First Soul Skill: Primordial Bite!

Splurt!

Blood sprayed!

The Bone-Splitting Giant Crocodile's eyes widened, then finally closed. Its whole body went limp, drained of all strength.

Splurt!

Fu Wen pulled out the dagger. As blood drained away, his heart was a jumble of emotions.

To advance as a Soul Master, one had to hunt Soul Beasts.

That was an ironclad rule in this world.

As long as that rule existed, humans and Soul Beasts could never coexist.

So the idea in later generations of making humans and Soul Beasts coexist was utterly laughable.

"This is the very nature of this world."

Flender walked over and stood beside Fu Wen, gazing at the Bone-Splitting Giant Crocodile's corpse as he spoke slowly.

The next moment,

particle energy gathered around the Bone-Splitting Giant Crocodile.

It gradually formed a yellow Soul Ring.

This was a Century Soul Ring.

A Sub-Dragon Species Soul Ring that was over four hundred years old.

"All right, sit cross-legged and summon your Martial Soul. Use your mind to draw the Soul Ring into your body, then start absorbing and refining it."

"Just relax. Your old man will guard you. No Soul Beast will dare come near."

"Besides, there aren't any Soul Beasts here that could threaten a Seven-Ring Soul Sage like me."

Flender reached out and patted Fu Wen on the shoulder.

"Mm."

Fu Wen nodded. He could already feel the Divine Crocodile within him yearning for it.

He immediately sat cross-legged, summoned the Divine Crocodile Martial Soul, drew the Soul Ring into his body, and began refining it.

As the Soul Ring, over four hundred years old, entered his body, a tremendous surge of energy poured through him like a breached dam, washing through his limbs and bones, and his internal organs.

His body trembled.

His muscles reddened and swelled.

Hot sweat streamed down his forehead.

It felt absolutely awful.

It was as if his entire body was about to explode.

It hurt so much!

It really hurt!

Fu Wen's face gradually twisted in pain.

Flender watched anxiously from the side.

"Is a Sub-Dragon Species Soul Ring over four hundred years old still too powerful?"

"Xiao Wen, you have to hold on!"

Flender clenched his fists, tense to the point of panic.

During the process of absorbing a Soul Ring, only the Soul Master themselves could endure it.

No one else could help. The only thing another person could do was forcibly interrupt the absorption from the outside.

That wouldn't just stop the absorption; it would also make the person absorbing the Soul Ring suffer a backlash. At best, they would vomit blood; at worst, their foundation would be damaged, and they would have to wait three months before they could absorb another one.

He didn't want to intervene, or he would cause Fu Wen irreversible harm.

Fortunately, Fu Wen didn't disappoint him.

As time passed,

Fu Wen's pained expression gradually settled, then finally relaxed.

He had made it through the most dangerous part.

Only then did Flender let out a huge sigh of relief.

Hum!

An incense stick's worth of time later,

a flash of light appeared.

A yellow Century Soul Ring rose from beneath Fu Wen's feet,

encircling the phantom of the Divine Crocodile Martial Soul.

Fu Wen slowly opened his eyes. A flash of red, filled with ferocity and bloodlust, vanished in an instant.

Now that he had finished absorbing the Soul Ring, he could feel the blocked channels inside him opening up.

His Soul Power Level was rising.

Level eleven!

Level twelve!

Level thirteen!

His first Soul Skill was Primordial Bite!

It instantly clamped onto a target, concentrating terrifying bite force at a single point to inflict massive physical piercing damage.

The bite inflicted armor-breaking and tearing effects. The wound couldn't be healed by conventional means, and continued to bleed and slow the target.

If he bit a living creature of flesh and blood, the Soul Skill would feed back into him, sending him into an enhanced state.

In this state, all his attributes—including Soul Power quality, attack power, defense, spiritual power, attack speed, and more—would increase dramatically. He could also draw a small amount of life force from the wound.

The overbearing thing about this Soul Skill was that once it locked on, it dealt a devastating blow. Once he got close and sank his teeth into his opponent, they were as good as half-dead.

As a first Soul Skill, it combined burst damage, pursuit, sustain, and a second bout of berserk power.

He had to admit, this Soul Skill suited him perfectly!

"Dad, I did it." Fu Wen exhaled a breath of stale air and looked at Flender.

Flender immediately asked, "What's your first Soul Skill? Hurry up and show your dad."

"Okay."

Fu Wen was looking forward to it too. He nodded, then immediately stood up.

"Martial Soul Possession!"

The Divine Crocodile Martial Soul merged into his body.

His pupils turned golden, like those of a Divine Crocodile.

His muscles grew larger, harder, and more solid.

He grew taller, too.

"First Soul Skill: Primordial Bite!"

Fu Wen unleashed his first Soul Skill on a huge, two-meter-tall slab of thick stone in the distance.

The Divine Crocodile Phantom grew larger, radiating a terrifying primordial aura.

Wild, domineering energy surged forth, and the phantom lunged at the boulder, snapping down hard.

In an instant, its enormous jaws swallowed the entire boulder, its sharp teeth clamping down fiercely!

BOOM!!!!!!!!

The two-meter-tall slab of thick stone exploded before their eyes, shattering into countless fragments.

That bite force, that destructive power—it was frighteningly strong.

"Whoa! That strength! That destructive power! It's terrifying!"

"Xiao Wen, what kind of crocodile is your Martial Soul?!"

"No ordinary One-Ring Soul Master could unleash such terrifying power!"

Flender's eyes widened in shock.

"Dad, the true name of my Martial Soul is Divine Crocodile."

Fu Wen's lips curved up as he spoke calmly.

"Divine Crocodile?"

"Divine?"

"Could it be..."

Flender looked up at the sky and gave him a meaningful glance.

Fu Wen nodded. His meaning was clear.

Flender's pupils shrank sharply, and he immediately warned him, "Xiao Wen, before you've grown strong, never tell a third person that your Martial Soul is the Divine Crocodile. Just say it's a mutated Sea Crocodile, even if that's all it is. Otherwise, you'll be in grave danger!"

"You have to understand: a monstrous genius who hasn't grown up yet is nothing."

This was his precious son. He absolutely couldn't stand by and watch him die.

He wanted to live to see this son become a Titled Douluo.

If possible, he even wanted to see the day he became a god.

Though he knew that gods were impossibly elusive.

Fu Wen nodded. "Don't worry, Dad. Your son isn't an idiot. I understand. I'll tell people it's a Mutated Sea Crocodile."

"Mm, exactly. Do that." Flender nodded in satisfaction.

"Come on, let's test your Soul Power Level and see how high it's reached."

Flender took out the Soul Testing Orb. He assumed Fu Wen didn't know how much his level had increased.

Fu Wen knew, but he still placed his hand on it.

Hum!

As blue light appeared,

the number thirteen emerged.

"Level thirteen!"

"The same as Xiao Ao was back then."

"Not bad, not bad."

"Come on, let's head back."

Flender was very pleased.

"No rush. This Bone-Splitting Giant Crocodile is valuable. We can eat the meat to help temper my body, and sell what we can't eat. It'll bring in a tidy sum."

Fu Wen pointed at the Bone-Splitting Giant Crocodile's corpse.

"True. We can't let it go to waste."

"Then let's get started. This is going to be a big job."

Flender agreed. They were short on money, and he would have to figure out how to earn more. Otherwise, if a lack of resources held Fu Wen back, he would never forgive himself.