First Soul Skill, Red-Gold Transformation!

"Hoo..."

A breath of turbid air, carrying a faint, scorching heat, slowly exhaled from the mouth of Xia Ming.

His eyelashes fluttered, and his tightly closed eyes snapped open!

A brilliant flash of red-gold light flickered in the depths of his eyes, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, like the opening and closing of a lion's gaze, majestic and restrained.

He slowly stood up and stretched his limbs.

A series of crisp, metallic clashing sounds erupted from within his body, which was now brimming with an unprecedented sense of power.

With every movement, his aura felt steady and profound, a qualitative leap compared to before he had absorbed the soul ring.

He looked up at the sky; the sun was already setting.

He had spent several hours absorbing this thousand-year soul ring.

Yan Shaozhe, who had been guarding him the entire time, saw Xia Ming successfully rise to his feet, and the solemnity in his eyes finally melted into a gratified smile.

He sensed the stable and powerful soul power fluctuations emanating from Xia Ming and nodded in satisfaction.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother." Yan Shaozhe's voice was light and filled with approval. "The first soul ring has been successfully absorbed.

From this day on, you are a true Soul Master. Moreover, you are a Soul Master whose starting point will make the vast majority of people look up to you in awe."

Xia Ming clenched his fists, feeling the brand-new soul power surging within him.

Combined with the sensation deep within his martial soul—as if some sort of shackle had been shattered—an irrepressible, excited smile appeared on his face.

"Junior Brother, what level are you at now?"

Yan Shaozhe suddenly turned his head to look at him, his gaze filled with inquiry and anticipation.

"Under normal circumstances, absorbing a first soul ring at the optimal age usually only raises one's level by one.

But after that baptism from the teacher, coupled with today's thousand-year Red-Gold Lion ring, I estimate that you shouldn't have stopped at level 11."

"Mm." Upon hearing this, Xia Ming closed his eyes and carefully sensed the soul power within his body.

"I am currently at the peak of level 16; I should be able to break through to level 17 in a few days."

"What?" Yan Shaozhe was shocked.

He had assumed Xia Ming's soul power would be around level 14 or 15, but it was already nearing level 17.

One must know that even with Innate Full Soul Power, a normal person only gains four or five levels in a year.

Now that Xia Ming had improved so much in one go, compared to other Innate Full Soul Power geniuses, he had effectively saved a year of time.

If he were given a Soul Ascension Pill right now, he might even be able to reach level 20 directly and attach his second soul ring.

If that were to happen, Xia Ming might become the youngest Soul Grand Master in ten thousand years!

Even those with the god-given talent of Innate level 20 might not be able to surpass his speed.

Of course, Yan Shaozhe only thought this to himself; he would not actually do such a thing.

While a fast rate of soul power growth is good, too fast is not necessarily a good thing.

If rapid leveling is not supported by corresponding soul power control and an understanding of the martial soul's origin, it could instead plant hidden dangers and affect the future.

Even so, Yan Shaozhe's heart was surging, unable to calm down.

He secretly calculated that with Xia Ming's current momentum, combined with his Innate Full Soul Power talent, breaking through to level 20 to become a Soul Grand Master before the age of seven was almost a certainty.

Even reaching the rank of Soul Elder by age nine was by no means a pipe dream!

That was a Soul Elder; ordinary geniuses at that age were often still lingering as Soul Masters, not even having touched the threshold of a Soul Grand Master.

Thinking of this, Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath, suppressed his agitated emotions, and looked at Xia Ming with an increasingly warm and expectant gaze.

"Alright, since the soul ring has been absorbed, let us head back directly."

As his voice fell, he once again gently extended his arm, shielding Xia Ming securely in his embrace.

The next moment, the two figures suddenly rose from the ground and soared straight into the clouds.

In less than half an hour, Sea God Island came into view.

"We are back."

Before the words had even faded, a figure was already quietly standing before them, as if he had been there from the very beginning.

Mu En's appearance was without warning; even someone with Yan Shaozhe's cultivation had not sensed the slightest trace beforehand.

The teacher's realm is becoming increasingly unfathomable, Yan Shaozhe thought, feeling a shiver of awe.

But immediately after, the image of the hidden injuries that had plagued Mu En for years flashed through his mind, and his eyes dimmed slightly.

However, he quickly suppressed that trace of worry and said respectfully:

"Teacher, Junior Brother has successfully absorbed his first soul ring, taken from a thousand-year Red-Gold Lion."

"Red-Gold Lion? Not bad!"

A flicker of approval crossed Mu En's eyes, and the next moment, his gaze turned gently toward Xia Ming:

"Child, what is your first soul skill?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Yan Shaozhe suddenly remembered.

He had been so focused on the shock of Xia Ming's soaring soul power that he had completely forgotten to ask about the soul skill.

Xia Ming did not say much; with a thought, the purple soul ring at his feet suddenly lit up.

His figure expanded once more, and a brilliant red-gold luster flowed across the surface of his skin, making him look as if he were clad in golden armor, shrouded in a layer of blazing golden light.

A fierce and domineering aura rose with him, as if the surrounding air had become heavy.

"First soul skill, Red-Gold Transformation!" Xia Ming's voice rang out from within the golden light.

"It can maintain this transformation state for one hour. During the transformation, my attack power, defense, and strength are all increased by 150%."

"Good!"

Even Yan Shaozhe, who was accustomed to top-tier soul skills, could not help but exclaim in praise:

"The third soul skill passed down through generations of the White Tiger Duke's lineage, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, only increases strength, attack, and defense by 100% each.

Your first soul skill has already surpassed it in every aspect!"

One must know that augmentation-type soul skills are not rare on the Douluo Continent.

But to have a thousand-year soul ring achieve the effects of a legendary soul skill like White Tiger Vajra Transformation is something that has happened only a handful of times in ten thousand years.

And Xia Ming had achieved it with his very first soul ring.

Given Xia Ming's already terrifying base strength, if he continued to choose augmentation-type skills for his subsequent soul rings, they would stack layer upon layer.

I fear that a single casual punch would have enough power to crush the strongest soul skill of a soul master several realms higher than him!

"Xia Ming," a burning intensity flashed in Yan Shaozhe's eyes, "come, use your full strength right now and throw a punch at me!"

"Yes."

Xia Ming responded in a deep voice, a flash of gold appearing in his eyes.

Domination Domain, activate!

His already massive power surged once more, and the golden light around his body almost solidified.

Without much wind-up, he simply took a single step forward.

"Boom--!"

The force of the punch was like thunder, and the red-gold fist shadow slammed solidly into Yan Shaozhe's palm.

A wave of air exploded, causing the surrounding fallen leaves and dust to swirl upward.

Yan Shaozhe's figure did not move an inch, but a clear vibration traveled through his palm.

The look of surprise in his eyes could no longer be concealed:

"The power of this punch is already not inferior to the fifth soul skill of those high-level assault-type soul kings in the Inner Court."

Inner Court soul kings, when placed in the outside world, all possess the strength to fight soul emperors above their own rank.

Yet Xia Ming's punch had already touched that threshold.

In other words, with the power of this punch alone, he might already be able to defeat an ordinary soul emperor head-on.

And he had only just obtained his first soul ring.

Yan Shaozhe slowly withdrew his palm, his gaze toward Xia Ming like that of someone examining an uncut jade that was beginning to radiate peerless brilliance.

Mu En had been watching quietly the entire time, and only now did he smile slightly, golden light seemingly flowing within his aged eyes:

"Very good."