"Yan'er, don't be discouraged. We'll keep getting stronger together."
Lin Feng seemed to sense Dugu Yan's feelings and immediately stepped forward to comfort her.
"Mm, okay."
"Thank you, Lin Feng!"
Dugu Yan nodded, a smile blooming on her face.
"That's more like it."
Lin Feng reached out and gently patted her on the head.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he channeled his soul power and walked over to the Flame Beast's corpse. First, he retrieved the Fire Crystal from the creature's forehead and tucked it into his belt.
Then, he sliced open its skull.
During the previous ring absorption, he had already absorbed the soul bone gifted by the system.
Now was the time to retrieve the Flame Beast's true soul bone.
A flash of red light appeared.
Lin Feng used his soul power to levitate the soul bone in his hand.
Ten-thousand-year Soul Bone — Flame Beast Skull.
"A soul bone?!"
Dugu Bo was the first to react, utterly shocked.
"Lin Feng, how are you so lucky?!"
"I've only gotten one soul bone in my entire life, and now you already have two."
"That's incredible."
Dugu Yan couldn't help stepping up to congratulate him.
"Hmph!"
"It's only a ten-thousand-year soul bone."
"My soul bone is fifty-thousand years."
Dugu Bo clearly felt a little sour over Lin Feng's back-to-back soul bone gains, acting unusually tsundere.
He even looked like he was about to demonstrate his own soul bone ability.
Dugu Yan quickly stopped him.
"Grandpa, come on! You're too old to be competing with us kids."
She pouted, visibly annoyed.
"Nonsense! I'm not!"
Dugu Bo folded his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky to hide his awkwardness.
But inside, he was extremely bitter.
Why does this brat have it so good?
Even Yan'er doesn't dote on me anymore. If outsiders saw this, they'd think he was the grandfather and I was the outsider.
"Lin Feng, go on and absorb that soul bone."
Dugu Yan ignored her sulking grandfather and urged Lin Feng forward.
"Alright."
Lin Feng nodded in agreement.
A ten-thousand-year soul bone wasn't bad.
With the system, he'd have plenty of opportunities in the future to upgrade it.
Fifteen minutes later, Lin Feng had successfully absorbed the Flame Beast Skull.
"Lin Feng! Show me your soul bone ability!"
Dugu Yan skipped forward, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"But my soul skill needs a target."
"No problem—use Grandpa!"
"Huh? Yan'er, you—"
Before Dugu Bo could object, Dugu Yan was already egging Lin Feng on.
Helpless, Lin Feng could only give in to her enthusiasm.
"Alright. Careful, old man."
"Soul Bone Skill—Flame of the Mind!"
Immediately, Lin Feng activated the Flame Beast Skull. His spiritual power transformed into an invisible flame, igniting in Dugu Bo's mind.
"Gahh—what the hell is this move?!"
Dugu Bo clutched his head in pain. It was as if his spiritual consciousness had actually been set on fire.
But how could that be possible?
Spiritual power is formless—how could it burn like real flames?
"Hahaha, you okay, old man?"
"My soul bone skill converts spiritual power into flames. It can directly burn an opponent's mind."
Lin Feng chuckled as he withdrew the flame.
"Hmph, you've still got a long way to go!"
Dugu Bo rubbed his head and shot him a glare.
In truth, the damage wasn't serious.
With a fifty-thousand-year skull bone, Dugu Bo's spiritual power was among the best even among Titled Douluo. That mental fire may have caused some pain, but it was far from any real injury.
But Dugu Yan didn't know that. She only saw her boyfriend "defeat" her grandpa in one shot.
"Wow, that's amazing, Lin Feng!"
She clapped her hands with excitement.
Just as Dugu Bo was about to get jealous again—
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to quake, and cracks split across the surface.
The once-calm magma began to churn violently.
"What's going on?!"
Dugu Yan asked in panic.
Lin Feng looked around in alarm and tightened his grip on her hand.
"This… this looks like the birth of a new Flame Beast King."
"Flame Beasts devour one another to give rise to a king."
"The Fire Crystal on their foreheads is a priceless treasure for fire-type soul masters."
"And when a Flame Beast King is born, it will shatter its own Fire Crystal to boost its strength."
"Legend has it, a Titled Douluo once camped here for 20 years trying to get a single Fire Crystal—and still came up empty."
"Lin Feng, I didn't think you'd be the one to stumble upon this opportunity."
Dugu Bo shielded the two of them as rocks tumbled down around them, explaining quickly.
"Hahahaha!"
"Old man, I'm the Child of Destiny. This is just standard procedure for me."
Lin Feng's brows arched as he spoke with calm confidence.
By now, he had fully recovered. His voice was strong and steady.
Seeing his condition, Dugu Bo finally relaxed.
"Alright, enough boasting. I'll get us out of here first."
"The Flame Beast King still needs time to stabilize its power after emerging."
"But news of this lava disturbance will soon spread across the entire continent—we'll need to plan carefully."
With that, Dugu Bo soared into the air, carrying the two of them toward the center of the lava zone—where the Flame Beast King was likely to emerge.
At the same time, several figures deep in the forest had also detected the tremors and began rushing in this direction.
---
Spirit Hall
Yan sat cross-legged in his room, cultivating quietly.
Boom!
A subtle sound rang out as he opened his eyes—his soul power had just broken through to the Soul Ancestor level.
"Yan, since your breakthrough is complete, you should head to Sunset Forest in the next few days to obtain your soul ring."
A teacher from Spirit Hall approached and spoke.
"Teacher, Na Na's birthday is coming up. Let me wait until after her celebration."
Yan stood up, politely declining.
"Very well. Come find me when you're ready."
The teacher nodded and left.
"I hope Na Na will like it…"
Yan looked at the gift he had prepared for Hu Liena, his face glowing with anticipation.
In his mind, he imagined her leaping with joy as she accepted it.
---
Next day, Blazing Academy
"Dean! A report just came in!"
"There's been a disturbance in the magma region of Sunset Forest."
"It could signal the birth of the Flame Beast King."
A subordinate knelt before Huo Long and delivered the message.
"What?! Hahahaha!"
"With all the powers moving again, the continent is no longer calm."
"Now that the Flame Beast King has appeared, all major factions will flock to it."
"Blazing Academy can't sit back and watch."
"Summon our elders and elite squad."
"We leave for Sunset Forest—immediately!"
Huo Long slapped the table and rose to his feet with authority.
---
Heaven Dou City
Upon hearing the news of the Flame Beast King's emergence, Lin Family Patriarch Lin Ye wasted no time dispatching his forces to Sunset Forest at full speed.
-----
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