[Fusion Initiated.]
"It's so itchy… Feels like I'm growing a brain—wait, no… It's my back that's itchy."
That was Lin Fan's very first sensation.
Soon after, a sharp pain erupted from his back, spreading throughout his entire body, forcing Lin Fan to sit down cross-legged.
At the same time, he noticed that both his soul power and the surrounding spirit energy were gathering rapidly at his back, much like what had happened earlier when Tang San was absorbing his spirit ring.
However, since this fusion was performed by the system itself, the process didn't even take ten minutes before the familiar notification sound rang out:
[Fusion successful. Soul bone upgraded to 10,000-year quality.]
"Damn, this feels amazing!"
Lin Fan opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and invigorated as he let out an excited shout.
At the same time, he realized that the influx of soul power during the fusion had pushed his cultivation straight to Rank 92.
What mattered most, however, was that he could feel his physical body's toughness had more than doubled after fusing with this external soul bone.
"Excellent! I'm one step closer to becoming a god."
Lin Fan felt fully confident now.
"System, I must admit, you're pretty useful for once."
This fusion wasn't just some superficial bond—it was a complete and thorough integration. When Lin Fan summoned the Eight Spider Lances, it felt completely natural, like it had been part of his body all along. He could control it freely and easily.
"Devour—when the Eight Spider Lances pierce into an opponent's body, they can absorb the enemy's soul power to replenish my own."
Lin Fan muttered as he tested the soul bone's ability.
It essentially granted him a sustainability mechanism, letting him recover during prolonged battles.
Moreover, as he released the Eight Spider Lances, Lin Fan could sense his entire physical attributes had been boosted by 20%.
That 20% increase wasn't trivial either. It was an extra buff on top of everything else, and it would continue to grow stronger as the soul bone evolved. And this was just the initial 10,000-year level for now.
As for the poison effect, that was a racial talent of the Man-Faced Demon Spider, now naturally attached to the Eight Spider Lances.
It was called "Eight Spider Lances" because the spider's eight legs resembled eight sharp lances.
"Still…" Lin Fan looked at himself after summoning the Eight Spider Lances and couldn't help but mutter, "Don't I look like a matching pair with Bibi Dong now? Both of us are spider-themed."
But soon, Lin Fan grinned confidently. "This harvest is immense—not only did it grant me another soul rank, but with the Eight Spider Lances soul bone, my combat power has truly leapt forward. Now, if I faced Chrysanthemum Douluo, I could at least fight him evenly without losing."
As for facing Tang Hao? Lin Fan knew his limits.
One external soul bone wasn't enough—if he fought Tang Hao now, his newly acquired Eight Spider Lances would probably get smashed to pieces.
Lin Fan estimated that to even consider fighting Tang Hao, he would first need to enhance his Azure Shadow Sword's quality and absorb a 100,000-year spirit ring to even stand a chance.
Plus, even with his new sustain ability, it wouldn't give him much of an edge against Tang Hao. After all, Tang Hao's ninth spirit ring came from the Blue Silver Emperor. It was almost certain that one of those soul skills had powerful healing or recovery effects.
Just then…
"Argh… why does my back hurt so much?"
Tang San slowly opened his eyes, frowning in pain.
"Could it be… I accidentally got injured by the Man-Faced Demon Spider's attack?"
Still confused, Tang San sat up.
Lin Fan quickly withdrew his Eight Spider Lances and stepped forward to help him up from behind.
"Tang San, it was my mistake," Lin Fan said sincerely. "When I confronted Dragon Duke and Snake Lady, I didn't pay enough attention to the Man-Faced Demon Spider's age—it turned out to be over 2,000 years."
"You nearly suffered a soul backlash from absorbing a ring far beyond your limit. Fortunately, you pulled through; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to face Zhao Wuji and the others."
"How are you feeling now?"
Tang San slowly stood up and replied, "Lord Swordshadow, this wasn't your fault. I only realized the issue during the absorption process myself."
"Besides, the higher the spirit ring's age, the stronger the resulting soul skill. I suppose this was a blessing in disguise."
