In an instant, all the soul power that had been overflowing from Yun Yibai's body retracted inward, and his blood energy was drawn back into his core.
"He's... looks like he's using his own soul power and blood essence to forge something within his body!"
Yang Wudi finally caught a glimpse of what was going on.
Swish!
A flash of deep purple light suddenly emerged from Yun Yibai's right hand. The glow extended about 1.3 meters in length.
The combination of the purple hue and Yun Yibai's golden lightning aura made his whole figure appear even more mysterious and awe-inspiring.
"This is…"
Yang Wudi's eyes widened in shock.
Although he couldn't yet see the full form, he already had a strong guess.
"It's an external soul bone!"
As the purple glow gradually faded, its true form was finally revealed—
A curved longsaber, gleaming faintly with a cold light, materialized before Yang Wudi's eyes. The blade was white as snow, with elegant, flowing lines. Its unique design—narrow at the front and wider at the back—gave it both exquisite beauty and a powerful, deadly presence.
The weapon looked like a perfect fusion of nature's purest ice crystal and the world's strongest metal. It radiated a chilling sense of lethal sharpness. Its curve was crafted to perfection—optimized for both cutting force and agility. It was born for combat, forged to cleave through anything in its path.
"Is… is this really what an external soul bone should look like?"
Even Yang Wudi wasn't certain. He'd only ever seen a soul bone once before, during his time in the Extreme North, and had never seen an external one in person. So he wasn't sure if this appearance was normal or not.
Huff… Huff…
Yun Yibai slowly opened his eyes, breathing lightly.
"So it worked." He gazed at the saber in his hand, eyes gleaming.
"Yibai, are you alright?" Yang Wudi asked.
The young man blinked and loosened his grip. The longsaber in his hand instantly dissipated into lightning, vanishing into his arm.
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Yang. I'm alright now," Yun Yibai said as he slowly got to his feet, visibly worn out from the ordeal.
"You look like you could faint any second, kid."
Blunt as it was, Yang Wudi wasn't wrong—Yun Yibai looked completely spent.
Despite the jab, Yun Yibai smiled. "It took a lot out of me, but I think the result was worth it."
"You brat…" Yang Wudi chuckled, half scolding.
"You do realize what this is, right? An external soul bone! That's a treasure on par with a 100,000-year soul ring or soul bone in the soul master world."
"But… the form of your external soul bone doesn't even look like one—it looks more like a refined metal weapon!"
Whoosh!
With a flash of purple light, the saber reappeared in Yun Yibai's hand.
"It wasn't originally shaped like this," Yun Yibai explained. "After absorbing the soul ring, a sudden surge of pain revealed something squirming along my spine—trying to erupt outward. That's when I realized it must be an external soul bone."
He paused, then continued, "So I used my soul power as fire, my blood and bones as fuel, and my body as the forge—refining it from within. This blade is the result."
As he gripped the saber in reverse, his entire aura surged—he seemed to merge completely with the weapon. Two purple arcs of lightning slashed out with his motion, slicing across the air like thunderbolts in the night, roaring as they struck a solid stone wall.
BOOM!
The moment the energy blades made contact, a massive energy shockwave erupted. Stone fragments scattered everywhere, and a huge hole blasted open in the rock wall—two deep fissures running through it.
The power and penetrative force of those lightning blade arcs were undeniable.
"I've named it—Thunderclap."
"What power…"
Yang Wudi's eyes shimmered with amazement.
Ordinary attacks detonate and disperse on impact.
But truly refined strikes don't just explode—they linger with annihilating energy, destroying everything after contact.
"You're truly a lucky bastard…"
"That was a Ten-Thousand-Year external soul bone—already rare—and then it meets someone like you, a madman who decides to forge a weapon inside his own body. You're insane!"
But the results were clear: Yun Yibai now had something akin to a Martial Soul weapon.
In a world where Martial Souls exist, it wasn't so shocking that a soul bone could take weapon form too.
"Still," Yang Wudi warned, "you'd best not reveal this external soul bone too easily."
"Others won't care how you got it. Those with greed in their hearts will hunt you down, peel back your skin, break your bones—just to extract it."
"Unless you've truly fused it into your body, it can still be ripped out."
"And honestly… I'm not even sure what this thing in your body is."
"For all we know, someone might one day be able to dig a blade out of your spine."
Yang Wudi's expression turned a little strange, unsure what to make of it.
Of course, Yang Wudi had no desire to covet Yun Yibai's treasure. Not him, nor any of the Four Great Single-Attribute Clans, would break their code for such a thing.
"Senior Yang, you're joking, surely." Yun Yibai chuckled lightly.
To be honest, he wasn't entirely certain himself. It was true that Thunderclap's core was formed from soul bone material—and soul bones possessed metal-like resilience and malleability.
For now, his next step would be to use the power of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well to fully refine Thunderclap into an inseparable part of his body.
With this, Yun Yibai's fifth soul ring hunt had come to an end.
The soul beast Thunderhowl Hellvine he'd slain was, in truth, a 40,000-year-old beast.
This was what it meant to build a strong foundation from the start. Since his very first soul ring, Yun Yibai had been planning carefully. Now, by the fifth ring, he had completely outpaced his peers.
Of course, this wasn't just strategy—it was driven by a sense of urgency.
After all, a certain relative from his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had done something outrageous: using nothing but his face and charm, he completely bewitched the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall.
That might sound like good news—
But the problem was… that relative was way too proud. After enjoying her affection, he ghosted her and denied everything.
And that single act had driven the Holy Maiden—mad with love and revenge—to vow to cleanse the entire continent and reshape the world order.
And those with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul?
They were now priority targets in her purge.
The knife was already at their necks. Yun Yibai had no intention of waiting for it to fall.
As for surrendering to the enemy?
Heh… when the dust settles, those who defect will be the first to lose their heads.
To her, only one Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soul master may survive.
Only that one person surviving will cleanse her humiliation.
This was a battle to the death. There was no room for carelessness.