The Egg Thief, First Soul Skill

But fate had other plans; a bright, flickering thunder mark appeared on the Thunder Python's head.

"Tch! Luck isn't on our side today. Dad, let's try somewhere else!"

Yu Hengqing shifted his gaze away from the Thunder Python; Thunder Valley wasn't the only place to find one.

Just as Yu Hengqing prepared to give up, Yu Yuanzhen suddenly patted his shoulder, signaling him to turn back and keep watching.

Though Yu Hengqing didn't understand why his father wanted to wait, he knew his father would never lead him astray, so he stayed put.

Before long, the Thunder Python, coiled within its nest of fallen leaves, suddenly raised its head and scanned its surroundings with vigilance.

Staring at that raised serpent head, Yu Hengqing instinctively glanced at Yu Yuanzhen. Seeing his father remain motionless, Yu Hengqing patiently continued to watch.

The moment Yu Hengqing refocused, a purple blur abruptly appeared at the side of the Thunder Python's body.

"Bang!"

A thunderous boom echoed out. The Thunder Python, originally coiled on the leaves, was sent flying by the purple figure, two deep, bone-exposed wounds appearing on its body.

The air currents generated by the impact swept away the leaves covering the nest, revealing a clutch of snake eggs as large as watermelons.

After striking the Thunder Python, the purple figure didn't seize the chance to attack again; instead, it snatched one of the eggs and vanished from their sight.

When the pained Thunder Python finally recovered its senses, its offspring had already been stolen by that figure.

Enraged, the Thunder Python opened its blood-red maw, instantly condensing fist-sized thunder orbs and firing them frantically in all directions, filling the area with smoke and dust.

Seeing this, Yu Yuanzhen wrapped an arm around Yu Hengqing and pushed off with his legs, retreating rapidly.

Before Yu Hengqing could even see what the Thunder Python had done, he felt the world around him blurring as they retreated at breakneck speed.

Only when the sounds of the Thunder Python's frantic explosions had faded into the distance did Yu Yuanzhen set him down.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Yu Hengqing looked up at Yu Yuanzhen, his face flushed with excitement.

"Dad, that purple figure just now—could it be a Purple Lightning Marten?"

The Purple Lightning Marten was a top-tier thunder-attribute spirit beast known for its incredible speed and explosive power.

However, they were rare and elusive, so Yu Hengqing had never dared to set his sights on one.

"Yes, it was a Purple Lightning Marten. And since it still had some white fur that hadn't shed yet, its age should be between seven and eight hundred years."

No matter how fast a Purple Lightning Marten was, it was nothing in the eyes of a Titled Douluo like Yu Yuanzhen.

"Then how are we going to find it?"

Yu Hengqing understood that since Yu Yuanzhen hadn't intervened earlier, he must have a way to track the beast.

"The Purple Lightning Marten is fast, but it lacks stamina, and it's carrying a Thunder Python egg. It can run for three or four kilometers at most. If we chase it now, we'll catch it in time!"

Yu Yuanzhen answered with a confident smile.

To maximize their speed, Yu Yuanzhen hoisted Yu Hengqing onto his back, leaped onto the treetops, and gave chase in the direction the marten had fled.

Just as Yu Yuanzhen expected, they found the Purple Lightning Marten three kilometers away, perched in a tree and devouring the snake egg.

From his father's back, Yu Hengqing craned his neck to stare at the creature, finally getting a clear look at its appearance.

The Purple Lightning Marten was the size of a medium-sized dog, its body a pale purple except for its two front paws, which were yellow.

According to the records, this marten was nearing eight hundred years of age; once its front paws turned pale purple, it would become a thousand-year spirit beast.

Yu Yuanzhen set Yu Hengqing down a short distance away, and two yellow, two purple, and five black spirit rings manifested beneath his feet.

"Fifth Spirit Skill, Thunder Prison!"

Yu Yuanzhen raised his hand and clenched his fist toward the marten. A deep blue thunder orb suddenly materialized, striking the creature and forming a cage of lightning that trapped it inside.

