Chapter Fifteen: External Soul Bone, Possession of the Poison Emperor

After absorbing the soul ring, Chen Ming slowly stood up. Before he could speak, he instinctively sensed that there was something related to him on the already dead scorpion before him.

He moved behind the scorpion and reached out to touch the stiff scorpion tail, subconsciously channeling his soul power into it.

As Chen Ming’s soul power flowed in, the once lifeless tail suddenly reactivated, beginning to absorb his soul energy. Strangely, it started drawing flesh and blood from the deceased emerald scorpion itself.

Within just a few breaths, the emerald scorpion’s hard shell began to shrivel, its flesh and blood drained away. The originally massive tail seemed satisfied and gradually shrank, eventually detaching from the body and transforming into a slender, jade-green scorpion tail, as if delicately carved from emerald.

“External Soul Bone!” Chen Shijie exclaimed, finally able to recognize what it was, his heart finally feeling at ease.

Although external soul bones are rare—Chen Shijie had only read about them in books—compared to the earth-shattering events that had previously occurred with his grandson, this external soul bone was surprisingly straightforward.

Soul bones are priceless treasures in the soul master world, always accompanied by bloodshed and turmoil when they appear. If outsiders found out, it would spell trouble. But since everyone present was family, Chen Shijie had no concerns about exposure.

Just as he was about to urge Chen Ming to absorb the external soul bone immediately, Chen Tianyun stepped forward and lightly pushed Chen Ming’s arm.

“Xiaoming, before anything else, absorb the external soul bone first,” he said. Without waiting for Chen Ming’s response, Chen Tianyun tugged Chen Shijie’s sleeve, and the two of them stepped aside.

“Father, let’s step back and give Xiaoming some space to absorb the soul bone.”

“Heh, you little rascal, you don’t even trust your own father…” Chen Shijie grumbled, glaring at his unfilial son and tapping his head hard. But he obediently stepped back a couple of paces, then called out to Chen Ming from a distance.

“Xiaoming, your second uncle is right. You must remember this: when you’re out in the world, always be vigilant—no, be a hundred times more vigilant. Don’t be careless.”

“Absorbing a soul ring is the most dangerous and vulnerable moment for a soul master. Never expose yourself recklessly in front of others. If you discover a treasure, be prepared to strike first. Even if you don’t act, never reveal it to others.”

“An external soul bone is a legendary treasure, second only to a hundred-thousand-year soul bone. It can evolve with the soul master’s cultivation and might even eventually become a hundred-thousand-year soul bone. Although it cannot be passed down, it is still priceless.”

“Be extremely cautious when you’re out and about!”

Absorbing a soul bone has no threshold; even a hundred-thousand-year soul bone can be absorbed by a first-level soul master. Since Chen Ming had already managed to absorb a thousand-year soul ring beyond his level, there was no doubt he could absorb this external soul bone. Chen Shijie was less concerned about absorption and more intent on repeatedly reminding Chen Ming to be cautious.

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Looking at the external soul bone in his hand, Chen Ming pondered whether to absorb it. After a brief silence, he decided to proceed.

First, external soul bones are incredibly precious and mysterious. Among hundreds of ordinary soul bones, not even one might appear. As mentioned in the Douluo series, the chance is about one in a thousand. If he didn’t absorb it now, who knew when he’d find another?

Second, this external soul bone truly suited him. Sharing the same root and origin as his martial soul, it would be easier to evolve, and the abilities it grants would likely complement him perfectly. It might even help his martial soul evolve further. Even if he managed to seize Tang San’s Eight Spider Spears, the benefits might not surpass this soul bone.

Third, the same stats offer different value early on versus later. This external soul bone was at the thousand-year level and could provide him significant physical enhancements now, helping him build momentum quickly. Both his survivability and soul ring absorption tolerance would improve, and it could evolve further in the future. This was an absolutely worthwhile investment.

The only downside was that the emerald scorpion couldn’t fly, so its mobility was lacking…

Of course, as a transmigrator, Chen Ming knew what could make up for that.

