Self-Created Soul Skill? Pray!

"Ahem—"

"Give me some face, I was once the new Elden Lord of The Lands Between, after all."

Lin Huai stiffly changed the subject.

"Um, I still can't seem to learn the incantations you gave me. Lianlian, do you have any ideas?"

Malenia's voice did not ring out for a long time.

Just when Lin Huai thought that even Malenia had no solution.

"Perform your Martial Soul Possession, then try using the incantations again."

Following Malenia's instructions, the Winged Helm appeared on Lin Huai's face, and the pure gold Arm Guard and Prosthetic Blade appeared on his right arm.

Recalling the few incantations Malenia had taught him, the soul power within his body began to flow after being converted.

"Discus of Light!"

A circular ring of light emerged in Lin Huai's left hand and flew forward, returning along its original trajectory after flying a few meters.

"Triple Rings of Light!"

"Discus of Light!"

"Order Healing!"

"Blessing's Boon!"

Several incantations were successfully cast, and Lin Huai danced with excitement.

"So it turns out you lack talent; you only successfully used these incantations because Martial Soul Possession utilized my talent."

Malenia's tone was flat.

But Lin Huai was somewhat devastated and retorted loudly.

"How is that possible? When I rampaged through The Lands Between, I was known as the 'Incantation Lord.' How could I lack talent?"

"Are you casting the incantations through a Sacred Seal?"

"Yeah, doesn't the instruction manual for the Sacred Seal say that you must carry a catalyst to use incantations?"

Although Malenia was a bit puzzled as to why Lin Huai even had an instruction manual, she figured that given Lin Huai's eccentric nature, perhaps some Tarnished had told him, and he had misremembered it.

"Yes, talented creatures or demigods are catalysts themselves and do not need a Sacred Seal."

"Of course, even the most talented sorcerers require a staff or certain special weapons."

Lin Huai felt a bit depressed; it turned out he really was just a warrior with 9 Intelligence.

Seeing that Lin Huai was about to break down, Malenia comforted him:

"Do not be sad. Even though you lack talent, didn't you still become a Lord?"

"But I didn't even get a chance to enjoy the power of a Lord before I ended up here."

Malenia's voice sounded again.

"I have top-tier talent, yet I haven't learned many incantations either." (Malenia should have been a near-perfect existence; after all, perfection is a form of stagnation, and stagnation leads to rot.)

"I actually wish you had learned more incantations."

Lin Huai's tone was calm.

"Alright, don't comfort me anymore."

"If you keep comforting me, I'm afraid I'll want to be reborn."

Malenia's voice did not appear again.

Lin Huai also slowly regained his composure.

He casually tossed the lead box containing the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone into his Storage Bracelet.

"Whatever, I'll go test the power of these incantations first."

Lin Huai stood up and walked toward the training ground.

At this moment, Qian Daoliu happened to push the door open and enter.

"Little Huai, are you going to practice your blade techniques?"

Although Lianlian had said he lacked talent, Lin Huai couldn't help but feel excited after being able to use these incantations.

"Teacher!"

"I've learned some skills similar to Self-Created Soul Skills!"

Hmm???

Qian Daoliu widened his eyes. He had only been gone for a moment, and the boy had already comprehended Self-Created Soul Skills?

And several of them?

Seeing the expression on Qian Daoliu's face, Lin Huai realized he hadn't explained himself clearly.

"It is my Martial Soul, transmitting them to me through my consciousness."

Qian Daoliu finally understood; that made sense, as Lin Huai's Martial Soul was inherently powerful and peculiar.

Compared to devouring divine consciousness, the transmission of a few Self-Created Soul Skills seemed quite normal.

Though, normal Martial Souls wouldn't transmit Self-Created Soul Skills either.

"Teacher, I would like to test the power of these soul skills."

"Let's go, I will accompany you to test them."

The two of them subsequently appeared in the training grounds.

