Peerless: Auspicious Beast's Star Revival Plan

Chapter 171 The Soul of an Open Scheme

"Here you go." Jiang Lan took out a jade box and handed it to Wang Dong.

This development was clearly beyond his expectations. Wang Dong stared wide-eyed, looking somewhat dazed for a moment.

Joy only appeared on his face when Jiang Lan handed the jade box forward again.

"Thank you, senior!" he said with a smile as he happily accepted the jade box.

Wang Dong's smile is truly beautiful; his large, bright pinkish-blue eyes have eyelashes that flutter like butterfly wings. He's young, and his features are still quite soft, giving him a somewhat androgynous appearance. When he smiles, his soft face has a pair of sweet dimples—Jiang Lan couldn't resist reaching out and poking one.

Ma Xiaotao felt a stomachache watching from the side. How could she start spending money on men so soon? Wouldn't she be scammed out of her underwear later?

Hanwen stared at Wang Dong with a betrayed expression.

Damn it, this kid has no sportsmanship.

Wang Dong grinned at her, unable to contain his smugness as he said, "I told you there would be something good for me at the treasure hunt, and it seems my hunch was right!"

"I think you just got lucky," Huo Yuqing said bluntly.

Jiang Lan suddenly reached out and pressed down on the jade box containing the soul bone. Her eyes were filled with obvious worry as she looked at Wang Dong: "A sudden premonition?"

Wang Dong was stunned. After a long while, he blinked awkwardly and said somewhat uneasily, "Senior, are you overthinking this...?"

He knew Jiang Lan was worried that this "sudden thought" might be similar to the previous situation, like when he was facing Zhou Yi and felt resentful, yet a voice told him to respect his teacher; like his inexplicable and illogical aversion to soul tools, but...

“But this is just a soul bone. There’s nothing wrong with it, and it’s actually suitable for me… It should be fine, right?” Wang Dong said softly, as if trying to convince himself.

Most importantly, no matter what, this was a gift from Jiang Lan to him.

"What riddles are they playing?" Bai Chenxiang whispered in Ma Xiaotao's ear, and the latter shook her head in confusion.

However, Jiang Lan was still holding the jade box.

Wang Dong suddenly felt a little lost—he couldn't tell which thought was his own and which was added to his mind by something else—was there really something in his mind influencing him?

“Wang Dong, you have an insect-type martial soul, so you don’t necessarily need this soul bone.” Anwen interrupted his confusion. “This soul bone is just suitable for you in terms of attributes, and its age is just average, right? There are so many soul bones with suitable attributes. If you are willing to give it to me, I will trade you a light-attribute soul bone with a higher age and better soul skills.”

She and Wang Rui exchanged a glance.

The tacit understanding built up over fifteen thousand years allowed Wang Rui to immediately grasp Anwen's meaning.

She was determined to obtain this piece of soul bone.

Wang Ruineng could vaguely sense through the jade box that the bloodline carried by this soul bone was far more powerful than the bloodline of the Light Dragon described in the original work, but the only reason why Anwen was so eager to get it was that the soul bone contained the activated bloodline of the Light Dragon King.

The first generation of the Light Dragon King and the Dark Dragon King gave birth to the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian.

As the offspring of the Light Dragon King and the Dark Dragon King, Di Tian should possess both light and darkness attributes, becoming an Onmyoji (crossed out), an unprecedented dragon with both light and darkness attributes, possessing strength surpassing his parents.

However, perhaps due to the influence of the mother during gestation or the absorption of more dark attribute power during incubation, the dark attribute on Di Tian's body was stronger and his strength was greater when he hatched. The imbalance between light and dark attributes suppressed the bloodline of the Light Dragon King, making it impossible for it to show outwards.

The only distinguishing feature of his biological father was his pair of golden eyes.

Hanwen also inherited the bloodlines of the Dark Dragon King and the Light Dragon King. As a sub-dragon, she was not as strong as Di Tian at birth, and her maternal bloodline was not as strong as that of the dragon race. However, the Light Dragon King bloodline in her body had a greater chance of awakening.

—The prerequisite is that there is a suitable guide to awaken the Light Dragon King bloodline within her.

However, the Light Dragon King and the Dark Dragon King perished in the God Realm, and most of their clansmen were buried in the Dragon Tomb while fighting against natural disasters. In the current Douluo World, there are no other soul beasts possessing the bloodline of the Light Dragon King.

The light-type dragons in the Star Dou Forest at most inherited the bloodline of the Holy Light Dragon. That soul bone containing the activated bloodline of the Light Dragon King may be her only chance to activate her bloodline.

Whether it's to help Anwen increase her strength, to prevent Wang Dong from obtaining the Dragon Blood Soul Bone and starting the Dragon God Butterfly's evolution path, or to take on the responsibility of retrieving the dragon clan's remains as a descendant of the Golden Dragon King, Wang Rui has to find a way to get that piece of golden light left arm bone from Wang Dong.