“Grandfather, Second Uncle, I’ve got it. I will be extremely cautious in all my future endeavors,” Chen Ming nodded, replying solemnly before sitting cross-legged again to absorb the thousand-year external soul bone.

Because his martial soul shared the same root and origin and he had absorbed its soul ring, Chen Ming felt no resistance absorbing the thousand-year external soul bone. Within just a few moments, it was fully absorbed.

Perhaps due to the high overlap, even after absorbing the external soul bone, the scorpion tail on Chen Ming’s back looked almost the same—just slightly more realistic in texture and with more intricate patterns.

If one didn’t look closely, even Chen Ming himself would find it hard to tell any difference.

But the soul bone’s enhancement had not disappeared due to its subtle appearance; instead, it was quite pronounced.

The scorpion’s tail actually included its excretory system, so losing the tail would normally kill the scorpion by poisoning it with its own waste. But in Douluo Continent, martial souls are not so hardcore. Chen Ming’s tail protruded from the tail vertebrae, an extension of the spine’s exterior. It was highly sensitive and controllable, as accurate as his ten fingers.

After absorbing the soul bone, Chen Ming could feel his entire skeletal frame strengthening, centered on his spine. His flesh, bones, and meridians all improved significantly. Though his martial soul didn’t evolve further, its essence advanced one step, and he might later stimulate the external soul bone’s growth to indirectly evolve his martial soul.

This external soul bone enhanced the strength and durability of his tail and slightly increased its toxicity. Most importantly, it contained a soul skill called “Emperor of Poison Possession.” When activated, it boosted all his attributes by 50% and doubled his poison strength.

As for passive abilities, none had yet manifested; he would need to grow further to unlock them.

As an amplification skill, this was quite impressive. It not only compensated for Chen Ming’s two offensive soul skills lacking any buffs but also could improve alongside his strength.

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If there was a downside, it was that “Emperor of Poison Possession” consumed an enormous amount of energy. With Chen Ming’s current soul power—level 22, nearly level 23—he could only maintain the skill for about half an hour.

Moreover, his other two soul skills also consumed large amounts of soul energy. In a real fight, even with all skills active, he might only sustain it for a few minutes.

After Chen Ming absorbed the external soul bone, Chen Shijie and Chen Tianyun approached and began talking with him. Chen Ming briefly explained his second soul skill and the abilities granted by the external soul bone.

Upon learning that Chen Ming’s martial soul had been fully restored and transformed, Chen Tianyun and Chen Shijie embraced, tears streaming down their faces.

But before long, Chen Tianyun raised the most pressing concern about Chen Ming’s current state.

“The external soul bone’s boost is significant, but the appearance barely changed. If we hadn’t known you absorbed it, even we experts wouldn’t notice. As long as you don’t reveal it, there’s no problem. But your second soul ring is a bit too conspicuous…”

“In the continent, there have been cases of absorbing a thousand-year soul ring without a second ring, but they happen once every few hundred years—rarer than having innate full soul power. There hasn’t been any such case in the last hundred years. If word gets out, you’ll either be fought over or targeted by those jealous of you.”

“The atmosphere on Douluo Continent… it’s really hard to describe,” Chen Ming muttered.

“No choice. If you don’t kill other families’ talents, they’ll kill yours. If your family lacks talents, when others’ talents grow strong, they’ll swallow you up. So everyone watches each other’s talents, waiting for a chance to strike.”

“Your grandfather and second uncle are decent in Biluocheng, but outside, there are plenty who are stronger than us. This old bone of mine can at best exchange a few blows with soul saints who don’t have strong martial souls or soul rings. Stronger opponents could kill me with a few slaps.”

“But since we specialize in poison, ambush is our best tactic. Your poison is about seventy percent of mine, slightly stronger than your second uncle’s. While an ambush might not kill a soul saint, it can definitely take down a soul emperor.”

“Instead of hiding and wasting your talent for decades, it’s better to use connections to get you into the Royal Academy of Douluo. With three soul douluo instructors and the royal family backing you, it’s much safer than staying home.”

“Then when you roam the continent, you’ll have your own backing.”