ALL NOVEL Chapter 77: Soul Bone
This battle was not easy for Su Luoheng.
Martial spirit and soul skills provided minimal assistance in combat. Facing Xiheng, who had higher soul power and combat skills on par with his own, it was no small feat for Su Luoheng to secure victory.
Su Luoheng knew that if he fought in a conventional manner, he would ultimately lose.
That's why he deliberately put on a desperate, all-in act. In doing so, he was able to channel his soul power and begin analyzing Xijeng's weapon, the Flaming Sword. Fortunately, Xiheng was using a sword-type soul tool, allowing Su Luoheng to complete his analysis during the battle. If it had been a different type of weapon, Su Luoheng would have likely faced defeat.
Leveraging his skill of weapon analysis, Su Luoheng deciphered the abilities of the Flaming Sword.
With this understanding, Su Luoheng could now effortlessly handle Xiheng. However, this alone wasn't enough to secure a victory, as he had already exhausted most of his soul power in the weapon analysis. The scales of victory were still tipped in Xiheng's favor.
To turn the tide, Su Luoheng decided to take a bold gamble.
The first step was using his second soul skill to project a copy of the Flaming Sword.
Since the projected weapon is always one grade lower than the original, Su Luoheng intentionally had the projected weapon break in battle as the second step.
The third and final step was to seize the moment of Xiheng's brief distraction to deliver a fatal blow, achieving victory from the jaws of defeat!
Su Luoheng knew his plan had many flaws, and the chances of success were slim. But this was the only way he could think of to turn the tables and win against stronger odds, so he had no choice but to gamble on this one opportunity.
Fortunately, he won the bet.
The string of unexpected events left Xi Heng stunned, giving Su Luoheng the chance he needed to reverse the outcome!
...
Three days later.
The annual evaluation at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy came to an end. The students who performed exceptionally well received their rewards.
As the top student in both soul engineering and soul mastery for his grade, Su Luoheng's reward was especially valuable and had to be collected in person from the office of the student director.
So, early in the morning, a staff member escorted him to the director's office.
Ran Yuming did not accompany him.
With Jing Hongchen's earlier assurance, Ran was confident that the reward would be substantial.
Su Luoheng's performance in the competition had earned him widespread recognition, with his dual titles of top soul engineer and top soul master among the lower grades making him well-known in the academy.
As he walked, people occasionally gave him curious glances or greeted him.
Su Luoheng responded with smiles to those who made eye contact.
Soon enough, the teacher leading the way stopped in front of an office on the top floor.
"We're here."
The teacher had escorted Su Luoheng all the way from the dormitory to the academic building without uttering a single unnecessary word, perfectly fitting his stern, no-nonsense demeanor.
He pointed to the door, indicating that Su Luoheng could go in.
Su Luoheng nodded in thanks. "Thank you, teacher."
Then, he pushed the door open and entered.
The office came into view. The space was about the same size as Ran Yuming's lab, but without any lab tables cluttering the area, it felt much more spacious and orderly. The decor was simple yet exuded a unique charm, completely different from the cold and sterile feel of a lab.
Bookshelves were filled with all kinds of books, and a few ink paintings adorned the walls.
However, when Su Luoheng saw the figure sitting behind the desk, he was visibly taken aback.
The figure had a slightly plump build and auburn hair.
His face was kind, with a beaming smile and a gentle, kindly expression.
The identity of the person before him was unmistakable—it was none other than Jing Hongchen, the renowned Hall Master of Illustrious Virtue Hall at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy!
"But wasn't it supposed to be Lin Jiayi? How did it turn out to be Jing Hongchen?"
"Student Su Luoheng greets the Hall Master."
Though unclear on the situation, Su Luoheng knew it was best to maintain a respectful attitude.
"Take a seat," Jing Hongchen said with a gentle smile, pointing to the sofa. "Originally, Director Lin was supposed to present your evaluation reward, but he had some matters to attend to, so I'm stepping in for him. Since Elder Ran and I share the same master, we're from the same lineage. So, you don't need to be so formal with me—just call me Uncle master."
"Uncle master Hongchen," Su Luoheng promptly changed his address after hearing this.
Jing Hongchen had made it clear, and continuing with overly polite formalities would only seem affected.
Su Luoheng guessed that Jing Hongchen had been waiting for him specifically.
After all, even if Director Lin had some urgent matters, he could have easily delegated the task to a subordinate. Why would the Hall Master of Illustrious Virtue Hall step in personally? That would require extraordinary influence!
"Luoheng, you performed exceptionally well!"
"Achieving first place in both soul engineering and soul master competitions in your grade—truly worthy of being Elder Ran's disciple," Jing Hongchen praised as he handed Su Luoheng an exquisite small box. "Here is your reward for the evaluation. Since you are already a core student and have topped both categories, the usual reward wouldn't suffice. So, I've arranged something more fitting for you. Open it and see—I believe it will suit you perfectly."
Su Luoheng curiously accepted the box and opened it.
Without warning, a silver glow emerged from the box. Under Su Luoheng's astonished gaze, it floated gently in the air.
It was a small piece of bone, shimmering with a faint silver light. It resembled a human arm bone, though much smaller in size.
From the moment Su Luoheng laid eyes on it, he was captivated, unable to look away.
The soul power radiating from the bone was sharp, like the edge of a blade. Even just being near it, Su Luoheng could feel its pressure, stimulating his senses—it was clear that this bone was extraordinary!
"This… is this a soul bone?" Su Luoheng exclaimed in shock.
Although his teacher and Jing Hongchen had hinted earlier that the reward would be exceptional, Su Luoheng had never imagined it would be a soul bone. For a soul master, even an ordinary soul bone was invaluable and nearly impossible to obtain!
Before becoming a soul master, he had thought acquiring a soul bone was easy.
In stories, people like Huo Yuhao always seemed to pick up a few soul bones every time he visited the Soul Beast Forest.
Because of that, Su Luoheng had naively believed that soul bones weren't hard to come by. However, once he actually stepped into the world of soul masters, he realized just how precious soul bones truly were!
For instance, his father, Su Junran, was a Soul Saint, yet he only possessed two thousand-year soul bones. Even so, those were considered extremely rare.
Having soul rings didn't necessarily mean having soul bones, but having a soul bone always meant there were soul rings to accompany it.
Both soul rings and soul bones are produced from the death of soul beasts, but while soul rings appear every time a soul beast dies, the chances of a soul bone appearing are one in ten thousand. The higher the soul beast's level, the greater the chance of a soul bone forming. Only a hundred-thousand-year soul beast would definitely produce a soul bone.