External Soul Bone: Concealed Edge

Xiao Wu gave a soft cry, her entire body like a supple spring.

Using the point where her knees met Lin Yang's abdomen as support, she bent sharply backward to the limit, instantly forming a taut bow.

Whoosh-!

An even stronger tensile force instantly acted on Lin Yang.

His trajectory, which had begun to dip, abruptly changed direction, sending him safely to the opposite bank.

Thud!

With a muffled grunt, Lin Yang planted his feet firmly on the solid ground across the ravine.

But Xiao Wu, who had served as the fulcrum, gradually fell into the bottomless mountain ravine like a drifting leaf.

A powerful sense of weightlessness suddenly gripped her heart. Xiao Wu stared fixedly at Lin Yang, without regret, only faint wistfulness.

She did not know why she had made that choice. By the time she realized it, she had already acted instinctively.

Still, this was fine. She could consider it her thanks for his saving her.

Xiao Wu slowly spread her arms, ready to meet her death.

Just then, she suddenly felt something wrap around her waist.

Then a powerful force surged forth, like a pair of invisible hands, pulling her out of the abyss.

When Xiao Wu opened her eyes again, what she saw was that familiar face.

"You..."

Xiao Wu's mind went blank for a moment.

What... just happened?

Lin Yang smiled. "Nice teamwork, but I haven't fallen so low that I need to sacrifice a girl to save my own life!"

Xiao Wu's face instantly flushed scarlet, like a kettle of boiling water, bubbling and steaming.

She instantly realized that her seemingly "selfless" act had been nothing short of taking off her pants to fart-utterly unnecessary.

Lin Yang had already planned his escape. Where was there any need for her to put on a show of laying down her life for a righteous cause?

But she certainly could not say that, so she could only stubbornly argue,

"I... I knew that. I was just making things a little safer."

"So that's how it was!"

A look of understanding appeared on Lin Yang's face.

"Then it seems I was overthinking things. When are you planning to get off me?"

Only when he said that did Xiao Wu suddenly realize that Lin Yang was carrying her in his arms.

Then, like a startled little rabbit, she swiftly wriggled free of his arms and hopped aside.

Lin Yang smiled, then turned his gaze toward the Gengjin Sword Bamboo nearby.

At that moment, a deep purple Soul Ring floated slowly above the sword bamboo, giving off gentle fluctuations of Soul Power.

Xiao Wu gave the Soul Ring a complicated look, then asked with a hint of worry,

"Are you sure you want a five-thousand-year Soul Ring for your second Soul Ring?"

A five-thousand-year Soul Ring could already serve as an ordinary Soul Master's fourth Soul Ring.

Yet Lin Yang was absorbing a five-thousand-year Soul Ring as his second.

This was no longer a question of courage. This was suicide!

"Yes." Lin Yang nodded.

"There happen to be no other Soul Beasts nearby. Stand guard for me."

With that, Lin Yang sat cross-legged on the ground.

The Nichirin Blade appeared in his hand, and he used his Soul Power to draw the Soul Ring over, settling it securely around the blade.

In an instant, a vast surge of energy flooded into his body like water through opened floodgates, rampaging wildly as though impatient to burst his body apart.

But Lin Yang was already thoroughly familiar with handling this situation.

He immediately circulated the Great Sun Meditation Method, refining the Soul Ring while channeling all the overflowing energy into his Demon God Body Martial Soul.

And so Xiao Wu, standing guard nearby, witnessed a peculiar sight.

Two more purple Soul Rings actually appeared beneath Lin Yang as he absorbed the Soul Ring, slowly revolving around him.

The Soul Power fluctuations from the Soul Rings steadily strengthened as time passed.

Xiao Wu's eyes widened, shock written across her face.

Two Thousand-Year Soul Rings?

How could that be...

She soon understood. The Yellow Soul Ring she had seen before had merely been a disguise. This was his true Soul Ring configuration.

This guy... did he really come from an ordinary commoner family?

Not only did he have Twin Martial Souls, but the Soul Rings attached to each Martial Soul also exceeded the usual age limits.

Was this the secret he was hiding?

So that was it. No wonder he was so strong that even a Soul King was no match for him.

Yet he was clearly only a year older than her.

As time trickled by, night gradually fell, and the fierce winds on the cliff grew colder. Even Xiao Wu had to use her Soul Power to resist the howling chill.

She glanced at the sky, then looked at Lin Yang with a hint of worry.

Lin Yang was taking far too long to absorb the Soul Ring, but the Soul Power within him remained extremely steady, showing no sign of anything being wrong.

Pouting, Xiao Wu could only remain at his side, diligently keeping watch.

Before long, the purple Soul Ring enveloping his Martial Soul abruptly contracted, then swiftly reappeared, circling Lin Yang alongside the Yellow Soul Ring.

Lin Yang opened his eyes and rose to his feet, sending out Soul Power fluctuations even more powerful than before.

His Soul Power level had reached twenty-seven.

The Nichirin Blade Martial Soul's second Soul Skill: Armor Break.

It ignored seventy percent of physical defense and fifty percent of energy defense. With each level gained, the enhancement increased by one percent.

With this Soul Skill, Lin Yang had the confidence to face even higher-level Soul Masters head-on.

In addition, his Demon God Body Martial Soul's first Soul Ring had increased to three thousand years, and its second Soul Ring had increased to five thousand five hundred years.

The improvement fell far short of what he had gained from absorbing the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

But that was normal. This was only a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, after all.

Of course, Lin Yang's greatest gain this time was none of these things, but...

Lin Yang summoned Crimson Interval again. A strange layer of bone now covered the long, sharp Nichirin Blade.

It was black throughout, with natural dark-gold markings, fitting every inch of the blade's curves perfectly as though it were alive.

Xiao Wu also leaned closer curiously. After staring at the bony membrane for a few seconds, she suddenly frowned and blurted out,

"An external Soul Bone?"

Indeed, even Lin Yang himself was surprised.

When he absorbed the Gengjin Sword Bamboo's Soul Ring, he had actually obtained an external Soul Bone.

And it happened to be a sheath-type external Soul Bone, exceptionally well suited to his Nichirin Blade Martial Soul.

External Soul Bone: Concealed Edge!

Its ability was very simple: it could store one full-power strike from its user and release it all at once with a drawing motion when needed.

Most importantly, this process required no additional Soul Power.

In other words, Lin Yang had gained another means of unleashing his full strength, without having to pay any extra price.

At a moment of life and death, this was undoubtedly a trump card capable of turning the tables.

Xiao Wu curled her lips. "What a load of dog-shit luck. You even managed to stumble across an external Soul Bone."

"Luck is part of strength, too."

Lin Yang gently stroked Concealed Edge, his delight plain on his face.

Xiao Wu gave a soft huff, then reminded him solemnly,

"You'd better not let anyone else see it. Once word gets out, it won't just be Soul Kings wanting to kill you and take your bone."

An external Soul Bone ranked second only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. Even a Titled Douluo would find that temptation hard to resist.

At this thought, Lin Yang gave a helpless smile.

He had far more than this external Soul Bone on him. He also had a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone and the Blue Silver Emperor.

It was easy to imagine that once word leaked out, the continent's strongest experts would probably all stir at the news and come to fight over them, whatever the cost.

This had nothing to do with right or wrong. It was simply the strong devouring the weak.

Seen that way, his current situation was not much different from that of the rabbit beside him.

So, until he had completely fused with the Soul Bone, he had best refrain from displaying his Nichirin Blade Martial Soul before others.

If he had no other choice, he could only make sure everyone kept their mouths shut.