Though he had fused with the soul bone, if asked whether he could sense any obvious changes, the answer would be a flat no. His right arm was unremarkable, not a glimpse of the previous fusion in sight.

  “This……”


  Xu Xiaoyan blurted out, “Was that soul bone a counterfeit?”


  Gu Yue shook her head. “No way! Even if this is the spirit ascension platform, creating such a powerful hundred-year Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear requires a real soul bone. It’s like how ordinary soul beasts need spirit energy to be made. There’s no way it’s fake. But……”


  Absentmindedly, Tang Wulin transformed his hand into a golden dragon claw, the limb first showered in a burst of light.

  As his claw sprang into view, his arm swelled with power. However, neither that nor his scales seemed any different. They still sported a sparkling gold. How disappointing.

  “Maybe your bloodline overwhelmed the soul bone’s power?” Gu Yue purposed helplessly. “Well, there’s bound to be a difference! There’s no way nothing changed.”


  A bitter smile crawled its way over Tang Wulin’s lips. “Only the heavens know.” As he spoke, he waved his claw, urging soul power into it.

  For a split second, he felt a peculiar sensation.

  His claw trembled and a dark-gold light enveloped his fingertips.

  Although it lasted just a hairbreadth of an instant, he realized what it was.

  “Woah. You two, move away from me.” Tang Wulin retreated a few steps back before pouring soul power into his claw.

  At his call, his scales obeyed, twinkling like the countless stars in the sky. The tips of his fingers regained their dark-gold luminescence. Though faint, their existence was undeniable……

  A strange feeling welled within him. His heart rate skyrocketed, his blood a team of horses galloping through his veins. Its destination: his right hand. Such a sensation was overwhelming, immense, and he brandished his claw out of reflex.

  Five streaks of dark-gold light zipped through the air.

  All of a sudden, a third of his soul power dissipated. His blood was practically boiling over now.

  This time, what transpired was crystal clear. Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan did not miss how the dark-gold claws, which were a whopping meter long, materialized in thin air after a single slash. They only took form for a moment, though.

  “I knew it couldn’t have been worthless. How do you feel?” Gu Yue asked, her words nearly tripping over each other from their rush.

  Shock hit Tang Wulin like a lightning bolt as he examined his hand, eyes widened and lips parted slightly. “It felt like soul power leapt out of my body. Like it extends the range of my claw attacks? But it consumes a lot of soul power; I’m already down by a third. It’s even more demanding than using my golden dragon claw regularly.”


  Amidst their discussion, a growl reverberated in the air as a jade figure peaked out from the thicket.

  It was a slender four-meter tall lizard-like beast. If not for its glowing body, it would have been camouflaged. .

  The lizard’s skull was enormous and its mouth flaunted rows of sharp jagged teeth. A sawtooth-like horn sat atop its head.

  Crawling Dragons were a species of land dragon with a feeble amount draconic blood running through their veins. They had violent temperaments. Coupled with powerful streamlined bodies, these beasts took advantage of the terrain to ambush prey.

  Compared to a Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear, a Crawling Dragon was nothing much. Still, it was on the same level as a Blazing Demon Lion.

  “Wulin, this a perfect chance for you to test it out,” Gu Yue said.

  Light coalesced in Xu Xiaoyan’s hands, forming her staff. She raised it up high and chanted, “The stars in the heavens that shine forever tranquil, grant me strength! My starwheel!”


  It was as if a meteor shower took place, their tails trailing along the horizon, each ending in a glimmer of stardust.

  Unwittingly, time had flew by and it was already night.

  When the Crawling Dragon sensed the reaper’s scythe at its neck, it was already too late. It was impaled by starlight, its body bound by shackles made of light. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t move an inch. This was Xu Xiaoyan’s first variant soul skill, Starwheel Shackles.

  Completely in sync, Tang Wulin shot forward like a rocket, while soul power surged within his body. He paid no heed, cramming it all into his claw.

  Then he stopped just a meter short of the Crawling Dragon and brandished his claw.

  Under the tyrannical might of Tang Wulin’s draconic aura, the Crawling Dragon nearly released its bladder. A split second later, a flash of five dark-gold lights flickered in the air.

  It did not stir the wind at all. In fact, the five points of radiance sliced through the beast like a knife through butter.

  Before one could blink, the Crawling Dragon scattered into a mass of spirit energy.

  Xu Xiaoyan gaped at the sight. Such terrifying power! It’s just……

  Tang Wulin was of the same sentiment. The product of the fusion was definitely superior to his golden dragon claw.

  Although the latter was formidable, it had suffered from a lack of range. In order for it to be effective, he needed to fight in close quarters. That was all behind him after fusing with the soul bone; not only did his attack range increase, his power was not sacrificed!

  Yes, these were dark-gold blades, but under careful inspection, he noticed that they were covered in small scales! A mutation had occurred! There was no way one could compare the present form with the original.

  What made Tang Wulin overjoyed, however, was that he discovered the attack distance was related to the amount of soul power consumed. Pouring in two-thirds of his capacity equated to an increase of one-and-a-half meters to his range of attack! The best part was, the Golden Dragon Dreadclaw would grow in might along with his own cultivation. Perhaps in the future, its attacks would stretch as far as the Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear’s.

  Indeed, Tang Wulin had decided to name the product of the fusion the Golden Dragon Dreadclaw.

  Even so, its power came at a steep cost. He could only use it two or three times per battle before running out of soul power, and that wasn’t even at its full strength.

  “Congratulations, your attack range has increased.” Gu Yue smiled as she approached him.

  Yet, a smile was absent from Tang Wulin’s lips. “Let’s go. We should hurry and check on Xie Xie.”


  Slapping the buttons on the back of their hands at the same time, the trio disappeared in a flash of light.

  Not long after their departure, though, a pair of jade-green eyes burst open deep in the forest, a terrifying aura swallowing the surrounding area whole.

  ☀

  After exiting the metal box and clearing his head, Tang Wulin darted out of the room.

  Upon seeing Xie Xie, huddled in a blanket and twitching like mad, Tang Wulin let out a breath of relief.

  Xie Xie was in bad shape. There was no doubt about it. His body couldn’t stop trembling, his pale face soaked with sweat.

  Wu Zhangkong sat beside him. He circulated soul power into his body with the Mysterious Heaven Method to stabilize his condition.

  As long as he had regained consciousness, everything would be fine. After many adventures in the spirit ascension platform, they knew the disharmony in his body disappear momentarily.

  Tang Wulin nudged close to Xie Xie with a smile. “It’s good that you’re alright. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to handle it.”


  Xie Xie rolled his eyes. “How am I ‘alright’? Don’t you see me shaking? So, did you kill it?”


  Tang Wulin nodded. “Yeah, I avenged you.”


  Xie Xie managed a few laughs. “That’s good then. We’ve finally gotten rid of that blasted thing. Now I won’t be haunted by it anymore.”


  “You weren’t the one who killed it,” Xu Xiaoyan interjected as she and Gu Yue arrived.

  Xie Xie said, “You’re always picking a fight with me! Can’t you be nice to me for even a moment after seeing how much I’m suffering!”


  Xu Xiaoyan giggled. “If we let you be prideful now, then who knows how cocky you’re going to act in the future!”


  Xie Xie said, “So you guys didn’t cross over and take look?”


  To that, Tang Wulin shook his head. “We were afraid something happened to you so we rushed out. Oh right, we got a Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear’s right hand soul bone……” He continued to recount the events that transpired.