Meng Hongchen nodded slightly, with not a trace of doubt in her beautiful eyes. She said, "So that's how it was. No wonder you've been away for so long."
Neither of the two showed even the slightest hint of skepticism; they just believed him so easily.
For a moment, Su Yu found himself at a loss for words. They were so pure and innocent, full of trust in him.
But did that make his own heart seem tainted by comparison?
Even when dealing with an old fox like Jing Hongchen, Su Yu wouldn't be at a disadvantage in a battle of wits. Yet, faced with these two innocent girls, he found himself speechless more than once.
Was this what they called the power of sincerity over cunning?
Su Yu used to not understand. But now, he felt like he was starting to get it.
"You've gained such a great opportunity. Has your strength improved significantly?"
Wang Dong'er blinked her pink-blue eyes, staring at Su Yu with curiosity.
For something that took Su Yu several months to fully refine, the transformation must have been significant, right? Next to her, Meng Hongchen's beautiful eyes also flickered with curiosity.
"Hmm, I've made a little progress. I'm now at level 46 Soul Ancestor, and I've made some small improvements in my spiritual power too."
'A little progress' = Level 46 Soul Ancestor
'A small improvement' = Reaching the Spirit Abyss Realm.
No matter how much progress Su Yu made, it was always just "a little progress" in his words. But Wang Dong'er knew Su Yu well, understanding that he was usually humble and low-key. She quickly caught the key point in his words.
"You're a level 46 Soul Ancestor now?"
Wang Dong'er's eyes widened in shock.
Was this a joke?
She had fought tooth and nail to break through to level 31 Soul Elder, thinking the gap between her and Su Yu had narrowed. But now, it turned out the gap had widened even more.
Su Yu, this guy, without saying a word, was already on his way to becoming a Soul King. That's terrifying!
And he had the Ultimate Ice attribute! An ultimate martial soul!
Was he even human?
Meng Hongchen was equally shocked, her rosy lips slightly parted in astonishment at Su Yu's progress.
A level 46 Soul Ancestor—Su Yu wasn't far from her level now. She was only at level 52 Soul King. But she was nearly fifteen years old, while Su Yu? He had just turned twelve, right?
And she'd heard that cultivating with an Ultimate Martial Soul was supposed to be slow. But in battle, their combat power at the same level was overwhelming. With that in mind, Su Yu seemed even more extraordinary.
"It seems you encountered a tremendous opportunity this time," Wang Dong'er said, her tone full of awe.
No wonder Su Yu had needed several months to refine it; it was a massive improvement. Next to her, Meng Hongchen silently nodded in agreement.
"Maybe," Su Yu replied with a light chuckle, his expression complicated.
A tremendous opportunity? Really?
His current progress was earned through his efforts. From level 40 to level 46 Soul Ancestor, his secret was hard work and persistence. If it weren't for absorbing a soul ring that exceeded his age limit, and his relentless cultivation, reaching this level would have been impossible.
Sure, he had some advantages, but the progress he made over the past few months wasn't due to luck.
"Alright, enough about that. This time, I brought you both some gifts," Su Yu said with a smile as he looked at them.
It was a lie!
He hadn't specifically prepared any gifts; it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision.
To put it bluntly, he felt bad for these two girls. They'd been so worried about him for months, and he just wanted to ease his conscience a little.
These two girls had been so good to him, caring about him so much, and during the past few months, they had undoubtedly suffered. Meng Hongchen had even lost weight.
If he didn't bring out something for them, Su Yu felt like he wouldn't be able to live with himself.
What had he done to deserve this?
"Gifts?"
Wang Dong's interest was piqued. Without any hesitation, she said, "What gifts? Let's see them!"
Su Yu glanced outside and walked over to close the dormitory door. Although there was no one outside, the things he was about to take out were quite valuable. He didn't casually give gifts because few people were worthy of receiving them. If he gave a gift, it meant the person had earned his recognition.
After this whole ordeal, Wang Dong'er and Meng Hongchen had certainly earned it. Although they hadn't fully entered his heart yet, they had taken the first step.
"Why are you closing the door?"
"Just the three of us alone—are you planning something bad?"
"Senior Sister Meng, you better come behind me. I'll protect you."
Wang Dong'er suddenly jumped up, pulling Meng Hongchen behind her, and looked at Su Yu with wary eyes, suspicion written all over her face.
Was this guy planning something bad?
