Soul Bones Recognize Only Compatibility

The following morning, the champion's prize was moved back to the college's small judging room.

Two people from the Education Commission stood outside the door. Inside, besides Qin Ming, the nine team members, and Ye Lingling, there were only two appraisers. One was skilled in identifying Soul Bone patterns, and the other specialized in assessing absorption risks. Before opening the box, they had everyone confirm the seal.

Yu Feng stared at the three boxes. "I've heard people say that Soul Bone are precious, but seeing them arranged like this today, they look like three medals about to be awarded."

"You can hang medals on the wall," Dugu Yan said, "But it's not as simple as just putting them on your person."

The first thing to be opened was the skull. The box had a restrained luster, and the surface had fine, light silver patterns. The appraiser did not ask anyone to bring it close to the forehead, but only used controlled instruments to observe the fluctuations in Mental Attribute.

"The record is called the Spirit Skull of Wisdom Condensation," the elder said. "The name comes from a preliminary assessment in the past; the specific year, origin, and applicable details still need to be verified. Just because we see the word 'wisdom' doesn't mean anyone who absorbs it will become intelligent."

Dong Jian asked, "Will it strengthen the spiritual burden?"

"It may be related to perception and mental focus, but its specific effects cannot be guaranteed based on appearance alone. If any of you have recently experienced mental instability, you should definitely not use it as a recovery medication."

Upon hearing this, Li Man voluntarily handed over her recent records. She was still fatigued from controlling the array for too long after the Spirit Hall finals, and last night she only tried to condense fewer than nine array eyes for a short time.

After examining the artifact, the appraiser said, "Your Martial Soul requires high levels of mental control, making it a suitable match. However, the more you need mental control, the more careful you should be. I do not recommend directly absorbing any unknown mental-type Soul Bone for the next month."

"Write it down," Li Man said to Qin Ming. "Wait until his condition stabilizes before the fitting."

Another education committee member was about to suggest prioritizing the most core team members, but seeing that she had taken the initiative to propose restrictions, he had no choice but to stop talking.

The initial examination of the skull lasted longer than expected. The forensic examiner had everyone identify three types of information on the record sheet: directly measured fluctuations, attributes inferred from the texture, and speculations without evidence. Yu Feng, feeling a headache coming on, asked if they could just keep the conclusions. The forensic examiner put down his pen. "You all saw yesterday how misleading information from the arena can be. Today, with your own bodies at stake, you shouldn't be writing down speculations as certainties."

Ye Lingling noticed a jump in the observation device's reading and first checked whether the instrument was swaying due to airflow when the door was opened. After inspection, she found that the instrument support was indeed loose, not that the skull was emitting a new, strong mental wave. Dong Jian helped stabilize the base and did not use his Earth Vein Perception to give an arbitrary assessment.

Li Man noted down this brief incident. She always relied on the status feedback from the array core, and she knew best that there were many steps between reading a signal and understanding its source. The experts continued only after the instruments were calibrated. The fastest possible allocation result that the academy wanted had to be delayed by another half an hour.

The second box contained a leg bone, long and slender, with patterns of light gold and pale blue. Yu Feng sat up straight, and Osler also removed his hands from his knees.

The appraiser said, "It clearly has a tendency towards speed-based attributes. Whether it's bursts of speed, sustained movement, or complex turns depends on the route it takes. These types vary greatly."

"Can it be used for flying?" Yu Feng asked.

"You rely on your wings for lift. Leg bones may help with takeoff, landing, and turning, but they can also cause asynchrony in your movements. Who told you that a single leg bone can increase flight speed?"

Yu Feng felt a little embarrassed by what he was being said, "I didn't say I could definitely do it."

Osler asked a more practical question, "What about continuous ground pursuit?"

"It also depends on how much impact your joints can withstand. Being fast in a straight line doesn't necessarily mean you can keep turning. Whether you can stop after catching up with your target is also a matter of suitability."

Qin Ming sent the two players' training records to them separately. Yu Feng's wing roots and ankle joints were under too much strain after high-intensity flight; Osler had just suffered a leg strain in the finals. The experts immediately rejected the suggestion that the two should try to access their Soul Power.

The assessors also asked them to submit their recovery time after each significant overload in the past three months. Yu Feng thought for a moment and realized that he only remembered the most successful flights; Osler, on the other hand, treated the soreness in his legs after training as a normal occurrence and never wrote it down separately. Ye Lingling found the existing examination records in the infirmary and marked which were symptoms that had actually occurred and which were just subjective feelings during training.

