Chapter 34: New BUG Skill: Zhi Chi Tian Ya! (Close Yet Distant)

A whole day of intense soul-fighting.

Even the tireless Zhuge Lan was feeling mentally and physically exhausted.

Let alone Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong.

But Zhu Zhuqing still showed no intention of resting.

She pulled Zhuge Lan over and asked—

"I had many insights today while practicing Spiral Nine Shadows. Can you help me clarify them?"

Zhuge Lan: "..."

Ning Rongrong: "..."

Despite his fatigue, Zhuge Lan happily agreed and went into the room with Zhu Zhuqing.

Though tired, Zhu Zhuqing would reward him, so it was worth it in the end.

But Ning Rongrong felt...

*[Emotion Points +555]*

What?!

You two fought all day, and you still have the energy to train? How hard are you pushing yourselves?

After an internal struggle, Ning Rongrong gave up the idea of collapsing in bed. She pulled out a bunch of gemstones and arranged them around her bed, sitting cross-legged to cultivate her soul power.

—Those more talented than her were working this hard; how could she afford to slack off?

That night.

After seeing off the blushing Zhu Zhuqing, an exhausted Zhuge Lan threw himself onto the bed.

He summoned the system.

——————————

*[Emotion Value System]*

Emotion Points: 1,115,321;

Level: 36;

Soul Bone: [External·Eye of the Saint/1 Million Years];

First Martial Soul: [Li Jing's Long Sword];

Second Martial Soul: [Thorn Armor];

Martial Soul Fusion: [Demon Spirit], [Netherworld Spirit Cat (Pending Unlock)];

*[Shop]*

——————————

Over a million!

Zhu Zhuqing was already confirmed to be his partner, so it was only a matter of time before he fully secured her.

The fusion skill of the second martial soul wasn't urgent for now.

He decided to strengthen himself first.

There were many options.

He could enhance his soul ring's years, unlock a soul bone slot, exchange for advanced soul tools, or even redeem the martial art of Nine Yin Manual.

But considering that he'd soon go to the Star Dou Forest to seize that brat's Eight Spider Lances...

Soul bones and soul tools seemed more reliable.

Unlocking an external soul bone cost 1 million emotion points, and the soul bone skills were unpredictable.

So his focus shifted to soul tools.

He quickly browsed through his options.

He locked onto a few that were suitable for stealth, concealing his presence, and treasure detection.

The goals were clear.

But he didn't rush to redeem them just yet.

'System, how do I unlock a soul bone?'

*[Soul Bone Choice: 100,000 Emotion Points!]*

——————————

You can activate the head, torso, arms, or legs soul bones, with 100% compatibility!

(Note: Depending on the quality of the soul bone, some emotion points may be deducted, with a minimum cost of free!)

——————————

'System, how do you calculate the years for soul bones?'

*[Starting at 100 years, 10 Emotion Points per year increase!]*

The same system as before?

'And after the soul bone reaches 100,000 years, will there still be only one skill?'

*[When the soul bone reaches 100,000 years, there is a chance to generate new skills or enhance the existing ones!]*

'Is this the same for soul ring skills?'

*[Yes!]*

That's acceptable.

Soul bones would eventually need to be unlocked, so the sooner, the better.

After deducting the cost of the soul tools, he could unlock 2-3 soul bone slots.

As for which to unlock first, it didn't really matter—he would start with the most valuable.

'System, unlock the head soul bone.'

*[Consume 100,000 Emotion Points to unlock the head soul bone!]*

——————————

*[Soul Bone Year Increase]: 10 Emotion Points/year;*

*[Edge Transparent Stone Gargoyle Head Soul Bone]: Increases mental strength and comes with a soul bone skill.;*

*——Soul Bone Skill·Zhi Chi Tian Ya: With the detachment from worldly karma, one's presence will continuously diminish, to the point where others perceive them as both near and far!;*

*——100-year quality, only effective against those below Soul Masters!;*

——————————

Oh wow!

What an incredible skill!

At first glance, it seemed similar to invisibility.

But invisibility has issues with scent, footprints, and body heat.

With this soul bone skill, all those flaws would be subconsciously ignored!

Isn't this a level above invisibility?

But…

"What does 'worldly karma' even mean?"

Trying it out would answer that.

Zhuge Lan summoned the soul bone, and a grayish-green light appeared on his forehead, coalescing into a giant gargoyle head.

"Soul Bone Skill·Zhi Chi Tian Ya!"

The gray-green light spread, enveloping Zhuge Lan's entire body.

As it passed, his clothes, rings, belt, and even his underwear smoothly fell to the floor, neatly folded in a pile.

Leaving Zhuge Lan standing there, completely naked, utterly stunned!

ヽ(._°)ノ

Stripping me naked is what you call detaching from worldly karma?

Fine, fine!

You want to play like this?

Zhuge Lan covered his head, veins popping in frustration.

Every ability he gained was more bizarre than the last!

'System, are you messing with me?'

The system remained silent.

Zhuge Lan sighed and reluctantly accepted his fate.

If it's streaking, then so be it.

At least his presence was reduced to near-zero, so even if someone saw him, they'd immediately forget...

Wait!

