Ming Dashan's breakthrough

Ming Dashan sat cross-legged, his Soul Power surging out.

A faint green glow flowed from the Soul Bone, transforming into warm energy that enveloped Ming Dashan's entire left leg.

At that moment, his heart brimmed with excitement.

Soul Bones were simply too precious!

As far as he knew, some Soul Saints, Soul Douluos, and even Titled Douluos did not possess a single Soul Bone.

The Soul Bone's energy seeped through his flesh, and Ming Dashan felt as warm and comfortable as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

His breathing was long and even, while Soul Power surged continuously through his body.

His left leg, with its blocked meridians and sluggish circulation of Soul Power, now seemed to have been cleared. Energy flowed through it without obstruction.

About an hour passed.

Ming Dashan slowly opened his eyes.

A faint green glow flashed in his pupils, taking several seconds to gradually fade.

"Uncle Dashan, how do you feel?"

Yu Chen asked with concern.

He had stayed beside him the entire time, never leaving.

Ming Dashan's absorption time was close to what he had estimated, about as long as an ordinary Soul King needed to absorb a fifth soul ring.

Judging by that, this Soul Bone was at least five thousand years old.

"Yu Chen, I've broken through to rank fifty!"

Ming Dashan felt the Soul Power flowing through his body, his voice trembling slightly.

His Innate Soul Power had been rank five, so reaching rank fifty in his forties would have been normal.

However, he had suffered a severe injury to his left leg while attending the Intermediate Academy, leaving his Soul Power circulation impaired ever since.

During his time as a Soul Ancestor, his Soul Power had increased by less than one rank per year on average.

He had thought he would have to endure several more years before breaking through to rank fifty. He never expected a Soul Bone to carry him past that threshold in one leap today.

"Huh? Uncle Dashan, your left leg doesn't seem to be lame anymore."

Yu Chen's gaze fell on Ming Dashan's left leg, and he spoke with delight.

The way Ming Dashan held his left leg was completely different now, without its former obvious distortion.

"Huh? I think you're right!"

Ming Dashan froze for a moment too, then looked down at his left leg in disbelief.

He tried standing straight on his right leg first, then shifted his weight onto his left. His foot rested firmly on the ground, his knee no longer buckled, and his entire left leg felt strong and powerful.

He tried hopping twice, and had no trouble jumping at all.

Bang!

He raised his left leg and sent a battered wooden barrel flying with a kick.

The barrel rolled twice before striking the wall, breaking into several splintered boards with a crash.

"My leg... it's really healed."

Ming Dashan's voice choked up.

His left leg had been crippled for over twenty years, and he had long since grown used to it.

He had never imagined it would actually be healed today.

"Congratulations, Uncle Dashan. Two blessings at your door!"

Yu Chen said with a smile.

Ming Dashan's experience was just like his own when he absorbed the Blue Silver Emperor's Soul Bone.

Absorbing a Soul Bone reshaped the body and improved its constitution.

The Soul Bone's energy had cleansed Ming Dashan's long-crippled leg and rebuilt its meridians, restoring it to its former condition.

"Hahaha! Yu Chen, it's all thanks to you. Without you, I could never have killed that Wolf Bandit."

Ming Dashan reached out and gave Yu Chen's shoulder a heavy pat.

A faint smile curved Yu Chen's lips.

All he could say was that everything had come together through a twist of fate.

Ming Dashan had helped him hunt Soul Beasts, allowing him to obtain his second soul ring and greatly boost his strength. That, in turn, had enabled him to kill the Wolf Bandit leader.

"Uncle Dashan, how did your leg get crippled?"

Yu Chen asked curiously.

He had wanted to ask before, but had feared stirring up Ming Dashan's painful memories.

Now that his leg had healed, asking should have been all right.

The smile on Ming Dashan's face faded a little, and he spoke helplessly. "When I was at the Intermediate Academy, I accidentally offended a powerful noble. He had someone break my leg, and that was how I became a cripple."

Ming Dashan waved a hand and smiled again.

