So, it really is full-body dedication, huh?
Seeing the Ironback Dragon nod enthusiastically, even Tang Lan couldn't help but laugh.
—This guy might be a bit of an idiot!
But still…
A 100,000-year soul beast, huh? He'd never eaten one before.
Might as well try it out!
"Oscar, you handle the cooking."
"Bing'er, help him."
The two of them walked over blankly.
With the Ironback Dragon watching them expectantly, they had no idea where to start.
After all…
It was a 100,000-year soul beast!
Even without soul power, its flesh was still absurdly tough.
Breaking through would be a problem…
Until—
The Ironback Dragon itself lent a hand.
With a swipe of its massive claw, it split open its own corpse!
Good lord!
A real funeral arrangement?!
Even Da Ming and Er Ming couldn't stop their mouths from twitching at the absurdity.
The scene was simply too ridiculous.
But…
One beast wasn't fazed at all—
The Giant Strength Gorilla stared with nothing but admiration!
It completely understood the Ironback Dragon's logic—
Now that it lived as a soul entity, it only made sense for its host, Tang Hao, to be as strong as possible!
Seeing how everyone was focused on processing the Ironback Dragon,
The Giant Strength Gorilla suddenly grew anxious!
It stepped forward, gripping Tang Hao's hand with its single remaining arm.
Its eyes burned with longing.
Big boss!
Give me a chance! I want to be your soul spirit too!
The visual impact of this scene…
Was just as shocking as the Ironback Dragon gutting itself!
"Old man, what do you say?" Tang Lan asked again. "Can your spiritual world fit a second soul spirit?"
"Huh? Oh! Let me check."
Tang Hao closed his eyes.
Then… immediately opened them again.
"Uh… I'm not a spirit-type soul master.
How do I even check my own spiritual world?"
Tang Lan's mouth twitched.
He stepped forward, released his spiritual power, and scanned Tang Hao's mind.
After a moment, he opened his eyes and turned to the Giant Strength Gorilla, shrugging helplessly.
"There's a little space left…
But it's barely enough for a 70,000-year soul spirit.
Your 95,000 years? No way."
The Giant Strength Gorilla froze—then lowered its head in disappointment.
Damn it!
If I had known there was an opportunity like this, I would have trained harder!
If it had pushed itself more, consumed more herbs, maybe it could have reached 100,000 years…
And then—
With Blood Sacrifice, it could have bypassed all restrictions and been fully absorbed!
"Hey, kid." Da Ming spoke up, puzzled.
"Didn't your soul spirit theory say that a 100,000-year soul spirit should provide 3 to 5 soul rings?"
"Normally, yes." Tang Lan spread his hands.
"But my old man lost two of his original soul rings when his soul bones were stripped away.
So now, he can only absorb rings from the same type of soul beast—at most, increasing their age limits."
"Ah, I see…"
Suddenly—
Er Ming's eyes lit up!
It slammed a fist into its palm as an idea struck.
Then—
A glow shone from the storage belt on its pinky finger.
And the next moment—
A rain of soul bones poured down toward Tang Lan!
"ROAR!"
The Titan Giant Ape stumbled over its words:
"G-Gift! Make up… for last time!"
…It was actually learning to speak!
Tang Lan used his spiritual power to catch the 21 soul bones midair.
With a quick scan, he saw that—
17 of them were under 10,000 years.
Only 4 exceeded 10,000 years.
Then, Er Ming raised a thick finger and picked out one right arm bone.
It was slightly smaller than the others, emitting a faint silver glow and an aura of sharpness.
"Silver Moon Wolf King—Right Arm Bone—70,000 Years—Enhances Spiritual Power!"
Tang Lan immediately understood.
This was meant to expand Tang Hao's spiritual world—
So he could fit the Giant Strength Gorilla as a soul spirit.
Hmm…
The idea wasn't bad.
But still…
A 100,000-year Titan Giant Ape was willingly giving up a soul bone to help a 95,000-year Giant Strength Gorilla become a soul spirit?
Tang Lan scratched his head and looked at Tang Hao.
"Old man, what do you think?"
