Lin Rong's words echoed in Feng Xiaotian's ears, lingering long after he spoke.
At six years old, he awakened his mutated martial soul, the Gale Twin Wolf, and possessed the rare Innate Full Soul Power, a talent rarely seen in a century.
Back then, Feng Xiaotian was diligent in his cultivation and full of youthful vigor. That all changed during an academy exchange event when he met Huo Wu, the girl who captured his heart, at the Blazing Fire Academy.
Huo Wu had a strong personality, and from that point on, Feng Xiaotian began to neglect his cultivation, striving to keep his Soul Power level on par with hers.
To achieve this, Feng Xiaotian found a perfect excuse to conceal his Soul Power progression: researching his self-created spirit skills.
The bonfire reflected in Feng Xiaotian's eyes, the dancing flames morphing into Huo Wu's appearance—her bright smile from when they first met.
Then, the scene shifted, transitioning to the current night, where he and Huo Wu were being hunted by Cave Demon Spiders.
Subsequently, these two scenes flickered back and forth in Feng Xiaotian's eyes.
Until a certain moment, the scenes stopped flickering and froze on the memory of their first meeting.
"That's right!" Feng Xiaotian's gaze gradually sharpened with determination.
"If you like someone, you need the strength to protect her."
"From this day forward, I, Feng Xiaotian, will cultivate diligently and never let what happened tonight happen again!"
In that instant, a clarity he had never experienced before dawned on Feng Xiaotian. He turned and thanked Lin Rong in the tent with a loud voice:
"Duke, your guidance is invaluable. I won't say thanks now, but if you ever need me, I, Feng, will go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"
Inside the tent, Lin Rong's lips curved into a slight smile upon hearing these words.
"He is teachable. It wasn't a waste of my breath."
...
Time flew by.
After that night, two more days passed.
In a valley deep within the outer reaches of the Sunset Forest.
"After more than four days, I've finally found one with a suitable age!"
Before Lin Rong stood a Thousand Leaf Banyan, five hundred and twenty-five years old. Though it was just one Thousand Leaf Banyan, its lush roots had sprouted numerous offshoots, making it appear like a dense banyan forest from a distance.
"Grandpa Yu, begin!"
As Lin Rong gave the order, the offshoots of the Thousand Leaf Banyan were quickly cleared away by the old butler. The main body of the Thousand Leaf Banyan was uprooted, and its many roots were severed one by one, leaving only a single root still anchored in the soil, maintaining the Thousand Leaf Banyan's last vestiges of life.
"Young master, please!"
Lin Rong stepped forward, released his martial soul, the Nine Bend Vine Dragon, and controlled a vine dragon root to gently strike, severing the Thousand Leaf Banyan's final spark of life.
Before long, a deep yellow spirit ring coalesced above the Thousand Leaf Banyan.
A spirit ring was the most important symbol of a Spirit Master, bar none. Even spirit bones paled in comparison, not only because of their rarity but because spirit rings were the essential requirement for a Spirit Master's advancement, not spirit bones.
"Six years since I transmigrated to this world, and I'm finally about to receive my first spirit ring."
Lin Rong took a deep breath, sat down cross-legged, and circulated the Marrow Cleansing Scripture to bring his condition to its peak, then controlled his martial soul to guide the spirit ring.
"It's starting."
Beside him, the old butler watched the spirit ring being fitted onto the Nine Bend Vine Dragon. He immediately became alert, scanning their surroundings, ready to protect the young master.
The Thousand Leaf Banyan symbolized tenacious life. The massive Soul Power and life force carried by the five hundred and twenty-five-year-old Thousand Leaf Banyan spirit ring erupted within Lin Rong's body.
Just as Lin Rong was about to circulate the Marrow Cleansing Scripture to absorb this power, a dragon's roar sounded from within him.
Instantly, the life force contained within the spirit ring became exceptionally docile, like a subject meeting its emperor. It actively enveloped the Soul Power that originated from the same source as itself.
"As expected of the Nine Bend Vine Dragon, its control over life force is incredibly high."