After seeing the two records, Dong Jian volunteered that he had also attributed the soreness and numbness in his back to "it will get better with time," which almost affected his positioning the next day. Only after hearing this did Yu Feng seriously write down his plan for the next take-off and landing. No one used the rumor of a Soul Bone as a test result anymore.

"First, assess the patient's physical condition. If they don't pass this test, no matter how suitable the bones are, you can't touch them."

The third box was opened, and the temperature was slightly higher than the room temperature. The red and gold patterns on the surface extended to the humerus, showing a clear tendency towards fire.

Just as Shi Mo was about to get closer, Dugu Yan pulled him back. "Don't stick your face out."

The senior appraiser took out an insulation panel and, after confirming there was no further risk of leakage, continued, "A flame-type arm bone; its exact age still needs verification. Does anyone in your team have a fire-based attribute?"

No one answered.

Yu Tianheng possesses lightning attributes. Dugu Yan's poison sac is limited by its compatibility with poison. Although Dong Jian's Force of Black and White has undergone Ice and Fire Body Tempering, he cannot consider a piece of fire arm bone as a natural fit. The Shi Brothers are more focused on load-bearing and defense, while Ye Lingling is primarily focused on healing.

Dong Jian laughed and said, "I've been to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well before, so it turns out you can't just put everything hot inside."

Li Man looked at him and said, "If you dare to try it with this excuse, I'll tell Senior Dugu first."

"I haven't touched it yet."

"It's easier to explain clearly."

The education committee members looked at the Fire Arm Bone with obvious regret. "If such a reward is kept sealed away, won't people outside think the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy doesn't know how to use it?"

Yu Tianheng replied, "If it's not suitable, then ban it first. Losing face is better than ruining a team member's career."

The other party said, "But most of the champion team members have very high Soul Power; they might not be unable to withstand it."

Ye Lingling finally spoke, "Being able to withstand power doesn't mean your meridians and attributes are compatible. I've seen injured people stubbornly endure it while healing others, only to lose their original abilities in the end."

The forensic expert signed the record, acknowledging her assessment. The three boxes were resealed, but the contact person was still not identified.

During the midday break, Osler and Yu Feng didn't fight as usual. They sat side by side on the veranda, repeatedly reviewing the assessment form for the leg bone.

"Do you want one too?" Yu Feng asked.

"Yes," Osler answered readily.

"Me too."

"It's not like whoever shouts the loudest gets it."

Yu Feng looked up at him. "I know. That's why I didn't say 'mine' directly yesterday."

Osler folded the form neatly. "But I don't want to exclude me just because you flew far away."

"I don't want to be told that the leg bone is naturally yours just because you're a ground-based agility attacker."

The two stopped arguing. Yu Feng reached out his hand, telling Osler to hold the watch steady so it wouldn't be blown away by the wind.

Meanwhile, Dong Jian accompanied Li Man to the infirmary to retrieve her mental recovery record. After reviewing the assessment report, she wrote "Postponed" next to "Priority Candidate for Skull Bone".

"Everyone says you're suitable, so why did you write this?" Dong Jian asked.

"The body that is suitable for use now and what might be suitable for it in the future are two different things."

"Are you worried that taking it will leave you indebted to the team?"

"A little," Li Man thought for a moment, "I'm also worried that others will assume I definitely need it just because I'm the core of the network. Let's figure out the compatibility first before talking about whether we need it or not."

Dong Jian didn't try to persuade her to accept. He picked up his own form and wrote "Not applying for immediate fitting" in one of the columns.

"You don't want it?"

"My back injury hasn't healed yet. If I take on another path of Soul Power that I don't know how it will lead, and Senior Dugu sees it, I'll be the one who gets scolded."

She chuckled softly and put the two pieces of paper together.

In the afternoon, Qin Ming brought the final appraisal report to the nine people: the skull fitting for Li Man was to be assessed temporarily, the leg bones required further comparison of the load-bearing conditions of Yu Feng and Osler, and the fire arm bones were to be sealed.

"There's only a candidate list," he emphasized. "No one has been granted admission permission. There's one more thing to clarify before we really discuss attribution."

Yu Tianheng asked, "What?"

"The college wants to use the award for demonstration purposes. You nine need to clarify exactly what procedural consent rights you have."

Qin Ming spread out the three sealed documents, and there was an extra column on the corner of the table where all team members needed to sign.

There was no distinction between substitutes and starters. There were nine names, one in a row, all in the same position.