Xiao Ya, Stop! That's My "Supreme Bone"!

Tang Ya froze and hurriedly turned around.

To her surprise, Lu Chen was standing there, looking at her with a mischievous grin.

There was no trace of him resembling a dried corpse.

"Xiao Ya, I told you, I'm immortal!"

The dagger in Tang Ya's hand clattered to the ground.

She turned and threw herself into Lu Chen's arms, clutching his neck tightly with both hands.

Crying, she pounded his back. "Bastard! Bastard! You scared me to death! Why would you scare me like that?!"

"Sorry, sorry, Xiao Ya."

Lu Chen gently patted her back to soothe her. "I also wanted to test the limits of my Immortal Body, as well as how strong your Devouring Power really is."

"Hmph! If you had really died, I wouldn't have wanted to live either!"

Tang Ya choked back sobs and buried her face against his shoulder.

"Hm? What's poking me?"

Tang Ya instinctively reached down to touch it.

And then...

"Hiss—!"

Lu Chen sucked in a sharp breath, feeling his Supreme Bone get fiercely grabbed.

The next instant!

"Ah!"

A clear scream tore through the night sky, echoing throughout Star Dou Forest.

The corner of Luo Wei's mouth twitched slightly. With a flash, she grabbed Long Aotian, who was still staring in shock, and vanished into the darkness.

"Pervert!"

Tang Ya's pretty face flushed crimson, and she instinctively squeezed again.

"Hiss! Xiao Ya, stop!" Lu Chen shuddered and cried out in alarm.

Tang Ya jumped in fright, hurriedly released him, then turned her back to him and covered her face with both hands.

"Pervert, put your clothes on already!"

Lu Chen's old face reddened. He hurriedly picked up the storage ring from the ground and grumbled inwardly.

"Damn it, I need to find a Soul Skill that can mimic or transform things someday. Exploding out of my clothes naked all the time is too ridiculous.

It's fine for now, but if I ever explode out of my clothes in front of Soul Masters across the entire continent, that would be way too humiliating."

Still, after this test, Lu Chen was basically certain.

Even if all the life essence in his body was drained away, he could quickly regenerate through a drop of blood he had reserved beforehand.

Just like Blood-Drop Rebirth in fantasy novels.

However, after regenerating, all external items would disappear, and it consumed an enormous amount of stamina—roughly one-third of it.

Lu Chen frowned. "It seems Blood-Drop Rebirth is still too taxing."

Then he felt relieved. Being able to regenerate from a drop of blood was already absurd enough. What more could he ask for?

Others could only dream of such an ability, and stamina could be recovered anyway.

With his current physique, a few Soul Beast feasts would replenish it.

At the same time, Lu Chen had figured out his exact Soul Power Level.

Level 16 and a half!

He was still three and a half levels away from breaking through to Soul Grandmaster.

Rising from level 10 to level 16 in just over a month was outrageously fast.

But thinking about it, it made sense. He already possessed an Ultimate Attribute, and before level 30, Soul Power naturally rose at a rapid pace.

Even during the Soul Scholar stage, his Soul Power had already surpassed that of many others.

On top of that, he had spent the past month training to the limit, while his body hungrily absorbed vital energy.

With the boost from a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, reaching level 16 was perfectly reasonable.

Lu Chen calculated inwardly, *Since I'm already in Star Dou Forest, should I fuse another Soul Bone, rush straight to level 20, and then absorb another Soul Ring?

A Soul Ring older than ten thousand years can raise me by at least three levels. If I play it safe afterward and spend some time raising another half-level, I'll be secure.

It'll also be a good chance to test whether that bug effect works!*

At that thought, he secretly made up his mind. The plan was feasible.

"Little Chen, are you done yet?"

Tang Ya kept her back to him, her voice brimming with embarrassment.

"Uh... yes, yes!"

Lu Chen hurriedly put on the last piece of clothing and casually asked, "Xiao Ya, what level is your Soul Power at now? Has it increased?"

In the original story, after Tang Ya awakened the Dark Blue Silver Grass, her Soul Power had risen as swiftly as a rocket.

Although the Holy Spirit Cult's secret technique had helped, the Martial Soul's Devouring Attribute was the true key.

The moment Tang Ya heard that, she danced with delight.

"Little Chen, I was just about to tell you! I've reached level 23!"

Only half a month ago, she had just advanced to level 22. This progress was simply astonishing.

