Soul bones were an exceptionally rare treasure. They came in seven parts.
The head, torso, and limbs accounted for six parts, with one additional external soul bone.
Unlike soul rings, which dropped with a one-hundred-percent chance, soul bones were extremely scarce. To any soul master, they were almost impossible to come by.
On the market, even the lowest-grade hundred-year soul bones were priceless and unavailable.
Even Title Douluo, no matter how powerful their background or whether they belonged to the Upper Three Sects or Spirit Hall, rarely managed to fill every soul bone slot on their body. Their rarity was evident.
And once such a treasure appeared in the world of soul masters, it could easily trigger a bloody storm. Thus, it was also known as a treasure of the river of blood.
Lin Yue had not expected that A Yin's first time killing a soul beast would yield such an outstanding soul bone.
He did not know whether that bamboo forest soul beast had died too miserably. Such a massive soul beast, with so many dense roots, had died from a single bottle of poison.
With a sigh, Lin Yue looked at the seven-hundred-year soul bone in his storage basket and began calculating rapidly.
To be honest, although soul bones were extraordinarily rare, a seven-hundred-year soul bone was in an awkward tier.
For any genius soul master with lifelong ambitions, a low-grade soul bone was not an asset to growth, but a shackle.
Like soul rings, once a soul bone was fused, it was almost impossible to remove.
Precisely because soul bones were so rare and special, a low-year soul bone absorbed in youth would certainly come with a soul skill. But if it later conflicted with a high-grade soul bone of the same part, that would be a true tragedy.
For a supreme genius with twin martial souls like Tang Yin, every soul bone on her body was destined to be extraordinary. Naturally, Lin Yue would not casually give her such a low-grade soul bone.
But! Just because other prodigies looked down on low-grade soul bones did not mean hundred-year soul bones were useless in Lin Yue's hands!
"Hehe, weren't all these things of mine prepared for soul bones?"
Grinning, Lin Yue looked at the several enhancement tickets piled up in his item bar, then glanced at his remaining eight thousand points. Rubbing his hands together, he was filled with motivation.
Now that he had the equipment, of course he had to give it a proper upgrade!
"System, purchase a Universal Amplifier. I want to amplify this soul bone!"
Sitting in the carriage back to Notting City, Lin Yue looked calm on the surface, but inwardly he was screaming wildly.
That was right. With his various enhancement and amplification methods, any soul bone that entered his hands could grow without limit, just like an external soul bone!
[ Ding, use the Universal Amplifier on the soul bone Marrow of Life?] [ Warning, if the amplification fails, this soul bone will shatter.] [ Warning, because the current soul bone has not reached peak enhancement, the chance of amplification failure will increase substantially.] [ If amplification succeeds, this soul bone will evolve into a thousand-year soul bone. Current amplification success rate: 10%. Amplify?]
What the hell? It had not been enhanced to the limit?
Looking at the glaring seven-hundred-year age listed after the soul bone, Lin Yue frowned slightly and understood what the system meant.
In other words, he had to enhance the soul bone to nine hundred years, reaching the peak of hundred-year soul bones, before amplifying it. Only then would the success rate increase.
"Alright, I understand. System, use all three fixed enhancement tickets."
[ Ding, use three fixed enhancement tickets on the soul bone Marrow of Life? After use, this soul bone will become nine hundred and ninety-nine years old.] [ Enhancement fee required: 300 points.]
"Confirm!"
[ Ding, enhancement successful.]
His fingers rested on Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges as he sensed the Marrow of Life soul bone in his storage space suddenly grow far more vigorous with life energy. The smile on Lin Yue's lips simply would not fade.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang's heart ached!
Damn it, why did Little San give his spatial soul tool to him?
Watching Lin Yue touch his belt, the broad smile on his face made Yu Xiaogang feel as though all his efforts had gone down the drain.
It had originally been a gift for Little San, yet it had all ended up on this fellow. And Little San even...
Turning to look at the tranquil girl leaning lightly against Lin Yue's shoulder, Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth helplessly as resentment rose within him.
For a moment, he inexplicably felt a strange sense of resonance with a certain deceased Pope.
The genius disciple he valued most had somehow devoted herself entirely to another man...
No, no, no. How could he possibly resonate with that beast? An illusion. It was all an illusion.
Rubbing his cheeks, Yu Xiaogang's mind was a mess as he dispersed the strange comparison in his head.
Tang Yin's pretty face was slightly flushed as she leaned against Lin Yue dependently, her hands tightly wrapped around his arm, her heart filled with sweetness.
However, Lin Yue had no time to be distracted.
"System, purchase a Universal Amplifier. Amplify this soul bone!"
[ Purchasing a Universal Amplifier requires 1,000 points.] [ Currently amplifying the nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine-year soul bone Marrow of Life. After amplification, this soul bone will be upgraded to a thousand-year soul bone. Success rate: 70%.] [ Warning, this amplification requires an additional handling fee of 500 points. Amplify?]
"Hiss..."
