Future Teammates, External Soul Bone: Darkgolden Terrorclaw!

A series of information prompts immediately appeared.

[Second Martial Soul "Worldbearing Flame" awakened. Obtained Ultimate: "Everlasting World-Burning, It Shall Bear"]

[Obtained Ultimate-exclusive passive: "Iron Tomb of the Time Ruins" (causes all allies to "leave the field"; all enemies permanently possess a Physical weakness.)]

[Twin Martial Souls + Template Power updated]

[Obtained fusion transformation skill: "Creation • Bloodthorn Ferries the Dead" (AoE Basic Attack)]

[Obtained fusion transformation skill: "Calamity • Soul-Slaying Burning Decree" (enhanced Combat Skill)]

[Obtained fusion transformation skill: "Pillar • Deathstar Heavenly Judgment" (bouncing Combat Skill / maximum cap of 4 points of Destruction Damage)]

[After transforming, gains 8 exclusive turns and a final strike. During the final strike, restores 25% HP / AoE attack.]

[For every Soul Ring absorbed, gains 1 exclusive turn and increases the maximum cap of [Destruction Damage] by 1.]

[Obtained fusion transformation skill: "Fate • This Body Is God" (gains 4 points of [Destruction Damage] upon transforming; grants super armor during transformation and immunity to control-type negative statuses.)

(During transformation, Attack increases by 40%, maximum HP increases by 135%, and attacks restore 20% HP)]

[Obtained additional ability: "Beginning of the End" (possesses 8 Secret Technique Points. Restores 1 point every hour)]

[Obtained additional ability: "March Toward the World's End" (gains 1 point of [Core Flame] upon entering battle. Gains 3 points of [Core Flame] when transformation ends)]

[Obtained additional ability: "Reveal Heroic True Colors" (upon entering battle or when transformation ends, Attack increases by 50%. This effect stacks up to 2 times.)]

[Obtained additional ability: "Bearer of Myriad Flame Laws" (when receiving healing or shields provided by allies, damage dealt increases by 45% for 4 minutes. This effect cannot be triggered again within 1 hour.)

(When affected by Energy-restoration skills provided by allies, gains 1 point of [Core Flame].)]

[When transformation ends, all allies' Speed increases by 15% for 1 minute.]

[Upon gaining 12 points of Core Flame, may transform at any time]

Xu Yuan: "!!!"

Though the information was densely packed, it was simple and clear.

Because the sun was about to deal Destruction Damage!

After carefully reviewing the information twice, Xu Yuan found it to be quite similar to the game skills.

Only the Secret Technique Points and turn durations were different.

As for Brother Sun's notorious tendency to kick the host out of the room when using his ultimate, that had also been somewhat altered.

The range of "Iron Tomb of the Time Ruins" would be defined by him. It could span a thousand meters, ten thousand meters, or even a hundred li in every direction!

After all, Template Power was dead, while people were alive.

At worst, he could first receive every buff his teammates had, then transform and unleash his ultimate—

I fight alone!!!

After a brief moment of thought, Xu Yuan understood the terrifying strength of the Twin Martial Souls, Dawnmaker + Worldbearing Flame.

And most importantly, he needed teammates.

A healing-type support Soul Master, as well as an auxiliary-type Soul Master with Energy-restoration skills.

A healer would be easy enough to find.

In the original work, Heaven Dou Royal Academy had Ye Lingling, a female Soul Master with the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul passed down through a single bloodline.

As long as she was raised to the level of a Seven-Ring Soul Sage, her Martial Soul True Body could provide support for a fairly long period.

The crucial part was that auxiliary Soul Masters who could restore energy were exceedingly rare.

Forget it. It was still too early to think about such things.

Besides, if he could obtain another [Contract Summoning Card], there were more and better supports in Star Rail.

Robin, Sparkle, Silver Wolf, Fu Xuan, Black Swan, Huohuo...

Harmony, Elation, Abundance, Remembrance, Preservation...

Harmony in particular was incredibly comprehensive in the field of support, whether in the story or in actual gameplay.

