The Summoning-Creation Path

" Tang San was about my age. Six years ago was the year the former Pope of Spirit Hall, Qian Xunji, led a team to hunt down the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin."

"The final result was that Ah Yin sacrificed herself, Tang Hao drove off the people from Spirit Hall and gravely wounded Qian Xunji, and Spirit Hall suppressed the news."

"Anyone who had a grudge against Spirit Hall and dared to attack it was most likely Tang Hao."

"With Tang Hao's strength, destroying a Spirit Hall Branch would indeed be a piece of cake."

"Could it really have been him?"

Duan Fan figured it was almost certainly Tang Hao.

If he wanted to be sure, it was simple enough: he just had to increase his strength, then a little investigation would get him the answer.

However he looked at it, he still needed to possess enough strength.

Whether he wanted to investigate or get revenge, he needed powerful strength to back him up.

Duan Fan put aside his thoughts and, faced with Fang Qingshan's reminder, nodded earnestly. "I'll work hard at cultivating, Uncle!"

Fang Qingshan nodded with satisfaction. "Good boy!"

"Have something to eat. We should reach Soul Hunting Forest in about two hours."

As he spoke, Fang Qingshan handed Duan Fan some beef jerky and a pile of other food.

"We'll reach Soul Hunting Forest soon, and I'm getting closer and closer to obtaining my First Soul Ring. I'd better check what's happening with Tang San right now."

Duan Fan tore off a small piece of beef jerky and slowly chewed it. With a thought, lines of text immediately appeared before his eyes.

They described what was happening to Tang San.

With Su Yuntao's help, Tang San had already completed his Martial Soul Awakening. Su Yuntao had also said that classic line.

"Another Trash Martial Soul."

Then, at Tang San's request, Su Yuntao tested his Innate Soul Power.

The result was no surprise: Tang San had Innate Full Soul Power, leaving Su Yuntao utterly stunned.

"The timing's just right."

Duan Fan had been waiting for Tang San to complete his Martial Soul Awakening ceremony.

He began to alter Tang San's fate, still choosing not to target Tang San himself.

Last time, he had altered Tang Hao's fate. This time, his target was Su Yuntao.

[Su Yuntao packed up his things, preparing to head to the next village.

He picked up the Martial Soul Awakening roster for Sacred Soul Village and wrote down the details of Tang San's Martial Soul Awakening.

Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass. Innate Soul Power: Full.

He suddenly remembered helping a child awaken his Martial Soul yesterday in the Spirit Awakening Room at the Spirit Hall Branch in Notting City.

That child had also possessed Innate Full Soul Power.

His Martial Soul was a Writing Brush, which seemed slightly better than Blue Silver Grass.

Two children with Innate Full Soul Power had appeared in the space of two days. He needed to report this.

Even if it was a Trash Martial Soul, he still had to report it.

Otherwise, he'd surely be held accountable later.

Thinking of this, Su Yuntao circled Tang San's information.]

"Done!"

"The system hasn't said the modification failed, so it's most likely worked!"

"Now I just have to wait patiently and see what happens next."

"I just don't know when I'll get the system reward."

Duan Fan ate some beef jerky and polished off two flatbreads, quickly filling his stomach.

Fang Qingshan was flipping through a notebook. He said, "I looked up some information last night and took your mother's Soul Ring combinations into account. I've settled on a few Soul Beasts that would be suitable for your First Soul Ring. I'll tell you about them now."

Duan Fan immediately perked up. "Okay!"

Duan Fan had complete faith in Fang Qingshan's expertise.

Over the years, Duan Fan had often seen Fang Qingshan studying materials about Soul Masters and Soul Beasts until the middle of the night.

He had filled no fewer than a hundred notebooks, which were piled into two large wooden chests.

From time to time, Fang Qingshan also told Duan Fan and Fang Qian about Soul Masters and Soul Beasts in the form of stories. Fang Qian couldn't understand them, but she listened with great interest.

Duan Fan, on the other hand, listened intently. He thought some of Fang Qingshan's theories made a lot of sense.

Speaking of theoretical knowledge, one couldn't overlook a certain Grandmaster.

Duan Fan had been to Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy, where he had met the so-called Grandmaster.

The man had given Duan Fan the impression of being nothing like a scholar devoted to studying theory. He seemed more like a useless man, sitting around waiting to die.

He even asked Fang Qingshan for his opinion on some of his theories.

In Duan Fan's eyes, his Uncle Fang was the one who truly deserved to be called a Grandmaster.

Fang Qingshan turned another page of his notebook and stopped. The writing on it was neat and densely packed; clearly, he had done a great deal of research.

"The first target Soul Beast is called Snow Deer. It lives in the northern part of Soul Hunting Forest, and its ability is to release icy mist that slows its targets.

Your mother chose it for her First Soul Ring back then. The Soul Skill she obtained was called Frost Brush Point. It lets her paint a patch of icy mist that slows the target.

She followed the control-support path. All her Soul Skills focused on control. The advantage was that her control effects were pretty good, making her a relatively unusual control-type Soul Master. The downside was that she didn't have much damage-dealing ability."

"The second target Soul Beast is called Dream-Weaving Spider. It lives in the Withered Wood Forest to the southeast of Soul Hunting Forest. It can weave its silk into giant spiders and control them in battle.

According to the information I found, Soul Skills granted by this kind of Soul Beast are creative in nature.

For example, one Soul Master had a Gravel Martial Soul. After absorbing this Soul Beast's Soul Ring, he gained a Soul Skill that let him condense sand into spiders.

If you absorb the Dream-Weaving Spider's Soul Ring, you'll most likely gain a creative-type Soul Skill too. For instance, you might be able to paint a Giant Spider and have it fight for you.

I call this kind of path the summoning-creation path."

"The third target Soul Beast is called Wind Sound Sparrow. It lives in the valleys of Soul Hunting Forest. It can let out a piercing cry and attack its targets with sound waves.

It was the Soul Beast your mother chose for her Fifth Soul Ring. The Soul Skill she obtained was called Brush Howl. By sweeping her Paintbrush, she could release sound waves that slowed her targets and inflicted mental attacks.

It was her only Soul Skill with an offensive effect.

She valued the sound waves' ability to control, while I value their mental attack.

There's nothing wrong with taking a mental-attack path with a Paintbrush."

After introducing all the Soul Beasts, Fang Qingshan gave a brief summary. "These three choices represent three different paths: the control-support path, the summoning-creation path, and the mental-attack path. I think these are the three options best suited to your Martial Soul."

"The safest choice is the control-support path. After all, that's the path your mother followed, and she got pretty good results."

"Though you're still young and may not be able to make the best decision, I still choose to respect your wishes."

"Xiaofan, which path do you plan to take? Or do you have your own ideas besides the ones I've recommended?"

Duan Fan listened carefully, then answered without much hesitation. "I choose the summoning-creation path."

Of course he had to choose the summoning-creation path. Wasn't that exactly what the Fantasy Pen was made for?