"So, Xiao Zhang, what are you planning to do?"
Qiangu Yunying asked softly.
"Are you going to eat this dragon egg like the last one, or hatch it and raise it?"
Yin Zhang let out a light chuckle.
"Of course we'll hatch it and raise it. A true-dragon-level Spirit Beast—even if we don't live long enough to see it fully grow, it could still protect our descendants or our faction in the future. That kind of value is immeasurable."
"I ate the previous dragon egg because it had been dead for countless years. Its life force was already completely gone. Even then, consuming it to strengthen my dragon bloodline was the best option."
"But this one is different. This dragon egg is healthy, full of vitality, and looks like it will hatch soon. I've also heard that a newly hatched dragon will recognize the first person it sees as its parent. Since that's the case, why wouldn't we watch it hatch and gain a dragon son for free?"
Qiangu Yunying's eyes immediately lit up.
"That makes sense!"
"I can already picture it—riding a giant dragon and soaring through the sky. Even though you can carry me, flying like that still feels a bit awkward. But becoming a dragon rider? Just thinking about it is incredibly cool!"
Yin Zhang smiled faintly.
"Alright. The most important thing right now is absorbing the spirit ring from the Fire-Winged Flying Dragon so I can break through to the Spirit King realm. Sister Yunying, this true dragon egg should take another day or two to hatch, so I'll need you to protect me in the meantime."
Qiangu Yunying blushed slightly and lowered her voice.
"Okay, Xiao Zhang. Go ahead and absorb the spirit ring."
Yin Zhang carried Qiangu Yunying down from the cliff and landed on the grassland within the valley.
Before him lay the massive corpse of the Fire-Winged Flying Dragon. Above it hovered a pitch-black spirit ring, radiating intense soul fluctuations—tremors that resonated directly with mental force.
Yin Zhang sat down cross-legged and summoned his martial soul. Spirit Charizard attached itself to his back as he began murmuring obscure incantations, drawing the jet-black spirit ring toward himself and starting the absorption.
Qiangu Yunying sat nearby. When she grew bored, she would sometimes sit in front of Yin Zhang, quietly watching his calm expression, his steady breathing, and his gently trembling eyelashes, finding a sense of peace in the moment.
Time passed swiftly.
By the time Yin Zhang fully absorbed the spirit ring, it was already 2:30 in the afternoon.
"Hah—finally finished!"
Yin Zhang exhaled deeply.
"My spirit power has reached level 53! And I even obtained a special spirit bone!"
He stood up and summoned Spirit Charizard once more. A powerful aura surged outward. Beneath him floated five spirit rings—two purple and three black. Though their colors seemed mismatched, they instead emphasized how terrifying Yin Zhang truly was.
Yin Zhang slowly extended his right hand.
At this moment, he had not activated martial soul possession and was still in his human form, not the dragon-scaled combat state.
A fiery red glow gathered in his right palm.
In the next instant—
Five sharp dragon claws extended outward, gleaming under the sunlight. A surge of strength coursed through his entire body.
Like Tang San's external spirit bone, the Eight Spider Lances, Yin Zhang's spirit bone was also an external spirit bone. However, instead of being on his back, it was located in his palm—a metacarpal bone.
A 55,000-year-old metacarpal spirit bone.
Like the Eight Spider Lances, it possessed special abilities.
In normal combat, Yin Zhang could use the dragon claws extending from this palm bone to attack directly, greatly enhancing his combat power. That was merely its most basic function.
One of its abilities allowed it to store fire-attribute spirit power, acting as an external "storage unit." Ordinarily, this ability would be quite valuable, but for Yin Zhang—who possessed the Holy Grail—it was largely redundant and served more as an auxiliary reserve.
However, the other two abilities were where its true value lay.
First, it could release a phantom of the Fire-Winged Flying Dragon. This phantom relied entirely on the spirit power stored within the palm bone itself and did not consume Yin Zhang's own spirit power.
Second, it could emit the aura of the Fire-Winged Flying Dragon. Against Spirit Beasts of the dragon clan with weaker bloodlines—or any Spirit Beast below 100,000 years—it could suppress them directly, often without the need for combat.
The same applied to human Spirit Masters. From an intimidation standpoint alone, it was exceptionally effective.
Yin Zhang named it the Fire Wing Dragon Palm Bone.
While the name wasn't overly domineering, it carried a strong dragon-clan presence. More importantly, Yin Zhang faintly sensed a sense of affinity between the palm bone and the small life about to hatch from the dragon egg—an unexpected but pleasant surprise.
[Inventory]: Spirit Bone Age Enhancement Card (13,500 years), Level-One Spirit Power Boost Card
Without hesitation, Yin Zhang immediately used the Spirit Bone Age Enhancement Card he had kept in his inventory for a long time, applying it to the Fire Wing Dragon Palm Bone.
Its age instantly increased—from 55,000 years to 68,000 years.
Next, he used the Level-One Spirit Power Boost Card.
His spirit power rose by one more level, reaching level 54.
[Host]: Yin Zhang
Age: 11
[Martial Soul]: Charizard
[Spirit Power]: 54
[Spirit Rings]: Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black
[Traits]: Blaze, Power of the Sun, Hard Claw
[Soul Skills]:
Dragon Claw, Double Team, Azure Flame Shield (spirit ring), Flamethrower,
Fire Dragon Evasion Kill (spirit ring), Dragon Tail, Crimson Flame Roar (spirit ring),
Sunny Day, Solar Beam, Mirror Move, Roost,
Fire Dragon Flying Slash (spirit ring), Dragon God Transformation,
Dragon Rush, Draco Meteor, Outrage, Mental Storm
[Spirit Bone]: Fire Wing Dragon Palm Bone (68,000 years)
[Equipment]:
Charcoal (Amplification), Holy Grail (Equipment), Charizard X Mega Stone (Equipment),
Famous Sword Siming (Equipment), Overlord Reboot (Equipment), Keystone (Amplification)
[Warehouse]: None
[Fire Wing Dragon Palm Bone Abilities]: Storage, Phantom, Dragon's Might
Yin Zhang landed steadily on the ground.
Qiangu Yunying noticed the unusual changes to his right hand and asked curiously,
"Xiao Zhang, did you absorb a spirit ring and obtain a spirit bone at the same time?"
At the same time?
If other Spirit Masters heard that, they would probably be driven to despair.
Yin Zhang chuckled softly.
"That's right—and it's an external spirit bone. Its age can continue to increase as my strength grows. I'm really lucky today."