The Soul Skill That Ignores Level Suppression!

"Oh." Ning Xiaochun shrank his neck at the shout, then shuffled sluggishly toward the unconscious Soft Sable.

After checking his own state once more, he took a deep breath and, as if marching toward the execution grounds, summoned his dark Seven Killings Glazed Pagoda.

A yellow spirit ring slowly emerged from the Soft Sable's corpse and drifted toward Ning Xiaochun.

The absorption process... was unusually smooth.

It was so smooth that the three Title Douluo felt a bit bored.

With Ning Xiaochun's solid foundation of innate full spirit power and his thorough preparations, the four-hundred-year spirit ring's energy barely caused a ripple before being gently absorbed and converted by the Seven Killings Glazed Pagoda.

Far from turning pale, Ning Xiaochun's complexion actually looked ruddier and more radiant due to the growth in his spirit power.

About an hour later.

"Hum--"

A dark light flashed across Ning Xiaochun and vanished. He slowly opened his eyes, his pitch-black pupils appearing even clearer than before.

Beneath him, a bright yellow century-old spirit ring pulsed rhythmically.

"How do you feel?" Ning Fengzhi asked immediately; although he knew nothing would go wrong, he couldn't help but be concerned.

"My spirit power seems to have increased quite a bit..." Ning Xiaochun sensed his internal state.

"It should be at level twelve now. I've also obtained my spirit skill, named 'Soft Muscle Evil.' Its effect is to weaken the target's strength. Hmm, just as expected."

He spoke nonchalantly, as if it were as simple as taking a sip of water.

Sword Douluo endured and endured, but finally couldn't hold back. His figure flickered, and he appeared before Ning Xiaochun, reaching out a large hand:

"Come, kid, use this 'Soft Muscle Evil' thing on your Uncle Sword and let me see the effect! Let me also see how much substance this spirit ring you spent so much time choosing actually has!"

He had some complaints about Ning Xiaochun's overly cautious style and wanted to test if the spirit skill was truly, as the boy claimed, merely "lowest risk, moderate gain."

"Well... alright then." Ning Xiaochun stepped back twice, cleared his throat, straightened his small face, and held up the Seven Killings Glazed Pagoda in his right hand as dark light swirled around it.

"The Seven Killings turn out the dark pagoda, I advise you... not to force your strength."

As soon as the opening line was out, Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo were stunned. What kind of slogan was that? Why did it sound so... incongruous?

Advise you not to force your strength? Trying to mediate a fight before it even starts?

Before they could ponder it further, Ning Xiaochun let out a low shout:

"First: Soft!"

The first layer of the dark glazed pagoda shone brilliantly. A gray, seemingly unremarkable beam of dark light shot out instantly, enveloping Sword Douluo Chen Xin.

Sword Douluo had been completely indifferent, even carrying a mindset of testing a junior, ready to casually comment on the strength of the spirit skill.

However, the moment that dark light touched his body, the casual look on his face froze abruptly, replaced by a clear trace of astonishment!

He clearly felt a strange and stubborn weakening force ignore his own massive spirit power defense and act directly upon his physical strength!

It wasn't that his spirit power was suppressed, but his pure physical strength—as if a portion had been suddenly drained away. His arms, torso, and legs all felt a slight, yet undeniably real, sense of "soreness" and "weakness"!

"What?!" Sword Douluo couldn't help but blurt out. He sensed it slightly, and the astonishment on his face deepened.

"My strength... has been weakened by nearly thirty percent?!"

Thirty percent! It didn't sound like much, but this was thirty percent of the pure physical strength of a level ninety-six power-attack Title Douluo, Chen Xin!

And it was applied by a level twelve spirit master who had just obtained his first spirit ring!

Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo were also instantly moved. They naturally saw the anomaly in Sword Douluo's expression and heard his exclamation.

"Uncle Sword, are you saying... Xiaochun's spirit skill is effective against you?"

Ning Fengzhi's voice carried disbelief. It was common knowledge that support-type spirit skills, especially low-ring ones, had negligible effects on experts far above the user's level!