Moreover, this is also an opportunity to test Tang San and to take the opportunity to resolve the hidden dangers on Wang Dong.

“The trace of dragon blood on this soul bone is indeed very precious. We speculate that it belongs to an ancient dragon king. I’m not lying to you, this soul bone is indeed very important to Hanwen,” Wang Rui said.

Wang Dong was still the person he intended to win over, so he spoke very frankly, trying to avoid leaving any hidden dangers. "Since you have already taken the lead, I don't want to hurt the harmony between classmates. We can exchange a left leg bone produced by a Radiant Unicorn with 80,000 years of cultivation for this soul bone."

Of course, it was seized from the humans who died in the Starry Forest.

"Hiss." Ma Xiaotao gasped. "What a grand gesture."

Even Jiang Lan, who had been completely unmoved, widened her eyes slightly.

"Hehe, Wang Rui's offer is quite generous, but it's still a bit short compared to the true value of this soul bone. I guess this isn't his final price in mind." Tianmeng Ice Silkworm muttered in Huo Yuqing's sea of ​​consciousness, "Damn it, a unicorn! I've been in Xingdou for so many years and I've hardly ever seen a unicorn."

Hyotei, who had just woken up at the treasure appreciation event, coldly retorted, "Weren't you sleeping?"

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm fell silent.

Bai Chenxiang glanced at Wang Dong, who seemed unresponsive, unsure if he knew the value of a Radiant Unicorn Soul Bone. So she blinked and feigned curiosity: "Xiao Tao, are Radiant Unicorn Soul Bones very precious?"

"Super precious!" Ma Xiaotao felt a pang of envy. "Unicorns are legendary powerful soul beasts. They are the darlings of the elements and symbols of purity. They possess pure elemental power no less than that of pure-blooded dragons. It is said that a single unicorn is far inferior to a dragon king, but it is powerful. Among all hoofed soul beasts similar to horses, the most valuable soul bone they produce is their leg bone!"

"What's more crucial is the age! This golden light can't compare at all! An 80,000-year-old soul bone, if the soul skill recorded on that soul bone is good, might be stronger than some 100,000-year-old soul bones... I'm starting to resent the rich, really!"

Her adoptive father was Yan Shaozhe, who possessed several good soul bones and knew just how wealthy Shrek Academy was. Yet, she still couldn't help but envy the Beast Sect's generosity.

Jiang Lan tilted her head and looked at Wang Dong, saying, "It's suitable."

Wang Dong showed no reaction.

It wasn't that he thought the unicorn soul bone was unsuitable for him; Wang Dong's cultivation focused more on elemental attributes than physical strength. After all, how high could the physical strength of a butterfly possibly be? Compared to the earth dragon soul bone, the Radiant Unicorn soul bone, which leaned towards elemental combat, was clearly more suitable. However, no matter how rationally he analyzed the situation, a stubborn voice within him kept telling him: a soul bone possessing dragon blood was the best, and he absolutely had to obtain that soul bone with a trace of dragon blood.

Wang Dong subconsciously wanted to refute the voice, but the more he tried to refute it, the more the lingering headache that had disappeared after arriving at Shrek Academy crept back, and he couldn't help but frown.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Rui sighed inwardly, thinking to himself that it was indeed true, that golden light was indeed Tang San's arrangement.

However, he seemed oblivious to Wang Dong's pain, and a troubled expression appeared on his face: "If you don't agree to this... how about a piece of emerald swan wing bone? It's a bit old, only a hundred years old, but external soul bones are all about growth potential. And the emerald swan clan are soul beasts favored by the Goddess of Life. If you still don't agree, we can't offer any more precious soul bones."

"Damn, godfather." Ma Xiaotao looked at Wang Rui with affection, "Do you have any extra soul bones? Sell me two, I'll pay a lot of money."

An external soul bone! Even a teacher wouldn't just pull one out casually! And it's an emerald swan one at that!
"It's all thanks to the sect's accumulation," Huo Yuqing replied with a smile. "Little Peach joined the Beast Sect after graduation, right?"

"Sigh." Ma Xiaotao sighed sadly.

Wang Rui stared intently at the changes in Wang Dong's expression. He saw that Wang Dong was still frowning, looking uncomfortable, but with a greater sense of struggle on his face.

Wang Rui immediately knew that his guess had been confirmed. Tang San's divine sense in Wang Dong's sea of ​​consciousness did not constantly watch over the lower realm. That wisp of divine sense would influence Wang Dong according to Tang San's likes and dislikes, but it was not that intelligent.

“Wang Dong, the junior, seems a bit off,” Bai Chenxiang suddenly said, her expression somewhat grave.

Wang Dong looked up, his face deathly pale.

Hanwen, who was beside him, was terrified. She looked at Wang Dong, whose face was contorted with pain, in shock: "No, are you really that reluctant to part with this soul bone? I'm starting to feel like I'm some kind of heinous sinner!"

