Attempting Soul Skills, Discovering Traits

The next morning.

In the training grounds of the Shrek City Inner Court, Yun Jingheng stood alone.

He held the Moonlight Sword in his hand.

The blade was light, so light he could barely feel its weight, yet it felt substantial in his grip, as if he were holding a bundle of solidified moonlight.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Within his sea of consciousness, the little fox was still slumbering, curled up beside the moon with its nine tails wrapped around itself like a furry ball.

Yet, the aura emanating from its body was slowly merging with the power within his own.

His first soul ring rotated slowly beneath his feet, its pale yellow light flickering in and out of existence.

"Crescent Slash."

He whispered the words and swung his sword forward.

A silver-white, arc-shaped lunar blade shot out from the tip of the sword, slicing through the air for thirty meters before striking the humanoid target at the edge of the training ground with precision.

The moonlight exploded, leaving a faint silver mark on the surface of the target.

Yun Jingheng stared at the mark.

It was emitting a faint glow, as if someone had drawn a sign on the target using moonlight.

"What is this...?"

A thought crossed his mind.

In the next instant, his body vanished from where he stood.

It wasn't running, nor was it jumping; it was a blink.

Almost simultaneously, he appeared before the humanoid target, the Moonlight Sword slashing straight down.

"Bang—"

The target shuddered violently, a deep sword mark left upon its surface.

Yun Jingheng landed and looked back at the spot where he had just been standing, then looked at the target before him.

Thirty meters.

Reached in an instant.

He looked down at the sword in his hand, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

Is this pursuit?

He swung his sword again, and another Crescent Slash flew out, striking a second humanoid target.

Blink.

Slash.

He swung his sword again.

Blink again.

Slash again.

After five consecutive strikes, he stopped, breathing slightly heavily.

It wasn't exhaustion; it was excitement.

The feeling was too marvelous; as long as there was a target with a mark within his field of vision, a mere thought would cause his body to arrive there automatically.

It wasn't teleportation, but rather being pulled by the moonlight, as if sliding along an invisible trajectory.

A name suddenly occurred to him: Infinite Moonlight Combo.

He closed his eyes, sensing the changes within his body.

The moon hanging in his sea of consciousness was now emitting a faint radiance.

A power was flowing through his body, thirty percent faster than usual, and his mind was exceptionally clear, as if something had been awakened.

He swung his sword once more.

The Crescent Slash flew out and struck.

Blink, slash.

Swing the sword again, strike again, blink again, slash again.

The eighth time.

The ninth time.

The tenth time.

The moment the tenth Crescent Slash hit its target, he suddenly felt the moon within him tremble slightly.

The moonlight changed.

The originally dim silver light became brighter, curving until the crescent moon looked like a waxing moon.

A frigid aura surged forth from the sword's body.

Yun Jingheng looked down to see a faint, frost-white glow emerging upon the blade of the Moonlight Sword, with tiny ice crystals drifting around the edge as if the moonlight of winter had been solidified upon the steel.

He swung the sword once more.

The Crescent Slash flew out, striking the humanoid target.

This time, he clearly saw a thin layer of frost rapidly congealing across the surface of the target.

"Frost?"

He looked thoughtful.

Another swing.

Another.

And another.

When the fifth strike hit the same humanoid target, the thin layer of frost suddenly thickened, the ice crystals detonated, and the entire target was frozen into an ice sculpture.

One second.

For a full second, that ice sculpture remained motionless.

Then, the ice crystals shattered, and countless fine cracks appeared on the surface of the humanoid target.

Yun Jingheng stood where he was, looking at the shattered target, then back at the sword in his hand.

One second of freezing.

Hard crowd control, impossible to interrupt.

He suddenly recalled those headache-inducing crowd control skills from the games he played in his past life.

But this was reality.

This was his own power.

He took a deep breath and continued to swing his sword.

The fifteenth hit.

The twentieth.

The twenty-fifth.

The moment the twenty-fifth Crescent Slash landed, the moon within his body trembled once more.

