That evening.
Drenched in sweat, Toji returned to the old spot in the sect.
"Ready?"
Du Busi looked at Toji's young, healthy, and powerful body and felt genuine envy.
Once upon a time, he had been just like Toji when he was young. Who hadn't had an eight-pack?
He was full of the scent of youth and vigor.
Unfortunately, he was old now.
"Ready."
Toji nodded and took a Soul Bone radiating dark gold light from inside his clothes.
The Soul Bone was shaped like a palm, its surface covered in intricate patterns, with a faint, violent presence seeping from it.
This was the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Right Palm Bone that Toji had yet to absorb.
The presence radiating from the Soul Bone alone made Toji's expression shift slightly. The pressure was greater than when he had faced the city lord, whose cultivation was at the Soul Douluo level.
Was this the Soul Bone that even a Soul Saint couldn't absorb?
Du Busi's tone was grave. "The power contained in this Soul Bone is extremely violent. The slightest mistake, and it will turn on the person absorbing it."
"Even with me guarding you, I can't guarantee that you'll absorb it in complete safety."
"If something goes wrong, I'll forcibly draw the energy out of the Soul Bone. At least that should save your right hand."
Toji studied the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Right Palm Bone.
The power of this Soul Bone far surpassed that of any Soul Bone he had absorbed before, but it was precisely this challenge that set his blood boiling.
He took a deep breath, then sat down cross-legged and placed the Soul Bone on his right palm.
Seeing this, Du Busi said no more. He simply stood to the side, silently guarding Toji.
The process ahead would be exceptionally dangerous. The slightest mistake could cause Toji's body to collapse.
Toji closed his eyes and began circulating the Qi and blood in his body, starting to absorb the Soul Bone.
Guided by his Qi and blood, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Right Palm Bone gradually emitted a dazzling light, then transformed into a stream of dark gold energy that slowly merged into Toji's right palm.
The instant the Soul Bone's energy merged with him, Toji's body jolted violently, and a surge of savage energy swept through him.
His right palm felt as though it were being sliced by countless sharp blades. The intense pain nearly made him cry out.
Fortunately, his years of experience enduring pressure allowed him to forcibly suppress the urge to cry out. He merely let out a muffled grunt, his brow tightly furrowed.
"Hold on!" Du Busi's voice rang out beside Toji's ear. "The Soul Bone's power is transforming your body. If you give up, you'll be completely devoured by it."
"The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's pressure still lingers in this Soul Bone. Hang in there."
Toji clenched his teeth so hard he nearly shattered them. His body trembled incessantly, but he remained seated cross-legged.
Inside his right arm, the violent energy rampaged through his body, as though it meant to tear him to pieces.
Agonizing pain wracked his entire body, especially his right arm, which felt as if countless ants were tearing at it, both itching and hurting.
The pain pierced to his very marrow, making every cell in his body tremble.
He could clearly feel the muscles in his right arm swelling and twisting under the impact of the Soul Bone's energy. His blood vessels seemed unable to withstand the power and burst one after another. Dark gold blood mixed with energy seeped out from beneath his skin, forming streaks of blood that were horrifying to behold.
Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled steadily down his forehead and, together with the blood, stained his clothes red. He felt as though his body had reached its limit and could collapse at any moment.
Even the physical toughness he was most confident in showed signs of being unable to hold out.
Fortunately, counting this time, there had been at least dozens of occasions when his body had been pushed to its limit and he had been placed in mortal danger.
So Toji quickly adapted.
Watching Toji silently endure the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's presence washing over him without making a sound, Du Busi remained silent as well. He simply stayed alert, keeping his eyes on Toji.
At the slightest sign of anything wrong, Du Busi would immediately step in to help him.
But Toji's performance had already surpassed Du Busi's expectations.
His mouth fell slightly open as he watched Toji, whose meridians were all close to breaking. Toji merely frowned, neither crying nor making a fuss, and showed no sign of being unable to endure it.
