...
"Alright, stop gossiping."
Xuan Hao looked at Zhu Zhuqing, who had finished absorbing the knowledge and was now "discussing relationship issues" with Ning Rongrong, and nodded in satisfaction.
"His condition is not bad, and his soul power has stabilized."
"but..."
Xuan Hao stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping over Zhu Zhuqing.
"Soul power alone is not enough.
Although your physical attributes have been enhanced by the immortal herb, you are still a bit short of achieving the overwhelming effect I mentioned in a short period of time."
"so--"
Xuan Hao flipped his wrist again.
"Buzz—!!!"
A surge of incredibly violent yet ancient and majestic soul power suddenly erupted within the private room.
A strange bone, its entire body a dark gold color, slowly floated in Xuan Hao's hand.
The bones seemed to be engraved with natural dragon and tiger patterns, and one could faintly hear the roars of dragons and tigers echoing in one's ears, radiating a terrifying pressure.
"This...this is..."
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong both widened their eyes, their breaths catching in their throats.
"The skeleton of a dragon-tiger beast that is 60,000 years old."
Xuan Hao toyed with the soul bone in his hand and casually introduced it:
"This is something I got by luck when I hunted the sixth spirit ring. It came from a 60,000-year-old dragon-tiger beast with true dragon blood."
"It is of extremely high quality, and can even be described as a top-tier treasure that is infinitely close to a 100,000-year-old soul bone."
"I originally intended to give this to Yanzi, but she was lucky enough to get a matching soul bone herself.
As for the others... the attributes aren't quite right for them."
Xuan Hao looked at Zhu Zhuqing, who was completely stunned, and casually tossed the priceless soul bone over to her:
"The Dragon-Tiger Beast combines the power of a dragon with the explosive power of a tiger.
Although its bloodline is not as pure as that of a true dragon, it can still be considered a top-tier soul beast."
"This soul bone can not only greatly improve your physical attributes, defense, and explosive power, but most importantly..."
Xuan Hao looked at Zhu Zhuqing and said meaningfully:
"It will most likely grant you an extremely powerful offensive soul skill, or a passive skill that allows you to unleash terrifying power while maintaining agility."
"For a pure agility-based Soul Master like you, this perfectly makes up for your weaknesses of being fragile and lacking explosive power."
"..."
Zhu Zhuqing instinctively caught the soul bone, only to find that the thing in her hand was as heavy as a thousand pounds and so hot that she almost couldn't hold it.
Sixty thousand years?!
Torso bones?!
This is the most important part among the six great soul bones!
And it's 60,000 years old!
Even if this level of treasure were in the Star Luo royal family, it would be a national treasure capable of causing bloodshed!
"You...you..."
Zhu Zhuqing felt as if her throat was blocked, and she couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
First, there was the immortal herb that could change one's fate, and now there's this top-tier soul bone...
This can't be described as just "generous," it's simply... insane!
"madman..."
Zhu Zhuqing muttered to herself, her eyes filled with disbelief and fear as she looked at Xuan Hao:
"Do you know how much this thing is worth? No, it's beyond what money can measure!"
"You just gave it to me like that?!"
Ning Rongrong, standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded, her mouth slightly agape, unable to close it for a long time.
Although she came from a wealthy family and was used to treasures, this casual act of throwing away a 60,000-year-old soul bone still severely shocked her worldview.
"Xuan Hao!!"
Ning Rongrong grabbed Xuan Hao's arm, stomping her feet in anger:
"Aren't you being a little too generous?!"
"Giving away immortal herbs is one thing, but this is a 60,000-year-old torso and bones! You're just going to give it away like that?!"
"you..."
Ning Rongrong pointed at Xuan Hao, then at Zhu Zhuqing, her face filled with a sorrowful indignation that seemed to say, "I see right through you."
"You really lust after her body?!
You pervert!
You big lecher!!"
"Cough cough... What do you mean by 'craving one's body'?
That sounds awful."
Xuan Hao innocently pushed Ning Rongrong's hand away and said seriously:
"You need to understand that if a soul bone stays in my hands, it's just a dead bone.
No matter how precious it is, it can't help me fight or do anything for me."
"It only has value when it is used and transformed into real combat power."
"Zhu Zhuqing".
Xuan Hao pointed to the soul bone in her hand and commanded without room for argument:
"Absorb it quickly."
"You've already eaten the magic herb, so it would be too pretentious for you to talk to me about being embarrassed now."
"But..."
Zhu Zhuqing's hands trembled as she held the soul bone.