The eight thousand points he had accumulated over half a month would lose nearly two thousand in the blink of an eye. Lin Yue rubbed his chin, but his gaze remained resolute.
Amplify it!
Not only was a hundred-year soul bone unworthy of A Yin, even he himself truly had no interest in one.
If he threw something like that into an auction house, it was hard to say whether it would sell for a high price, but it would certainly attract unwanted attention.
Even for personal use, he had little desire for a thousand-year soul bone, much less a hundred-year one. To truly tempt him, it would have to be at least a ten-thousand-year soul bone.
More importantly, once a soul bone reached the ten-thousand-year level, he could enhance it without restraint. The worst result of enhancement failure would only be the enhancement level being reset to zero, returning it to its base state. It would not shatter.
In other words, if a ten-thousand-year soul bone failed enhancement, it would merely return to its original ten-thousand-year state. That way, even fused soul bones could be enhanced freely.
But if he amplified a fused hundred-year soul bone inside someone's body and it shattered, they would directly lose the corresponding bone! This was no joke.
For example, if an amplified skull bone shattered, that would be quite the spectacle. His head would explode like fireworks!
[ Warning, the chance of failure for this amplification is as high as 30%. Amplify without protection or bonuses?]
"Yes!"
Lin Yue's eyes sharpened as he agreed without hesitation.
If it failed and shattered, then let it shatter. An amplification protection ticket would never be used on an amplification from hundred years to thousand years. At the very least, it had to be saved for the thousand-year-to-ten-thousand-year threshold.
Within his sea of consciousness, following Lin Yue's confirmation, a furnace engraved with wondrous runes appeared out of thin air.
The soul bone brimming with vitality was cast into the furnace, and vast power continuously poured into it, causing it to flash with shifting light!
[ Ding, amplification successful!]
Along with a light notification chime, the soul bone inside Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges flashed sharply. The jade-like spine seemed to become even more translucent, gaining several strands of dense life energy.
"Good, good, good! Very good!"
His breathing grew heavier as Lin Yue closed his eyes slightly. With a thought—
[ Ding, 1,000-point handling fee consumed. Emerald-grade +9 enhancement ticket successfully used!] [ Soul bone: Marrow of Life, enhanced to 9,999 years.]
"Hiss..."
"Hmm? Brother Lin, what's wrong?"
Sensing that the person beside her seemed to be experiencing something extremely stimulating, Tang Yin opened her eyes and asked softly, her large eyes full of concern.
"No, it's nothing. I'm fine."
After taking several deep breaths and suppressing the agitation in his heart, Lin Yue tapped again in his mind and made his final attempt.
[ Universal Amplifier purchased. 1,000 points consumed.] [ Warning, amplify the 9,999-year soul bone Marrow of Life? Success rate: 50%. Handling fee: 5,000 points.]
Fifty-fifty? Then he would gamble on it!
Having piled nearly all his points onto this soul bone, Lin Yue gritted his teeth slightly and tapped in his mind.
[ Amplification Protection Ticket successfully used. Even if this amplification fails, the soul bone will be retained, but the amplification handling fee will not be refunded.] [ Amplifying...]
Watching the soul bone be cast into the furnace floating in the void, Lin Yue's breathing quickened, and the hand pressing against his thigh unconsciously tightened slightly.
Although he had used a protection ticket, if this amplification failed, he would no longer have any insurance. If he wanted to amplify it again, he would have to wait until he obtained another protection ticket...
The brief amplification animation felt as though several hours had passed in his mind.
Only when streams of spiritual light merged into the soul bone from the air, and azure radiance erupted in an instant, did Lin Yue suddenly open his eyes and stare at the unfamiliar ceiling!
[ Ding, amplification successful!]
A heavenly voice rang in his mind. The soul bone, which had already reached the thousand-year limit, suddenly bloomed with a trace of emerald life light across its surface. The entire soul bone immediately radiated a powerful aura that invigorated the spirit!
"It worked! It actually worked!"
With a fifty-fifty life-or-death chance, his first ten-thousand-year soul bone had appeared before his eyes. Lin Yue could not help clenching both hands and slapping down hard on his thigh.
Slap!
The soft touch carried a smooth, springy elasticity, making Lin Yue freeze instinctively.
"Ah~"
Her cheeks crimson, Tang Yin let out a faint moan as she collapsed against Lin Yue's shoulder, her beautiful eyes soft enough to drip with water.
Huh? What was going on? Had he slapped the wrong thigh?
Blinking, Lin Yue finally realized that he had somehow returned to the inn. And the thigh he had just slapped was actually A Yin's leg, which had been resting across him!
That agonizing amplification process in his mind had not been an illusion. He had truly closed his eyes and rested for several hours! A Yin had thought he had fallen asleep from exhaustion and carried him back to the hotel!
Facing the girl whose face was flushed red, whose eyes shimmered with rippling light in the dark bedroom, Lin Yue felt a chill run down his spine. He hurriedly waved his hands.
"Wait, A Yin, I didn't mean that—"
"Wait, it really isn't what you think!"
"Don't come any closer!!!"
"Mm!!!"