Douluo: Peerless Beastmaster King-Chapter 123 - 124: An External Soul Bone Close to Four Hundred Thousand Years?

Chapter 123 - 124: An External Soul Bone Close to Four Hundred Thousand Years?

Upon hearing Bing Di's words, the faint trace of majesty and dominance on Zhou Sichen's face slowly faded, replaced by a warm smile.

Bing Di looked at the gentle smile on Zhou Sichen's face, remembering the tyrannical aura he had just moments ago. Her heart stirred slightly.

Though it seemed like she was throwing herself into someone else's hands, an inexplicable intuition told her that she might not regret this decision.

She might even gain something unexpected.

The Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor (Tianmeng Iceworm) let out a huge sigh of relief, his ten-meter-long body swaying, "As expected of my beloved Bingbing. One day, you'll be glad you made this choice."

Bing Di immediately shot him a cold glare. "Tianmeng, you useless worm, if you try to take advantage of me one more time, I swear I'll take you both down with me. Don't think I won't! I'll self-destruct and blast this prison wide open. When that happens, both of you are coming with me!"

"I'll go along with your god-making plan, but I have one condition—Tianmeng better keep his mouth shut from now on."

Seeing Bing Di's determined expression, Tianmeng froze for a second. "Uh... you're not really that heartless, are you? I came here just for you, Bingbing!"

Bing Di continued to glare coldly at him but said nothing more.

Zhou Sichen only smiled slightly and gently patted Tianmeng on the head. Turning to Bing Di, he said, "No problem. I'm his big brother now. If you don't like his constant chatter, I'll mute him for you."

Hearing this, Bing Di finally looked at Zhou Sichen, her expression softening.

Before Tianmeng could start throwing a tantrum, Zhou Sichen spoke to him via spiritual communication, "Alright, Tianmeng, no need to get worked up. Sooner or later, she'll be yours. With your charm, how could someone like the Ice Empress resist you?"

Hearing that, Tianmeng Iceworm instantly perked up.

That's right! He was the king of soul beasts, the first million-year soul beast on the continent! Once Bingbing saw all his merits, she was sure to fall for him!

But then he recalled the subtle emotional change Bing Di had shown toward Zhou Sichen earlier. He couldn't help but issue a warning: "Sichen, we're brothers now. Don't you dare try to steal my girl!"

Zhou Sichen nearly choked, responding irritably, "Don't worry. I like beautiful women, yes—but I won't steal your girl!"

Tianmeng instantly relaxed. He trusted Zhou Sichen that much.

But then he caught the flaw in Zhou Sichen's response: "Wait a minute... I said you can't steal a brother's girl, and your answer was just that you won't steal my girl. So... which other brother are you targeting, huh?!"

Zhou Sichen resisted the urge to crush him like a grape and glanced at Bing Di. "I agree to your condition. Now release your spiritual origin. You didn't seriously think I'd just let you out like this, did you?"

Bing Di's beautiful, ice-blue eyes showed a flicker of hesitation as she gazed into his calm gaze.

Once she released her spiritual origin, the massive gap between her and Tianmeng's spiritual power would leave her with no chance to go back on her decision.

If Zhou Sichen and Tianmeng were deceiving her, she'd have no way to recover.

Naturally, Zhou Sichen understood what she was hesitating about. With a calm tone, he said something that made her waver.

"I swear upon my martial soul: If I, Zhou Sichen, am deceiving you today, may my martial soul shatter, and may I perish without a trace."

Tianmeng quickly followed suit to show his sincerity. "Ice God above, I, Tianmeng Iceworm, swear in the name of Ice: If I deceive Bing Di and fail to help her become a Spiritual Soul Ring after she releases her spiritual origin, may everything of Ice be stripped from me."

In the world of Douluo Dalu, such oaths were the most binding and potent—if broken, they would be truly punished.

"Alright. With your oaths, I'm willing to trust my future partners."

With both of them making such declarations, Bing Di had no further doubts.

As one of the Three Great Kings of the Extreme North, Bing Di was known for her decisiveness in battle. After only a moment of hesitation, she made her choice.

Besides, Tianmeng no longer had a physical body, and as he had said, he could have chosen to end her instead.

She'd always known Tianmeng had feelings for her, though she only viewed that big worm as food...

After weighing all the factors, she made her decision.

Tianmeng glanced at Zhou Sichen, who nodded slightly. Tianmeng then began to relax the restraints he'd placed on Bing Di.

As the bindings loosened, her crystalline yellow eyes slowly turned emerald green. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion raised her long green tail once more.

She was indeed moved—and convinced.

A soft emerald glow pulsed from the base of her tail and slowly traveled upward, eventually converging at the tip.

With a flash of green light, a small emerald orb detached from the tail and floated upward.

As soon as the spiritual origin separated, Bing Di's eyes immediately dulled and dimmed.

Only soul beasts above the hundred-thousand-year level could perform this special ability—releasing their spiritual origin.

