As for Ning Rongrong, Su Ming decided to wait a little longer before letting her train in spiritual power techniques. After all, their relationship hadn't fully progressed—more than friends, but not quite lovers.
Ning Rongrong, as a support-type spirit master, was quite delicate. The safest approach would be to wait until she had absorbed the Qiluo Tulip, allowing her martial spirit to evolve and her spirit power to reach the Soul Elder level before starting the training.
As for Zhu Zhuqing, Su Ming hadn't considered her yet. Although she was close to Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, spiritual power techniques were too important to casually share. In Su Ming's mind, they were reserved for "his own people."
Back in the girls' dormitory, the three women looked at their respective rewards.
Xiao Wu's reward was straightforward—her first three spirit rings' years had been upgraded to 10,000 years. Ning Rongrong received a talent for spiritual power, while Zhu Zhuqing obtained the Nine Yin White Bone Claw technique from the Nine Yin Manual.
The three women were all very happy with their rewards, but Xiao Wu's reward was the most direct and simple.
Curious, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong turned to Zhu Zhuqing and asked, "Zhuqing, congratulations on getting the Nine Yin Manual's signature martial skill! What exactly does the Nine Yin White Bone Claw do? Just hearing the name makes it sound perfect for you."
Zhu Zhuqing thought for a moment before explaining, "The Nine Yin White Bone Claw has three features. First, it has immense attack power. When I attack an opponent, I can inject the chilling energy from my body into them, which drains their stamina quickly and can even threaten their life."
"The chilling energy is actually my spirit power, transformed through the cultivation of the Nine Yin Manual. Since I've been cultivating it, my spirit power has developed this cold characteristic."
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up when they heard this. "Zhuqing, that means your attack power won't be your weakness anymore. If you master the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, you'll have no weaknesses left!"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded happily. Originally, she was just a traditional agility-type spirit master, and her attack power wasn't particularly strong. But now, with the ability to break defenses and the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, she could drain her opponents even if she couldn't overpower them outright.
Ning Rongrong eagerly asked, "What else does it do?"
Zhu Zhuqing smiled and continued, "The second feature is that the Nine Yin Manual provides a special defense of chilling energy. It's essentially spirit power defense but much stronger than normal."
"The third feature is that the chilling attribute of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw will invade an opponent's body if they're injured. If the chilling energy stays in their body for too long, the consequences will be unimaginable."
The power of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw left Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong both exclaiming in awe. "This is incredible!"
However, clever Ning Rongrong became concerned. "Zhuqing, since the Nine Yin White Bone Claw involves chilling energy, could it harm you, like how Dugu Yan's martial spirit poisons her? Could there be side effects?"
Zhu Zhuqing was surprised by the question. How does Rongrong know about that?
Noticing Zhu Zhuqing's expression, Ning Rongrong realized she had guessed correctly—there were indeed side effects. Given the power of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, it made sense.
Xiao Wu also looked at Zhu Zhuqing with concern.
Zhu Zhuqing reassured them, "Don't worry, there were side effects originally, but it's no longer a problem since the system modified it."
"Initially, cultivating the Nine Yin Manual would have produced a toxic effect, not just a chilling one, and the toxicity would have harmed me. The system provided two suggestions: either I develop an immunity to all poisons, or I find an external spirit bone to store the toxins."
"But now, with the chilling attribute, I don't need to worry. My martial spirit, the Nether Spirit Cat, already leans towards the cold, so this might even benefit me."
Ning Rongrong sighed in relief. But if the system hadn't improved the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, would Zhuqing really need an external spirit bone to handle the poison?
"Wouldn't a normal spirit bone with a higher age work?"
Ning Rongrong had already dismissed the idea of developing poison immunity—it was too unrealistic, as she'd never heard of anyone being immune to all poisons.
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "No, it must be an external spirit bone. Normal spirit bones don't have the capacity to grow. Once the toxins accumulate to a certain point, they'll break free, shattering the spirit bone and reducing my strength, not to mention the potential damage to my body."
Pausing for a moment, Zhu Zhuqing smiled. "But don't worry, the Nine Yin White Bone Claw has been perfectly adapted for me."
"However, mastering it won't be easy. Due to the technique's special nature, I'll have to be very careful while training."
Seeing that Zhu Zhuqing wasn't worried, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong dropped the matter. As long as it didn't harm Zhu Zhuqing, they were fine with it. They knew how much Zhu Zhuqing craved strength and that she wouldn't shy away from any risks.
Xiao Wu asked, "How do you plan to train the Nine Yin White Bone Claw?"
She remembered how difficult it had been to learn her Wind God Leg technique, even with the help of the system's learning card.
"I plan to first pair the Nine Yin White Bone Claw with my Nether Slash. Since the slash causes bleeding, the chilling energy from the claw can invade my opponent afterward. Combined with my first and second spirit abilities, which are also claw-based attacks, it should be hard for Su Ming to notice anything."
"Enough about me. Rongrong, your reward is a spiritual power talent. What does that mean?"
Ning Rongrong shook her head in frustration. "I don't know yet. It's just a talent, so I can't test it right away. Maybe I'll figure it out later."
"I suppose it might just mean I'll be able to train spiritual power faster. But I don't even have a technique for that yet."
Ning Rongrong didn't realize that her spiritual power talent would not only accelerate her training but also, under Su Ming's guidance, turn her into a formidable spirit talisman master in the future. With her enhanced spiritual power, she would eventually gain offensive capabilities of her own.
But that's a story for later.
Meanwhile, at the Spirit Hall...
Bibi Dong was thrilled, though she usually kept a cold demeanor. Her reward allowed her to upgrade one of her spirit rings to the 100,000-year level! She hadn't yet decided which spirit ring to enhance, but this unexpected reward was a joyous surprise.