About half an hour passed.
Liu Yuan's Soul Power fluctuations gradually subsided.
He slowly opened his eyes.
His first Soul Ring had been successfully absorbed.
After two months, coupled with the Golden-Crowned Poplar's considerable age, his Soul Power had naturally reached level 14.
But something puzzled him.
What exactly had that energy that emerged midway been? Of course, Liu Yuan was certain that it had not come from the Soul Ring.
[ Ding! ]
Suddenly, the platform's notification sounded in his mind.
But before Liu Yuan could check what the message was, Father Liu noticed that he had awakened. He asked with concern,
"How was it? Did your first soul skill turn out as you expected?"
Hearing this, Liu Yuan quickly gathered his thoughts and revealed a satisfied smile. "Just as I expected. This first soul skill inherited the Golden-Crowned Poplar's strengths. I call it Rooting."
"Rooting..."
Father Liu mulled it over. "The name is rather plain."
"What does it do?"
As the question fell, Liu Yuan slowly rose to his feet. "You'll know once I test it." With a thought, the phantom of the Origin Willow Martial Soul that had just been withdrawn appeared behind him once more.
At the same time, a yellow Soul Ring slowly rose.
As the yellow light flashed,
the Origin Willow's roots began growing rapidly the very next second.
In less than a breath, those roots had swiftly burrowed into the ground. Then, under Liu Yuan's control, the Origin Willow's branches began to stir, constantly consuming the Soul Power within his body.
Yet despite this, Liu Yuan himself still appeared full of vigor. His stamina and Soul Power had barely decreased, while his own aura rose beyond what it had been before.
This was the effect of Rooting.
So long as the Origin Willow Martial Soul's roots were planted in the earth, the Soul Master could continuously recover Soul Power and stamina. At the same time, it could also provide a certain boost to their attributes.
It truly was a soul skill well suited to him.
"Not bad indeed." After watching the demonstration and hearing the explanation, Father Liu nodded, approval filling his eyes.
"Your Rooting is far better than the fixed Soul Rings of our Liu Family. It combines utility and enhancement. Even once you grow stronger in the future, this first soul skill will remain one of your regular tools."
Once the Soul Ring had been absorbed, Father Liu had originally intended to clear away the Golden-Crowned Poplar, but Liu Yuan specifically stopped him.
He guessed that the abnormality during the Soul Ring absorption might have had something to do with the Golden-Crowned Poplar. Over nearly a year, Liu Yuan had mostly figured out the Order Taking Platform. It had so few functions, after all, so the earlier anomaly should have had nothing to do with the platform.
With that thought in mind, he summoned his Martial Soul.
Bathed in swaying green light, the Origin Willow emitted a blue-green glow and unexpectedly resonated faintly with the Golden-Crowned Poplar's corpse.
Liu Yuan subconsciously circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and then...
"I resonated with the Golden-Crowned Poplar too?"
With a slight frown, he felt his bloodline tremble.
But this bloodline tremor quickly vanished without a trace. Immediately afterward came the resonance between the Origin Willow Martial Soul and the Golden-Crowned Poplar.
Yet at that moment, Liu Yuan sensed an abnormal change from his Martial Soul, and the Origin Willow phantom instantly appeared behind him.
Under Liu Yuan's gaze, the Origin Willow Martial Soul's root system gradually changed, becoming as developed as the Golden-Crowned Poplar's. At the same time, its wood-element energy showed a faint increase.
It was as though...
it was evolution originating from the bloodline!
Bloodline? Evolution?
When this thought surfaced in his mind, Liu Yuan could not help but think of another power system revealed in the era of Legend of the Dragon King—Bloodline Power.
This situation...
"Could it really be Bloodline Power?"
Was it because of the Origin Willow Martial Soul?
Or because of the Mysterious Heaven Skill?
At this moment, an idea gradually formed in Liu Yuan's mind.
No matter what, he had to test it again.
Based on what he felt while absorbing the Soul Ring, this Bloodline Power most likely did not come from the Soul Ring, but from the corpse.
If it truly was as he imagined, then the evolution of his Origin Willow Martial Soul... might arrive even earlier than expected!
