Discussion

After Xiao Chen woke up, he recovered at an astonishing speed. In just one hour, his Soul Power and mental strength had recovered by about seventy to eighty percent, and he could move around without trouble.

When Xiao Chen walked out of his room in the hotel suite, Chrysanthemum Douluo had gone somewhere, leaving only Hu Liena and Xie Yue behind.

The two immediately stood and went over to him. Hu Liena spoke first. "Have you recovered?"

"Mm!" Xiao Chen nodded.

As Hu Liena watched him nod, a faint pink glimmer quietly passed through her gaze.

Seizing the instant their eyes met, Hu Liena sent a wisp of mental power toward Xiao Chen's Spiritual Sea, as gently as drifting smoke. She wanted to confirm whether his mental barrier was still as difficult to penetrate as before.

Her probe was so subtle that even Xie Yue, standing beside her, didn't notice. He assumed she was simply looking Xiao Chen over.

Once again, her mental power was blocked.

But this time, the sensation was completely different from what she had felt when Xiao Chen was unconscious.

Earlier, when he had been unconscious, she had tried to wake him with her mental power. Even after bringing all her strength to bear, she had found his Spiritual Sea impregnable and airtight.

Now, however, she felt that if she increased her mental power just a little, Xiao Chen wouldn't be able to resist.

Xiao Chen could tell that Hu Liena was testing him, but he pretended not to notice.

"Xiao Chen, does one of your Spirit Rings grant you a mental-type Soul Skill?" Hu Liena asked curiously.

"Mm. The Second Soul Ring of my Wooden Bow Martial Soul grants a mental-type Soul Skill!" Xiao Chen didn't hide it.

At once, Hu Liena said, "Try it on me."

She wanted to see just how powerful the mental attack of this long-range Attack System Soul Master was.

She had a Spirit Control Martial Soul herself, and after taking a hit from the System earlier, it was only natural that she wanted to test his ability firsthand.

Xie Yue didn't stop her. In his view, no matter how strong Xiao Chen's mental power was, it couldn't threaten a Soul Ancestor with forty-one levels of Soul Power and a Spirit Control Martial Soul.

Besides, he also wanted to ask Xiao Chen how he had managed to move so fast earlier.

"Then be careful!" Xiao Chen reminded her.

"Go ahead!" Hu Liena nodded, indicating that he could attack whenever he was ready.

Xiao Chen didn't hold back. He knew his mental power was indeed a little stronger than that of other Soul Masters at his level, but at most, it could rival that of a Soul Elder at level thirty. He definitely couldn't compare to someone like Hu Liena, a level-forty-one mental-type Soul Ancestor.

"Spiritual Shock!"

Xiao Chen gave a low shout. His gaze sharpened, and a flash of pale gold flickered across his eyes as a force of mental shock burst straight from his pupils.

The invisible mental wave cut through the air like a fierce falcon, striking directly toward Hu Liena's Spiritual Sea.

Hu Liena easily blocked the Spiritual Shock, yet her heart was already in turmoil.

She could clearly sense that Xiao Chen's eye-based Spiritual Shock was powerful enough to rival the strength of a Soul Elder above level thirty.

Xiao Chen was only level twenty-three, three years younger than her, and his Martial Soul was a Tool Martial Soul built for offense. Yet he could unleash a mental attack of this caliber. It was truly astonishing.

"His Soul Skill is already this powerful with a Ten-Year Spirit Ring. If he had a Spirit Ring of at least five hundred years, his mental attack might even threaten me!"

Hu Liena marveled inwardly, then continued with another question. "Xiao Chen, why did you give your Martial Soul a white Spirit Ring? Don't you know that the higher a Spirit Ring's limit, the stronger the Soul Skill it grants?"

"Of course I know." Xiao Chen gave a slight nod. "But I've always believed that a Soul Beast's age isn't the only standard for choosing a Spirit Ring. The best Spirit Ring is the one that suits you best."

Xie Yue clearly disagreed with Xiao Chen's view.

He said bluntly, "But the Spirit Ring Limit affects your cultivation speed. The higher your Soul Power Level, the greater the effect. If your Spirit Rings are too low in age early on, you might even get stuck at a certain level and never make another breakthrough!"

"Exactly. That's common knowledge among cultivators. Don't you know that?" Hu Liena chimed in.

Xiao Chen answered at once. "But I haven't felt my cultivation speed slow down. And my Soul Skills are plenty powerful. They're no weaker than the Soul Skills granted by the Century Spirit Rings of the students at Fabia Academy."

Hu Liena and Xie Yue were momentarily at a loss for words.

They had both seen Xiao Chen use his Soul Skills, so they knew just how powerful they were.

Compared with the students at Fabia Academy, he was clearly on another level. Even the two of them might not be able to match him in the sheer power of their Soul Skills.

In that moment, the cultivation principles they had always held to wavered.

That was exactly the effect Xiao Chen wanted.

Now that he had joined Spirit Hall, Hu Liena and Xie Yue were destined to become his teammates.

So he needed to start changing their ingrained cultivation beliefs early, laying the groundwork for his ultimate mission.

Xiao Chen didn't expect to convince them with just a few words. He only wanted to plant a seed and prepare them for the idea.

That way, when they learned about his ultimate mission in the future, it would be easier for them to accept.

"Xiao Chen, I admit that your Soul Skills are extremely powerful, but that's definitely because you have Twin Martial Souls. When you use a Soul Skill, it's as if you're performing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill by yourself. It has little to do with your Ten-Year Spirit Ring!" Xie Yue said.

"A Martial Soul Fusion Skill?" Xiao Chen feigned surprise. He knew that he had never even attended school, so he shouldn't know what a Martial Soul Fusion Skill was.

Hu Liena and Xie Yue immediately explained it to him.

They had just finished explaining when Chrysanthemum Douluo returned.

Xiao Chen immediately bowed in greeting, but Chrysanthemum Douluo waved a hand to tell him there was no need for such formalities.

"Xiao Chen, under normal circumstances, even if you have Twin Martial Souls, you can't use them both at the same time in battle!" Chrysanthemum Douluo said.

"In my view, you can use two Martial Souls at once because your 'bow' and 'arrow' Martial Souls are so perfectly suited to each other. That's also why you can perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill on your own!"

"Even when you fused four Soul Skills onto a single arrow earlier, that kind of Spirit Skill Fusion had much in common with a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. That's the real reason you're so powerful. Your Ten-Year Spirit Ring has little to do with it!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo looked at Xiao Chen. It was clear that he had heard everything Xiao Chen had just said to "persuade" Xie Yue and Hu Liena.

Xiao Chen knew he might be able to sway Hu Liena and Xie Yue, but Chrysanthemum Douluo was a veteran powerhouse. No matter how much he said, the man would never believe him.

"System, I've suddenly realized there's a serious problem!" Xiao Chen communicated with the System through his thoughts.

The System Spirit gave a sly chuckle. "Host, are you worried that the experts of Spirit Hall will force you to absorb high-limit Spirit Rings?"

"System, why do I get the feeling you're about to trick me again?" Xiao Chen saw the System Spirit smirking and knew the little rascal was up to no good.