Let Him Be Strong; the Gentle Breeze Caresses the Hill

"Alright, Master," Ye Feng replied.

Holding a dagger, Ye Feng walked over to the Rampage Ape. He hesitated. What he was about to kill was a soul beast, one whose appearance somewhat resembled that of a human.

Ye Feng hesitated, and Sword Saint Chen Xin did not urge him. Everyone had a first time for everything.

After five or six seconds, Ye Feng swiftly drew his dagger across the Rampage Ape's throat.

Roar!

A miserable cry came from the Rampage Ape's throat. Blood sprayed out, splattering Ye Feng's clothes. The Rampage Ape clutched its throat and struggled for over ten seconds before finally becoming still.

Following Sword Saint Chen Xin's hand gestures, Ye Feng formed seals with both hands. Faint specks of light rose from the Rampage Ape's corpse and gathered into a halo above its body.

"Sit down and absorb it. With me protecting you, nothing will disturb you," Sword Saint Chen Xin instructed.

"Mm."

Ye Feng responded and sat cross-legged. The halo flew above his head, then abruptly shrank at high speed until it was only the size of a bracelet, slipping over the Nine Heart Profound Tang martial soul in his right palm.

Ye Feng felt as if his right hand had been plunged into hot water. A scorching energy surged wildly into his body, making him tremble slightly.

"Let him be strong; the gentle breeze caresses the hill. Let the energy enter your body, and guard your Sea of Consciousness with your Divine Sense."

Sword Saint Chen Xin's voice guided him by his ear.

Following Sword Saint Chen Xin's instructions, Ye Feng allowed the scorching energy to flow into his Eight Extraordinary Meridians, five viscera, and six bowels. His Divine Sense firmly guarded the Sea of Consciousness within his mind, keeping him awake throughout.

Time passed unnoticed during cultivation. When everything finally settled, Ye Feng discovered that every petal of his Nine Heart Profound Tang had gained a red pattern. One of the flower's ten stamens had turned red.

He had succeeded!

Ye Feng was ecstatic.

Ye Feng had never expected obtaining a soul ring to feel so wonderful. No wonder everyone wanted to become a soul master, and soul masters wanted to obtain more soul rings. This exhilarating feeling could only be understood, not described.

"What about the soul skill? What is your First Soul Skill?" Sword Saint Chen Xin asked curiously.

With a thought from Ye Feng, the yellow soul ring around him lit up. At the same time, the red patterns on the Nine Heart Profound Tang martial soul in his hand began to glow, especially the one stamen among the ten that had turned red.

At the same time, a red glow enveloped Sword Saint Chen Xin's body.

Sword Saint Chen Xin closed and opened his eyes, then murmured calmly, "The speed of the blood flowing through my body has increased by thirty percent. My speed and strength have also increased by thirty percent."

"That's right."

Ye Feng nodded smugly and smiled. "I named the Nine Heart Profound Tang's First Soul Skill Beast Blood Boiling. It is a growth-type soul skill. Every time my Soul Power increases by one level, speed and strength can increase by one percent. My current Soul Power Level is thirty, so the increase is thirty percent. Its range is fixed at forty meters around me."

"For every level of Soul Power gained, the effect rises by one percent. If not for its range limitation, such a support ability would be enough to rival Rong Rong's First Soul Skill and Second Soul Skill." Sword Saint Chen Xin smiled—a rare sight—and gently patted Ye Feng's shoulder.

For soul masters possessing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, each increase of ten Soul Power levels raised their support effects by ten percent. In this regard, Ye Feng's support ability was no weaker than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. If not for the range limitation, Ye Feng's support ability would surpass the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Then again, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda provided single-target support, while Ye Feng's support was area-based.

"Master, what type of soul beast do you think I should choose for my second martial soul?" Ye Feng asked with concern.

"Control System!" Sword Saint Chen Xin answered.

"Can that really work?" Ye Feng asked skeptically.

"Of course it can. Support can be divided into three directions. First, enhancement-type support, which strengthens allies to achieve the purpose of support. Second, weakening-type support, which weakens opponents to achieve the purpose of support. As for the third, it is control-type support. Controlling the opponent achieves the purpose of assisting allies in attacking enemies. No matter which kind it is, all are meant to assist allies in attacking enemies," Sword Saint Chen Xin answered.

"But... aren't soul masters divided into the Support System and the Control System?" Ye Feng questioned.

"Believing everything in books is worse than having no books at all. The Support System and Control System inherently overlap. They cannot be viewed as simply distinct. Besides, you possess the Power Attack System martial soul, the Xuanyuan Sword. If you can control your opponent, how would that be any different from cutting down a straw dummy?" Sword Saint Chen Xin patiently answered Ye Feng's question. He had already decided to cultivate Ye Feng into a soul master with unprecedented individual combat development.

Soul Hunting Forest was vast and contained many soul beasts. However, there were very few soul beasts worthy of Sword Saint Chen Xin's notice. Along the way, Ye Feng and Chen Xin encountered several Control System soul beasts with suitable cultivation ages, but none met Chen Xin's requirements.

"Hmm?"

Chen Xin murmured.

"What is it, Master?" Ye Feng asked.

Out of curiosity, Ye Feng activated his third martial soul, the Eye of Hell. His vision immediately improved greatly. Looking in Sword Saint Chen Xin's direction, he saw a massive snow-white eagle flying toward them.

The giant eagle weaved through the forest. The Soul Power around it was yellow, indicating a hundred-year cultivation age. Its feathers were as beautiful as ice crystals, and as it flew, it left behind a long trail of snowflakes.

"Snow Eagle."

Sword Saint Chen Xin blurted out as he examined the giant eagle, then said happily, "You have your second soul ring."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sword Saint Chen Xin flew on his sword. As a Titled Douluo, he utterly outpaced the Snow Eagle. It was another battle without suspense. Before long, Sword Saint Chen Xin defeated the Snow Eagle, grabbed it by the wings, and threw it at Ye Feng's feet.

"Legend says that Snow Eagles possess a trace of Ice Phoenix bloodline. This Snow Eagle has a cultivation age of seven hundred years, making it perfect for your second soul ring," Sword Saint Chen Xin instructed.

"Master, but it's an ice-attribute soul beast!" Ye Feng reminded him.

"It is indeed an ice-attribute soul beast. However, your Nine Heart Profound Tang martial soul is a mutated martial soul. Like Feng Zhi, your Soul Power is without attributes. The greatest advantage of attribute-less Soul Power is that it does not reject soul rings of any attribute. Therefore, you can completely absorb the soul ring of an ice-attribute soul beast." Sword Saint Chen Xin explained, recounting relevant records he had read in an ancient book.

"Oh." Ye Feng nodded, having learned something.

"Begin absorbing its soul ring. I will protect you," Sword Saint Chen Xin urged.

"Alright, Master." Ye Feng nodded.

Ye Feng took out a dagger from his Storage Soul Guidance Device. He crouched down and was just about to end the Snow Eagle's life when a somewhat hoarse shout came from ahead.

"Stop!"