After Romantina's explanation, Tang San also accepted the reasoning behind it.
However…
In his heart, he still believed that the reason Zhou Qing could unleash such a powerful technique was largely due to his martial spirit — the cardiovascular system which had perfectly inherited the traits of the Moo Spring Bull.
Crack!
Yet, after executing that technique, Zhou Qing collapsed to the ground, completely drained. He didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.
"Iron hooves tread through the years, bowed low to carry spring and autumn…" This is the true, full-power form of my first soul skill, 'Wing Chun'. Indeed, a Body Martial Spirit offers far greater flexibility in utilizing soul skills compared to others. But… without sufficient soul power and physical vitality, I shouldn't unleash it at full force. If I can't end a fight in one blow, I'll be at the mercy of my enemy.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Tang San had already rushed over and helped him up. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.
"I'm fine, just exhausted," Zhou Qing replied, shaking his head.
Tang San helped him sip some water, after which Zhou Qing wobbled to his feet, slowly regaining his balance. "That was the full power of my first soul skill. But the more important part is its connection to the earth element. As long as I'm standing on solid ground, my soul power will slowly regenerate. Based on my current condition, I should be fully recovered in about an hour."
That was a huge advantage. Under normal circumstances, a soul master who had depleted all their soul power would need roughly an hour of meditation to recover. Thanks to the earth attribute, Zhou Qing could halve that recovery time — and with dual methods working together, he could be back to full strength in under thirty minutes.
"That's great news," Tang San said, genuinely happy for Zhou Qing.
"Oh, and the Moo Spring Bull is edible," Zhou Qing added, eyeing the charred carcass. "I've never had beef before, and it'd be a shame to waste it."
Soul power could be recovered through meditation, but physical energy needed real food to replenish. High-protein meat, especially from a soul beast like the Moo Spring Bull, was an excellent choice.
"I'll take care of it," Tang San offered, telling Zhou Qing to rest and meditate.
Romantina joined him to help with the butchering.
Zhou Qing spent the next ten minutes meditating and already felt his soul power coming back. The effectiveness of the Innate Meridians Diagram continued to surprise him. Now that he had gained the 'Earth' attribute — one of the Four Innate Primordial Energies — he felt a deep affinity with the land itself. No wonder his recovery was so rapid.
Opening his eyes, Zhou Qing noticed Xiao Wu lounging nearby. "Not going to help?" he asked.
Asking a ten-thousand-year spirit beast, who had transformed into a human, to help butcher another beast might seem cruel… but this was the reality Xiao Wu now had to face.
She had to choose: human or soul beast?
That choice had already been made the moment she took on human form, no matter her original intentions. All that remained was to let go of her hesitation and fully commit to living as a human.
"I don't know how," she muttered.
Her face darkened at Zhou Qing's question.
"Figures. A pampered princess from a small town like Nuoding, just here to 'experience life', huh?" Zhou Qing teased lightly.
"I am not!" Xiao Wu shot back, her face full of exasperated frustration. But she couldn't come up with a real comeback and stormed off toward Tang San and Romantina. "Need me to do anything?" she asked in a huff.
Tang San handed her the bull's severed head. "Wash it in the pool over there, then start cutting it open."
Xiao Wu winced at the bloody sight, visibly disturbed, but gritted her teeth and took the head.
Romantina added, "Don't worry, the pond only has ten-year-level fish-type soul beasts. You're already a soul master they won't bother you."
That's not what I'm worried about… Xiao Wu cursed internally.
Suppressing her nausea, she made her way to the pond and began washing the severed head.
After it was clean, she took a dagger, took a deep breath, and stabbed it into the bull's jaw, splitting the skin and flesh.
Crack!
The dagger broke. A piece of pale green bone fell from within shaped more like a human skull than a bovine one.
"A soul bone?!" Xiao Wu exclaimed.
The faint green glow caught everyone's attention. Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Romantina all turned toward her.
Zhou Qing was completely stunned. He never imagined that the Moo Spring Bull he had killed would drop a soul bone and not just any soul bone, but a skull, the second most valuable type after torso bones.
Granted, the age of the soul bone was on the lower side…
Was the Moo Spring Bull's death just… too painful? Zhou Qing wondered.
Normally, soul bones were only produced by high-level soul beasts under specific, intense circumstances like dying in great agony.
The Moo Spring Bull had suffered a broken neck, been burned, and was generally tortured before dying. Its death had definitely been excruciating.
And what about the Wolfhair Grass? First "enjoyed" by Romantina, then yanked out of the ground and burned by Tang San. That counted as "suffering" too, right?
Zhou Qing also recalled that in the Legend of the Dragon King, soul bones were described as the crystallized soul cores of soul beasts retaining characteristics of their original abilities after death.
Mental-type beasts typically produced skull bones; power types produced arm bones; speed types yielded leg bones, and so on.
But why did a strength-based soul beast like the Moo Spring Bull drop a skull bone?
Must be a rule of the Douluo Continent… or maybe divine intervention?
It was too deep to consider now. Zhou Qing shook off the thought.
At the moment, a more pressing issue loomed Tang San had grown visibly cautious.
He recalled from the Saint Soul Village Chronicle that when a soul beast dropped a soul bone, alliances between soul masters often shattered, giving way to betrayal and bloodshed.
Though he felt a strong pull toward the soul bone, Tang San knew it rightfully belonged to Zhou Qing.
But would the others Xiao Wu and Romantina respect that?
Silently, he slipped a bamboo dart into his hand and hid it behind his back. If either of them showed even a hint of intent to seize the soul bone or harm Zhou Qing, he would strike preemptively.
In a soul beast hunt, accidents are normal. Who's to say a beast did or didn't kill someone?
As for any trouble Romantina's politically powerful family might cause in retaliation… Tang San couldn't think that far ahead. If they made a move on him or Zhou Qing, the choice was clear: eliminate the threat first, survive second.
Hidden in the shadows, Tang Hao Tang San's father didn't know what to say.
Soul bones were incredibly rare. Even soul beasts over ten thousand years old might not produce one. Yet Zhou Qing and Tang San, on their first soul beast hunt, had encountered not one, but two!
One was an external-type soul bone, nearly on par with a hundred-thousand-year treasure. The other, a skull bone though only at the hundred-year level could rival most thousand-year soul bones in value.
And in the world of soul masters, spiritual-type soul bones were exceedingly precious.