Five days later.
Bibi Dong held a Soul Bone in her hand and used her Soul Power to float it over to Gui Mei.
The Soul Bone was dark green throughout, with fine patterns flowing across its surface.
"This Soul Bone is called the Rapid Advance Wind Chasing Left Leg Bone. It came from a thirty-thousand-year-old Wind Demon Tiger."
"It's around thirty thousand years old, and suitable for an Agility Attack System Soul Master to absorb."
Gui Mei accepted the Soul Bone. A rare trace of excitement appeared on his face, though his voice remained steady. "Thank you, Your Holiness."
Gui Yuan watched from the side, blinking as a thought suddenly popped into his head.
In the original story, the championship prize for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament had been three Soul Bones.
Two of them were now in his and Gui Mei's hands, respectively.
Then what would Spirit Hall offer as prizes a few years from now?
He silently worked out the timing. There were still several years before the tournament began.
Surely Bibi Dong wouldn't fish another two out of the treasury when the time came?
As Gui Yuan stood there thinking, he unconsciously let out a chuckle.
Hu Liena glanced at him and lowered her voice. "What are you laughing about?"
Gui Yuan composed his expression. "Nothing. I'm just happy for Second Dad."
Bibi Dong glanced at them, said nothing more, and turned to leave the Pope's Palace.
As the Pope of Spirit Hall, she was busy with affairs every day, and could neglect neither her cultivation nor her Divine Trial.
She had already given him his reward. Whether Gui Mei wanted to absorb it, and when he intended to do so, was his own business.
"Old Ghost," Yue Guan said with a smile, "why not absorb it now? I'll keep watch beside you."
Gui Mei nodded.
This was the first time he had been awarded a Soul Bone in all his years since joining Spirit Hall.
He already had a ten-thousand-year right leg bone, which he had been lucky enough to come across while hunting Soul Beasts in his early years.
But that one fell considerably short of the one before him.
Gui Mei sat cross-legged, placed the Wind Chasing Left Leg Bone against his left leg, and began absorbing it.
Yue Guan quietly stood guard beside him.
As Hu Liena watched Gui Mei absorbing the Soul Bone, a hint of tenderness appeared in her eyes.
Grandpa Chrysanthemum and Grandpa Ghost both treated her extremely well, and she remembered it all.
"It's so nice to see Grandpa Ghost like this..." she murmured.
Gui Yuan nodded and was about to agree when another thought popped into his head.
He turned toward Hu Liena, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Sister Nana, a question just occurred to me."
Hu Liena blinked. "What question?"
Gui Yuan grinned mischievously. "Look, you call both my First Dad and Second Dad Grandpa. So in terms of seniority, I seem to be a generation above you."
"Shouldn't you call me Da-"
Before he could finish, Hu Liena had already swiftly clapped a hand over his mouth.
She covered his mouth with one hand and pressed the other against the back of his head, her movements fast and precise.
"You're dead if you dare say it!" Hu Liena's face flushed slightly as she glared at him and kept her voice low. "I'm your senior sister!"
Gui Yuan blinked at her, conveying: We can each use our own terms. You call me Dad, and I'll call you Senior Sister.
Hu Liena read the words in his eyes and gritted her teeth. "I know what you're thinking. Don't even think about it!"
Yue Guan, who was keeping watch over Gui Mei nearby, listened to their bickering, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
He chuckled inwardly. How did that brat Gui Yuan have the nerve to say it?
He really was such a straight guy, actually wanting his own senior sister to call him...
Still, Yue Guan could tell that Gui Yuan was merely being mischievous and slyly teasing Hu Liena. He did not really have that idea, just as Yue Guan himself would bicker with Gui Mei in their daily lives.
An hour later.
The dark green glow around Gui Mei completely receded.
He slowly opened his eyes, stood up, and stretched his body.
Yue Guan came closer. "How was it? Are you satisfied with the Soul Bone Skill?"
Gui Mei sensed it for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Not bad. The Soul Bone Skill is called Ghost Shadow Wind Chasing Slash."
As he spoke, a flash of dark green light suddenly emerged from his left leg.
The next second, his figure vanished from where he stood.
His voice came from beside a corridor pillar ten meters away. "Once activated, it increases speed by one hundred percent. I instantly turn into a black afterimage and deal slashing damage to the target."
"During the instantaneous movement, I'm in a state similar to 'Void.'"
Yue Guan chuckled. "Pretty good. But Old Ghost, the nature of your Martial Soul already puts you in a state where physical attacks can't hurt you."
Gui Mei nodded. "That's right, so this Soul Bone is an enhanced version of my own ability."
"It works against energy attacks as well. If I can master its use, it could even serve as a life-saving Soul Skill."
With his wealth of experience, he had recognized the value of this Soul Bone Skill at a glance.
The so-called void state granted immunity to physical attacks and reduced energy damage.
Just like Xiao Wu's innate Soul Skill, "Void," which rendered physical attacks completely ineffective and halved energy damage.
However, Gui Mei's Soul Bone was only thirty thousand years old, so it could probably only reduce energy damage by about twenty percent. But that was enough.
Ten days later.
The anniversary of Yue Guan's older sister's death arrived.
Early in the morning, the sky was slightly overcast, with clouds hanging low.
In the hills behind Spirit City, there was a gentle slope surrounded by pine woods, its easy incline covered in wildflowers.
A path paved with blue stone slabs wound through the woods. Soft moss grew in the cracks between the stones, feeling slightly spongy underfoot.
Birdsong drifted intermittently from the woods.
Yue Guan had changed into a plain-colored robe and was much quieter than usual.
Gui Mei, meanwhile, still wore his usual black robe.
Gui Yuan walked behind them, dressed in simple, neat white clothes and clutching a golden-yellow chrysanthemum.
After they walked uphill along the stone path for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the view suddenly opened up, and they arrived at a grassy clearing.
A stone memorial stood in the very center of the clearing. It was made of pale gray granite, polished smooth and even, with rounded edges and corners.
There were no weeds before it. Someone clearly tended it regularly.
Yue Guan stopped before the memorial and lowered his head to look at it, remaining silent for a long time.
He said nothing, merely bending down to gently place the chrysanthemum in his hand before the memorial.
Gui Mei and Gui Yuan followed him forward, each setting down a flower before stepping back half a pace.
The wind passed through the pine woods, carrying the crisp fragrance of grass and trees as it brushed the hems of their clothes.
The three of them simply stood there in silence, gazing at the few lines inscribed on the memorial.
Yue Guan kept his eyes lowered. His usual teasing and flamboyance had vanished, and he was so quiet that he seemed like a different person.
Gui Mei stood beside him, his right hand resting lightly against Yue Guan's back, applying no pressure, merely maintaining contact.
It was a silent form of support.
After a long while, Yue Guan finally spoke, his voice very soft. "Sis, I've come to see you."
"Old Ghost and I are both doing well, and Xiao Yuan has grown up too. Over there... don't worry about us."
After speaking, he bowed deeply. Gui Mei and Gui Yuan bent forward to pay their respects as well.
Once they straightened up, the three of them stood quietly before the memorial for a while longer.
The wind gradually picked up, and the leaves of the osmanthus trees rustled louder, as though responding to something.
A moment later, Yue Guan raised his head, took a deep breath, and turned around, forcing a smile onto his face. "Let's go."