"Also, if you hadn't stepped in back there, I wouldn't have been able to absorb the Man-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring in the first place."
"Thank you, Lord Swordshadow."
Lin Fan thought to himself smugly: He's even thanking me after I stole his soul bone.
"No need for thanks. We're classmates, after all—helping each other out is only natural," Lin Fan said righteously. "Besides, it was Dragon Duke and Snake Lady who were bullying the younger generation first."
"They had the nerve to claim that a soul beast they found belongs exclusively to them? What sort of logic is that?"
Tang San nodded in admiration. "In any case, this time I truly owe you, Lord Swordshadow."
Lin Fan waved his hand. "Enough with the formalities. You've been here for nearly an hour already. Who knows how Zhao Wuji and the others are doing? We should get back."
"As for Xiao Wu… she's not the type to suffer misfortune easily."
"Besides, Xiao Wu is lively and clever. Given how huge the Titan Giant Ape is, I wouldn't be surprised if she already slipped away and reunited with Zhao Wuji's group."
"Xiao Wu…" Hearing her name made Tang San's mood drop again, and the image of her being taken by the Titan Giant Ape resurfaced in his mind.
"Let's go. It's already late into the night. Even if Xiao Wu hasn't reunited with them yet, now isn't the right time to search for her. The forest at night is far more dangerous than during the day."
"We'll have to wait until morning to take action." Lin Fan patted Tang San on the shoulder as a reminder.
"…Alright." Tang San nodded, knowing there was no good solution right now. The forest was pitch-black, and visibility was terrible.
But they had barely taken a few steps when Lin Fan's ears twitched. He grabbed Tang San and stopped.
"Lord Swordshadow, what's wrong?" Tang San was surprised.
"It sounds like Zhao Wuji and the others are searching nearby… I can also hear Xiao Wu's voice among them," Lin Fan said calmly.
"Really?! Where?!" Tang San asked anxiously.
"Toward the outskirts. Come on." Lin Fan led Tang San in that direction at top speed.
Sure enough, before long, Tang San also heard familiar voices calling out—and even recognized Xiao Wu's voice among them. His heart surged with excitement, and his pace quickened as he shouted back:
"Xiao Wu! Teacher Zhao! We're over here!"
Soon after, they saw Zhao Wuji's group soaring toward them, using Oscar's third soul skill, the Mushroom Sausage.
Xiao Wu immediately leapt into Tang San's arms, worriedly saying, "Brother San! I didn't see you when I got back—I was so scared something happened to you!"
"Xiao Wu… Thank goodness you're safe." Tang San's tone softened, filled with genuine relief.
"Huh? Brother San, you're hurt!" Xiao Wu exclaimed after accidentally touching the wound on Tang San's back.
"It's just a small injury. Don't worry," Tang San replied, still under the impression that it was a minor wound from the Man-Faced Demon Spider, perhaps from rolling on sharp rocks.
"Tang San, what happened? Did you encounter a soul beast?" Zhao Wuji asked after noticing Tang San's tattered clothes.
"Teacher Zhao, everyone, I'm fine," Tang San explained calmly, seeing that Xiao Wu was unharmed. "While chasing after Xiao Wu earlier, I ran into a 2,000-year-old Man-Faced Demon Spider. We fought intensely."
"Later, I encountered the Dragon Duke and Snake Lady. They were the ones who initially injured the spider. I killed it while defending myself."
"Fortunately, Lord Swordshadow arrived in time and scared them off. I then absorbed its spirit ring, only realizing afterward that it was 2,000 years old."
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji burst into hearty laughter.
"So you managed to absorb a 2,000-year spirit ring? Excellent! This trip was dangerous indeed, but we've unexpectedly gained three new Spirit Elders for our academy! Flander is going to laugh himself to death when he hears this."
"Three?" Tang San blinked in surprise.
"Brother San, I also broke through to Spirit Elder and absorbed a thousand-year spirit beast killed by the Titan Giant Ape," Xiao Wu reminded him with a grin.
Lin Fan smiled faintly.
No one would ever know that he had already claimed the greatest prize of all—Tang San's Eight Spider Lances' soul bone.