This was the first Level 4 Soul Tool Feng Piaoling had made himself.
The Thunder Tribulation Sword not only had excellent offensive power, but could also convert its wielder's Soul Power into lightning attacks. Its scabbard even provided a measure of defense: by simply channeling Soul Power into it, the wielder could activate a barrier of lightning that could block nearly every attack from anyone below Soul Ancestor rank.
It could even hold off a Soul Ancestor for ten seconds, a Soul King for three, and a Soul Emperor for one.
It was certainly a rare Soul Tool that combined offense and defense.
Seeing that they were finally about to reach their destination, Huo Yuhao felt excited, but also a little nervous. He took out the White Tiger Dagger his mother had left him and, imitating Feng Piaoling, tucked it into his belt.
Feng Piaoling glanced at the exquisite dagger, which gleamed with a chill, and nearly burst out laughing despite his usual stoic expression.
White Tiger Dagger? Whoever had come up with that name was a real genius. What on earth had his mother been thinking?
The boundless Star Dou Great Forest had extremely complicated terrain. It contained forests, swamps, barren hills and wilds, as well as countless waterways.
Feng Piaoling didn't walk ahead. Instead, after furrowing his brow slightly, he placed Huo Yuhao in front of him, supposedly to give him some training.
He assured Huo Yuhao that he would step in if they encountered danger.
With Huo Yuhao—the Child of Destiny—leading the way, it didn't take long for them to come across the same Ten-Year Wind Baboon from the original story.
And this was precisely the Spirit Ring Feng Piaoling had chosen for Huo Yuhao.
As they walked, a strange sensation suddenly appeared in Huo Yuhao's mind. His eyes stung slightly, and he instinctively channeled his Soul Power into his Spirit Eye Martial Soul.
A faint current of air circled his eyes. Huo Yuhao seemed to catch a shadow flickering past on the left side of the road ahead.
"Big Brother Feng, watch out..." Huo Yuhao threw himself to the left, instinctively remembering to warn Feng Piaoling as he did.
Feng Piaoling's perception was astonishingly sharp. Besides, he had activated his Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye from the start to keep watch over their surroundings.
In his eyes, the shadow moved as if in slow motion.
Before Huo Yuhao could finish speaking, the Thunder Tribulation Sword at Feng Piaoling's waist was already out of its sheath.
Crackle!
Feng Piaoling darted forward. With a flick of his wrist, the Thunder Tribulation Sword, wreathed in blue lightning, swept out in a dazzling arc. It was an astonishing display—the first move of Feng Piaoling's own basic sword style.
This sword style was called the Nine Gale Swords.
He had developed it from the Feng family sword style his father had taught him.
According to his father, their ancestors had once been a powerful Soul Master clan called the Wind Sword Sect, with numerous Soul Douluo and Soul Saint experts guarding it. But a calamity had befallen them ten thousand years ago, and the clan had been wiped out.
The surviving clan members were hunted by the great powers of Douluo Continent. With nowhere else to go, they migrated to the Sun Moon Empire after Douluo Continent collided with Sun Moon Continent more than four thousand years ago and the war ended.
Later, the Martial Soul mutated in one generation of the family, giving rise to the Green Lotus Sword Martial Soul they had today.
As the name suggested, the Nine Gale Swords had nine moves. The first six had no special names, while the last three were called "Penetrating," "Wind Leaves No Trace," and "Wind Flower Snow Moon."
By Feng Piaoling's estimation, the final move had practically reached the level of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill. It was undoubtedly the strongest Self-Created Soul Skill he currently possessed.
The shadow hadn't expected Feng Piaoling to strike so quickly. It had barely pounced when both its legs were severed at the roots. It and Huo Yuhao crashed to the ground, one after the other, as blood splattered across the grass and trees.
Still shaken, Huo Yuhao rolled over—and saw a brownish-yellow baboon, its legs gone, lying beside him.
The baboon still refused to give up. White light gathered in its mouth as it tried to attack Huo Yuhao, making him nearly jump out of his skin. Fortunately, it was a false alarm: before the light could form a sphere, it dissipated. The Wind Baboon struggled a few more times, but its injuries were too severe. With a mournful cry, it collapsed and lay still.
Feng Piaoling put on a regretful expression. "It's an extremely rare Wind Baboon, but what a pity it's only ten years old. Otherwise, it would've made a pretty good First Soul Ring for you."
"Can it really be my Soul Ring?" Huo Yuhao was still a novice who had only just set out. He wanted nothing more than to become a Soul Master and fulfill his mother's dying wish; he had no real understanding of what it meant for his First Soul Ring to be ten years old.
When he heard Feng Piaoling, his fear vanished. He sprang excitedly to his feet, trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing that Huo Yuhao was tempted by the Ten-Year Wind Baboon's Spirit Ring, Feng Piaoling was delighted inside, but his face remained impassive. "Of course. It's just that this Wind Baboon's age..."
"That's all right. On my own, I might not even be able to hunt down a Ten-Year Spirit Ring. I'm willing to absorb this one."
Huo Yuhao shook his head. His mother had told him that people away from home should help one another. So far, Big Brother Feng had already helped him a great deal. He couldn't be greedy and ask for more.
Feng Piaoling figured that the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm must already be nearby, so he stopped dragging things out. With a long sigh, he "reluctantly" agreed:
"W-well, all right. Since you insist, I won't try to talk you out of it. I severed both the Wind Baboon's legs, and it's lost too much blood. It won't live much longer. Hurry and kill it, then absorb its Spirit Ring. Just put your dagger through its eye."
"Thank you, Big Brother Feng."
At those words, Huo Yuhao eagerly drew the White Tiger Dagger from his belt and plunged it into the Wind Baboon's eye.
As the Wind Baboon died, a faint white light gathered above its corpse, forming a white Spirit Ring.
"I'll stand guard while you absorb it. Hurry, or the Spirit Ring will dissipate on its own in half an hour," Feng Piaoling urged him in an unhurried tone.
Huo Yuhao followed his instructions and sat cross-legged. Guided by his Spirit Eye Martial Soul, he began absorbing the Ten-Year Wind Baboon Spirit Ring.
Only then did Feng Piaoling feel at ease. Red light flickered in his eyes as he pushed his Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye to its limit and released all his mental power, trying to draw the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's attention.
At the same time, a yellow and a purple Spirit Ring abruptly rose from beneath his feet. His First Soul Ring shone steadily, and more than a dozen orange-yellow Talismans marked with the character for "explosion" appeared in his left palm.
This was his First Soul Skill, the Fire Bomb Talisman, obtained by hunting a seven-hundred-year-old Single-Horned Fire Tyrant Dragon.
The Fire Bomb Talisman could be stored for twenty-four hours and used by Feng Piaoling himself or given to someone else.
It was an instant Soul Skill. It could launch explosive fireballs powerful enough to melt gold and iron, making it quite a formidable attack. More importantly, because Feng Piaoling had cultivated the Green Lotus Sword Art, his Soul Power was far greater than that of others at the same rank. He could summon dozens of Fire Bomb Talismans at once and carpet the area with explosions, unleashing astonishing power.
After summoning the Fire Bomb Talismans, Feng Piaoling put away this Martial Soul. Green light surged in his right hand, and he released another weapon: a green sword about four feet long, its hilt shaped like a lotus.
This was his Second Martial Soul, the Green Lotus Sword—a high-grade weapon-type Martial Soul that came very close to being a top-tier one.
Only after doing all this did Feng Piaoling stand guard in front of Huo Yuhao, looking alert, as if he were protecting him while he absorbed the Spirit Ring.
Before you continue