At least let me keep some shorts on—that's his bottom line!

As for the 100-year quality, which only worked against those below Soul Masters, he ditched the invisibility soul tool.

With a few taps, he increased the soul bone's years to 50,000—now it was effective against anyone below a Soul Douluo.

That gave him peace of mind.

In the short term, it was more than enough for Shrek Academy.

Counting the soul bone unlock, he had used a total of 599,000 emotion points.

'Tsk!'

'These emotion points really get used up quickly.'

'But…'

'System, does this soul bone only increase physical attributes without enhancing soul power?'

*[Soul power enhancement is separate but can be integrated into the soul bone system, although it will raise the overall cost!]*

'Forget it.'

The more benefits, the higher the price. Better not overcomplicate things.

Now that he had the soul bone skill, it was time to test it.

After dressing, Zhuge Lan knocked on Zhu Zhuqing's dorm room door.

She had just finished showering, her long black hair still wet, her fair skin glowing with a pinkish hue.

Quite a sight.

"Come to my room for a moment, I need your help with something," Zhuge Lan said.

*[Emotion Points +1111]*

*[Emotion Points +666]*

Late at night.

Knocking on a girl's door and asking her to go to his room.

Was this really serious business?

But Zhu Zhuqing didn't hesitate. She nodded and followed Zhuge Lan.

From a slightly opened window nearby, a pair of sapphire eyes watched.

Ning Rongrong saw Zhu Zhuqing really entering Zhuge Lan's room and was dumbfounded.

So bold?

But moments later, Zhu Zhuqing left his room and returned to her dorm.

"That was quick?" Ning Rongrong asked in surprise.

"Huh?" Zhu Zhuqing was confused, "What was quick?"

Ning Rongrong opened her mouth but got stuck.

What was she going to say again?

"Never mind, let's sleep."

Zhu Zhuqing removed her outer garments, leaving only her underclothes.

This state allowed her to focus more intensely on cultivating her mental energy.

Ning Rongrong's eye twitched, silently clutching her chest.

Her heart pounded powerfully—probably because there was almost no barrier between them.

Yes, you're well-endowed, no need to flaunt it like this.

Hmm…

Could it be that this kind of cultivation method helps with growth?

Better safe than sorry.

Ning Rongrong carefully took off her own outer clothes.

A little envious.

Zhu Zhuqing worked hard even while "resting," making Ning Rongrong too restless to sleep.

She, too, sat cross-legged on her bed and started cultivating.

The room fell into silence.

But neither of them knew.

Right in front of them, a certain guy wearing nothing but boxers was staring at his girlfriend, thinking—

*I can't take this!*

—No wonder she's a 36D, those curves could bury him alive!

When Zhu Zhuqing entered the room earlier, Zhuge Lan immediately used his soul bone skill, Zhi Chi Tian Ya—and held onto his boxers for dear life.

At least this way, he could explain if necessary.

But the system never failed to deliver a BUG.

Zhu Zhuqing completely "forgot" what she was there for, confused, and left.

Zhuge Lan had followed her all the way back without her noticing.

This made Zhuge Lan quite excited!

There was a thrill like being a thief.

Who cares about being naked?

As long as no one remembers, it's basically invisibility!

After admiring for a while, he decided to test another theory.

—Does touching external objects count as breaking worldly karma?

Zhuge Lan prepared himself.

He carefully grabbed the doorknob; inside, there was no reaction.

He gently twisted it, slowly opening the door.

Zhu Zhuqing's brow twitched slightly as she scanned her surroundings with a wary gaze.

She noticed that the door to the dorm was slightly ajar, and a look of confusion appeared on her face.

She clearly remembered closing the door when she came back, didn't she?

Maybe it wasn't shut properly.

Zhu Zhuqing stood up, closed the door, and went back to her training.

The entire time, she completely ignored Zhuge Lan, who was standing nearby.

This gave Zhuge Lan something to think about.

He glanced over at Ning Rongrong, who was still sound asleep without any sign of waking.

He grabbed hold of his boxer shorts and stored them in his system space—the one he opened for 10,000 emotion points, specifically for keeping discarded clothing.

With his presence reduced to near zero, he reached out for the door handle again, and this time, Zhu Zhuqing didn't react at all.

After one last lingering glance, he slipped out, closed the door, and returned to his own dorm room.

He finally understood the situation.

While using "The Distance of a Foot, the Ends of the Earth," he could only "equip" a single pair of boxer shorts, and he couldn't touch anything else.

Unless, of course, he was completely naked.

Hmm... this skill really was twisted.

'Better use this ability as little as possible,' he thought. 'One wrong move and I'll ruin my reputation.'

With "The Distance of a Foot, the Ends of the Earth," he no longer needed to redeem any soul tools for concealing his presence or aura.

So, what to do with the remaining 600,000 points?

Unlocking more soul bones was out of the question.

—If he got another buggy yet bizarre soul bone ability, all those points would be drained right away.

Instead, he decided to enhance his speed a bit, just in case he needed to chase someone.

He spent 400,000 emotion points to redeem the second and third tiers of Spiral Nine Shadows, pushing it straight to perfection.

Then, he spent another 100,000 emotion points to redeem [.].

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