Chapter 23: Massive Harvest — Third Soul Skill: Hell Piercing Strike!
"Our own people? What the hell do you mean by 'our own people'?!"
Looking at the trousers Bai Lu kindly handed over, Zhu Zhuqing felt like her entire world was cracking apart.
Yes, she and Bai Lu were closely connected, practically indistinguishable from one another. He had controlled her body multiple times before; in fact, he probably understood her body even better than she did.
But understanding was one thing.
Experiencing it firsthand was another entirely.
She was absolutely not mentally prepared for this kind of honest, face-to-face exposure.
For a moment, the girl entered a strange state: brain overheating, cheeks burning, body stiff as stone.
Her fingers, gripping the black cloak, turned slightly pale. She stared fixedly at the trousers, yet her body refused to move.
"What's wrong? What are you standing there for? Don't tell me you need me to help you put them on?"
A playful smile curved Bai Lu's lips.
"Well, since the little kitty worked so hard today, I suppose I can help you out again."
Without waiting for her response, he lightly shook the trousers in his hand.
"Be cooperative. Lift your leg. Spread your feet."
"No way!"
Zhu Zhuqing practically leapt like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She snatched the trousers from his hand, fur bristling.
"Y-you… you turn around!"
"There's no need to be shy in front of me."
"Accidents happen in life. You need to learn to accept them calmly."
Bai Lu lectured solemnly, yet made absolutely no move to turn away.
His gaze even continued to roam across the girl's form, as though admiring a flawless work of art.
"Turn around!"
Her delicate fists clenched tightly, her pretty face flushing red like a glacier reflecting sunset light.
"If you're sure you can manage on your own."
Smiling faintly, Bai Lu finally turned around.
"…"
Zhu Zhuqing hurriedly tried to organize her clothing, only to quickly discover… She really couldn't manage alone.
With eight long spider appendages growing from her back, none of her outer garments could fit anymore.
A minute later, Bai Lu asked,
"Finished?"
"Mm…"
Her voice came out muffled.
"That's quite a unique new look."
When Bai Lu turned back around, he saw Zhu Zhuqing wearing the black cloak backwards, her smooth back fully exposed. Her face was flushed as she silently struggled to control the spider legs, trying to "tame" them.
"Don't rush. Take it slow."
He stopped teasing her and picked up one of her garments, explaining,
"External attached soul bones are different from ordinary soul bones. Their initial fusion rate is low. It's normal for them to feel unresponsive. You need to familiarize yourself with them gradually."
"Mm."
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath, suppressing her embarrassment and focusing on controlling the spider lances.
At first, her movements were clumsy.
But gradually, they became smoother and more natural.
The Eight Spider Lances began to move like extensions of her arms, able to attack in eight directions simultaneously, or converge in one devastating combined strike.
"Not bad! As expected of the genius I created!"
Bai Lu's eyes shone with admiration.
At that moment, all eight spider lances suddenly straightened, then with a sharp "Whoosh" sound, they retracted into both sides of her spine.
"As expected of an external soul bone."
Zhu Zhuqing could clearly feel it.
Compared to the enhancement from the soul ring, the Eight Spider Lances provided an even more terrifying improvement.
"Full fusion with an external soul bone is a long process. Practice often when no one is around."
Bai Lu tossed her a modified garment with eight openings cut into the back.
"Get dressed properly and familiarize yourself with it."
"Okay."
At lightning speed, Zhu Zhuqing put the clothes on.
With a thought, the Eight Spider Lances slowly extended again.
Long, powerful, their tips gleaming with a cold, sharp luster.
"The Man-Faced Demon Spider has four strongest abilities: resilient webbing, powerful devouring, razor-sharp legs, and terrifying venom."
Seeing her practice, Bai Lu explained slowly,
"I named this external soul bone Eight Spider Lances. It doesn't have an active soul skill of its own, but it perfectly inherits the other three abilities—except for the webbing."
"So strong?"
Zhu Zhuqing could indeed feel that each lance contained terrifying venom and possessed astonishing penetration power.
As for devouring… she hadn't sensed that yet.
"You'll know once you try."
Bai Lu pointed toward a massive tree in the distance so thick that three people together could barely encircle it.
"Alright."
Zhu Zhuqing stepped forward.
One spider lance shot out like lightning.
"Puchi—!"
It pierced straight through the tree.
But before she even retracted the lance, she saw something astonishing:
From the puncture point, a strange dark-purple toxin rapidly spreads throughout the entire tree, even infecting the surrounding three-meter radius of earth.
With a slight tremor of the Eight Spider Lances—
The entire tree exploded into powder.
Yet a faint stream of energy traveled back along the lance into Zhu Zhuqing's body.
"This…"
Shock flashed through her eyes.
She suddenly understood just how terrifying the Man-Faced Demon Spider's devouring ability truly was.
At present, the absorbed energy couldn't increase her soul power; it only replenished temporary reserves.
But what about the future?
"Exactly. This is the Eight Spider Lances."
"It can grow. It can evolve. It can devour. It carries terrifying toxins by nature. It pierces through an enemy's body with ease and even strengthens the user's physique…"
"Layer upon layer of overwhelming mechanics—it's practically the pinnacle of all External Soul Bones."
Bai Lu firmly believed it.
He even thought that if an evil soul master obtained the Eight Spider Lances, no matter how low their starting point, as long as they weren't killed, they would eventually reach Titled Douluo through effort and persistence.
After all, Tang San's rise as the ancestor of evil soul masters was largely built upon the power of the Eight Spider Lances!
"So powerful…"
Zhu Zhuqing swallowed unconsciously again.
She suddenly realized the Eight Spider Lances and the Slaughter Skull were practically a perfect combination.
Once an enemy was slain, body and soul would truly be left with nothing.
Bai Lu reminded her,
"Don't forget your soul power and your third soul skill. Feel them carefully."
"Right!"
Zhu Zhuqing took out a soul power testing crystal and injected her soul power into it.
The crystal gradually filled with light.
It stabilized at Rank 39.
"So high?!"
Her cold eyes shimmered with surprise.
She knew she had accumulated considerable soul power, but she hadn't expected this much.
"Not high. Perfectly normal. You'll get used to it."
Bai Lu had already anticipated it and even felt it was slightly low.
If he hadn't consumed too much power constructing her second martial soul earlier, she might have broken through to Rank 40 immediately after absorbing her third soul ring.
But it didn't matter.
If his plan proceeded smoothly, even without cultivation, she could reach Soul Ancestor within a year, perhaps even higher.
"Mm."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly.
"My third soul skill is called Hell Piercing Strike. It unleashes a powerful piercing attack with Hell energy, granting 50% armor penetration. If the attack itself already ignores defense, it instead tears the wound and deals 50% additional true damage."
"In addition, this soul skill can be used in conjunction with other soul skills, though the soul power consumption will increase."
"That's excellent. A very strong soul skill."
Bai Lu nodded in satisfaction.
After all, the Man-Faced Demon Spider was only two thousand years old. For it to produce a soul skill with 50% armor penetration was already extremely impressive.
Not to mention that this skill perfectly matched the Hell Spirit Cat martial soul far better than that laughable Spider Web Restraint someone once got.
Already having a binding skill, and then getting another similar Blue Silver Prison?
Honestly, ridiculous.
End of Chapter