A Five-Thousand-Year External Soul Bone! (Two Chapters in One)

Early the next morning, the three returned to the Simulation Pod training room.

Ye Wenduo came along as well and took them into the Douluo World.

Xu Musheng was already waiting in the training grounds, still looking as poised and gentle as ever. When she saw the three enter, the smile on her lips deepened.

"Congratulations on taking first place in the Preliminary Selection." Her gaze swept across their faces in turn.

"And from what I know of the results across the Federation, your total score ranks first in the entire Federation as well. That is an extraordinary achievement. In past years, candidates from the Home Planet almost always held the top places. You have won tremendous honor for Heaven Dou Star."

At that, Ye Wenduo raised his eyebrows slightly.

He had already seen the Heaven Dou Star rankings, but he had yet to learn the results across the Federation.

"First in the entire Federation?" Ye Wenduo asked.

Xu Musheng nodded, a note of admiration in her voice.

"Yes, you are first in the Federation. The team in second place scored twenty thousand three hundred and forty-one points. In previous years, that score would have all but guaranteed first place, but this year, it only earned them second. I heard that team came from Tianluo Academy on Tianluo Star."

She paused, then continued, "Third place went to a team from the Home Planet, with over ten thousand points. This really is the most competitive selection we have had in recent years."

Ye Wenduo's heart jolted at her words.

Twenty thousand three hundred and forty-one points would have been an overwhelming championship score in any other year, yet this year, it was only good enough for second.

And Ye Zhiqiu's team had twenty-five thousand three hundred and forty-one.

Every one of those extra thousands of points had been earned through genuine combat. Redirecting those two fireballs, killing two Earthfire Red Dragons, and having two of them work together to hold off a red dragon in the final stage—every achievement had solid, head-on strength behind it.

When Ye Zhiqiu heard "Tianluo Star," the corner of his mouth twitched.

Twenty thousand three hundred and forty-one.

That number feels familiar.

Lan Xuanyu.

Looks like things haven't strayed too far from the original story. We'll be able to meet again when the time comes.

Still, none of that mattered right now.

Xu Musheng took two steps forward and pressed her right hand against empty air. A pink gate of light appeared before her.

"Under the Preliminary Selection rules, members of the top three teams in each region get a chance at the Lucky Wheel. Since you placed first, you naturally get this prize," she said.

"You can go in now."

Ye Zhiqiu and the two girls exchanged glances, then stepped through the gate one after another.

Inside the gate, everything felt dazzling and surreal. Pink halos shone from every direction, boundless space stretched overhead, and a world of color lay beneath their feet.

It was an enormous wheel spinning at tremendous speed, so fast that they could not make out anything beneath them.

Xu Musheng's voice carried in from outside.

"You can now run around the wheel and choose where to stand. When the wheel stops spinning, your prizes will appear. Once you stop, you will no longer be able to move."

"And only one person can occupy each spot."

Lan Mengqin asked curiously, "What good prizes can we get from this Lucky Wheel? Do the colors mean anything?"

"I don't know either. Don't stop moving once you go in. The moment you stop, that means you have chosen your spot. Go on down," Xu Musheng said.

The three then landed on the wheel.

Streams of colored light flowed across its surface, and standing on it felt like stepping onto a conveyor belt moving at high speed.

Ye Zhiqiu began running forward, steadied his balance, and turned his head toward the girls. "Don't stop yet. Keep running while we take a look."

Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin both nodded and followed him around, lap after lap.

The wheel spun too fast for them to make out the patterns on its surface, but Ye Zhiqiu had already spread out his powerful spiritual power.

He closed his eyes and used his spiritual power to sense the auras radiating from different parts of the wheel.

Dimly, he could indeed sense several different kinds of aura on the Lucky Wheel.

Some carried an alluring fragrance; others were incomparably fierce, edged with sharp killing intent; still others evoked an indescribable sense of resistance.

There were also places with no aura at all—bare and empty, with nothing there.

Ye Zhiqiu quickly sorted them in his mind.

The fragrant ones probably relate to Soul Bones, pills, or spirit materials. The fierce ones should be associated with Soul Beast bones. The resistant ones might be restrictive items or negative effects.

The ones with no aura are probably "thanks for participating" placeholders.

He kept running. One lap, two laps, three laps.

Dong Qianqiu ran on his left and asked between breaths, "Have you figured anything out?"

"Give me a little longer," Ye Zhiqiu said.

On his fourth lap, his spiritual power suddenly picked up a special area.

Its aura was exceptionally intense and fierce, stronger than all the surrounding fierce auras combined.

Yet when his spiritual power touched it, he sensed no danger.

That ferocity was simply a quality of the aura itself. It did not mean it would harm its holder.

