Douluo Continent: Naru Sacred Heart, Snow Shines Forever

"Thank you, Sister Yan Yan."

Chen Jieqi nodded, and the Ashbringer in his hand condensed into a blazing flame, gently landing on the corpse of the Light Bird, giving it its final rest.

A moment later...

A pale purple thousand-year soul ring slowly rose from the corpse of the Light Bird, carrying a unique aura that shone brightly in the golden sunlight.

Chen Jieqi sat cross-legged beside the corpse of the Lightbird, the Heart of Naru hovering above his head between his brows, and whispered a low chant.

"lead!"

Unlike the violent and tearing sensations experienced when absorbing other spirit rings, this Lightbird spirit ring was incredibly docile.

As soon as it approached Chen Jieqi's body, it transformed into a warm current, flowing slowly into his body along his meridians like the warm spring sun.

There was no excruciating pain from the clash of soul forces, no discomfort from the rejection of attributes, only ultimate comfort and nourishment.

Chen Jieqi's brows relaxed slightly, and the holy light around him grew even stronger, intertwining with the light power of his soul ring to form a golden cocoon that enveloped his entire body.

The power of the Lightbird's soul ring flowed slowly through his body, deeply merging with the holy light power of the Heart of the Naaru.

The purifying power of the Lightbird washed over his meridians like a clear spring, further enhancing the exorcising effect of the Naaru Holy Light.

The Lightbird's mastery of the light element also made his control over holy light increasingly refined.

Throughout the entire process, the remnant phantom of the Light Bird flashed briefly within the cocoon of light, showing no ferocity whatsoever.

There was only a hint of submissive greeting, as if acknowledging this successor who also belonged to the divine light.

Chen Jieqi could clearly sense its will—to protect the light and dispel the darkness.

This will perfectly aligned with the mission of the Heart of Naaru, transforming into an invisible force that merged into his martial spirit, adding a touch of holiness and steadfastness to his holy light.

As time passed, the cocoon of light slowly dissipated, and Chen Jieqi slowly opened his eyes.

A flash of golden light flickered in his calm eyes, before they returned to their clear state.

The light purple thousand-year spirit ring landed steadily on his waist, rotating alongside the first spirit ring.

The two yellow and purple soul rings shone brightly against the holy light surrounding him, making him exceptionally dazzling under the golden sunlight of the Radiant Sun Forest.

Chen Jieqi could clearly feel the surge of soul power within his body, as well as the changes in his martial soul.

The holy light of the Heart of the Naaru has become purer and more powerful, and its abilities to purify, dissolve, burn, and ward off evil have been significantly enhanced.

Chen Jieqi looked down and said calmly:

"Second spirit ring, complete!"

Just as he was about to get up, his body shone with golden light.

A dazzling, almost blinding golden light condensed at his shoulder blade, dimming even the sunlight in the Sunlit Forest.

The ball of light slowly condensed and solidified, eventually transforming into a pair of translucent miniature light wing plates—

It is the original body of the external soul bone, and each bone fragment is filled with holy light patterns.

Chen Jieqi immediately held his breath and focused his mind, slowly extending his soul power towards the pair of light wings.

When the soul bone sensed his soul power pulling it, it instantly transformed into scalding golden liquid, flowing wildly towards his shoulder blades like a living thing.

Wherever the light liquid touched, the skin felt a peaceful, tingling sensation, as if countless tiny light particles were drilling and taking root under the skin, and even the meridians were being gently widened by the power of light.

Instantly, a pure, warm, and sacred energy of light surged through his meridians and rushed straight to his dantian.

The soul power of the Naru Heart collided and merged instantly with Chen Jieqi's, causing its holy light to surge and resonate with the power of the soul bone.

The liquid then gathered and solidified at his shoulder blades, beginning to reshape his skeletal structure, and intense pain instantly swept through his entire body.

"ah!!!"

Chen Jieqi couldn't help but growl in a low voice.

He could clearly feel his scapula expanding, stretching, and reorganizing, a mixture of excruciating pain and ultimate pleasure—

That is the body accepting a brand new 'organ', and every inch of bone is being reborn under the cleansing power of light.

To the astonishment of Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan, the golden light behind Chen Jieqi surged once more.

A pair of pure golden wings, each over 2 meters long, burst forth from the shoulder blades.

Fine, shimmering gold shimmered along the edges of the wings, each feather rib clearly visible, sharing the same origin as the wings of the Thousand-Year-Old Bird of Light.

Yet it is more refined and sacred, as if it were formed from the light itself.

This is the external soul bone I've always dreamed of, and it's an extremely rare flying soul bone!

Before Chen Jieqi could secretly admire his own abilities, Dugu Yan's voice rang out.

"Little Qi, are you alright? How did you turn into a birdman??"

His eyes were full of surprise and concern.

Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo smiled and couldn't help but speak:

"Yanyan, you're just worried sick. Xiaoqi has received an incredible stroke of luck."

This is an external soul bone! It's second only to a 100,000-year soul ring, ranking second on the Soul Master's dream list!

Chen Jieqi, who was initially overjoyed, was speechless upon hearing Dugu Yan's words, silently cursing in his heart.

"What kind of birdman is this?! That's Wings of Light!"

However, she couldn't help but express her delight on the surface:

"Grandpa, Sister Yan Yan, this is the external soul bone of the Light Bird, I call it the Wings of Light!"

