Feng Baiyu shook his head and said, "There's no Soul Beast whose age is better suited to me than this one, is there?"
As the deep yellow Soul Ring appeared, Feng Baiyu's eyes filled with covetousness. "Besides, Grandpa's right here watching over me. I'm not going to be in any danger."
"More than that, I'm someone chosen by the Phoenix God!" Feng Baiyu wasn't bent on pursuing the limit for a Soul Ring, but he understood that reaching that limit would benefit him the most.
The Soul Ring wasn't beyond what he could endure, so why shouldn't he try?
And as for failing?
Feng Baiyu had never even considered failure!
With a Level 96 Titled Douluo guarding him while he absorbed a Soul Ring within his limits, how could he possibly fail?
Seeing how determined his grandson was, Feng Qingluan stopped arguing.
He was simply too worried about him to think straight. He couldn't bear to see his grandson suffer even a little.
But how could a Soul Master cultivate without hardship?
If his grandson couldn't even handle this minor challenge, how would he ever become a god?
"Grandpa will stay right here and watch over you." Feng Qingluan turned to Feng Baiyu and said, "Go ahead and absorb it. If anything feels wrong, stop immediately!"
"Thank you, Grandpa." After thanking him, Feng Baiyu sat cross-legged and released his rooster Martial Soul.
Feng Baiyu guided the yellow Soul Ring with his Soul Power, drawing it toward him.
When the Soul Ring reached him, Feng Baiyu felt an immense pressure. But he didn't hesitate. He immediately began absorbing it with his Martial Soul.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Little Blackie crowed, but showed no adverse reaction.
Feng Baiyu felt scorching energy travel from his Martial Soul into his body, but it didn't seem intent on harming him.
"Hm?" Feng Qingluan was surprised. "Could this external Martial Soul help bear the pressure of absorbing a Soul Ring?"
After all, his grandson's Martial Soul was only the second external Martial Soul ever recorded. Its cultivation methods had to be figured out from scratch.
As for asking Yu Xiaogang for advice?
If he'd known what he was doing, he wouldn't have raised his Martial Soul into a farting pig.
Apart from serving as a cautionary tale, what else was Yu Xiaogang good for? What was he, anyway?
The Blazing Spirit Kite's scorching energy passed through Little Blackie and into Feng Baiyu. By then, the Soul Ring's violent energy had vanished, leaving only pure energy to temper his body.
As for the Soul Ring's violent aura, Little Blackie took it all in.
As it absorbed the Soul Ring's energy, Little Blackie's body turned red. Aside from growing a little larger, its form didn't change much. But it now carried a rich fire-attribute Soul Power.
Even the experienced old Titled Douluo Feng Qingluan only thought that Little Blackie's Martial Soul had changed from having no attribute to having a fire attribute.
As time passed, Feng Baiyu and Little Blackie completely absorbed the eight-hundred-year Soul Ring. Just then, the fiery red color began to fade from Little Blackie, and it turned entirely black once more.
No!
Not entirely black. Little Blackie's beady eyes were still red, and a hint of red had appeared on its formerly black comb.
"Is this Martial Soul Mutation?" Feng Qingluan frowned. "But it seems there wasn't enough energy. The mutation was only slight."
Just then, Feng Baiyu slowly opened his eyes.
Little Blackie seemed to sense it, too. It turned its head to look at him. The boy and the chicken stared at each other, as if studying the changes in one another.
Feng Baiyu blinked, and Little Blackie mimicked him.
Feng Baiyu stood up and took two steps forward. Little Blackie came closer, too.
Little Blackie wasn't moving because Feng Baiyu was controlling it. It had a will of its own.
"Hmm?" Feng Baiyu felt that Little Blackie's intelligence had improved a little. If it had once been a baby who understood nothing, it now had the smarts of a two- or three-year-old child.
"Bai Yu." Feng Qingluan looked at Feng Baiyu and asked, "Are you all right after absorbing the Soul Ring? You weren't hurt, were you?"
"Grandpa, I'm fine—better than fine!" Feng Baiyu burst into laughter. "Grandpa, absorbing this Soul Ring raised my Soul Power by two levels. I'm at level twelve now! And you'll never guess how powerful my First Soul Skill is!"
"Oh? Just how powerful?" Feng Qingluan had expected his grandson's Soul Power to rise by two levels.
After all, it was an eight-hundred-year Soul Ring. It would've been strange if it hadn't raised a level-ten Soul Master by two levels!
As for how powerful the Soul Skill was... No matter how strong could it be if it came from a Hundred-Year Soul Ring?
At best, it could match his Second Soul Skill, couldn't it?
"Grandpa, my First Soul Skill is called [Fire Phoenix Avatar]!" Feng Baiyu saw his grandfather's expression and grinned. "That's right—it's the same kind of [Martial Soul Avatar] as a Soul Saint's Seventh Soul Skill!"
"What!" Feng Qingluan could hardly believe his grandson. "Your First Soul Skill is already a Martial Soul Avatar?"
"That's right!" Feng Baiyu laughed and cried out, "First Soul Skill, [Fire Phoenix Avatar]!"
As Feng Baiyu spoke, Little Blackie's First Soul Ring lit up.
It flew straight into Feng Baiyu's body and fused with him perfectly.
Feng Baiyu's Martial Soul Avatar was incredibly imposing. Rather than taking the beast form of an ordinary Beast Martial Soul, which lacked any beauty, it cleverly added numerous fire-phoenix elements to Feng Baiyu's human form.
As Feng Baiyu activated his Martial Soul Avatar, the mark of the Phoenix God appeared between his brows. A fiery red feathered robe covered his body, a pair of fiery red wings sprouted from his back, and even his black hair turned fiery red.
"Grandpa, this is my [Fire Phoenix Avatar]!" Feng Baiyu said. "Though it only came from a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, it boosts my attack, defense, speed, and fire-attribute attacks. It also raises my resistance to all attributes by 200%. On top of that, in this state, I'm immune to fire-attribute attacks and can absorb them! If a Soul Master with a fire attribute attacks me, I won't just come away unscathed—I can even turn his attack into Soul Power to replenish my strength and heal my wounds."
"Th-this is far too powerful!" Feng Qingluan couldn't believe that a Hundred-Year Soul Ring could grant such abilities!
Feng Qingluan understood that aside from its immunity to and absorption of fire, [Fire Phoenix Avatar] was nowhere near as powerful as a normal [Martial Soul Avatar]. But it was only the effect of a Hundred-Year Soul Ring!
What other person's Hundred-Year Soul Ring could provide so many attribute boosts?
"You think that's powerful?" Feng Baiyu heard his grandfather and grinned. "Grandpa, I'm not finished yet!"
Just then, Feng Baiyu cried out, "Phoenix Domain!"
As Feng Baiyu spoke, an aura of a domain spread out from him, covering a radius of a hundred meters.
"Grandpa, this is my [Phoenix Domain]!" Feng Baiyu said. "It boosts all of my attributes and my allies' by 10%, while reducing all of my enemies' attributes by 10%."
"Good! Good! Good!"
Feng Qingluan hadn't expected his grandson to possess a domain already. He couldn't help but laugh heartily. "As expected of my grandson! You're this powerful with just one Soul Ring! Apart from lacking offensive abilities, you're already perfect."
"Offensive abilities?" Feng Baiyu's expression turned strange. He suddenly said, "Grandpa, take this move: [Eye of the Fire Phoenix]!"
Before you continue