Douluo: I am the True Master

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Since learning at the age of nine that the world's consciousness had fallen into a deep slumber, Ye Wen felt that his luck had been consistently average. 

In all his hunts for spirit beasts, he had only ever obtained a single soul bone—from the Battle Drum Toad King. Even then, it was due to the creature's eighty-thousand-year cultivation, which gave it an unusually high probability of dropping a soul bone. 

This time, hunting a two-hundred-thousand-year-old ferocious beast guaranteed a soul bone drop according to the rules of the world. Based on the squid's characteristics, Ye Wen had already speculated that the soul bone would likely be a torso bone, as squids only possessed a single bone in their bodies. 

However, the appearance of this eye embedded in his forehead undoubtedly slapped Ye Wen in the face—it wasn't a torso bone at all but rather an external soul bone. 

As for why it wasn't a head-type soul bone? 

With Ye Wen's knowledge, how could he possibly fail to distinguish between them? Only external soul bones would be absorbed into the body alongside the soul ring during absorption. 

Ye Wen had long since given up hope on obtaining the protagonist-standard external soul bone, especially since all the spirit beasts he had slain were undoubtedly of extremely high cultivation years, and the drop rate for external soul bones was notoriously rare. 

Never did he expect that the two-hundred-thousand-year-old Many-Eyed Squid Emperor would bestow such a generous gift, directly upgrading the external soul bone to two-hundred-thousand-year quality and making it one of the most precious types. 

Aside from its unique abilities, what made external soul bones truly precious was their growth potential—a feature absent in ordinary soul bones. The enhancement of ordinary soul bones only occurred during divine trials. 

Once the mystery of this growth potential was unraveled, it meant that Ye Wen could potentially mass-produce high-cultivation soul bones. 

"Brother, how is it going?" Ah Yin asked with concern. 

Through his newfound vision, Ye Wen noticed a red aura enveloping Ah Yin. Though he didn't yet understand what this aura signified, he quickly snapped back to reality and replied: 

"It's successful. Did you find any soul bones in the corpse, Ah Yin?" 

"Nope, Brother. Spirit beasts only produce one soul bone, and now it seems it's already appeared on your forehead." 

"How strange… What kind of bone counts as an eyeball?" Ye Wen muttered, slightly complaining. 

The sudden appearance of this external soul bone had indeed caught him off guard. 

Turning to look at Misael beside him, he noticed a faint black aura surrounding her. Glancing down at himself, he saw a golden aura enveloping his body. 

The black aura around Misael didn't give Ye Wen any ominous feeling. Combined with Ah Yin's red aura and his own golden one, Ye Wen began to contemplate. 

According to Douluo I, soul rings ranged from white, yellow, purple, black, red, to the golden hue of million-year cultivation. 

Given A Yin's aptitude, achieving godhood without a divine position was uncertain, but reaching the level of a Title Douluo was practically guaranteed. As for himself, with the cheat codes of the original plot, ascending to godhood was merely a matter of time. 

Thus, he tentatively concluded that these auras likely represented the highest cultivation level a lifeform could achieve. 

He briefly considered whether it might represent fate energy, but that was exclusive to auspicious beasts like the Rui Beast. 

"Brother, what soul skills does this two-hundred-thousand-year external soul bone grant?" A Yin asked curiously. 

Caught up in the unexpected surprise, Ye Wen hadn't immediately checked the soul skills contained within the external soul bone. Now, he closed his eyes and focused inward. 

"Not bad for a ferocious beast-level soul bone—it comes with two soul skills instead of the usual one. 

The first is a domain called Murky Domain. Within the range of my spiritual power, it can forcibly distort the space around me, rendering enemy attacks ineffective. 

The second is a mental attack skill called Abyssal Gaze, which condenses my spiritual power to forcefully establish a mental link with the enemy, directly attacking their spiritual sea. Those weaker than me will be reduced to idiots, while those equal to or stronger than me will still suffer significant mental damage." 

Ye Wen's tone betrayed his delight. These two soul skills were exceptionally practical combat abilities. 

They far surpassed the absorption skill of the Eight Spider Spears from the original story. Additionally, the innate ability to see certain auras emanating from others was far more useful than the venom of the Human-Faced Demon Spider. 

Upon hearing about these powerful soul skills, both women couldn't help but envy him. 

Glancing at the massive corpse floating nearby on the ocean's surface, Ye Wen considered whether to bring it back to nourish his disciples. After all, squid and cuttlefish were similar—surely its meat would taste good. 

Unconsciously, he recalled the flavor of grilled cuttlefish from his previous life. 

Unfortunately, Ye Wen had no idea of the recipe for the sauce that accompanied grilled cuttlefish, leaving him to sigh in resignation. 

Still adhering to the principle of not wasting, Ye Wen decided to take it back and try cooking it. Who knows—it might taste great. Just then, Misael tugged at the corner of his robe and said: 

"Brother Ye, you're not seriously thinking of eating this Many-Eyed Squid Emperor, are you?" 

Ye Wen gave her a puzzled look. "Of course! It's a two-hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast after all. Its body contains immense energy, and consuming it would be highly nourishing for soul masters." 

"Well… I'm not lying to you, Brother Ye. This thing tastes horribly sour and has a terrible texture. Elder members of our tribe once brought some back for us to try, but we spat it out after just a few bites. Our mermaid race's sense of taste isn't much different from yours." 

Misael's words reminded Ye Wen of the legendary Giant Squid from his previous life, which was also rumored to taste awful. He wondered if these two creatures might be of the same type. 

For a moment, Ye Wen found himself in a dilemma. 

As someone who cherished fine cuisine, it felt almost disrespectful to his identity as a food enthusiast to pass up such a rare ingredient. Moreover, after the enhancement from his seventh soul ring, his martial soul space had expanded to tens of thousands of cubic meters. 

"Let's take it back! We'll give it a try. If it's inedible, we'll use it as fertilizer for the Blue Silver Forest. After all, it's a ferocious beast-level spirit beast, so it should significantly boost the forest's cultivation." 

With that thought in mind, Ye Wen prepared to store the severed remains of the Many-Eyed Squid Emperor in his martial soul space. 

Good advice couldn't dissuade a stubborn soul. Seeing Ye Wen's determination to try cooking it, Misael could only shrug and stop protesting. 

Just as Ye Wen was about to activate his martial soul space to store the corpse, a sudden surge of soul power rippled through the area. Hastily retracting his martial soul, Ye Wen turned his wary gaze toward the water below. 

Both women also sensed the anomaly beneath the surface and became alert. 

One by one, transparent tentacles wrapped around the corpse of the Many-Eyed Squid Emperor. 

From the previously bloody and murky depths, a golden glow began to shine forth. 

"Is that a jellyfish?! But this size—it's enormous!" Ye Wen exclaimed in astonishment as the colossal creature emerged. 

A giant jellyfish appeared on the seabed, its entire body transparent, with strands of golden threads shimmering within.

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