"Oh? Invincible?" Upon hearing that, Master became even more interested in Zhang Yang's First Soul Skill.
Although children had limited experience and narrow perspectives, since he dared call it "invincible," this First Soul Skill had to possess something extraordinary.
"First Soul Skill, Elementalization!"
The First Soul Ring beneath Zhang Yang's feet suddenly flashed, and his entire body seemed to flicker with a yellow glow alongside it.
Master was taken aback when he heard the skill's name. "Elementalization? Strange. How could an Iron Horned Bull Soul Beast grant a Soul Master such an unusual ability? Could it be related to Zhang Yang's Mutated Beast Martial Soul?"
However, since he had yet to see the Soul Skill's actual effects, Master did not question him immediately and simply watched Zhang Yang continue his demonstration.
After the yellow light faded, Zhang Yang smiled and held out his hand to Master. "Teacher, please lend me your dagger."
After taking Master's dagger, Zhang Yang gave him a warning in advance. "Teacher, no matter what you see next, please don't be surprised. Everything is under my control."
Master could not help laughing. "Heh, you brat. What great storms haven't I seen? Do you think a mere First Soul Skill could scare me?"
"Then watch closely, Teacher." Zhang Yang wore an amused grin. With a flick of his wrist, he turned the dagger inward and stabbed it straight into his own heart.
Zhang Yang's movement was extremely fierce. The one-foot-two-inch dagger sank entirely into his body, its tip even piercing through his chest and emerging from his back.
"What?" At the sight, Master's heart seemed to skip a beat. He instinctively grabbed Zhang Yang's arm, trying to stop him from driving the dagger in any deeper.
But what use was there in stopping him now? The dagger had already sunk in to the hilt. It could not possibly go any deeper.
With a dagger lodged in his chest, Zhang Yang remained completely calm. He patted Master's hand reassuringly with his other hand and smiled. "Teacher, see? I'm fine, aren't I?"
"This..." Master stared at Zhang Yang, who now looked like some kind of monster, and said in astonishment, "This is your First Soul Skill, Elementalization?"
"Yes, Teacher. Keep watching." Zhang Yang nodded, then pressed down hard with the hand gripping the dagger, dragging it sideways from his chest down to his abdomen, and then...
Master watched speechlessly as Zhang Yang controlled the dagger embedded in his body and drew a figure eight across his torso. No wonder Zhang Yang calls this Soul Skill invincible. Anyone else would probably have died eight hundred times by now.
"Enough, enough. Pull the dagger out already. It's making me dizzy just watching," Master said helplessly.
"Oh." Zhang Yang nodded, pulled out the dagger, and released his Martial Soul Possession.
Seeing Zhang Yang return to normal, Master's expression improved considerably. "It truly is invincible. Then how long can this Soul Skill last?"
At that question, Zhang Yang estimated it himself before answering, "If I don't use my seven Soul Power Martial Skills, it should last at least thirty minutes."
"Thirty minutes?" Master looked utterly disbelieving. "How is that possible? How could a skill this close to invincible possibly last so long?"
"I don't know either, Teacher." Zhang Yang spread his hands casually. "But this Soul Skill really consumes very little. Thirty minutes is only a conservative estimate. Once my Soul Power Level rises, lasting three to five hours won't be a problem."
"This..." Master was somewhat overwhelmed. This skill was simply absurdly powerful.
Then Master suddenly remembered the doubt he had earlier. Such a Soul Skill definitely was not something an Iron Horned Bull Soul Ring could provide. Could Zhang Yang's Mutated Beast Martial Soul be what had truly granted him this skill?
Just what kind of existence was this Mutated Beast Martial Soul?
Master was utterly bewildered.
Since it was his first time absorbing a Soul Ring, Zhang Yang spent three hours on it. Tang San, meanwhile, spent seven hours because he wanted to experience all the benefits brought by the Mysterious Heaven Skill's breakthrough.
