Skeleton Martial Soul, Undead Power

"Mm. That makes sense. Starting tomorrow, we'll use the nighttime to search for Soul Beasts too."

Teacher Mo said worriedly, "But moving through the Soul Beast Forest at night will be very dangerous. A Liang, you must stay by my side at all times. Rest tonight and get your energy back."

"Alright. I'll trouble you to keep watch." With that, Xia Liang rose and returned to the tent.

Teacher Mo remained seated before the grill, continuing to eat roasted meat.

After returning to the tent and thinking it over several times, Xia Liang seemed to reach a decision and suddenly walked back outside.

Teacher Mo looked at Xia Liang in confusion. "Do you have a habit of peeing before bed too?"

"I didn't come out to pee. Teacher Mo, I want to show you something."

As he spoke, Xia Liang released his Skeleton Martial Soul. A purplish-black aura gathered around his body, forming Black-Purple Ribs that encased his entire body.

Level Ten Soul Power poured into the Skeleton Martial Soul as the Undead Attribute activated.

Xia Liang raised his hand and waved it. Between him and Teacher Mo, buzzing whooshes rang out as clusters of head-sized Black-Purple Ghost Fire ignited one after another.

Teacher Mo stared blankly at the Ghost Fire arranged in a straight line. Like ghosts, they had appeared out of thin air, carrying an eerie, sinister feeling.

If Tang Hao had been here, he would certainly have noticed that the sinister and uncanny aura contained within these clusters of Black-Purple Ghost Fire was identical to Ghost Douluo's aura—the aura of death.

Or rather, the aura of ghosts.

Having already died once, Xia Liang had become a Living Dead, both human and ghost like Ghost Douluo, through the enhancement of his Skeleton Martial Soul.

As something of utmost yin, he was not afraid of the sun's utmost yang and scorching heat. However, the Black-Purple Ghost Fire he summoned through the Undead Attribute feared sunlight.

Thus, this ability could only be used at night.

Snapping out of his surprise, Teacher Mo instinctively rose to his feet and assumed a fighting stance.

The twenty clusters of Black-Purple Ghost Fire lined up before him were too sinister and terrifying, giving him a sense of danger.

"These Ghost Fires are an attribute ability inherent to my Skeleton Martial Soul. When a fire-attribute Martial Soul undergoes Martial Soul Possession, doesn't it allow a Soul Master to control and use flames?"

After hearing Xia Liang's explanation, Teacher Mo finally relaxed somewhat. Still looking puzzled, he asked, "Your Skeleton Martial Soul has a fire attribute?"

"More or less. In any case, these Ghost Fires are produced through my Martial Soul's attribute."

Having exposed the ability of the Undead Attribute to an outsider, Xia Liang certainly could not openly tell anyone that it was the power of the Undead Attribute.

So, he could only vaguely pass off his Skeleton Martial Soul's Undead Attribute as a fire attribute.

Fortunately, Martial Souls came in all kinds of strange forms. Even a shadow Martial Soul could possess a fire attribute.

So, a Skeleton Martial Soul with a fire attribute was nothing unusual.

Teacher Mo seemed to accept that explanation. Once he learned where the Black-Purple Ghost Fire came from, the panic on his face turned into a wry smile. "What did you create all this Ghost Fire for? Don't tell me it was just to scare me?"

"Of course not. These Ghost Fires have no combat power and are even easier to destroy than Blue Silver Grass. But they can float in midair like incorporeal ghosts and act according to my will."

Teacher Mo was stunned after hearing that. Though he was not a top-tier powerhouse, he could still judge the strength of an ability.

If these Ghost Fires could truly act according to their owner's will, then wasn't this ability granted by a Martial Soul's attribute comparable to some kind of reconnaissance Soul Skill? "An Innate Skill?" Teacher Mo blurted out instinctively.

"What's that?" Xia Liang pretended not to know.

Teacher Mo said excitedly, "A Martial Soul's Innate Skill doesn't require absorbing a Soul Ring to obtain. It is possessed from the moment of Martial Soul Awakening. Martial Souls at the level of Ant Emperors and Ant Queens, for instance, are born with the ability to command ants, and they can even strongly suppress ant-type Martial Souls or Soul Beasts."

"As far as I know, only high-quality Martial Souls can possibly possess Innate Skills. A Liang, although your Skeleton Martial Soul only has the Rib Portion, it is undoubtedly a high-quality Martial Soul. No wonder you possess Innate Level Five Soul Power."

"Teacher Mo, I don't understand what you're talking about." Xia Liang tried to change the subject. "Let's discuss how to find Soul Beasts instead. I can only summon these Ghost Fires at night. From now on, we can search for Soul Beasts ourselves during the day and let these Ghost Fires help at night. That will greatly increase our efficiency."

"Exactly. If these Ghost Fires can act according to your will, they can certainly help us search for Soul Beasts." A strange gleam flashed through Teacher Mo's eyes. "A Liang, with only Level Ten Soul Power, how many Ghost Fires can you summon?"

"If I control my Soul Power consumption well, I can summon at most twenty clusters of Ghost Fire." Xia Liang thought for a moment before answering. "But accordingly, the more Ghost Fires I summon, the poorer their quality becomes. They can easily disperse when affected by external forces."

"Quality isn't important. The key is that they can act on their own." Teacher Mo asked with great interest, "What is the range in which your summoned Ghost Fires can move?"

"My Ghost Fires are only affected by external forces and sunlight. They have no distance or other restrictions. As long as they aren't destroyed, they can move freely according to my will."

"That's wonderful. A Liang, when I asked you to join my Mercenary Group before, I only wanted, as your Senior, to take you out and broaden your horizons. I also thought you could stay in the Mercenary Group as a cook or do odd jobs. But now, this Ghost Fire ability of yours is perfectly suited to searching for Soul Beasts."

Teacher Mo walked over to Xia Liang and said excitedly, "Think about it. We search for Soul Beasts with manpower during the day, then rely on these Ghost Fires at night. Twenty-four hours a day without interruption—how efficient would that be?"

"Moreover, we can send these Ghost Fires to explore dangerous places we dare not enter. We can even have them track the Soul Beasts we need, or interfere with a Soul Beast's pursuit to buy time for escape. Your Innate Skill is practically a divine skill for a Mercenary Group!"

"Yes." Xia Liang thought so as well. This was why he was confident that, as long as he amassed enough Soul Beast Knowledge, he could find suitable Soul Beasts to serve as Soul Rings for his Skeleton Martial Soul.

Thankfully, his use of the Skeleton Martial Soul had grown increasingly proficient over the past two years, allowing him to create the ability to summon Ghost Fire through the Undead Attribute.

"Netherworld Ghost Bears tend to appear at night. It just so happens that my Ghost Fire can only be used at night." Xia Liang suggested, "Teacher Mo, let's use the Ghost Fire to try searching over the next few nights. If we still can't find Soul Beasts like Netherworld Ghost Bears, we'll have no choice but to consider using other Soul Beasts as Soul Rings."

Teacher Mo nodded.

After reaching an agreement, Xia Liang waved his hand. The twenty clusters of Black-Purple Ghost Fire arranged in a line seemed to receive an order as they flew off in all directions.

At the same time, a feeling of weakness washed over him.

Xia Liang's meager Level Ten Soul Power was nearly depleted.

Summoning Ghost Fire did not actually consume much Soul Power.

It was simply that he was still rather unskilled at controlling his Soul Power expenditure.

For a Soul Master, learning to precisely control one's own Soul Power consumption was also a required lesson.