Lin Huai immediately initiated Martial Soul Possession.

"Teacher, are you ready?"

Qian Daoliu did not underestimate these soul skills and directly formed a protective barrier using his soul power.

"Go ahead, let me see."

Lin Huai raised his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, a golden energy ring was thrown toward Qian Daoliu.

"Halo!"

The Halo struck the soul power barrier without causing much of an impact.

Lin Huai then proceeded to try the other two halo skills.

Although their power increased sequentially, none of them had any effect on the soul power barrier.

Lin Huai then tried 'Blessing's Boon', and a small-scale golden domain appeared on the field; within this domain, friendly targets would slowly recover from injuries and replenish soul power.

He did not continue to test Order Healing, as that was, after all, a specialized attack against the undead.

Lin Huai felt a bit discouraged; the damage was somewhat underwhelming.

After sensing the effects, Qian Daoliu spoke:

"The power is enough to injure a Defense-type Soul Elder; perhaps the power of these skills will increase as you grow stronger."

A voice appeared in Lin Huai's mind.

"That is correct. Under the influence of this world's rules, the power of your prayers will increase as you grow stronger."

Lin Huai's expression shifted:

"Teacher is right!"

"However, could you learn them?"

Qian Daoliu recalled his perception of these skills just moments ago and shook his head.

"It shouldn't be possible. The energy you use for these skills is not soul power, but a peculiar energy converted from your soul power after Martial Soul Possession."

As he spoke, he condensed a similar soul power ring in his hand.

He threw it at a large boulder.

The stone immediately shattered.

"Just like this; although I imitated your skill, the specific effects are different."

"Just as a fire-attribute Soul Master can breathe fire, my imitation releases Holy Flame; they are fundamentally different."

Lin Huai nodded to show he understood.

He sighed inwardly once more.

It was fortunate that his teacher possessed genuine knowledge and talent, far better than that half-baked hack Yu Xiaogang, who was all noise and no substance.

"Focus primarily on cultivating soul power and blade techniques. Master these skills well, and refine them later."

Qian Daoliu signaled for Lin Huai to begin practicing his blade techniques.

When the day ended, Qian Daoliu told Lin Huai that he would be setting sail tomorrow.

He had even found a Soul Saint to serve as Lin Huai's sparring partner.

A night of cultivation passed.

When Lin Huai appeared in the training grounds again, he saw a man with ordinary short hair and small, round black glasses standing in the center of the field.

This strange sense of déjà vu.

"You are my sparring partner?"

The man hurried over, bowing and scraping.

"Yes, Ancestor!"

"The Ancestor can just call me Scott."

Lin Huai was shocked, and the words slipped out:

"Lone Wolf!"

Scott assumed Qian Daoliu had told Lin Huai, but he still chimed in, "You are truly amazing, Ancestor. My martial soul is indeed a Lone Wolf."

"From now on, if you have any orders, feel free to command me, Ancestor."

Lin Huai probed, "Mecha?"

Scott was a bit confused, but he responded promptly, "Chicken rack? Does the Ancestor want to eat chicken rack?"

"I'll go buy some right now!"

"Stop, I just misspoke. I don't want any chicken rack."

Lin Huai stopped Scott's movements. It seemed this was just a strange coincidence; he hadn't encountered that Scott after all.

"Why do you call me Ancestor? I'm only seven years old."

"You're a Soul Saint, after all; there's no need for this."

Scott looked solemn. "What does age matter! And what is a Soul Saint!"

"The Grand Elder told me that you are the one destined to become the Holy Son, and in the future, the Pope!"

"I am your number one subordinate now. You are my provider, so calling you Ancestor is not an exaggeration!"

"Even if I am fortunate enough to become a Title Douluo, you will still be my—Ancestor!"

Lin Huai was stunned. He wondered if there was some sort of causality law attached to the name Scott.

He waved his hand helplessly. "Suit yourself. Let's begin the training."

"You got it! Ancestor."