The soul bone hovering before Zhu Zhuqing was drawn in by her soul power. As her energy flowed, the essence of the soul bone gradually fused into her body, feeding back into her veins and spirit.
The fusion had begun.
Zhu Zhuqing's delicate face tensed up, a fine sheen of sweat beading on her forehead.
Clearly, attempting to fuse with a hundred-thousand-year-old soul bone remained a serious test—not just of her physical endurance, but of her mental fortitude as well.
"Milord," Yue Guan said as he watched Zhu Zhuqing struggle through the fusion, "when a Soul Master fuses with a soul bone, powerful cultivators can assist by guiding their soul power. Little Zhuqing…"
He stepped forward and bowed respectfully toward Aether.
He knew Aether wasn't all that familiar with the soul master cultivation system, so he braved the risk of overstepping to offer his advice.
After all, whether it was Zhu Zhuqing or Yu Keke, both were future pillars of the soul master world in his eyes. This was his way of cherishing talent.
A genius like Zhu Zhuqing—if her growth could be secured with minimal risk, so much the better.
"Is that so? I'm not too familiar with this kind of thing. Would you mind helping her, then?" Aether asked, glancing at Yue Guan's sincere expression.
If a powerful expert assisting could speed up the fusion process, that was worth trying.
"Of course."
Yue Guan nodded without complaint, then walked over to Zhu Zhuqing. Sitting cross-legged in front of her, he released a gentle stream of soul power, carefully channeling it to assist her in merging her energy with the soul bone.
"Milord, I'll lend a hand as well."
Gui Mei followed up after a word to Aether, taking his place opposite Yue Guan and likewise sitting down. With the same caution, he released his soul power and helped guide Zhu Zhuqing through the fusion.
With both Yue Guan and Gui Mei—two titled Douluo—assisting, some color finally returned to Zhu Zhuqing's tense expression.
So it really works…
Aether nodded with satisfaction. While others were either breaking through or fusing soul bones, the only ones left idle were him and Paimon.
Well, and the fire-elemental cat curled up nearby, snoozing.
That one had been drowsy ever since arriving here, maybe due to absorbing too much fire elemental energy. The moment no one paid attention, it would drift off into a nap.
"Seems like everyone on the team is leveling up nicely~"
Aether summoned the Serenitea Pot and rummaged through it for a bit, finally pulling out something that looked like a ceremonial mask.
"Traveler, why are you taking out an artifact?"
Paimon immediately recognized the item in Aether's hand—it was a relic from Liyue's Chasm, a piece from the Vermillion Hereafter set called the Thundering Poise.
It bore a strong resemblance to Xiao's yaksha mask, so she had a pretty clear memory of it.
"The artifact's power seems to have weakened in this realm. I'm not sure why…"
Aether muttered as he stared at the item in his hand.
He'd been reminded of artifacts because of the soul bones earlier.
In this world, soul masters could absorb soul bones to enhance their strength and soul power. Wasn't that eerily similar to how, in Teyvat, travelers would equip artifacts to boost their combat prowess?
In Douluo Dalu, soul masters typically could only fuse up to six soul bones—excluding special cases.
For example, Tang San's Eight Spider Lances weren't part of those six; they were a unique type of external soul bone.
Artifacts, on the other hand, were typically equipped as a five-piece set.
So… what if a soul master wore an artifact?
"Eh? Of course artifact powers would weaken here. That's totally normal," Paimon said matter-of-factly, snapping Aether out of his thoughts.
"Hm?"
"Think about it," she explained. "Artifacts are basically a legacy of power from Teyvat, right? But we're not in Teyvat anymore—so their power would obviously change depending on the world we're in."
"…That… actually makes sense. Wow, Paimon. You're smarter than you look~"
Aether accepted her reasoning and gave her a bit of praise while he was at it.
"Hehe, of course~"
Paimon beamed, cheeks glowing pink like blooming peach blossoms.
"But even so, even if the artifact's power is nerfed, the energy that remains… isn't exactly weak. It's at least on par with those soul bones."
Aether compared the residual energy in the artifact to that of the hundred-thousand-year soul bones from earlier. Even with its power diminished to a tenth, the artifact still seemed to outclass them slightly.
"Paimon, do you think they could wear artifacts?"
He tilted his head, whispering the question.
Besides him, Paimon was the only one in this world who understood what artifacts really were.
They were foreign to this realm, just like his sword without an edge—both carried unique usage methods and energies.
Zhu Zhuqing and Yu Keke couldn't absorb elemental energy. That had already been confirmed. So, did that mean they couldn't use artifacts either?
But what if they could?
Even if the artifact was damaged or incomplete, just wearing it might boost their combat ability by several levels.
He still remembered his early days waking up in Teyvat—his power completely sealed. If not for the boost from artifacts, he wouldn't even have been able to fight hilichurls…
Now that his strength was returning, artifacts were becoming more like souvenirs.
So, why not try giving them to Keke and Zhu Zhuqing? Maybe they'd actually help.
"Hmm… not sure," Paimon replied, shaking her head. "Didn't you say they couldn't absorb elemental power? I'm the same way. Artifacts don't work on me either."
That was a fair point. She'd asked Aether for artifacts before, hoping they'd make her stronger.
But no matter how many she tried—no matter the type—none worked on her. She simply couldn't establish a connection with them.
Just like Aether could channel elemental energy without a Vision, Paimon… couldn't.
"But hey, we can always try after Keke and Zhuqing finish fusing."
Paimon, having journeyed with the Traveler for so long, knew just how strong artifacts were.
Even weakened, the ones Aether wore were all top-tier selections.
Just look at that giant monkey creature earlier—it looked like a Chieftain Hilichurl on steroids—and the Traveler had still taken it down in just a few moves.
"Yeah, we'll see," Aether nodded. He tossed the artifact back into the Serenitea Pot and pulled out a tent, beginning to set it up.
There was no telling how long Zhu Zhuqing and Keke would need. But one thing was certain—they'd be camping here tonight.
Once the tent was up, Paimon dove right in, curling up to rest.
It was a habit she'd formed over her long journey with the Traveler.
After all, if the sky were to fall, she had someone to catch it. She would continue being the cute, carefree, and utterly invincible little Paimon~
_
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