Caught completely off guard, the Purple Lightning Marten was instantly stunned by the Thunder Prison, its fur standing on end as the smell of scorched hair filled the air.

Yu Yuanzhen flashed to the side of the lightning cage, waved his hand to dissipate the electricity, and hauled the half-dead marten over to Yu Hengqing.

"Hengqing, take out the dagger from your storage spirit tool and pierce its forehead. Let it pass without pain!"

Hearing this, Yu Hengqing quickly retrieved a forearm-length dagger from his storage tool; the blade radiated a biting chill.

Gripping the dagger with both hands, he thrust it downward.

To his surprise, there was no resistance; the blade sank into the marten's forehead as if it were cutting through tofu.

Yu Hengqing pulled the dagger out, the blade not even stained by a drop of blood.

The performance of the blade made his eyes light up—the weapon in his hand was clearly a masterpiece!

"The dagger in your hand was forged by a master craftsman using Millennium Black Iron from the Far North."

Seeing Yu Hengqing's interest in the weapon, Yu Yuanzhen gave a brief explanation.

As Yu Yuanzhen spoke, a deep yellow spirit ring slowly began to form above the marten's carcass.

"Go ahead and absorb the spirit ring!"

Watching the ring hover over the corpse, Yu Yuanzhen urged Yu Hengqing, who was still admiring the dagger.

Yu Hengqing put the dagger away, sat cross-legged, and guided the spirit ring toward his own spirit.

The moment the ring enveloped him, a powerful surge of spirit power flooded into his meridians.

Fortunately, my meridians have already been reinforced by the whale glue, allowing me to face this massive surge of soul power with complete composure.

Yu Hengqing circulated his soul power with all his might, striving to refine the soul ring energy flooding his meridians.

Just then, it suddenly occurred to Yu Hengqing that he had yet to absorb the lightning power of the Purple Lightning Marten.

Yu Hengqing immediately slowed the absorption rate of the soul ring, shifting his focus to channeling the power of Leiyi to attempt to draw in the residual lightning energy within the Purple Lightning Marten's body.

As he expected, under the attraction of Leiyi's power, wisps of purple lightning drifted from the Purple Lightning Marten toward Yu Hengqing, dancing across the surface of his skin.

Watching Yu Hengqing, Yu Yuanzhen narrowed his eyes slightly; it seemed he had underestimated his son's external martial soul, as it was actually capable of absorbing the lightning power from within a soul beast.

It seems Xiao Qing's martial soul has the potential for a secondary evolution. Once he is strong enough, I will take him to the back mountain.

I refuse to believe I cannot pass; if my son has the aptitude to become a god, how could he not pass?!

At the thought of the trials in the back mountain, the unwillingness in Yu Yuanzhen's heart surged once more; he truly did not know where he had fallen short.

Because the Purple Lightning Marten was not particularly strong, the purple lightning did not last long before being completely absorbed by Yu Hengqing, who then shifted his focus back to absorbing the soul ring.

Once the soul ring's energy had completed a full cycle within Yu Hengqing's body, his soul power, which had been stalled at level ten, finally began to change.

Yu Hengqing's soul power level rose steadily: level eleven, level twelve.

When Yu Hengqing's soul power reached level thirteen, the energy within the soul ring was exhausted, and his aura ceased to fluctuate.

As for the residual soul of the Purple Lightning Marten, it posed no pressure to Yu Hengqing whatsoever.

Not to mention that Leiyi presided over Yu Hengqing's mental space; the moment the Purple Lightning Marten's residual soul stepped inside, it was struck into ash by lightning.

Even with Yu Hengqing's current mental strength alone, the residual soul of the Purple Lightning Marten could not have stirred up any trouble.

Yu Hengqing opened his eyes, a flash of purple light flickering within them as the soul ring was drawn into his body.

"What is your first soul skill?"

Seeing Yu Hengqing stand up, Yu Yuanzhen, who was tending to the campfire, asked softly.

"Quick Attack, an explosive soul skill!"