Clear Heart Sausage, Martial Soul Mutation

Oscar shuddered, his gaze suddenly clearing as a fine layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

He saw the blade suspended in mid-air, the unconscious Clear-Heart Fox on the ground, and the solemn face of Zhao Wuji alongside the calm, watchful gaze of Xiao Qing.

A flash of realization surged in his heart: soul beasts were, after all, soul beasts, and obtaining soul rings was the inevitable path for a soul master's advancement.

Compassion was fine, but hesitation and weakness could mean death in the world of soul masters.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to stop looking at the Clear-Heart Fox's beautiful fur and fragile appearance.

All distracting thoughts were forcibly suppressed, leaving only one clear realization: I need this soul ring.

Then, he gritted his teeth, his arm holding the short blade stopped trembling, and he thrust it downward with a sudden, sharp motion.

The unconscious Clear-Heart Fox's body twitched violently, letting out a short, barely audible whimper before it completely lost all signs of life.

A bright yellow soul ring slowly emerged from its corpse.

Oscar released his grip on the blade, stumbled back to sit on the ground, and panted slightly.

Suddenly, he felt a chill on his cheek; he reached up and touched a dampness with his fingertips.

Looking at the moisture on his fingers, Oscar couldn't help but freeze.

Why was he crying? Was it the lingering aura of the Clear-Heart Fox, or his own deep-seated reluctance? Perhaps it was both?

Oscar couldn't figure it out, and he didn't want to dwell on it any further.

Perhaps influenced by his tears, Oscar didn't immediately absorb the yellow soul ring; instead, he walked to the side and began digging into the soil with his short blade.

Oscar's digging was slow, but very earnest.

Zhao Wuji didn't say much, standing to the side with his arms crossed, watching without urging him on.

Seeing this, Xiao Qing decisively kept his mouth shut, silently observing Oscar.

Soon, a shallow pit was dug.

Oscar gently placed the still-warm, soft body of the Clear-Heart Fox into the pit, pushed the soil back, and buried it.

Finally, he placed a few pebbles from the nearby stream on top as a simple marker, serving as a tombstone for the Clear-Heart Fox.

Only after finishing all this did he sit cross-legged where the fox's body had originally been, his gaze becoming firm and calm, devoid of his previous hesitation.

He reached out, guided by his soul power, and the bright yellow soul ring drifted over, settling around his body.

The absorption process went more smoothly than expected.

Perhaps because Oscar had buried its body with his own hands, the lingering resentment of the Clear-Heart Fox within the soul ring was reduced, making the fusion of Oscar's soul power exceptionally stable.

The yellow light gradually merged into Oscar's body, his aura rising steadily as the bottleneck that had trapped him crumbled, finally stabilizing at a new level.

When Oscar opened his eyes again, a sharp glint flashed through them; his Soul Power Level had clearly reached level twenty-one.

"How is it? What is the effect of the soul skill? Is it different from what we expected?"

Zhao Wuji asked impatiently, as this concerned Oscar's future development and would verify whether the strategy Xiao Qing had proposed was correct.

If Xiao Qing's theory was right, then both he and Oscar were destined to be recorded in history, and a new chapter in the history of soul masters would be opened.

Oscar didn't answer immediately; he seemed to be savoring and confirming something.

Zhao Wuji waited for quite a while before he saw Oscar raise his right hand and whisper, "Clear-Heart Sausage."

A special sausage, moon-white in color and emitting a refreshing, mind-calming fragrance, appeared in his hand.

Looking closely, one could even see a faint layer of purple light flowing across the surface of the sausage.

Zhao Wuji was stunned, a look of obvious astonishment appearing on his face for the first time. His attention wasn't on the Clear-Heart Sausage in Oscar's hand, but on the soul incantation Oscar had used.

For a moment, Zhao Wuji even doubted he had heard correctly, so he quickly grabbed Oscar's shoulder and asked urgently, "What did you just chant? Say it again!"