He enjoyed his cultivation immensely, but Master, who had been guarding Tang San, remained on edge the entire time.
After all, Tang San had absorbed an Animal Type Soul Beast's Soul Ring with a Plant Type Martial Soul in order to test Master's Martial Soul Mimicry Theory.
Although Master believed his theory was absolutely correct, if anything went wrong, would he not have caused the death of this peerless genius with Twin Martial Souls?
Thus, Master had remained extremely tense.
Only when dawn fully broke and Tang San finished cultivating and opened his eyes did Master finally let out a long breath.
Just as in the original story, Master's theory was proven correct. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul gained the Mandala Snake's toughness and paralyzing venom.
The massive improvement to his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and the successful breakthrough of his Mysterious Heaven Skill had initially thrilled Tang San beyond measure. However, after seeing Zhang Yang demonstrate his Soul Skill, he quickly calmed down again.
Watching the lively Zhang Yang carve the character "Zhang" across his own chest with a dagger, Tang San deeply realized that he was still far too weak and had no right to be proud.
Both of them had obtained Hundred-Year Soul Rings, making this trip to the Soul Hunting Forest a complete success. Having gone the entire night without rest, Master decided to return immediately.
Standing before the gates of Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, Zhang Yang and Tang San were both struck by a feeling as though they had entered another world.
Over these three days, both brothers had gained their First Soul Rings, raised their Soul Power by three levels, and become capable of cultivation. Such changes made their former selves feel strangely unfamiliar.
"Alright, I'll head back to the academy first. You two can go to Spirit Hall in the center of Nuoding City for a Soul Master assessment. First, you can test your current Soul Power. Second, you can formally register with Spirit Hall, after which you can receive a monthly subsidy. Xiao San, you won't need to keep working as a work-study student either."
"Yes, Teacher." Zhang Yang and Tang San nodded in agreement.
When they went to Spirit Hall, Zhang Yang and Tang San nearly got detained by Ma Xiunuo because both had reached Level 13 Soul Power at only six years old.
Even so, Tang San still told Ma Xiunuo that his Plant Type Martial Soul had absorbed an Animal Type Soul Ring.
Walking back to the academy, Zhang Yang tossed the Spirit Hall Badge in his hand, looking dissatisfied. "If it weren't for the monthly subsidy of one Gold Soul Coin, I'd want to tear down that lousy Spirit Hall right now. How many times have I rejected them already? Yet they keep clinging to me like a stubborn plaster."
Tang San smiled. "It can't be helped. You have an Innate Full Soul Power top-tier Mutated Beast Martial Soul. Naturally, they're unwilling to give you up."
"Hmph. Compared to a genius like you, who appears only three times in a hundred years, what does my Mutated Beast Martial Soul even amount to?" Zhang Yang said with a smile.
"You should be glad Spirit Hall didn't investigate further after hearing that your First Soul Ring came from an Iron Horned Bull. If they learned your First Soul Ring was this outrageous, you truly would have been detained."
"Heh. If they learned you had Twin Martial Souls, you wouldn't have gotten away either."
After flattering each other for a while, Tang San suddenly asked Zhang Yang a question. "Zhang Yang, why do you think Father and Teacher won't let me attach a Soul Ring to the hammer?"
"You still don't understand that? So dumb." Zhang Yang raised his eyebrows smugly. "Your Soul Power is Level 13 now. If you attached a First Soul Ring to the hammer, what would the maximum age be?"
"The maximum age a Soul Ring can be absorbed is directly proportional to a Soul Master's physical fitness. At Level 13, it should be a yellow Soul Ring of less than five hundred years."
"Mm." Zhang Yang nodded, then asked Tang San a second question. "What if you were Level 40 when you attached a Soul Ring to the hammer?"
"At Level 40, it should be five thousand years..."
By this point, if Tang San still did not understand, then his brain would truly have been wasted. "Zhang Yang, you mean..."
