Two and a half hours later.
The girls, Shui Bing'er and the others, stood on a nearby rock, chattering animatedly about something, while Shen Hanyu continued to frantically devour the life force of the Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcon, completely unaffected by the sounds around him.
Pure and vast energy continuously poured into Shen Hanyu's body, nourishing every meridian within him. His soul power cultivation was rising at a speed that would be unimaginable in normal times.
In just a short moment, he broke through the barrier of level 67 and directly entered level 68. Tian Meng, in the spiritual sea, silently calculated.
If all the energy from the Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcon that hadn't dissipated was fully absorbed, Shen Hanyu's cultivation would likely reach around level 69. Although he probably wouldn't break through to Soul Sage, this would still save him half a year of full-effort cultivation. With that time freed up, he could do many things, and the previous plans could finally begin to be implemented...
After finishing the absorption of the soul ring, Shui Bing'er, standing to the side, let out a soft sigh. She looked at Shen Liuyu beside her and said somewhat helplessly,
"Liuyu, if even just a little of what your brother has were revealed, I'm afraid even the Spirit Hall would do everything in their power to recruit him. I really don't know how he manages to be so monstrous..."
Shen Liuyu also looked utterly bewildered. After hesitating for a moment, she honestly replied,
"If I said I don't really understand him either, would you believe me?"
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er's expressions turned a bit strange. After a pause, they tentatively asked,
"Really?"
Shen Liuyu felt a little deflated but still nodded and said helplessly,
"My brother has a restless personality. At six years old, he ran off on his own to train for several years. When he came back at eleven, he only stayed a few days before heading to Tiandou City. After that, he just kept getting more and more monstrous. As for what exactly happened in between, I truly know nothing about it."
Shui Bing'er and her sister nodded thoughtfully, then asked curiously,
"What about you?"
Shen Liuyu pointed a finger at herself, looking a bit embarrassed as she said,
"I quite like sticking close to him, but he rarely stayed home since we were young. After awakening my martial soul, all my soul rings were hunted for me by my brother. Later, he also gave me many precious treasures, including those that improve aptitude and can evolve martial souls. But usually, I just wait for him to bring them to me. As for how he got them, I never asked, and he never told me."
As Shen Liuyu spoke, she glanced at Shen Hanyu, who was still absorbing the life force of the Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcon, paused for a moment, then continued in a softer voice,
"But my brother has been much more mature than his peers ever since I can remember. Still, sometimes he overthinks things, so he's very good at disguising himself."
Shui Bing'er nodded and said nothing more.
Shui Yue'er, however, gazed at Shen Hanyu's profile, her little face flushed red. She said with a touch of admiration,
"No matter what, Brother Yu is always so handsome. Hmm? Sister, don't you think so?"
Shen Liuyu: ovo?
Shui Bing'er: Just destroy it all, I'm tired. I don't want this little sister anymore.
...
Only when the Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcon's corpse had completely turned into a desiccated husk did Shen Hanyu let out a comfortable moan and slowly open his eyes.
Seeing the three girls quietly waiting nearby, Shen Hanyu showed no surprise. He calmly stood up, looked at them, and softly said,
"Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?"
The three girls all shook their heads. For soul masters, this amount of time was nothing; it could easily pass with a single light meditation session.
Shen Hanyu nodded, then turned to look at the Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcon's corpse, which had shrunk by more than half. A trace of surprise mixed with delight appeared on his face.
The Cold Heaven Spear sliced open a layer of skin on the surface, and a silver-colored right arm soul bone was slowly drawn out and landed in Shen Hanyu's hand.
A right arm soul bone produced by a Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcon, over fifty thousand years old, its value was no less than that of an ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul bone. Even though it only had one skill, it was still among the finest of soul bones.
Shen Hanyu couldn't help but sigh softly in his heart: Transmigrators really do get benefits. At least the soul bones from the soul beasts he had personally hunted had been numerous, and every single one was top-quality.
The three girls, Shui Bing'er included, were also drawn to this soul bone, their breathing involuntarily catching.
Shen Liuyu was relatively calm about it. She already had one top-quality soul bone attached to her body, and another decent-quality Storm Right Leg Bone of Bloodthirsty Frenzy was gathering dust in her storage soul tool. Although she had some interest in this soul bone, she didn't place too much importance on it.
The usually composed Shui Bing'er had the strongest reaction. She had already absorbed a soul ring from a Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcon. If she absorbed this top-quality soul bone from the same species as well, she could absolutely pull far ahead of her peers and even directly catch up to Shen Liuyu's cultivation speed.
Moreover, a soul bone produced by a flying-type soul beast like the Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcon was inherently perfect for the Ice Phoenix martial soul. The appeal of this soul bone to her was unparalleled.
Shui Yue'er swallowed hard, her eyes filled with envy and longing, but without a trace of malice.
Shen Hanyu glanced at Shui Bing'er from the corner of his eye, fully aware of her reaction, then directly stored the soul bone in his own storage soul tool.
Until Shui Bing'er completely became one of his own, he wouldn't foolishly hand over something so precious. Of course, that process would still take some time.
As for what he had given before, those were harmless gestures. He was willing to test her character once. If she leaked those things, he could retaliate early and avoid greater trouble later.
It was a very simple test of human nature that cost almost nothing. As for the result, Shen Hanyu was quite interested.
Having finished everything here, Shen Hanyu looked at the three girls, smiled lightly, and said,
"Let's go. It's all settled, we should head back."
The three girls finally snapped out of it and nodded. Then, they leaped out through the breach created by the Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcon and returned to the surface.
Before leaving, Shen Hanyu glanced back once more, then thrust his spear to collapse the surrounding rock walls, completely burying everything below. This was the last thing he could do.
In the spiritual sea, Tian Meng let out a long sigh and said with some sympathy,
"What a pity. If these two Silver Emperor Heavenly Falcons hadn't been so useful to Hanyu and that little girl, with a kind personality like mine, I really couldn't bear to watch such a parting of life and death..."
Shen Hanyu felt no emotional stir. After a pause, he said,
"It's just a matter of differing standpoints. They are soul beasts, and I am human. In each other's eyes, we are enemies who won't stop until the other is dead. If they had killed me today, I would have no complaints; it would mean I was simply inferior. But since they are the ones who died today, they have no one to blame but themselves. Don't overthink it. Most of the time, we just need to take care of ourselves."
Tian Meng hummed in agreement and fell silent. From its perspective, there was truly nothing wrong with what Shen Hanyu said.