"Soul Power Level, level thirty... This is my current limit, not the limit of the Soul Power flowing back to me. I've got enough Soul Power left to advance to Soul Elder and still gain another one or two levels!"
Xu Bai slowly opened his eyes, a smile on his face. Then two purple Soul Rings rose from beneath him.
Geniuses were few and far between. Ordinary people were the norm.
In the world of Douluo I, the number of Soul Masters across the continent couldn't exceed one million.
Yet of that million, eighty percent would never break through level thirty in their lifetimes. They were known as the bottom rung of the Soul Master World.
But once a Soul Master became a Soul Elder, they could already be considered a powerhouse in some small places.
"With two thousand-year-old Beast Tames, and my own Soul Power at level thirty, just half a step from becoming a Soul Elder, I guess I've left the ranks of the broad masses of ants."
Xu Bai made a self-deprecating remark, then opened the Manual in his Sea of Divine Consciousness:
[Beast Tame top 1]: Mutated Green-Red Tiger (First)
[Attribute]: Metal
[Current Age]: One thousand and one years
[Species Potential]: Ten thousand years
[Species Skills]: Metal Spirit Power (Mastery), Metal Spirit Perception (Beginner)
[Evolution Direction]: Golden Spirit Holy Tiger
[Beast Tame top 2]: Mutated Blue Silver Grass (Little Blue)
[Attribute]: Wood, Life
[Current Age]: One thousand one hundred years
[Species Potential]: One thousand years
[Species Skills]: Early Wisdom (Proficient), Tenacious (Perfect), Soul Calming and Spirit Purifying (Beginner), Binding Absorption (Beginner)
[Evolution Direction]: Nine Tribulations Blue Silver Grass
[Soul Beasts currently recorded in the Manual]: 184
There wasn't much to note about their ages. The only thing that surprised Xu Bai was that Little Blue's third revival had directly added a hundred years to its age.
But that wasn't the point. The point was the new skill.
Xu Bai truly hadn't expected First to awaken a new species skill after advancing to a thousand-year Soul Beast.
From the name, it was clearly a perception-type skill. He'd have to ask First later to find out what it actually did.
Then there was Little Blue's new skill, Binding Absorption...
Having been through a revival once before, Xu Bai could more or less guess that the skill Little Blue gained after reviving might have something to do with its main revival material.
Take the last revival, for example. The main material had been a hundred-year Bitter Tree Heart, with the Soul Nourishing Stone also playing a part.
So the skill it gained was Soul Calming and Spirit Purifying, which seemed to combine the abilities of the Bitter Tree and the Soul Nourishing Stone.
This time, the main material had been Azure Vine, so the new skill, Binding Absorption, should be connected to it.
As for the Blue Silver King's blood, it seemed to have acted more like a catalyst during the revival.
Xu Bai knew about Azure Vine. Among plant-type Soul Beasts, it was one of the strongest.
Its core abilities lay in powerful restraint and control, along with highly efficient energy absorption.
Its powerful restraint and control came from Azure Vine's incredible toughness and nearly limitless growth. In battle, it could quickly bind and Entangle its enemies. The more they struggled, the tighter its grasp became.
Its efficient energy absorption came from its abilities of Parasitism and Devour.
For Parasitism, one could look to Tang San's second Soul Skill, "Parasitism." Devour, on the other hand, meant absorbing the bound target's Soul Power and Life through Azure Vine's tendrils.
Both were powerful abilities. Perhaps Little Blue's one skill had now bundled them together.
With that thought, Xu Bai looked away from the Manual and turned to First and Little Blue, his two Beast Tames.
At first, he didn't think much of it. But one look nearly scared him out of his wits.
After advancing into a thousand-year Soul Beast, Little Blue had grown much larger. It could no longer be called grass, not when it stood there like a tree.
Its vines had thickened, too. The thickest parts had once been about two fingers wide; now they were almost as thick as a baby's forearm.
The patterns on the vines and leaves hadn't changed, but their color had. They were much greener. If Little Blue kept changing like this, after its fourth revival, its Blue Silver Grass might have to be renamed Green Silver Grass.
First, on the other hand, hadn't changed much. Its height had gone from three meters to four and a half, and its fur was still the same gold and white.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but Xu Bai had the faint feeling that First's golden fur was even brighter than before. There was also a faint golden glow in its tiger eyes, making it look even more majestic.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Xu Bai smiled and patted First on the lower leg.
After becoming a thousand-year Soul Beast, First's muscles had grown even sturdier. Those few pats felt like he was hitting a hairy rock. It was frighteningly hard.
Then he turned to Little Blue with a beaming smile. "And you, too. Feels good to be stronger, doesn't it?"
Little Blue's leaves swayed as it grumbled softly:
'It feels good, but next time, could you not suddenly stick it in like that? At least give me a little warning...'
Xu Bai was first shocked, then looked utterly confused.
"What kind of shocking thing is that supposed to mean? Did First sneak you some weird books to read?"
First, falsely accused: !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ
It looked thoughtful for a moment, then decided to defend its honor and make sure its Beast Tamer understood the gravity of slander:
'Beast Tamer, don't make baseless accusations against a good beast. I don't read those kinds of books, and I'd never let Little Blue read them!'
Xu Bai said, "So you do know what kind of books I meant?"
First: ∑(O_O;)
"Okay, I'm done teasing you."
Xu Bai smiled and shook his head. Then his expression turned serious as he got to the point. "First, you must have awakened a skill. Hurry up and see what it does."
First had been about to complain when it heard that Xu Bai was only teasing it. But at his next words, it froze on the spot, forgetting all about its complaint.
A new skill? Awakened?
Me?
How come I didn't know?
First hurriedly focused and, sure enough, discovered a new energy inside itself. It shared the same origin as its Metal Spirit Power, but its function was different.
"Well? What does it do?"
After a while, Xu Bai asked again. He had a feeling that Metal Spirit Perception was no ordinary skill. It might be of great use to him.
First already knew what its new ability did, but... it was so useless. It didn't like it.
The Big White Tiger furrowed its brows, looking as if it considered the skill utterly pointless.
"What is it, already?"
Xu Bai kicked First hard in the lower leg. In all his life, there were two kinds of people he hated most.
The first were people who spoke in riddles. The second were people who wouldn't let him speak in riddles.
First kept looking surprised, then furrowing its brows, and wouldn't answer when asked. His patience felt like it was being mercilessly trampled.
Feeling a slight pain in its lower leg, First finally came to its senses, gave a loud yelp, and began to explain.
Before long, Xu Bai understood. He was overjoyed.
As it turned out, Metal Spirit Perception was more of an everyday-life ability. But for Xu Bai, that was exactly the right kind of ability.
Simply put, it could sense the location of metals, and the rarer and more precious the metal, the more clearly it could sense it.
What was it? A bargain-bin Treasure-Seeking Mouse!
With this ability, he wouldn't have to worry about finding the materials he and Little Blue needed for the next ten thousand years.
After all, Douluo Continent had plenty of precious metals, and every one of them was worth a fortune!