Not to mention directly weakening a Super Douluo by thirty percent! This simply overturned common understanding!

Bone Douluo also leaned in, his spirit power perception sweeping over Sword Douluo, his expression grave: "Old Sword, are you sure you didn't misjudge? Was it really thirty percent of your physical strength weakened?"

Sword Douluo carefully experienced the sense of weakness that was already rapidly fading and nodded affirmatively:

"Although it decays quickly and my own spirit power is resisting and expelling this force, at that first moment, it definitely weakened my pure physical strength by about thirty percent! And..." He looked at Ning Xiaochun with a complex gaze.

"This power seems to have a 'priority order.' It's not a simple clash of spirit power; it's more like a... rule-based weakening?"

At this moment, Ning Xiaochun's somewhat weak voice sounded. His small face was a bit pale, clearly having expended a lot on that last strike:

"Father, Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, I think I know what's going on... When I activated the spirit skill, I felt a large chunk of my spirit power being drained. I also have a vague feeling that the effect of this 'Soft Muscle Evil'...

Doesn't seem to care much about the opponent's level. Or rather, the weakening percentage has a base value, and the stronger the opponent, the more terrifying the amount of spirit power I need to maintain that same percentage of weakening.

That strike against Uncle Sword nearly drained me dry... If it were someone of the same level, the consumption would likely be much lower, and the weakening effect might be stronger and more lasting."

A judgment effect that ignores levels! A forced weakening based on a base percentage!

Ning Fengzhi gasped. As a Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda spirit master, he knew exactly what this meant!

Although the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's amplification was strong, its effect was greatly diminished against experts far beyond the user.

Yet, Ning Xiaochun's Seven Killings Glazed Pagoda could forcibly weaken by percentage, even if the opponent was a Title Douluo! This was a strategic-level ability!

At a critical moment, even weakening a super expert for a single instant could change the outcome of a battle!

"Ignoring level restrictions... the world's number one debuff... Xiaochun, this Seven Killings Glazed Pagoda of yours is incredible! Truly incredible!"

Ning Fengzhi's voice trembled with excitement. He had previously thought his son too cowardly, but now it seemed that possessing such a heaven-defying martial soul made a bit of caution... understandable?

No, it was absolutely necessary! If word of this martial soul got out, it would surely invite countless covetous eyes and deep-seated fears!

Bone Douluo also clicked his tongue in wonder: "Good lad, this martial soul is a bit wicked, but it's truly overbearing! Old Sword-man, you capsized in a gutter, didn't you?"

Sword Douluo ignored his old friend's teasing. He was still savoring the sensation of his power being weakened out of thin air. The way he looked at Ning Xiaochun had completely changed; the previous trace of dissatisfaction was replaced by astonishment and gravity:

"Kid, your martial soul... your future achievements will be limitless. But remember, the tree that stands above the forest..."

"I know, I know, the wind will surely destroy it!" Ning Xiaochun quickly interrupted. His small face was still a bit pale, but his eyes were sparkling.

"That's why I have to keep a low profile, hide my talents, and play it safe! Look, my soul skill is powerful, right? But it can only weaken strength by thirty percent, and it consumes a massive amount of energy. If you wanted to beat me up just now, Grandpa Sword, even with only seventy percent of your strength left, I wouldn't have been able to escape! No, no, it's still not safe enough. I have to cultivate quickly and strive to obtain my second soul skill as soon as possible. It would be best if I could get some soul bones for life-saving and escaping, or some hidden weapons, and so on..."

Ning Xiaochun muttered to himself as he retracted the Seven Killings Glazed Pagoda and turned to walk away.

Watching his son's cowardly muttering, the ecstasy and excitement that had risen on Ning Fengzhi's face upon discovering the heaven-defying potential of the martial soul slowly stiffened, then turned dark.

This child... his talent was heaven-defying, but his courage... was it also heaven-defyingly small?!

Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo were also speechless.

They finally understood: no matter how strong the martial soul was, in this kid's heart, his own life would always come first—and by a wide margin at that.