That won't do!
Wang Dong'er stood protectively in front of Meng Hongchen, but whether she was trying to stop Su Yu from doing something bad or trying to prevent him from doing something bad to Meng Hongchen, only she knew.
Meng Hongchen, however, didn't react much. She lowered her head slightly, her eyes showing a hint of shyness. If Su Yu wanted to do something bad, it wouldn't be unacceptable. It's just that with Wang Dong here, it wouldn't be convenient.
But why did Wang Dong have a faint fragrance on him? That was a bit strange!
Meng Hongchen thought to herself.
Hearing Wang Dong'er's words, Su Yu's face immediately darkened. His fists clenched.
Have you been overthinking things?
Su Yu took two steps forward, raised his right hand, and flicked Wang Dong'er on the forehead, causing her to grimace in pain.
"Ouch! What are you doing?! It hurts!"
Wang Dong'er gritted her teeth, acting like a little lion cub, baring her teeth and claws.
"It's your fault for having such wild thoughts. What have you got in that head of yours? Am I that kind of person?"
Su Yu said, exasperated.
"Well, who knows?"
Wang Dong'er muttered, unconvinced.
In front of others, Wang Dong'er always defended Su Yu without hesitation, but when facing Su Yu directly, she never admitted defeat so easily.
"Hmm?"
Su Yu raised his hand again as if to strike.
Wang Dong'er quickly shrank back, pulling Meng Hongchen in front of her.
"Senior Sister Meng, protect me! Su Yu is going to hit me!"
Meng Hongchen: "..."
Seriously, who's protecting whom here?
Even someone as gentle as Meng Hongchen was a bit bewildered by Wang Dong'er's behavior.
Su Yu found it amusing. This Wang Dong'er could be quite funny when she wanted to be.
"Alright, stop messing around. Come over here. The things I'm about to give you aren't something just anyone should know about, so that's why I closed the door," Su Yu said as he took out two small boxes.
One box was wooden, while the other was jade. Su Yu handed the wooden box to Wang Dong'er and the jade box to Meng Hongchen. Even the boxes themselves were extraordinary. The wooden box was crafted from the branch of a ten-thousand-year-old Goldenwood Tree soul beast, radiating a strong aura of light. The jade box, on the other hand, was made from the finest millennium-old ice jade, pure white and transparent. Just seeing the two boxes made Wang Dong'er and Meng Hongchen's expressions grow serious.
"Su Yu, this is...?"
"Open it and see," Su Yu gestured for Wang Dong'er to open hers.
Wang Dong'er hesitated for a moment before cautiously opening the box. Instantly, a brilliant golden-red light burst forth, so intense that Wang Dong'er instinctively closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was stunned by what she saw inside. It was a completely golden right arm bone, perfectly intact. It radiated a powerful aura of light, with a fiery aura swirling around it. The energy emanating from it left Wang Dong'er astonished, and the golden glow illuminated the entire dormitory.
Seeing what was in Wang Dong'er's box, Meng Hongchen seemed to realize something and quickly opened her jade box. At that moment, a deep icy blue light spread out, and the temperature in the room instantly dropped as white mist began to form around the jade box. Meng Hongchen stared wide-eyed at the contents: an exceptionally complete left arm bone, entirely ice-blue, exuding a noble and chilling aura. The surface of the soul bone was marked with small, sword-shaped feather patterns, giving it a strangely elegant appearance. The powerful energy radiating from it left even Meng Hongchen, a Soul King, completely shocked.
"A soul bone!"
"A soul bone?"
Wang Dong'er and Meng Hongchen exclaimed in unison, their shocked voices overlapping as they both turned to look at Su Yu. Su Yu raised his hand and gently pressed down, quieting them instantly.
"Listen to me first."
Wang Dong'er glanced at Meng Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen discreetly looked back at Wang Dong'er. Then both fell silent, ready to listen.
Su Yu nodded in satisfaction and said, "These are two soul bones I happened to acquire. I don't need them myself, so I'm giving them to you. Wait—don't speak yet. I'm not done."
Seeing they were about to respond, Su Yu quickly raised his hand to stop them.
He continued, "Wang Dong, this right arm bone comes from a fifty-thousand-year-old Golden Earth Dragon King. The Golden Earth Dragon King possesses a diluted but pure Light Dragon bloodline, and this soul bone contains the essence of that bloodline. I want to emphasize the word pure. Pure dragon-type soul bones are extremely rare and powerful. This one is suited for Light attribute soul masters. It likely grants the ability of Light Fire, which should be a good fit for you, Wang Dong. I'm guessing it can enhance your cultivation speed, and recovery, and increase the attack power of your Light attribute abilities."