Looking at the agitated Zhao Wuji, Oscar could barely hold back the smile at the corner of his mouth, but in order to keep up the act, he forced himself to look at Zhao Wuji with a feigned expression of confusion.

"Teacher Zhao, what's wrong? Wasn't I just chanting my soul incantation normally?"

"No, your soul incantation isn't 'I have a—'"

Just as Zhao Wuji was about to blurt out Oscar's previous incantation, he saw Xiao Qing struggling to hold back his laughter and realized in an instant that this kid was playing a trick on him. He laughed and scolded:

"You brat, you dare to scheme against me and try to make a fool of me! Alright, tell your teacher how your incantation changed!"

Soul incantations, especially specific ones like Oscar's, were part of the expression and rules of a martial soul and rarely changed.

This was the first time Zhao Wuji had encountered such a situation.

It seemed the Clear-Heart Fox soul ring hadn't just granted a soul skill; it had also changed Oscar's martial soul at a deeper level, causing it to mutate.

Seeing that Zhao Wuji had seen through his plan, Oscar could only shrug helplessly; he had actually wanted to hear Zhao Wuji say that incantation!

Immediately after, Oscar explained to Xiao Qing and Zhao Wuji why his incantation had changed.

"You're saying that the Clear-Heart Fox, out of gratitude for you burying its body, burned its residual soul to change your martial soul?! Are you kidding me? Even the storytellers at the teahouse couldn't come up with something like this!"

Zhao Wuji felt that the common knowledge about soul masters he had built up over so many years had been challenged several times in just these few days!

"Teacher Zhao, as a spirit-type soul beast capable of pacifying an enemy's hostility, it's not strange for the Clear-Heart Fox to have such a peculiar ability."

Xiao Qing also offered his own perspective at this moment; there was very little information on spirit-type soul beasts in his notes, and what little was recorded had been heard by his father from others.

Zhao Wuji, who had just been about to speak, realized his emotions were slipping out of control and hurriedly changed the subject, turning his attention back to the "Clear Heart Sausage."

"Oscar, what are the effects of your Clear Heart Sausage? How long does it last, and what is the consumption?"

Oscar organized the information fed back from his Martial Soul and replied:

"Taken daily, it can calm the mind, dispel distracting thoughts, and improve focus. Taken during battle, it can significantly increase resistance against spirit-type soul skill attacks."

"Depending on the user's mental strength, the effect lasts for about half an hour to an hour. The consumption of my soul power is slightly higher than that of producing a Recovery Big Sausage."

After listening, a smile slowly spread across Zhao Wuji's face. He patted Oscar's shoulder with such force that Oscar staggered.

"Good! Very good! The effect is completely in line with expectations, perhaps even better! A change in the soul incantation is a good thing; it will be more convenient to use in the future, and also more... well, more decent."

He clearly had some grievances regarding Oscar's original soul incantations. After handing the Clear Heart Sausage back to Oscar, he turned to Xiao Qing, who had been observing in silence, the look of appreciation in his eyes growing even stronger.

"Your line of reasoning was correct."

Xiao Qing nodded slightly, offering a standard smile. He did not feel particularly excited by Zhao Wuji's praise, as he had originally pushed Oscar to attempt this for the sake of his own cultivation.

Xiao Qing's gaze shifted away from the Clear Heart Sausage in Oscar's hand and toward the deeper parts of the forest.

With Oscar's soul ring acquisition successfully completed, it was time to search for the final material needed for Xiao Feng's bloodline evolution.

He spoke calmly: "Teacher Zhao, where shall we go to find the wolf pack next?"

The smile on Zhao Wuji's face faded, replaced by his usual sternness. He glanced toward the depths of the forest and said:

"Rest for a quarter of an hour first, let Oscar take the time to adapt to his new soul skill, and then we set off to pay a visit to the wolf pack of the Sunset Forest."