The Second Martial Soul of the Twin Martial Souls (2)

He left the perimeter of the Sea God Awakening Hall.

Li Changsheng returned to his rented hotel with his martial soul certificate and dove straight into his room.

Once inside, Li Changsheng first ordered a meal consisting of vegetables paired with an expensive ten-year spirit beast steak; it sizzled with oil and tasted absolutely divine.

Li Changsheng understood the importance of rest and recuperation, and he followed a strict set of personal principles.

Treat others with kindness in daily life.

When dealing with enemies, kill them to vent one's hatred and cut the weeds to pull out the roots.

As the saying goes, if you aren't decisive in killing, you'll die an ugly death!

In short, never get angry.

He sat cross-legged on the bed.

He first circulated his Mysterious Heaven Skill internal energy to connect with his spirit power, summoning the Genesis Book, one of his martial souls.

At the same time, with a thought, he opened the storage space attached to his Sign-in and Clock-in System.

He retrieved the reward items from this sign-in that had already been transferred to the warehouse.

The first was the Level 10 Spirit Master's Notes.

A piece of parchment with a brilliant, archaic charm landed in Li Changsheng's hands.

As his palms touched it, a delicate sensation surged forth.

Li Changsheng immediately opened the Level 10 Spirit Master's Notes, a reward from the system.

"Spirit tools are world-destroying weapons capable of annihilating heaven and earth---Introduction."

"Spirit tool basics..."

"Advanced spirit tools..."

"Strategic spirit tool manufacturing methods..."

Rows of text, written in simplified characters as small as mosquitoes, appeared on the parchment.

"Why not use the characters prevalent on the Douluo Continent?" After reading the content, a flicker of doubt crossed Li Changsheng's mind.

However, he did not dwell on it.

This was actually a good thing.

At the very least, if he read it openly, no one would be able to recognize the characters on it.

"So there are so many intricacies to spirit tools."

Li Changsheng looked at the descriptions of things like engraving central arrays, arrays for channeling spirit power, and various raw materials capable of withstanding immense spirit power, and he suddenly felt the profound depth of spirit tool crafting.

"Become a Level 1 spirit master before the age of twelve."

Considering this task, Li Changsheng put the parchment away.

There was still plenty of time.

Moreover, his current primary goal was to absorb a spirit ring, officially begin his cultivation, and rapidly increase his spirit power.

As for spirit tools, he could just take them out to read and experiment with in his spare time.

Soon, Li Changsheng took out the second item rewarded by the system.

Hiss.

A faint cracking sound rang out.

Before Li Changsheng's eyes, a light orb wrapped in brilliant gold gradually emerged.

It was a dazzling golden ring with special textures vaguely floating on its surface, though they were difficult to see clearly; one could only sense that a special, extremely powerful energy seemed to be flowing within it.

A spirit ring that could increase its own age!

Li Changsheng's burning gaze remained fixed on this spirit ring.

"As long as I absorb this spirit ring, I can become a spirit master."

Reaching out his palm, Li Changsheng extended his index finger and poked the brilliant golden spirit ring.

It felt like a physical object.

When Li Changsheng's fingertip touched the golden spirit ring, it really felt like touching a ring with its own temperature regulation.

<Notification: It is recommended that you do not attach this spirit ring to the Genesis Book, but rather to your second martial soul.>

Just as Li Changsheng attempted to use his own spirit power to slowly guide the spirit ring before him for absorption, the cold, mechanical voice of the God of Wisdom suddenly rang out again.

"Not absorb it? What do you mean by that?"

Li Changsheng pondered for a moment, vaguely feeling that absorbing it now should be the standard procedure.

After all, his Mysterious Heaven Skill had already reached its first bottleneck, and with his innate soul power at level ten, continuing his cultivation required attaching a soul ring to his martial soul.

Li Changsheng was aware that one could technically continue cultivating even after hitting a bottleneck, but that feeling of saturation was incredibly uncomfortable, and the speed of cultivation slowed down many times over—it was a complete waste of time.

<Answer: Your Genesis Book martial soul will not have its effects diminished by the age of a soul ring, so even if you absorb a ten-year soul ring, the effect remains fixed. However, your second martial soul is different; it requires absorbing a soul ring of the limit age to possess any power. Therefore, it is recommended to attach this soul ring to your second martial soul.>

Li Changsheng listened and thought, then asked in surprise, "Then, if I attach nine ten-year soul rings to my first martial soul, that wouldn't be a problem either?"

<Notification: Please do not be argumentative. Of course, there would be a problem.>

The God of Wisdom's mechanical voice sounded particularly awkward when it uttered the word "argumentative."

But Li Changsheng nodded; yes, the God of Wisdom had a point.

Furthermore, there was another reason Li Changsheng had just been considering.

He was heading to the Pre-Education Academy in three days for the entrance exam, and he felt that having a soul ring immediately after awakening his martial soul would give people a strange impression.

"Alright, let me take a look at what this second martial soul, rewarded by the Sign-in and Clock-in System, actually looks like."

Li Changsheng placed the reward soul ring back into his storage space.

He rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation.

With a sudden surge of soul power, he channeled the internal energy of his Mysterious Heaven Skill, guiding that strange sensation toward his left hand.

Then, in the blink of an eye.

Li Changsheng suddenly discovered that the scene around him had changed.

The layout of the hotel room he had been in vanished completely.

In its place was a desolate land.

Yes, a desolate land, an endless, barren expanse.

High above in the firmament, a setting sun emitted a scarlet, manic light.

The ground was cracked, and beneath it, scorching hot magma had congealed into clumps.

Gusts of wind filled with baleful energy blew past, forcing Li Changsheng to step back as his clothes whipped violently in the air.

"Where am I?"

Li Changsheng felt dazed and swallowed hard.

Looking at this ruined world, he felt a sense of fear and apprehension in his heart.

Then, the voice of the God of Wisdom rang out, which eased his mind slightly.

<Notification: This is your second martial soul, a tool-type martial soul: the Immortal Execution Painting.>

"Immortal Execution Painting?" Li Changsheng asked with a questioning tone, his confusion deepening.

<Answer: Correct. As the saying goes, 'a world in a flower, a bodhi in a leaf.' Here, it is a world in a painting; therefore, your second martial soul is a painting.>

The God of Wisdom seemed well-versed in the culture of Li Changsheng's past life, casually pulling out those phrases to explain.

"This... is this a world inside a painting? A world manifested by my martial soul?"

He looked at the dilapidated world, which appeared shattered like a broken mirror; the distance was shrouded in darkness, and everything within his line of sight was desolate.

Answer: Yes.

"Then, what are the effects of this Immortal Execution Painting martial soul?"

Li Changsheng crouched down and touched the ground.

It was real—incredibly real. When he scooped up the sand, the sensation of it flowing through his fingertips was real to the extreme.

Beneath the cracked earth, the hot, flowing magma radiated an oppressive heat.

<Answer: According to the world view, this martial soul can be classified as a control-type martial soul. When released, it can envelop enemies and launch attacks.>

Li Changsheng was bewildered. He stood up, walked to the edge of a massive fissure, and said, "That's too vague. Explain it in detail."

The God of Wisdom was being far too simplistic. Trapping the opponent?

What kind of attacks would it have, and in what way would it attack the opponent?

<Notification: You must comprehend the specifics yourself. I can only offer you one sentence: Within the world, creation manifests.>

Li Changsheng: "Are you cultivating immortality? Forget it, I'll research it myself."

Li Changsheng felt that the God of Wisdom likely knew the answer but hadn't revealed it, probably for a reason...

Thus, he asked how to exit, and subsequently, he left the martial soul world.