Su Yu smiled as he explained to Wang Dong'er. This soul bone was something Su Yu had received over the past few months from his monthly sign-ins. He had accumulated plenty of soul bones, including this Golden Earth Dragon King's right arm bone. Over the years, he had collected soul bones from sign-ins, ranging from hundred-year to ten-thousand-year bones, which had piled up into a small mountain. But Su Yu didn't need most of them. This particular soul bone he was giving Wang Dong'er was one of the best in his collection. If it weren't high quality, he wouldn't have considered giving it as a gift.
Su Yu remembered that Shrek Academy had a similar soul bone called the Golden Radiance left arm bone, which also came from a Golden Earth Dragon King. However, that one was only ten thousand years old, while the one Su Yu was giving had fifty thousand years. Although soul bone quality depends on various factors, generally, when they come from the same soul beast, the higher the age, the better.
After introducing Wang Dong'er's soul bone, Su Yu turned to Meng Hongchen. Meng Hongchen's soul bone was even better.
"Senior Sister Meng, this left arm bone is called the Icefeather Left Arm Bone. It comes from a sixty-thousand-year-old Icefeather Beast. You might not know much about Icefeather Beasts, but they're incredibly rare and powerful soul beasts. In terms of rank, they're among the top tier, on the same level as the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear and the Titan Giant Ape. The Icefeather Beast has the bloodline of the divine Phoenix, and this soul bone contains the essence of that bloodline. Your Red Eyed Ice Toad martial soul is also ice-attributed, so this Icefeather Left Arm Bone is perfect for you."
Su Yu smiled as he explained. This soul bone came from the Icefeather Beast Su Yu had previously hunted. He'd forgotten to retrieve the bone at first and had to go back halfway to collect it from the body. His luck was just that incredible. So far, he'd hunted two soul beasts, and both had dropped soul bones. The Ice Armor Beast's skull was still in his collection.
Su Yu's explanation left Wang Dong'er and Meng Hongchen both stunned. One soul bone came from a fifty-thousand-year-old Golden Earth Dragon King, containing a diluted but pure Light Dragon bloodline. The other was from a sixty-thousand-year-old Icefeather Beast, containing the essence of the divine Phoenix bloodline. Not only were these soul bones over fifty thousand years old, but their quality was also top-notch. Even these two, who had seen many things, found the items in their hands overwhelming. The price of these soul bones would easily exceed tens of millions of gold soul coins, and perhaps even more. And Su Yu had just casually given them away?
"These are too precious."
"I can't accept them!"
They both spoke simultaneously, expressing their reluctance to accept such valuable gifts. Su Yu's generosity was overwhelming.
"If you don't take them now, you might not get another chance later. I'm rarely this generous," Su Yu joked with a smile. He wasn't the type to give gifts often. This time, he had been moved by the two girls and decided to be generous. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have given them anything. He had more soul bones than he could use; these two bones didn't mean much to him. But he knew full well how valuable these soul bones were outside his personal collection. Just because he had money didn't mean he'd throw it around freely. He wasn't some clueless sucker.
Although he was joking, he was telling the truth. If they miss this opportunity, they might not get another one.
"I still can't accept it," Wang Dong'er said, though she wanted it. She felt it was just too precious. Meng Hongchen also struggled internally before deciding to refuse. She liked the soul bone, but it was simply too valuable. Accepting it felt too much.
"You don't want them? Think carefully. If you don't take them now, I might give them to someone else later," Su Yu smiled.
As soon as he said this, both girls' eyebrows shot up in unison. Wang Dong'er quickly closed the wooden box and stored it in her soul tool. Meng Hongchen bit her lip and put the jade box away as well. She could refuse, but she couldn't accept the idea of something that had passed through her hands ending up with another woman.
Their speed left Su Yu momentarily stunned.
Wow, they were fast!
Seeing Su Yu's strange expression, Wang Dong'er puffed out her chest and said confidently, "What are you looking at?"
"I was just thinking… someone said he didn't want it, but look how fast he accepted it."
"Hmph, once you've given me something, how could you give it to someone else? Of course, I took it," Wang Dong'er snorted.