Time passed bit by bit. A cool breeze blew as rain gently fell. After about fifteen minutes, the charred skin was washed away by the rain, peeling off in flakes to reveal skin as pale as a newborn's.
At the same time, the dry, blackened hair straightened and thickened visibly, turning a deep blue. In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the soft, silky hair spread across the ground with the flowing water.
His facial features also changed significantly, becoming more delicate. The previously rough, dark skin was now completely smooth and white.
From a distance, anyone unfamiliar with him would have mistaken Yang Yunhai for a sleeping beauty.
No one knew how long had passed.
The body lying on the grass suddenly trembled, and his fingers twitched. A moment later, his tightly shut eyes finally opened.
"Cough, cough!" As soon as he opened his mouth, he choked on some water. Instinctively, Yang Yunhai propped himself up, coughing lightly while holding his chest.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the other hand supporting him on the ground.
"What the hell!" Yang Yunhai was startled.
So white, so smooth! He clearly remembered that even after absorbing the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, his skin hadn't been this fair.
He touched his face again,indeed, it felt soft and tender.
"Did the lightning damage my skin and then the Blue Silver Emperor's energy repair and renew it? Or… has my bloodline really evolved to the level of the Blue Silver Emperor?"
Thoughts swirled in his mind. Realizing the possibility, he ignored the falling rain and his physical condition.
He quickly summoned his martial soul.
It was entirely blue-green, with leaf veins in pale gold. Tiny, lightning-like patterns spread out from both sides, and fine golden veins shimmered under the blue-green branches.
"It really evolved!"
His pupils contracted. He immediately closed his eyes to sense it carefully, and after a moment, opened them with a look of slight disappointment.
It had evolved, but not fully.
According to the original story, if the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline were fully awakened, the user would automatically gain the Blue Silver Domain.
But he hadn't awakened any domain.
"Well, the Blue Silver Emperor I consumed was still in its juvenile stage. Maybe its bloodline was of royal quality, but the amount I absorbed was simply too little."
"So, absorbing it wasn't enough to push my bloodline to its peak. Or maybe the quality is there, but it's still diluted,not yet concentrated enough."
"That's why the veins in my martial soul aren't pure gold yet..."
After speculating, Yang Yunhai sighed inwardly. "Looks like I'll have to find the Blue Silver King and try my luck. Or maybe..."
He suddenly had a thought and looked down at his right leg, asking shamelessly, "Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin, are you there?"
Several seconds passed, but there was no response.
"Seems like she's not here,or maybe she is, but her soul was injured by the lightning and is now sleeping inside the soul bone."
Thinking back, the faint scream he heard earlier in his mind was probably from Ah Yin's soul.
"Seems like she's badly hurt and won't recover anytime soon. I really do need to meet the Blue Silver King. His soul ring would suit me perfectly."
"I must say, I'm truly wicked!"
Yang Yunhai chuckled at himself. Then he went quiet for a few seconds before lifting his head and walking quickly toward the cave entrance.
"If my plan goes well, maybe I can make up for it in another way."
"Maybe I can even help him become a divine beast."
He walked into the cave while thinking.
"From Tang San's awakening process, it seems full awakening requires certain conditions. First, powerful spiritual strength,this seems linked to the Blue Silver Domain. Without it, mastering and using the domain is unrealistic. Tang San managed it because he absorbed the Wisdom Skull Bone awarded during the Soul Master Tournament."
"The second condition is the energy needed to condense the life-bound soul ring, which must come from Blue Silver Grass."
"In Tang San's case, the Blue Silver King and the numerous creatures in his territory shared their energy. The resulting ring had an age of 25,000 years,not a small amount."
"That second condition would be hard to meet anywhere besides the Blue Silver King's forest. So, I must visit him, no matter what."
Just as he thought this, he reached a puddle at the cave entrance. About to leap over it, he glanced down and instinctively blurted out:
"What the hell!"
"Is that me!?" He was shocked again.
The water was rippling and murky, yet it still reflected his pale skin and deep blue hair.
"Did I turn into some pretty boy?"
Having not yet checked his body, Yang Yunhai quickly leapt over the puddle and sat beside the lead box. He stripped off his soaked, tattered clothes and inspected himself.
Then he came to a new realization.
"My skin's probably smoother than that of a 16-year-old girl. And my hair… damn, it's so silky..."
"Damn, I've slimmed down a lot. Is this that saying,'concentrated essence'? But now even my eight-pack abs don't show much."
"With this fair and delicate face, if I go out like this, people might mistake me for a girl."
"More importantly, how am I going to explain this? My soul power is already at level 30. That's way too fast!"
"It probably isn't just due to bloodline and martial soul evolution. That little Blue Silver Emperor plant couldn't have held that much energy. The main reason must be the lightning energy left in my body and the residual energy from the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone merging into my flesh."
In the original story, it was stated clearly that soul bones mainly enhance the body's physical strength, while soul rings improve cultivation.
Previously, absorbing the soul bone had already raised his level by more than five. That was only because his soul power was low to begin with. The remaining soul bone energy might still bring more improvements.
"So, what about my lightning attribute?"
Shifting thoughts, Yang Yunhai raised his right hand and summoned his martial soul. With a thought, he activated the lightning attribute. In the blink of an eye, arcs of lightning crackled around him,light golden in color.
"My bloodline evolution changed the color of my lightning?"
