Chapter 48: Wang Dong's Return Gift! The Unexpected Appearance of an External Soul Bone!

“Anyway, I won’t harm you, just do as I say.”

“At worst, when you become a god, find a weaker deity to beat up and have them pass their divine seat to this old man.”

“If it weren’t for the bottleneck in the divine realm’s promotion channels, this old man would have ascended to godhood long ago.”

“Without connections at the top, it’s just trouble.”

Zhuge Lan’s words piqued everyone’s curiosity.

“Zhuge, from what you’re saying, the number of deities in this world is limited?” Elekks asked.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and Huo Yuhao exchanged attentive glances.

“Exactly,” Zhuge Lan explained—

“The Douluo Divine Realm is limited in territory, so the number of deities it can sustain is finite.”

“After the Dragon God’s demise, there were vacant divine seats, allowing new gods to create their positions by accumulating faith.”

“Now that all seats are filled, a new god must find a deity willing to relinquish their seat to ascend. Otherwise, like that old man Mu En, one might never reach full godhood even upon death.”

“Oh, and soul beasts cannot become gods. The Great Calamity of a hundred thousand years was meant to eradicate you. Even if they lived to a million years, it wouldn’t help because the divine realm has no positions for beast gods.”

“More precisely, human deities do not allow the birth of new beast gods.”

“Soul Masters need soul rings to advance—a rule established after the Dragon God’s fall—to accelerate their growth and curb the overwhelming development of soul beasts.”

Huo Yuhao suddenly understood.

Elekks appeared thoughtful.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was furious!

“No wonder after reaching a million years, their strength ceases to improve, and their lifespan starts to wane.”

“Those up in the heavens never intended to leave us any chances!”

“What about the Dragon God’s fall? What’s the story there?”

Zhuge Lan yawned, clearly uninterested.

“If you want to know what happened next, you’ll have to wait for the next chapter.”

“No, please!” Tianmeng Ice Silkworm skillfully entwined itself around him. “Tell us! How did the Dragon God, the overlord of soul beasts, fall?”

But Zhuge Lan closed his eyes as if asleep.

“Cut the act!”

“You haven’t slept at all these past three months!”

“Get up and tell us!”

“Scoundrel!!!”

No matter how furious Tianmeng Ice Silkworm became, Zhuge Lan remained unresponsive.

To make matters worse, it couldn’t defeat him.

Even more infuriating!

Elekks and Huo Yuhao immediately saw through Zhuge Lan’s prank on Tianmeng Ice Silkworm.

Looks like there won’t be any continuation today.

Elekks resumed his feigned nap to cultivate.

Huo Yuhao returned to his original form and earnestly practiced a set of Tai Chi.

Though one could see the movements, the meaning eluded even Mu En.

However, Yan Shaozhe was nearing a breakthrough at level 95, thanks to the Tai Chi’s profound essence.

It seemed the key to understanding lay in the mental techniques and incantations.

But...

To learn them, one had to join the Holy Fire Sect. Given Mu En’s status, he had to proceed with utmost caution.

Best to wait and see.

Mu En remarked, “A fine martial art, it fits well with ‘Dominating the World.’”

His words enlightened Huo Yuhao.

“Dominating the World” was similar to the power of the Vast Winter—an all-purpose energy.

It could be unleashed directly, overwhelming many foes at once.

Or it could be attached to any technique to amplify its power.

Tai Chi emphasizes the harmony of hardness and softness. When a burst is needed, augmenting it with “Dominating the World” would be devastating for enemies caught in a relentless counterattack.

“Thank you for your guidance, teacher. I will give it a try!”

“No rush.” Mu En gestured toward the dormitory building. “The Haotian Sect has caused quite a stir this time. They probably brought back something good for you. Shall we go have a look?”

Huo Yuhao scratched his nose.

“Sorry, teacher. That soul bone suits Wang Dong better, so...”

“No worries.” Mu En waved him off. “Since it was given to you, you have the right to decide what to do with it. The results haven’t been bad, right?”

