First Soul Skill

Boom!

The Yellow Soul Ring was drawn in by his Soul Power, and a vast torrent of Soul Power surged violently into his body.

"Ugh~"

Zhou Tong groaned, the veins on his forehead bulging as thin trickles of blood seeped from his body.

A five-hundred-year Soul Beast was indeed no small challenge.

But his Martial Soul was the Thunderous Hell Vine. As a king among lightning-attribute Soul Beasts, it naturally had the ability to suppress certain Soul Beasts that used lightning.

The dean looked on expectantly.

A five-hundred-year Lightning-Struck Wood would make an excellent Soul Ring if absorbed.

He was simply a little worried about Zhou Tong. After all, Zhou Tong was just a commoner and had little experience training as a Soul Master.

If he failed, the backlash could damage his Martial Soul and lower his talent.

A genius Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power was rare. He didn't want anything to happen to Zhou Tong.

However, the scene that unfolded next made the dean's furrowed brows relax.

Two hours later, Zhou Tong slowly opened his eyes.

"I did it!"

Zhou Tong's face was slightly pale, and his clothes were dotted with blood, but he couldn't stop smiling.

The process of absorbing the Soul Ring had been perilous.

Fortunately, his Martial Soul was powerful and had strong resistance to lightning-attribute Soul Power, so he had come through without incident.

If anyone else had tried to absorb a five-hundred-year Soul Ring as their First Soul Ring, they would likely have been vulnerable to the backlash of its violent Soul Power.

After absorbing the Soul Ring, his Soul Power had reached level thirteen.

Beside him, the dean said happily, "Zhou Tong, let's see just how powerful your First Soul Skill is."

Zhou Tong held out his right hand, and golden bolts of lightning boomed in his palm.

"Crackle!"

"First Soul Skill: Thunderbolt!"

At Zhou Tong's thought, a deep-yellow five-hundred-year Soul Ring appeared. Its yellow light flashed as he unleashed his First Soul Skill.

Several thumb-thick pillars of lightning burst from his hands.

They shot out and blasted a crater one meter in diameter into the rock wall nearby.

At the sight, the dean couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.

For a First Soul Skill to have such powerful destructive force—this Martial Soul was truly formidable.

Generally speaking, it was already impressive if a first Soul Skill could snap a tree.

Zhou Tong's Soul Skill was indeed astonishing.

"How many times can you use your Soul Skill before you're out of Soul Power?"

The dean continued to ask.

Powerful Soul Skills usually consumed a great deal of Soul Power. Some Soul Masters could use their Soul Skill only once.

If that were the case, this First Soul Skill would be rather useless.

"I'd say using it once takes less than a tenth of my Soul Power."

"I can use the Soul Skill more than ten times."

Zhou Tong replied. In truth, he was holding something back. His Soul Skill looked powerful, but it didn't consume much. He could use it twenty or thirty times.

"Besides, my Martial Soul naturally produces lightning, which I can use to attack."

The next moment, the Thunderous Hell Vine in his hand rapidly extended, becoming a thick vine five meters long that instantly wrapped around a tree.

"Crackling!"

Golden lightning flashed across the tree, leaving charred black streaks as its leaves fluttered down.

It was as if the tree had been struck by Heaven Lightning. Its trunk was charred black, and its leaves fell in a shower.

It looked like a new piece of Lightning-Struck Wood had been born.

Whether this tree could survive the trial of a lightning strike, however, was another matter.

"Zhou Tong, your Martial Soul is excellent. You have a bright future ahead of you."

"Good thing you didn't listen to Yu Xiaogang. If you'd absorbed a Ten-Year Lone Bamboo, your Martial Soul would have been ruined."

The dean looked relieved. For a Soul Master, the Martial Soul was their lifeblood.

Choosing the wrong Soul Ring could not only throw the Martial Soul's attributes into chaos but also cost them one of their means of attack.

It seemed Yu Xiaogang couldn't be called a Grandmaster at all. He was just someone who led his students astray.

The dean was secretly relieved that Zhou Tong had made up his own mind and ignored Yu Xiaogang's advice. Otherwise, he really would have been held back.

At the same time, he felt a little regretful. Why had he let that fraud Yu Xiaogang into the academy in the first place?

Yu Xiaogang was truly a menace.

"Zhou Tong, congratulations on obtaining such a powerful Soul Ring."

"Let's head back."

The dean spoke.

Zhou Tong understood and returned with the dean.

Back home in Nuoding City.

Zhou Tong washed the sticky, foul-smelling blood from his body. The reflection in the water revealed that he had changed.

In the reflection, his face looked more mature and handsome.

But he wasn't focused on the changes to his face. Instead, he raised a hand to his brow.

"What's this?"

A lightning-shaped Thunder Mark had quietly appeared between Zhou Tong's brows.

It looked exactly like a mark left by the Lightning-Struck Wood after it had undergone a baptism by lightning and mutated.

"This mark is strange."

When he reached out and touched it, the golden lightning mark suddenly shone.

Then, a piece of information appeared in Zhou Tong's mind.

"Upgrade your lightning attribute three times to unlock the Thunder God Inheritance and restore the Thunder God's glory."

"The Thunderous Hell Vine has been upgraded once, reaching the Mortal Lightning level."

The lightning on the Thunderous Hell Vine was now only pale gold. As it evolved in the future, it could become even more powerful.

That was the evolution of lightning.

A smile appeared on Zhou Tong's face.

"I didn't expect hunting a Soul Ring to unlock the Thunder God Inheritance."

"Going by what this golden mark says, as long as I keep upgrading my lightning attribute, I can embark on the path to becoming the Thunder God."

Zhou Tong knew that the Thunder God had once been a First-Level God in the Divine Realm, a being who had stood halfway to the level of a God King.

But he had perished in the war in the Divine Realm.

He hadn't expected the Thunder God Inheritance to appear in the mortal world once more.

"Perhaps my Martial Soul has the Thunder God's bloodline. Absorbing the Soul Ring must have awakened the Thunder God Inheritance."

Zhou Tong knew that after the Thunder God's death, his bloodline had been obtained by the Thunderous Hell Vine, making it the greatest destroyer among Plant-type Soul Beasts.

He could feel the terrifying power of lightning contained within his Martial Soul. It came from the Thunder God.

His body had also transformed as a result. He was more agile, and his body was stronger.

"It seems the next step is to upgrade my lightning attribute and unlock the Thunder God Inheritance."

Zhou Tong splashed water over his face and finally relaxed.

Before long, he arrived at the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City.

Old man Ma Xiunuo looked at Zhou Tong, surprise showing on his aged face.

"You also have Innate Full Soul Power?"

"Your Martial Soul is unusual. It's actually a vine with the power of lightning."

"You're also a student at Notting Academy?"

Ma Xiunuo asked in surprise. That morning, he had registered two other Soul Masters with Innate Full Soul Power, and both were very young.

Zhou Tong was taken aback. "Are there other Soul Masters with Innate Full Soul Power?"

Ma Xiunuo said, "Yes. One is called Tang San, and the other is called Xiao Wu. Both have excellent talent."

"This year's Notting Academy is truly brimming with talent."