The Silver Moon Wolf King's right arm bone enhanced spiritual power.
It would definitely affect Tang Hao's combat abilities.
However…
If he absorbed the 95,000-year Giant Strength Gorilla as a soul spirit—
The power boost would far surpass any benefits from a mere 50,000-year-old strength-type soul bone.
Additionally—
Stronger spiritual power meant:
✔ Greater control over abilities
✔ Higher upper limits
✔ More potential for breakthroughs
But Tang Hao's only hesitation was…
"Son, don't you want this soul bone?"
Earlier, the Ironback Dragon had sacrificed itself so quickly…
That its 100,000-year left leg bone had fused with him immediately.
If not for that, Tang Hao would have wanted to save it for Tang Lan instead.
"Me? Eh, forget it." Tang Lan replied casually.
"If it's not a 100,000-year soul bone, I'm not really interested."
Nearby, Oscar and Shui Bing'er—who were still preparing the Ironback Dragon's meat—
Looked over with extreme envy.
Sect Master truly deserves the title!
If it wasn't a 100,000-year soul bone, he wouldn't even look at it!
"Alright." Tang Hao nodded. "Then I'll absorb it."
Tang Lan handed the soul bone over without hesitation.
Completely ignoring the hungry gazes from Oscar and Shui Bing'er.
Then, he stored all the remaining soul bones into his Blue King—
To bring back to Tang Sect for later distribution.
—Gotta use them to milk rewards from Tang San!
What a waste though.
Tang Lan had invited Tang San on this trip—planning to grind some levels together along the way.
But Tang San was only Level 32 and not at a bottleneck yet.
So he had stubbornly refused, obsessing over his research instead.
Tang Lan never expected this journey would lead to a 100,000-year soul spirit and a mountain of high-grade soul bones.
Otherwise—
Even if he had to tie him up, he would've dragged him along!
"Shua—la—la—"
A horde of ten-thousand-year soul beasts surged forward.
Er Ming stepped up and roared a few times—
Immediately subduing the entire group.
Then, he nodded at Tang Lan.
"Can… absorb now."
Tang Lan unleashed his Life Martial Soul—Blue Silver Emperor.
This time, since he wasn't forcefully devouring, there was no need to tie them up like dumplings.
Since they were his own soul beasts—
He only absorbed their life force, leaving their soul power and spiritual energy intact.
At the same time, he pondered to himself—
If Tang San were here, would he have asked for the 100,000-year Ironback Dragon?
…
Yeah.
He probably would.
After all—
That guy could snatch his own brother's and disciple's opportunities without hesitation.
Why wouldn't he dare take his old man's?
But then again…
Would the Ironback Dragon even be interested in Tang San?
"No! I have to go back and tie Tang San up—grind Ice Emperor's rewards!"
Before, he thought their attributes didn't match, so he didn't force it—
Didn't want to raise suspicion.
But the more he thought about it…
The more he felt like he was losing out!
From now on, I need to carefully calculate every opportunity!
I have to make sure I maximize all my potential rewards!
But before that…
I need to run a little experiment first.
Tang Lan charged up energy,
While using his spiritual power to isolate the surrounding space—
Ensuring that no sound could leak out.
Then, he pulled out his communication soul tool—
And sent a call request to Tang San.
Ten seconds later…
A disheveled, exhausted-looking Tang San appeared on the screen.
"Big Bro." His voice was hoarse from overuse. "I'm at a critical stage in my research. What's up?"
Tang Lan silently lifted the 30 soul bones into view.
Tang San's eyes went wide!
So many soul bones?!
Where the hell did you go—
A wholesale store?!
"Big Bro!" Tang San's voice turned urgent.
"There are so many soul bones—save a full set for me!"
Well damn!
Straight up asking for an entire set?!
Tang Lan sorted through the three ten-thousand-year soul bones—
Selecting a 20,000-year-old Firecracker Vine Right Arm Bone.
Then, he held it up to the screen.
"A 20,000-year Firecracker Vine Right Arm Bone."
"Rare wood-attribute soul bone—perfect for you."
(End of Chapter.)