Ye Lingling felt her whole body burning hot, and the red sweat around her began to evaporate, forming a cloud of blood mist that enveloped her. Then, Arthev saw Ye Lingling's body suddenly twist, followed by a series of cracking sounds as bones twisted.
"Ah~!" Ye Lingling let out a scream as the bones on her back began to twist and bulge.
Arthev's eyes narrowed. His Shinragan tracked every shift in her body, and his muscles coiled as if ready to move at any moment.
This was no ordinary soul ring absorption backlash. This was something else entirely something rarer and far more dangerous.
The bloody mist around Ye Lingling began to swirl, caught in an unfelt wind. The cracking sounds from her back grew louder, more deliberate, not like bones breaking, but like something… unfolding.
Her spine arched violently, her head thrown back in a silent scream. From the twisting, bulging flesh along her shoulder blades, a brilliant, painful-looking light began to seep out.
"Hold on, Lingling!" Arthev commanded, his voice low and steady, a anchor in her storm of agony.
Then, something happen.With a final, gut-wrenching tear of reality, two beams of pure, silvery light erupted from her back. They were formless at first, just blinding pillars of energy that screamed with the cry of a celestial bird. The very air in the clearing hummed, and the leaves on the trees trembled, not from wind, but from the release of immense spiritual pressure.
The light began to merge, to take shape. Delicate, complex structures of bone and energy the scapulas, the humerus, the radius and ulna, all formed from nothing but condensed soul power and the lingering essence of the Heavenly Feathered Phoenix Crane. It was a structure of light, a phantom anatomy being sketched into existence directly onto her skeletal system.
Ye Lingling gasped, the scream dying in her throat, replaced by a shuddering, awed breath. The searing pain began to recede, replaced by a profound, alien sensation of fullness, of a part of her she never knew was missing finally clicking into place.
Then, the feathers bloomed.
From the luminous bone structure, individual filaments of light sprouted, weaving together into long, elegant flight feathers. They were not merely white, but the color of molten silver and pearl, each one edged with a faint, ethereal green.
They solidified from the energy, becoming tangible, real, and breathtakingly beautiful. The bloody mist was burned away by the radiance, and the clearing was filled with a soft, gentle light and the clean scent of a high mountain breeze.
But the internal storm was not so easily quelled. The manifested wings, heavy with newborn power, drove themselves deeply into the ground, while Ye Lingling's own hands dug and clawed at the earth, a raw, guttural sound of pain tearing from her throat as the crane's spiritual remnant fought its final, furious battle within her soul, refusing to submit to a human host.
"It's trying to consume her consciousness to replace its own," Arthev realized. He moved swiftly.
Arthev moved swiftly. He came behind her, ignoring the radiant energy pulsing from the wings, and placed a single, gentle hand on her sweat-soaked head.
"Shukaku," he commanded internally, his voice brooking no argument. "Lend me the soul power. Stabilize her."
A grumbling, sand-scoured voice echoed in his mind, "Tch. You wake me up for a little bird? It can't even die quietly. What a nuisance."
"Just do it," Arthev ordered.
"Fine, fine. But you owe me, brat."
Instantly, a bubbling, red energy surged from Arthev's palm. A red cloak formed around Ye Lingling's delicate body, roaring with the power of a Tailed Beast. It didn't burn her; instead, it settled over her in a smooth rush of light, heavy and grounding. It pulsed along with her Nine Heart Begonia, suppressing the Crane's will with crushing dominance while patching up the damage inside her meridians.
With the Tailed Beast Cloak's blessing, Ye Lingling's pain eased at once.The crimson energy acted as a buffer, a layer of immense, stable power that surrounded the volatile crane's essence and gently pressed it into alignment with her own soul.
Her thoughts drifted as she hovered on the edge of unconsciousness. Red light swept over her like rising flames. In the space of her mind, an orange-red raccoon leapt out of the glow and slammed into the raging heavenly feathered phoenix crane. The creature was torn apart in an instant t, its form scattering like smoke.
As it vanished, a soft burst of light washed through her vision, and the contract was sealed.
