Understanding Origins, New Traits

"The Nine-Heart Begonia only allows for one successor per generation, and only two Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Masters can exist at the same time. If the previous generation does not die, the next generation cannot awaken."

She paused, "At first, Lingling's grandfather had no intention of passing down the Nine-Heart Begonia any further."

"Lingling's mother didn't want her father to die just to pass on the Martial Soul, and Lingling's grandfather eventually agreed to his daughter's request."

She stopped for a moment, her fingers unconsciously tracing lines on the wooden slats of the bench.

"Later, Lingling's mother met someone, fell in love, and became pregnant with her." Dugu Yan's voice was so soft it was as if she were afraid of disturbing something.

"But no one expected that not long after Lingling was born, her mother passed away due to a certain incident."

Wang Xian, sitting on the bench, felt his expression shift slightly.

"Lingling found out about this later, and she also learned about the limitations of the Nine-Heart Begonia." Dugu Yan's voice turned slightly strained.

"She felt that it was her birth that killed her mother; if she hadn't been conceived, her mother wouldn't have died."

Wang Xian did not speak, listening quietly.

"Ever since then, she has become the way she is now." Dugu Yan turned to look at Wang Xian, her eyes slightly red, though she didn't let the tears fall.

"Reclusive, timid, quiet, and she wouldn't even fight back when bullied. She always feels she doesn't deserve to be liked by others."

The evening breeze blew, rustling the leaves of the old locust tree beside the bench.

Wang Xian remained silent for a moment, his gaze falling on the pale green figure ahead.

Ye Lingling was squatting in front of a stall, holding a plastic ring in her hand, squinting as she took aim.

The sunlight shone from behind her, dyeing her hair in a layer of soft gold.

"It's alright." Wang Xian spoke, his tone calm but carrying a reassuring certainty, "She has us now, and we will always be by her side."

Dugu Yan turned to look at him, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just gave a soft "mm" and turned her head back.

At the stall in front, Ye Lingling's hand faltered for a second.

The plastic ring in her hand hung in mid-air, unthrown.

Her body stiffened almost imperceptibly, then she resumed her aiming posture, as if she had heard nothing at all.

But the fingers gripping the plastic ring tightened slightly.

She lowered her head, her eyelashes fluttering, her eyes quietly reddening, but the corners of her mouth curled upward.

The smile was light and faint, shallower than any before, yet more genuine than any of them.

She threw the plastic ring, and it landed steadily on the second doll.

The stall owner smiled and handed her a small brown puppy, which Ye Lingling accepted.

She held the puppy and the little white rabbit in her arms, turned around, and walked toward the bench.

Her eyes were still slightly red, but she wore a smile. When she reached Wang Xian and Dugu Yan, she said softly, "I won."

Dugu Yan stood up, reached out to ruffle her hair, and said with a smile, "I knew you were good."

Ye Lingling didn't pull away; she kept her head down, hugging the two dolls a little tighter.

"Did you have fun?" Wang Xian stood up and said with a faint smile.

Ye Lingling nodded heavily.

"That's good. You can come out and play more often when you have time, but it's getting late now. Let's go have dinner and then head back." Wang Xian smiled.

"My treat this time."

After dinner, Wang Xian dropped off Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling separately. By the time he returned to his dormitory, the sky had turned completely dark.

Wang Xian washed up briefly, lay down on his bed, closed his eyes, and soon drifted off into a deep sleep.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three days, Wang Xian's life returned to its usual rhythm: attending classes, cultivating, and competing in the Soul Fighting Arena—everything went according to plan.

Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling also returned to their own routines, and when the three of them met at the academy, the atmosphere was noticeably more intimate than before.

On the morning of the third day, Wang Xian woke up from his cultivation with a flash of excitement in his eyes, because while he was cultivating, the system's voice had echoed in his mind once again.

All C-Rank Martial Souls had finished training.

He recited silently in his heart, and a translucent light screen unfolded before his eyes.

Martial Soul Cultivation System

Host: Wang Xian

Age: Seven years old

Soul Power: Level 17

Martial Soul Quality: C-Rank (High-Tier Martial Soul)

Martial Soul Cultivation Points: 41,060

Martial Soul Cultivation Chamber: Place a Martial Soul inside to cultivate it by consuming Cultivation Points. (Cultivation count: 0, requires 100,000 Cultivation Points for the next cultivation session.)

Martial Soul Training Camp: Training Martial Soul (None), acquired traits: Poison Ingestion, Ghost Shadow, Bone Spike, Sound Wave, High-Temperature Mucus...

Soul Skill Cultivation: First Soul Skill (Unity Myriad Phenomena) cultivation requires 10,000 Cultivation Points.

Form Cultivation: Weapon Form--Life Scepter (F-Rank), skills: Life Severing, Tiger Sickle. Next cultivation requires 10,000 Cultivation Points.

Armor Form--Life Armor (E-Rank), skills: Thorn Counter-Spike, Life Force. Cultivating, progress...

In the Martial Soul Training Camp section, the progress bars for the five C-Rank Martial Souls were all complete, and five new traits had appeared.

Wang Xian's gaze swept across the lines of prompts, and the descriptions of the five traits appeared on the panel one by one.

Ghost Shadow: After fusion, the Martial Soul leaves behind faint black afterimages when moving and attacking, confusing the opponent's vision and perception.

The afterimages dissipate after half a second, but before they vanish, they appear identical to the original body.

At the same time, the Martial Soul makes very little sound when moving at high speeds, making it difficult to track via hearing.

Wang Xian nodded slightly; this was a typical Agility Attack System trait, suitable for surprise attacks and assassinations.

Although his Evergreen Blue Silver Grass was not known for speed, if he fused this trait, the vines would also leave afterimages when extending and attacking, making it harder for opponents to judge the direction and number of attacks.

However, his fusion slots were limited; although this trait was good, its priority was not the highest.

He continued reading downward: Bone Spike allows sharp, bony spikes to grow instantly from any position on the Blue Silver Grass. The spikes have extremely high hardness and can pierce ordinary metal.

Bone Spikes can be actively detached to serve as long-range throwing weapons, and they regrow within a few seconds after detachment. The interior of the Bone Spike is hollow, making it lightweight and sharp.

Wang Xian thought about it; this trait had average compatibility with his Evergreen Blue Silver Grass.

Because the Evergreen Blue Silver Grass already possessed the ability to transform into various forms, even with this additional trait, there wouldn't be much of a change.

Moreover, something like a bone spike really didn't fit well with Blue Silver Grass.

The third trait was extracted from a bat-type Martial Soul.

After fusion, the Martial Soul can release sound waves at specific frequencies to interfere with the target's hearing and brain, causing the target to hear non-existent sounds or fail to hear real ones.

Sound Wave can be transmitted directionally, affecting only the designated target. Continuous release of sound waves consumes soul power, but the consumption is very low.