"Impossible!"
Ghana stared in disbelief at Xiao Lin, who had already collapsed with no soul power left, yet erupted in a final blaze of fire that completely destroyed his attack.
At that moment, his eyes carried a trace of confusion.
How could this be possible?!
That fire had devoured his phosphorus powder—that much was reasonable.
But how could someone with no soul power possibly unleash such force again?
Could it be… that soul power itself wasn't merely drawn from the world's spiritual energy by soul masters?Or perhaps… soul power also existed in other parts of the human body, not only within the meridians.
Xiao Lin's actions reignited Ghana's researcher's curiosity.
In truth, he had already conducted countless inhumane experiments.
For example, he once tied a couple—both already drained of soul power—to iron pillars, then poured cold water over them.
In such circumstances, if the couple wanted to save themselves or their beloved, they could only try to awaken their hidden potential.
But even then, that couple had only cursed him furiously—never bursting forth with new strength.
That had left Ghana bewildered.
Originally, he had hoped to discover the possibility of Martial Soul Fusion through such trials.
After all, forcefully fusing other people's martial souls into himself had never brought him greater power.
It only gave him crude patchwork abilities.
His strength merely became "one plus a fraction," a sum like 1.5—never a qualitative leap.
What he longed for was the transformative power of true Martial Soul Fusion.
And now, seeing Xiao Lin erupt with strength even at the brink of death—
How could Ghana not be overjoyed?
This was undoubtedly a correct research direction.
It turned out that his experiments weren't wrong—he had simply chosen the wrong subjects.
Perhaps that couple's love wasn't true, or perhaps they simply lacked deep potential.
According to Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's theories, a soul master should not overdraw themselves to force rapid growth—otherwise, their foundation would be damaged.
Which also meant: if one's foundation was strong enough, overdrawing was possible.
Ghana's mind whirled, even finding theoretical support from the long-disgraced Yu Xiaogang.
And now, Ghana's conclusion was clear:
Xiao Lin's foundation was incredibly deep.He carried a love and potential far beyond ordinary people.
In a sense, Ghana had indeed stumbled upon a true conclusion.
In some legendary tales or novels, such conclusions would be considered the most correct.
"What a pity…"
Ghana sighed inwardly, regretting that he had exhausted Xiao Lin to death.
If only Xiao Lin had survived, he would have chosen to capture him alive—then carefully dissect his mysteries.
At this moment, staring at the raging inferno below—
Ghana found his phosphorus powder utterly useless.
What puzzled him, however, was—
Why was the fire growing stronger and stronger?
Could flames without fuel truly burn?
Before he could think further, he suddenly realized that the whirling golden flames were about to engulf the girl he valued most—
The girl with the powerful beast martial soul.
This, Ghana could not accept.
"Are you an idiot?! Run, quickly!"
Ghana shouted loudly, his anxious expression making it seem as though he were truly worried for Donnie, almost like a friend.
But Donnie would never abandon Ye Lingling behind her.
Moreover, within the flames, she vaguely saw Xiao Lin raising a finger and shaking it at her.
Xiao Lin's fate had not diminished—this was his trap.
In an instant, Donnie realized the truth.
Hearing Ghana's urgent call, and seeing him ready to dive down despite the danger to save her—
How could Donnie not understand Xiao Lin's plan?
So, he was using her as bait.
Damn Xiao Lin!
So cunning!
Yet Donnie's lips curled upward, secretly admiring Xiao Lin's devilish wisdom. This kind of cunning… she actually liked.
Immediately, she put on a performance of sorrow and love, a single tear sliding from her eye.
"If Xiao Lin is dead… I don't want to live either."
With that, she raised the Golden Dragon Spear and hurled it violently at Ghana, who was descending to rescue her.
The spear whistled through the air.
Only when the spear grazed his cheek, tearing away a piece of flesh, did Ghana snap out of his panic.
The searing pain brought him back to his senses.
But in the next instant, he saw a scene that filled him with regret.
"Xiao Lin, I'm coming to join you!"
Donnie charged straight into the fiery vortex, screaming in agony.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"No!"
Ghana watched helplessly as the strongest beast-martial-soul wielder rushed into the flames—and he had no way to stop it.
The next second, like a moth to a flame, he dove into the vortex himself.
He thought: with his powerful regeneration, he could surely save this most precious beast-martial-soul girl.
He thought: the battle was already decided; even if he was injured, it didn't matter.
Yet, as he endured the torment of golden fire, pushing deeper into the vortex—
He saw Xiao Lin and Donnie exchanging smiles, their faces twisting into devilish grins.
"At last—we lured you in!"
"At last—we succeeded!"
Xiao Lin smiled faintly, his eyes gleaming with the triumph of his scheme.
"What!?"
"How do you still have soul power?!"
Ghana stared in disbelief at Xiao Lin.
With the techniques he had used earlier, any normal Soul King would have been drained dry.
But Xiao Lin ignored him. As soon as Ghana entered the fiery vortex and became trapped in its flames—
A pair of golden-blue dragon horns sprouted from Xiao Lin's head!
"What?!"
"Could it be… you too?!"
Seeing Xiao Lin's flawless dragon horns, Ghana's eyes flashed with envy—he thought Xiao Lin might be the same as him.
"No… this isn't like mine…"
"An external soul bone? Xiao Lin, you actually have one?"
Ghana quickly dismissed his guess. Then Donnie spoke out:
"External soul bone?"
"Impossible… I've never seen horns like these!"
Ghana's face was filled with disbelief. At this point, knowing he couldn't escape, he no longer feared death.
Instead, his expression was one of insatiable curiosity toward Xiao Lin's horns.
But Xiao Lin's only answer was action.
The dragon horns pulsed with soul power, flashing with golden and blue radiance.
The next instant—two beams, one gold and one blue, shot skyward.
Trapped in the vortex, Ghana instantly lost consciousness.
Xiao Lin's laser carried both the scorching heat to incinerate all things—and the freezing cold to freeze all things.
These two forces were the most fatal to living beings.
What fusion monstrosity Ghana was—meant nothing.
Gradually, the flames dispersed, and Ghana vanished into nothingness.
Xiao Lin collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. The laser had consumed an immense amount of his soul power.
"Clang!"
As the fire faded, a shard of icy-blue crystal plummeted from the sky, crashing onto the charred, frozen soil.
"Huh, is that… a soul bone?"
Donnie, in the best condition among them, spotted the icy-blue shard and saw what was sealed within.
It was Ghana's soul bone!
(End of Chapter)