With a thought, the golden wings on his back slowly retracted and merged into his body.

Only a pair of symmetrical golden light patterns are left on the back, which are usually hidden under the skin and will appear immediately when activated.

"Xiao Qi, don't tell anyone about the external soul bone you got from today's soul hunt."

Although external soul bones cannot be absorbed by others like ordinary soul bones,

Dugu Bo's smile faded, and his tone became serious.

"But as the saying goes, 'the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind,' before possessing sufficient self-protection capabilities..."

The fewer people who know you possess an external soul bone, the better, to prevent anyone from harming you out of jealousy.

Thank you, Grandpa! Nobody's better at "surviving" than me!

Chen Jieqi nodded his thanks.

In his view, developing in a low-key manner is the key to survival in the Douluo Continent.

"But we still have you, Grandpa, to protect us. There's no need to be so serious."

Dugu Yan clung to Dugu Bo's arm and acted coquettishly, instantly easing the tense atmosphere.

"That's it, that's it!"

Overwhelmed by his granddaughter's adoration, Dugu Bo couldn't suppress the smile on his face. His majesty as a titled Douluo vanished, replaced by nothing but doting affection.

"Little Qi, quickly test your soul power and describe the effects of your soul skill."

Your second-best spirit ring in a thousand years is probably unique on the continent.

Dugu Yan immediately turned her head, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Chen Jieqi, full of curiosity and anticipation.

Even Dugu Bo suppressed his smile and looked seriously at Chen Jieqi, ready to witness the results of this top-notch opportunity.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jieqi took out a soul power crystal, which immediately shone brightly.

Level 23!

Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan said in unison, their eyes filled with shock:

"What a prodigy!"

Dugu Bo couldn't help but mutter a few words to himself, but his tone was full of admiration.

Chen Jieqi wasn't surprised; he had anticipated this:

This Bright Bird is a soul beast with a lifespan of around 1200 years. After absorbing a soul ring, it raised its soul power to level 22. Then, by fusing with an external soul bone, it reached level 23 in one fell swoop.

That makes perfect sense!

As soon as the two finished speaking, Chen Jieqi smiled slightly.

"Sister Yan Yan, how could I dare say I'd protect you if I weren't a little devilishly handsome, right?"

He then raised his hands above his head, and the Naru Heart between his brows shone brightly with golden light, while intense and fiery holy light surged from his body.

[Second Soul Skill - Holy Light Praise]

Consumes 2% of base soul power to increase all attributes by 50%, own holy attribute by 100%, and resistance to abnormalities such as darkness and corrosion by 100%, lasting for the time it takes to burn two incense sticks.

"It's really infuriating to compare yourself to others. Not only is the attribute boost up to 100%, but there's also an all-attribute boost!"

Not to mention the other abnormalities and increased resistance to negative effects, it's practically a natural counter!

Dugu Bo, standing to the side, sighed, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Chen Jieqi.

"Little Qi, you're really amazing. This is no worse than my third soul skill."

Dugu Yan listened and said with admiration, her gaze towards Chen Jieqi filled with even more respect.

Ignoring their sentiments, Chen Jieqi continued:

"My external soul bone, the Wings of Light, has the basic ability to grant me flight, and its speed increases as the soul bone's age increases."

At the same time, as the attributes improve, the wings become more refined, thereby absorbing the surrounding light energy to reduce soul power consumption.

It will be especially noticeable in sunlight!

"And there's something even more important: the purification amplification will further strengthen my Holy Light Domain."

Within its area of ​​effect, it can slowly dispel all negative status effects on teammates, such as poison, confusion, curse, and paralysis.

As soon as Chen Jieqi finished speaking,

Dugu Bo and his companion's pupils constricted, their voices trembled, and they said bluntly:

"I thought your external soul bone was only for flying, but I didn't expect it could also enhance your Holy Light Domain!"

"Such incredible fortune, even in the entire Soul Master world, would be enough to drive countless Title Douluos mad!"

This time, Chen Jieqi didn't feign modesty; upon hearing this, he nodded.

Even with his strong will, he couldn't help but be shaken to his core at this moment, and a surge of ecstasy swept over him like a tsunami.

After a while, the group gradually calmed down from their surprise. As the bright moon hung in the sky, they began to prepare to set up camp for the night and try the taste of roasted bird meat.

The campfire crackled and danced, its warm light illuminating the three faces and softening the chill of the night in the Yauri Forest.

Chen Jieqi turned the bird meat on the rack, the fat dripping down the grain and splashing into the fire, creating tiny sparks. The aroma, mixed with the refreshing scent of the light, wafted far and wide.

Dugu Yan squatted down beside him, clutching a sharpened twig in her hand, her eyes fixed on the sizzling, oily chunks of meat, her nose practically touching it:

"Little Qi, do you think eating the flesh of the Light Bird will also give you some of its power of light?"

"Silly girl, a soul beast's power dissipates after it dies; how much can it possibly have left?"

Dugu Bo sat to the side, and said in a mocking tone:

"But the meat is tender, and it's really delicious grilled. Back in the far north, I even grilled the legs of an Ice Jade Scorpion..."

"Grandpa, keep bragging!"

Dugu Yan pouted, turned to look at Chen Jieqi, her eyes sparkling.

"Little Qi, are you coming with me to the Royal Academy of Heaven Dou City?"

still...?"