This time, the radiance was brilliant.

That crescent moon became completely full, transforming into a perfect orb hanging in his sea of consciousness, emitting a dazzling silver glow.

A massive surge of power poured out from the sword.

Yun Jingheng raised his hand to see the Moonlight Sword shining as brilliantly as a full moon, its sword aura surging three zhang, illuminating the entire target range with its light.

Behind him, the phantom of a full moon slowly emerged.

In that moment, he suddenly had a strange sensation, as if he were not standing in a training ground, but high above the nine heavens, looking down upon the mortal world.

He swung his sword again.

The Crescent Slash flew out.

This time, the moon blade was three times larger than before, its silver-white glow faintly tinged with gold, emitting a low hum as it sliced through the air.

Impact.

The humanoid target exploded instantly.

Not severed, but exploded, as if burst from within by an irresistible force.

Yun Jingheng was stunned.

He looked at the brilliant Moonlight Sword in his hand, then at the pile of shattered wood chips, and remained silent for three seconds.

"...Ten percent true damage?"

He muttered to himself.

Ignoring all defenses, it added true damage equal to ten percent of his own maximum health.

In other words, the stronger he became, the more terrifying this additional damage would be.

And he was only six years old right now.

With only his first soul ring.

He suddenly understood why Yun Ming had worn such a complex smile when he saw that hundred-year soul ring.

How could this be something a hundred-year soul ring should possess?

He closed his eyes and sensed his sea of consciousness.

That full moon hung there quietly, radiating boundless light.

Beside it, the little fox rolled over, smacked its lips, and continued to sleep.

He slept with a clear conscience.

At the edge of the training grounds, Ya Li stood beneath a tree, watching the small figure inside in silence.

She had been there for a while, careful not to disturb him.

From the crescent moon to the half-moon, and from the half-moon to the full moon, she had witnessed the entire process.

When that phantom of a full moon rose behind Yun Jingheng, her hands tightened slightly.

"Brother Ming..."

She whispered.

Yun Ming appeared beside her at some point, his gaze also fixed on the training grounds.

"Hmm."

"Jingheng's Martial Soul..."

"I know."

Yun Ming's voice was calm, yet a complex light flickered in his eyes.

"The phases of the moon cycle, the four realms shift. It is my first time seeing this as well."

Ya Li turned to look at him: "You knew all along?"

"I guessed."

Yun Ming said, "The night his Martial Soul awakened, I felt something was off. An ordinary moon-attribute Martial Soul would not possess such oppressive force, nor would it reject my probe."

He paused.

"Looking at it now, that wasn't rejection; it was... self-protection. That moon has a consciousness of its own."

Ya Li fell silent for a moment.

"Will it have an impact on him?"

"I don't know."

Yun Ming's answer was honest, "But there is one thing I can be certain of."

"What is it?"

"That is his power, not a burden."

He looked at the child still swinging his sword in the arena, his voice very soft:

"The moon is helping him."

On the training grounds, Yun Jingheng ceased his movements.

The augmentation from the Full Moon state was too terrifying; he needed time to digest it.

He dissipated the Moonlight Sword and sat at the edge of the training grounds, looking at his own hands.

Those were the hands of a six-year-old child—fair and tender, showing nothing out of the ordinary.

He looked up at the sky.

It was still early, and the sun had just risen.

Yet he could feel that full moon within his body slowly rotating, waiting for the next battle, waiting for the next stage of its evolution—

Blood Moon.

He did not know what the Blood Moon looked like.

But he vaguely sensed that it was not something he could touch just yet.

He closed his eyes, his spirit sinking into that space.

The little fox was still asleep.

He reached out gently and stroked its head.

"Thank you."

He whispered.

The little fox's ears twitched; it did not wake, but its tail gave a soft wag.

It was as if it were responding.

Yun Jingheng smiled.

He opened his eyes, stood up, and looked at the dozen or so humanoid targets on the training grounds.

"Continue."

He said softly.

The Moonlight Sword manifested once more.

This time, the blade was brilliant.