"Wait, did I get something wrong?"
Feeling the torso bone within his body, Dai Mubai froze.
How had he overlooked this?
If he competed for the Sea God's inheritance, a torso bone over nine hundred thousand years old would be waiting for him.
Yet he had now fused with Xiong Jun's four-hundred-and-thirty-thousand-year torso bone.
But he soon let it go.
How should he put it? This thing mattered, but it also didn't.
After he attained godhood, all his soul bones would transform into soul bone armor-or rather, divine artifact armor.
As for the divine examination, there was no hard requirement that he fuse with that particular soul bone. Even if there was, as long as the deity overseeing the divine examination took a liking to him, they would change the rules for him.
Besides that, he had also provided himself with an external soul bone.
A right palm bone from a dark gold terrorclaw bear, and one over four hundred thousand years old at that.
Because he had taken a path combining transformation and sacrifice, it had fused directly, without any need to worry about his physique.
His only concern was that, without drawing on his sealed power, his current body still could not activate this right palm bone. The backlash to his blood and vitality was not something he could withstand now.
Of course, he could still activate it when necessary. It would merely consume some of his sealed power.
Although he had no soul rings yet, he already possessed three soul skills.
Among them were Ten Thousand Bears Indestructible Golden Body and Berserk, provided by his torso bone.
Once activated, Ten Thousand Bears Indestructible Golden Body would strengthen his physical body, convert damage received into increased strength, and convert a portion into blood and vitality. Damage sustained over a short period would not cause his body to collapse immediately, either.
Berserk increased all attributes by three hundred percent and awakened his bloodline power, greatly enhancing his physical defense and attack at the cost of some of his reason. After suffering a fatal attack, as long as his body was not completely shattered on the spot, he would enter the second stage of Berserk. However, the price of that second stage was rather steep: his cultivation realm could fall, and his blood and vitality could be exhausted.
With these two soul skills working together, once he had enough power to activate them, he would be a cockroach that could not be killed.
The soul skill his external soul bone provided was none other than Xiong Jun's signature ultimate technique, Sky-Rending Claw.
This soul skill could unleash a gigantic claw phantom that tore through space, producing a spatial cutting effect.
None of these soul skills were easy for him to activate now. Unless he reached a moment of crisis, he would not use them lightly.
For now, he needed to better adapt to and control this body, gradually tempering it to make it stronger before condensing his first soul ring.
In fact, Xiong Jun had already prepared himself to spend three years tempering his body and physique.
As for how he would temper it, that was even simpler: a full set of hundred thousand year soul bones and hundred-thousand-year whale glue.
The reason for spending three years tempering it was to give his body time to grow.
Although absorbing soul bones did not require a particularly high cultivation realm, physical growth ultimately had to proceed step by step.
He needed to give his body a buffer period to adapt.
As for raising his soul power level, with preparations like these, he could even cultivate to the Titled Douluo realm at fifteen or sixteen if he wished.
He then withdrew the soul tool's isolation effect and lived as he always had, quietly practicing the Tang Sect Secret Arts he had obtained from Tang San.
During this time, the Star Luo Emperor also visited him, and he dealt with him simply by playing the fool.
Before he knew it, three years had quietly slipped by.
During this period, although his eldest brother Dai Weisi had paid some attention to him, most of his thoughts went toward dealing with their second brother, so he did not give him any special attention.
Especially after learning that he still had not obtained his first soul ring, Dai Weisi felt even more reassured.
In fact, Dai Weisi often wondered whether the scene he had witnessed during Dai Mubai's martial soul awakening had been an illusion.
No matter how much someone concealed himself, surely he would not go so far as to refuse to absorb even a soul ring.
After all, before absorbing a soul ring, a soul master simply could not increase his strength by very much.
Whether it had been an illusion or not, he could at least be certain that his third brother posed no threat to him, and that was enough.
Not only Dai Weisi-even the Star Luo Emperor wondered whether he had misjudged him.
Was this son of his truly a fool?
After several attempts to test him failed to produce the results he wanted, the Star Luo Emperor lost all hope in him.
