"Your Martial Soul can do that too? It lets you absorb Soul Rings beyond your level?"
Wasn't that outrageous?
It was indeed a little outrageous, but the facts lay before Bone Douluo, leaving him no choice but to believe them.
He even checked Gu Yang's body over and over, and everything was indeed normal.
Only then did Bone Douluo finally set his mind completely at ease.
Now that Gu Yang had absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring beyond his level, the focus ought to be on his Soul Skill.
"Brat, what's your first Soul Skill?"
Gu Yang's lips curved into a grin. "Grandpa, my first Soul Skill is called Bone Armor! Bones for armor!"
More words were useless.
Time to show it!
Gu Yang curled his hands slightly, and the Soul Power within him stirred in an instant. The next moment, white bones sprouted wildly outward from his body, forming a semi-humanoid skeleton that sheltered him within, rather like the way the Bone Dragon Martial Soul protected Bone Douluo.
The stark white bones looked fragile, but Bone Douluo could sense their considerable defensive strength.
With the enhancement of his First Soul Ring, Gu Yang's bone strength had already doubled. With this additional semi-humanoid skeleton, his means of defense and survival were outstanding indeed.
"Grandpa, what do you think of my Bone Armor? Absolute defense in all directions, a full three hundred and sixty degrees!"
"Tch! Absolute defense? What about attacks from beneath your feet? Can you block those?"
Bone Douluo lightly tapped the ground with his foot. Afraid Gu Yang would grow conceited, he hurriedly doused him with a bucket of cold water to cool him down.
Despite his words, Bone Douluo did not deny the practicality of Gu Yang's first Soul Skill.
"Then your Soul Power Level now is..."
"Sixteen!"
"As expected of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. That makes sense!"
"It looks like you'll be able to try obtaining your second Soul Ring before long!"
His first Soul Ring was already an unconventional thousand-year one, so Gu Yang's second Soul Ring...
Bone Douluo was gradually beginning to look forward to it.
"Since you've obtained your First Soul Ring, we should head back."
"All right."
Bone Douluo picked Gu Yang up. Soul Power surged, and he immediately became a dragon rider, taking Gu Yang flying toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
As one of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's two guardian deities, Bone Douluo had few restrictions to worry about.
He took Gu Yang straight to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's council hall.
Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo were still discussing something there. Seeing Bone Douluo return with Gu Yang, they immediately looked over, their gazes then shifting from Bone Douluo to Gu Yang.
"Uncle Gu, you're back. It looks like this trip to hunt for his First Soul Ring went smoothly."
Bone Douluo nodded.
"Yes, the whole process went fairly smoothly indeed, and this brat Gu Yang found a suitable Soul Beast. Fengzhi, Old Jian, guess how old Gu Yang's Soul Beast was this time?"
As he spoke, Bone Douluo shot Sword Douluo beside him a smug glance.
A hint of disdain appeared at the corner of Sword Douluo's mouth.
"Hmph, what's there to be so pleased about? Gu Yang has never lacked physical training. His absorption limit might have risen, but it would still only be around five hundred years!"
A thoughtful look flashed through Ning Fengzhi's eyes.
"Since you ask, Uncle Gu, could Gu Yang's First Soul Ring have exceeded the age limit? Was it six hundred years? Or perhaps seven hundred?"
Even as he said this, Ning Fengzhi was somewhat uncertain. After all, absorbing an over-age Soul Ring could easily cause one's body to explode and result in death. Even with Bone Douluo standing guard, a failed absorption would have extremely serious consequences for a Soul Master.
Bone Douluo was steadier and more cautious than Sword Douluo. He should not have let Gu Yang take such a risk.
Yet a strange smile appeared on Bone Douluo's face.
"Brat, hurry up and tell Fengzhi and Old Jian how old the Soul Beast you absorbed this time was."
Gu Yang gave Bone Douluo a somewhat helpless look. He had clearly been worried and shaken by Gu Yang's absorption beyond his level earlier, yet now he was showing off even more than Gu Yang himself.
Bone Douluo and Sword Douluo had competed their entire lives, always looking to put the other down and poke fun at him.
But since Bone Douluo had spoken, Gu Yang did not want to spoil the old man's fun.
"Sect Master, Grandpa Jian, my First Soul Ring came from a King Kong Baboon over sixteen hundred years old."
"Six hundred years... so it was an absorption beyond your..."
"Wait, how many years did you say?"
"Sixteen hundred years?!"
At Gu Yang's words, Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo cried out in surprise at the same time. That was already the age of a normal Soul Master's Third Soul Ring or even Fourth Soul Ring, yet for Gu Yang, it was his First Soul Ring.
Absurd!
After this, Ning Fengzhi's assessment of Gu Yang undoubtedly rose several more notches.
If Ning Fengzhi had previously expected Gu Yang to become a Titled Douluo, now his expectations seemed to have reached the level of a Super Douluo above rank ninety-five.
"Uncle Gu, it's good that Gu Yang absorbed a ring beyond his level, but you really were rash in this matter."
Hearing Ning Fengzhi's words, Bone Douluo still felt lingering fear. In the end, Gu Yang spoke up to explain.
After hearing Gu Yang's explanation, surprise undoubtedly appeared in Ning Fengzhi's and Sword Douluo's eyes once more.
If what Gu Yang said was true, wouldn't he be able to absorb all his subsequent Soul Rings beyond his level?
If every ring exceeded his level, wouldn't his eventual combat strength surpass others by far?
Unless they had Twin Martial Souls, Soul Masters with a single Martial Soul would probably have little advantage over Gu Yang.
And how many people on the entire continent possessed Twin Martial Souls?
"A King Kong Baboon? So your First Soul Ring really is defensive, Gu Yang?"
Gu Yang nodded.
Seeing Sword Douluo's interest, Bone Douluo immediately said, "Brat, isn't Old Jian hailed as unrivaled in offense, the world's number one Power Attack System Soul Master? Why not let him test your First Soul Skill?"
At this, Gu Yang looked toward Sword Douluo. After receiving his nod of approval, a purple Soul Ring immediately emerged beneath his feet, and he unleashed his first Soul Skill.
Although they already knew the age of Gu Yang's First Soul Ring, actually seeing it was still quite a striking sight.
The semi-humanoid skeleton encased Gu Yang, radiating a weighty solidity as firm as rock.
As a rank ninety-six Power Attack System Titled Douluo, Sword Douluo's control over his strength had long since reached the point of pure perfection. He was just the person to test exactly how much defense Gu Yang's first Soul Skill provided.
Only by knowing the effects of his own Soul Skills inside out could he achieve twice the results with half the effort against future enemies.
Although Sword Douluo had agreed to test Gu Yang's skill, he had his own particular pride.
"Kid, I'll suppress my strength to the same level as yours. Rank sixteen Soul Power."
As he spoke, Sword Douluo turned his whole body into a sword. Immediately afterward, a strand of sword Qi shot out, stabbing straight at Gu Yang.
Bang!
With that single strike, the sword Qi vanished without a trace.
The bone armor around Gu Yang remained completely intact.
At this sight, even Sword Douluo could no longer save face.
Damn it, he had sworn so confidently that he would suppress his strength, yet after one sword strike, Gu Yang was still completely unharmed.
This was so damn awkward!