Seeing Tang San raise his voice, Zhang Yang hurriedly covered his mouth and looked around. Only after confirming that no one was paying attention did he lean close to Tang San's ear and whisper mysteriously, "Uncle Tang and Teacher want to turn you into a monster with nothing but Ten-thousand-year level Soul Rings."
"!!!" Tang San had never imagined that Teacher possessed such ambition or held such expectations for him.
"And..." Tang San's heart suddenly began pounding. Teacher's theoretical achievements regarding Martial Souls are practically invincible, so it isn't strange for him to have such thoughts. But why would father think the same way? He really isn't just an ordinary drunken blacksmith.
Seeing Tang San lost in thought, Zhang Yang leaned closer again and whispered, "Xiao San, your future is limitless. Remember, a small lack of patience can ruin great plans. You absolutely must not secretly attach a Soul Ring to your hammer."
"Mm!" Tang San nodded firmly.
To be honest, Tang San himself was also greatly looking forward to seeing what kind of power a Martial Soul with entirely Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings would possess.
Just as they were about to reach the academy, Tang San suddenly heard a familiar sound. His footsteps halted without his realizing it.
Clang, clang, clang...
"That's the sound of smithing." Tang San suddenly became excited.
Thus, from that day onward, Tang San gained a new part-time job.
Every morning, Tang San would cultivate his Purple Demon Eyes at sunrise as usual, then clean the garden south of the Training Ground. He attended class normally in the morning, worked at the Blacksmith Shop in the afternoon, listened to Master's teachings in the evening, and cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill at night.
Every day, he lived an exceptionally fulfilling life.
Zhang Yang, on the other hand, was far more relaxed than Tang San. At the very least, he still had time to stir up some trouble.
That noon, after class, Zhang Yang was ordering food on the second floor of the cafeteria when he suddenly heard several upperclassmen around eleven or twelve years old chatting happily nearby.
At the center of that little group was an upperclassman called Xiao Laoda. He was tall and upright, and though his face was still childish, he was fairly handsome. Unfortunately, the arrogance on his face ruined the overall impression.
At that moment, Xiao Laoda was boasting grandly under his lackeys' flattery. "Wang Sheng can't even beat Liu Long. What's so impressive about beating him? That ignorant little girl simply needs to be taught a lesson."
"Once I win tomorrow, I'll make every work-study student my pet."
The lackeys beside him knew how to flatter him as well. "Exactly! Boss Xiao is one of the few geniuses among our academy's sixth-year students who has reached the Soul Master realm. He's the boss of all the students in the academy. That little work-study student girl definitely isn't Boss Xiao's match."
"Ha ha ha..."
While they laughed, Zhang Yang was so furious he nearly flipped the table. He crossed the distance in a few strides, grabbed Xiao Laoda by the throat with one hand, and lifted him off the ground as he snarled, "Whose boss did you say you are?"
Xiao Laoda trembled all over from the sudden affectionate lift, but the lackeys beside him reacted quickly. "Who the hell are you, kid? Did you eat bear guts and leopard gall to dare lay hands on Boss Xiao?"
"Me?" Zhang Yang effortlessly held Xiao Laoda aloft with one hand while the other suddenly seized the lackey's collar and yanked him close. His tone seemed almost mocking. "Want to know who I am?"
At that, Zhang Yang turned toward Xiao Laoda, his voice filled with ridicule. "My surname is Zhang, the Zhang of arrogance. From now on, I'm your Boss Zhang."
Xiao Laoda's face was nearly purple from lack of air, yet he still forced out a sentence through clenched teeth. "What kind of skill is a sneak attack? If you've got the guts, let's fight head-on!"
Zhang Yang sneered. "You're about to be strangled to death by me, and you still don't understand the difference in strength between us?"
"Boss Xiao is right. That was a sneak attack. If you've got the guts, fight Boss Xiao fair and square," one of the lackeys protested on Xiao Laoda's behalf.
"Fine. Don't leave after lunch. We'll meet in the Small Forest."
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