218: Chapter 218 Talent, [Soft Bones]

That was a huge green snake.

Its body was covered in green scales, and its triangular eyes shone with a cold, sinister light.

It was exactly that snake Yao that had been imprisoned in the dungeon and later taken away for interrogation by the Demon-Slaying Squad.

"This snake Yao... is dead?"

Chen Ran was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized.

The settlement mechanism of the heavenly book of prison suppression only triggered the final reward when an imprisoned criminal died.

After all, once they were out of his control, it was hard to say whether they were dead or alive.

Unexpectedly, after all that, this snake Yao had died in the end.

"It was probably killed by the Demon-Slaying Squad or that group from the Directorate of Astronomy."

Chen Ran remembered the scene he saw earlier today at the Demon-Slaying Squad's Demon Dissection Hall, and he had a rough guess in his heart.

That group was professional at dissecting Yao Beasts; they used all sorts of knives and saws. It would be strange if this snake Yao didn't die after falling into their hands.

Perhaps it had already been chopped into pieces, its skin used to make inner armor, its bones used to forge weapons, and even its flesh and blood used to feed the beasts kept in captivity.

However, this was a good thing for him.

A reward for free; why not take it?

Chen Ran stared at the heavenly book of prison suppression.

He saw the portrait of the snake Yao on the page completely disappear, turning into specks of golden light.

Immediately after, lines of ancient-looking text appeared on the page.

[Criminal: Green-Scaled Snake Yao]

[Status: Deceased, calculating rewards]

[Congratulations on obtaining Talent: Soft Bones (Elementary)]

[Congratulations on obtaining Reward: One Year of Cultivation]

"Soft Bones?"

Chen Ran looked at these two words and raised an eyebrow.

Why did this name sound a bit indecent?

Before he could think more, the golden light on the heavenly book of prison suppression flared up violently.

A strange energy surged out from the Heavenly Book, flowed along his Meridians, and instantly spread throughout his entire body.

"Hiss."

Chen Ran gasped, and a few memories appeared in his mind.

In the memory, he had transformed into a snake, his four limbs almost completely paralyzed, feeling absolutely nothing.

He could only crawl slowly, and his perspective was almost indistinguishable from that of livestock.

In the memory, he had grown up in the mountains and forests since childhood, and by constantly devouring wild beasts, his body size had grown further, and his strength had improved.

Gradually, he was no longer satisfied with hunting in the mountains and forests, and he set his sights on a village at the foot of the mountain.

After devouring a mountain village, he was captured by the Demon-Slaying Squad that had arrived while he was retreating, until he was finally sent to the Demon Dissection Platform.

...

This energy did not bring any pain; on the contrary, it felt indescribably comfortable.

It was as if all the bones in his body were soaked in warm water, being massaged with just the right amount of pressure.

It felt tingling and numb, making him want to moan out loud.

Chen Ran closed his eyes, carefully feeling the changes in his body.

He could clearly feel that his bones were undergoing some kind of miraculous change.

The originally rock-hard bones were now becoming like rubber, full of resilience.

This feeling was very strange.

Although the bones were still just as hard, they could now perform all kinds of inconceivable bending movements.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the tingling sensation gradually faded.

Chen Ran opened his eyes and jumped off the bed.

He tried to activate the Talent [Soft Bones] and moved his body.

"Crack, crack, crack."

His bones immediately let out a series of crisp sounds.

Chen Ran tried to bend over.

His hands easily touched the ground.

That was not all.

He continued to press down.

His entire upper body actually pressed directly against his legs, and his whole body folded into an incredible angle.

"Holy crap!"

Chen Ran was startled himself.

This flexibility was even more exaggerated than those who had practiced acrobatics for decades!

He straightened his body and tried twisting his waist.

His waist could actually move like a snake, performing all sorts of twisted motions without any obstruction at all.

"This talent... is quite interesting."

Chen Ran stroked his chin, his eyes lighting up.

Don't let the [Soft Bones] talent sound like it lacks attack power.

It was actually a divine skill in actual combat.

When experts fight, a hair's breadth often makes the difference between success and failure.

With this [Soft Bones] talent, his body could perform various movements that ordinary people could not.

Whether it was dodging attacks or launching unexpected counterattacks, it could achieve unexpected results.

Chen Ran excitedly experimented with his new talent in the room.

Various high-difficulty movements were performed with ease.

Things like splits, backbends, and touching his navel with his hand behind his back were all effortless.

He could even easily perform some extremely twisted, seemingly anti-human movements.

After playing for a long time, Chen Ran stopped, still wanting more. He slowly slid down from the roof like liquid.

Finally, his feet landed steadily on the ground.

"Phew."

He let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Although this [Soft Bones] talent was useful, it consumed a considerable amount of physical strength.

After all, performing those movements that defied human reason required mobilizing the muscles and fascia of the entire body.

However, at the same time, he also faintly sensed something different.

"Since it involves mobilizing the entire body's bones, perhaps at the moment of striking, activating [Soft Bones] can exert greater power than before."

Thinking of this, Chen Ran immediately went to the courtyard to get to work.

He began to research how to use [Soft Bones]. After dislocating his arm a few times at the beginning, he finally mastered some techniques for exerting force.

In the end, his hand shot out like lightning, and when it was about to reach its limit, his arm suddenly went limp, turning into a fierce and swift whip-strike.

Crack!

A crisp sound exploded in the air, and a strong wind danced in the courtyard.

The so-called [Soft Bones] was the ability to fully unleash force by instantly changing the body's form.

"It's still somewhat useful."

Chen Ran deactivated the talent, walked to the table, picked up the cup of tea that had already gone cold, and drank it in one gulp.

The ice-cold tea flowed down his throat, calming his excited brain a little.

He turned to look out the window; the night was still deep.

A smile curled at the corners of Chen Ran's mouth.

After just a short period of experimentation, he already had quite a few guesses in his heart.

"After the talent is fully leveled up, perhaps I can resonate all the force-exerting parts at the same time when striking, thereby extracting even greater power."

The night wind blew, the light in the room flickered a few times, and finally went out.

The entire courtyard fell back into darkness and silence.