"This way, the process of absorbing the spirit ring will be much smoother!"
Lin Rong thought to himself, then circulated the Marrow Cleansing Scripture to refine the Soul Power and life force, thoroughly converting this power into a part of himself.
Time slowly passed.
Outside.
As he absorbed the spirit ring, Lin Rong's stature increased noticeably. His long black hair also gained a hint of light cyan.
But then another dragon's roar sounded, the light cyan faded, and his hair returned to its pure black color.
The Nine Bend Vine Dragon in his palms showed no outward change, yet upon closer inspection, there seemed to be subtle differences, an indescribable, profound daoist charm.
An hour later, the absorption of the spirit ring was nearing its end.
At a certain moment, the spirit ring stabilized completely, arriving at Lin Rong's feet and pulsing rhythmically. It was then that the Thousand Leaf Banyan abruptly ignited with sky-blue flames.
The blue flames instantly incinerated the Thousand Leaf Banyan.
"Bang! Bang!" From within the flames, a heartbeat could be heard. A crystalline wooden bead, like green jade, absorbed the blue flames, then transformed into a stream of light and shot into Lin Rong's body.
The event happened so suddenly that by the time the old butler reacted, it was too late to stop the wooden bead from entering the young master's body.
Fortunately, Lin Rong's breathing remained steady, and the old butler breathed a sigh of relief, beginning to ponder what that wooden bead was.
"Could it be... an external Spirit Bone?"
A moment later, when Lin Rong opened his eyes, he saw the old butler's aged face up close, filled with concern.
"Grandpa Yu, what's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
"Young master, do you feel anything unusual about your body?" the old butler asked, then recounted what had happened to Lin Rong.
"It's all my fault for being useless, unable to notice sooner, which allowed that nameless wooden bead to enter the young master's body."
"Is Grandpa Yu referring to the Heart of the Banyan Wood?" Lin Rong reached out to help the old butler, who was kneeling on the ground, and explained:
"Actually, you guessed correctly. That wooden bead is an external Spirit Bone produced by the Thousand Leaf Banyan. I call it the Heart of the Banyan Wood."
"Congratulations, young master." Upon hearing that the wooden bead was indeed an external Spirit Bone, a joy from the bottom of his heart dispelled the self-reproach. The old butler then said with a serious expression:
"Young master, you must not mention the matter of the external Spirit Bone to outsiders."
"Although once an external Spirit Bone is fully integrated, it cannot be taken by others, it's hard to guarantee that someone might harbor jealousy and try to assassinate you."
"Yes, I understand," Lin Rong replied, nodding.
The Heart of the Banyan Wood corresponded to the position of the heart; unlike Tang San's Eight Spider Lances, it did not need to be displayed externally.
Therefore, as long as Lin Rong didn't speak of it, no one would know he possessed an external Spirit Bone.
After absorbing the 525-year Thousand Leaf Banyan Spirit Ring and the Soul Power refined from the residual body of the Thousand Leaf Banyan obtained from the external Spirit Bone, Lin Rong's own Soul Power level had reached level fifteen.
Among these, the Spirit Ring provided a little over three levels of Soul Power, raising his Soul Power level to thirteen.
The remaining two levels of Soul Power were provided by the Heart of the Banyan Wood.
The higher a Spirit Master's level, the more Soul Power required for each level.
Therefore, although the Soul Power refined by the Heart of the Banyan Wood from the Thousand Leaf Banyan was slightly more than that from the Spirit Ring, it only increased Lin Rong's Soul Power level by two.
However, the increase in Soul Power level was secondary; the most important aspects were the Spirit Skills attached to the Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone.
And for this soul hunting expedition, Lin Rong was very satisfied with the Spirit Skills attached to both the Spirit Ring produced by the Thousand Leaf Banyan and the external Spirit Bone.
The original work mentioned that absorbing a Spirit Bone can increase Soul Power because Spirit Bones retain the Soul Power that remains after exploding from Spirit Beasts.
Therefore, Spirit Bones themselves do not increase the Soul Power level of the absorber.
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