A Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring
It is a thousand-year-old Soul Beast after all; even if it is a plant-type, it should not be underestimated.
Zhou You activated the Transformation of Objects Method, channeling Qi into the Umbrella Sword. Sword Qi instantly arose, as if a thin layer of Qi membrane had been applied to the blade, and a sliver of sword light shot up from the tip of the sword.
When I encountered the Sawtooth Silvergrass leaf again, it broke off piece by piece. This time, I finally felt like I was cutting a normal leaf.
"Huh?" Yang Tianxiong noticed this scene and was slightly surprised.
This was a move he had never seen before. He spread out his Mental Power and carefully sensed the Umbrella Sword in Zhou You's hand.
"Hmm, was the sharpness of the blade enhanced with Soul Power? It's somewhat similar to Xie Yue's Blade Qi."
However, Yang Tianxiong knew that there was still a difference between the two. Xie Yue's Blade Qi was achieved through Soul Skill, while his Martial Soul [Moon Blade] itself did not possess such an ability.
So Zhou You...
"Self-Created Soul Skill?" Yang Tianxiong was shocked.
Although Soul Masters ' main combat methods revolve around Soul Skills, many Battle Soul Masters can understand that while Soul Skills are excellent as "finishing moves," they are not very suitable as regular combat techniques.
Especially in the early stages, many Soul Masters will try their best to add powerful Soul Rings to their Martial Soul, making it difficult for most Soul Skills to be used as Basic Attack skills.
If you waste your Soul Power, it will be wasted.
Therefore, in actual combat, few people immediately unleash their ultimate skill. Before that, the two sides usually go through a process of probing, attrition, and preparation. This part of the battle obviously requires basic skills to get through.
[Self-Created Soul Skills ] are skills that can be performed by Soul Masters directly through the synergy of Soul Power and Martial Soul without relying on Soul Rings. They are similar to Soul Skills and represent the culmination of Soul Master's own skills and tactics.
It typically consumes less energy, is faster to activate, and is more stealthy than Soul Skills, making it a viable standard attack method.
When a normal Soul Skill is activated, the Soul Ring's reaction is very obvious, and the opponent will definitely be on guard. However, Self-Created Soul Skills usually do not have such obvious visual changes.
However, Self-Created Soul Skills are even rarer than Soul Bones. Soul Masters without inheritance can only attempt to develop this technology when they reach the level of Titled Douluo, and even then, success is not guaranteed.
Nowadays, most of the well-known Self-Created Soul Skills on the mainland are from the Upper Three Sects, among which the Clear Sky Sect's Self-Created Hammer Technique is the most famous.
Yang Tianxiong had never seen anyone develop their Self-Created Soul Skill at the Soul Grandmaster stage; it was simply unbelievable.
But the facts were undeniable, and he had no choice but to believe them; he even had a rather impolite thought.
What merit or ability did She Long possess to accept Zhou You as his disciple?
Regardless of how excited Yang Tianxiong was, Zhou You on the other side had already started his rampage after using [Sword Qi].
He used an umbrella in one hand to block the Sawtooth Silvergrass's attack, and with the other hand, he used a sword to cut off all the outstretched leaves, transforming into an old gardener and giving the Sawtooth Silvergrass a thorough trimming.
As Plant-type Soul Beast specializing in attack, the Sawtooth Silvergrass has a much weaker self-healing ability than the Blue Silver Grass. Its severed leaves cannot regenerate quickly, but each of its leaves can grow outwards in a very short time.
Seeing that Zhou You was about to shave its head completely, it panicked. Suddenly, hundreds of leaves on its body grew wildly, covering Zhou You like a tidal wave.
At first glance, it looks like a giant wave made of stacked leaves, crashing down!
This was the most dangerous moment. Although Zhou You seemed to have suppressed it before, he knew very well that his body's defenses were no match for the blade's cutting power.
