Unlike Kong Deming, who was tense,
Xu Tianming had complete faith in Columbina's power, so he wasn't worried in the slightest that anything would happen to him.
And the outcome was exactly as he'd expected.
Although the spiritual impact of this Soul Ring was somewhat stronger than anticipated, Columbina had been prepared. The moment she sensed something was wrong, she reinforced her spiritual defenses.
Thus, Xu Tianming easily overcame the second major obstacle to absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
After that, all that remained was to refine it completely.
That process couldn't be helped along by outside forces. It simply took time.
But although the danger within was gone, there were still dangers from outside.
If a Soul Master was disturbed by ill-intentioned people while refining a Soul Ring, they would suffer a backlash.
But Xu Tianming didn't need to worry about that danger.
After all, with his uncle guarding him, he could disregard any concerns about his safety.
In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.
After absorbing this Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, Xu Tianming felt a surge of exhilaration unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
The Soul Power that had been restricted because he hadn't obtained a Second Soul Ring had soared straight to level 26 the moment he successfully absorbed it.
Ordinary Soul Masters did gain Soul Power after absorbing a Soul Ring, but never by as astonishing an amount as Xu Tianming had.
Kong Deming, however, had an explanation for it:
"Tianming, I estimate your Soul Power Level rose so dramatically because you absorbed two Soul Rings in quick succession, and neither was low in rank. On top of that, you'd already eaten most of a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue. With all those factors combined, such a huge increase in Soul Power isn't surprising."
After reflecting for a moment, Kong Deming changed his tone:
"But even though gaining so many levels of Soul Power all at once is a good thing, remember this, Tianming: don't reveal your true Soul Power Level to others for a while. It won't do you any good!"
As he spoke, Kong Deming took a badge engraved with the Sun Moon Imperial Family's banner from his storage pouch and placed it in Xu Tianming's hand:
"This is a Soul Tool I made myself. Wear it, and it can conceal your true Soul Power Level. Only Titled Douluo-level experts or Soul Engineers ranked level eight and above can see through it."
Xu Tianming understood the principle that a tall tree caught the wind, so he didn't refuse Kong Deming's kindness.
After taking the badge, Xu Tianming began sensing the Second Soul Skill he'd just obtained, with his uncle and Ye Guyi watching expectantly.
After carefully sensing his Second Soul Skill, Xu Tianming came to a realization.
It seemed his earlier guess had been right. The Soul Skill granted to the Radiant Sun Martial Soul after obtaining a Soul Ring had little to do with the Soul Beast. Instead, it was related to Mavuika's authority.
Take the Second Soul Skill he'd just obtained, "Night Soul Domain," for example.
When activated, it created a Night Soul Domain with Xu Tianming at its center and a radius of one hundred meters.
Within the domain, he could choose up to ten people and establish a connection with them. Once a target agreed to the connection, those linked together would trigger one "Night Soul Transfer," directly increasing one another's Soul Power by 10%. Each person could complete a "Night Soul Transfer" with each other person only once within the domain, and could receive the enhancement from "Night Soul Transfer" up to ten times, increasing their Soul Power by 100%.
Moreover, releasing this domain didn't consume Soul Power. Instead, it consumed "Battle Intent" Xu Tianming had stored beforehand.
That meant that as long as he entered battle with an enemy, Xu Tianming could absorb a steady stream of "Battle Intent." And as long as he could absorb "Battle Intent," he could keep the Night Soul Domain active throughout the fight!
Although his first two Soul Skills were both support-type enhancement skills, Xu Tianming thought they were far more useful than combat-type skills.
After all, a Soul Master could obtain at least nine Soul Skills, and the later skills were always more powerful.
Combat-type Soul Skills obtained from early Soul Rings could make a Soul Master feel unstoppable in the early stages. But once they grew powerful enough and obtained Soul Skills with higher year limits and greater attack power, those earlier offensive skills became as good as useless, wasting Soul Ring slots.
But for most Soul Masters, there was no way around it.
After all, young Soul Masters who wanted to grow stronger quickly had to join a high-level Soul Master Academy with abundant educational resources.
And joining a high-level Soul Master Academy meant sparring with their peers. What good was a Soul Master without offensive Soul Skills in a fight against their peers?
As a result, most Soul Masters were trapped in an unsolvable vicious cycle.
Fortunately, Xu Tianming didn't have to be troubled by it.
After Xu Tianming explained the effects of his Second Soul Skill to Kong Deming, his uncle was unsurprisingly astonished again.
Xu Tianming activated his Second Soul Skill and tried connecting with his uncle. After they completed one "Night Soul Transfer," Kong Deming couldn't help exclaiming once more:
"Even my cultivation can be enhanced with a 10% increase in Soul Power!"
Xu Tianming himself hadn't expected that a Second Soul Skill cast with his level 20 Soul Power could even enhance a Titled Douluo-level expert.
This showed just how heaven-defying Mavuika's authority was.
But it wasn't without a cost.
Xu Tianming could feel the "Battle Intent" stored within him rapidly draining away.
After ending the effects of Night Soul Transfer, the Battle Intent consumption stopped. To test it, Xu Tianming then completed another "Night Soul Transfer" with Ye Guyi.
This time, he could clearly feel that his Battle Intent wasn't being consumed very quickly.
"It seems that's because there's such a huge gap between my Soul Power and the target's. If I were with a Soul Master at my own level, then at this rate of Battle Intent consumption, I could keep it active for at least a quarter of an hour even without replenishing it."
After hearing his nephew's explanation, Kong Deming was at a loss for words.
In theory, even the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, universally recognized as the continent's foremost auxiliary Martial Soul, couldn't begin to compare with this terrifying Soul Power enhancement of up to 100%!
Xu Tianming was just as excited.
But it wasn't because of his Second Soul Skill. It was because his guess had been right!
If his Radiant Sun Martial Soul's Soul Skills continued to come from Mavuika's authority, as this one did, wouldn't that mean he'd have a chance to obtain a Soul Skill called "Resurrection Poem" in the future?
The fiery Resurrection Poem was blessed by the Night God, the Ley Line, and the Archon of Death.
With this effect upon it, the Resurrection Poem would protect every brave and fearless life. Even if someone died in battle and was left without a whole corpse, the Resurrection Poem could bring them back to life, whole and unharmed!
The Sun Moon Empire's ultimate goal was to unite the entire Douluo Continent.
And unification inevitably meant war.
Where there was war, people were bound to die.
And if he truly could obtain the power of "Resurrection Poem" in the future...
Putting everything else aside, it would at least prevent many unnecessary casualties.
Before you continue