"I...don't...have a headache." Wang Dong waved his hand and pressed his temples.

Wang Dong's headache was not caused by the wisp of divine consciousness that Tang San had placed in his sea of ​​consciousness.

If he had a broader perspective, he would understand that the external voice in his head is like that of a controlling parent.

When his child rebels, he doesn't resort to physical punishment, but he jumps in at every opportunity to criticize and admonish. While the child is playing, studying, practicing meditation, eating... he jumps in at all times to sting him, admonishing him like a persistent ghost, until the child conforms to the parents' demands, or he will never stop.

Wang Dong's headache was merely a throbbing pain from an old wound in his soul that he had forgotten. It was his body warning him, trying to remind him of what he had experienced because of that will.

Everyone was somewhat confused, but Jiang Lan's expression could even be described as gloomy.

She realized that it was a voice in Wang Dong's head that wasn't his own that was tormenting him.

A rare hint of pain flashed in those glassy purple eyes—Jiang Lan had experienced it herself, and she understood how terrifying the feeling of being deprived, as if one's own thoughts were no longer one's own, could be.

She has to find a way to help him.

Jiang Lan thought for half a second, then directly pulled the jade box from Wang Dong's hand and stuffed it into Wang Rui's arms: "I won't give it to him. Give him that external soul bone instead."

Wang Rui was stunned by her abrupt behavior.

“A man should keep his word.” She stared intently at Wang Rui, who was certain he read a threat in those purple eyes.

“Of course.” Wang Rui nodded.

Jiang Lan's actions had an immediate effect. Since Wang Dong didn't need to make the decision himself, the voice in his mind weakened instantly, the tearing sensation subsided, and even his complexion improved.

"Hey, are you alright?" Anwen asked cautiously. Wang Dong would sometimes say he had a headache in the dormitory and then go to bed early instead of cultivating. At first, Anwen thought he was just making excuses for his lazy behavior. Even after she learned that Wang Dong did have headaches, this was the first time she had seen him suffer from such a severe headache.

"I feel there's something wrong with this soul bone." Wang Dong's voice was a little hoarse. "Just now, it seemed like someone controlled my mind and made me insist on choosing that golden light soul bone... I feel there's something wrong. Can you guys please not tell anyone about this soul bone swap?"

"We certainly won't tell anyone," Huo Yuqing assured her.

Ma Xiaotao glanced at Bai Chenxiang subconsciously, and the latter nodded, "Chen Xiang and I won't tell either, and Xiao Lan will definitely be on your side."

"Thank you everyone, then... I'll head back now." Wang Dong frowned, looking preoccupied, and walked out like a lost soul.

"Hey, I'll go back to the dorm with him." Anwen followed.

“Then we’ll head back to the inner courtyard.” Ma Xiaotao nodded. “We’ll talk again another day.”

The roommates all left immediately.

Wang Rui took out a piece of paper and began to write a letter hastily.

"The Emerald Swan's external soul bone..." Huo Yuqing walked to his side and asked in a low voice, "Did someone kill the Emerald Swan?"

“That fledgling was a blood relative of Brigitte, eaten by ignorant soul beasts tens of thousands of years ago. Soul beasts without intelligence are no different from wild animals; in their eyes, the Emerald Swan was just a highly nutritious food,” Wang Rui said calmly, sealing the letter. “Britte has preserved its soul bone to this day.”

Huo Yuqing had a vague feeling that Wang Rui was not in a good mood.

“Soul beasts can clearly possess intelligence no less than that of humans, but most soul beasts are indeed driven by instinct in their primitive stage,” Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said. “The Beast Sect is already making efforts, but such changes are very slow.”

"But that soul bone should be very important to Bi Ji, right?" Huo Yuqing asked him, somewhat puzzled. "And in terms of value, even if that golden light soul bone really has the bloodline of the Dragon King... it's still a loss to use it as an external soul bone, isn't it?"

“Actually, as far as I know, that soul bone was offered to the Goddess of Life,” Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said hesitantly. “When Jade City was established, the ferocious beasts collected many soul bones to offer to the Goddess of Life, the owner of the Golden Tree… I guessed at the time that it was to encourage the Golden Tree to grow, but now it seems that’s not the reason. I don’t really know the specifics. Maybe you can ask Wang Rui?”

The girl didn't speak, but simply raised her hand and touched a strand of hair beside Wang Rui's face.

A bat fluttered into the window. Wang Rui tied the letter, which he had sealed with his soul power, to the bat's leg. After feeding the bat a spiritual fruit, Wang Rui threw it out.

"Speaking of which, I found some great stuff at the treasure fair. Want to guess what it is?" Huo Yuqing smiled and steered the conversation in a more relaxed direction.

　I will explain why it's necessary to suffer a loss in exchange for a soul bone, but I feel I've already made some explicit statements.
　　See you in August (or September)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)