Skill Lottery Draw

Wu Liang, Tang San, the master, and one pig moved slowly through the forest. Along the way, the master said, "Little San, your Spirit is Blue Silver Grass. Based on my ideas and my research into Blue Silver Grass, I suggest that you develop toward the Control System in the future. A Control System Spirit Master can be considered a Battle Spirit Master, or a Weapon Spirit Master. It is essentially something that falls between the two."

Hearing this, Tang San immediately recalled what Wu Liang had said during the Spirit awakening. "Teacher, A Liang said the same thing back then. He said my Blue Silver Grass is highly malleable. As long as it receives proper cultivation and fuses with suitable Soul Rings focused on poison, toughness, and unpredictability, it can become an extremely terrifying Control System Battle Spirit Master."

After thinking for a moment, Tang San looked at Wu Liang again. "You also said there are no useless Spirits, only useless Spirit Masters. I remembered that correctly, didn't I?"

Wu Liang sniffed and smiled without saying anything. However, the master looked at him in surprise. "I didn't expect a boy like you to be so knowledgeable. That's right, what you said is correct. There are no useless Spirits, only useless Spirit Masters. Because Little San's Spirit is ordinary, it has extremely strong compatibility and malleability. My original plan was to first improve the toughness of his Blue Silver Grass, then develop it toward poison or parasitism. Of course, it would be best if we found a Soul Ring that could increase both toughness and poison. That would make future cultivation much easier."

The master raised his right hand and extended one finger. "First, using Blue Silver Grass consumes very little Soul Power, even less than Food System Spirits. This means you can use it in large quantities with your own Soul Power."

Tang San and Wu Liang nodded. The master was right. The Soul Power consumption of Blue Silver Grass was practically negligible when only a small amount was released. Only when Tang San infused it with his Spirit and grew it beyond ten meters in length did he feel even a slight burden on his Soul Power.

The master extended a second finger. "Second, Blue Silver Grass is far too common, which makes it much more deceptive than other Spirits, especially against ordinary Soul Beasts with low intelligence. Even if you summoned your Spirit beside them, they might not notice it."

He extended a third finger. "Third, Blue Silver Grass has many possible paths of development. Because it is so low-grade, it can develop in multiple directions. And because Blue Silver Grass itself is weak, it will not reject Soul Rings of any attribute. This is the strong compatibility and malleability Wu Liang mentioned."

"Spirits can reject Soul Rings?" Tang San asked in surprise.

"Of course," the master said. "If your Spirit and a Soul Ring's attributes conflict, rejection will occur when you try to attach that Soul Ring to your Spirit. For example, it is difficult for a Beast Spirit to attach a poisonous Soul Ring. Though Spirits are energy forms, in a sense, they are also life forms—another manifestation of their host's life. If you forcibly added a poisonous Soul Ring, you would probably poison yourself first. Few Beast Spirits can absorb poison themselves without passing it on to their host. But Blue Silver Grass is different. It is a plant and inherently weak. Absorbing poison is not difficult for it at all."

As he spoke, he extended a fourth finger. "You also have a fourth advantage: Innate Full Soul Power. The main reason why Douluo Continent has never produced a powerful Blue Silver Grass Spirit Master is that after awakening, the Blue Silver Grass Spirit provides its host with far too little Soul Power. Innate Soul Power is directly proportional to one's later cultivation speed. If one's innate Soul Power is too weak, it is difficult to cultivate to higher levels. In the later stages of cultivation, hunting Soul Beasts also becomes much harder. But you are different. You possess Innate Full Soul Power. Whether that Soul Power came from Blue Silver Grass or your other hammer Spirit, it does not affect your ability to use it on Blue Silver Grass. Therefore, cultivating Blue Silver Grass will definitely not put you at a disadvantage."

Wu Liang knew the master was right. In the original story, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had become so powerful because he had built a solid foundation with his first Soul Ring. So, he intended to follow the original path. "Master, do you think snake-type Soul Beasts would suit Little San? For example, a Mandala Serpent?"

The master nodded after hearing that. "The Mandala Serpent is a Soul Beast with extremely potent venom. Since it is a snake, it can also give his Blue Silver Grass a certain degree of toughness. If we encounter one, that would be excellent. As for you, your Spirit is humanoid. I still have not figured out what traits it grants after possession. Why don't you explain it?"

Wu Liang nodded. "My Spirit, Barak, was an extremely powerful Monarch during his lifetime. After possession, he increases my physical attributes by eighty percent. I can also condense the weapon he used in my hand. It could be considered a combination of a Beast Spirit and a Weapon Spirit."

After listening to Wu Liang, the master pondered for a moment before speaking. "Then your Soul Ring development path will also be quite diverse. If you develop toward the Assault System first, you should attach Soul Rings that mainly increase strength or elemental attacks. If you wish to develop toward the Defense System, then attach Soul Rings that improve physical attributes or defense."

Wu Liang knew the master was right, but this was a Spirit granted by the system. It was inherently special. Moreover, attaching any Soul Ring to him would not grant him any skills; he could only fight with his own strength. Still, he had possessed Barak for so long without ever using Spirit possession, so he did not know what it would be like. Forget it. He did not rely on Soul Rings to make a living anyway. The only reason he needed them was to break through. Wu Liang shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Teacher, my Spirit is rather special. I can attach any kind of Soul Ring to it. This Spirit does not rely on Soul Rings, and Soul Rings do not provide it much of a boost."

"Is that so? Then it is another special type of Spirit. In other words, it is similar to your second Spirit, with fixed abilities," the master said.

"That's right."

