External Soul Bone!

"Um..."

Xiao Wu's rabbit ears twitched as she interrupted Tang San, saying timidly, "I suddenly remembered there's something I need to take care of at home. I might have to hurry back."

Tang San froze at her words. "Didn't you say your parents had passed away?"

"Ah, well..."

Xiao Wu looked a little unnatural. "J-just because my parents passed away, does that mean I can't have a home?"

In any case, she had made up her mind. No matter what, she couldn't go to that Clear Sky Sect.

In her current situation, how would going there be any different from marching to her death?

"But..."

Tang San's brows creased slightly, and he hesitated.

They had already come so far that turning back now was clearly unrealistic, and his big brother wouldn't agree either.

But he couldn't feel at ease letting Xiao Wu, a girl, leave on her own.

For a moment, Tang San was caught in a dilemma.

Seeing Tang San's worried frown, Tang Tianlin shook his head helplessly.

Little San was still suffering from having been a virgin for two lifetimes. He couldn't even handle a little girl.

Tang Tianlin stepped forward and patted his shoulder. "All right, wait here. I'll have a word with Xiao Wu alone."

Tang San paused, instinctively looking at Xiao Wu.

A trace of confusion flashed through Xiao Wu's large eyes, but she nodded anyway.

She didn't know why, but she felt an inexplicable trust in this big brother.

Perhaps the inexplicable sense of affinity he gave off had made this old rabbit, who had stayed vigilant for a hundred thousand years, let down her guard for once.

The two walked one behind the other to a large tree a short distance away.

Tang Tianlin stopped and turned around. With a thought, a layer of emerald-green light immediately shimmered around him.

The glow was gentle and pure, as though it held the vitality of an entire forest.

The instant Xiao Wu sensed that aura, her eyes flew wide, and she froze in place as though struck by an immobilization spell.

"Th-this is..."

She stared at Tang Tianlin in disbelief.

Having lived for a hundred thousand years, she naturally knew what that aura meant.

The problem was, the person before her was clearly a human!

Why would the aura of a Child of Nature appear on a human?!

Xiao Wu's mind raced before she finally squeezed out a question. "Big Brother, could you have undergone Soul Beast Transformation too?"

"No."

"Then do your ancestors have Soul Beast blood?"

"No to that too."

"Huh?"

Xiao Wu covered her little mouth with both hands.

Her tiny brain couldn't quite process all this information at once.

After all, a Child of Nature was a natural ally of Soul Beasts, a key existence in maintaining the continent's ecological balance.

Every Child of Nature throughout history had either been a transformed plant-type Soul Beast or the descendant of a beast with an ancient bloodline, yet now one was a human...

The more Xiao Wu thought about it, the more panicked she became, and her mind began filling in the blanks on its own.

A human Child of Nature would definitely favor humans. Soul Beast habitats would shrink even further, and Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts would all be captured to serve as Soul Rings...

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Watching Xiao Wu's face grow paler and paler, Tang Tianlin couldn't help interrupting her. "I may be human, but my identity as a Child of Nature is genuine. Since I've inherited this power, I won't let it down."

Xiao Wu blinked, seemingly digesting his words.

"You mean... you'll protect Soul Beasts?"

"To be precise, I'll maintain the balance."

Tang Tianlin said gravely, "Humans and Soul Beasts alike have the right to exist. I won't help humans oppress Soul Beasts just because I'm human, nor will I favor Soul Beasts because I'm a Child of Nature."

At his words, Xiao Wu's taut nerves relaxed a little, but then she remembered something else and frowned:

"But I'm a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. If a Titled Douluo discovers me..."

"You don't need to worry about that."

Tang Tianlin raised his hand and condensed a wisp of emerald-green light, gently touching it to the space between Xiao Wu's brows.

Xiao Wu felt a gentle power flow into her body, forming an invisible membrane that completely enveloped the aura leaking from her.

"I've concealed your aura for you. Unless someone at the Super Douluo level or above deliberately probes you, no one will discover your true identity."

Xiao Wu checked her condition, and her eyes immediately lit up. "It's true! That dangerous aura seems to have completely disappeared!"

"Big Brother! You're the best! From now on, you're my own big brother!"

"No, no, no."

Tang Tianlin hurriedly waved his hands. "I don't want a rabbit for a little sister."

"All right."

Having failed to latch onto the Child of Nature's coattails, Xiao Wu couldn't help feeling a little deflated.

Seeing Xiao Wu's dejected expression, Tang Tianlin chuckled. "Still, I do have a suggestion."

"What suggestion?" Xiao Wu asked curiously.

"Join the Clear Sky Sect."

"Huh?"

Xiao Wu froze, then raised a hand to point at herself. "Can a Soul Beast like me join a Soul Master sect?"

Wouldn't that make her a traitor to beasts?

Tang Tianlin shook his head helplessly. "Have you forgotten that you've already taken human form?"

"That's right!"

Xiao Wu slapped her forehead. "I'm human now!"

Watching her belated realization, Tang Tianlin sighed.

This was the drawback of Soul Beasts. Even after taking human form, they still couldn't shake their Soul Beast habits of thought and needed considerable time to adapt.

Still, that was normal.

After all, she had lived on this continent for tens of thousands of years. It was understandable that she couldn't switch her thinking around all at once.

Just then, Xiao Wu finally wrapped her head around it. She hurried over to Tang Tianlin, grabbed his arm, and said excitedly, "Big Brother, I'm willing to join the Clear Sky Sect."

From the moment she had escaped the drawback of her Soul Beast aura, she could already be considered human.

[Ding! Detected that "Xiao Wu," a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Beast, has applied to join the Clear Sky Sect. Talent assessment: transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, original form: Soft Bone Rabbit, possesses top-tier cultivation aptitude!]

[Congratulations to the host on receiving the reward: External Soul Bone · Dark Gold Dreadclaw Left Palm Bone (included skills: Rend, Armor Break, Limit Burst)]

Tang Tianlin's eyelid twitched.

Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?

That was an ancient Ferocious Beast, an overlord among Soul Beasts of the same level.

Once it possessed ten thousand years of cultivation, not even a Titled Douluo would dare take one of its claw strikes head-on.

As an External Soul Bone, this thing was practically tailor-made for him.

He remembered that Tang Wulin had originally received a right palm bone. He hadn't expected it to become a left palm bone in his hands.

But that wasn't much of a problem. He had the Golden Dragon Claw on his right hand and the Dark Gold Dreadclaw on his left anyway.

He could chain his attacks together seamlessly.

Tang Tianlin suppressed his secret delight, keeping his expression unchanged as he gave Xiao Wu a slight nod:

"All right. Since you're willing, formally join the Clear Sky Sect. From now on, you're a disciple of our Clear Sky Sect, and Tang San is your senior fellow disciple."

"Senior fellow disciple?"

Xiao Wu frowned slightly. "No, I want to be Tang San's senior sister."

Tang Tianlin spread his hands. "Then go talk to him yourself."

With that, he turned and walked back.

Seeing this, Xiao Wu hurriedly skipped after him.

The two returned to Tang San.

Seeing that Xiao Wu's earlier anxiety had vanished, replaced by a look of eager delight, Tang San couldn't help asking curiously:

"Big Brother, what did you say to Xiao Wu? Why is she suddenly so happy?"

"Nothing much. I just had her join the Clear Sky Sect."