"Just as expected of a Martial Soul granted by the system. It looks incredibly powerful."
Fang Qingshan was quite pleased with the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe's appearance. He immediately tried using it, reaching out to grip the handle.
In an instant, an indescribable chill washed over him, seeming to reach straight into his soul before vanishing in a flash. Fang Qingshan felt completely clearheaded.
Then Fang Qingshan felt strength coursing through his entire body, and his confidence grew.
It was as if, with the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe in hand, there was no target he couldn't take down.
"Not bad!"
Fang Qingshan gave the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe a couple of light swings. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it.
"Soul-Sucking Battle Axe. Soul-sucking, soul-sucking—absorbing souls. Could this axe really absorb souls? I'll have to keep an eye on that."
Fang Qingshan put away the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe, then opened his right hand and released his First Martial Soul, the Writing Brush.
Compared with the Soul-Sucking Battle Axe, the Writing Brush in front of him looked utterly ordinary. Even holding it didn't feel special.
"Su Yuntao already certified it. By rights, it shouldn't be this ordinary. Could it really just be an oversized writing brush?"
As the saying went, one dismissal from Su Yuntao meant another god-king was born.
Although Su Yuntao hadn't called Fang Qingshan's Writing Brush a Trash Martial Soul to his face, Fang Qingshan had seen it for himself.
Before Fang Qingshan changed his Innate Soul Power, he'd clearly seen Su Yuntao's assessment of the Writing Brush on the information panel: Trash Martial Soul.
Su Yuntao's certification might have been a bit of hocus-pocus, but it wasn't completely useless as a reference.
At the very least, it gave him a little more hope.
"How am I supposed to use a Writing Brush Martial Soul? To write? To draw? Surely this thing can't be used as a weapon?"
"I've already decided to leave for the Soul Hunting Forest this afternoon to look for my First Soul Ring, so I need to figure out the development path for my First Martial Soul as soon as possible."
Fang Qingshan let his imagination run wild.
"If only my Writing Brush worked like the system. Whatever I wrote would come true. I could write the word 'die' and write someone to death."
"Or maybe whatever I drew would appear. I'd draw a Super Saiyan, then punch the Douluo Universe to pieces."
"Wait, didn't Tang San's Blue Silver Grass later evolve into the Blue Silver Emperor? Could my Writing Brush evolve someday, too?"
"Doesn't seem likely. The Writing Brush and Blue Silver Grass are two different things, and Tang San himself has the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline."
Just as Fang Qingshan's thoughts were running away with him, the system suddenly gave him a prompt—
[Keyword [evolution] detected. Would you like to evolve the Writing Brush Martial Soul into the Fantasy Pen?]
Fang Qingshan froze.
So it could work like that?
Right. Martial Soul Evolution was perfectly natural. It was only normal for the system to show up.
Fang Qingshan didn't hesitate for a second. He decisively chose to evolve.
[Modification successful! The Writing Brush Martial Soul has evolved into the Fantasy Pen!]
The price of evolving it was one opportunity to change his own fate.
Fang Qingshan didn't feel the slightest sting. He thought it was a great bargain.
He'd already changed his Innate Soul Power. Wasn't evolving his Martial Soul far more worthwhile than changing his Innate Soul Power?
Besides, he'd just imagined that his Martial Soul might evolve. Now his imagination had come true right before his eyes. It felt incredible.
"I've got to see what my Fantasy Pen looks like!"
Perhaps because of the Martial Soul Evolution, the Writing Brush in Fang Qingshan's hand automatically vanished.
Fang Qingshan opened his right hand again, and white light surged into view.
The Writing Brush, about thirty centimeters long, appeared once more. At first glance, it looked no different from before.
But on closer inspection, one could see many white patterns on its black shaft.
What's more, holding the shaft felt completely different to Fang Qingshan now.
Before, the ordinary Writing Brush hadn't given him any particular feeling.
Now, holding the Fantasy Pen gave him the sense that whatever he wrote or drew could become real.
"Did the system just give it all the effects I'd imagined?"
Fang Qingshan was both surprised and delighted, and immediately began experimenting.
He used the Fantasy Pen to write the character for "strength," but nothing happened.
Unwilling to give up, he wrote several more characters one after another, but none of them had the slightest effect.
"Maybe I have to draw something?"
Fang Qingshan furrowed his brow and used the Fantasy Pen to draw a bald head in midair.
But the bald head he'd imagined didn't appear, either.
"It doesn't work. Then why do I feel like whatever I write or draw can become real?"
"Could these effects only work after I get a Soul Ring and gain a Soul Skill?"
Fang Qingshan tried a few more times, but nothing happened. In the end, he put away the Fantasy Pen.
"I'm leaving for the Soul Hunting Forest this afternoon. I'll have my answer soon enough."
Fang Qingshan had already been looking forward to his First Soul Ring. Now he was even more eager to get it.
As he waited, he thought of Tang San again.
"I just got an opportunity to change fate, and it's been reset to zero after evolving my Martial Soul. Let's see what Tang San's doing now. I should try to get another opportunity before entering the Soul Hunting Forest."
With a thought, Fang Qingshan saw lines of text appear before his eyes.
They described Old Jack visiting Tang San, bringing him two boiled eggs, and telling him he would come by tomorrow morning to take him to the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony.
They also mentioned that Tang Hao was still asleep even though the sun was already high in the sky, and complained that he didn't act like a father at all.
Tang San merely listened in silence. He didn't say that Tang Hao had already left.
After reading the information, Fang Qingshan's lips curled upward. "I didn't expect another opportunity to come so quickly. I can make another change when Tang San awakens his Martial Soul tomorrow!"
Having already succeeded once in changing Tang San's fate, Fang Qingshan knew that randomly messing with Tang San's destiny would almost always end in failure.
Only a crucial change at a critical moment could succeed.
After sorting out his thoughts, Fang Qingshan began to cultivate.
His uncle and aunt had explained how Soul Masters cultivated long ago.
There were no fancy tricks to it. They simply meditated.
When ordinary people meditated, it only helped them feel calm and relaxed. They experienced nothing else out of the ordinary.
But when Soul Masters meditated, they naturally entered a state of cultivation.
With his Innate Full Soul Power, Fang Qingshan entered that state almost instantly, and his cultivation speed was astonishing.
He could clearly sense his Soul Power growing bit by bit, like watching an experience bar fill up.
Once he started cultivating, he lost track of time.
By the time Fang Qingshan finished cultivating, it was already evening.
Seeing that the sky outside had gone dark, Fang Qingshan hurriedly got out of bed.
When he went downstairs, he found his uncle and aunt waiting for him. His aunt was holding Fang Qian, who had already fallen asleep.
Fang Qingshan smiled and said, "We saw you hadn't come down for lunch, so we guessed you were cultivating. We didn't want to disturb you, so we never called for you."
"I booked a carriage this afternoon, and everything's ready for the trip to the Soul Hunting Forest. We'll set out as soon as you've finished dinner."
After speaking, Fang Qingshan went into the kitchen and soon came back with steaming hot food.
"Your aunt was worried you wouldn't have a hot meal ready when you finished cultivating, so she kept everything steaming in the pot. Hurry and eat while it's hot."
Fang Qingshan felt a rush of emotion. "Thank you, Uncle and Aunt!"
After dinner, Fang Qingshan took Fang Qingshan in the carriage and set off.
Their destination: the Soul Hunting Forest.
Before you continue