Ye Lingling blinked awake. When her sight settled, Arthev was sitting in front of her.
The red energy cloak was already receding, dissolving into motes of light that sank back into Arthev's skin, leaving only a lingering warmth.
Ye Lingling sat up slowly, her body feeling strangely light, yet burdened by a new, localized heaviness centered between her shoulder blades. It wasn't pain the agony of the mutation was gone, replaced by a sensation of raw power humming through her meridians.
She blinked, her vision sharpening, and looked at Arthev. His expression was unreadable, his Shinragan already deactivated, returning his eyes to their natural appearance.
"Arthev... what happened?" she whispered; her voice raspy. "I felt... I felt like I was being torn apart. And then... a warmth saved me.""
"You were," Arthev stated simply. He didn't reach out to help her up; instead, he gestured with his chin toward her back.
"But you were also being put back together. Better than before. Look."
Ye Lingling frowned, confused. She tried to shift her posture, but the movement triggered a reflex she hadn't possessed moments ago.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind whipped through the clearing, kicking up dust and loose leaves. Ye Lingling froze. The sensation wasn't from her arms or legs. It came from behind her a tactile feedback as vivid as moving a finger.
Slowly, terrifyingly, she turned her head.
There, arching high above her shoulders, were the wings.
They were magnificent, spanning nearly two meters on each side. The feathers were no longer mere energy constructs but tangible reality.The faint green edges glowed softly in the dim light of the forest, pulsing in rhythm with her own heartbeat. They didn't feel like foreign objects grafted onto her flesh, they felt like they had always been there, waiting to unfurl.
"An... External Spirit Bone?" Ye Lingling breathed, her eyes widening in disbelief. Her hand reached back, trembling, to touch the leading edge of the wing. The feathers felt cool and smooth, like polished jade.
"The Heavenly Feathered Phoenix Crane was reluctant to pass on," Arthev explained, his voice carrying a note of satisfaction. "Its resentment and pride were so strong that they refused to dissipate into just a Soul Ring. Instead, they fused with your spine."
He stood up, dusting off his clothes. "You know what this means, don't you? Soul Masters have six standard bone slots. But this... this is an External Spirit Bone. It can evolve. You've obtained something that Titled Douluos would wage wars for, Lingling. A set of flight-type External Spirit Bones. It complements your Nine Heart Begonia perfectly."
Ye Lingling stared at the wings, testing them. With a mere thought, they flexed. The control was instinctive, shocking her with its fluidity. She gave a mental command, and the silver wings wrapped around her body, forming a protective, shimmering cocoon. The defensive capability was immediately apparent, the feathers hardened, turning into a shield of steel and energy.
"It... it feels incredible," she murmured, the earlier terror of the absorption forgotten.
She looked back at Arthev, the protective cocoon unfurling to reveal her flushed face. "You saved me. Again.If you hadn't stabilized the energy... I would have exploded."
"You made it through because of your own will," Arthev corrected, though a faint, rare smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"I only held the door open. You walked through it. The potential was always yours. Now, try to retract them. You can't walk around looking like a fallen angel. It attracts too much greed."
"Can I... fly?" she asked, the hope in her voice unmistakable.
"Undoubtedly. But not here. Not now. First, master the basics. Retract them."
Ye Lingling nodded, closing her eyes. She focused on the flow of soul power, visualizing the wings folding, condensing, and retreating. It felt like inhaling a deep breath. The silver light flared once, and the weight on her back vanished, leaving only a tattoo-like warmth between her shoulder blades.
She exhaled shakily and stood up. Her body felt stronger, her soul power denser. The bottleneck that had held her back was shattered.
"Let's move," Arthev said, turning his back to her as he scanned the perimeter. " The commotion likely attracted unwanted attention. We need to test your new Soul Skill, but not here."
Ye Lingling looked at his broad back, clenching her fists. The power coursing through her was intoxicating, but the image of Arthev stepping into the bloody mist to save her was burned deeper into her mind than any spirit bone.
"Right," she answered, her voice firm. She followed him, her steps lighter, ready to face whatever lay ahead.
To be continued...