The First Soul Skill Exceeding the Standard!

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

After easily absorbing his first soul ring to perfection, Xu Tianming felt as though his entire being had undergone a world-shaking transformation.

When his martial soul had first awakened, he could only mobilize his soul power in the simplest of ways.

But now, having absorbed the soul ring and with the soul skill's mechanics etched deep into his memory, Xu Tianming already possessed the fundamentals of combat capability.

However, he had originally expected his first soul skill to be an offensive type, given that the Raging Flame Bear was a soul beast defined by its aggression.

But as it turned out...

This soul skill was somewhat unique, divided into passive and active components.

In its passive state, the skill was called Battle Intent Absorption. Within a fifty-meter radius centered on himself, as long as anyone harbored the intent to fight, the skill would automatically absorb the battle intent of everyone in range—friend or foe alike—and store it as additional soul power that could be unleashed in a single active attack.

In its active state, the skill was called Battle Intent Burst. Its effect was simple: upon activation, the next attack would carry all the additional soul power accumulated and converted by the passive effect.

The mechanics of the soul skill were not complex; the only question was the upper limit of soul power this passive effect could store.

If there were no limit, did that not mean that as long as Xu Tianming kept accumulating it silently, he would eventually be able to unleash a burst of soul power capable of killing even a God King in a single strike?

After sharing this thought with Mavuika, Xu Tianming waited for her response with bated breath.

In his view, as the entity behind his martial soul, she should be able to perceive the limits of this soul skill.

Upon hearing Xu Tianming's question, Mavuika sensed it carefully for a moment before replying with professional rigor:

"Theoretically speaking, there is no limit to the absorption and conversion of battle intent. However, the issue is that the age of your first soul ring is not high, so the efficiency of absorption and conversion is poor. Furthermore, while there is no limit to the storage of soul power, it depends on the limits of what your body can withstand. If you force yourself to store more soul power than your physical constitution can handle, the backlash might just destroy your body."

Although there were limitations, this answer already met Xu Tianming's expectations.

As long as there was no hard cap, everything else could be managed!

Though, why did it feel like this soul skill was a part of Mavuika's own authority?

As his consciousness withdrew from his mental sea and returned to his physical body, he saw Kong Deming, who had been guarding him, step forward immediately with a look of deep concern.

"Tianming, you absorbed a 1,500-year-old first soul ring... did you succeed?"

Just by looking at Xu Tianming's current state, Kong Deming knew that his nephew, a monster of talent, had succeeded. Yet, for such a shocking feat, he still wanted to hear the confirmation from his nephew's own lips.

After all, he could consider himself a witness to history.

Facing his uncle's expectant gaze, Xu Tianming nodded with a smile. "Yes, Uncle, I succeeded."

"Hahahaha! Good! Well done, Tianming! Unprecedented! You have absolutely created history in the soul master world! If your mother's spirit in heaven could know you possess such talent, she would surely be as happy as I am."

At the end of his sentence, Kong Deming's emotions broke, and he choked up for a moment.

After a brief pause, realizing he had lost his composure, Kong Deming couldn't help but blush.

However, as a veteran who had lived for over a hundred years, regulating his emotions was a trivial matter. In the blink of an eye, his face returned to its gentle expression.

"Let's not dwell on sad things... Tianming, what kind of soul skill did your first soul ring grant you?"

Hearing this, Xu Tianming pondered for a moment before telling Kong Deming everything about the capabilities and flaws of his soul skill.

Although his uncle's soul power was currently only at level 94—not even a Super Douluo—as the strongest soul engineer on the continent, his insight was certainly beyond that of an ordinary person. Perhaps he would have a way to help resolve some of the flaws, or at the very least, possess some rare treasures that could enhance physical strength.

Just as expected, after hearing Xu Tianming out, Kong Deming's expression lost its composure once more, his surprise undisguised.

"What? There is such a soul skill in this world? Use it and let me see!"

Clearly, the mechanics of Xu Tianming's first soul skill had exceeded the knowledge of a veteran like Kong Deming.

Xu Tianming had no objections to Kong Deming's request.

"Alright, Uncle. Please release some battle intent... or perhaps, killing intent."

"Release killing intent?"

Kong Deming muttered to himself, then cast his gaze toward the Magic Flame Wolf, which had already been frightened silly nearby.

In an instant, his originally gentle face turned stern, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp. Suddenly, a crushing wave of killing intent enveloped the Magic Flame Wolf, scaring it so badly that it fainted on the spot, foaming at the mouth.

At the same time, Xu Tianming could feel a steady stream of soul power rapidly accumulating and charging within his body.

At first, the sensation was incredibly refreshing, but soon, he began to feel a bottleneck, as if his body would be unable to withstand it if the absorption and conversion continued.

What was going on?

Wasn't it said that the absorption and conversion efficiency of a thousand-year soul ring was very slow?

As this thought crossed Xu Tianming's mind, he came up with an explanation himself:

Perhaps the battle intent of a powerhouse was easier to convert than that of a weakling.

"Alright, Uncle, I've absorbed just about enough battle intent."

Hearing this, Kong Deming instantly withdrew his killing intent and looked at Xu Tianming.

"Then attack me directly. Let me see just how high the upper limit of this move's power really is!"

Hearing his uncle say this, Xu Tianming did not hesitate. He gripped his greatsword, "Judgment," and assumed an offensive stance.

"Alright, Uncle! I'm coming!"

After all, Kong Deming was a level 94 Titled Douluo, so Xu Tianming had no concerns about injuring him. Furthermore, he wanted to test the maximum power he could currently unleash, so he did not intend to hold anything back for the following move.

"Rest assured, do not have any reservations!"

Hearing Kong Deming's response, Xu Tianming nodded, then sank his consciousness back into his spiritual sea:

"Mavuika, will your power be enough to cast Sun-Shattering Strike through my body in a moment?"

"After you absorbed your first soul ring, my power also grew significantly stronger. In our current state, as long as you relax your body and do not resist, it shouldn't be a problem to barely execute a complete Sun-Shattering Strike. If everything goes smoothly, you might even be able to learn some of the essence of this move from it."

The signature move of the Pyro Archon Mavuika, "Sun-Shattering Strike," was a martial technique she had created herself. When she used the full authority of the Pyro Archon to unleash this move on the Teyvat Continent, the very heavens and earth would change color!

Upon clearly confirming that he would be able to use this move immediately, Xu Tianming's heart began to race with uncontrollable excitement once again.