"Gu Ran, what is your soul skill? Is it related to souls?" Tianlin guessed.
"Yes, boss," Gu Ran replied. "All the souls devoured by the Nether Spirit Horse are now attached inside this soul ring. Moreover, because it hadn't yet digested the Death Tyrannosaurus it just absorbed before dying, the Death Tyrannosaurus's soul has been preserved very completely. However, its intelligence was erased by me when I absorbed the soul ring."
"This soul ring has given me the soul skill called 'Bone of Demons and Spirits.' It attaches all those souls to the bones fired by my Skeletal War Horse. The attack angles are completely under my control. Also, because the bones are shrouded in ghostly energy, anyone struck by them will temporarily fall into a berserk state, as if possessed by evil spirits."
"That's quite a strange attack," Tianlin mused. Gu Ran's soul skill was somewhat similar to Tang San's hidden weapon technique, Batwing Reincarnation, but even more powerful.
Batwing Reincarnation is one of the Tang Sect's hidden weapon techniques. The hidden weapons it throws can attack the desired target based on the user's intent, adjusting for angle and force. However, once released, the trajectory is set and cannot be changed. Gu Ran's skill is different; as long as he has soul power left, he can control the bones at will.
"But you mentioned the complete soul of the Death Tyrannosaurus. How does that work? The soul skill you just described doesn't seem to show that," Tianlin asked.
"Hehe, boss, let me show you." Gu Ran chuckled and demonstrated his fifth soul skill: Bone of Demons and Spirits.
Hundreds of sharp bones, shrouded in black energy, shot out—some weaving through the forest, others precisely striking leaves on the trees. This showcased the first feature Gu Ran had mentioned: following his will.
"Bone of Demons and Spirits—gather!"
At that moment, Gu Ran clapped his hands together. All the bones converged, assembling themselves into a massive skeletal Death Tyrannosaurus.
"Boss, this is the use of the Death Tyrannosaurus's soul. Once the giant bone dragon is imbued with its soul, it fights automatically without my control. Except for lacking flesh and blood, it has everything the Death Tyrannosaurus had—death aura, tyrant claws, and more. Since I erased its original will when I absorbed the soul ring, its new will is my own and it obeys me completely."
"This... this is practically necromantic magic's bone dragon summoning. I didn't expect Gu Ran to have such a stroke of luck. His fifth soul ring's combat ability probably surpasses that of most Soul Emperors," Tianlin thought to himself.
In the future, this new generation Bone Douluo will surely surpass Gu Rong. The title of most bizarre attack and best defense will likely go to Gu Ran.
"Not bad, Gu Ran. This trip wasn't wasted—your soul skill is really powerful." Tianlin patted Gu Ran's shoulder in satisfaction.
Gu Ran scratched his head sheepishly, not daring to take credit. "Hehe, I owe it all to you, boss. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten such a powerful soul ring."
At that moment, Tianlin suddenly remembered something. He walked up to the Death Tyrannosaurus's body. The giant dragon corpse had no soul left, so now it was like a living corpse—completely still.
Tianlin opened the soul tool on his belt and stored the Death Tyrannosaurus away.
This was a gift from Ning Fengzhi. The space in his old storage pouch wasn't big enough, so on Tianlin's birthday, Ning Fengzhi had a new storage soul tool belt custom-made for him. It had a huge capacity and, like the old pouch, could store living things—far more precious than Tang San's Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
"Huh? Boss, why are you taking the Death Tyrannosaurus's body?" Gu Ran asked, confused.
"The Death Tyrannosaurus isn't dead yet. Although it has no soul, its heart is still beating and blood is still flowing. So it isn't truly dead. Didn't Teacher Qin Ming say before, to kill this kind of soul beast, you have to destroy both the body and the soul—otherwise, over time, this body will quickly generate a new soul," Tianlin explained with a smile. "Now, as long as someone can break its body, they can still get a ten-thousand-year soul ring—and one without soul shock."
"Isn't Tianheng and Sister Yan about to break through to level fifty? This ten-thousand-year sub-dragon soul beast is perfect for them. Let's not waste it; we'll save it as a gift."
"Boss, you really think of everything—saves us another trip to Sunset Forest," Gu Ran replied with a hearty laugh, following Tianlin as they left the forest.
They first returned to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan to report Gu Ran's fifth soul ring to his Master, Gu Rong. When Gu Rong learned not only that Gu Ran had broken through to Soul King, but also that his fifth soul skill was so powerful, he couldn't stop grinning.
Chen Xin, standing nearby, couldn't stand his boasting and said, "Your disciple is only this strong because my disciple gave him a boost. Without my disciple, Gu Ran would probably just be hovering around level forty, maybe not even reaching it."
Chen Xin's words left Gu Rong speechless—the facts couldn't be denied.
"Even so, can't you let me boast a little? I've already given up on the idea of Gu Ran catching up to Tianlin. It's just impossible," Gu Rong protested.
"Hmph, as long as you know," Chen Xin replied, fully accepting Gu Rong's concession.
These two, Sword and Bone, had competed all their lives, never yielding to one another. But in terms of disciples, Gu Rong had utterly lost out.
Dugu Bo watched the two of them bicker and boast about their disciples and felt a bit envious. He also wanted Tianlin to give his granddaughter Dugu Yan a boost.
But he knew now wasn't the time. The secret of Illusionary Water Thunderstorm and the Holy Spirit Domain couldn't be revealed to any outsiders before Tianlin reached level seventy.
Although Dugu Yan was his granddaughter, she was now the fiancée of Yu Tianheng and considered part of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family.
Tianlin noticed Dugu Bo's envy and went over to reassure him, "Old monster, don't worry. Sister Yan treats me very well; I won't forget her. I may not be able to help with her fifth soul ring, but I guarantee I'll help her get the best possible sixth through ninth soul rings in the future."
"Haha, thank you, little monster," Dugu Bo replied with a smile. Tianlin was right—there was no need to rush. With Tianlin's personality, he would never forget anyone good to him.
After staying at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan for more than half a month, the two set off again and returned to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
When everyone saw Gu Ran, who had broken through level fifty and gained a new soul ring, they were all astonished.
What happened? Gu Ran, who used to be middle or lower ranked in the team, had suddenly jumped to second place?
Following Tianlin's earlier instructions, Gu Ran put all the credit on his teacher Gu Rong, saying that Gu Rong had used a unique secret method to help him break through, but the secret method only worked for bone-type martial souls.
No one doubted it too much—if such a powerful secret method worked for everyone, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would be unstoppable and wouldn't have been stuck as the continent's number two sect for so many years.
But this did spur Tianheng on. As the heir to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family, he had now been surpassed by both the Sword and Bone disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. How could he hold his head up if word got out?
So, in the final ten days, Yu Tianheng began training frantically, vowing to catch up with Gu Ran as soon as possible.