Soul Bone

"Awooo-"

A chorus of ghostly wails and wolf howls echoed through the village entrance.

The Wolf Bandit leader was engulfed in flames, its flesh sizzling and giving off a charred stench.

By then, it lacked even the strength to roll around and could only crane its neck and scream.

Yu Chen stood at a distance, watching coldly.

The Wolf Bandits committed every evil imaginable. This village surely was far from the only one to have suffered at their hands.

A debt of blood had to be repaid in blood.

That was why Yu Chen had chosen this most agonizing method to burn the Wolf Bandit leader alive.

Before long.

The flames gradually dimmed, and the Wolf Bandit leader was reduced to a pile of ashes.

Yu Chen crouched down and stroked Xiao Bai Dragon's head. "Xiao Bai, your flame energy has gotten stronger again."

If Xiao Bai's attacks landed on him, they produced plenty of smoke but no damage.

After absorbing his second soul ring, Yu Chen had once asked Xiao Bai to breathe fire at a block of iron. Before long, it had melted into molten metal.

The Wolf Bandit's flesh clearly could not compare to steel.

"Hmph."

Xiao Bai Dragon raised her head, a hint of pride in her eyes.

She was the god of elements. What was a mere scorching flame to her?

But-

She glanced at Yu Chen again.

The move Yu Chen had just used, [Sandstorm], combined the elements of wind and earth.

It could disrupt an enemy's senses while strengthening earth-type attacks.

That had made Xiao Bai see him in a new light.

Of course, elemental fusion was only a basic move. What truly surprised Xiao Bai was that she and Yu Chen had never practiced this move.

After all, Yu Chen had only recently obtained his second soul ring.

Yu Chen had come up with this move entirely on his own.

Could this guy be this gifted at controlling elements too?

Xiao Bai was secretly astonished.

If Ming Dashan had not been defeated, she and Yu Chen could have used [Sandstorm] to trap every last Wolf Bandit at the village entrance until they died. They would not have needed to confront the leader head-on at all.

Yet when she thought about how she had dealt with the Wolf Bandit leader, Xiao Bai Dragon's eyes shone a little brighter.

That Wolf Bandit's strength had utterly overwhelmed Ming Dashan. Its cultivation was at least that of a Soul King, or equivalent to a Soul Beast over five thousand years old.

And she had actually beaten it into the ground in a head-on fight?

He could learn someone else's moves just by watching a few times.

Then combine two different moves into a self-created soul skill.

He had even taken a method of building up power meant only for forging iron, modified it a little, and turned it into a complete set of combat moves.

Xiao Bai Dragon grew increasingly astonished.

She and Yu Chen had practiced this move, [Dragon Dance], a few times.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track had originally been Tang San's movement technique.

Not only had Yu Chen learned it by watching, he had also modified the footwork into a flying technique she could use.

Borrowing momentum, turning, anticipating, dodging...

Xiao Bai had quickly mastered it after practicing a few times.

This way of flying flowed far more smoothly than her old, simple swoops and circling turns.

Later, they had incorporated a set of hammer techniques as well.

Yu Chen had likewise improved those hammer techniques, turning them into a move that let her continuously build up power in midair.

After each attack, she used the motion of turning to store up the kinetic energy for her next collision in advance.

The longer she fought, the harder she hit; the longer she flew, the faster she became.

Today had been [Dragon Dance]'s first real battle.

This way of overpowering enemies through sheer strength and fighting up close seemed pretty good too!

Xiao Bai Dragon narrowed her eyes and revealed a remarkably human smile.

Smack, smack-

Suddenly, a series of pats on her bottom dragged her out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"Xiao Bai, what are you thinking about? I've been calling you for ages, and you haven't answered."

"Bastard! You hit me again!"

Xiao Bai Dragon let out a howl and sprang up, spreading her wings as if about to pounce on Yu Chen.

During her earlier training, Yu Chen had often smacked her bottom.

And now he was doing it again?

She was the Silver Dragon King. Didn't she deserve some dignity?

"Stop fooling around."

Yu Chen stroked her head. "Keep watch from the air. I'm going to treat Uncle Dashan."

"Hmph."

Xiao Bai Dragon snorted coldly, beat her wings, and flew into the air.

By the corner of the wall.

Ming Dashan lay on the ground, his face pale and a dark red bloodstain covering his chest.

Yu Chen walked over and gave him a quick examination.

"His internal organs are probably bleeding, and several ribs are broken."

Yu Chen's gaze grew grave.

He took a deep breath, and his soul power surged.

Humm-

A faint blue energy emerged from his right leg, flowing through Yu Chen's palm and slowly enveloping Ming Dashan's entire body.

Before long, color returned to Ming Dashan's face.

"The soul skills of the Douluo Continent really are miraculous..."

Watching the changes before him, Yu Chen could not help marveling.