Damage dealers came and went, but supports were forever valuable.

He just did not know when he would obtain his second [Contract Summoning Card].

After thinking for a moment, Xu Yuan finally opened his eyes and stood up.

At that moment, Jingliu, who had been standing guard over him the entire time, blinked her crimson eyes and asked:

"Little brother, what is your first Soul Skill?"

The moment she said that, Dugu Bo, who had been silently waiting nearby, also revealed a curious expression.

His first Soul Ring was already a black Soul Ring with fifty thousand years of cultivation. Just how powerful would its Soul Skill be?

Just as Xu Yuan was about to answer, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a flash of dark golden sharpness.

With his greatly enhanced spiritual power, that thing stood out in his perception like a firefly in the night.

In an instant, an idea surfaced.

Could it be...

To verify his guess, Xu Yuan quickly strode over to one of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's right arms.

Splat!

With a swing of his sword, he dissected it in a few quick motions, revealing a strange bone.

The bone was dark gold and radiated an exceptionally dense Soul Power fluctuation. It was clearly a Soul Bone!!

However, this was not a traditional right-arm Soul Bone. More accurately, it was a palm bone.

An External Soul Bone—the Darkgolden Terrorclaw!

The original work had stated that Soul Beasts above the fifty-thousand-year level had a fairly decent chance of producing Soul Bones.

But it still depended on luck.

"Haki Bear, after being tortured to death like that, you still dropped an External Soul Bone for me. You really are something..."

Xu Yuan closed his eyes and sensed it. The Soul Bone was around fifty-two thousand years old—a very romantic number.

"Little brother, did you find a treasure?"

Noticing Xu Yuan's movements, Jingliu also walked over while carrying the Tanhua Sword, casting a glance at Dugu Bo.

When Dugu Bo clearly saw that piece of bone, his face instantly filled with shock. Then, in an envious tone, he said:

"If this old man is not mistaken, this should be the number-one treasure on every Soul Master's dream list."

"An External Soul Bone, second only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring."

"Even more precious, it is a right palm bone. A Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's right claw is more valuable than its left claw."

"More importantly, the Terrorclaw Soul Skill recorded within the palm bone can grow alongside its Soul Master, just like the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear itself."

"Once it reaches its peak, it may even rival an exceptional Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone."

Dugu Bo was extremely excited, yet he wisely remained calm, because Jingliu's gaze was firmly fixed on him.

With such treasure before them, anyone could develop greed.

"The path of Soul Bones is but a minor path. The Sword Dao is the true orthodoxy."

"Still, since it is only an External Palm Bone... little brother, fuse with it."

Jingliu narrowed her crimson eyes slightly. Her tone was noncommittal toward a treasure like a Soul Bone.

Xu Yuan needed to grow stronger right now, and an External Soul Bone would undoubtedly enhance his combat strength tremendously.

After hearing Dugu Bo's words, Jingliu also understood the prevailing view of Soul Rings and Soul Bones in this world.

However...

In Jingliu's eyes, fusing the bones of Soul Beasts into a human body's head, limbs, and torso felt strangely similar to the half-beast transformation of the Borisin.

Blindly pursuing physical strength while neglecting inner cultivation would inevitably leave hidden dangers in one's state of mind.

But... an External Soul Bone was different.

Wings, tails, beast ears, claws, and fangs were innate traits of certain races to begin with, so they were harmless enough.

Hearing that, Dugu Bo was incredibly envious.

At the same time, an idea of investing in and drawing Xu Yuan to his side emerged in Dugu Bo's mind.

Because Xu Yuan seemed to be single, and his granddaughter Dugu Yan...

"Thank you, big sister. I'll fuse with this Soul Bone later. First, I plan to show you my first Soul Skill."

After putting away the palm bone, Xu Yuan spoke.

"Mm. Make your own decision."

Jingliu nodded, agreeing with Xu Yuan's choice.

Afterward, Xu Yuan used Dawnmaker to dissect the other left arm as well, but unfortunately, he did not find a second Soul Bone.