You Chen Martial Soul's Hexagram Ratings

Sacrifice Sanctuary.

Its effect as a Yu-Gi-Oh! card: When the effect of a Spell, Trap, or Monster Card that destroys a card on the field was activated, this card could be Tributed to negate and destroy that activation, then revive Stardust Dragon during the End Phase.

Judging from the description, this was far more than a defensive skill. It also possessed the ability to strike back and destroy the opponent. If fully localized, it should have been a soul skill that balanced offense and defense.

But reality was not so.

This was a purely supportive, defense-oriented domain skill!

As a defensive and protective domain soul skill, whenever he was attacked while this domain was active, it accumulated Soul Power within the domain. He could mark allied units within the domain and redirect the damage and attacks they received onto himself, likewise accumulating Soul Power.

By consuming a large amount of Soul Power at once and releasing the domain, he could gain absolute invincibility for a period of time, or perform a healing.

Even attacks at the Soul Emperor level could still be weakened by more than fifty percent. This weakening also worked against poison, curses, mental attacks, and similar methods!

Simply put, after activating this domain, You Chen and his allies' defensive resistance would be significantly increased.

This was unquestionably a powerful soul skill!

But compared to soul skills, You Chen had always cared more about improving his Martial Soul.

The strength of soul skills was only temporary. Changes in one's Martial Soul determined just how far one could go!

The changes to his Martial Soul were striking. The boost in strength alone was at least double what it had been before! Stardust Young Dragon had always been known for its speed, so the increase in strength was merely icing on the cake!

He glanced sideways. Under Martial Soul Possession, sparse white scales had once appeared only on his arms, but now his entire hand had transformed into a thick, powerful, razor-sharp dragon claw!

Feeling the changes after Martial Soul Possession, You Chen's eyes shone brightly.

Evolution! Such enormous changes and enhancements were among the very best even for high-grade Martial Souls!

This was a genuine evolution!

He instinctively understood his Martial Soul's new name.

'High-grade Martial Soul—Stardust Dragon!'

You Chen had read quite a few Douluo fanfics, and during his time as a scholar and researcher, he had naturally done his share of "borrowing."

He was especially fond of the Martial Soul Hexagram method for determining Martial Soul attributes from the book "Ultimate Conductor Tyranno Stands Upon Douluo Continent."

When he was thirteen, he had slightly modified it and published it in Spirit Hall's research journal.

The six major indicators were Strength/Destructive Power, Speed (including attack speed and agility), Toughness (defensive resilience, or the durability of a tool Martial Soul), Range and Endurance, Energy (attribute-free Soul Power, spiritual power, and attribute enhancement), and other Special Abilities (bonus points).

Each indicator was scored from 0 to 6, for a total of 30 (+6) points.

The reason bonus points were specifically listed was because the Special Abilities of many Martial Souls did not involve actual combat, or were difficult to evaluate rigidly.

For example, abilities that specifically countered a certain attribute, such as evil. Or abilities like the Blue Silver Emperor's ability to communicate with its subjects.

If these were directly quantified into visible scores and included in the total, it could easily lead to unreasonable situations where a high-grade Martial Soul had a score comparable to a top-grade Martial Soul, only to be utterly crushed by the latter.

Furthermore, some Special Abilities themselves affected the other five dimensions.

The scores from 0 to 6 represented a leap at every point.

0 (no relevant capability);

1 (only possessed the most basic capability at that level, the average standard of low-grade Martial Souls);

2 (mediocre capability, the average for mid-grade Martial Souls);

3 (strong capability, the average for high-grade Martial Souls, or the standout trait of a mid-grade Martial Soul—for example, the speed of a mid-grade agility-attack Martial Soul or the strength of a mid-grade power-attack Martial Soul);

4 (top-tier capability, the average for top-grade Martial Souls, or the standout trait of a high-grade Martial Soul);

5 (superior capability, the average for super Martial Souls. Most super Martial Souls were well-rounded powerhouses. In terms of attribute energy, 5.5 was the ultimate level);

6 (exceptional level, the standout trait of a very small number of super Martial Souls or god-grade Martial Souls).

Before the Martial Soul Evolution, Stardust Young Dragon's hexagram was as follows:

Strength: 2 (the average for mid-grade Martial Souls)

Speed: 2 (the average for mid-grade Martial Souls)

Toughness: 2 (the average for mid-grade Martial Souls)

Endurance: 2 (moderate Soul Power and stamina consumption, slight boost to physical vitality)

Energy: 3 (strong wind-attribute energy, mediocre starlight-attribute energy)

Special Abilities: 2 (Dragon Transformation Wings, a versatile ability that could noticeably strengthen combat power)

Total: 11 (+2)

(Stardust Young Dragon.jpg)

Most low-grade Martial Souls hovered around 5 points, while most mid-grade Martial Souls fell within the 8–12 point range.

A Martial Soul rated among the best of mid-grade Martial Souls, combined with the greater Essence, Qi, and Spirit granted by soul rings beyond their age limit—this was what allowed You Chen's attributes to rival Soul Masters with high-grade Martial Souls at the same rank.

And Stardust Dragon's attributes had already risen to another level.

Drawing upon the knowledge of a Martial Soul research master, You Chen quickly arrived at a rough estimate:

Strength: 3 (strong capability)

Speed: 4 (top-tier capability)

Toughness: 3 (strong capability)

Endurance: 3 (Soul Power consumption had increased slightly, but Soul Power efficiency had improved; Martial Soul Possession was easier and more natural to control, stamina consumption had decreased, and physical vitality had increased)

Energy: 4 (strong wind-attribute energy, strong holy-attribute energy, strong starlight-attribute energy)

Special Abilities: ? (unconfirmed)

Total: 17

(Stardust Dragon.jpg)

High-grade Martial Souls generally ranged from 13 to 17 points. Without question, Stardust Dragon's strength had already reached the highest level among high-grade Martial Souls!

Especially in terms of speed...

The speed Stardust Young Dragon had displayed in the past had absolutely reached 3 points.

But in truth, Stardust Young Dragon barely strengthened the power of his limbs at all.

A large part of You Chen's previous speed had come from his control over wind-element power.

Only after becoming a Soul Elder had You Chen gained the Special Ability of "Dragon Transformation" Wings during Martial Soul Possession. The enhancement from those wings alone could firmly place his speed at the very top of the strong-capability tier.

But this was not without flaws.

Unlike his original limbs, suddenly growing a pair of dragon wings naturally consumed a great deal of Soul Power. They could only be used as a trump card.

But things were different now.

If his previous Martial Soul Possession had been a weakened version, then this enhancement was an overall strengthening.

Beyond that, You Chen vaguely sensed that after Martial Soul Possession, much like the traits of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, he had gained the urge to transform other parts of his body into a dragon.

But before You Chen could rejoice for long, he frowned as he noticed something wrong.

He realized that he could not fully unleash his Martial Soul's power.

Soul Power—it was his Soul Power!

His Soul Power... was still limited to the level of Rank 20.

Because his Soul Power output was insufficient, the enhancement from his Martial Soul naturally diminished as well.

And not only that...

"Soul ring, appear!"

Only a single, lonely black soul ring coiled around You Chen's body.

"..."

Immense panic surged within him.

He was already in his thirties, when his vitality and blood were beginning to decline. If he had to start cultivating again from Rank 20, then even with an evolved Martial Soul, it would be absolutely impossible for him to reach Rank 70 before the age of fifty!