Chapter 94: Such Pure White and Round Fish
The Sea Dragons, with a whole clan of ten thousand year soul beasts, unleashed a powerful barrage of attacks, erasing the small, desolate island entirely. But their soul rings, an inherent byproduct of the rules governing soul beasts, still lingered in the air.
The Sea Dragon King glared in the direction of Ye Wen, frustrated. It knew, however, that facing Ye Wen's teleportation like mobility was hopeless. Even if the whole clan attacked, they likely couldn't defeat him. The King let out a long, unwilling roar, then turned back toward the deep sea with its clan, helpless against the elusive Ye Wen.
"Go absorb those two soul rings," Ye Wen instructed. "Who would've thought that the Sea Dragon clan, despite being physical fighters, would also have a long range soul skill? That should add some variety to your own abilities."
Even if the newly gained soul skill was a direct offensive type, which might not fully realize the Huo siblings' potential, the process of soul ring absorption always had an element of chance. Their martial souls would naturally try to absorb skills compatible with them, or even adapt them to suit their own attributes.
The first four rings for each sibling had already been power enhancing skills, reflecting the martial souls' inclination for such abilities. With this in mind, it was unlikely they'd directly inherit the long range attack skill, but even if they did, it would still be valuable; the strength they could unleash now would make them more than a match for most Soul Emperors. Even if not essential, it was still a nice bonus.
Reassured with Ye Wen guarding them, the siblings calmly began absorbing the rings. Meanwhile, Ye Wen remained vigilant, occasionally glancing over the remnants of the two Sea Dragons' corpses, now scattered in the ocean.
For large soul beasts, nearly every part of their body had some value, especially a rare sub dragon species like these. While their attributes differed from those of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, this clan would still eagerly buy any dragon remains due to their own martial soul's potential for mutation.
Unfortunately, after the Sea Dragon King's group's devastating attack, the smaller Sea Dragons' bodies were left in pieces. Collecting the remains wouldn't yield anything valuable.
Then, Ye Wen's face took on a strange expression as he fished two translucent, crystalline bones from the sea.
These were no ordinary bones they were the legendary soul bones, one of the most sought after treasures among soul masters. Besides their use in enhancing a soul master's physical abilities, soul bones could grant an additional soul skill, effectively giving someone two abilities similar to a one hundred thousand year soul ring.
In an era when even one hundred thousand year soul rings were legendary, soul bones were an incomparable treasure. And finding two at once Ye Wen's luck was undeniably good. However, considering how the Sea Dragons had met their end, it wasn't hard to imagine their resentment.
The two bones were both right arm bones, but for Huo Rui and Huo Quan, they were ultimately of limited use given their future potential.
Soon, the Huo siblings awoke from their soul ring absorption. Although they were only a year apart in age, both had already reached the Soul King level an achievement beyond most soul masters' reach. Ye Wen's eyes shone with satisfaction.
Huo Rui spoke first. "Master, I've reached level 55. My fifth soul skill is Overlord Dragon Body, which increases my overall attributes by fifty percent for 30 minutes."
Given her recent consumption of two soul enhancing immortal herbs, her spirit power had indeed reached 55, which was consistent with the original effects described for these herbs.
"Good. With the four previous boosting skills, you're now capable of facing off against a lower level Soul Saint," Ye Wen replied.
Meanwhile, Huo Quan's face showed a hint of dissatisfaction. Seeing this, Ye Wen guessed that his soul level must be lower than Huo Rui's. "And you, Huo Quan?"
"My fifth skill is also Overlord Dragon Body, but it boosts all my attributes by sixty percent for 30 minutes. My spirit power is at level 53," Huo Quan replied, a little awkwardly.
Ye Wen quickly reassured him. "53 is good as well, Huo Quan, but don't feel inadequate. The immortal herbs your sister consumed have spirit power boosting effects, whereas only one of the three herbs you consumed enhanced your power level. With steady effort, you'll soon catch up. Your foundation is stronger than Huo Rui's, so with a bit of time, you'll be even stronger than she is."
"Thank you, Master. I'll train harder to catch up," Huo Quan replied earnestly, the friendly competition rekindling his determination.
Ye Wen then explained the soul bones' presence and his plan for them. Understanding that these were better suited for junior disciples, the siblings showed no hesitation and instead insisted on distributing them among their younger, less gifted juniors.
Ye Wen appreciated their lack of greed. Though he could have kept the bones for himself, he still believed in fairness and compensated each of them with 1,000,000 gold soul coins.
With their mission complete, the three prepared to leave. Ye Wen's Sky Barrier skill made travel over the sea unusually easy, sparing them the need to account for wind and wave.
But just as they rose into the air, Ye Wen spotted a shadow floating on the water in the distance.
"A person? Could they have been hit by that Sea Dragon attack just now?" Ye Wen murmured, a little puzzled. Thanks to Ah Yin's positive influence, Ye Wen felt compelled to check and flew closer using Sky Barrier.
The figure in the water appeared to be a woman, but out of propriety, Ye Wen asked Huo Rui to bring her aboard.
Once they got a closer look, the three of them fell silent.
A perfectly white and round fish tail... No, not fish mermaid.
The woman lying on Sky Barrier had long, ocean blue hair adorned with small shell decorations. She was dressed only in a thin garment, which accentuated her curves, and her lower half was a sleek, shimmering blue tail, smooth like a dolphin's.
Seeing his master and Huo Quan staring, Huo Rui finally spoke up with a huff.
"Master, if you keep staring, I'm going to tell on you. And Huo Quan, you're too young for this! Cover your eyes."
Ye Wen cleared his throat, quickly regaining his composure. "Ahem, it's just… seeing a creature with such… maternal grace, well, it's natural to admire it. You have to understand, Huo Rui, this is simply a man's natural reaction it's not my fault. It's just... a basic human instinct. Really, no need to tell Ah Yin about this."
With a disapproving look, Huo Rui pulled a spare robe from her storage ring and covered the mermaid, glaring at Ye Wen and her brother.
Ye Wen turned to look elsewhere, feeling a bit sheepish. Huo Quan, meanwhile, was red faced, stammering as he, too, awkwardly averted his gaze.
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