Huo Yuhao sighed in relief.

After bidding Mu En farewell, he returned to the dormitory.

This time, he knocked before entering.

“You still remember to come back?” Wang Dong complained. “Come in.”

She looked like a wife waiting at home for her husband...

Huo Yuhao sensed nothing unusual and pushed the door open.

Then he was blinded.

Wang Dong had summoned the Soul Light Goddess Butterfly, and beneath her feet shone three radiant soul rings.

She’d jumped from level 24 to 30 in a month?

If she had absorbed a 240,000-year-old torso bone, that was reasonable.

But!

Wang Dong’s soul ring configuration was—Yellow! Purple! Black!!!

After the millennium-second soul ring, now she had a ten-thousand-year-third soul ring?!

How outrageous!

But considering the 240,000-year-old torso bone mainly boosted constitution, a ten-thousand-year soul ring was plausible.

Still...

“How did you withstand the soul shock from the ten-thousand-year soul ring?” Huo Yuhao asked, puzzled.

This was something he had recently learned from books.

Although soul bones were rare,

major sects could usually assemble sets of roughly matching ages without much trouble.

Most still waited until the fifth soul ring to hunt for ten-thousand-year-level beasts.

That was because the soul shock could easily shatter one’s spiritual world if unprepared.

“That... was handled by my big dad and second dad. I don’t know the details,” Wang Dong shook her head.

Inside his spiritual world, Zhuge Lan silently protested, You’re lying!

The barrier he set up for the Sea God’s divine consciousness had vanished.

No need to ask.

She must have forcibly absorbed the ten-thousand-year soul ring, breaking through the early warning barrier. And then, nothing followed.

That was a fragment of divine consciousness—a foundation that even peerless Douluos could suppress—yet she easily subdued the residual soul of a ten-thousand-year soul beast.

Huo Yuhao quickly came to terms with the reality.

Compared with his own million-year first soul ring, it was still somewhat lacking.

“Since you absorbed the torso bone, it seems you’ve brought back some good resources.”

“Hand it over.”

Wang Dong smiled proudly.

“This time, big dad and second dad personally went to the Star Dou Great Forest and brought back two soul bones for you!”

“One is an eighty-thousand-year-grade spiritual attribute skull, with special fusion capabilities. It can merge with skull soul bones from the same part, including the one you’ve already absorbed!”

“Your Blue Spirit Illusionary Eye skull is fifty thousand years old, with a high chance of fusing into a hundred thousand-year-grade one. Plus, the soul bone skill won’t change—there might even be an extra one.”

Sounds promising.

But compared to the 240,000-year-old torso bone, it still fell short.

So Huo Yuhao remained silent, watching Wang Dong.

“The other one is only three thousand years old...”

Wang Dong dragged the sound out, but Huo Yuhao showed no emotional reaction.

He really had a calm demeanor.

“This one is an extremely rare external soul bone, produced by the Dark Gold Fear Claw Bear—an absolute treasure!”

“Unfortunately, big dad and second dad promised some entity not to let me absorb it, or else it wouldn’t have come to you.”

Huo Yuhao was moved.

Usually, soul beasts had specialties—speed, attack, defense, or the like.

The Dark Gold Fear Claw Bear was a rare exception, combining offense and defense along with swift, overwhelming attacks.

Especially its signature Dark Gold Fear Claw—sharp enough to tear through the heavens!

“Strange,” Tianmeng Ice Silkworm puzzled, “The Bear Lord is very protective of the Dark Gold Fear Claw Bear lineage. How could it allow the hunting of a three-thousand-year-old cub?”

Zhuge Lan remained silent.

—Of course, it was because Wang Dong’s big dad and second dad were descended from the divine realm.

Back then, they had been sacrificed at their doorstep to Tang San.

After Tang San’s ascension, they were “resurrected,” directly as humans, without needing to undergo transformation.

The Emperors wouldn’t be fools—they could see the underlying reasons.

There was no way they’d quarrel over something so trivial.