An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
After effortlessly and perfectly absorbing his First Soul Ring, Xu Tianming felt as though he had undergone a complete transformation.
When he had first awakened his Martial Soul, he could only manipulate Soul Power in the most basic way.
But now, after absorbing a Soul Ring and receiving its skill in the depths of his memory, Xu Tianming had gained the fundamentals of combat.
He had thought his First Soul Skill would be an offensive one. After all, the Raging Flame Bear was an extremely aggressive Soul Beast.
But the result...
This Soul Skill was a little unusual. It had both a passive and an active effect.
Passively, the skill was called Battle Intent Absorption. Within a fifty-meter radius centered on him, whenever anyone felt the urge to fight, the skill automatically absorbed the Battle Intent of everyone in range, friend or foe, and stored it as extra Soul Power that he could release with his next attack.
Actively, the skill was called Battle Intent Burst. Its effect was simple: after he used it, his next attack would carry all the extra Soul Power accumulated and converted by the passive effect.
The Soul Skill's mechanics weren't complicated. The only question was how much Soul Power its passive effect could store.
If there were no limit, wouldn't that mean that as long as Xu Tianming kept accumulating power in secret, one day he could unleash enough Soul Power to kill even a God King in a single blow?
After sharing this idea with Mavuika, Xu Tianming waited eagerly for her response.
He figured that since Mavuika was the true form of his Martial Soul, she should be able to sense the upper limit of this Soul Skill.
After hearing Xu Tianming's question, Mavuika took a moment to feel it out, then replied carefully:
"In theory, there is no limit to how much Battle Intent can be absorbed and converted. The problem is that your First Soul Ring isn't very old, so its absorption and conversion efficiency is low. Also, although there is no limit to how much Soul Power you can store, it depends on what your body can withstand. If your physique isn't strong enough and you force yourself to store more Soul Power, the backlash could leave your body crippled."
There were restrictions, but the answer was still more or less what Xu Tianming had hoped for.
As long as there was no upper limit, everything else could be worked around!
Still, why did this Soul Skill feel like part of Mavuika's authority?
Xu Tianming withdrew his consciousness from the Mental Sea of Consciousness and returned to his body. As he rose to his feet, Kong Deming, who had been standing guard nearby, immediately came over and asked with concern:
"Tianming, did you successfully absorb your fifteen-hundred-year First Soul Ring...?"
Just by looking at Xu Tianming, Kong Deming could tell that his monstrously talented nephew had succeeded. But such a shocking feat deserved to be confirmed by the boy himself.
After all, he could now say that he had witnessed history.
Meeting his uncle's expectant gaze, Xu Tianming smiled and nodded.
"Yes, Uncle. I did it."
"Hahahaha! Good! Well done, Tianming! An achievement without precedent! You've made history in the Soul Master World! If your mother could see how talented you are from beyond the grave, I imagine she'd be just as happy as I am."
At the end, Kong Deming's voice choked with emotion...
After a moment, he realized that he'd lost his composure and blushed.
But after living for more than a century, he was no stranger to managing his emotions. In the blink of an eye, his face had settled back into a warm smile.
"Let's not dwell on sad things... Tianming, what Soul Skill did your First Soul Ring give you?"
Xu Tianming thought for a moment, then told Kong Deming everything about his Soul Skill's abilities and shortcomings.
His uncle was only at level 94 and wasn't even a Super Douluo yet, but as the strongest Soul Engineer on the continent, his knowledge surely surpassed that of ordinary people. He might be able to help resolve some of the skill's shortcomings—or, failing that, he might know of some rare treasures that could strengthen Xu Tianming's body.
Just as Xu Tianming had expected, after hearing him out, Kong Deming's expression briefly betrayed his shock once more.
"What? A Soul Skill like that exists? Show it to me!"
Clearly, the mechanics of Xu Tianming's First Soul Skill had gone beyond what even the old veteran knew.
Xu Tianming had no reason to refuse.
"Sure, Uncle. First, release some Battle Intent... or perhaps killing intent."
"Release killing intent?"
Kong Deming murmured the words, then turned his gaze toward the Magic Flame Wolf, which had long since been terrified out of its wits.
In an instant, his once-gentle expression turned stern, and his eyes grew razor-sharp. A tidal wave of killing intent engulfed the Magic Flame Wolf, frightening it into unconsciousness as it foamed at the mouth.
At the same time, Xu Tianming felt a steady stream of Soul Power rapidly gathering and charging within his body.
At first, the sensation was exhilarating, but soon he began to feel a bottleneck. If the absorption and conversion continued, his body seemed as though it wouldn't be able to take it.
What was going on?
Hadn't Mavuika said that Soul Rings only a thousand years old had slow absorption and conversion rates?
As soon as the thought surfaced in Xu Tianming's mind, he came up with an explanation himself:
Perhaps the Battle Intent of the strong was easier to convert than that of the weak.
"That's enough, Uncle. I've absorbed almost all the Battle Intent."
At that, Kong Deming instantly withdrew his killing intent, then looked at Xu Tianming.
"Then attack me directly. Let me see just how powerful this move can be!"
Hearing his uncle say that, Xu Tianming didn't hesitate. He gripped the greatsword Judgment in both hands and assumed an attacking stance.
"Okay, Uncle! Here I come!"
Kong Deming was a level-94 Titled Douluo, after all. Xu Tianming wasn't worried about hurting him. Besides, he wanted to test just how much power he could unleash, so he wasn't going to hold anything back with this next strike.
"Don't worry. Hold nothing back!"
At Kong Deming's reply, Xu Tianming nodded, then sank his consciousness into the Mental Sea of Consciousness once more.
"Mavuika, will your power be enough to perform the Sun-Shattering Strike through my body?"
"After you absorbed your First Soul Ring, my power grew noticeably stronger as well. In your current state, as long as you let your body go limp and don't resist, you should just barely be able to unleash one complete Sun-Shattering Strike. If all goes well, you might even learn some of the move's finer points."
The Sun-Shattering Strike, the signature move of the Pyro Archon Mavuika, was a martial technique she'd created herself. When she wielded the full authority of the Pyro Archon to perform it on the Teyvat Continent, even heaven and earth changed color!
Now that he knew he could use the move any moment, Xu Tianming could hardly contain his excitement.
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