Douro Continent

Chapter 157 External Soul Bone (Part 1)

Tang San discovered that activating the mutation behind him did not consume too much of his soul power, as if that section of the spine itself contained a certain amount of energy.

As the eight bulges appeared, the purple light behind Tang San became increasingly noticeable.

Suddenly, as Tang San's body trembled, eight bulges burst forth, and eight thick, purple pillar-like objects rapidly extended from his back.

If Tang San's companions at Shrek Academy were there at this moment, they would surely notice that the spider legs were growing much faster this time than before.

In the blink of an eye, the thick spider legs had already stretched to 1.5 meters long. Then, the spider legs suddenly stretched out, and another 1.5 meters of length sprang out from the thick 1.5-meter legs through the terminal joints, revealing the sharpest part.

Tang San couldn't help but let out a low roar. The eight spider legs on his back stretched out to both sides of his body at the same time, shining with a purple light, like eight giant arms protecting his body in the center.

On the spider's legs, one can vaguely see a layer of faint purple aura floating on them, with purple light flowing around, as if it were transparent amethyst itself.

"Good," the master exclaimed. "Little Three, control your spider legs and stab a big tree, with all your might."

Although Tang San was still quite unfamiliar with his spider legs, he could still manage to pierce a tree. With a slight shift of his body, one of his spider legs suddenly shot out from his left side.

With a soft "poof," Tang San was surprised to find that the spider legs pierced into the tree, which required one person to hug, as if they had encountered no resistance at all, and emerged from the other end.

An even more astonishing scene was yet to come. As the spider leg pierced through, Tang San and the Grandmaster both clearly saw a layer of purple light silently spreading from the spider leg, rapidly spreading throughout the tree.

Not only did the trunk quickly turn purple, but in a short while, even the buds and leaves turned the same color.

Leaves fell from the sky, turning into wisps of purple powder and disappearing before they even hit the ground. The large tree, too, melted away like ice and snow, silently turning into purple dust. Even the shrubs near the tree that came into contact with the purple powder were gradually stained purple and vanished. Within a radius of several meters, everything became a deathly purple expanse.

A faint energy flowed into Tang San's body through the spider's legs. Although the energy was small, it was very clear.

Tang San had a similar feeling after Ma Hongjun was poisoned by the spider leg last time, but it was milder and he didn't pay much attention to it. This time, however, it was extremely obvious. It was as if the spider leg had absorbed the energy contained in the tree and then transferred it into Tang San's body.

The purple powder that fell to the ground gradually turned colorless, and in a short while, it had mixed with the soil and could no longer be seen. The large tree that had stood there seemed to have never existed. Tang San's spider legs remained in their previous positions, but the area where they had been thrust out was now empty.

"What, what exactly is this…" Tang San stared blankly at the spider legs. Although he had guessed that the spider legs would be quite powerful, he hadn't expected the toxicity they carried to be so terrifying.

The master slowly walked to Tang San's side, bypassing his spider legs. "It seems my judgment was correct. Little San, what you gained the most this time was not the third spirit ring, nor the third spirit skill Spider Web Binding, but these eight spider legs. Or rather, this external spirit bone."

"An external soul bone?" Tang San looked at the master.

The master nodded. "Over the years, I've been teaching you how to identify spirit beasts and spirit rings, as well as the cultivation methods and various applications of martial spirits. I haven't talked about spirit bones at all. This is mainly because I never expected you to come into contact with spirit bones so early. It seems that now is the time to tell you about the mysteries of spirit bones. To talk about this, we first need to talk about what a spirit bone is."

At the master's instruction, Tang San controlled his soul power to retract the eight spider legs back into his body. Just like last time, retracting the spider legs consumed a lot of Tang San's soul power, which was completely different from releasing them without any consumption.

The master said solemnly, "A soul bone is an extremely special thing, or rather, it is the item that a soul master dreams of obtaining the most. Similar to a soul ring, a soul bone also comes from a soul beast. However, it is very different from a soul ring. First of all, the probability of a soul bone appearing is only one in a thousand, or even lower. Generally speaking, only soul beasts that are extremely powerful and have experienced some special circumstances at the time of their death are likely to have a soul bone after death. It's not like every soul beast that will have a soul ring. Therefore, soul bones are extremely rare and extremely precious."