He was surprised again.
"What about my internal state?"
Though soul power levels could be felt directly, he hadn't yet examined his internal condition.
He quickly withdrew his martial soul, closed his eyes, and looked inward. What he saw stunned him,all his meridians glowed faint blue, with soul power surging through them smoothly and freely.
His soul power was clearly far beyond what it used to be.
But then… he was shocked again.
He realized that all his meridians seemed fully unblocked. Previously blocked or narrow pathways that restricted soul power flow were now completely open.
"This..." Yang Yunhai was amazed.
"Could it be that those lightning strikes actually did for me what used to happen in martial arts novels,getting hit by lightning and unlocking the Eight Extraordinary Meridians?" he couldn't help but wonder.
He had drawn many lightning bolts this time, and he also had the soul bone skill powered by the Blue Silver Emperor to protect him.
Thinking carefully, it was quite possible.
"If that's true, then I've really hit the jackpot!" Withdrawing his consciousness, Yang Yunhai opened his eyes and murmured blankly.
The brilliance of Tang San's Xuantian Skill was that it allowed the unlocking of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Once these were open, internal circulation expanded, soul power capacity increased, recovery accelerated, and more soul skills could be unleashed,hence why Tang San could spam soul skills so freely in the original.
As for cultivation speed, it wasn't significantly boosted. That much was clear from the training pace of the Shrek Seven Devils,there wasn't much difference. Tang San's later power-ups came from Xiao Wu's sacrifice, Da Ming and Er Ming's sacrifices, and the divine trials. That's how he earned the title "Widowed Wife, Avenging Brother Douluo."
"Although I don't fully understand the situation, one thing's for sure,this is definitely a good thing!" Clenching his fists, Yang Yunhai couldn't help but grin with satisfaction.
The Eight Extraordinary Meridians,he had only heard of them in TV dramas and such. He didn't really understand them. But that didn't stop him from being happy about what had happened.
Something good was happening, and that was enough.
"Now then, I should start working toward obtaining my third soul ring!" Pulling himself together, his expression turned serious.
"Going back to find Uncle Ao won't work. Seeking help from a higher-level Spirit Hall won't either. The current generally accepted upper limit for a third soul ring is around 1,700 years. But I've just absorbed a 100,000-year soul bone, and my body is much stronger now. I should be able to handle at least 2,500 years, maybe more."
"No,more than that! Tang San had no soul bone, hadn't taken any immortal herbs, and hadn't undergone any lightning tempering. Even so, he absorbed a 2,000-year-old Man-Faced Demon Spider. Shouldn't I be able to manage at least 3,000?"
"Uncle Ao definitely wouldn't approve. Besides, that kind of soul beast isn't something you can find in a beginner-level forest. I can't let him risk himself."
"As for the advanced Spirit Hall? Not easy to explain. They might accept 2,000 years, but 3,000? That's a stretch. Plus, I haven't been away for long. Jumping from level 21 to 30 in such a short time will raise eyebrows."
"If they investigate and discover the soul bone in my right leg, that would be disastrous."
Better safe than sorry!
With that thought, he fell into contemplation.
A moment later, his brows furrowed slightly. "Looks like I'll have to hunt alone. I can just claim it was a 1,900 or 2,000-year-old soul ring. That counts as pushing limits. As for my level jump, I'll say it was due to a fortuitous encounter,I'll have to come up with a story."
"In any case, I can't let anyone know I'm capable of absorbing a 3,000-year soul ring."
"Yeah." He nodded slightly, eyes narrowing. "As for where to hunt, I think I'm not far from the Star Dou Forest. I should be able to find a suitable one there."
Notting City is in the southeast of the Fasno Province, bordering the Balak Kingdom to the east and near the Star Luo Empire to the south. The Star Dou Forest lies between the two empires.
Coincidentally, the mountain range he was in was just south of Notting City. So, if he traveled southeast, he could reach the Star Dou Forest in about two days. With his flying soul bone skill, he should make it in one.
"With a flying skill, the millennium soul beast zone shouldn't be too dangerous. Most importantly, I need to hunt a plant-type soul beast that can't move."
"With my first and second soul rings, I can absorb from a distance while electrocuting it."
"Hunting alone isn't impossible!"
"Besides, my martial soul has evolved!" His eyes sparkled, and confidence lit up his face.
With the evolution of his martial soul, its life attributes had grown significantly. After drawing so much lightning, the lightning attribute of his martial soul had nearly matched the level of its life attribute.
Its power was now quite high.
In terms of rank, he might not yet be a Soul Elder. But in martial soul strength and lightning attack power, he believed he surpassed most Soul Elders with lightning-type martial souls.
That was the result of a qualitative leap in his martial soul!
"Time to pack up and head out!" Having made up his mind, Yang Yunhai stood and began tidying up.
He buried the lead box on the spot.
His shorts, he dried by the fire. The waterfall was dozens of miles away and in the opposite direction,he didn't believe Tang Hao would spot any smoke from this distance.
And as expected,nothing happened.
By evening, Yang Yunhai exited the cave. Taking advantage of the fading light, he activated his flying soul bone skill and soared into the sky.
High above, he looked back toward the direction of the waterfall.
Raising an eyebrow, he muttered, "Tang Hao, your... really useful. The body, the soul bone,both are great. As for the soul... sorry, I'm taking that too."
"Farewell!"
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