"This Glazed Deer's attributes don't just match Lingling perfectly. Most importantly, the Auspicious Beast's Power of Destiny might grant her a special Soul Ring."
Dugu Yan grabbed Ling Yu's wrist, tightening her fingertips slightly. "I'm leaving all my future Soul Rings to you. I won't demand anything on the level of an Auspicious Beast, but top-tier ones should be doable, right?"
This was also what Ye Yilan and Su Yao were thinking. Only now did they finally understand that Ling Yu's Spiritual Appraisal was far more valuable than they had initially imagined.
"In your dreams!" Ling Yu rolled his eyes at Dugu Yan. "Let go! Men and women shouldn't touch so freely!"
"I don't care. I'm sticking to you! I want those exclusive Soul Skills with an incredibly high compatibility too!" Dugu Yan grabbed Ling Yu's arm with both hands and shook it.
"Don't say such strange things. Fine, you win. All right, all right, let go, let go." The corners of Ling Yu's mouth tugged downward slightly, and even his eyes showed that he did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"That's more like it. Don't worry. My grandfather is a Titled Douluo. He has plenty of good things."
"I'll tell him when we get back and have him reward you. You'll definitely be satisfied." Dugu Yan lifted her chin, a hint of pride in her voice.
He certainly has plenty of good things, but he can't recognize them, Ling Yu grumbled inwardly.
"Hm? What's happening to Lingling?" Ye Yilan, who had been keeping part of her attention on Ye Lingling's absorption of the Soul Ring, suddenly exclaimed.
A phantom resembling a vertical pupil slowly appeared above Ye Lingling's brows. A pale cyan glow flowed gently around it, as though a third eye had opened.
Ling Yu's pupils shifted, and a guess immediately surfaced in his mind-an External Soul Bone.
What are the conditions for an External Soul Bone to appear? A top-tier Soul Beast's strongest Soul Skill failing to merge with the Soul Master, causing it to manifest as a Soul Bone instead? Together with extreme soul fluctuations?
An External Soul Bone can be seized, and it can grow repeatedly...
This one might carry an Auspicious Beast's Power of Destiny.
Ripples stirred in Ling Yu's heart.
"Is that a Soul Bone?" The moment Dugu Yan spoke, Ye Yilan's expression abruptly changed. Her figure became a blur almost in the same instant, appearing before Ye Lingling and shielding her firmly behind her.
"Aunt Lan, what are you worried about? It's only a Thousand-Year Soul Bone. We won't fight Lingling for it. This is her opportunity." Dugu Yan's lips lifted slightly. She thought Ye Yilan was making far too much of it.
"Right, Ling Yu..." Dugu Yan turned toward Ling Yu, only to find his expression grave as he stood without a word.
Meanwhile, Su Yao was watching Ling Yu with the hint of a smile.
"Ling Yu, Senior Su Yao, what's wrong? It's just a two-thousand-year Soul Bone. What's there to care about?"
Su Yao shook her head and parted her lips. "Have you ever heard of an eye-shaped Soul Bone?"
Hearing this, Ling Yu sighed inwardly. She really does know what that might be...
Ye Yilan's expression changed as well. She had not previously realized just what it was.
But Su Yao's words, along with Ling Yu's grave expression, undoubtedly indicated that the eye on Ye Lingling's forehead was beyond price.
"Please, neither of you entertain any designs on Lingling's Soul Bone. Everyone knows that a Soul Ring and Soul Bone produced by the same Soul Beast can only display their greatest potential when held by one person. Afterward, our Ye Family will certainly provide sufficient compensation." Ye Yilan bowed slightly. She knew she could not stop Su Yao from leaving, so negotiation was her only option.
"Its value isn't that low. Even your entire Ye Family might not be able to afford it," Su Yao said softly.
Dugu Yan's and Ye Yilan's pupils shifted. From their time together over the past few days, they both knew Su Yao was not someone who made extravagant, exaggerated claims.
"What exactly is it?" Unable to hold back, Dugu Yan tugged at Ling Yu's arm, seeking an answer.
"It's an External Soul Bone. Before it fuses completely, it can be seized. Most importantly-it can evolve. Especially a Soul Bone from an Auspicious Beast like this one, which may well carry the Power of Fortune. There's no telling how to calculate its value anymore." Ling Yu sighed helplessly, worry still lingering between his brows.
Dugu Yan and Ye Yilan froze. Ye Yilan in particular was filled with terror. If word of something like this spread, it could even bring about the Ye Family's destruction.
Why did it have to appear on Lingling... The Ye Family could fall in an instant. I wonder if it can be removed... Thoughts churned through Ye Yilan's mind.
"How would we remove it?" Ye Yilan gritted her teeth and asked quietly.
"Removing an eye-shaped External Soul Bone could damage the brain..." Ling Yu sighed and shook his head.
"Then doesn't that leave Lingling with no way to survive?" Ye Yilan's eyes abruptly became bloodshot, resentment surging in their depths. Even her fingertips trembled slightly.
A Soul Hunting trip that should have ended perfectly had suddenly become a life-and-death struggle between companions. If things truly reached that point, she would protect Ye Lingling even at the cost of her own life.
"Lingling is my good friend. I won't say a word, and I'm willing to swear on my Martial Soul." Dugu Yan's expression turned solemn. Her usual lightheartedness faded from her brows, replaced with gravity, and she looked earnestly at Ling Yu.
"Could you let Senior Su Yao and me speak alone for a moment?" Ling Yu furrowed his brows and sighed.
"There's no need, Xiao Yu. Whatever you choose, I'll choose the same. I've also guessed what you'll do." Su Yao smiled faintly. After spending so long together, she had long since learned Ling Yu's character, and she knew what choice he would make in this situation.
I'm sorry, Young Master. I'll atone to you another day. Su Yao's heart sank.
"Thank you, Senior Su Yao."
"I, Ling Yu, swear on my Martial Soul that I will never reveal what happened today," Ling Yu said solemnly.
"I, Dugu Yan, swear on my Martial Soul that I will never reveal what happened today." Dugu Yan's face was serious as well.
"I, Su Yao..."
"I, Ye Yilan..."
Only after everyone had made their Martial Soul Oaths did the atmosphere ease somewhat.
"Lingling is so lucky," Dugu Yan exclaimed. Then she looked at Ling Yu as though saying, "Get me one too?"
"How could I? Do you think those things are cabbages? They're even rarer than Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts." Ling Yu saw what she meant and bluntly grumbled.
"Hmph..." Dugu Yan turned her head away, looking indignant.
"Thank you, all three of you, for allowing this. Once we return, our Ye Family will certainly reward you generously." Ye Yilan bowed deeply and earnestly in a formal gesture of respect. She knew that the Ye Family might not be able to offer a matching reward, but they could not simply do nothing.
She was also delighted that Ye Lingling had met such good friends. Soul Bones were known as "Blood River Treasures," after all, and this was an External Soul Bone, the very highest tier among them. Even blood relatives killing one another over it would be no surprise, yet the three people before her had chosen to keep the secret with Martial Soul Oaths.
"It's fine. After you return, make sure to use suitable Soul Power pressure on it frequently to help it fuse as soon as possible," Ling Yu reminded her.
Hearing this, Ye Yilan looked at Ling Yu's face and found him increasingly pleasing to the eye.
A little while later, Ye Lingling's presence suddenly rippled, and she opened her eyes.
Dugu Yan immediately ran over to her and stared at her forehead.
"What's wrong, Yanyan?" Ye Lingling was taken aback.
"Don't you... feel something on your forehead?" Dugu Yan pointed at it.