The process of Yang Zhenzhen fusing with the soul bone went extremely smoothly. Because she had already absorbed the Heavenly Thunder Eagle's soul ring beforehand, her compatibility with its soul bone was significantly increased, making the fusion process much easier.
After successfully fusing with the Heavenly Thunder Eagle torso bone, Yang Zhenzhen's soul power reached Rank 33—a respectable level, at least not enough to draw suspicion.
"Zhenzhen, what's the soul bone skill?" Jiang Nannan asked with deep concern.
"It's an amplification-type soul skill," Yang Zhenzhen replied, her face full of excitement. "Thunder Transformation! After using it, my strength, speed, lightning affinity, and soul power recovery speed all increase!"
"That's a pretty good soul skill!" Zhu Ziyang showed a hint of surprise and then reminded her, "Zhenzhen, remember—never tell anyone that you possess a soul bone. No matter who it is, keep it a secret! Unless your strength reaches Soul Sage level. Understand?"
"Mhm! I understand!" Yang Zhenzhen wasn't some naïve child. She understood both the value of soul bones and the greed in human nature, so she nodded seriously.
"As long as you know what to do," Zhu Ziyang didn't say anything more. For this little sister with whom he shared no blood ties, he and Jiang Nannan had already done enough. How far she could go would depend on her own fortune from now on.
The three were ready to leave the Star Dou Forest.
However, things rarely go so smoothly. Before they could even exit the forest's core region, they ran into trouble.
They encountered evil soul masters—three of them, all at the Soul Douluo level.
When Zhu Ziyang's group came across them, the three evil soul masters were in the midst of besieging a ten-thousand-year soul beast: a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear! Ten-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears were formidable; even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were reluctant to provoke them. Though the three evil Soul Douluos held a numbers advantage, they still approached cautiously, and thus hadn't noticed Zhu Ziyang's group nearby.
"Nannan, take Zhenzhen and leave the forest first. I'll catch up soon," Zhu Ziyang instructed, his tone brooking no argument.
"Alright," Jiang Nannan nodded, though worry filled her expression. "Be very careful!"
Of course she wanted to stay and fight alongside Zhu Ziyang. But with Yang Zhenzhen present, neither of them could go all out, since they'd need to constantly watch over her safety. Only by taking Zhenzhen and leaving could Zhu Ziyang unleash his full power.
As for whether Zhu Ziyang could handle three Soul Douluo-level evil soul masters alone, Jiang Nannan had no doubts whatsoever. She knew his strength better than anyone. Forget Soul Douluos—even three Title Douluos wouldn't be able to harm her Brother Ziyang. So after warning him to be careful, she took Yang Zhenzhen and quickly fled the danger zone.
"Let's see what you lot really are," Zhu Ziyang murmured, eyes sharpening as he gazed ahead.
There, the three evil soul masters were battling the ten-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.
These three were all clearly over seventy years old, and bizarrely, they were identical triplets. From their appearances to their clothing, they looked completely the same—tall and thin, faces wrinkled, grayish-white hair draped loosely down their backs, eyes a dull yellow, and their hooked noses and thin lips gave off a sinister impression.
They each wore a gray long robe and held a cane in hand—pitch-black, three meters long, each topped with a grey gemstone the size of a human head. The eerie aura they emitted revealed that these were all Grade-8 soul tools.
At this moment, their exposed bodies were covered in gray scales, and blood-red mist and black energy swirled around them. From this unnatural soul light, Zhu Ziyang sensed a thick stench of blood and death. Behind each of them floated their soul rings, and in front of them hovered ghostly beast spirits—presumably their life-bound beast souls.
Their bizarre powers and seamless cooperation had actually put the ten-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, which could match a Title Douluo, at a disadvantage.
Zhu Ziyang didn't know what their exact objective was, so he didn't act rashly. Whether it was the evil soul masters or the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, they had nothing to do with him—though, of course, he found evil soul masters far more disgusting. If the bear could kill them, great. If not, he would avenge it. So he chose to continue observing.
After a few glances, Zhu Ziyang had already seen through the triplets' abilities and even guessed their intentions.
Their martial soul was the Nether Domain Serpent—a typical evil martial soul capable of enslaving souls, whether from soul beasts or even humans. The former might still be tolerable, but the latter was unforgivable. No one wanted to live worse than death.
These three had clearly set their sights on the bear's beast soul. The ghostly images before them were likely their current bound beast souls.
Now that he'd figured out their purpose, Zhu Ziyang didn't hesitate. He leapt forward, Stillness Fate Ending Scythe appearing in his hand, followed by a radiant burst of holy light that pierced the darkness.
Brilliant light descended from the heavens, catching the three evil soul masters completely off guard. The ultimate light attribute's purification force instantly incinerated the blood and darkness surrounding their bodies—the very embodiment of their sins.
"Aaaagh—!" Piercing screams rang out from all three, but beyond those cries, they couldn't utter another sound. Their flesh melted under the holy light, and their souls were purified by the hidden death power within that light. Light purified their bodies; death cleansed their souls. This was Zhu Ziyang's first true test of this dual annihilation.
Meanwhile, the three beast souls besieging the bear abruptly stopped mid-attack. Just as they were about to tear it apart, they began to dissolve from the head down into shimmering red particles, vanishing into the wind. As their masters died, their life-bound beast souls were also freed.
"Whew," Zhu Ziyang exhaled lightly, then chuckled. "Easy."
His gaze shifted to the items left behind by the three evil soul masters—three Grade-8 soul tool canes, and two or three soul bones. Since the soul bones hadn't been purified by the holy light, it proved they were normal soul bones—suitable for ordinary soul masters. Excellent.
After storing away the three soul tools and soul bones, Zhu Ziyang's eyes turned to the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. It lay on the ground, seemingly resigned to its fate. Its head tilted back with effort, eyes locked on one direction until their final light faded.
Zhu Ziyang didn't feel much—only curiosity. Following the bear's dying gaze, he noticed a faintly visible cave entrance hidden among the underbrush. Inside, something appeared to be wriggling.
Surprised, he cautiously approached, brushed aside the plants, and what he saw made him freeze—two sleeping Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear cubs, curled up together. Each one was only 80 to 90 centimeters in size, clearly newborns.
But... Zhu Ziyang scratched his head in confusion. Looking back at the bear's body—wasn't that a male Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear?
Despite the mystery, he had to make a decision. Should he take these cubs or not? If left here—no father, no mother—they wouldn't survive a year. Sigh... better to take them. They were rare top-tier soul beasts, after all. Consider it raising two future bodyguards—or maybe companions for Xingcai. Two little bear brothers would do nicely.
Zhu Ziyang bent down and picked up the two bear cubs. They were surprisingly heavy. These little ones had no idea their fates were about to change forever.
He placed them in the Holy Law Demiplane for safekeeping. Then his gaze fell on the adult bear's corpse. As a ten-thousand-year top-tier soul beast, Zhu Ziyang was 90% certain its body would produce a soul bone. So he decided to search it.
Sure enough, he found one—a ten-thousand-year right arm bone from the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear!
"Perfect. Let this count as your child-rearing fee," Zhu Ziyang chuckled, then lightly stomped the ground, creating a large pit into which he carefully buried the bear's remains.
Without lingering, his figure flickered and vanished.
(End of Chapter)
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