From the bamboo slips on the coffin, Yu Yan learned every detail about that Spirit Bone.
It was a two-thousand-three-hundred-year Ice Soul Horse left-leg bone; its innate Spirit Ability was Charge, doubling the user's movement speed.
Yu Yan had no intention of using it—its age was too low and its ability mediocre.
Since Yu Yan wasn't interested, Xiao Wu naturally felt the same.
In the main Tomb Chamber, after dividing everything, the two turned to leave... "Xiao Bai, this is your share of the loot."
Bai Chenxiang, who was clearing up, heard Yu Yan's voice and saw a pouch drop into view.
She caught it and looked at Yu Yan and Xiao Wu. "What's this?"
"Just said—it's your spoils."
Yu Yan repeated himself; accepting the gift made Bai Chenxiang an accomplice who would keep quiet.
It was, in a way, a pledge of loyalty.
Knowing her, once she took the money she would never breathe a word.
"Open it; it's what you need most."
Xiao Wu, aware of Bai Chenxiang's plight, urged her to look inside.
In Vast Sea City, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu had only afforded high-year Whale Gel thanks to those poachers' "generous" funding.
No windfall, no fortune; without it, Bai Chenxiang would struggle to afford a thousand-year second spirit ring.
Under Xiao Wu's prompting, Bai Chenxiang opened the pouch; more than ten gold bricks gleamed, making her breathe faster.
"So... so much?" Realising their worth, she murmured, then said firmly, "It's too much. Take it back—I can't."
She tossed the pouch back; the gift was too heavy for her conscience.
"Xiao Bai, we gained far more," Xiao Wu said, using Moonlight Energy to float the pouch back. "We need your absolute silence."
She pressed it gently into Bai Chenxiang's hands, phrasing it more tactfully.
"But it's really too much."
Bai Chenxiang had never seen such wealth; even hush-money shouldn't be this lavish.
Besides, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu always looked after her; she would have kept quiet without payment.
"Take it. You need the bricks and we need peace of mind—everyone wins," Xiao Wu insisted.
She pushed the pouch back again, spelling it out plainly.
Yu Yan nodded. "Exactly—let us buy some peace."
He wouldn't feel easy until she accepted.
After two more rounds of refusal, Bai Chenxiang finally yielded and took the gold.
Yu Yan exhaled; it was the hardest bribe he'd ever given.
"By the way," she said, storing the pouch in her storage soul tool, "I've sorted the Bandits' belongings—they're yours to decide."
She pointed to a small pile nearby.
Yu Yan walked over and sifted through: gold coins and Spirit Beast texts went straight into his golden scepter.
Among the oddities he found a Xuanhuan tomb-raiding manual, detailing how to spot and excavate great tombs.
Unsurprisingly, it had belonged to the Bandits' second-in-command, Zhao Xiao.
After skimming it, Yu Yan stowed the book away; it might prove useful.
With everything done and the narrow passage collapsed, the trio returned to Ice Soul City.
Days slipped back into routine; Yu Yan and Xiao Wu trained as usual while Bai Chenxiang used the bricks to buy Whale Gel.
In total she consumed seven thousand-year Whale Dragon pieces and three hundred-year ones, raising her Physical Body to Spirit Elder level.
Stronger now, she pushed her Needle Tailed Swift to its First Ring speed limit for the first time.
Watching her white streak across the sky, Yu Yan felt a pang of envy.
Humans yearn to soar, and he was no exception—he wanted that freedom too.
But for now it was impossible... Two full moons later, both he and Xiao Wu reached rank 29 in their eighth year.
A twenty-ninth-level Spirit Grandmaster at eight—no record on Douluo Continent matched it.
"Yu Yan, we must be the greatest Geniuses alive," Xiao Wu boasted. "That so-called youngest Clear Sky Douluo only became a Spirit Grandmaster at eight; we'll hit Spirit Elder this year."
Privately, Yu Yan thought of Spirit Hall's Qian Renxue—already a Spirit Grandmaster at six, terrifyingly stronger at eight.
He kept the thought to himself.
"Of course we'll outshine any Clear Sky Douluo by miles," he agreed aloud; with several Opportunities already in hand, his future was secure.
Days later came the departure to Heaven Dou City with Vice Dean Jiang Jing for Dugu Yan's birthday.
Even wood and stone feel emotion, let alone people.
Parting from Xiao Wu for so long saddened him.
Yet he never suggested she come along.
Outside Exotic Beast Academy, seeing her reluctant face, Yu Yan hugged her.
"I'll be gone a month, maybe half a year. Stay safe, train hard..."
He judged the span from what he knew and needed her to understand.