Flame Spin Burst and Burst Spiral Fist!

"Huff—"

Ji Bai steadied his breathing, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to meditate.

As time passed, the Evil Fire rapidly accumulated.

"At this rate, in about six or seven days, the Evil Fire will build up enough to affect my mind. When that happens, forget cultivating—even staying conscious will be a problem."

Ji Bai thought to himself and sighed softly.

He cultivated until evening before finally opening his eyes. With just one exhale, the temperature of the surrounding air rose noticeably.

"I can only cultivate for this long at a time."

"Perfect. I'll make a trip into the city."

Ji Bai got out of bed, left the dormitory, exited Shrek Academy, and headed toward Suotuo City.

After truly becoming a Soul Master, his physical condition had improved considerably. He had even grown noticeably taller, while his red hair and ruby-like eyes had become even more vivid.

Suotuo City, Spirit Hall.

Ji Bai said to the guard, "Hello, I'm here to verify my Soul Master status."

The guard looked Ji Bai over. As a Soul Master himself, he sensed the fluctuations of Soul Power coming from Ji Bai. He did not stop him and merely gestured inside. "Keep going straight, then turn left."

"Thank you."

Ji Bai thanked him and walked straight ahead.

"He became a Soul Master at such a young age. What enviable talent."

The guard could not help muttering under his breath.

Following the guard's directions and asking a few more people along the way, Ji Bai successfully found the place for Soul Master certification.

He approached an elderly man and said softly, "Hello, I'm here to verify my qualifications as a Soul Master."

The old man adjusted his glasses and looked down at Ji Bai, intense interest appearing in his eyes. "You came to verify your status as a Soul Master at such a young age?"

Ji Bai smiled. "What do I need to do?"

"Release your Martial Soul and Soul Ring, then test your Soul Power." The old man took out a crystal ball, held it out before Ji Bai, and explained.

"Alright."

Ji Bai did as instructed.

The Evil Fire Phoenix, wreathed in purplish-red flames, appeared behind him alongside a yellow Soul Ring.

"Your Martial Soul is actually a Phoenix! And your first Soul Ring is a hundred-year one! Little fellow, you're impressive!" The old man was surprised, and a flash of delight appeared in his eyes.

"It's nothing special. What should I do now?" Ji Bai did not get carried away by the old man's praise. He only wanted to collect his money and return as quickly as possible.

"Your age and name. I'll record them." The old man took out a scroll and prepared to write.

Ji Bai said, "My name is Ji Bai. Ji as in grain, Bai as in daylight. I'm six years old, and my Martial Soul is the Fire Phoenix."

He directly omitted the word "Evil."

He was confident he could turn his Martial Soul into a true Fire Phoenix. As long as it was used properly, Evil Fire might not be a bad thing.

"This is your Soul Master certificate, and this Gold Soul Coin is your monthly Soul Master subsidy." The old man handed Ji Bai the completed scroll and a Gold Soul Coin, then asked, "Little fellow, you have excellent talent. Would you like to join Spirit Hall?"

Without even thinking, Ji Bai replied, "Thank you, but I'm currently a student of Shrek Academy. I have no plans to join Spirit Hall for now."

"You're from Shrek Academy..." The old man nodded and smiled. "If you ever want to join Spirit Hall, come find me anytime."

"Thank you. I'll consider it carefully." Ji Bai accepted both items, bowed, and turned to leave.

"What a pity... Such a fine seedling is going to be ruined by Flender again..." The old man shook his head regretfully and sighed.

Hearing that, Ji Bai paused, but after shaking his head, he immediately continued walking without lingering.

Flender's reputation really was awful!

He opened his Soul Master certificate. He skimmed past all the other information, stopping at the Soul Power Level entry. "Level twelve..."

"This should be because I cultivated for some time before absorbing the Soul Ring. The Soul Ring's age probably wasn't low either—likely over four hundred years, perhaps even higher."

