First Soul Skill: Tsukuyomi! The Dojutsu Became a Soul Skill?!

Balak Kingdom.

Border Mountains.

Guchui Forest.

This area was considered a Soul Beast protected zone within Spirit Hall's sphere of influence. Simply put, a certain range around the Soul Beast Forest had been isolated to reduce incidents of Soul Beasts leaving the forest and attacking villages or cities.

Taichu and Ma Xiunuo entered Guchui Forest without any trouble.

Towering ancient trees stood lush and dense, as though they were about to pierce the clouds.

The thick undergrowth made it impossible to know what dangers lurked within. Perhaps Soul Beasts were hiding in the shadows, waiting for them to lower their guard before suddenly lunging out and taking their lives.

"In a Soul Beast Forest, the most dangerous things aren't Soul Beasts, but people."

"You can never truly know what lies in someone's heart. You'll never know whether the person you meet is good or evil. They may look friendly on the surface, yet they could stab you in the back. So, in a Soul Beast Forest, remember this: never trust anyone too easily."

Ma Xiunuo calmly shared the experience he had accumulated over the years. It was clear that he was a man with stories to tell.

"I understand, Grandpa Ma!"

Taichu nodded seriously.

Of course, he understood. Human nature was complicated, and people who turned on each other over a little money were everywhere. Not To Mention that dying to Soul Beasts in a Soul Beast Forest was perfectly normal, so murders for wealth were even more common. After all, once it was done, no one could find the culprit, and the matter would ultimately be dropped.

By the time they entered the Soul Beast Forest, half a day had already passed.

"The Phantom Domain Spirit Fox's territory is not far ahead. Let's rest first, recover our condition, and gather our strength."

Ma Xiunuo stopped and spoke.

After hearing that.

Taichu nodded, feeling that it made sense. Hunting Soul Beasts was not like buying groceries or cooking. Even a relatively weak Soul Beast could take a life with one careless mistake, so they naturally had to prepare thoroughly.

He then took out some dried provisions and water from his Soul Tool. After handing some to Ma Xiunuo, the two sat down and ate.

Not long after.

Having rested and recovered, the two set out again and entered the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox's territory.

Very soon.

They saw a Century Lightning Giant Snake bite down on a Ten-Year Gale Wild Wolf. It released astonishing lightning, instantly electrocuting the Gale Wild Wolf until it went numb and lost consciousness. Then, it coiled around the wolf, strangled it to death, and swallowed it whole.

The Law of the Jungle was displayed here in all its brutality.

Naturally, Taichu and Ma Xiunuo went around it.

There was no need to waste their strength here.

Finally.

After searching for some time.

They finally found the target of this trip!

"Purple eyes, and a ring of purple around its tail. The second purple ring only has a little color, which means this Phantom Domain Spirit Fox has reached Thousand Year age, probably around eleven hundred years. Its age is just right for you."

Ma Xiunuo gave his assessment based on his abundant experience.

"Grandpa Ma, let's take this Soul Beast."

Taichu knew very well that finding the Soul Beast best suited to him in a Soul Beast Forest depended on luck no different from winning the lottery. Usually, one could only choose a Soul Beast with a roughly suitable age that also suited oneself.

And for him to encounter one whose age suited him so perfectly was simply an explosion of good luck.

"I'll take it down now."

Ma Xiunuo Summoned Own Martial Soul, the Iron Staff. One white and one yellow Soul Ring slowly emerged.

"When the time comes, seize the chance and kill it with one strike. Understood?"

He gave Taichu a reminder.

Only the killer could Absorb Soul Ring produced by a Soul Beast. If Taichu did not kill this Soul Beast himself, wouldn't the Soul Ring it produced be wasted?

"I understand."

Taichu nodded to show that he understood.

The next moment.

Ma Xiunuo Charged straight out, Slay Towards the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox.

"First Soul Skill—Giant Elephant Strength!"

His first Ten-Year Soul Ring lit up, and Taichu noticed that Ma Xiunuo's arms had grown noticeably thicker.

Then.

"Second Soul Skill—Star-Shattering Strike!"

The second Century Soul Ring lit up Following closely.

Ma Xiunuo rushed before the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox at high speed. His staff carried Thousand Jin Force as it came crashing down.

However.

The Phantom Domain Spirit Fox was extremely agile and swiftly dodged the blow. The ground was smashed into a crater and split apart beneath the staff.

Still.

Although the attack missed, Ma Xiunuo flicked the staff in his hand and sent another strike straight at the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox, forcing it to dodge again. Yet Ma Xiunuo's staff techniques came one after another without pause.

Over several decades, through battle and study, he had long developed a staff technique of his own.

