Chapter 3: Bone Fusion, Sacrifice, Then Becoming a Second Martial Soul!
"Very good!"
Bai Lu glanced at Zhu Zhuqing approvingly and said calmly:
"Take a deep breath. Pain is normal."
"Get ready!"
"Bring it on!"
Zhu Zhuqing's cold voice was firm and decisive.
Whether life or death, let it come!
"ROAR!!!"
Bai Lu howled toward the sky, his roar shaking the wilderness.
Sound waves spread outward, and visible ripples appeared in the air. The surrounding trees bent backward in unison, as though an invisible giant hand had swept through the forest.
The roar contained soul-level vibrations, causing Zhu Zhuqing to freeze in place, her mind going blank.
Having instantly lost control of herself, she could only watch as crimson light burst from Bai Lu's body.
The light shone like the rising sun, illuminating everything around them.
The massive White Tiger body slowly collapsed, the brilliance in its eyes fading, while scarlet energy carrying terrifying power surged into her body.
Every speck of light that entered brought burning heat and stabbing pain, as though thousands of needles were piercing her meridians simultaneously.
This was not a gentle infusion; it was a tyrannical penetration.
"What comes next will hurt. You must endure it."
"If you can withstand it, you will be reborn. If you cannot, everything ends."
Bai Lu's voice echoed within Zhu Zhuqing's spiritual world.
Although he had never studied such methods, as a genius transmigrator, his knowledge and creativity far exceeded ordinary people.
In just a short time, he had already deduced Version 1.0 of a sacrifice secret technique and a bone-fusion secret technique.
He was confident it would succeed.
The only problem was that the process would be painful—extremely painful. Painful enough to make one wish for death.
"I can do it!"
Zhu Zhuqing's expression was resolute, flames igniting in her eyes.
In order to grow stronger, she had trained all these years desperately, enduring unimaginable suffering.
Despite having only innate rank 7 soul power, she had relied on nearly self-destructive training to reach rank 27 at the age of twelve.
Only she knew the blood and tears behind that achievement.
And now, all she had to do was endure pain to gain power. How could she fear it?
"For this sacrifice, I will follow the order of soul bone first, then soul ring, merging my power into your body as perfectly as possible."
Bai Lu's voice rang like a bell in her mind.
"Because this is a voluntary sacrifice, I can freely decide the type of soul bone I provide."
Zhu Zhuqing understood.
Excluding external soul bones, soul masters could fuse six types of soul bones: left leg, right leg, left arm, right arm, torso, and head.
Each position could only hold one, and among them, torso bones and head bones were the rarest and most precious.
"For an ordinary White Tiger, the most suitable bones would be the torso or arm bones."
"But I am different. I will give you a head soul bone, which will contain the powerful force that distinguishes me from other White Tigers."
What Bai Lu did not say was that in this era, high-quality head soul bones were almost nonexistent.
Even Tang San, the protagonist, had only fused what appeared to be a powerful ten-thousand-year Wisdom Skull Bone.
In Bai Lu's opinion, it wasn't particularly useful.
Therefore, condensing the head bone was the most correct choice for both of them.
"Guard your mind. Endure the pain!"
As his words fell, endless energy carrying terrifying killing intent surged into Zhu Zhuqing's head.
Then came heart-rending agony.
It felt as though countless needles were stabbing into her brain, as if molten lava flowed through fragile nerves.
"Ah!"
Zhu Zhuqing clutched her head and let out a cry of pain.
She felt as if her skull were about to explode, like duckweed tossed about in a violent storm.
At any moment, she could be swallowed by pain.
"Endure it, this is the unavoidable process of soul bone fusion!"
Bai Lu's stern voice sounded again.
Soon, blood-red energy like liquid seeped into her seven orifices.
It felt as if someone were chiseling open her skull inch by inch, then pouring molten metal inside to reshape it.
The entire process was like placing her head in a furnace and reforging it repeatedly.
Gradually, her entire skull turned crimson from the outside in…
In only moments, just a few breaths, Zhu Zhuqing's whole body was soaked with sweat. Her clothes clung tightly to her trembling figure.
She bit down hard, drawing blood from her lips, yet made no sound.
While the girl endured the pain, Bai Lu exerted his full strength.
He had to ensure perfect fusion while preserving Zhu Zhuqing's final trace of clarity, preventing her mind from collapsing under pain and killing intent.
Time seemed endlessly stretched, each second like a century.
The fusion lasted a long time.
So long that the sun slanted westward, dusk fell, the night glittered with starlight, and dawn rose again.
During this long torment, Zhu Zhuqing's spiritual power and physical strength surged wildly.
Even though it was a head soul bone, the immense power of a hundred-thousand-year soul bone flowed from her skull through her torso and into her limbs, strengthening her body and toughening her meridians.
"Soul bone fusion complete."
"Hu…"
Hearing Bai Lu's voice, Zhu Zhuqing lay on the ground with lifeless eyes, like a broken doll.
"Keep enduring, the main event begins now!"
Bai Lu gave her no time to recover and immediately began the true sacrifice.
Within brilliant white light, the massive White Tiger body began to disintegrate.
It transformed into countless light particles, like a reversed galaxy, pouring once more into Zhu Zhuqing's body.
The immense power instantly filled her level like cream filling a pastry, raising her directly from Rank 27 to Rank 30.
Under normal sacrifice procedures, Bai Lu should now grant a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and seal layers of his power within it, gradually unlocking as Zhu Zhuqing grew stronger.
But Bai Lu's ambition went far beyond that.
"What use is merely a hundred-thousand-year soul ring?"
Madness burned within his consciousness.
"I will burn as much of my origin power as possible to nourish and strengthen your martial soul!"
He not only thought about it, but he did it.
The White Tiger and Hell Spirit Cat were naturally compatible. In theory, perfect fusion posed no problem.
But theory was only theory.
Yet something unexpected happened.
Perhaps because of the resonance between the White Tiger and Hell Spirit Cat origins, the two powers produced a wondrous reaction.
Bai Lu's power fused with extraordinary perfection—beyond his expectations.
Collapsed on the ground and nearly unconscious, Zhu Zhuqing's body began undergoing strange changes.
Her black hair gradually turned white before the naked eye, streaked with strands of ink-black.
Even the cat ears, cat tail, and fur produced during martial soul possession shifted from pure black to white, marked with dark patterns.
On her forehead, a faint golden "王" (King) mark appeared.
Second Martial Soul, White Tiger!
In just moments, Zhu Zhuqing transformed from a spirit-cat girl into a white-tiger girl.
Beneath her, a phantom blood-red hundred-thousand-year soul ring gradually solidified, floating slowly while radiating terrifying pressure.
In the Douluo world—
The first artificially created twin martial souls were born.
End of Chapter