Ye Zhiqiu opened his eyes, glanced in that direction, and silently memorized the spot.

Then he turned toward Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin. "You two can choose by instinct. Don't overthink it."

Dong Qianqiu blinked at his words. "What about you?"

"I'll take another lap."

Dong Qianqiu hesitated, but she still slowed down and finally stopped at a spot with a relatively gentle aura and a faint fragrance.

The instant both her feet settled, they seemed to become welded to the wheel. She could no longer move at all.

A soft blue light rose from beneath her feet, and a pleasant female voice rang in her ears.

"Obtained one five-thousand-year Ice-Attribute Spirit Fruit."

Dong Qianqiu froze for a moment, then breathed a small sigh of relief. A five-thousand-year Ice-Attribute Spirit Fruit was a perfect match for a Soul Master with an ice-type Martial Soul like hers. It was quite a good reward.

Lan Mengqin then chose a spot beside her. The aura where she stopped was relatively neutral, neither fierce nor fragrant, but within her spiritual perception, it carried a faint sense of gentle expansion.

A female voice then sounded on Lan Mengqin's side as well.

"All Soul Ring cultivation ages increased by one thousand years."

Lan Mengqin raised her eyebrows, then found the corners of her mouth harder to keep down than an AK's muzzle.

If each of her four Purple Soul Rings gained a thousand years, they would be approaching ten thousand years. They would not quite reach that mark, but they would be close.

With both girls having chosen, they turned their gazes toward Ye Zhiqiu, who was still running.

Ye Zhiqiu had already made up his mind. He ran another two laps, confirmed the location he had sensed earlier, then stopped in that area.

His footing sank, and an exceptionally fierce aura surged up from deep within the wheel.

The sweet, pleasant female voice sounded again.

"Obtained one Soul Bone produced by a random Soul Beast, five thousand years old. The Soul Bone is an external soul bone and comes with one Soul Skill."

Even Ye Zhiqiu himself froze at the announcement.

Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin turned toward him at the same time, both wearing rather peculiar expressions.

A Soul Bone.

For Soul Masters, Soul Bones were far more important than Soul Rings, but they were exceptionally difficult to obtain.

In ancient times, Soul Bones could only come from Soul Beasts. When a Soul Beast was killed under certain special circumstances, there was an extremely small chance that a Soul Bone would appear.

Soul Bones were primarily divided into six types: Head Soul Bones, torso bones, left arm bones, right arm bones, left leg bones, and right leg bones.

A Soul Bone in any of those locations would greatly enhance that part of the body and also grant a Soul Skill.

Generally, a Soul Master could only gain one Soul Skill every ten levels. Beyond nine rings, those became divine skills. In other words, the number of Soul Skills was usually limited, with one Soul Ring corresponding to one Soul Skill.

Soul Bones were different. They were extras, not something one could obtain through cultivation.

An additional Soul Bone meant not only strengthening that part of the body, but also gaining another skill.

Moreover, Soul Rings disappeared when their Soul Master died, while Soul Bones could be passed down.

That made them all the more precious.

Only in the last few thousand years had the Spirit Pagoda, one of the Federation's most important organizations, begun gradually developing artificial Soul Bones, allowing their use to become more widespread.

However, developing artificial Soul Bones was enormously expensive, so purchasing one required an astronomical sum. Ordinary Soul Masters could not afford them on their own.

The Federation often awarded artificial Soul Bones to Soul Masters who had made major contributions.

And the Soul Bone Ye Zhiqiu had drawn was an external soul bone.

Unlike the six main Soul Bones, an external soul bone did not occupy a main Soul Bone slot. It could attach to any part of the body and was usually the most unusual bone in a Soul Beast's body.

It was considerably rarer than an ordinary Soul Bone. Moreover, the Lucky Wheel had explicitly stated that it was "produced by a Soul Beast," rather than artificially made by the Spirit Pagoda. Its value was beyond measure.

Ye Zhiqiu fell silent for two and a half seconds, then delivered a humblebrag. "My luck's pretty decent."

Dong Qianqiu opened her mouth, then said after a pause, "Your luck is way too good."

"It's so-so."

"You call that so-so?"

Light flashed around all three of them at once, and they returned to Xu Musheng's side.

As Xu Musheng watched them return, her gaze lingered on Ye Zhiqiu, and a trace of surprise entered her expression.

She had served as a guide for two years and had seen plenty of Lucky Wheel results, but this was the first time she had seen a reward on the level of an external soul bone. It was also this year's grand prize, produced by a real Soul Beast rather than artificially made.

"Your prizes will be delivered to the academy shortly," Xu Musheng said, then turned toward Lan Mengqin.

