Tang San naturally understood the look in the Life Source Deer's eyes. Without another word, he took out his dagger and ended its life.
In truth, never mind the Life Source Deer-even Yu Xiaogang and Tang San had been scared half to death by the aura Li Ye had just released, afraid that if he lost control, he might give them the same treatment.
While Tang San absorbed the Soul Ring, Yu Xiaogang immediately pulled Li Ye aside and asked with concern what Soul Skill he had just used.
"Teacher, don't worry about that. It's my secret," Li Ye said, putting on a mysterious air.
"Come on, Xiao Ye, consider this your teacher begging you, all right? Just tell me. Don't leave me worrying like this," Yu Xiaogang said, his face full of concern.
"All right. Actually, the Soul Skill I just used is an inherited Soul Skill within my Martial Soul. Just think of it as my Self-Created Soul Skill. It has no side effects, so there's no need to worry." Seeing how worried Yu Xiaogang was, Li Ye could only helplessly offer a half-true explanation.
"What? Something like that actually exists? No wonder you were practicing martial techniques I didn't recognize before, Xiao Ye." Hearing Li Ye's explanation, Yu Xiaogang immediately recalled his earlier strange behavior.
At the time, he had thought Li Ye was simply too playful, constantly fooling around with his Martial Soul. He had never imagined that Li Ye was practicing inherited Soul Skills.
In the forest not far away, Tang Hao had also been watching the three of them. At the same time, he remained alert to their surroundings to keep his precious son from being disturbed while absorbing his Soul Ring. After all, he still felt that Li Ye and Yu Xiaogang were not reliable enough.
However, he had never expected Tang San to obtain a Life Source Deer's Soul Ring as his First Soul Ring.
Time slowly passed. Perhaps because the Life Source Deer had been quite willing to give Tang San its Soul Ring, he finished absorbing it without much effort.
Once Tang San finished absorbing the Soul Ring, Li Ye took hold of the other two, immediately wanting to leave.
But Tang Hao, not far away, spotted something extraordinary. To draw their attention, he deliberately threw a stone, making a noise behind them.
"Hm? What was that?" Li Ye glanced back but saw nothing.
"Come on, Xiao Ye. Aren't you in a hurry to get back? Just leave it." Without even turning around, Yu Xiaogang pulled the two along, ready to leave.
This drove Tang Hao, up in the tree, frantic. That was a Soul Bone-a Head Soul Bone from such a rare Soul Beast, no less. If it was complete enough, it could absolutely be considered one of the finest Soul Bones.
Moreover, if Tang San absorbed such a suitable Soul Bone now, he would surely achieve twice the results with half the effort in his cultivation.
Soul Rings bestowed Soul Skills. Although they also enhanced a Soul Master's own attributes to some extent, their primary function was, after all, the Soul Skills they carried. Soul Bones were precisely the opposite. A Soul Bone might not come with a skill, but the enhancement it gave the Soul Master was enormous.
More importantly, a Soul Bone's potential for growth was more valuable than a Soul Ring's. The skills attached to Soul Rings grew stronger as Soul Power increased.
But a Soul Ring's age limited that increase. This was why even a Titled Douluo above level 90 would not have a First Soul Ring skill that grew sufficiently powerful.
Soul Bones were different. They were not restricted by the age of the Soul Beast that produced them and would evolve as the Soul Master's own strength increased. In other words, the earlier one obtained a Soul Bone, the more time it would have to evolve.
That meant that as long as Tang San could cultivate to the Titled Douluo level, this Soul Bone's quality would certainly evolve to a terrifying degree, becoming several times better than an ordinary Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, if not more.
"Grandmaster, turn back! That Soul Beast dropped a Head Soul Bone. Hurry and dig it out for Xiao San to absorb." Left with no choice, Tang Hao could only transmit his voice to Yu Xiaogang, telling him to turn back.
Hearing Tang Hao's voice transmission, Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment, then immediately turned back in delighted surprise and began digging out the Soul Bone.
"Huh? Teacher, what are you doing? Holy shit, a Head Soul Bone!" Seeing Yu Xiaogang's strange actions, Li Ye was puzzled at first, then immediately jumped in shock.
"Huh? A Soul Bone? What's that?" Tang San stared blankly at the ecstatic Li Ye and Yu Xiaogang, unable to make heads or tails of it.