Seeing the spiritual origin emerge, Zhou Sichen felt a flicker of joy in his heart. He knew he was about to undergo another massive transformation.

Tianmeng let out a huge sigh of relief. He had feared Bing Di might lose her head at the last moment.

Although Zhou Sichen's strength was currently only comparable to an average Titled Douluo, with both Tianmeng and Yi Lao's spiritual origins at his back, even if Bing Di had tried something, they could have protected him.

But the price would've been steep—once Zhou Sichen grew stronger, Bing Di would've become nothing more than a soul ring and soul bone for him.

Thankfully, Bing Di had chosen the best outcome.

Tianmeng's body swayed as he wrapped his golden spirit origin around Zhou Sichen. As the emerald orb floated over, Tianmeng channeled his vast mental energy, swallowing the green orb like a whale devouring water.

Once done, Tianmeng, now containing both spiritual origins, dove straight into Zhou Sichen's forehead and returned to his spiritual sea.

Bing Di's physical body remained wrapped in Tianmeng's discarded cocoon, to suppress the terrifying aura of a fierce beast and avoid drawing unwanted attention.

Zhou Sichen closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged on the ground, his spiritual power manifesting within his mental sea.

At this point, his spiritual sea had enough "residents" to form a mahjong table.

But Bing Di had no time for such jokes. Her spiritual origin took on the form of a petite, adorable young girl and stood frozen in place.

With Tianmeng's spiritual origin returning, ten golden "suns" now floated in Zhou Sichen's sea of consciousness, making the space warm and comfortable.

But as Bing Di followed the direction of those golden suns, she saw a towering figure standing beneath them—dignified and solemn, his stern face exuding authority as he calmly looked at her.

As she sensed the terrifying pressure radiating from him, Bing Di's beautiful eyes widened in shock. "Th-this..."

Even if she were completely unrestrained and unleashed all her power, she likely wouldn't be able to match this towering figure's strength. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Now, she truly believed Zhou Sichen's words. Without Tianmeng's mediation, Zhou Sichen really could have turned her into a soul ring and soul bone.

Bing Di had never imagined that within Zhou Sichen's spiritual sea—besides Tianmeng, this so-called Spiritual Soul Ring—there was another such terrifying existence!

The fierce aura she had cultivated over nearly 400,000 years couldn't even compare to the subtle pressure this figure gave off!

Her power was unmatched in the Extreme North, second only to Snow Empress. Even in the human world, she would be considered one of the strongest beneath Limit Douluo.

Then the power this man once held in life...

The figure smiled gently and said, "Hello. My name is Electrolux."

The Ice Empress quickly snapped back to her senses. "My true form is the Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor... also known as the Ice Empress."

Tian Meng looked at the always proud and temperamental Ice Emperor, who now wore such an expression. His fondness for her grew even stronger. He transformed into a handsome little boy and approached the Ice Empressto explain:

"Ice Bing—ah no, Ice Empress, this is Elder Yi. In his previous life, he was someone who had reached that realm. Due to an accident, he ended up in our world. He's also Sicheng's angel investor!"

Upon hearing this, the Ice Empress, though still not fully understanding who Elder Yi was, clearly recognized the level and power he represented.

That realm... came to our world...

Just those few words put together were enough. No further explanation was needed.

Ignoring the clingy Tian Meng, the Ice Emperor turned to Zhou Sicheng and said, "If you'd told me earlier that you had such a senior aiding you, we wouldn't have needed this guy running his mouth."

Zhou Sicheng smiled slightly. "Elder Yi was afraid of scaring the kids. Besides... Tian Meng truly does care about you..."

Seeing the shift in Ice Emperor's gaze, Zhou Sicheng stopped himself and changed the subject. "At the very least, the result is good, right?"

The Ice Emperor gave a small nod. She was beginning to understand what Zhou Sicheng meant by "scaring the kids."

Standing before someone who had reached that realm and even came from another world, her nearly 400,000 years of cultivation truly did make her just a "child."

If she still had any lingering concerns before, now she could fully put them to rest.

With such a powerhouse guiding Zhou Sicheng, coupled with Sicheng's own exceptional talent, along with both Tian Meng and herself aiding him...

If even that lineup couldn't reach that realm, then she truly couldn't imagine who in this world possibly could.

Zhou Sicheng glanced at the three beings within his spiritual sea and got straight to the point: "With my current physical condition, directly absorbing Ice Emperor's soul ring would be difficult. However, I can resolve this by fusing the soul bone first, then the soul ring."

Hearing this, Elder Yi, Tian Meng, and the Ice Emperor all nodded.

Now that she was inside Zhou Sicheng's spiritual sea, the Ice Emperor could clearly sense the state of his body.

Though she was surprised that he possessed such terrifying physical strength at just thirteen years old, it was still not quite stable or safe enough to absorb her soul ring directly.

Thus, the proposal to absorb the soul bone first was entirely feasible—and matched her own thoughts.

Zhou Sicheng looked at the Ice Emperor again and added, "But doing this presents a problem. It would destroy your physical form completely, leaving no path of return."

