First Soul Skill, Accelerate

Yu Mingfei dug faster and faster.

Directly beneath the Hundred-Year Xun Wu Leader, Yu Mingfei sat cross-legged inside a narrow, cramped burrow.

Drawn by an unseen force, the yellow soul ring sank straight down from the Xun Wu Leader's corpse into the earth, settling onto Yu Mingfei's body.

At once, a surge of soul power flooded into his body, charging wildly in every direction, as untamable as a Xun Crow.

Yu Mingfei calmed his mind and focused. The three great Meditation Methods—[Earth], [Flowing Water], and [Whirlpool]—operated together. Guided by his Mental Power, he gradually subdued this foreign soul power until it was completely his own.

Blue radiance surged from his right leg and circulated through his entire body.

A barrier somewhere within him broke open, and Yu Mingfei opened his eyes.

'My soul power has broken through! As expected, it's more than level eleven!

'Just as I thought, I hadn't fully absorbed the energy of the Hundred Thousand Year Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone. Only a small portion of its life force had been used to make up for the flaws in my Mutated Martial Soul; far more energy still lay hidden within my body.

'Once I obtained a soul ring and broke through the restriction, some of that latent energy was drawn out.

'I can feel that my Soul Power Level isn't far from the next barrier—level twenty.'

Yu Mingfei suddenly let out a long breath.

Only now had he truly confirmed that the flaw in his Martial Soul had been repaired.

His path as a Soul Master had continued.

For ordinary Soul Masters, level thirty was the first real hurdle in cultivation.

Yu Xiaogang, for instance, had been stuck at level twenty-nine because of his Martial Soul Mutation and innate deficiency.

Yu Mingfei had it even worse. His first hurdle had been level nine.

Within the dark cave, the yellow soul ring revolved around Yu Mingfei, its faint light illuminating the flames in his eyes.

'That Xun Crow was roughly four hundred years old. The first soul skill it gave me is [Acceleration].

'Its effect is to accelerate my movements for the span of a single breath.

'Exactly how much faster it makes me will require testing.

'This is the weakness of ordinary Soul Masters. Those Soul Masters from established clans have optimal templates for their soul rings and soul skills, and the effects of those skills have long been figured out by their elders.

'Commoner Soul Masters and Mutated Martial Souls have to explore everything on their own.'

Yu Mingfei's feelings were complicated at this moment, caught between joy and sorrow.

He was naturally delighted that his path as a Soul Master could continue.

Yet the quality of his Dragon Clan Martial Soul was abysmal. After possessing him, it did not even display the characteristics of a beast Martial Soul.

The only change came from the slight physical enhancement brought by the flow of Dragon Blood after possession.

As for the two traits that made the Thunder Tyrant Dragon famous—lightning and annihilation—he had inherited neither.

Normally, after a Soul Master absorbed a soul ring, the resulting soul skill would naturally change according to the type of Martial Soul.

The stronger the Martial Soul, the less likely its soul skill was to mutate.

That was why the soul skill configurations of children from Soul Master clans were largely similar.

But Yu Mingfei's first soul skill had none of the Dragon Clan's characteristics.

It was practically the Xun Crow's trait in its original form.

'No matter. I possess World-shattering Wisdom! It's just a Dragon Race Trash Martial Soul. I only need to find some heavenly treasures and let it keep mutating!

'Since my Martial Soul is trash, then I'll carry my Martial Soul to greatness!'

He gathered his thoughts and walked out of the cave.

Stretching lazily, he forcefully loosened his body.

The wounds all over his body had already begun to scab over, and waves of numb itching spread through him.

Threads of life force flowed from the soul bone in his right leg. While accelerating the healing of his wounds, they further merged their energy into Yu Mingfei's body.

Pushing his soul power toward the next barrier.

Yu Mingfei wore an expression of comfort, thoroughly enjoying the sensation.

'A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone truly lives up to its reputation!'

The smile on his face grew increasingly unrestrained.

'The more injured I am, the more it stimulates the soul bone's energy, accelerating my cultivation while healing my wounds.

'So what if I'm six years behind? I'll catch up soon enough!'

On the ground, the Xun Crow's corpse had been split in two, while the Gray Shadow Fox lay in a pool of blood, seemingly still clinging to its last breath.

Its injuries were mainly on its cheek and throat, so this Soul Beast that had been caught up in the fight had fortunately managed to keep its life.

Yu Mingfei looked at the Xun Crow's corpse with distaste, his smile fading as he silently moved away.

He disliked birds.

Whether before or after transmigrating, he had never been able to like the physical features of birds.

It looked fine from afar, but up close, it gave off an intense sense of discomfort.

After securing the vine basket on his back, he bent down and picked up the Gray Shadow Fox.

The [Wildfire Cannot Burn It All, Spring Breeze Brings It Back to Life] Soul Skill activated, and he infused a small amount of life force into the Gray Shadow Fox.

In less than a few breaths, the slit on its cheek showed signs of healing.

Lucky you.

Yu Mingfei casually tossed the Gray Shadow Fox into the pit and turned to leave.

My Soul Power has already broken through. Time to keep cultivating!

Perhaps I can use the power of Soul Beasts to aid my cultivation?

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, Yu Mingfei settled down in an area inhabited by a mix of small Soul Beasts.