"Another difference between soul bones and soul rings is that, unlike soul rings, it doesn't require the person who kills the soul beast to use it. Once you obtain a soul bone, you can even sell it. Remember when I told you to save up as much money as possible? The goal was to be able to buy the soul bones you need in special places in the future. Any soul bone, even the most ordinary one, is incredibly expensive. And even then, it's often priceless."

Tang San asked, "Then how should the soul bones be used? Do you mean that these eight spider legs on my back are eight soul bones?"

Hearing Tang San's words, Grandmaster couldn't help but laugh. "You're not greedy at all, wanting eight soul bones. Having even one soul bone is already extremely lucky. What's more, this is an external soul bone. Its rarity is almost comparable to a top-tier soul bone. This external soul bone of yours is a spine. Of course, it also comes with eight ribs. Its function is to store all the venom of the human-faced demon spider you killed, and then replicate its eight spider legs and combine them with your own abilities to evolve into these eight spider legs."

"The Human-Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring, combined with your Martial Soul, has enhanced various attributes of your body, and the toxicity of the Blue Silver Grass has also increased considerably. However, that's not the Human-Faced Demon Spider's own toxicity. But your eight spider legs are different; they not only possess the Human-Faced Demon Spider's venom, but have even undergone certain mutations. You saw its extremely strong corrosive effect just now. What would happen if it pierced a human body?"

The master became quite excited as he spoke, "Little San, tell me, what's the maximum number of spirit rings a spirit master can obtain?"

Tang San said, "Nine. Getting nine is the limit, which is equivalent to becoming a Title Douluo."

The master nodded. "So, assuming everyone has nine spirit rings and their lifespans are roughly the same, how do we determine who is stronger?"

Tang San thought for a moment and said, "We need to look at what their martial souls are, whether there is any counter to them, and also compare their combat experience. Only by taking all these factors into account can we determine who is stronger."

The master nodded and said, "You're right, you remember what I taught you very well. So, I can tell you now that, assuming everything is equal, if one person possesses a soul bone, then none of what you just mentioned needs to be considered. Because the soul master who possesses a soul bone will have an absolute advantage."

"Huh? Soul bones have such a great effect?" Tang San looked at Grandmaster with some surprise.

The master nodded and said, "Soul rings are equipped with soul skills. Although they enhance the soul master's attributes, their main function lies in the attached soul skills. Soul bones, on the other hand, are the opposite. Soul bones may not have attached skills, but their enhancement to the soul master is enormous. More importantly, the growth potential of soul bones is more valuable than that of soul rings. You know that the skills attached to soul rings amplify with the increase of soul power. But you should also know that the age of the soul ring itself limits its amplification. Even a titled Douluo above level 90 will not have their first soul ring skill amplified to a sufficiently powerful level for this reason. Soul bones are different. Soul bones are not limited by the age of the soul beast that created them; they only evolve as the soul master's strength increases. In other words, the earlier you obtain a soul bone, the longer it will have to evolve."

Tang San said, "Humans have so many bones. If one could absorb so many different kinds of soul bones, wouldn't that allow for endless transformations...?"

The master shook his head and said, "Although the human body has many bones, they are only divided into a few main parts. Therefore, generally speaking, there are only a few types of soul bones that can be absorbed: limbs, head, and torso. That is to say, an average person can absorb six soul bones. Just like a soul master can absorb nine soul rings. The quality of a soul bone and its effect on a soul master mainly depend on when it is absorbed and whether its attributes are compatible with the user."

Tang San suddenly realized, "Then this soul bone of mine from the Human-Faced Demon Spider is undoubtedly compatible with me, belonging to the torso type, right?"

"You're absolutely right about the first sentence. The best way to obtain a soul bone is to have both the soul bone and a soul ring on your body originate from the same type of soul beast. But your soul bone doesn't belong to the torso category. That's why I called it an external soul bone."

Tang San asked curiously, "Then what is an external soul bone?"

(End of this chapter)