Finally, under his relentless attacks.

Bang—!

The Phantom Domain Spirit Fox was struck.

But this completely enraged the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox. It became incomparably furious, and purple radiance burst from its eyes.

Ma Xiunuo's attack seemed to lose its aim. It veered aside and struck the ground some distance away.

A human-like smile appeared on the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox's face.

"Is this... Genjutsu?"

"Not good!"

Taichu immediately realized this was the Genjutsu cast by the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox. Anyone with insufficient Mental Power could easily fall into its Genjutsu. Even if it only lasted a brief moment, it was still extremely dangerous.

He had not expected Ma Xiunuo to fall into the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox's Genjutsu so easily.

Sure enough.

The Phantom Domain Spirit Fox immediately moved to attack Ma Xiunuo. Even though it was a Mental Type Soul Beast, any Soul Beast with Soul Power—even a mere Ten-Year Soft-Bone Charm Rabbit—still possessed enough strength to kill an adult.

That was the danger of Soul Beasts.

However.

Whoosh—!

Just as it was about to strike, an arrow arrived in time and stopped its movements.

It viciously turned its head to look.

Then.

It saw a pair of scarlet eyes.

Suddenly.

The figure in its vision began to blur.

Before it could even blink.

Whoosh—!

Puchi—!!!

An arrow flew straight in and pierced its head. The Phantom Domain Spirit Fox felt a flash of pain, then the world before its eyes went dark. There was no then after that.

To the side.

"No, uh, this..."

Taichu had taken out his Bow and Arrow and shot to stop it from attacking Ma Xiunuo. The creature had happened to look over, and he had instinctively used the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan. Who would have thought that a Thousand Year Mental Type Soul Beast would instead fall under his Genjutsu? After reacting, he hurriedly fired an arrow and took its life.

"Beast, you—"

Ma Xiunuo, caught in the Genjutsu, roared in fury. But after he had just managed to Break Free from it, he saw the scene before him, and his words Halted Abruptly.

Taichu held a Bow and Arrow, while the Thousand Year Phantom Domain Spirit Fox was already dead. A Soul Ring had even emerged above its corpse.

So...

"This..."

Ma Xiunuo fell silent for a moment, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what exactly had happened.

"It accidentally fell under the Genjutsu released by my Martial Soul. I happened to seize the opportunity and shot it dead with an arrow."

Taichu gave a simple explanation.

Upon hearing that.

Ma Xiunuo found it even more unbelievable.

Ridiculous!

This was fucking ridiculous!

He had fought this Phantom Domain Spirit Fox with all his strength, yet he had not been as effective as Taichu simply using the innate power of that "Mangekyō Sharingan" Martial Soul.

All of a sudden, he felt as though he had grown old.

"Hurry up and Absorb Soul Ring!"

Ma Xiunuo did not dwell on it and instead quickly urged Taichu.

Upon hearing that.

Taichu hurried over.

"Use your Martial Soul to draw this Soul Ring over. Once the Soul Ring settles around you, immediately circulate your Meditation Method and completely refine it. Since the age of the Soul Ring you're absorbing is somewhat too high, the process will be painful. You must endure it."

Ma Xiunuo softly reminded him.

Taichu nodded and sat down cross-legged. At his summons, the Thousand Year Soul Ring condensed by the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox was immediately drawn toward him. In the end, it slowly settled around his body.

The next moment.

He felt the Soul Ring's energy wildly crashing about inside his body.

The pain was somewhat like the pain caused by an IV drip flowing too quickly, except this pain was far worse. Every inch of his meridians throughout his body was enduring it.

His face instantly twisted in agony.

To the side.

Ma Xiunuo watched nervously.

A Thousand Year First Soul Ring!

If he succeeded in absorbing it, it could truly be called a miracle.

It would also be enough to Shock the entire Spirit Master World.

Even when Taichu had first told him that he wanted his First Soul Ring to be a Thousand Year Soul Ring, Ma Xiunuo had thought he was joking. Only after confirming it several times did he realize that this child was serious and had truly prepared for it.

But.

How could a Thousand Year Soul Ring be so easy to absorb?

Watching Taichu absorb this Thousand Year Soul Ring, Ma Xiunuo was equally nervous. He did not want his old friend's grandson to die here while absorbing a Soul Ring, so he prepared himself to interrupt the absorption at any moment.

Yet he also wanted to witness the birth of a miracle.

So he could only watch nervously, silently cheering Taichu on in his heart.

Meanwhile, Taichu, who was absorbing the Soul Ring, could only continue practicing the Meditation Method to completely absorb this Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Fortunately, Taichu could endure this pain.

