Chapter 14: Xuanming Armor and Xuanming Shift

In Ning Fengzhi's office hall of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, both Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi were unusually surprised.

"Gu Shu, you say this Yang Xiong's first Soul Ring really absorbed a 540‑year Soul Ring? And that Soul Beast is not the Mysterious Turtle, but the legendary Xuanming Turtle?"

Bone Douluo nodded: "I almost misread it myself; it was definitely a Xuanming Turtle, and its age exceeds 540 years, somewhere between 540 and 550 years."

"Although Yang Xiong experienced some pain during the Soul Ring absorption, it succeeded, and his soul power reached Level 13. In my view, absorbing Hundred‑Year Whale Glue to extend a Hundred‑year Soul Ring's age should be no problem, but the higher‑grade Thousand‑Year Whale Glue and Ten‑Thousand‑Year Whale Glue are probably not so easy to boost; I can't even estimate how far it could be raised."

Ning Fengzhi nodded: "That truly is a huge surprise; taking Whale Glue to extend the Soul Ring's absorption age should markedly improve physical quality and Soul Ring energy intake, which is indeed very beneficial for a Soul Grandmaster's cultivation. Whale Glue truly is a treasure."

"Moreover, Yang Xiong surprised me; he could identify the Xuanming Turtle just from pictures and descriptions. It seems this kid has some research on Soul Beasts—after all, old Mr. Lin Gong was almost deceived."

Lin Gong was deliberately chosen by Ning Fengzhi as the homeroom teacher for Ning Rongrong. Although his Soul Power Level is low, he is top‑tier in the entire Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect both for student education and martial soul knowledge, and he even once served as Ning Fengzhi's own homeroom teacher.

Bone Douluo was a bit indignant: "If this kid had discovered the secret of Whale Glue earlier, our Rong Rong's first Soul Ring could have been greatly extended, perhaps someday breaking the limits of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda."

Ning Fengzhi was speechless for a moment; Yang Xiong is the same age as Rong Rong, yet he reached Level 10 more than a year and a half later than Rong Rong, so the overall gap is too large to compare.

After Yang Xiong returned home, his soul power suddenly went completely out of control; his spine and even his ribs felt excruciating pain, as if all his bones were about to lose control.

In fact, after absorbing the Soul Ring, Yang Xiong felt something was off in his body, as if something was about to grow, but the crowded, noisy surroundings forced him to summon his primary martial soul and try to suppress the bone abnormality.

Back home, the nerves that had been taut seemed to slacken a bit; his bones began to grow wildly, soon filling more than half the room.

When this frantic growth on Yang Xiong gradually subsided, his whole body seemed to be inside an enormous turtle shell; his spine and ribs had merged into a single structure, like a massive turtle carapace.

This carapace was unlike any he had seen before; it seemed to envelop the entire body. In addition to a huge turtle shell growing on his back, his chest and abdomen were also covered by the carapace, like a suit of armor. The only drawback was that the back‑mounted turtle shell looked rather unsightly.

Normal turtle Soul Beasts have a strong back, but their chest and abdomen are also very robust, covered by thick carapace, just less conspicuous than the dorsal shell.

Moreover, the external Soul Bone on Yang Xiong was completely different from ordinary external Soul Bones; it not only grew from the spine but also altered all his ribs, resembling armor that covers the entire chest and abdomen.

Yang Xiong tapped his back shell and chest armor, feeling the defense was extremely strong; both his back and chest‑abdomen were protected, and even all his bones seemed considerably tougher. Notably, the carapace had two modes: one normal summon that only shields the front chest and back, with a relatively small back shell covering just the back muscles.

The other mode, when the entire carapace is exposed, becomes enormously large, enveloping the whole body; even the head and limbs are fully within the shell.

Yang Xiong called this Xuanming Turtle's shell Xuanming Armor, noting that it is only about five hundred years old now; with future development it should continue to evolve, perhaps eventually becoming armor that covers the entire body.

Especially if Xuanming Armor evolves to the Ten Thousand Year Level, probably no one could break it.

Moreover, Xuanming Armor grants Yang Xiong a very good soul skill named Gu Ruo Jin Tang, which can summon Xuanming Armor to block enemy attacks; both physical and energy‑attribute attacks are resisted, though if the opponent surpasses Yang Xiong by two major realms, the armor's defense will weaken.

Originally Yang Xiong also made a complaint: although the Douluo Continent has few external Soul Bones, they are basically all top‑grade.

Take Tang San's Eight‑Spider Spear, or Huo Gua's Anjin Kongzhua Xiongzhua, or even Bibidong's—had I known earlier I wouldn't have chosen any Xuanming Turtle.

However, after careful thought, Yang Xiong realized his primary martial soul is relatively weak in the early stages; especially in fights he must resort to close‑quarters combat, which easily injures the body. Apart from being a bit unsightly, Xuanming Armor can provide omnidirectional defense, even without being summoned it can strengthen rib resistance and protect the soft areas of the chest and abdomen—definitely the best fit for his primary martial soul.

Especially, Xuanming Armor possesses powerful shock‑absorption; even under severe attacks the body's organs won't be seriously damaged, adding an invisible layer of defense.

Putting aside external Soul Bones, what truly delighted Yang Xiong was his first soul skill.

Even Yang Xiong approached it with a gamble; unexpectedly it succeeded, and his first soul skill turned out to be the Xuanming Turtle's most terrifying Space Attribute.

Xuanming Shift instantly swaps one's position with the opponent's within a certain range; especially when the opponent is unguarded, once locked by Xuanming Shift escape is nearly impossible. The effective distance is one hundred meters, and the stronger the enemy, the more soul power it consumes.

Yang Xiong believes this soul skill will have extremely strong future applications; for example, swapping his position with the air in front of the enemy would be like teleportation, perhaps even better, and this could greatly compensate for his weak early‑stage combat power.

Yang Xiong used his soul power to try to control Xuanming Armor; the armor does not protrude from the spine but extends from all the bones of his chest, abdomen, and back.

In the early stage it's Xuanming Armor; later it will evolve into Xuanwu Armor. I've thought about it for a long time and always feel that armor types are the most suitable external Soul Bones for a primary martial soul.

I've previously written about wings and claws; this time making a full‑body turtle carapace might be more appropriate.

Normally all external Soul Bones are claws or wings, like the Eight‑Spider Spear, etc.; I don't think I've written those yet, but armor feels more suitable for the protagonist's martial soul than wings.

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(End of Chapter)