The Ice Emperor's beautiful face showed indifference. "Since when have I ever left myself a way out? Once I make a decision, I go all in. Hesitation only lets opportunities slip by."

"Since you have a plan, then let's do it your way. I'll fully cooperate."

In that moment, the Ice Emperor displayed the majesty of one of the Three Great Kings of the Extreme North—truly living up to her name.

Even Elder Yi nodded in approval at her resolute character.

As for Tian Meng—now in his little pretty boy form—he was practically glued to the Ice Emperor, tail-wagging like an infatuated dog.

"Ahhh, worthy of being one of the Three Kings of the Extreme North! No wonder I, the Skydream Iceworm, love her. So cool!"

The Ice Emperor shot him a cold glare. "Don't get all clingy with me, Tian Meng. Don't forget—once I merge with Zhou Sicheng, all of my power will be transferred into him. If you so much as try to take liberties with me again... hmph!"

Tian Meng's eyes widened: "..."

He couldn't find any words to rebut... Wasn't the plan supposed to be the lamb walking into the tiger's den? Why did it feel like the roles had been reversed?

The Ice Emperor turned to Zhou Sicheng, softening her tone and speaking with a hint of a loli voice: "So, have you decided which soul bone you want?"

A 100,000-year soul beast will always produce a 100,000-year soul bone, and the soul master can choose the location.

Given Zhou Sicheng's knowledge and performance so far, the Ice Emperor was sure he already understood this.

So she continued, "I recommend a torso soul bone. It would provide the greatest boost to your physical strength. And a torso soul bone of nearly 400,000 years... that's a fitting age for the most important bone."

Her suggestion was sound and well thought out.

However, Zhou Sicheng shook his head.

It wasn't that he looked down on a nearly 400,000-year-old torso soul bone.

It was because... he had a bold idea!

The Ice Emperor didn't misunderstand his intent. Her face turned troubled. "You want my nearly 400,000-year soul bone... to become your external soul bone?"

Zhou Sicheng nodded slightly. Talking to smart people was easy—he didn't even need to explain; she immediately got it.

Seeing him nod, not just the Ice Emperor, but even Tian Meng's face changed. "Sicheng, this is different from what we originally discussed! Do you know how much pain you'll have to endure if her soul bone becomes your external soul bone?!"

Surprisingly, the Ice Emperor agreed with Tian Meng this time and nodded. "With your current physique, even absorbing my soul bone as a torso bone would cause considerable pain. But as an external soul bone? The energy of a nearly 400,000-year soul bone being attached externally would be like a complete physical reconstruction. The level of pain... even I can't imagine it..."

As a ferocious beast who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, and one of the ruling forces in the Extreme North, the Ice Emperor was deeply familiar with the power of external soul bones.

External soul bones were separate from the six primary soul bones and extremely rare.

Even the most ordinary external soul bone was worth as much as a 100,000-year soul bone.

Their only downside was that they couldn't be passed on. Once fused, if the soul master died, the external soul bone would perish with them.

But they had one great advantage: once fully fused, they could evolve and grow stronger alongside the soul master.

As long as the soul master kept growing, the external soul bone would grow too. On some powerful individuals, evolved external soul bones far surpassed regular 100,000-year ones.

A regular 100,000-year soul bone would forever remain just that—no lower limit, but also no upper ceiling.

External soul bones had low starting points, but potentially limitless growth.

If Zhou Sicheng started with a nearly 400,000-year external soul bone, its initial boost could even surpass that of a torso bone.

But more importantly, as his strength grew, the external soul bone would continue to evolve—beyond 400,000 years, and even further!

Given Zhou Sicheng's talent and potential, plus his "angel investors," it was only a matter of time before the soul bone granted by the Ice Emperor reached higher realms.

So far, the most successful evolution of an external soul bone was undoubtedly the Eight Spider Lances, which eventually evolved into the Sea God's Eight Wings.

Now imagine starting from a nearly 400,000-year soul bone—if Zhou Sicheng reached that realm, what would it evolve into?

Zhou Sicheng certainly dreamed of that. But so did the Ice Emperor and Tian Meng.

Still, the pain and difficulty of fusing a 400,000-year external soul bone were far beyond that of a torso soul bone.

The benefits of each were different. But Zhou Sicheng choosing the external bone meant enduring unimaginable pain.

Despite all his talent and strength, in their eyes... he was still just a thirteen-year-old boy.

At their age, that was less than the time it took them to nap.

Neither Tian Meng nor the Ice Emperor could imagine whether Zhou Sicheng could withstand such torment.

And if he failed, all their plans, efforts, and investments would go up in smoke. Worse, everyone involved would perish. All would become dust.

So—for Zhou Sicheng's sake, and for their own—they could not, in good conscience, recommend he fuse with a nearly 400,000-year external soul bone.

****

If you want to support me or read advanced Chapters (21+), consider checking out my pat.

patr*on.com/Salsita2k