Battle with the Goose

Qian Daoliu sensed Qian Renxue's aura growing increasingly intense.

He turned to look at Lin Huai:

"Little Huai, go practice your blade techniques on your own for now and get well-acquainted with your surging Soul Power."

"After refining a portion of that Primordial Immortal Herb, you should be at the level of eighteen, nearing nineteen."

Lin Huai felt the Soul Power level he had gained in just a few days, an accumulation that would take others years to achieve.

He nodded at Qian Daoliu, turned, and headed to an open area to begin training his basic blade techniques.

During a break in his training, Lin Huai summoned his Malenia Martial Soul once more.

He had her spar with him.

Dugu Yan had finished absorbing the immortal herb by this time; when she opened her eyes, she discovered a large ball of light appearing before her.

Seeing that she had finished her absorption, Dugu Bo swept Dugu Yan up and carried her away from the area affected by the phenomenon Qian Renxue was producing.

"Grandfather, what is going on? Why has a little sun appeared?"

Dugu Bo stared at the peculiar scene.

"This is the Grand Pontiff's granddaughter absorbing an immortal herb."

"She is not yet known to the world; if you see her in the future, you must act as if you do not know her. Do you understand?"

Dugu Yan agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Anyway, I don't know her to begin with.

No longer paying attention to the phenomenon caused by Qian Renxue.

Dugu Yan, somewhat excited, tugged at Dugu Bo's sleeve.

"Grandfather, do you know what gains I made after absorbing the immortal herb?"

"You definitely won't be able to guess!"

Seeing his granddaughter's little expression, Dugu Bo was happy to play along.

"It seems that not only were the defects of your Martial Soul eliminated, but you also gained other benefits."

Dugu Yan lifted her small chin: "Mmhmm!"

"Could it be that Yan-yan has already reached level 30?"

Sensing the fluctuations of Soul Power radiating from Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo was truly surprised this time.

"Not just that, there's more."

Yue Guan also drifted over, wanting to see the effects produced by the immortal herb.

He happened to hear the conversation between the grandfather and granddaughter.

"Little Yan, your Martial Soul must have mutated, right?"

Seeing Yue Guan arrive, and having him directly point out her greatest gain.

She no longer hid it and directly released her Martial Soul.

A jade-green scaled, single-horned dragon appeared around Dugu Yan's body.

It resembled a snake but had four limbs, with a green, sharp horn atop its head.

"My Martial Soul is now called—Jade Scale Tiger Dragon!"

"Its attributes have been improved in every aspect, and all the toxins are now stored in the sharp horn of the Martial Soul; they won't affect me anymore!"

"Martial Soul, Possession!"

Dugu Yan gave a soft shout.

A layer of fine green scales appeared on her cheeks, and a small, delicate horn emerged on her forehead.

Her hands were also covered in scales, resembling dragon claws.

A dragon tail appeared at her coccyx.

Around her body, two yellow soul rings pulsed lightly.

"My first two soul skills have also changed; one has become a self-strengthening skill, and the other has become a powerful offensive soul skill."

"Furthermore, after Martial Soul Possession, any of my attacks will carry the Jade Scale toxin!"

Dugu Bo, somewhat agitated, released his Soul Power to sense Dugu Yan's condition.

With tears in the corners of his eyes, he murmured: "Heaven has not forsaken me, Dugu Bo!"

Yue Guan nodded slightly.

"It seems the Jade Scale Nine Nether Lotus was a perfect match for the little girl; otherwise, it wouldn't have mutated so thoroughly."

After saying this, Yue Guan drifted back toward the immortal herb, continuing to display an obsessed expression.

Dugu Bo calmed his emotions and asked Dugu Yan:

"Yanyan, since you have already reached level thirty, let Grandfather take you to hunt for your spirit ring."

Dugu Yan shook her head, looking with eager anticipation toward Lin Huai, who was currently sparring with his own spirit.

"No rush, Grandfather."

"I want to have a fight with Lin Huai first!"

Seeing Dugu Yan walking toward him, Lin Huai stopped his sparring session with his spirit.

"Lin Huai, can you fight me now!"

Lin Huai had also been wanting to test his own level, so he nodded.

"Come on, let me test my blade!"

Seeing Lin Huai put away that beautiful woman spirit, Dugu Yan was somewhat puzzled:

"Aren't you going to summon your spirit to fight together?"

"Her combat instincts are too strong; she can easily defeat others above her rank."

"You wouldn't be able to beat her right now."

