In the heart of the Great Star Dou Forest
Dai Chengfeng sat cross-legged on a thick layer of fallen leaves, his right hand firmly gripping the external soul bone dropped by the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear…
As the soul bone slowly merged into Dai Chengfeng's body—
In just moments, his entire right arm was enveloped in the distinctive dark golden glow.
At this time, Ye Lingling stood nearby, watching as Dai Chengfeng's brows furrowed and his body occasionally trembled slightly. A flicker of worry crossed her eyes.
"Grandfather, will Chengfeng be alright?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Renxin shook his head. "Don't worry, he'll be fine!"
"It's certain that fusing this external soul bone will be somewhat difficult, especially since the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear is a top-tier soul beast."
"But I have faith in Prince Chengfeng."
"After all, his second soul ring is already a thousand-year one—let alone now, when it's just an external soul bone."
Zhu Fan stepped forward, also offering comforting words to Ye Lingling. "Little miss, don't worry."
"Though I'm not sure how Chengfeng trains, his physical strength far surpasses what you might imagine—by countless times."
"A mere thousand-year Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear's external soul bone won't pose much difficulty for him to fuse."
As he spoke.
Zhu Fan looked at Dai Chengfeng, envy filling his eyes as an unmanly tear trickled from the corner of his mouth. "Tsk tsk, with such an overwhelmingly powerful body, whoever marries Chengfeng in the future will truly be blessed…"
Ye Lingling listened to their explanations, her worries subsiding.
But Zhu Fan's latter comment left her puzzled.
What did his strong physique have to do with someone being blessed if they married him?
Still, she didn't ask.
For a moment, everyone fell silent, quietly guarding Dai Chengfeng as he focused on the fusion.
Time passed second by second.
The dark golden glow on Dai Chengfeng's right hand grew increasingly radiant, reaching its peak…
Suddenly, the glow on Dai Chengfeng's right hand retracted sharply, and all unusual phenomena vanished. Slowly, Dai Chengfeng opened his eyes, filled with both surprise and awe.
Looking down at his right arm, he murmured in astonishment, "I never expected it to turn out like this!"
"So does this count as one external soul bone, or two?"
At this moment, seeing Dai Chengfeng awaken, Zhu Fan quickly stepped forward, urgently asking, "Chengfeng, how are you feeling? Is there any discomfort anywhere?"
"And what part of the body was that external soul bone you just absorbed?"
Ye Renxin and Ye Lingling also stared at Dai Chengfeng, their eyes brimming with curiosity.
Hearing this, Dai Chengfeng smiled, excitement radiating from him. "Uncle, rest assured—I'm perfectly fine, couldn't be better!"
"As for which part of the body that soul bone belongs to…"
Instantly, with a flicker of Dai Chengfeng's thoughts, a dark golden glow began to spread downward from his shoulder, eventually enveloping his entire right arm up to his palm.
When the glow faded, a sleek, metallic dark golden armguard appeared on his right arm.
"This is the external soul bone I just absorbed—the Dark Golden Terror Claw Armguard!"
"It has two forms: normal and battle mode. In its normal state, it provides my right arm with powerful defense while increasing its strength by ten percent."
"As for battle mode… Activate!"
With a low command from Dai Chengfeng, five razor-sharp dark golden claws instantly emerged from the fingertips of the armguard.
They gleamed coldly under the sunlight, sharp enough to cut through metal and jade, and came with an additional effect—the Dark Golden Terror Claw.
This was the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear's ultimate trump card, its most devastating attack. When activated by Dai Chengfeng, the five dark golden claws could launch outward, allowing for long-range attacks.
As for how powerful the Dark Golden Terror Claw would prove to be, only future battles would reveal its true potential.
Opposite, Zhu Fan gazed at Dai Chengfeng's external soul bone, marveling with a laugh. "Who would've thought that the external soul bone we saw earlier was a shoulder bone—but so unique, seemingly possessing the effects of a hand bone as well!"
Ye Renxin nodded repeatedly, sighing in admiration. "I've never seen such an extraordinary external soul bone before."
Hearing this, Zhu Fan waved his hand dismissively. "Elder Ye, initially, no one on the continent even knew about external soul bones—they were discovered later."
"Therefore, it's quite normal for us to have never encountered such a unique external soul bone."
Ye Renxin smiled and nodded upon hearing Zhu Fan's explanation. "Indeed."
At this moment, Dai Chengfeng retracted his Dark Golden Terror Claw Armguard and turned to Ye Renxin and Ye Lingling, bowing deeply in gratitude. "For this, I must thank Elder Ye and Lingling."
"If it weren't for your generosity, I wouldn't have been able to obtain this external soul bone."
Ye Renxin quickly shook his head. "Fourth Prince, there's no need for such formalities."
Ye Lingling also shook her head, her voice clear and melodious. "There's no need to thank me…"
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to defeat that Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear. Even if Grandfather had killed it, there might not have been an external soul bone drop."
Dai Chengfeng looked at the humble Ye Renxin and Ye Lingling, speaking earnestly. "Regardless, I, Dai Chengfeng, will always remember this kindness."
After speaking, Dai Chengfeng turned to Ye Renxin. "Elder Ye, now that the first Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear has been dealt with, let's continue onward."
"There are four more. Hopefully, another external soul bone will drop for Lingling."
Hearing this, Ye Renxin nodded, taking out the map from his chest and looking at the red dot closest to their current location, then pointing southwest.
"In that direction, after three more days of travel, we should reach the nest of the second Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear."
"Then let's set off!"
Soon, Dai Chengfeng, Zhu Fan, Ye Renxin, and Ye Lingling resumed their journey.
However.
It seemed that Dai Chengfeng's luck had already been exhausted with the first Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear.
Over the next half month, Dai Chengfeng successively killed the three Dark Golden Terror Claw Bears closest to the outer regions, but aside from the first one, the other two yielded no external soul bones.
"There's still one last Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear in the Great Star Dou Forest. I hope it drops an external soul bone."
Dai Chengfeng gazed at a small valley not far away—it was the final red dot marked by Ye Renxin on the map, the location of the fourth Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear's nest.
Ye Renxin nodded, his expression solemn. "Let's hope so."
Ye Lingling, however, remained calm, gently pulling on her grandfather's arm. "Grandpa, it doesn't matter whether I get one or not…"
Seeing his granddaughter so well-behaved and understanding, Ye Renxin smiled, patting her head affectionately, his eyes filled with pride.
Soon, the group entered the valley.
"Chengfeng, be extra careful from here on."
"This valley is not far from the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest. Powerful soul beasts abound in the surrounding area—even ferocious beasts like the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear are confined to this small valley…"
Zhu Fan's expression grew serious as he quietly warned Dai Chengfeng.
Upon hearing this, Dai Chengfeng frowned slightly. "Uncle, did you notice something?"
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