This was a superlative Soul Bone that would cause even a Soul Saint's body to collapse upon absorbing it.
Toji was only fourteen, yet his willpower surpassed that of most people.
He really had put in tremendous effort to cultivate to level thirty-nine all on his own.
It wasn't frightening when someone had great talent; what was frightening was when a naturally gifted genius also worked harder than ordinary people.
Toji was exactly that kind of person.
If his Martial Soul had the normal cultivation speed of an ordinary Soul Master's and he possessed Soul Power, Du Busi truly couldn't imagine how great Toji's achievements would be by now.
Shrek probably would have recruited him long ago.
"Impressive, kid. By the look of things, you probably won't need my help."
Du Busi spoke in heartfelt admiration.
After an unknown amount of time, Toji felt the pain in his right arm ease slightly. The violent energy seemed to have found an outlet and began flowing slowly along his meridians.
Toji's heart leaped with joy.
Was it finally going to end?
Thanks to Toji's perseverance, the violent energy was gradually suppressed, and the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's pressure slowly dissipated as well.
Toji slowly opened his eyes and saw that his right arm was completely enveloped in a layer of dark gold energy, radiating a powerful presence.
His entire right hand, in particular, bore five incomparably sharp dark gold claws that gleamed with a chilling light, so sharp that even Toji could hardly look straight at them.
"I did it..."
Toji let out a long breath and collapsed limply to the ground. The sweat pouring from his body had long since mixed with his blood, making the two impossible to distinguish.
He had finally succeeded in absorbing the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Right Palm Bone that even a Soul Saint could not absorb.
Seeing this, Du Busi smiled with relief.
"Well done. This Soul Bone is worth far more than you imagine. It's definitely not much inferior to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. Make good use of it, and you're bound to become a powerhouse of your generation."
Toji managed a smile.
He immediately pulled out the crystal ball to check his cultivation.
Soon, the crystal ball showed that his current cultivation was...
Level forty-two.
The result made the corners of Toji's mouth twitch violently, and his eyes nearly popped out.
"I only went up one level?"
He had endured so much pain, nearly as much as during his previous breakthrough at the brink of life and death-indeed, it had been far more painful.
Such an enormous amount of energy had washed through his body, replacing his bones one by one. His meridians had all broken, and a full ninety percent of his Qi and blood had been consumed.
And he had only gone up one level!
Toji's eyes nearly split open with rage. He wanted nothing more than to pull the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Right Palm Bone back out of his hand and thoroughly humiliate it.
For example, by throwing it into a latrine and feeding it shit.
When others absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, they gained at least two levels, often more. A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone was even more outrageous, granting at least three or four levels, if not more.
Yet after absorbing such a superb Soul Bone, he had only gained one level!
"Calm down, calm down." Du Busi was sweating. Though it was rare to see Toji lose his composure, he still restrained Toji, who was somewhat out of control.
"Don't forget, the path you're on is difficult to cultivate in the first place. It took you five years to go from level thirty to level forty, and your cultivation will only get slower from here."
"But think of the benefits. There are plenty. For example, even though you're only level forty-two now, your actual combat strength is definitely not much worse than a level sixty-five Soul Emperor's."
"That proves you've built a very solid foundation."
In a fit of anger, Toji got angry for a moment, then sighed, somewhat relieved.
Forget it. He was taking a path of body cultivation unprecedented on the Douluo Continent. He really couldn't blame anyone for his slow progress.
"Sigh, I can already imagine how long it'll take me to reach level fifty..."
Toji shook his head and soon let himself off the hook.
"You brat, you're still not satisfied." Du Busi was speechless. "With your current loadout... I can guarantee that, across the entire Douluo Continent, no one under twenty is a match for you."
"No, even those under twenty-five would most likely be unable to beat you. Even if they could, they wouldn't be able to escape your assassination."
"You brat, you're simply a born assassin. Aren't you satisfied even after absorbing this Right Arm Soul Bone?"