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After Zhi Lin raised his soul power to level forty-nine, he noticed beads of sweat forming on Ye Lan's forehead.
Zhi Lin asked, "Little friend Ye Lan? Do you still want to continue? This is already level forty-nine soul pressure! If you can't endure it, don't force yourself!"
Ye Lan was indeed feeling some pain from the forty-nine-level soul pressure pressing down on him. After all, even a massage can hurt when the pressure is too strong.
However, at this moment, Ye Lan felt a tingling and itchy sensation along his spine. It seemed that his "Ancient Beast's Touch" was beginning to fuse with his body at a faster rate.
Ye Lan nodded and said, "Senior Zhi Lin, continue!"
The moment Zhi Lin increased the soul pressure to the Soul King level, Ye Lan felt as though he had been plunged into the depths of the ocean, with the pressure enveloping his body from all directions.
Ye Lan circulated his soul power to reinforce his body.
This time was different from the incident with Chen Xin—Ye Lan needed Zhi Lin's Sky Blue Vine soul power to resonate with his own soul power.
That was why Ye Lan was actively infusing his body with soul power to strengthen his tolerance against the rising pressure level.
When Zhi Lin raised the soul pressure to level fifty-nine, Ye Lan knew he had reached his physical limit.
Once the pressure crossed into the Soul Emperor level, even if it was just for a "massage," it could still injure him severely.
Unfortunately, the "Ancient Beast's Touch" within him had still not fully fused.
Ye Lan suddenly shouted, "Senior Zhi Lin, summon your martial soul!"
"What? If I do that, the soul pressure will be terrifying!" Zhi Lin said in disbelief.
"That's right, little friend Ye Lan. Zhi Lin is only testing you; there's no need to risk getting seriously hurt," Meng Shenji advised.
"To think that a Grand Soulmaster could withstand level fifty-nine soul pressure! Who would even believe it?" Bai Baoshan muttered.
Ye Lan explained, "Actually, it's because Senior Zhi Lin and I both have plant-type martial souls. For me, the soul pressure from Soul Douluo Zhi Lin doesn't feel like oppression—it feels relaxing. Though… it's a bit of a painful kind of relaxation, sss~"
"I've studied martial soul theory quite a bit, and I'm very confident about this. Seniors, trust me this once. If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility," Ye Lan said.
Even so, the three elders of the Academic Committee continued to try to dissuade Ye Lan. In the end, after his repeated requests, Meng Shenji nodded toward Zhi Lin, and Zhi Lin directly summoned his Sky Blue Vine martial soul.
A flash of soul light enveloped Zhi Lin, and countless Sky Blue Vines, each over ten meters long and over ten centimeters thick, emerged from his body.
These vines radiated a deep green glow.
But to Zhi Lin's surprise, instead of standing tall and rigid as usual, the Sky Blue Vines took on a completely different posture.
They coiled in spiral patterns around Ye Lan's feet, their tips lowered in submission toward him.
Just as Ye Lan had predicted—
The suppression effect of Blue Silver Grass – Radiant Spirit on plant-type martial souls was overwhelming. The moment the Sky Blue Vine appeared, the Blue Silver soul power within him became twice as active.
The soul pressure on him instantly dropped by half, meaning Zhi Lin's suppression now only had a quarter of its original effect.
That quarter-level pressure felt no stronger than Soul Ancestor-level soul pressure.
Yet, Ye Lan's Blue Silver soul power inside was now twice as lively, wrapping completely around the "Ancient Beast's Touch," pushing the fusion rate ever higher.
The sensation of this fusion was so comfortable that Ye Lan almost let out a sound.
Suppressing his voice, he endured for a full minute before—
"Ah!!!"
With a shout, eight pitch-black Ancient Beast tentacles burst through Ye Lan's clothing, fully emerging in an instant.
It was like wearing undersized shoes for months and finally being able to take them off—the "Ancient Beast's Touch" had been suppressed inside Ye Lan for far too long.
Now fully fused, the "Ancient Beast's Touch" had golden light patterns running across its black surface, giving it a slightly ethereal look.
Meng Shenji stared at the eight tentacles behind Ye Lan, their mysterious aesthetic impossible to ignore, and asked loudly, "Little friend Ye Lan, are you alright? Did your martial soul just mutate?"
Zhi Lin immediately withdrew the soul pressure to prevent Ye Lan from being injured and asked with concern, "After I released the Sky Blue Vine, are you sure your body is fine?"
Bai Baoshan looked at the eight appendages behind Ye Lan and shook his head. "These don't look like Blue Silver Grass at all."
Once his external soul bone had fully fused, Ye Lan's unease finally dissipated.
He wasn't worried about exposing his external soul bone to the three elders of the Academic Committee.
First: once an external soul bone is fully fused, even killing the owner won't allow anyone else to obtain it.
Second: the three elders of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's Academic Committee had excellent reputations in the soul master world—not only were they powerful, but they were also deeply kind-hearted.
Most importantly: all three were loyal to Xue Qinghe, and for the next few years, they would effectively be his personal protectors.
So, without any reservations, Ye Lan said directly, "Seniors, this is the external soul bone I was fortunate enough to obtain—the Ancient Beast's Touch. I must thank Senior Zhi Lin for helping me complete the fusion. Without you, I wouldn't know when I could have used it."
"What? This is actually an external soul bone—one comparable to a hundred-thousand-year soul bone!" Meng Shenji's shock was mixed with genuine gratitude for Ye Lan's trust.
He hadn't expected the young man Qinghe had entrusted to them to openly reveal his greatest secret to the three of them.
"Yes, the 'Ancient Beast's Touch,' as its name suggests, comes from the Ancient Beast of the Black Sea. Obtaining this soul bone back then took quite a bit of effort," Ye Lan recalled, thinking back to the time he caught the octopus with his elder.
"The real Ancient Beast's Touch! That soul beast is infamous for being difficult to deal with—many soul masters have met their end in the Black Sea. I never imagined you would obtain such a treasure," Meng Shenji said in astonishment.
"It was sheer luck. I only ask that the seniors keep this secret for me. As the saying goes—'An innocent man gets into trouble for his wealth.'" Ye Lan said seriously.
Meng Shenji nodded. In these times, many high-level soul masters hunted down geniuses. Most of them operated with the mentality of, "If you are not on my side, then I will destroy you," leading to the untimely deaths of countless talents.
The three elders began piecing things together in their minds: no wonder Ye Lan could win one-against-ten—he had the strength boost from an external soul bone.
"Of course. For the sake of your safety, we swear on our martial souls never to reveal the existence of your external soul bone," the three elders of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy declared.
Ye Lan shook his head. "Seniors, there's no need for such a heavy oath. I will eventually use the Ancient Beast's Touch openly—I just don't want the news spreading like wildfire."
Now, with the Silver Wolf's protection, the backing of the Spirit Hall, and a good relationship with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—
As long as he didn't go out of his way to provoke the Clear Sky Sect or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he would remain safe.
The Ancient Beast's Touch would inevitably be used in the future—Ye Lan simply didn't want the whole world knowing he had an external soul bone just yet.
(End of Chapter)