Chapter 68: The External Soul Bone of the Bear

Two soft beams of light flew out from Xia Yi's hands. Under the astonished gaze of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, its raised left claw instantly drooped limply.

"What's going on?" Wu Jin's eyes widened in shock. He had always believed that Xia Yi's first soul skill was a healing ability.

Unexpectedly, Xia Yi's first soul skill could also be used this way.

"Kill!" Although shocked by Xia Yi's ability, Wu Jin's actions didn't falter in the slightest. With his sharp lion claws, he aimed directly at the back of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's head from behind.

Seeing that both wrists of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's claws were dislocated, Wu Jin knew he had to kill it before it could regain its ability to use its dreadful claws.

Otherwise, if the bear reattached its dislocated wrists, they would have no chance at all.

Xia Yi thought the same. At the moment he unleashed Reverse Star Shift, he leapt forward, throwing a punch aimed at the bear's eyes.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear let out furious roars. Facing the deadly attacks from Xia Yi and Wu Jin from both front and back, it raised its arms. Though its claws were drooping and unable to unleash their dark gold power, its arms swung like iron whips, spinning its body to sweep at Xia Yi and Wu Jin.

With the bear's immense strength, even being hit by its arm could render someone completely incapacitated.

Yet neither Xia Yi nor Wu Jin retreated.

Giving the bear even a single moment could allow it to reset its dislocated wrists, and once that happened, they wouldn't stand a chance against its claws.

With two loud bangs, Xia Yi and Wu Jin were both sent flying by the bear's powerful arms.

Looking down at his chest, which had been struck by the bear's arm, Xia Yi saw his chest had completely caved in, with nearly all his ribs broken.

He could feel his internal organs were also severely damaged. Blood vessels had ruptured, causing blood to flow from his mouth, eyes, and nose.

Without hesitation, Xia Yi activated his first soul ring. Star Shift began repairing his injuries. While it couldn't heal everything, it would at least keep him from collapsing on the spot.

Though Xia Yi and Wu Jin were severely injured, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was in even worse shape.

As soon as Xia Yi and Wu Jin were struck, their attacks had also landed on the bear.

However, the bear's rapid turn caused Xia Yi's punch to miss its eye, and Wu Jin's lion claws failed to strike the back of its head.

Instead, their attacks simultaneously landed on its ears.

Xia Yi's strike hit its left ear. At the moment of impact, a Dark Phoenix flew from Xia Yi's arm directly into the bear's left ear.

Meanwhile, Wu Jin's claw gripped the bear's right ear. With a roar from the phantom of a giant Snow Jade Lion Emperor emerging from his fist, he smashed it into the bear.

Even as Wu Jin was flung away by the bear's arm, he held tight to the bear's ear. Using the bear's own force, he ripped off the bear's right ear along with half its face.

Even then, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear didn't die immediately. It collapsed to the ground, convulsing violently.

"Die!" With just enough recovery to walk, Xia Yi approached the bear, activating his first soul skill again, targeting both its ears.

The bear's massive body trembled violently. Its life force quickly faded, and its body disintegrated into specks of dark gold light, vanishing completely. In just moments, the bear was gone without a trace.

Unlike other soul beasts that left behind spiritual energy upon death, the bear left a dark gold skeletal fragment resembling a palm.

"A right paw bone!" Xia Yi swallowed hard, his eyes lighting up with fiery desire. He knew that while the bear's claws on both paws were deadly, the right claw was far stronger than the left.

Picking up the bone, Xia Yi turned to look at Wu Jin.

Having held tightly to the bear's ear, Wu Jin was even more severely injured than Xia Yi. If not for his higher cultivation, he would have been eliminated immediately.

"This thing can't be taken out of the Spirit Ascension Platform. Let it go. In our current state, we can't absorb a soul bone anyway," Wu Jin sighed softly. Before Xia Yi could respond, Wu Jin pressed the rescue signal, vanishing into light.

His injuries were beyond Xia Yi's healing ability, so leaving the platform was his only option.

Gazing at the bone in his hand, Xia Yi knew full well he couldn't absorb it, even at full strength. Soul bones were far more demanding than soul rings, and even a Soul Elder might struggle to fuse with the bear's right paw bone.

But leaving the bone behind was unthinkable.

"Since it's the Spirit Ascension Platform, I'll risk it!" Gritting his teeth, Xia Yi sat cross-legged. Giving up the bone was something he couldn't do.

Fusion of a soul bone was simple in theory—guide it with soul power.

As Xia Yi infused his soul power, the bone floated, its dark gold color gradually turning crystalline. The once rigid fragment softened and began to shift, taking on a gel-like consistency as it fused with Xia Yi's right hand.

At first, the bone resisted, trembling slightly as if unwilling to merge. But then a layer of dark cyan light emerged from Xia Yi's palm, enveloping the bone and pulling it in.

In an instant, the gel-like substance merged into Xia Yi's hand, leaving a faint dark gold glow that soon faded entirely.

Opening his hand, Xia Yi felt puzzled. The fusion was far quicker and smoother than he'd expected.

"Never mind!" Xia Yi clenched his fist, causing a low explosive sound in the air.

"Power increase—around 20%," Xia Yi estimated. Though his soul power was nearly exhausted, he felt the potential of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw was immense.

"It's time to leave," Xia Yi sighed, pressing the rescue signal to exit the platform.

Upon awakening, he was met with fervent gazes from everyone around him.

"You really absorbed the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's right paw bone?" Wu Jin stared at him as though he were a monster.

Not just Wu Jin—the staff of the Spirit Pagoda and the Eastsea Academy's Dean, Long Hengxu, were equally astonished.

A single-ring and a double-ring soul master had managed to kill the platform's guardian—a feat no one could believe.

For the Spirit Pagoda staff, this was a costly loss. Though a new guardian could be created if a soul bone remained, the rarity of the bone itself was another story.

In today's Douluo Continent, soul beasts were nearly extinct. Soul bones, passed down through generations, were treasures beyond measure.

Even for the Spirit Pagoda, soul bones were exceedingly rare, let alone external ones like the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's right paw bone.

(End of Chapter)