"Lan Mengqin, you will need to go to the Spirit Pagoda to claim your reward. Since you won't need to take part in the Second Round, you can go collect it."

Lan Mengqin nodded.

After saying that, Xu Musheng's figure began to blur. The next instant, she vanished from the training grounds.

Ye Wenduo stood at the edge of the training grounds. After hearing about their rewards, his expression grew even more complicated.

A five-thousand-year Ice-Attribute Spirit Fruit was hardly cheap. It could fetch a hefty price even at an auction in Shrek City.

As for Lan Mengqin's reward, increasing every one of her Soul Rings by a thousand years was excellent.

And Ye Zhiqiu's reward needed no explanation at all. It was completely beyond the scale—a five-thousand-year external soul bone produced by a real Soul Beast. It was absurd beyond belief.

"Teacher, let's go."

"Let's go."

The four then left the Douluo World, and the Simulation Pod's metal faceplates slowly rose.

The training room was empty. The other students had already finished class.

Ye Zhiqiu stepped out of his Simulation Pod, stretched his neck, and glanced at Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin, who were straightening their clothes beside him.

That afternoon, the prizes arrived at the academy, in Ye Wenduo's office.

Besides Ye Wenduo, the Vice Dean was also present.

Three items sat on the desk, each in a different box.

The first box was silvery white and palm-sized. Inside lay a translucent card, with a pale purple halo flowing across its surface. Held up to the light, it revealed countless tiny Soul Power patterns moving within.

Ye Wenduo picked up the card, examined it, and handed it to Lan Mengqin. "A Thousand-Year Soul Ring Lifespan Enhancement Card. Redeem it at the Spirit Pagoda, and each of your four Purple Soul Rings can gain a thousand years. Your Soul Rings are currently around six to seven thousand years old. After the enhancement, they should reach somewhere around eight thousand."

Lan Mengqin took the card and looked at it in her palm, unable to suppress the smile tugging at her lips.

"Not bad."

Dong Qianqiu glanced at her from the side and said with a smile, "Keep pretending."

"I'm not pretending."

"The tips of your ears are red."

Lan Mengqin reached up to smooth the strand of white hair beside her ear and said expressionlessly, "You're seeing things."

Dong Qianqiu laughed and stopped teasing her.

Ye Wenduo picked up the second box. It was ice-blue, with a thin layer of frost covering its surface. When his fingers touched it, he could feel a trace of cold seeping through the walls.

He opened the box. Inside was a fruit about the size of an egg, its entire body a translucent ice-blue, with flowing light slowly swirling within.

"A Cold Jade Glazed Fruit. A five-thousand-year Ice-Attribute Spirit Fruit." Ye Wenduo held the box out to Dong Qianqiu. "Yours."

Dong Qianqiu took it, lowered her head to glance at the fruit, then gently closed the lid. She did not rush to eat it. She ought to find somewhere quiet and absorb it slowly.

Finally, Ye Wenduo picked up the third box.

This box was larger than the first two, about the size of two fists pressed together. Its surface was dark gray and unadorned, with a cold metallic texture and a slight heft in the hand.

Ye Wenduo did not open it immediately. Instead, he first glanced at the Vice Dean, who was also looking at the box, stroking his beard with a somewhat complicated expression.

"This is Ye Zhiqiu's prize," Ye Wenduo said, then slowly opened the lid.

A layer of soft black velvet lined the box. Resting on it was a crystal about the size of a thumb.

The crystal was translucent grayish white, shaped like an irregular polyhedron. Faint, exceedingly fine patterns could be seen on its surface.

But what truly made everyone present hold their breath was the eye at the very center of the crystal.

It was an extraordinarily tiny eye, only the size of a soybean, embedded inside the crystal. Its pupil was pale gold, and a ring of dark gray markings surrounded the iris, seemingly still turning ever so slightly.

Ye Zhiqiu stared at that eye. He felt his spiritual power tremble faintly, as though something had gently touched his Sea of Consciousness.

"An external soul bone." Ye Wenduo's voice was lower than usual. Looking down at the object in the box, he said slowly, "And an exceptionally rare mental-type external soul bone, at the five-thousand-year level."

The Vice Dean leaned closer to inspect the eye, his wrinkles deepening.

"Shrek has... been rather extravagant this time," the Vice Dean said slowly.

Ye Wenduo lifted the Soul Bone out of the box together with its base and held it up to the light. Then he turned to the inside of the lid, where a line of tiny lettering was engraved. He leaned closer, carefully deciphered it, and read it aloud.

"A five-thousand-year Illusory-Eyed Spirit Fox, a mental-attribute Soul Beast. This Soul Bone was formed from its frontal bone and comes with one mental-type Soul Skill."