Seeing Hu Liena's puzzled look, Yin Zhang smiled and explained,
"Nana, I told you before about my external soul bone—the Firewing Dragon Palm Bone. I just didn't expect it could absorb the Crimson Roaring Tiger King's rich fire-attribute energy, strengthen itself, and even evolve."
After absorbing that energy, the Firewing Dragon Palm Bone had undergone a complete qualitative change. From a distance, it looked much the same as before, but up close, everything—from the texture of its scales to the stability of its energy form—had been fundamentally enhanced.
Hu Liena finally understood and nodded, looking rather adorable.
As for Xiao Wu—
Her pitiful appearance failed to stir any sympathy in Yin Zhang. He extended his dragon claw and struck decisively, ending her life in an instant.
Xiao Wu's eyes widened in disbelief. She had thought that if Yin Zhang tried to persuade her again, she would offer herself as a sacrifice. She never imagined he would act so decisively.
Her life faded away, and her true form was revealed—a massive Soft-Boned Rabbit.
A scarlet hundred-thousand-year soul ring slowly rose from her body.
The golden dragon swooped down, reverted to its previous form, and looked at Yin Zhang expectantly.
Yin Zhang smiled helplessly. "That rabbit's soul ring won't be very useful to you. I'm planning to absorb it myself."
Hu Liena was startled. "Brother Zhang, if we don't absorb it quickly, the soul ring will dissipate! And your Fire-Breathing Dragon Martial Soul already has its seventh soul ring—you're still far from Rank Eighty. You can't absorb it right now!"
Yin Zhang calmly took out a jade bottle and smiled.
"Nana, this is a Soul Ring Collection Bottle. I obtained it by chance. It allows me to temporarily store soul rings I can't absorb yet. That's why I could kill her without worrying about the soul ring limit."
He opened the bottle slightly. A powerful suction force erupted, drawing the scarlet soul ring inside with a sharp whoosh.
With a gentle shake, the hundred-thousand-year soul ring condensed into a small crimson sphere inside the bottle—somewhat similar to a divinely bestowed soul ring, though clearly different in nature.
Looking at the enormous Soft-Boned Rabbit corpse, Yin Zhang swallowed lightly.
"Nana, are you hungry? How about roasted rabbit?"
Hu Liena recalled Xiao Wu's frightened expression and felt a trace of discomfort—but when she imagined the taste, her mood instantly lifted.
"Great! Let's eat rabbit!" she exclaimed.
Xiao Wu's soul bone was the same as in the original timeline—a left arm bone.
It granted two soul skills:
Instant Teleportation — a hundred-meter range, no casting delay, usable consecutively. The soul power consumption was enormous, but for Yin Zhang, whose soul power was inexhaustible, that was meaningless.
Invincible Golden Body — complete immunity to any attack below the god level for three seconds. It could be used three times per day.
Both were massive boosts.
Meanwhile, the hundred-thousand-year spinal soul bone obtained from the Crimson Roaring Tiger King granted Yin Zhang two additional soul skills:
Crimson Flame Dragon Emperor's Claw — a pure offensive technique, unleashing terrifying destructive power in a single strike.
Dragon Emperor's Strangulation — summoning the might of a Dragon Emperor to crush and suppress the enemy.
With the absorption of the Crimson Roaring Tiger King's soul ring and two hundred-thousand-year soul bones, Yin Zhang's soul power surged dramatically.
He advanced straight from Rank Seventy to Rank Seventy-Four.
Though it was only four levels, the accompanying improvements were immense. Yin Zhang could clearly feel his left arm and overall physique strengthening by several tiers.
He was confident that, in terms of pure physical strength, even his teacher, Golden Crocodile Douluo, would struggle to match him now.
Next, he planned to absorb the Earth Dragon Golden Melon. Ideally, it would push him straight to Rank Eighty so he could absorb Xiao Wu's soul ring—but that was unrealistic.
Even so, Yin Zhang estimated it would raise his soul power by at least three levels, saving him months of cultivation.
That would be enough to accelerate his path to Rank Eighty and the realm of a Soul Douluo.
---
[Host] Yin Zhang
Age: 14
[Martial Soul] Fire-Breathing Dragon
[Soul Power] 74
[Soul Rings] Black ×8
[Characteristics] Blazing Fire, Hard Claws
[Soul Skills]
Dragon Claw, Shadow Clone, Azure Flame Shield, Flame Leap, Fire Dragon Armor Kill, Dragon Tail, Crimson Roar, Solar Flame, Parrot's Tongue, Feather Perch, Fire Dragon Flying Slash, Dragon God Transformation (Bloodline), Dragon God Dive, Dragon Meteor, Reverse Scale, Mental Storm, Golden Python Stream, Instant Teleportation, Invincible Golden Body
[Soul Bones]
Firewing Dragon Palm Bone (83,000 years): Storage, Illusion, Dragon's Might
Left Arm Bone of a 100,000-Year Soft-Boned Rabbit: Instant Teleportation, Invincible Golden Body
Spine of the 100,000-Year Crimson Roaring Tiger Emperor: Crimson Flame Dragon Emperor's Claw, Dragon Emperor's Strangulation
[Domain] Fire Dragon Domain
[Items] Charcoal (Amplification), Holy Grail, Charizard X Mega Stone, Famous Sword Fate, Overlord Reinforcement, Key Stone
[Warehouse] Xuanwu Pearl, Immortal Herb — Earth Dragon Golden Melon, 100,000-Year Soul Beast Detection Bracelet, Soul Ring Collection Bottle (Soft-Boned Rabbit Soul Ring)
---
Yin Zhang looked at Hu Liena. "Nana, I'm going to absorb the Earth Dragon Golden Melon. Can you protect me?"
She smiled and nodded. "Of course."
Yin Zhang took out the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, ate it in large bites, and began refining its medicinal power.
Watching his profile, Hu Liena suddenly felt a wave of sadness.
She knew what awaited her when she returned to Spirit Hall.
During their time together, Yin Zhang had subtly revealed his intention to overthrow Bibi Dong. Hu Liena had already made her choice.
One was her teacher.
The other was the man she loved.
In the end, she could only apologize to her teacher.
For her, love came first.
Meanwhile, within the City of Slaughter, Qian Gu Yun Ying, wielding the Fire-Slaying Spear, was rapidly making a name for himself.