First Soul Skill

Faced with Cheng Yao, a Soul King, the Crimson Fang Tiger had completely lost any desire to fight. All it wanted now was to escape. The human before it was not someone it could handle, and it had also been injured in the earlier battle.

If it did not want to become a Soul Ring, it had to leave this place quickly.

If Cheng Yao had not been worried that striking too hard might kill the Crimson Fang Tiger, he would never have allowed it to live until now.

After several exchanges, the Crimson Fang Tiger was already severely wounded and unable to resist. Blood gushed from the wounds on its body, staining the surrounding ground red.

It wanted to kill itself, but Cheng Yao suppressed it with Soul Power.

"Kill it while you can," Cheng Yao hurriedly reminded Huangfu Ji.

Drawing a short blade, Huangfu Ji approached the Crimson Fang Tiger and thrust it into its eye.

After struggling for a while, the Crimson Fang Tiger went still. A yellow Soul Ring condensed above its corpse.

"Absorb it quickly. The Soul Ring will disappear after an hour," Cheng Yao said.

Without any hesitation, Huangfu Ji sat cross-legged and began absorbing the Soul Ring. The phantom of the Sacred Martial War Dragon appeared behind him. This was Cheng Yao's first time seeing Huangfu Ji's Martial Soul.

"As expected, it's a Mutated Martial Soul."

Looking at that imposing, domineering Martial Soul, Cheng Yao was deeply shocked. He had never expected the Huangfu Family's War Dragon Martial Soul to mutate to such an extent. It was simply outrageous.

No wonder Huangfu Ji possessed Innate Full Soul Power.

The yellow Soul Ring rose above his head. In an instant, Huangfu Ji felt tremendous pressure, as though a massive boulder weighing a thousand pounds were pressing down on him, leaving him unable to breathe.

"This is really uncomfortable."

Huangfu Ji's features nearly twisted in pain. Fortunately, his physique had strengthened after awakening his Martial Soul, so he could still endure it.

The energy of the Soul Ring crashed through the meridians and internal organs throughout his body. The sensation was agonizing, but he had to remain conscious. Otherwise, if the absorption failed, all his efforts would be wasted.

His entire body was scorching hot at this moment, and even Cheng Yao could not help frowning when he saw it.

"Absorbing a four-hundred-year Soul Ring is still a little too much."

He had never seen a Soul Master whose First Soul Ring was four hundred years old, so he did not know what the limit for a First Soul Ring truly was. But even if they wanted to regret it now, it was already too late. Soul Ring absorption could not be interrupted.

Time passed second by second, and the sky gradually darkened.

Cheng Yao grew increasingly worried.

As the Soul Ring absorption neared its end, Huangfu Ji suddenly felt his entire body relax. The formerly violent power now flowed through him like a gentle stream.

"I did it!" Huangfu Ji abruptly opened his eyes, and a flash of golden light passed through them.

He rose and stretched his body. His bones crackled, but he felt an unprecedented sense of comfort. Looking at his hands, he found that even his skin had improved considerably after absorbing the Soul Ring.

Closing his eyes, he carefully sensed his own condition. After completing the absorption of his First Soul Ring, his Soul Power Level had also broken through.

Not Level 11, but Level 12.

"Looks like these past few months of training weren't wasted."

Huangfu Ji thought to himself. Although he had not absorbed a Soul Ring before, the Soul Power accumulated during his cultivation erupted at this moment, directly raising his Soul Power Level to Level 12.

Moreover, he could feel that as long as he cultivated for a little longer, he would be able to reach Level 13 within a month.

Cheng Yao let out a sigh of relief. Earlier, his heart had been in his throat, terrified that Huangfu Ji would fail to absorb the Soul Ring.

If anything happened to Huangfu Ji, the entire Qingyang Duchy might be finished, and so would he. Not to mention anything else, Yuan Hao would certainly seize the opportunity to make trouble. When that happened, he would undoubtedly die.

After resting for a while, Huangfu Ji sat cross-legged again to stabilize his Soul Power.

Once he rose again, Cheng Yao asked, "How does it feel?"

Huangfu Ji smiled. "There's no problem at all. The power the Crimson Fang Tiger's Soul Ring gave me is far beyond what ordinary hundred-year Soul Beasts can compare to."

His strength had increased severalfold. Combined with the improvement in his Soul Power, he no longer needed to worry about anyone in the Junior Soul Master Academy. He was confident that no student from first to sixth grade could be his match.

"What is your First Soul Skill?" Anticipation flashed through Cheng Yao's eyes. After all, this was the first time he had seen someone whose First Soul Ring was four hundred years old, so naturally, he was curious.

He wanted to see just how powerful a four-hundred-year First Soul Ring's Soul Skill could be.

Huangfu Ji nodded and looked toward a thick tree nearby.

Then he activated his Martial Soul and entered Martial Soul Possession. The muscles across his body bulged, nearly tearing his clothes apart. Golden dragon scales covered the backs of his hands, red light lit up in his eyes, and a yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet and pulsed around him.

The Soul Ring lit up, and golden Soul Power surged into his right arm. Huangfu Ji's red eyes shifted into golden gleams.

He raised his right arm and swung it forcefully. A Golden Light Blade shot forth.

In an instant, the light blade slashed through the tree.

Bang!

The thick tree was severed at its middle and fell straight to the ground.

The light blade did not stop. It continued onward, only dissipating after cutting through several more trees in succession.

Cheng Yao's eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly open. He was utterly shocked.

"Is this really the power a First Soul Skill should have?"

He had never imagined that a Soul Master's First Soul Skill could possess such power, but today, he had witnessed it.

The strike Huangfu Ji unleashed would likely be difficult even for a Soul Grandmaster to withstand. Even a Soul Elder would not dare take it head-on lightly.

After releasing his soul skill, Huangfu Ji's face turned pale, and he looked somewhat weak.

That strike had consumed at least two-thirds of his Soul Power.

"I'll have to be more careful in the future."

It was his first time using it, and he had wanted to see just how powerful his soul skill was. He hadn't expected the Soul Power consumption to be so enormous.

"This is my First Soul Skill, Sacred Martial Slash. It can ignore thirty percent of an opponent's defense. The more Soul Power I use, the stronger the soul skill becomes."

After saying that, he sat cross-legged and began recovering his Soul Power.

Cheng Yao nodded in shock.

"My god."

It was hard to imagine—if the First Soul Skill was already like this, what would the later soul skills be like?

Looking at the six-year-old Huangfu Ji, it was easy to imagine how terrifyingly powerful he would become once he grew up. Would such a grand duke truly be the kind of Grand Duke Qingyang he had imagined—the kind who ruled Qingyang alongside the nobles?

As he watched Huangfu Ji recover his Soul Power, his way of thinking began to change.

"Perhaps this child's future won't be limited to a tiny Duchy."

In his view, someone with Huangfu Ji's talent belonged on the stage of the entire continent. The Duchy was too small.

If he followed him, perhaps he could gain even more.

After recovering his Soul Power, the two left the Soul Beast Forest.

After resting for a night, they took a carriage back to Qingyang City.

By the time they returned to Qingyang City, it was already evening. The moment they entered the city, Yuan Hao's men spotted them and reported it to Yuan Hao.

Yuan Hao, who was handling government affairs, said nothing. He regretted it more and more now. He never should have compromised and allowed Huangfu Ji to leave the Duke's Mansion, but it was already too late for regret.

He had already been released. There was no way he could return.

The Loyalty Faction was protecting him.