But before that,
he still needed to see what was going on with the Order Taking Platform.
With a thought, the Platform Panel unfolded.
[Message Zone] ["Son of Nature" has become a Soul Master. Daily task refreshes have increased from 1 to 2. Please take note.]
"The number of refreshes increased."
With another thought, Liu Yuan switched to the Order Acceptance Zone.
Sure enough, another [1] had lit up on the task refresh button.
He decisively tapped it.
The task panel refreshed.
[Ding ding ding...]
Ten brand-new tasks quickly appeared. Liu Yuan swept his gaze over them and soon fixed his attention on [Task Six].
[Task Six (Manga Version Master): I am being pursued by a four-hundred-year-old Datura Snake. Please save me and my disciple (valid time: 1 minute 30 seconds); Reward: Light Bloodline (changeable)]
"Manga Version Master?"
Liu Yuan raised a brow.
Memories from the past surfaced in his mind.
Back then, it was through the manga that he had first gotten into Douluo.
But he quickly tossed that memory aside.
Nostalgia?
What was nostalgia worth?
The reward was what mattered most right now.
Thus, he looked toward the words "Light Bloodline."
"If I'm not mistaken, this comes from Luo Sanpao's Golden Sacred Dragon—or rather, Radiant Sacred Dragon—bloodline. But it seems it doesn't contain Sacred Dragon bloodline, only pure Light Bloodline Power."
But that was fine too.
His Martial Soul was only the Origin Willow and had nothing to do with dragons. If dragon blood were added, who knew what unexpected changes might occur?
But Light Bloodline Power alone was different. Its pure light attribute could undoubtedly complement the Origin Willow Martial Soul.
Just like Shrek Academy's Golden Ancient Tree.
"I'll take this task."
Seeing the valid time drop to thirty seconds, Liu Yuan tightened the Storage Soul Tool at his waist and decisively selected [Task Six].
The next second, colored light flashed.
Liu Yuan vanished from where he stood.
Manga Version Dou-Universe,
"San, run!" The dispirited middle-aged man in a felt hat shielded the black-haired boy behind him. Ignoring the "but" that had just left his mouth, he roared, "Stop talking!! Get farther away!!"
Then he shouted at the rather cute little yellow creature with a bell before him, "Sanpao, let it witness our final attack! Fart Like Smoke, Hypnotic Slumber Luo Sanpao!"
Bang—
Luo Sanpao aimed at the Datura Snake and blasted out a cloud of smoke!
Amid Tang San's admiring cry, Yu Xiaogang turned and ran. At the same time, he shouted to Tang San, who was still watching, "What are you standing there for?! This smoke is hypnotic! Get to the upwind side!"
"Yes!"
Facing the Datura Snake shrouded in smoke, cold sweat hung from Yu Xiaogang's temples as he kept praying, Fall asleep already. Then a pair of scarlet snake eyes suddenly lit up, making his heart sink.
Not good!
The next second, a green serpent shadow shot out at high speed!
It bit Luo Sanpao, who had rushed forward to block it.
Amid Luo Sanpao's pained cry of "Luo luo luo," Yu Xiaogang hurriedly recalled the unconscious Luo Sanpao, and the snake venom immediately spread to his body.
"Teacher! What's wrong!?"
Yu Xiaogang shoved Tang San away and stood before the Datura Snake. "San! Run! I'm not going to make it!"
Then,
a white radish smashed into the Datura Snake's forehead.
Yu Xiaogang's body was consumed by poison, and he collapsed headfirst onto the ground, still muttering, "...Who accepted the task? Where are they..."
Now, only Tang San remained to face the Datura Snake.
"Want to eat people?"
The moment the words fell, white radishes came raining down upon the Datura Snake, leaving it dizzy and disoriented.
"Eat then! Eat!! Pighead! I'm giving you food, but now you won't eat it!!"
Seeing that he had thoroughly enraged the Datura Snake, Tang San confidently placed his hand on Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges. Suddenly, colored light flashed ahead, and someone appeared between him and the snake.
[Task location reached. Beginning cognition suppression.]
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