First Soul Skill! Spatial Rift Bone Spikes!

That feeling was like an incomparably violent force rampaging through Gu Ling's body, trying to force his bones apart one by one.

Intense pain continuously battered Gu Ling's consciousness.

A fine layer of cold sweat soon covered his forehead.

"Hold on!"

Watching from the side, Director Su's heart leaped into his throat as he anxiously reminded him.

Especially after hearing the constant cracking sounds from Gu Ling's body, he had even begun to regret agreeing to let Gu Ling risk absorbing this Soul Ring.

That was a Soul Ring nearly six hundred years old!

It was far beyond the power an ordinary One-Ring Soul Master could withstand.

What was more, Gu Ling could not even be considered a true Soul Master yet.

This was his first Soul Ring!

However.

No matter how anxious Director Su was now, there was nothing he could do. Once absorption of a Soul Ring began, outsiders could not interfere. The slightest mistake might instead cause Gu Ling even more severe injuries.

The only thing he could do was stand guard beside him.

At that moment, Gu Ling had no mind to pay attention to the outside world. Every bit of his focus was concentrated within his own body.

Pain!

It hurt terribly!

But what gave Gu Ling a slight sense of relief was that things had not developed to the worst possible outcome.

Though the soul power of the Six-Hundred-Year Sky-Splitting Bone Leopard was violent, it had not truly shattered his bones.

On the contrary, whenever that violent energy struck his bones, the Bone Dragon Martial Soul within Gu Ling's body trembled faintly, as if it had sensed a challenge.

Roar—!

Suddenly, a deep dragon's roar seemed to echo from the depths of Gu Ling's mind.

The next second.

Behind Gu Ling, the enormous phantom of a ghastly white Bone Dragon emerged uncontrollably, its massive skeletal wings slowly spreading to either side.

Within its hollow eye sockets, two pale flames flickered violently.

At the same time.

The Soul Ring energy that had been rampaging through Gu Ling's body seemed to be drawn by some force and began surging madly into his bones!

Crack!

Crack!

The sounds of bones colliding became even denser.

But this time, they no longer sounded as if they were about to break. Instead, it was as if they were undergoing some kind of transformation.

Gu Ling could clearly feel his bones becoming tougher beneath the relentless cleansing of that power.

Not only that.

An exceptionally peculiar force was also gradually merging into the Bone Dragon Martial Soul.

Spatial power?!

Gu Ling instantly understood what that force was.

It was precisely the Sky-Splitting Bone Leopard's most precious spatial attribute! As that power continuously fused with the Bone Dragon Martial Soul, Gu Ling's perception of the surrounding space swiftly became clearer.

If before, he could only vaguely sense a slight wrinkle in space at the instant the Sky-Splitting Bone Leopard used Spatial Traversal.

Then now, even with his eyes closed.

Gu Ling could faintly sense the space around him as though it were a previously calm surface of water. Any subtle ripple would leave a trace upon it.

The sensation was extraordinarily wondrous.

Time passed bit by bit.

Half an hour.

An hour.

Director Su remained at his side the entire time.

Until a certain moment.

Buzz—!

The dark yellow Soul Ring surrounding Gu Ling suddenly trembled intensely. Immediately afterward, the previously violent fluctuations of soul power began to calm rapidly.

The enormous phantom of the Bone Dragon behind Gu Ling raised its dragon head.

"Roar—!"

A deep, domineering dragon's roar resounded throughout the forest.

The next second.

All the soul power completely withdrew.

That dark yellow Soul Ring finally stabilized completely, quietly floating beneath Gu Ling's feet.

"Did he succeed?!"

Director Su was stunned at first, before an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

"He really... succeeded?"

Six hundred years!

Gu Ling had actually relied on his own body to endure the impact of a Soul Ring nearly six hundred years old? This had completely exceeded Director Su's original expectations.

Just then.

Gu Ling slowly opened his eyes. An extremely faint silver-white glimmer flashed through his gaze before quickly returning to normal.

Gu Ling did not immediately rise, because at the very moment the Soul Ring had completely fused, information belonging to a soul skill had naturally appeared in his mind.

After sensing the first soul skill he had obtained.

Gu Ling was stunned for a moment.

Then, the corners of his mouth slowly lifted, and in the end, he could not help but laugh aloud.

"Ha ha... not bad, not bad!"

Director Su was baffled by his laughter and asked doubtfully, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Gu Ling waved his hand, then rose from the ground. The dark yellow Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet, and a fluctuation of soul power belonging to a true Soul Master emanated from his body.

Director Su hurriedly asked:

"How is this soul skill of yours? That was a spatial-attribute soul beast. What ability did you gain?"

Upon hearing that, the smile on Gu Ling's face became even more obvious as he said:

"It suits me even better than I imagined."

"Oh?"

Director Su was intrigued.

Gu Ling did not explain. He merely slowly raised his right hand.

"Bone Dragon, possess me!"

Roar—!

The enormous phantom of the ghastly white Bone Dragon emerged behind him once more.

Pale soul power surged.

Piece after piece of bone armor rapidly covered Gu Ling's arm, while his five fingers transformed into sharp bone claws.

At the same time.

Two ghastly white bone spikes, each nearly half a foot long, slowly grew from behind Gu Ling's shoulders.

The next second, the dark yellow Soul Ring beneath Gu Ling's feet suddenly lit up. At the same time, he gave a low shout:

"First Soul Skill, Spatial Rift Bone Spikes!"

Gu Ling gently raised his palm, and one of the bone spikes at the front abruptly detached from his body. It then became a streak of shadow and shot toward a large tree more than ten meters away.

Watching the scene before him, Director Su frowned slightly and muttered:

"That's it?"

"Doesn't this seem no different from you simply firing your bone spikes directly as before?"

But when the bone spike was still several meters away from the tree, a silver gleam suddenly flashed through Gu Ling's eyes.

The next instant.

Buzz—!

An extremely faint ripple suddenly spread through the space ahead of the bone spike.

Immediately afterward, the rapidly flying bone spike vanished into thin air!

"What happened?!"

Director Su's pupils suddenly contracted. Before he could react.

On the other side.

The space behind and to the side of that large tree suddenly twisted slightly, and the bone spike that had just vanished reappeared without warning!

Pfft!

The sharp bone spike instantly pierced the trunk from a completely different angle.

At the sight, Director Su froze in place. He first looked at Gu Ling, then at the bone spike embedded in the side of the trunk, unable to say a word for a long while.

"This... this is a spatial ambush? The bone spikes on your body can now tear through space and attack from another angle? That's simply unbelievable!"

"More or less."

Gu Ling nodded, then raised his right hand and lightly clenched it.

The next second, the distant bone spike trembled slightly, then pulled free from the tree trunk and flew back to his side, merging with the bones on his arm.