Time.

Passed like fleeting clouds and changing skies, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

As time passed, Ma Xiunuo clearly saw the agonized expression on Taichu's face gradually relax. This made him Sighed in Relief. It meant that the most difficult stage of absorbing this Thousand Year Soul Ring had passed.

He had basically succeeded seventy or eighty percent. All that remained was to wait a little longer and completely refine the energy within the Soul Ring.

In the blink of an eye.

Another hour passed.

"Phew—!!!"

Taichu let out a long breath.

Then, under Ma Xiunuo's watchful gaze, he slowly opened his eyes.

"I did it!"

Taichu smiled and spoke.

"Hahaha—!"

"A Thousand Year First Soul Ring! Xiao Chu, you actually did it! Do you know that you've made history? You're the first person in history! The entire Spirit Master World will change because of you! Your name will go down in history!"

Ma Xiunuo became so excited that he began rambling incoherently.

Seeing this.

Taichu merely watched quietly as Ma Xiunuo celebrated until he had completely Calm Down.

Not long after.

The immensely excited Ma Xiunuo had also calmed down.

"Xiao Chu, test your Soul Power!"

He took out the Soul Power Crystal Ball. Taichu extended his hand and placed it on top, pouring Soul Power into it. The Soul Power Crystal Ball then began to shine.

"Ten... eighteen levels!!!"

Ma Xiunuo was stunned by the result.

Even after absorbing a four-hundred-year Soul Ring, a Soul Master's Soul Power Level could at most reach level twelve.

Could absorbing a Thousand Year Soul Ring really raise Soul Power by that much?

"Grandpa Ma, this Thousand Year Soul Ring should have only raised my Soul Power by four levels. The other four levels came from the Whale Rubber I consumed and my accumulated daily cultivation."

Taichu knew what Ma Xiunuo was thinking from his expression, but he still explained to prevent any misunderstanding.

"I see. That's good!"

Upon hearing that, Ma Xiunuo also Sighed in Relief. He had thought that absorbing a Thousand Year Soul Ring could directly grant eight levels of Soul Power. If that were really the case, he would truly feel that all his years of cultivation had been spent training for nothing.

"Still, even an increase of four levels is extremely outrageous."

Ma Xiunuo said.

Those four levels alone would take Soul Masters with poor talent anywhere from one or two years to three or four years to cultivate.

"This extraordinary Soul Ring absorption limit has directly saved you at least a year of effort. Perhaps you really will become an extraordinary Titled Douluo in the future."

Ma Xiunuo looked at Taichu and spoke with emotion.

It had only been about half a year since he awakened his Martial Soul, yet his Soul Power Level had already reached Level 18. With Taichu's talent of Innate Full Soul Power, he would likely reach Level 20 in at most another half year. Then, after Absorbing a Soul Ring several thousand years old, he would become a Soul Grandmaster.

A seven-year-old Soul Grandmaster!

It was simply unheard of.

Not To Mention, his First Soul Ring was already a Thousand Year Soul Ring. His Second Soul Ring could likewise be several thousand years old. By then, he would probably leap several more levels and save a great deal of time!

If every Soul Ring absorption went like this, then if he did not become a Titled Douluo in the future, Ma Xiunuo would not believe it even if someone beat him to death.

"What is your Soul Skill?"

Ma Xiunuo asked curiously.

He also wanted to know what kind of Soul Skill Taichu's Eye Martial Soul, which he called the "Mangekyō Sharingan," could produce.

"Since Grandpa Ma wants to see the effects of my Soul Skill, then I'll have to trouble you to be my target."

Taichu smiled as he spoke.

"No problem. Come at me!"

Ma Xiunuo said with a smile.

The next moment.

The Mangekyō Sharingan appeared in Taichu's eyes. A purple Soul Ring emerged around him, and his gaze met Ma Xiunuo's. Then, at that moment, the purple Soul Ring suddenly lit up.

First Soul Skill—Tsukuyomi!!!

In an instant, everything around Ma Xiunuo changed, and he appeared in an unknown space.

"Grandpa Ma, this is my First Soul Skill, Tsukuyomi. It can pull enemies into my Genjutsu space. Everything here is under my control, and the pain enemies suffer here is exactly the same as in the real world."

"The duration depends on my Mental Power and Soul Power consumption. So long as I have enough Soul Power, I can torture an enemy here for even a year. Once the Soul Skill ends, only one second will have passed in the Outside World."

Taichu slowly explained the effects of his Soul Skill.

He had not expected that after Absorbing the Soul Ring, what should have been the Mangekyō Sharingan's Dojutsu would instead become his Soul Skill.