Lin Xiao's life seemed to have returned to calm once more. At Mingde Hall, he continued to study under Ye Yulin and ponder over his manuscripts.
After returning to the dormitory, he would conduct many experiments using the Star Soul Ingot, and he never slacked off on his meditation.
Occasionally, he would also visit the Soul Guidance Testing Area to meet Lin Jiayi and listen to a few pointers from him.
Although he was somewhat busy, Lin Xiao quite enjoyed this feeling. This was far better than the life he had led in the Holy Spirit Cult.
The only thing was that the metals allocated to him by the academy were steadily decreasing. As for what those materials had been used for, only Lin Xiao and Feng Shen, who stayed by his side, knew.
Another morning arrived. Lin Xiao slowly awakened from his meditation, feeling the soul power within his body gradually settle down.
Over these past few months, his soul power level was now only a hair's breadth away from the level 80 bottleneck.
If possible, he would have liked to wait until he obtained his eighth soul ring before heading to the deep sea. However, the Grand Elder could no longer be delayed.
Walking out of the dormitory, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy had already entered its holiday period. The once-bustling Soul Guidance Testing Area now only occasionally echoed with a few sounds, reverberating through the empty grounds.
Aside from a few teachers still researching soul guidance devices, everyone else in the academy had long since left, giving the place a somewhat desolate air.
At the academy gate, Lin Xiao checked his storage soul guidance device once more, then let out a long breath and stepped out, leaving.
He had traveled the road to the Evil Demon Forest countless times. Even with his eyes closed, he could find the way. In less than half a day, his figure had already appeared outside the headquarters.
The moment he stepped into the passageway, a somewhat familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Holy Envoy."
Lin Xiao nodded slightly and was about to continue deeper inside when he suddenly remembered something and turned his head.
Sure enough, beneath that black cloak was revealed a pair of dark purple eyes that were not unfamiliar to him. The light in those pupils had already vanished, leaving only numbness—no different from the other disciples of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Lin Xiao's steps faltered slightly, but in the end, he said nothing. If he had not had the memories of his previous life to support him back then, he probably would have long since become just like the disciples here.
Pressing the mask on his face, Lin Xiao resumed walking deeper into the headquarters. Only after he had walked a fair distance did a glimmer of light seem to suddenly appear in those dark purple eyes, watching his retreating form disappear into the depths of the passageway.
"Grand Elder."
The rooms in the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters were not overly luxurious. Even the Grand Elder's residence only contained a few simple furnishings, though it was slightly more humid than the other rooms.
"I've finally come." The Grand Elder seemed to have been waiting for quite some time. Upon seeing Lin Xiao, she immediately stood up and extended her hand.
Lin Xiao lowered his head to look. Resting quietly in the Grand Elder's palm was an object that appeared to be composed of many tiny parts. The front was shield-shaped, with a ring structure tightly attached below it, and there were other small protrusions on both sides.
It was emitting a faint, deep blue glow in the Grand Elder's hand, like a mass of seawater diffused across her palm.
"Grand Elder, this is…"
Lin Xiao felt that its appearance seemed somewhat familiar, yet for a moment, he dared not confirm it.
"This is a soul bone."
"A soul bone?" Lin Xiao looked at it more carefully, but the soul bone in the Grand Elder's hand did not seem to be any of the six major soul bones.
"Indeed." The Grand Elder nodded. "Did you know that among the soul bones soul beasts can produce, aside from the six major soul bones, there is also a type called external soul bones? This one I have is precisely that kind."
"It is the throat bone of the mermaid clan."
Could the throat bone form a soul bone?
Lin Xiao was slightly stunned. In his impression, the throat bone did not seem to be a true bone.
But upon thinking about it carefully, the Evil Emperor's Evil Eye could become a kind of external soul bone. Compared to an eye, a throat bone was at least closer to being a real bone.
Lin Xiao raised his head slightly, looking toward the Grand Elder's face, but beneath the cover of her cloak, he could not clearly see what expression she wore at the moment.
Previously, after doing so many things for the Nightmare Douluo, he had received nothing in return. Now, before they had even set off, the Grand Elder was taking out an external soul bone. This inevitably made Lin Xiao think a little more.
"Take it and absorb it as soon as possible." The Grand Elder extended her hand a little further. "I promised you before that I would help you resolve the problem of infiltrating the deep sea. This throat bone will grant you the ability to breathe underwater."
"As for the soul skill it comes with, I'm not very clear about it either. You can slowly test it yourself."
Looking at the Grand Elder's outstretched palm, Lin Xiao hesitated slightly. This was an external soul bone—it would not occupy the position of any other soul bone and could even evolve along with the soul master's cultivation.
Regardless of the cultivation level of the soul beast it originated from, its value could be compared to a 100,000-year soul bone, and it even faintly surpassed it.
Even for a soul beast like the Grand Elder, who could not absorb soul bones, the value of this throat bone was considerably lower in her hands. Yet to casually produce something like this—the task she wanted Lin Xiao to do was probably far more important than he had anticipated.
Either the danger of this matter far exceeded Lin Xiao's expectations, or the importance of this matter to the Grand Elder far outweighed the value of a single soul bone.
After pondering for a moment, Lin Xiao still raised his hand and took the soul bone from the Grand Elder's palm.
Since the Grand Elder was willing to bring out something like this, it already showed the place this matter held in her heart. No matter what exactly he had to do, having reached this point, there was already no possibility of turning back.
Absorbing this throat bone and gaining the ability to breathe underwater—perhaps when the time came, he could even use the seawater to escape.
"Thank you, Grand Elder."
"Absorb it here. I'll watch over you."
The Grand Elder stood up and yielded the bed beside her. There was not the slightest trace that anyone had ever slept on it.
She herself did not often stay at the headquarters, and as a sea soul beast, she probably did not rest the way humans did.
Lin Xiao glanced at her once more, then finally stepped forward, sat cross-legged, placed the mermaid's throat bone in the palms of his hands, slowly closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into his mental sea.
"Teacher, have you discovered anything else on this soul bone?"
Perhaps because he had never encountered anyone in the Holy Spirit Cult who was this generous, Lin Xiao always felt a bit uneasy about this soul bone.
"No." Electrolux's voice slowly sounded. "Are you worried about what comes after?"
"Mm." Lin Xiao nodded. "For the Grand Elder to even take out an external soul bone like this, the task probably won't be simple."
"Sigh." Electrolux let out a soft sigh, though it was unclear why he sighed. "Go ahead and do it without worry. If you truly encounter a life-threatening danger, I have a way to let you avoid it for a while."
Hearing this, Lin Xiao's heart immediately settled. Soul power surged through his meridians, and the soul bone in his palms instantly transformed into a wisp of deep blue light, drilling into his neck.
Soon, his entire face was illuminated in a shade of blue.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
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