"After all these years, I've long since made peace with it."

Yu Chen did not press him further.

At Nuoding Academy, noble students had often bullied the work-study students.

In a place like Heaven Dou City, where noble influence spread like tangled roots and branches, bullying at school would only be worse.

Yu Chen quietly made a mental note of it.

Once he was strong enough, perhaps he could seek justice for Uncle Dashan.

Early morning.

A sliver of light appeared on the horizon, painting the sky a pale gold.

Clop, clop, clop-

Yu Chen was sleeping soundly against a corner of the wall when his ears suddenly twitched.

His eyes snapped open, and he sat up at once.

"Yu Chen, troops are coming!"

Ming Dashan had woken up too. He lay flat on the ground with his ear pressed against the earth.

The hoofbeats were still far away, roughly two or three li off.

Before long.

Dozens of cavalrymen appeared on the main road.

At their head was a middle-aged man wearing leather armor and riding a fine red horse.

Yu Chen looked closely. At the rear of the column, Oscar sat crookedly on a horse, bracing both hands against the saddle.

His face was covered in dust and sweat. He must have spent the entire night on the road.

"Boss Yu!"

Oscar raised both hands above his head and waved with all his might.

Last night, he had strained with the strength of nine oxen and two tigers before finally reaching the nearest city.

Once he reached the City Lord's Mansion and reported the Wolf Bandits, the city lord immediately dispatched troops.

This pack of Wolf Bandits had already ravaged several villages. The City Lord's Mansion had sent people to investigate several times, but they had never found their trail.

These few dozen men were scouts responsible for checking the route. The main force was still behind them.

To deal with Wolf Bandits, they needed heavy cavalry supported by more than ten times as many infantry to have any chance of wiping them out.

"Boss Yu, I brought reinforcements!"

Oscar clambered off his horse and rushed up to Yu Chen. "Boss, you're not hurt, are you?"

His lips were pale, and dark circles hung heavily beneath his eyes.

"I'm fine."

Yu Chen replied calmly.

Seeing Oscar covered in dirt and dust filled his heart with warmth.

At first, he had not known how many Wolf Bandits there were in total, which was why he had sent Oscar for reinforcements.

Now, it seemed there was no need for the troops to act at all.

The officer leading the group dismounted and cupped his fist in salute to Ming Dashan and Yu Chen.

"I'm Wang Qiang, company commander of Xinma City's vanguard battalion. May I ask if you killed all these Wolf Bandits?"

His gaze swept across the village entrance, where Wolf Bandit corpses lay everywhere.

By a rough estimate, there were at least thirty or forty.

"That's right."

Yu Chen nodded, then added, "This should be all of them."

Last night, Xiao Bai Dragon had searched the entire village and found no Wolf Bandits hiding anywhere.

No trace of them had been found within several kilometers either.

"All of them!"

The company commander's eyes widened in astonishment.

He was also a Soul Ancestor. Previously, he had led dozens of soldiers and tracked down a small group of roughly ten Wolf Bandits.

They had surrounded them fully armed, but the Wolf Bandits had forced their way out of the formation, and half had escaped.

Yet now, these two people had actually wiped out the entire pack?

It was simply inconceivable.

"Commander, we've finished the count. There are seventy-seven Wolf Bandit corpses in total."

A soldier ran over from the distance, his face equally shocked.

Seventy-seven corpses. That was almost the total number of Wolf Bandits listed in their previous intelligence.

"Would you two be willing to accompany me back to Xinma City? The city lord will certainly thank you in person."

The company commander put aside his surprise and adopted a respectful expression.

Ming Dashan considered it, then said, "We can, but we still have to travel to Heaven Dou City, so we're rather pressed for time."

"Rest assured, we certainly won't delay your business."

The company commander gave repeated assurances, then began assigning men to clean up the village.

The Wolf Bandit corpses were gathered together and treated with lime.

The villagers' bodies were collected for burial, and the bloodstains on the ground were cleaned up to prevent an epidemic...

Everything proceeded swiftly and in good order.