He made full use of his burrowing ability and dug several underground shelters throughout the area.

During the day, he went out to find Soul Beasts to fight; at night, he returned to the shelters to explore the limits of the [Invention System].

Fortunately, there were no powerful Soul Beasts in this area, so Yu Mingfei lived quite comfortably.

He had always been a man of action.

Recently, his idea of using Soul Beasts to assist his cultivation had made a new breakthrough.

Inside Underground Shelter No. 3, the sounds of beating wings and impacts rang out without pause.

With the cave entrance covered by a vine net, the underground shelter was dimly lit. Yu Mingfei darted and shifted back and forth, fighting a Century-year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake.

The serpent's body, over three meters long, hovered in midair. With a beat of its wings, it lunged forward at high speed.

Yu Mingfei widened his eyes and focused completely, tracking its figure through the darkness.

The yellow Soul Ring around him flickered. Following the rhythm of Yu Mingfei's breathing, his first Soul Skill had already been unleashed.

First Soul Skill, Accelerate!

Within a breath, afterimages flashed across the cave as Yu Mingfei passed the Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake.

The man and snake exchanged attacks and defenses at astonishing speed.

After several exchanges, the Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake suddenly doubled back in midair and opened its jaws wide.

Just then, the Soul Skill's effect ended. Unable to evade in time, Yu Mingfei could only raise his arm and wedge it between the snake's jaws.

Its sharp teeth sank into his flesh, and blood flowed freely.

No. My first Soul Skill must be activated in tandem with my breathing. Forcing myself to lengthen each inhale and exhale is instead hindering the skill's release. I need to find a more suitable Soul Power circulation route.

Once he regained his footing, Yu Mingfei immediately exerted force and violently flung away the snake's body hanging from his arm and about to coil around him.

Another round of offense and defense began.

Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snakes were relatively rare Soul Beasts. They had wings on their backs and were incredibly fast.

However, like some of their ground-dwelling kin, their primary method of attack was to suffocate opponents through constriction.

Knowing this, Yu Mingfei had deliberately kept his guard up and had never fallen for it.

As a result, this Century-year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake could only change its approach. While flying at high speed, it first attacked with its fangs and wings.

Only after its sharp teeth bit into its opponent would it begin to constrict.

And that was precisely what Yu Mingfei wanted.

He used the Century-year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake's speed to train his reaction speed.

The sharp fangs inflicted wounds on his body, which could trigger his Soul Bone's Soul Skill. He could then use the leaking Soul Bone energy to accelerate his Soul Power cultivation.

For now, there was no better sparring partner than the snake before him.

It was just a pity that this level of stimulation was not enough to trigger Yu Mingfei's World-shattering Wisdom and invent something new.

Inside the underground shelter, both man and snake were wholly immersed in their battle.

Then, with a bang, the cave entrance erupted.

The vine net shook violently as a Soul Beast crashed straight into it.

The multilayered woven vine net was highly resilient. Its momentum halted, the Soul Beast fell to the ground.

Yu Mingfei pressed both hands against the snake head lunging at him, spreading his arms apart as he let the snake's body coil around him.

After restraining the Century-year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake, he immediately turned to look toward the entrance.

On the other side of the vine net, the Soul Beast had already gotten back up. Before Yu Mingfei could see it clearly, it flapped its wings and swiftly flew away.

You again! Tsk, the devotion between Soul Beasts really is touching.

Yu Mingfei looked at the Century-year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake in his hands, which had stopped struggling, and the corner of his mouth curled up.

This was not the first time this had happened. The Soul Beast that had just rammed into the vine net was another Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake.

But that one was a Thousand-Year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake.

It was also the mate of the one in Yu Mingfei's hands.

A few days ago, he had encountered the two snakes on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. On a whim, he captured this Century-year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake while the pair was separated, intending to aid his cultivation.

Who would have thought that the Thousand-Year one would come looking for him the very next day?

Yu Mingfei had no choice but to reinforce the vine net and spread medicinal powder over it, guarding against a surprise attack from the Thousand-Year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake.

'That's enough for the first half. I'll rest for a while before continuing.'

His cultivation routine had been interrupted by an uninvited guest, but Yu Mingfei was not annoyed.

The hands gripping the snake's head suddenly moved, his fingernails repeatedly picking at a gap between the scales on its head.

Before long, the Century-year Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake in his hands actually calmed down, and its body slowly unwound from Yu Mingfei's arm.

Even after Yu Mingfei released it, the Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake did not attack again. It hovered quietly in midair.

Yu Mingfei took out a small cloth pouch from the vine basket by the wall. After opening it, he dabbed a little medicinal powder with his fingertips.

The Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snake slowly flew over. Its slender forked tongue flicked twice, then it folded its wings and landed quietly, exposing its back to Yu Mingfei.

Seeing this, Yu Mingfei smiled for no apparent reason.

'Looks like it worked? This Snake Taming Technique isn't all that difficult.'

Just then, the sound of drums rang in his ears.

[The two Phoenix-tailed Cockscomb Snakes had originally been a loving pair. Clever you used herbs and special techniques to make it develop dependence. Congratulations, you have invented the Cow-Snake Technique!]

Yu Mingfei: '?'