Soul Weapon Fusion

Buzz—

The Refined Iron Longsword let out a long, trembling hum.

Su Mo slowly brought the Martial Soul energy in his left palm closer to the blade. The flowing, translucent, metallic-colored energy had barely touched the cold refined iron when it churned violently, like a drop of water falling into boiling oil.

"Careful!" Xiao Wu cried out instinctively. She had lived for so long and seen all manner of bizarre Soul Skills, but she had truly never seen anyone pour their own Martial Soul into ordinary iron.

Su Mo ignored her cry.

All his focus had already sunk into that mass of Martial Soul energy.

The sensation was marvelous.

He could clearly sense that the energy was a part of his own body.

"Merge."

Su Mo silently muttered to himself.

The Martial Soul energy began to seep into the surface of the Refined Iron Longsword.

It was not forced infusion, nor was it a brute-force impact. It was a gentle, gradual permeation, like rainwater soaking into parched earth.

The energy slipped into the refined iron along its grain, thread by thread. Wherever it passed, the originally bluish-black blade began to take on a faint metallic sheen. Its color shifted from bluish-black to dark silver, while the edge gleamed with a blinding brightness.

The entire process lasted only a few seconds. When the final wisp of Martial Soul energy had completely merged into the blade—

Buzz—

The Refined Iron Longsword rose into the air on its own, its blade trembling fiercely and sending out visible silver ripples.

Su Mo narrowed his eyes instinctively.

The sword still retained the outline of refined iron, but its material had undergone some fundamental transformation. It preserved refined iron's toughness and sharpness while gaining the unique energy properties and spirituality of a Martial Soul.

The blade was no longer a monotonous bluish-black. Instead, it possessed a flowing dark-silver texture, as though moonlight had been melted down and forged into a sword edge. A faint, hair-thin bloodline ran along the sword ridge from the guard to the tip, emitting a dim crimson glow in the night.

What delighted Su Mo even more was that he could clearly sense the sword's existence.

He stretched out his hand, and the longsword flew into his palm as if answering a summons.

[ Ding~ Congratulations, Host, on successfully creating a Self-Created Soul Skill. Please name it! ]

"This move shall be called Soul Weapon Fusion!"

Su Mo said with a smile.

[ Soul Weapon Fusion: After the Martial Soul is transformed into energy, it merges into a weapon, combining the Martial Soul and weapon into one to achieve an enhancement effect. ]

Xiao Wu stared in utter disbelief from the side.

She pointed at the sword in Su Mo's hand, then at Su Mo himself. Her mouth opened several times before she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence. "You... you really fused your Martial Soul with the sword?"

"Mm." Su Mo nodded and casually spun the sword.

The blade sliced through the air, leaving behind a visible silver-white afterimage accompanied by a faint, shrill whistle that seemed to tear through the air.

"This isn't an ordinary fusion." Xiao Wu frowned and circled Su Mo twice, her eyes fixed on the sword. "I feel like... this sword is now both a weapon and your Martial Soul. Can it carry Soul Skills?"

Su Mo did not answer. He acted directly instead.

He gripped the hilt, and Soul Power flowed from his palm into the blade.

Broken Sword Instant Kill.

Su Mo vanished from where he stood in an instant, his longsword piercing directly into a massive boulder before him.

Screech—

Su Mo pulled out the blade. A clear sword wound appeared on the boulder, its cut smooth and clean.

Xiao Wu ran over to the stone, reached out to touch the hole, then sucked in a sharp breath.

"What terrifying penetrating power!" Genuine shock filled her voice. "If that strike hit someone... even an ordinary Soul Elder wouldn't dare take it head-on, right?"

Su Mo withdrew the longsword, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

His line of thought had been correct. The fusion of Martial Soul and weapon could indeed enhance the power of a Soul Skill.

"Martial Soul—return!"

Then, while holding the longsword, Su Mo silently called out in his heart.

What he had intended was to recall the Refined Iron Longsword into his body along with it.

Whoosh~

Unfortunately, he failed.

What Su Mo recalled was only the Martial Soul attached to the iron sword. The iron sword itself remained in his hand.

[ Ding~ Looking at the iron sword after it lost the Martial Soul, you seem to have gained some insight... ]

Su Mo froze abruptly.

He himself had not noticed anything at all, but with the system's assistance, he clearly sensed that the iron sword in his hand had lost something.

It was something imperceptible to the naked eye, seemingly the essence contained within the iron sword.

When Su Mo recalled his Martial Soul into his body, a tiny trace of the iron sword's essence had been taken away.

Buzz—

Su Mo hurriedly summoned his Martial Soul again.

Sure enough, he discovered that his Broken Sword Martial Soul seemed to have gained a faint luster, while even a trace of its rust had faded.

If not for the system, he might have needed to use Soul Weapon Fusion hundreds of times before noticing this!

So, while Soul Weapon Fusion was active, the Martial Soul could also absorb the iron sword's essence and evolve itself.

[ Ding~ Congratulations, Host, on discovering the additional effect of Soul Weapon Fusion. During fusion, the Martial Soul can continuously absorb the weapon's essence to evolve itself. The longer the fusion lasts, the more essence it absorbs. (Note: The material and quality of the weapon initially chosen for fusion should not be too high, or the Martial Soul will be unable to absorb it.) ]

"Hahaha..."

"Good, good, good..."

Seeing this, Su Mo immediately burst into laughter.

He had originally planned to develop this ability, but it turned out there was no need. Soul Weapon Fusion itself already came with it.

Even if he could not absorb Soul Beast Soul Rings in the future, his Martial Soul would still be able to evolve on its own.

"Su Mo, what's wrong?"

Seeing Su Mo's reaction, Xiao Wu hurriedly asked.

"My Martial Soul can evolve now!"

Su Mo did not hide it from Xiao Wu. It was precisely because of Xiao Wu's help that he had been able to comprehend Soul Weapon Fusion so quickly.

He was beginning to realize that Xiao Wu truly was his lucky star.

Whether it was the Self-Condensed Soul Ring, the Internal Energy Method he had tricked out of Tang San, or the Soul Weapon Fusion she had just helped him comprehend...

There was still plenty more rabbit fur to pluck from her.

"Really?"

"Then that's wonderful!"

After hearing Su Mo's explanation, Xiao Wu happily jumped about in celebration for him.

Elsewhere.

After discovering that Ah Yin was gone, Tang Hao searched everywhere like a madman, yet he could not find the slightest trace of her.

Then Tang Hao began investigating from the collective disappearance of the Soul Beasts.

He knew that if he wanted to learn where Ah Yin had gone, he first had to determine how the other Soul Beasts had disappeared.

Yet after conducting his investigation, Tang Hao grew even more silent.

Because from the mouths of several Soul Masters, he learned a different piece of information.

The Soul Beasts had not vanished collectively. They had perished collectively.

Tang Hao naturally refused to accept this information, but he still had to verify it.

So he followed the trail and found the Soul Master who had witnessed the collective disappearance of the Soul Beasts.

After a round of brutal torture, Tang Hao discovered that the man truly was not lying.

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

"The Soul Beasts merely disappeared. They could not have been wiped out together."

Tang Hao refused to accept it.

"Die!"

In his fury, Tang Hao casually finished that Soul Master with a single hammer blow.

Then he turned and left, preparing to seek out other witnesses.

And while Tang Hao continued pursuing the truth,

Yu Xiaogang and Tang San also left Nuoding City shortly after Su Mo.