A few minutes later, accompanied by the sound of water churning, several figures appeared before Mu Chen.
They were a few enormous Sea Soul Beasts.
Mu Chen's heart began to race. After all, he couldn't take on so many Soul Beasts.
But soon, Mu Chen realized that the Soul Beasts were simply staying in front of him without moving.
There were Two-Headed Demon Whales, Devil Rays, Deep Sea Great White Sharks, and others.
All of them stared intently at the Trident glowing with blue-gold light in Mu Chen's hand.
"All right, Xiao Chen, you can choose the Soul Beast you like. They're all between four and six hundred years old, making them perfect for your First Soul Ring."
Mu Chen's mouth twitched. "This really is self-service."
He looked over the Sea Soul Beasts before him and finally made his choice. "Old Tang, I choose this Two-Headed Demon Whale."
"Fine."
Blue-gold light burst forth again, conveying information to the Sea Soul Beasts before him.
All the other Sea Soul Beasts left, except for the five-hundred-year-old Two-Headed Demon Whale.
"All right, Xiao Chen. Now kill it. You can absorb the Soul Ring right here."
Mu Chen hesitated, but seeing the Two-Headed Demon Whale sitting there with a blank look, he finally put his worries aside.
He raised the Trident in his hand and drove it hard into the Two-Headed Demon Whale's weak spot.
The Two-Headed Demon Whale shuddered, but didn't fight back.
The seawater around them turned pale red with blood.
Yet despite the overpowering stench of blood, no other Soul Beasts came.
As the Two-Headed Demon Whale's last traces of life faded, a yellow Soul Ring drifted out of its body.
With his Ocean Martial Soul attached, Mu Chen could breathe freely underwater, so he could safely absorb the Soul Ring there.
Mu Chen sat cross-legged, laid the Trident across his legs, and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
Guided by his Soul Power, the yellow Soul Ring slowly floated toward Mu Chen and settled around him.
In an instant, a torrent of Soul Power poured into Mu Chen's limbs and bones like cascading seawater.
The Soul Power rampaged through Mu Chen's meridians, bringing him waves of pain.
But this level of pain wasn't enough to break Mu Chen.
The fact that he could withstand having two Martial Souls meant that his physical constitution was already quite strong.
Gritting his teeth, Mu Chen gradually suppressed the violent foreign Soul Power within him and began absorbing it.
His brow slowly relaxed, and he began absorbing the Soul Ring in an orderly fashion.
Time passed second by second, and Mu Chen gradually made it through the most dangerous stage of absorbing the Soul Ring.
The bottleneck in his Soul Power broke, and his Soul Power Level continued to rise.
Level eleven.
Level twelve.
Level thirteen.
In the end, Mu Chen's Soul Power stopped at the late stage of level thirteen, not far from level fourteen.
Mu Chen opened his eyes, and a glimmer seemed to flash through his azure-blue pupils.
Absorbing the Soul Ring made him feel as though he'd been completely renewed.
His meridians had grown considerably stronger, and even his height had increased a little.
When he returned to shore, Mu Chen couldn't hide his delight.
"Not bad, Old Tang! It really is that easy to get a Soul Ring!"
He really was the Sea God, blessed with boundless power.
"That's nothing. I told you, my existence can only benefit you. Hurry up and see what your First Soul Skill is like."
Mu Chen automatically ignored the other man's brainwashing and went back into the sea on his own, dragging out the Two-Headed Demon Whale's corpse.
"This is good stuff. Uncle Zhang and I can have a special dinner tonight!"
He didn't bring the whole thing back, since that would draw too much attention.
Mu Chen had grown up by the sea and knew fish inside and out.
He cut off the best part, the fish belly, with his Trident, then dug out the Whale Rubber as well.
Whale Rubber was valuable stuff, and it could greatly improve one's physical constitution.
He packed everything into the cloth bag he'd brought with him and headed back to the bun shop.
"Uncle Zhang, I'm back!"
It was already past morning, and Zhang Tao was tidying up, preparing to make lunch for Mu Chen.
"Xiao Chen, you're back! Go wash your hands. Lunch will be ready soon."
Zhang Tao didn't ask where Mu Chen had gone. As far as he was concerned, it was perfectly normal for a child to go out and play.
Mu Chen set the large cloth bag on the table. "Uncle Zhang, look what I've got!"
Zhang Tao took the bag and opened it. Inside, he saw a large piece of fish and some Whale Rubber.
"Xiao Chen, where did you get this?"
Seeing the worry in Zhang Tao's eyes, Mu Chen knew he'd gotten the wrong idea.
"Don't worry, Uncle Zhang. I got it from the Soul Beast that gave me my First Soul Ring."
As he spoke, Mu Chen released his Martial Soul.
Only when Zhang Tao saw the Soul Ring beneath Mu Chen's feet did his expression relax a little.
"That's a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, Xiao Chen. How did you kill it?"
A six-year-old who'd just awakened his Martial Soul killing a Hundred-Year Soul Beast alone did sound a little far-fetched.
So Mu Chen chose to weave a kind lie.
"Well, I ran into an uncle who was a Soul Elder by the sea. He kindly stepped in to help me. I gave him the rest of the fish as thanks."
Hearing this explanation, the honest man Zhang Tao finally relaxed.
"There are still plenty of good people in the world. Xiao Chen, when you grow stronger, you should be like that Soul Elder and help others. You mustn't use your power as a Soul Master to bully anyone, understand?"
"Mm-hmm, I understand. Uncle Zhang, hurry and cook this fish. We're in for a treat today."
"Haha, all right!"
Zhang Tao picked up the fish, cut off a little Whale Rubber, and took it to the stove to cook.
Back in his room, Mu Chen remembered that he still needed to test his First Soul Skill.
He went to the backyard and released his Martial Soul.
A yellow Soul Ring appeared beneath Mu Chen's feet, followed by his Ocean Martial Soul.
Mu Chen sensed it briefly, then lit up his First Soul Ring.
"First Soul Skill, Ocean's Fury!"
A red-and-blue glow lit up Mu Chen's body.
His azure-blue eyes turned slightly red, and his aura surged.
The First Soul Skill, Ocean's Fury, briefly put him into an excited state and increased all his attributes by fifty percent.
An all-attribute enhancement Soul Skill was rare, and a fifty-percent boost was highly impressive.
Holding the Trident, Mu Chen walked over to a boulder.
He gripped the Trident with one hand and thrust it forward with all his might.
Boom!
The Trident pierced a hole through the boulder as easily as if it were tofu.
"Not bad. That was about as powerful as an ordinary Soul Grandmaster's full-strength attack."
Before testing his Soul Skill, Mu Chen had specifically woken Old Tang to help assess it.
Old Tang's evaluation delighted Mu Chen. That meant that, with his First Soul Skill activated, he already had the fighting strength of a Soul Grandmaster.