Soul Skills Waiting to Be Unlocked, a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?

Normally, among Soul Skills provided by Soul Rings from the same kind of Soul Beast of the same age, a group attack Soul Skill was always somewhat weaker than a single-target attack Soul Skill.

As the saying went, you couldn't have both fish and bear's paw; between a wide range and great power, one had to be sacrificed.

But the effects of Gan Lin's Soul Skill far exceeded Dugu Bo's expectations.

Not only was its power nearly on par with a single-target attack, it even had some control effects. If he hadn't used Soul Power to counteract the impact just now, he probably would have been blasted away by that strike.

Dugu Bo had, however, spotted a few flaws. After thinking them through, he spoke.

"Xiaolin, listen carefully." Dugu Bo withdrew his hand and swept his sleeve, flattening the shallow circular trench blasted into the ground. "Your first Soul Skill is strong, but its flaws are plain to see."

He held out three fingers and folded them down one by one.

"First, it takes too long to charge. From the light appearing beneath your feet to the explosion just now, it took at least two breaths. In a one-on-one fight, unless your opponent is a fool, they'll dodge or interrupt you as soon as they see the light beneath your feet. So don't use this move as a killing blow. Use it to 'block the way'-force them to go where you want them to."

"Second," he said, glancing at a patch of overturned bushes nearby, "that ring hits friend and foe alike. If your teammates don't have wings or teleportation, they'll be sent flying with everyone else. You know the rules for group Soul Fighting at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Hurt your own people by mistake, and losing will be even more embarrassing than being beaten to death. But with this old man around, you don't need to worry about that. By the time even I can't cover for you..."

Dugu Bo gave Gan Lin a meaningful look. "There probably won't be many people on Douluo Continent who dare provoke you."

"Third, anyone who can fly counters you. A wind-attribute Martial Soul, a gliding ability, or even a Soul Skill that lets someone hover briefly-any of those would let them jump over it. This move of yours hits the 'ground,' not the 'air.'"

Gan Lin scratched his head. "Then... doesn't that make it half useless?"

"Useless?" Dugu Bo snorted. "At level fifteen, your first Soul Skill shook these old bones of mine hard enough to make me use Soul Power. You call that half useless? I'm telling you how to keep it from being useless, not to throw it away."

He paused, his tone growing a little heavier. "Remember, wide range, great power, high speed, and hitting everything indiscriminately—you can have at most two of those four. Right now, you have the first two, and the price is that it's slow and blind. If you want to make up for that, use your head-use it in narrow alleys, valleys, and forests; coordinate with teammates to control the enemy first, then blast them; or turn it around altogether and use it to 'clear the field' and 'force positioning.' Save your real killing blow for that bow in your hand... or something else."

As he finished, a barely perceptible smile flickered in the old man's eyes. "And one more thing: once you go out, keep this move under wraps. If word gets out that you can cause this much of a commotion at level fifteen, Soul Beasts won't be the only ones setting their sights on you."

"Grandpa!"

Dugu Yan, who had been standing silently to the side all this time, finally couldn't hold back. Her beautiful eyes widened as she looked at the circular trench, then at Gan Lin, her voice rising a notch. "Just now... you used Soul Power to block it?"

Dugu Yan turned and stared at Gan Lin as though she were meeting this younger brother of hers for the first time. "Even my first Soul Skill wasn't this outrageous, and Xiaolin is only level fifteen—his first Soul Skill forced you to use Soul Power? Grandpa, was your first Soul Skill this absurd back then?"

"...Shut up."

"And it even has a control effect!" Dugu Yan grew more animated as she spoke. "The aftershock caught me, and my legs went numb. How is this a first Soul Skill? It's practically-"

"All right, Yanyan..."

Dugu Yan immediately fell silent, merely giving Gan Lin a look that said, "Let's spar later," though the tips of her ears were a little red.

Gan Lin understood what she meant, though. Beat up your little brother while you still can, huh...

But soon, Gan Lin's attention shifted away from Dugu Yan.

After using his Soul Skill, Gan Lin seemed to sense something. He closed his eyes and sank into his consciousness.

In the darkness, something on his Soul Ring was stirring.

It wasn't the Soul Ring's perfect circle of light, but several dim, sealed markings, like scales embedded deep in a layer of rock, lighting up and fading one after another. The first was the brightest: the very move he had just obtained. The second was heavy like armor, the third sharp like an awl, and the fourth... was indistinct, as though some condition were still missing.

It was as if someone had gently tapped on his bones, telling him: These are yours too, but you can't bring them out yet.

Gan Lin's eyes snapped open, a fine layer of sweat coating his back.

"What is it?" Dugu Bo frowned. Poison Douluo's senses were much sharper than his. "Your breath is uneven."

"Grandpa..." Gan Lin's Adam's apple bobbed. He kept his voice low. "I think... I can get other Soul Skills too."

He briefly described what he had felt, but didn't dare tell him everything. He was afraid that if he mentioned the feeling of "something growing inside his bones," they'd think something had gone wrong with his cultivation.

Dugu Bo fell silent for a long time.

So long that even Dugu Yan couldn't help tugging at his sleeve. "Grandpa?"

"I have a simple conjecture. Of course, it may not be accurate; what you feel is still what matters most. The potential of your Soul Ring seems not to have been fully developed yet..." Even Dugu Bo was startled by his own guess. He stared at Gan Lin, his gaze sharp as a knife. "You're only level fifteen now. The human body isn't made of stone. Shove one piece in at a time and it can grind it down, but shove three in at once—and you'll crack."

Gan Lin swallowed. "Grandpa, what do you think I should do?"

"Eat slowly." Dugu Bo turned, the hem of his robe swinging, then suddenly looked back with a smile that was not particularly kind. "As for now-first learn to cut the charging time for your first move from two breaths to one. Otherwise, even with such a powerful foundation and such powerful Soul Skills, that's enough time for someone to kill you ten times before you get a move off."

Gan Lin froze for two seconds, then nodded emphatically. "I understand!"

"Good." Dugu Bo turned his back, his voice dropping as though he were talking to himself. "...Level fifteen. It's like I've seen a ghost."

"And this Soul Ring... Xiaolin's Soul Ring won't go on to rival or even surpass a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, will it? No, no... that's too outrageous..."

Dugu Yan secretly edged closer and lowered her voice. "Hey, did you really sense other skills just now?"

Gan Lin glanced at her, then at the warm patch of ground beneath his feet.

"Mm," he said. "But they're all asleep right now."

"Then when do you plan to wake them up?"

Gan Lin smiled and clenched his fist.

"When I can handle it."

"When you can handle it?" Dugu Yan smiled, already showing the first signs of a beauty. "Then spar with me in a few days first."

"Huh?"