"This Dark Blue Silver Grass is way too powerful. Especially after absorbing your life essence, my Soul Power surged by a huge amount.

If I can keep devouring, I feel like I'll reach Soul Elder very soon!"

Lu Chen's face darkened. "What, you want to keep sucking me into a dried corpse?"

Tang Ya stuck out her tongue and giggled. "I was just saying."

Unexpectedly, after complaining, Lu Chen nodded thoughtfully. "Actually, as long as there's enough food, you could keep absorbing.

I end up as a pile of mush after training every day anyway.

It's just that if you absorb my life essence, regeneration will consume more of my vitality and blood."

Unfortunately, if he could obtain the Living Being Gold within the Spirit-Eating Blade, he could further strengthen his vitality and blood.

After fully digesting it, perhaps his vitality and blood would become inexhaustible. By then, he could use Blood-Drop Rebirth like an ordinary attack.

Early the next morning, the four continued their journey, helping Long Aotian search for a Soul Ring.

Along the way, Lu Chen looked at Luo Wei. "Aunt Luo, if we come across a Soul Beast under thirty thousand years old that suits me, please let me know."

Hearing this, Luo Wei briefly sensed his aura, her face filling with surprise.

"You're already level 16? What a freak. Your Soul Power is rising far too quickly."

"Level 16!"

Long Aotian sucked in a cold breath. "Can a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring add that much?"

"One Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring naturally can't add that much, but Little Chen also spent the past month training like his life depended on it," Tang Ya hurriedly explained.

Long Aotian's mouth twitched. "Your explanation is so weak."

He grumbled inwardly, Raising Soul Power by several levels through a month of hard training alone is already completely abnormal, all right?

"As expected, freaks can't be judged by common sense."

Luo Wei nodded. "With your physical strength, absorbing Soul Rings consecutively won't be a problem.

But what type do you want for your second Soul Ring?"

Lu Chen smiled faintly. "One that boosts myself again. Ideally, an all-attribute enhancement, or a Soul Beast with a powerful bloodline."

Bloodlines were also extremely important on Douluo Continent, such as the Golden Dragon Bloodline.

If he could obtain one, the increase in strength would definitely be terrifying. He might even awaken Ultimate Power.

Of course, such a supreme bloodline was basically impossible to obtain at present.

Perhaps the next generation born from him and the Auspicious Beast could inherit it later.

But Lu Chen felt he could still set his sights on the bloodlines of other rare Soul Beasts.

Luo Wei reminded him, "It's a good idea, but the Soul Skills granted after a Soul Beast dies are random.

The more powerful a Soul Beast is, the more innate abilities it possesses, and the greater the chance of receiving a random Soul Skill.

The Earth Demon Ape from before was an exception. It had only recently reached ten thousand years and hadn't mastered any new abilities yet.

Otherwise, if you had waited a while longer, its Soul Skill might not have been a single enhancement."

"I understand."

Lu Chen knew that clearly, but he had already found a way to exploit a bug.

If necessary, he could try it. If his luck truly was terrible enough, he could only accept it.

That was fate.

The four searched as they traveled, and another entire day passed in the blink of an eye.

It was always like this when Soul Masters searched for a suitable Soul Ring. It often took several days, or even half a month.

Lu Chen had simply been absurdly lucky last time.

"Croak!"

At dusk the following day, the four stopped before a swamp.

Luo Wei looked at the frog crouching atop a rock in the center of the swamp and smiled faintly.

"Ao Tian, your Soul Ring has been found."

"A Dark Gold Demon Frog! Judging by its color, it's five thousand years old." Lu Chen was slightly surprised.

He looked at Long Aotian, his expression somewhat strange.

If he remembered correctly, one of the Soul Skills produced by the Dark Gold Demon Frog could strengthen the body, coating its surface in a layer of Dark Gold Power.

It could greatly enhance the body's resilience and defensive power.

It was somewhat similar to metallic transformation, but far more advanced.

In the original story, Long Aotian's third Soul Skill was precisely [Dark Gold Power].

Lu Chen sighed inwardly, Looks like Long Aotian still can't escape the shackles of his original Soul Skills after all.

In contrast, after hearing Lu Chen's explanation, Long Aotian's face immediately filled with wild delight.

He said excitedly, "Aunt Luo, this is the one!"

Luo Wei nodded as well. "Five thousand years is perfect for you."

After sensing Luo Wei's aura, the Dark Gold Demon Frog was instantly terrified out of its wits.

It collapsed limply onto the rock, too frightened to move.