"The teachers at Shrek Academy can be uneducated, fine, but Flender has been partners with Yu Xiaogang for so many years and still can't even identify the exact age of a soul beast... This place isn't fit for a long stay..."

With money in hand, Ji Bai immediately bought himself something to eat and enjoyed a hearty meal.

It was also the best meal he had eaten since arriving on Douluo Continent.

After that, Ji Bai bought himself two sets of decent black clothes.

Shrek Academy had no school uniform, and he had still been wearing the patched cloth clothes from before.

Now that he had changed into new clothes, he looked much more spirited. He no longer appeared so destitute, unlike before, when he looked like a beggar walking down the street.

After returning to Shrek Academy, Ji Bai found that Ma Hongjun had not yet returned. After giving it some thought, he did not immediately begin meditating. Instead, he went to the academy entrance.

There was a massive boulder there, perfect as a target for venting his fire. As for how he would vent it, he would sweat without restraint and unleash his Soul Skill.

"Shriek—"

A phoenix cry rang through the night as Ji Bai summoned his Martial Soul, the yellow Soul Ring circling beneath his feet.

The phantom of the Evil Fire Phoenix slowly overlaid his small body. His already red hair and eyes suddenly blazed brighter, his hair resembling burning flames, while his pupils condensed into two flickering clusters of fire.

The black clothes made the fiery glow around him appear even more bewitching. A translucent phoenix shadow clung tightly to his skin, clearly outlining a phoenix head, wing feathers, and tail plumes.

"First Soul Skill, Flame Spin Burst!"

Ji Bai gathered his Soul Power. Purplish-red flames swirled around his body, forming a tornado as waves of fire spread outward, rapidly raising the temperature of the surrounding space.

The tornado slowly compressed, then in the next instant shot toward the boulder like a cannonball.

"Rumble—"

A deafening blast echoed through the night. The boulder, weighing over a thousand jin, shattered into rubble that continued to burn beneath the flames.

"Huff—"

Ji Bai let out a long breath.

After releasing a Soul Skill, he immediately felt much lighter in both body and mind. The Evil Fire accumulated within him had been vented after he used the Soul Skill.

That proved the method he had considered earlier was effective.

"This Soul Skill is pretty good. Compared to simply breathing fire, it's more powerful, and the intensity of the flames has doubled."

Ji Bai's eyes shifted as an idea surfaced in his mind. He activated his Soul Skill once more.

However.

This time, instead of releasing the fiery tornado created by the Soul Skill to bombard a target, he attached it to his own body and concentrated most of its power into his fist.

"Burst Spiral Fist!"

Ji Bai's speed and strength increased tremendously, rising by more than double.

In the blink of an eye, he rushed to a large tree that required an adult to wrap both arms around it. He threw a punch, packed with gathered force.

"Boom—!"

The instant Ji Bai's fist landed, the spot he struck erupted in a violent explosion.

The tree snapped into two halves. Its middle section was blasted into wood chips and continued burning in the flames.

"After compressing the power and releasing it at a single point, the force increases by quite a bit!"

Ji Bai slowly clenched his fist, a slight smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

He had more or less understood the effects of his first Soul Skill.

Once his Soul Power Level increased in the future, this Soul Skill would still remain useful.

He carefully sensed his Soul Power consumption and discovered that after releasing the Soul Skill twice in succession, he had used around half of his Soul Power.

"Looks like my current Soul Power can only support four uses before I can't release any more Soul Skills."

"High burst, but no endurance. If I encounter enemies in the future, I'll have to end the fight quickly."

Ji Bai swept his gaze across the purplish-red flames still burning on the ground around him. He spread open his palm, and an invisible force of suction appeared.

The flames were drawn into his hand one after another.

"Xiaobai, what are you doing here?"

Just then, Flender descended from the sky with Ma Hongjun and landed before him.

Ma Hongjun was full of energy now. His previous state had vanished completely, and he was even exceptionally excited and delighted.