"This is too precious... I..."
"precious?"
Xuan Hao stepped forward, looking down at her.
"You've already eaten the immortal herb and called me 'boss,' so why are you pretending to be reserved with me now?"
"I'm giving you this not so you can keep it as a keepsake, nor so you can sell it for money."
"I want you to become stronger in the shortest amount of time, strong enough to stand on your own for me, strong enough to become a sharp knife in my hand!"
"Absorb it quickly!"
"If you refuse again, you're disrespecting me, and you're disrespecting yourself!"
Zhu Zhuqing trembled slightly after being scolded.
She looked up into Xuan Hao's crimson-gold eyes.
There was not a trace of desire or greed in them, only a reassuring openness, and... absolute trust in her.
"I..."
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath, her eyes reddening slightly.
From childhood to adulthood, apart from her mother who had passed away long ago, no one had ever been so kind to her.
Even her father only saw her as a tool for a family marriage alliance; even Dai Mubai only saw her as his fiancée and an accessory.
Only this boy in front of me, whom I've only met twice.
He gave her dignity, gave her hope, and gave her the power to change her destiny.
"good."
Zhu Zhuqing no longer declined, her eyes becoming incredibly firm:
"I absorb it."
"Brother Hao, this kindness... Zhu Zhuqing will repay it with her life."
"That's right."
Xuan Hao smiled with satisfaction and patted her shoulder:
"What do you mean by life?
What would I do with your life?"
"Just live a good life and work for me."
As Zhu Zhuqing sat down cross-legged to begin absorbing the soul bone, Xuan Hao turned around and met Ning Rongrong's large eyes, which were filled with resentment.
"snort!"
Ning Rongrong snorted heavily and turned her head away, ignoring him.
Xuan Hao chuckled and leaned closer, whispering:
"What? Are you jealous?"
"Who's jealous! I'm not!"
Ning Rongrong retorted stubbornly.
Don't worry.
Xuan Hao lowered his voice and said in a tone that only the two of them could hear:
"I call this... buying a horse's bones with a thousand pieces of gold."
"While she's desperate and disoriented, I need to shower her with the best stuff to knock her senses out."
"Only in this way will she be completely devoted to me and willingly stay by my side, becoming my most loyal person."
"after all..."
"The hardest debt to repay in this world is the debt of gratitude."
Ning Rongrong paused for a moment after hearing this, then rolled her eyes:
"Tch, that sounds nice."
"I think you just want to raise fish!"
Xuan Hao, radiating righteousness, retorted, "Nonsense! I'm clearly raising a cat!"
"..." Ning Rongrong.
"…" Na'er.
You're getting more and more shameless!
Another hour passed.
Inside the private room, Zhu Zhuqing, who had been sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes.
"boom--!!!"
An invisible yet tangible fierce aura erupted from her seemingly delicate body without warning.
At that moment, Ning Rongrong, who was standing next to her, even had a strange feeling, as if she was no longer facing that aloof girl, but a ten-thousand-year-old dragon-tiger beast that had just awakened and was about to devour people!
The original yin and mysterious aura of the Netherworld Cat has now been replaced by an incomparably domineering and fierce one.
Yin and Yang in harmony, strength and gentleness in balance.
"call..."
Zhu Zhuqing slowly stood up, and her bones cracked like thunder once again.
She looked down at her hands, her eyes filled with shock.
Is this feeling of explosive power really something that an agility-type Soul Master can possess?
"Come here, let me take a look."
Xuan Hao stepped forward without any hesitation, directly reaching out to pinch Zhu Zhuqing's shoulders and arms, and even probing a wisp of his soul power into her body for a while.
After a moment, Xuan Hao withdrew his hand.
"Not bad, quite good."
"The integration is perfect."
"Your current physical attributes, whether in terms of resilience or explosive power, have far surpassed those of ordinary power-attack type Soul Masters, and are even comparable to top-tier power-attack type Soul Grandmasters."
"With this physique, you won't be as fragile as paper once you're controlled, unlike traditional agility-based characters.
Now you can run, withstand attacks, and fight."
"Even Dai Mubai's White Tiger Vajra Transformation is just a paper tiger in front of you."
Upon hearing the name "Dai Mubai," the shock in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes gradually transformed into a chilling fighting spirit.
Let's go.
Xuan Hao glanced at the night sky outside the window; the lights of the Great Soul Arena had already illuminated the city's night sky.
"Talk is cheap and action is useless."
"Now that we're all equipped with the divine gear, let's put it to the test in actual combat."
"Go to the Soto Arena."
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