Once the leaves of the Sawtooth Silvergrass get close, cutting him apart would be no harder than cutting a piece of cheese. He was now dancing on the edge of a knife; one wrong move and he would be torn to pieces.
Now, the Sawtooth Silvergrass has suddenly burst forth, with hundreds of leaves, each nearly ten meters long. If he were caught in its embrace, even with his Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella, he would likely be "finely chopped into mincemeat" today.
Fortunately, the accumulation of the First Soul Skill has reached the critical value.
A yellow Soul Ring suddenly rose up, nestling on the umbrella. Just as the grass leaves touched the umbrella surface, a huge shock suddenly erupted, and a thunderclap exploded out of nowhere on the wetland, causing countless leaves to be blasted backward and scattered.
The blades, which were originally tangled together, were blasted apart by the shockwave, creating a brief gap just big enough for one person to pass through.
Without pausing, Zhou You rushed forward, approaching the stem of the Sawtooth Silvergrass, and immediately cleaved it in two from top to bottom with his sword.
Compared to its leaves, the rootstock of this Sawtooth Silvergrass was extremely fragile, and it was cleaved in two by the Umbrella Sword imbued with Sword Qi energy!
But when it had cleaved two-thirds of the way through, the Umbrella Sword felt resistance.
Zhou You immediately realized that he had hit the core of the Sawtooth Silvergrass. To prevent the core from escaping to the roots, he made a bold decision.
The umbrella was folded up, the handle was gripped in the left hand, and the Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella suddenly slammed into the roots of the Sawtooth Silvergrass like a heavy mace, twisting the straight stem immediately. At the same time, the Umbrella Sword in the right hand continued to slash along the texture.
He tried to work on two things at once, and finally, after a moment of stalemate, something broke with a crisp "crack".
At the same moment, the once vibrant leaves instantly withered and drooped down.
At this point, it was too late for Zhou You to retreat. He could only unfold the Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella upwards, where it was buried by countless falling leaves.
Although he couldn't see it, Yang Tianxiong could see it clearly: a purple Soul Ring floated out from the Sawtooth Silvergrass.
The Soul Hunting is complete.
At this point, there was no need to stand idly by any longer. Yang Tianxiong immediately stepped forward, grabbed the sharp leaves with his bare hands, and easily tore off those blade-like leaves as if tearing through weeds.
He reached out with both hands and spotted a black umbrella in his field of vision.
Zhou You was squatting under the umbrella at that moment. Seeing the light brighten, he slowly moved the umbrella away.
"Are you alright?" Yang Tianxiong scanned Zhou You's entire body and found many small cuts on his skin.
Despite his excellent defense, he was not completely unprepared and suffered some minor cuts and bruises, but fortunately, the wounds did not reach the bone.
"It's nothing," Zhou You replied, taking out some pre-prepared wound medicine from his bag.
Yes, he prepared them all himself. When you're in the world of martial arts, you're bound to get hurt. You have to know some ways to treat injuries.
When Yang Tianxiong saw that Zhou You had already started applying medicine to himself, some words stuck in his throat, and he hesitated to take out the medicine bottle he was holding.
No, you've prepared way too much. He remained silent.
He had thought he would be able to play a bigger role this time, but he ended up just being a spectator.
Zhou You applied the ointment to his back, but there was a spot he couldn't reach.
Upon seeing this, Yang Tianxiong immediately said, "I'll do it!"
Finally, I've found some work I can do.
"Thank you for your help, senior brother."
"Don't mention it." Yang Tianxiong applied the medicine and finished.
He glanced at the purple Soul Ring floating in mid-air, estimated it to be around 1200 years old, and felt somewhat worried.
"This Soul Ring seems to be a bit over the limit, are you sure you can handle it?"
"No problem." Zhou You glanced at the surroundings and felt that this place was quite suitable for absorbing Soul Rings.
"Senior brother, I'll need your protection from now on."
"Good."