First Martial Soul Evolution

"The last Immortal Herb..." Lang Lei took out the Earth Dragon Golden Melon. He could feel his First Martial Soul craving the herb's power.

The Earth Dragon Golden Melon could enhance the user's connection to the earth and had an exceptionally powerful strengthening effect on earth-element Martial Souls.

It was just a pity that neither Lang Lei's First Martial Soul nor his bloodline had anything to do with dragons. Otherwise, it might have been able to purify his bloodline somewhat.

Without much hesitation, Lang Lei consumed the Earth Dragon Golden Melon. Strands of golden light gradually enveloped him.

"So pretty..." Griseo murmured from the bed as she watched him, then fell quiet again.

This time, as he absorbed the Immortal Herb, Lang Lei clearly felt a faint pain in his body. As time passed, the pain only grew more intense.

Lang Lei forcibly held back his cry. His Martial Soul emerged on its own, wrapping around him layer upon layer and leaving only a gap, neither too large nor too small, for him to breathe through.

Since he had yet to obtain a Soul Ring, Lang Lei's level could not rise for the time being. So, he once again chose to channel the excess pure Soul Power in his body into Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment, his Second Martial Soul.

After all, opportunities to gain a massive amount of Soul Power at once were rare, and soul bones were not exactly common either. Although absorbing this Immortal Herb had greatly improved Lang Lei's talent, the Soul Power he cultivated was still... a drop in the bucket for Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment. Besides, he also needed to cultivate in order to raise his level.

Still, this decision was not too bad. At the very least, Lang Lei could clearly sense that the condensation progress of the First Soul Ring for his Second Martial Soul, Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment, had reached one hundred thousand years...

Who knew how much time had passed before the soil encasing Lang Lei peeled away layer by layer, revealing him within.

Countless golden motes circled around Lang Lei. His originally black hair had also turned brown.

Those motes were Lang Lei's current Martial Soul—Earth Dragon Dust.

Lang Lei let out a breath and withdrew his Martial Soul. His brown hair gradually returned to black as well.

"Brother Lang Lei looks even better now..." At that moment, Griseo's ethereal, utterly placid voice rang out.

"Hm? Little Griseo, you're still awake?" Without bothering to inspect his Martial Soul, Lang Lei went to the bedside.

"Brother Lang Lei, I... can't sleep..." Griseo sat up and spoke softly.

"Even Fusion Soldiers need rest, you know~" Lang Lei pulled open the blanket and covered Griseo with it, then patted the pillow to signal for her to lie down.

"Brother Lang Lei is just like Mama Aponia..." Griseo grabbed Lang Lei's hand.

"Haha, is that so?" Lang Lei thought of that broad-minded woman.

"Hold my hand while I sleep." Griseo looked at Lang Lei.

"Alright, Little Griseo is still a child..." Lang Lei smiled, moved a stool to the bedside, and reached out to hold Griseo's hand again.

"Mhm, good night, Brother Lang Lei..." A rare smile appeared on Griseo's face as she closed her eyes.

As Lang Lei watched Griseo, unsure whether she had fallen asleep, a knowing smile gradually appeared on his own face.

"Thank you for appearing in my life, Little Griseo." Lang Lei gently ruffled Griseo's hair.

Only then did Lang Lei turn his attention back to himself.

"Little Griseo said I became better-looking. That should be the effect of the Martial Soul Evolution..." Lang Lei guessed. "I've grown quite a bit taller too..."

Originally, he had been about the same height as Griseo. Now, however, he was visibly much taller than her.

According to the feedback from his Martial Soul, it had evolved from mud into Earth Dragon Dust, bringing him quite a few benefits.

His physical strength was still listed as unknown, but it had undoubtedly improved significantly.

Moreover, Earth Dragon Dust unusually possessed two innate skills. One was a passive skill, while the other was actually a domain-type skill!

The passive skill was fairly good. Its name was Down-to-Earth. As the name implied, whenever Lang Lei stood upon the ground, his Soul Power would be replenished continuously and his fatigue would be eliminated.

It could be said to be an excellent passive sustain ability.

The second was Dust Dragon Domain: within the domain, Lang Lei's own defense increased by 100%, enemies' movement speed was reduced by 36%, and upon activation, it would inflict enemies with a single "Intimidation" effect, sealing all skills of every enemy within the domain for one minute.

The domain's range was not particularly large at present, only about twenty meters in radius, but that was no problem. He was a melee fighter! The domain spread outward from him as its center, so it was more than sufficient. As his level rose, its range would expand too!

Furthermore, what delighted Lang Lei most was not those two percentage-based boosts, but the "Intimidation" effect.

Not Soul Skills! All skills! And for a full minute! It was even applied across an area upon activation!

If he were not holding Little Griseo's hand while she slept, Lang Lei would have wanted to dance on the spot.

Most importantly, Lang Lei's talent had improved considerably. He was no longer the pathetic little weakling with innate level-one Soul Power. At the very least, he could now be considered a genius on the continent, perhaps with innate Soul Power at level eight or nine?

Lang Lei did not know how quickly others cultivated, so this was probably just a random guess on his part. But it did not matter.

In his plans, cultivation was not the best path for increasing his Soul Power. With the help of his Second Martial Soul, Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment, hehe... of course he would eat heavenly treasures~

"Still, to safely absorb Immortal Herbs, I only just left the Star Dou Great Forest..." Lang Lei sighed.

He did not have an Adaptive Soul Ring in hand right now. Although leveling up had earned him three Draw Chances, he did not believe he would be so lucky as to draw whatever he wanted.

Even if he could make a wish when drawing, there were countless things in the prize pool more powerful than an Adaptive Soul Ring. He hoped to draw something even better than one.

Therefore, the only path before him was to reenter Star Dou.

"Ding. The master's intention has been detected. A Companion Mission is now being issued: Soul Ring Acquisition."

Companion Mission: Soul Ring Acquisition

Mission Content: Obtain the Second Soul Ring for First Martial Soul Earth Dragon Dust.

Mission Reward: Draw Chances × ?, soul bone (quality unknown), Custom Anchor Point × 1.

Note: The number of Draw Chances and the soul bone's quality depend on the age of the Soul Ring obtained by the host.

Mission Penalty: None. Does Little Griseo's comfort count?

"Hm? What an unexpected windfall!" Lang Lei was quite pleased. He had intended to obtain a Soul Ring anyway. This way, he could gain even more rewards and increase his combat power further. Why not?~

"But this mission penalty..." Lang Lei looked at the adorably sleeping Little Griseo. "Are you sure that isn't a reward instead...? Why am I a little tempted!"

Aetheria: "..."