Chapter 40: Soul Hunting (III)

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One of the dominant beasts of the Sunset Forest, the Sky Dome Divine Eagle, had fallen. Over the past year, several dominant beasts of the forest—those over fifty thousand years old—had perished.

The other dominant beasts of the Sunset Forest, such as the White-Eyed Demon Tiger King and the Three-Eyed Demon Fox, had sensed this and gone into hiding, fearing discovery.

"Finally done. This big bird was slippery—if we'd been careless for even a moment, it would've escaped. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, and Flender delivered the killing blow."

Dugu Bo muttered to himself as he gazed at the lifeless body of the Sky Dome Divine Eagle.

Flender found a comfortable spot, sat cross-legged, and began drawing the soul ring toward him to absorb it. A seventy-thousand-year eighth soul ring—most Spirit Douluo on the continent, and even some Title Douluo, didn't have an eighth soul ring with such a high age limit.

Flender had truly gotten lucky. Not only was this soul ring perfectly aligned with his attributes, but its high age also meant that even as a newly minted Spirit Douluo, he might be able to rival veteran Spirit Douluo-level experts.

The deep black soul ring enveloped Flender's body. Though sweat beaded on his forehead, that was all—it wasn't too taxing. His martial soul had evolved, and over the years, he had consumed whale jelly to enhance his physical conditioning. Even though the soul ring's age was high, it posed no significant problem. However, absorbing a high-level soul ring still required considerable time.

Meanwhile, Dugu Bo inspected the corpse of the Sky Dome Divine Eagle. Could a high-level soul beast like this drop a soul bone? Dugu Bo decided to investigate, dissecting the body to check for any soul bones.

As expected, high-level soul beasts had a relatively high chance of dropping soul bones. A left leg bone was found. If Dugu Bo's guess was correct, this soul bone should enhance speed.

During its final moments, the Sky Dome Divine Eagle had exhibited incredible bursts of speed and even managed to partially recover its condition. If Dugu Bo hadn't possessed the Time Solidification skill, the eagle would have escaped.

Dugu Bo examined the pale blue-white left leg bone. While soul bones from the same soul beast were the most compatible, this one had an exceptionally high age limit, making it suitable not only for him but also for his granddaughter and grandson-in-law. This left him somewhat conflicted.

Dugu Bo brought the soul bone over to Li Luochen. Seeing the pale blue-white soul bone in Dugu Bo's hand, Li Luochen's jaw dropped.

"What? Is the drop rate for soul bones really this high? Grandpa, are you sure your luck isn't absurd?"

Even Dugu Yan couldn't believe it. She already had a soul bone—the forty-thousand-year Black Jade Mamba left arm bone her grandfather had given her, which had significantly boosted her strength. Now, her grandfather had obtained another soul bone? It was hard to believe.

"I didn't expect it either. Is my soul bone drop rate really this high? What do you think about this soul bone?"

Dugu Bo said this with a touch of humble-bragging before asking them to decide how to allocate the soul bone. Dugu Bo already had three soul bones, while Li Luochen and Dugu Yan each had one. Liu Erlong had none.

"I'll pass," Liu Erlong immediately declined. The soul bone didn't align with her attributes.

"I'll also pass. This soul bone isn't a great match for me." Li Luochen looked at the soul bone. Though he was tempted to absorb it, its attributes weren't ideal for him unless it was a life-saving skill. Otherwise, it simply wasn't suitable.

If it had been a skull bone, he wouldn't have hesitated to take it. As for a torso bone, Li Luochen planned to save that slot for when he obtained his ninth soul ring. Using the characteristics of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, he could fill in whatever part of his body needed enhancement.

Li Luochen thought it best to decline early, letting Principal Flender absorb it instead. After all, who could resist such temptation? Testing someone's integrity with such a treasure? No one could withstand that.

"I'll also pass. I already have a soul bone, and this one doesn't suit me." Dugu Yan flatly refused. Her current soul bone focused on poison and earth attributes, so this wind-attribute flying-type soul bone wasn't a good fit.

"You're all refusing? Then it goes to Flender. Though he's older, there's still a chance he could reach Title Douluo status in his sixties. Let this soul bone give him a boost."

Dugu Bo stated this matter-of-factly. After all, no one else wanted it.

A day and a half later, an eagle cry echoed through the forest. Flender activated his Hurricane Owl martial soul, and eight soul rings appeared around him—two yellow, two purple, and four black—marking his official entry into the Spirit Douluo level.

"Hahaha! So this is what it feels like to be a Spirit Douluo? Truly, nothing short of the pinnacle of power!"

Flender marveled at his newfound strength. He had become a Spirit Douluo before turning fifty and was confident he could reach Title Douluo status in his sixties.

"Flender, how much spirit power have you reached now?"

Dugu Bo rested his chin on his hand, sizing up Flender. At Flender's age, Dugu Bo himself hadn't even come close to becoming a Spirit Douluo. If it weren't for his fortuitous discovery of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he wouldn't have broken through to Title Douluo.

"Hehe, thanks to Your Excellency for helping me hunt this soul ring. I'm currently at the peak of level 81. In a few months, I should break through to level 82."

Flender spoke confidently. A Spirit Douluo in their forties still carried significant weight, especially since the youngest publicly known Title Douluo had achieved that status in their forties as well. This did nothing to diminish Flender's pride.

"Here, take this." Dugu Bo tossed the pale blue-white soul bone to Flender.

"This?" Flender examined the soul bone. Another soul bone drop? His seventh soul ring had also yielded a soul bone—was his luck really this good? But then he noticed the location of the bone…

"Soul bones from the same soul beast are the most compatible. Since no one else wants it, it's yours. Go ahead and absorb it." With that, Dugu Bo closed his eyes to rest.

"Uh… Your Excellency, there's a bit of an issue here. I already have a left leg bone." Flender awkwardly explained. Though he coveted the soul bone, he already possessed a left leg bone.

"What?"

??? Confusion × 4

"Well, back when I was traveling alone and obtained my fourth soul ring, I happened to get a left leg bone. At the time, I thought it made sense to absorb it since it came from the same soul beast."

Flender recounted the story, something he had never shared with anyone before. After all, soul bones were rare, and without any background or connections, using one openly could attract unwanted attention.

His left leg bone granted him a speed boost, but it was subtle enough that no one noticed. As his cultivation reached the Spirit Emperor level, the effects of the thousand-year-old soul bone diminished. When he obtained his seventh soul ring, he was lucky enough to get a right arm bone. Everyone assumed it was his first soul bone, but it was actually his second.

...

Silence filled the air. Great! They had humbly passed the soul bone around, thinking it was the most suitable for Flender, only to learn he already had a left leg bone?

"Great, so we have to redistribute it again?" Dugu Bo sighed in exasperation.

Li Luochen, ever quick-thinking, suggested, "Grandpa, why don't you absorb it? None of us need it. If you absorb it and grow stronger, you can help us obtain soul bones in the future.

Besides, your Jade-Gold Phosphorous Snake Emperor isn't particularly fast. This soul bone should give you a significant speed boost.

Once you become stronger, won't it be easy for you to help me and Yanyan get soul bones?"

Li Luochen's words earned a nod of approval from Dugu Yan. As for Liu Erlong, she ignored the discussion entirely, choosing instead to cling affectionately to Flender's arm.

"Fine, fine. It's mine again, huh? Alright, leave your future soul rings and soul bones to me."

Dugu Bo pressed the seventy-thousand-year Sky Dome Divine Eagle's left leg bone against his own left leg and began absorbing it on the spot.

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