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While absorbing the spirit ring, Ye Guyi didn't feel the slightest difficulty. As the spirit power merged with hers, the power from the Paradise Bird's spirit ring seamlessly blended with her own, steadily enhancing both her spirit power and physical strength—as if she were soaking in a warm hot spring.
If Xu Tianzhen knew how Ye Guyi experienced absorbing the spirit ring, he'd be even more reclusive than usual.
Luan Yu clapped her hands and laughed, "Alright, now that Xiao Guyi's got her spirit ring, all we need are the spirit rings from Liuxing and Liuying. Once we find the right spirit beasts, we can get back sooner."
Luan Yu was feeling particularly lucky today. First, she ran into Jing Hongchen – one of the top three spirit masters of the Sun and Moon Empire – in the Evil Demon Forest. Then, right at the outskirts of that forest, she bumped into an Evil Soul Master on par with a Title Douluo. Two top-tier opponents one after the other—her luck must be on fire. Who knows? Maybe next time they'll come across a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast or even that legendary Evil Emperor.
She couldn't help but think that maybe she should have checked the almanac before stepping out. In such a vast Evil Demon Forest, how is it that they keep running into these kinds of encounters?
Liuxing shared the sentiment. As the saying goes, "A gentleman never stands by a crumbling wall." Right now, he was still in his growth phase—he would rather take every chance to hunker down than risk dying foolishly.
Every time Liuxing thought about that unusually calm Evil Soul Master—the one who, for some inexplicable reason, hadn't attacked and had even been unusually friendly—a cold sweat broke out. If things had escalated into a fight, Luan Yu wouldn't have been able to hold her own, and Liuying would have had no choice but to push herself to the limit with a life-consuming transformation, which was something Liuxing desperately hoped to avoid.
Ye Guyi nodded and then turned back, preparing to give the Paradise Bird a proper burial. Even though the meat of a hundred-year spirit beast was worth a little money, following Shangguan Weier, she wasn't exactly short on cash—and besides, she wasn't about to devour the Paradise Bird. She simply wasn't that daring.
"Hmm? What's this?"
As Ye Guyi shifted the Paradise Bird's corpse, she discovered something emitting a faint white light near the bird's wing. The glow was dim and mostly hidden beneath the bird's feathers, and if she hadn't been moving the body up close, she might never have noticed it.
Ye Guyi lifted the feathers, and what appeared before her were a pair of small, white wings—translucent and glittering softly with light.
"Spirit bone?"
Luan Yu stared in disbelief as Ye Guyi cradled the tiny white wings in her palm. Her eyes nearly popped out.
"That's not right – this is an external soul bone!?"
Luan Yu quickly pieced it together. These white wings didn't match any of the six major soul bones that a person might have; only the legendary external soul bone had such a unique appearance.
"But that's crazy, isn't it? I thought soul bones only emerged when a spirit beast was killed in excruciating pain—torn apart by agony, or when it couldn't let go of its grudges, harboring hatred and resentment towards its killer. How could this be released?"
Luan Yu stared at the wing-shaped external soul bone, completely baffled.
Even though Ye Guyi was the one who killed the Paradise Bird, she had only helped it find release. Before it died, it hadn't shown any signs of hatred or regret. So how did a soul bone appear?
Could it be that the legend was true? Maybe the Paradise Bird was the earthly emissary of an angelic god, and because Ye Guyi possessed an angelic martial soul, not only could she absorb its spirit ring with ease, but the bird had even voluntarily gifted her its soul bone? That was just too far-fetched!
Liuxing, too, looked oddly troubled. He was well aware of what soul bones were all about. Even a hundred-year soul bone was worth a king's ransom to an ordinary spirit master—so rare that not even many Title Douluo at the top of the continent could collect a full set. And that was just the regular ones, not even counting the external soul bone, which is a special kind among soul bones.
External soul bones are incredibly rare—their value nearly rivals that of top-grade soul bones. In the spirit master world, they're treasured just below the hundred-thousand-year spirit rings in terms of worth.
The most unique thing about external soul bones is that they evolve in line with the owner's spirit power growth. Thus, the earlier one absorbs an external soul bone, the better the results will be. If the chance of getting a normal soul bone from a spirit beast is one in a thousand, then the odds for an external soul bone are even less than one in ten thousand.
Even though external soul bones are exceedingly rare—even Title Douluo would be tempted—Luan Yu wasn't particularly interested. For one, this external soul bone only had a lifespan of 400 years, and as a Title Douluo herself, raising it would be a hassle. Moreover, since the external soul bone came from a Paradise Bird, it didn't match her attributes well; its usefulness was limited.
As for the soul bone's rightful owner, it was obviously Ye Guyi's. Xu Tianzhen, as a county lady of the Sun and Moon Empire with a powerful princely father (and the emperor's own younger brother), wasn't in short supply of soul bones. Even a rare external soul bone wouldn't tempt her to fight over it.
Liuxing and Liuying were even less likely to contest it—not only did the attributes not match for them, but they lacked the inherent longing for soul bones that the native spirit masters possessed. Whether they had one or not, it really didn't matter to them.
Ye Guyi had already absorbed the Paradise Bird's spirit ring. Absorbing this external soul bone was the best move—it was the perfect fit.
Seeing Liuxing and his group all unwilling to take it, while Luan Yu beamed with delight, a warm feeling spread through Ye Guyi's heart. Although she was young, having followed Shangguan Weier had taught her a lot. She understood the preciousness of soul bones—even more so with an external soul bone.
Many comrades in the Soul Hunting Team, who were as close as brothers, had once lost their bond over fights and even murderous struggles over unexpectedly acquired soul bones, completely forgetting their past camaraderie. Even blood brothers might end up fighting to the death over a soul bone.
At that moment, any lingering slight detachment Ye Guyi might have felt toward Liuxing and his crew vanished. In her eyes, these four had become her truest friends.
If they were all willing to yield such a rare treasure to her, how could they not be considered genuine friends?
And as for Luan Yu, she earned Ye Guyi's trust as well. After all, Luan Yu had led the team to hunt spirit beasts and protect them along the way. Even if Luan Yu decided to hog the external soul bone for herself, Shangguan Weier wouldn't have anything to say about it—a little extra reward never hurt, right?
Just like when she absorbed the Paradise Bird's spirit ring, Ye Guyi quickly refined the external soul bone. As the soul bone merged with her, a pair of pristine white wings sprouted on her back—exactly like the beautiful wings of the Paradise Bird. They shone with the same gorgeous, sacred splendor, making Ye Guyi look like a pure, holy maiden.
It was a pity that Ye Guyi was still so young. If she only grew older, she'd become truly breathtaking.
Unlike the angel wings that appeared with her Martial Soul, the external soul bone felt more tangible. Sure, both were made of condensed spirit power, but these white wings had a real, palpable presence.
Since her angelic martial soul already granted her impressive flight speed thanks to her wings, once these external soul bone wings took effect, even Liuxing couldn't imagine just how fast she might fly.
After all, the angels from ten thousand years ago were known as the rulers of the sky—so you can imagine the domination that an angelic martial soul has over the heavens.
"Ye Guyi, what do these wings call themselves? They're so beautiful!"
"....."