"Xiao San, I'll explain later. For now, follow my instructions and absorb this Soul Bone." Yu Xiaogang placed the freshly obtained, complete deer skull into Tang San's hands and also taught him how to absorb a Soul Bone.
And so, still utterly bewildered, Tang San obtained the first Soul Bone of his life.
"Xiao San, hurry and tell us about your first Soul Skill and your Soul Bone Skill. If my guess is right, one of those two skills must be the Life Source Deer's innate skill, Life Incarnation!" Yu Xiaogang said, looking at Tang San excitedly.
"Yes, Teacher, you guessed right. My first Soul Skill is called Life Recovery. It can release a glowing green light to heal an area, or release Blue Silver Grass to wind around a specific target and heal them individually."
"However, because my Soul Power is weak, I can currently only heal one fixed person, and the healing effect isn't very strong."
"As for my Soul Bone Skill, it's the Life Source Deer's innate skill, Life Incarnation. It uses half my Soul Power to create an incarnation with seventy percent of my strength. I can control him remotely or let him act freely."
"Also, as my level increases, the Soul Power this skill consumes will decrease." Tang San nodded and explained his skills' effects to Yu Xiaogang and Li Ye.
"I think there's more to it than that. I once read in an ancient text that a ten-thousand-year Life Source Deer can create three incarnations, and a hundred-thousand-year one can even create seven. However, that consumes almost all its Soul Power. A Life Source Deer generally only does that when facing a life-or-death crisis." Yu Xiaogang pondered for a while before speaking.
"Teacher, is there a difference between an incarnation and a clone?" Li Ye asked in confusion.
"A very big difference. A clone is like an energy phantom. Although it possesses some strength, it requires the original body to control it and is relatively easy to see through."
"An incarnation is different. He is like a part split off from your body. Although he is also an energy body, he is no different from the original. No matter how strong you are, you can't tell which is the incarnation and which is the real body. It could be considered a divine lifesaving skill," Yu Xiaogang explained.
Afterward, Yu Xiaogang explained to Tang San what Soul Bones were and what uses they had, giving him a basic understanding of their importance and rarity.
After several more days of trekking, Li Ye, his teacher, and his fellow disciple finally returned to Nuoding City.
Counting the days, they had been away for a full seven days.
After returning, Li Ye first went to see Ma Xiunuo and told him how he had slaughtered those Soul Beasts. Only after dinner did he return to Nuoding Academy alone.
"Xiao Wu, I'm back!" Pushing open the door to Dorm Seven, Li Ye called loudly to Xiao Wu, who was sitting on her bed in a daze.
"Xiao Ye, you're finally back! I thought you and Tang San had been expelled. I hadn't seen either of you for days." Xiao Wu happily ran over to Li Ye, taking his hand as she spoke.
"Haha, Xiao Wu, what wild ideas have you been dreaming up? We only went to help Xiao San hunt for his First Soul Ring. It just took us a long time to find a suitable Soul Beast. How could we have been expelled?" Seeing her like this, Li Ye laughed aloud.
"Hmph! I was so worried about you, and you're actually laughing at me. I'm not talking to you anymore." Xiao Wu angrily turned her head aside, pretending to ignore Li Ye.
"Don't do that. I was wrong, all right? Please don't be angry." Seeing this, Li Ye immediately admitted defeat and began comforting her.
"Haha, I was joking! I didn't expect you to fall for it so easily. But anyway, Xiao Ye, did you buy me a quilt? I've been sleeping in your bed all these days."
"Uh, Xiao Wu, why don't you just keep sleeping with me from now on? It'll save us the trouble of setting up another bed," Li Ye said with a perfectly straight face.
"Sure! But let me make this clear: no getting handsy when we're sleeping at night," Xiao Wu said happily, not forgetting to warn Li Ye afterward.
"Getting handsy? What does that mean?" Li Ye pretended not to understand, completely failing to notice that his words had already made Xiao Wu blush.
"Oh, never mind! Just remember what I said!" With that, Xiao Wu burrowed straight under the quilt and ignored Li Ye.
Seeing this, Li Ye could only walk around to the other side, lift the quilt, and climb in.
For Tang San, tonight was another sleepless night.
Tang San: X﹏X, I've got it so hard. Who whispers while they're sleeping? The thing is, I'm right beside you, and you don't even know to keep your voices down. How am I supposed to sleep with you two like this? My Xiao Wu, X﹏X...
Before you continue