Lin Huai gripped the prosthetic blade automatically formed by his spirit power and explained casually to Dugu Yan.

His sole purple spirit ring lit up, and under the boost of one hundred percent speed, the movement of the wind blowing the leaves around them seemed to slow down.

Looking at Lin Huai's thousand-year first spirit ring, Dugu Yan's expression turned serious.

"Although Grandfather already told me you were strong, I didn't expect you to be able to absorb a thousand-year ring directly for your first one!"

Two yellow spirit rings flashed in succession.

Feeling the effect of her enhancement spirit skill, Dugu Yan shouted, "Second Spirit Skill, Flood Dragon Strike!"

Lin Huai really didn't want to complain about why attack skills had to be shouted out loud.

With a sidestep, he narrowly dodged the attack of the flood dragon phantom.

Dugu Yan appeared behind the phantom, fiercely clawing toward Lin Huai's face.

Not expecting this spirit skill to be able to carry her along with it, Lin Huai hurriedly crossed his arms to block.

Taking advantage of the impact, he used the momentum to create some distance.

His right arm was protected by armor and only felt a bit numb, but his left hand had been scratched by the dragon claws.

Seeing that she had wounded Lin Huai, Dugu Yan put her hands on her hips.

"You're done for! Once you're wounded by my attack, the poison will take effect immediately."

Lin Huai circulated his spirit power to stop the bleeding from his wound.

Dugu Bo reminded her in time: "Yanyan, don't be careless, the boy Lin Huai is immune to all poisons!"

Upon hearing her grandfather's warning, Dugu Yan saw Lin Huai charging toward her with his blade again.

As Lin Huai closed in, he slashed toward Dugu Yan's face.

Dugu Yan promptly circulated her spirit power to reinforce the scales on her hands, catching the blade with her bare hands.

Lin Huai took the opportunity to dissipate the blade formed by his spirit power.

Lowering his head and bending his waist, a blade appeared in his right hand once more.

Following the opening in Dugu Yan's center, he slashed straight toward her defenseless waist and abdomen.

Dugu Yan panicked and blocked with her arm at her side.

Lin Huai flashed past, and a rather deep wound appeared on Dugu Yan's arm.

Dugu Yan's face contorted as she hissed in pain.

"How could this blade manifested from your spirit power cut through my scale protection!"

Lin Huai held his blade again, assuming the starting stance of the Flowing Water Sword Style.

"It must be inherent to my spirit; that blade is too formidable, so the imitation made of spirit power is also quite powerful."

"If I were using the blade in Malenia's hand, you would have been cut in half just now."

Lin Huai looked at the spirit power imitation in his hand, which felt just like a real blade, and couldn't help but feel moved.

As expected of the power of a fantasy world; even if it were just a floor tile, the existence of this spirit power is truly unfathomable.

Dugu Yan also stopped the bleeding from her wound, her face full of seriousness.

"Again. Can I really lose to a spirit master who is ten levels lower than me?"

Lin Huai silently increased the consumption of his first spirit skill.

When his speed boost reached its maximum, Lin Huai swung his blade and charged forward.

Lin Huai's figure appeared before Dugu Yan as if he had teleported.

The blade in his hand was stopped by a green spirit power barrier just in front of Dugu Yan's neck.

Dugu Bo handed out medicine to each of them, saying with some helplessness:

"Yan Yan, you lost."

"But you two were being way too serious, aiming for the vitals with every move. It was just a spar, after all."

Lin Huai scratched his hair, looking embarrassed.

"That's only because Sister Yan is too strong. If I didn't go all out, I definitely would have lost."

Dugu Yan also snapped out of her daze, her eyes sparkling.

"Lin Huai, you're amazing! Once I obtain my third Spirit Ring, let's have another battle!"

Lin Huai stared at the blade in his hand, feeling the lingering sensation of that swift strike, and shook his head.

"Not yet. Under the full-speed boost of my first Spirit Skill, I can't quite control my movements."

"Let's wait until I can master it before we fight again."

Yue Guan noticed the two of them sparring and drifted over.

"That shouldn't be the case. For most Spirit Masters, a standard Spirit Skill can be mastered almost immediately."

"Take the Speed Clan, for example. They are pure speed-type Spirit Masters; even after stacking all their skills, they can still barely manage to control their momentum."

Yue Guan looked at Lin Huai, deep in thought.

"Little Huai, your Spirit—it isn't a non-corporeal type, is it?"