.

"Alright, we'll stop here."

Hua Tianyu clapped his hands and said to Bai Chen,

"You should now fully understand your own power. Remember, Bai Chen, unless your life is in danger, do not use the Soul Skill of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone casually. Do you understand?"

His warning was not only to prevent Bai Chen from accidentally killing others, but also to avoid attracting greedy eyes.

To Soul Masters across the continent, Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear palm bones were extremely rare treasures. 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 on the continent came in countless strange forms. As Hua Tianyu knew, the Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy had recently admitted a student with a Terrorclaw Bear Martial Soul. It was said that this student had even been selected as a reserve member of the Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy 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 firmly 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 Hua Tianyu's meaning and nodded obediently.

Hua Tianyu relaxed slightly.

Lately, he had increasingly felt that Bai Chen was far too mature for a six-year-old child.

Ning Tian was already mature enough, yet compared to Bai Chen, she still fell far short.

Had the early death of his parents given him such a mature mind?

Before he could find an answer, Ning Jingchen came out and asked,

"Shall we set off now, then? It's 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 hurried toward the Sun-Moon Empire.

The House Xu Siblings

Over the next few days, Bai Chen of all three eras encountered nothing unusual and enjoyed a period of peace.

Bai Chen of the Douluo I Era alternated between cultivating in the Star Dou Great Forest and pondering the problems encountered by his other selves from the two other eras.

Bai Chen of the Douluo II Era headed directly toward the Sun-Moon Empire. Because Ning Tian was with them, their pace was much slower. Fortunately, they were not in a hurry. There were still two full months before registration for the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy closed.

Meanwhile, Bai Chen of the Douluo III Era mainly studied the Soul Spirit Ritual on his own in his room.

By the Douluo III Era, the Soul Spirit Contract was no longer a secret. Any adult Soul Master could basically construct one on their own.

The Spirit Pagoda mainly controlled the method for creating Artificial Soul Spirits. They did not care about such insignificant technology leaking out.

With Bai Chen's talent, it would not take him long to learn this technique.

However, before he could master it, the people Bai Jiaming had mentioned a few days ago arrived.

"Brother Bai Chen, did you really gain another little sister?"

In the living room of the White Family estate, 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 replied without hesitation,

"I want to see what qualifications she has to be Brother Bai Chen's little sister!"

"Hey, hey, Xiaoyan, what does whether she deserves to be Bai Chen's sister have to do with you?"

The boy beside her seemed unable to listen any longer and interjected.

"It's fine."

Bai Chen waved at the boy, stood, and said,

"Since you want to meet her, come with me. She's in her room studying arithmetic by herself."

"Alright!"

The girl hurriedly rose as well and followed behind Bai Chen to Na'er's room on the second floor.

Bai Chen gently knocked on the door and said,

"It's me, Na'er."

Soon, hurried footsteps sounded from inside. The door flew open, and Na'er's exquisite little face immediately appeared before Bai Chen and the girl.

"..."

Without even looking, Bai Chen could feel the girl beside him suddenly stiffen.