In the main office of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, both Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi were visibly surprised.
"Uncle Bone, are you saying that Yang Xiong really absorbed a 540-year-old soul ring for his first one? And the soul beast wasn't a Black Turtle, but the legendary Xuanming Turtle?"
Bone Douluo nodded. "Even I almost mistook it. That was definitely a Xuanming Turtle, and its age was between 540 and 550 years."
"Although Yang Xiong experienced some pain during the soul ring absorption, he successfully absorbed it. His soul power reached level 13. In my opinion, using century-old whale amber to increase the ring's age by a hundred years should be no problem. But using higher-grade gelatin, like the thousand- or ten-thousand-year kind won't be as simple. I can't even estimate how much age it could add."
Ning Fengzhi nodded. "This is indeed a huge surprise. Using whale amber to extend the absorption age of a soul ring can significantly enhance physical fitness and the energy intake from the ring. This would be extremely beneficial for a soul master's cultivation. Whale amber truly deserves to be called a treasure."
"This Yang Xiong is quite unexpected. He was able to identify the Xuanming Turtle just from some pictures and descriptions. Seems like this kid has done his research on soul beasts. Even Elder Lin Gong was nearly fooled."
Lin Gong was the class teacher Ning Fengzhi personally selected for Ning Rongrong. Though his soul power rank was relatively low, his teaching and knowledge of martial souls placed him among the best in the entire sect. He was even Ning Fengzhi's own teacher back when he was a student.
Bone Douluo grumbled a bit, "If this kid had discovered the secret of whale amber earlier, Rongrong's first soul ring could've had a much higher age. Maybe she could've even broken through the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's limit in the future."
Ning Fengzhi was speechless. Yang Xiong was about the same age as Rongrong, but he reached level 10 more than a year and a half later than her. The difference in talent and progress was far too great—there was no comparison.
After Yang Xiong returned home, his soul power went completely out of control. He felt intense pain in his spine and ribs, as if all his bones were rebelling.
In fact, right after absorbing the soul ring, he had felt something was off like something was trying to grow out of his body. But with so many eyes around him, he had no choice but to summon his martial soul to suppress the abnormality in his bones.
At home, once his tension faded, the bones in his body began to grow wildly, filling up most of the room.
By the time the wild transformation subsided, Yang Xiong found himself encased inside a massive turtle shell. His spine and ribs had fused into a whole, forming what resembled a gigantic carapace.
This shell was unlike anything he had seen before. It encased his entire body, not only did a large turtle shell grow on his back, but his chest and abdomen were also covered, like a full suit of armor. The only downside was that the shell on his back looked a bit ridiculous.
While turtle-type soul beasts are known for their tough backs, their chest and abdomen are also well protected by thick shells just not as prominently.
Yang Xiong's external soul bone was very different from ordinary ones. Not only did it grow from his spine, but his ribs had also transformed, forming an armor that covered his entire chest and abdomen.
He tapped on the shell covering his back and chest. It felt incredibly sturdy. His front and back were well protected, and even all of his bones seemed strengthened. The Xuanming Shell had two distinct states:
In one form, only the chest and back were covered, and the back shell was relatively small, just enough to protect the muscles. In the other form, the full shell manifested, becoming massive. He was entirely encased, even his head and limbs withdrawn inside like a true turtle.
Yang Xiong named this armor the Xuanming Armor. Though it had only reached the 500-year mark for now, he believed it could evolve further, perhaps into a full-body suit of armor.
If it reached the 100,000-year level, it might become completely indestructible.
The Xuanming Armor also granted a powerful soul skill: Impenetrable Fortress. It allowed him to summon the Xuanming Armor to block enemy attacks whether physical or elemental. However, if the opponent exceeded Yang Xiong's level by two major realms, the armor's defense would be weakened.
At first, Yang Xiong couldn't help but complain. External soul bones were rare in the Douluo Continent, but they were usually top-tier.
Think of Tang San's Eight Spider Lances, Huo Hang's Darkgold Terrorclaws, or even Bibi Dong's Six-Winged Purple Light Wings all incredible. So why did he end up with a turtle shell? The aesthetic downgrade was hard to swallow. Had he known, maybe he wouldn't have chosen the Xuanming Turtle at all.
But thinking it over, Yang Xiong realized his martial soul was relatively weak in the early stages. Most of his combat was close-range, where his body was at risk. Despite its odd appearance, the Xuanming Armor offered complete defense. Even without summoning it, it strengthened his ribs and protected the soft areas of his torso, making it an ideal fit for his body-type martial soul.
The armor also had powerful shock absorption. Even under intense attacks, his internal organs would remain unharmed, essentially adding an invisible layer of protection.
But it wasn't just the external soul bone that thrilled him it was the first soul skill.
Yang Xiong had taken a gamble, and it paid off. His first soul skill turned out to be the Xuanming Turtle's most terrifying ability: Xuanming Displacement.
This allowed him to instantly switch positions with an enemy within a set range especially effective if the opponent was caught off guard. The maximum range was 100 meters, and the stronger the opponent, the more soul power the skill consumed.
Yang Xiong saw great potential in this ability. For example, if he switched places with the air in front of an opponent, it would essentially be teleportation, possibly even more effective than traditional teleportation. This could greatly offset his early-stage combat disadvantage.
He tested the Xuanming Armor using his soul power. Rather than growing just from the spine, the armor felt like an extension of all the bones in his chest, back, and abdomen.
In the early stages, it was the Xuanming Armor. In later stages, it would evolve into the Black Tortoise Armor. After much consideration, he concluded that armor-type external soul bones were the most suitable for his body martial soul.
He had already written about wings and claws. This time, he tried a full-body turtle shell perhaps even more fitting.
Most external soul bones tend to be claws or wings, like the Eight Spider Lances. He had written about those before, but armor, he felt, suited the protagonist's martial soul even better.
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