Just as Wu Liang finished speaking, Luo San Pao, who had been scouting ahead, began warning them. The master stopped talking and watched vigilantly as a jackal-type Soul Beast emerged from the bushes ahead. "You two, be careful. This is an Exploding Fang Jackal that is nearly a hundred years old. Do you see those two massive fangs in its mouth? Those are its trump card. When it encounters danger, it will launch those fangs. They explode upon impact."

The master's Luo San Pao and the Exploding Fang Jackal confronted each other. The jackal watched the humans warily as well, but because it was not particularly strong, it did not dare act rashly and could only let out uneasy growls.

Wu Liang wanted to test the power of his Spirit, so he summoned it.

"Tyrant's Descent, Barak Possession!"

As Wu Liang's voice fell, the Tyrant phantom behind him immediately merged into his body. Barak's armor covered Wu Liang's body, and a gigantic serrated greatsword appeared in his left hand.

Once the possession was complete, Wu Liang immediately received information from Barak. While Barak possessed him, he could use the same skills as in the game: Shadow Fist, Slaughtering Frenzy, and Barak's Strike. After receiving this information, Wu Liang finally understood how his Spirit would develop in the future. It was not that Barak gained no Soul Skills from absorbing Soul Rings. Rather, it did not gain the skills brought by the Soul Rings; instead, it unsealed skills Barak already knew, just like the skills that could only be unlocked after summoning Necromancer Barak in the game. More importantly, Barak did not have to possess him to be used. Once summoned, Wu Liang could command him to fight.

But that did not matter right now. After completing the possession, Wu Liang felt power flood through his entire body. He shot forward in an instant and launched Barak's Soul Skill, Shadow Fist, at the Exploding Fang Jackal.

The Exploding Fang Jackal had just realized something was wrong and tried to flee, but Wu Liang was simply too fast. Before the jackal could even turn around, Wu Liang's Shadow Fist blasted it apart. Its corpse turned into a rain of blood that sprayed in every direction, leaving only a white-and-yellow Soul Ring floating in the air.

Wu Liang had not expected Shadow Fist to be so powerful. The scene fell silent for a moment, and he could only awkwardly withdraw his Spirit and stand to the side.

Only then did the master and Tang San recover from their shock. They stiffly turned their necks toward Wu Liang. "This is what you meant by not relying on Soul Rings? You are already this powerful without a Soul Ring. What will happen once you attach one?"

Tang San fully agreed with the master.

Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward again, Wu Liang could only say embarrassingly, "Well, Teacher, should we keep moving? It's getting dark soon. Shouldn't we find somewhere to set up camp?"

"Yes, it is time to find a place to camp. The forest is more dangerous at night than during the day. San Pao, let's go."

Luo San Pao looked at Wu Liang, nodded fearfully, and continued ahead.

After walking for about half an hour and seeing many strange but weak Soul Beasts, they finally found an ideal place to camp. By the time they had finished setting up camp, it was completely dark. Since they were in the wilderness, the master took out some realgar powder and gave it to Tang San, telling him to scatter it in a circle around the camp.

Once Tang San returned, everyone ate their dry rations together. Since they were in the forest, it was common sense not to light a fire at night whenever possible. The same would apply even in the modern world; it helped avoid attracting large animals looking for trouble.

Wu Liang remembered that if the plot was correct, a pack of wolves should surround them. Sure enough, not long after everyone finished their rations, dozens of green eyes appeared around the camp and slowly closed in.

"Netherwolves." The master's voice was somewhat grave, but he was not the least bit panicked. "You two, stay here and do not move."

Wu Liang knew what the master intended to do. One look at him rummaging through the storage bracelet on his wrist made it obvious that he wanted Luo San Pao to fart.

Wu Liang definitely was not going to allow that. Who would want to smell a fart for no reason? He immediately stopped the master. "Teacher, leave these wolf pups to me."

After saying that, Wu Liang summoned Barak and immediately commanded him to launch Shadow Fist and Barak's Strike toward the area where the blue lights were most densely gathered. Wu Liang had loved using this combo when he played Necromancer in his previous life, because both its power and effects were excellent.

Barak instantly charged into the wolf pack. Shadow Fist seized the Netherwolf with the strongest aura, then Barak's Strike hurled the wolf he had grabbed into the pack. The Netherwolf caught by Shadow Fist was already on its last breath. After being violently thrown, it died on the spot. As the dead Netherwolf hit the ground, a powerful shockwave erupted from the impact, killing more than half of the surrounding Netherwolves. Immediately, white and yellow Soul Rings floated through the dark forest, illuminating the clearing. The unharmed Netherwolves saw so many of their pack die in an instant, including their alpha, and immediately turned to flee in terror.

"Heh, not bad luck. The alpha was nearly six hundred years old. It will do nicely."

Wu Liang saw a deep yellow Soul Ring floating above the crater created by the alpha's impact. It was a Soul Ring nearly six hundred years old. He had no particular requirements for Soul Rings, so since he had encountered one now, he might as well use it to break through. With a wave of his hand, the Soul Ring in the crater floated over to Wu Liang and was absorbed by Barak. The entire process took less than a minute. Wu Liang's aura rose by two levels, and he officially advanced to a level-twelve Spirit Master.

It was not the first time the master had seen Wu Liang's Spirit attack, but what was this about it charging out to attack without possession? How could there be a Spirit like that? And Wu Liang still claimed his Spirit was not mutated? Who would believe that? The master had intended to remind him that the current environment was unsuitable for absorbing a Soul Ring, but before he could speak, Wu Liang had already finished absorbing it. This left the master speechless, as though every definition he had created was complete nonsense when applied to Wu Liang.

However, regardless of what the master and Tang San thought, Wu Liang had completed his system mission after absorbing the Soul Ring. He was now staring at the lottery wheel in his mind. Every slot contained a skill from DNF. Just thinking about being able to draw one and use it today made him excited.