With internal bleeding and broken ribs, even a human from the Pokémon world would have to spend several days in bed.

"Cough, cough!"

Ming Dashan coughed heavily several times and slowly opened his eyes.

He propped himself up on his arms. His chest still felt a little tight, but his injuries were no longer serious.

"Yu Chen... are you all right? What about the Wolf Bandits?"

Yu Chen helped him up. "Uncle Dashan, I've already killed that Wolf Bandit leader."

"What?"

Ming Dashan's eyes instantly cleared. "You killed it?"

He looked around. Wolf Bandit corpses littered the village entrance, severed limbs lay scattered across the ground, and the stench of blood hung so thick in the air it seemed almost solid.

He had thought Yu Chen had fled with him.

He had never expected Yu Chen to kill that enormous creature.

"Yu Chen, well done!"

Ming Dashan's voice brimmed with excitement.

He did not ask any further questions about how Yu Chen had killed it.

He was already used to this.

Every time Yu Chen acted, every time he made a breakthrough, he brought Ming Dashan another surprise.

"The Wolf Bandits have committed countless atrocities. I burned their leader alive."

Yu Chen raised his hand and pointed at the pile of ashes nearby.

"Good! That's exactly how beasts like these should be dealt with!"

Ming Dashan spoke viciously.

He turned toward the Wolf Bandit's ashes. Soul power erupted from his body, and with a sweep of his right palm, a blast of air rolled over them-

Boom!

The ashes scattered in every direction.

Yet something appeared that startled them both.

Once the ashes had blown away, a blue-green bone lay quietly on the dirt.

A faint glow shimmered over its surface, making it look like a gemstone.

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing the surprise in the other's eyes.

"A soul bone!"

They spoke in unison.

Ming Dashan hurried forward and picked up the bone.

It was a left leg soul bone, warm to the touch and smooth on the surface. A faint current of energy flowed within it, making it more beautiful than the finest gemstone.

"Wolf Bandits, creatures that are half human and half beast, can drop soul bones too?"

Ming Dashan's voice was full of delight.

He recalled the earlier battle.

When he had ambushed the Wolf Bandit leader from behind, that sword strike should have been certain to hit.

Yet a pulse of energy had suddenly erupted from the Wolf Bandit's left leg, and its body had sprung aside, narrowly evading the fatal blow.

Perhaps this soul bone had been the reason.

Yu Chen was somewhat surprised too.

He remembered that in the original story, Tang San and the others had also obtained a soul bone after killing a pack of Wolf Bandits.

That Wolf Bandit leader had been far stronger than this one, with cultivation of at least ten thousand years.

He had not expected his own luck to be so good.

"Yu Chen, you should absorb this soul bone. You already have a right leg soul bone. With this left leg one as well, your strength will surely rise another step."

Ming Dashan held out the soul bone.

Yu Chen froze for a moment.

He had not expected Ming Dashan to show not even a trace of greed.

Soul bones were so rare that few could be found across the entire continent. Any one of them could fetch an astronomical price at auction.

"Uncle Dashan, this soul bone's attribute doesn't suit me. You should absorb it instead."

Yu Chen shook his head with a smile and pushed the soul bone back.

"Its attribute doesn't suit you? How could that be?"

Ming Dashan asked in confusion.

"Judging by that Wolf Bandit's performance earlier, this soul bone should be wind-type."

"But my first soul ring already has the wind attribute."

"Even if I absorb a soul bone, I want to gain a different attribute to broaden my elemental power."

Yu Chen explained in a serious tone:

"I've more or less figured out the cultivation path for my Xiao Bai Dragon martial soul. I need to gather as many kinds of elemental power as possible-fire, wind, earth, water, and so on. The more attributes I have, the more combinations I can create between my soul skills."

Yu Chen had made all of that up on the spot. He simply wanted Ming Dashan to absorb this soul bone.

He suspected that after Ming Dashan absorbed this left leg soul bone, there might be a chance for his lame leg to recover.

Back when he had absorbed the Blue Silver Emperor's soul bone, he had tried treating Ming Dashan's old injury.

However, Ming Dashan had been lame for years, and his bones had already become deformed. No matter how powerful the Blue Silver Emperor's energy was, it could not straighten bones that had grown crooked.

Not unless they broke his leg again and then reshaped the bones.

But that process was too cruel, and Yu Chen had not had the heart to suggest it at the time.

"Well... all right."

Seeing Yu Chen's earnest expression, Ming Dashan stopped hesitating.

He believed what Yu Chen had said.

"Uncle Dashan, hurry and absorb the soul bone. Xiao Ao went to get reinforcements and probably won't be back until dawn. That should give you about enough time."

Yu Chen spoke.

When he had absorbed the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, it had taken him three days and three nights.

Yu Chen estimated that this soul bone was around five thousand years in quality, so absorbing it would not take too long.