He simply stopped paying attention to him.
Once he reached the requisite age, if he lacked sufficient strength, his fate would already be sealed.
Had the Star Luo Empire possessed even a single Titled Douluo, they would have noticed what was unusual about Dai Mubai.
His physique, blood, and vitality were formidable to a frightening degree. Although he had no soul rings, even a Soul King might not be his match.
And that was without Dai Mubai using his soul bone skills.
After all, the soul tool Dai Mubai wore could only block the perception of those below the Titled Douluo level.
But the Star Luo Empire had no Titled Douluo.
"Just one step away?"
Feeling the power within his body, Dai Mubai's eyes gained a trace of brightness.
After all that effort, he could finally fulfill his wish and reach the state he wanted: ultimate metal.
On this point, he had to admit that soul beasts occupied the very bottom rung of this world.
Even Xiong Jun, at over four hundred thousand years old, had not reached the state of ultimate metal.
After possessing Dai Mubai, continuously using his previously sealed attributes to improve himself, fusing with a full set of hundred thousand year soul bones, using hundred-thousand-year whale glue, and practicing the Tang Sect Secret Arts, he actually had a chance of mastering ultimate metal within a mere three years.
Once he succeeded, his martial soul would undergo a complete transformation and would no longer be the white tiger martial soul.
He had long since prepared this final helping hand.
It was the immortal herb, singular velvet sky chrysanthemum.
Once his attribute mutated into an ultimate attribute and his martial soul evolved, it would be time to condense his first soul ring.
By Dai Mubai's estimation, his first soul ring would be at least ten thousand years old.
As for whether displaying his soul rings in the future would cause an uproar, there was no need to worry about that.
He had two soul bones from White Dragon, and one of them possessed a rule-based soul skill, Light of Transformation.
Not only could it change the colors of his soul rings, it could also alter and disguise his appearance, and even transform his martial soul.
Rule-based soul skills really did defy the heavens.
Of course, certain beings could discern some clues through experience.
"Your Highness, Third Prince, Duke Lingmao has arrived with the Zhu Family's third young lady."
Just then, a guard's voice came from outside the door.
"The Zhu Family's third young lady, Zhu Zhuqing."
Dai Mubai was slightly taken aback, then understood.
At this point in time, they should have come to attempt martial soul fusion and then arrange an engagement.
"Zhu Zhuqing? She seems rather good, too."
He saw nothing inappropriate about it.
The imperial family's carefully selected choice was quite a magnificent sight.
Since it was something he could do along the way, he might as well make the trip.
As for Zhu Zhuqing being a burden, that might be true for others, but for the Dai Mubai whose body he had possessed, she had never been a burden.
Moreover, the plan he had prepared for his second martial soul included another opportunity. If Zhu Zhuqing obtained it, perhaps her martial soul would even undergo a qualitative change.
He might as well wait another day or two before transforming his martial soul and use this opportunity to study martial soul fusion skills.
After a successful fusion, if one person's martial soul evolved, could they still form a martial soul fusion skill?
In an instant, he resumed that vacant, witless look.
The guards outside spoke again. After calling out three times in succession without receiving a response from the room, they simply pushed the door open and entered. They had long since grown accustomed to this sort of thing.
Soon, a slightly plump middle-aged man walked up to Dai Mubai, holding a little girl's hand.
This slightly plump man was Zhu Zhuqing's father, Duke Lingmao of the Star Luo Empire.
Behind him followed a soul master specially employed by the imperial family, whose skill could assess the compatibility of two people's martial souls.
"Alas!"
Duke Lingmao glanced at the vacant Dai Mubai and sighed softly.
With the third prince like this, he truly did not want his daughter to attempt martial soul fusion with him and thereby enter into an engagement.
But this was their path to survival.
Only by attaching themselves to the imperial family could they better preserve their lineage.
The imperial family's command had come down. Even knowing it was a pit of fire, they still had to jump in.
"Begin!"
Because of the foolishness Dai Mubai displayed, Duke Lingmao paid no heed to his feelings and looked directly at the man behind him to begin testing their martial soul compatibility.
Before you continue