First Soul Spirit, the Power of Empty Green (There Will Be Another Chapter Later This Afternoon)

The next morning, Shrek City's sky had been washed a mirror-like blue, with a few wisps of thin cloud drifting lazily overhead.

Inside the villa's dining room, the atmosphere was far more animated than outside.

Xiao Ran and Mu Wan sat on opposite sides of the table. Though they appeared to be elegantly enjoying breakfast, the faint flicker in their eyes and their occasionally hurried breaths from excitement revealed their inner unrest.

The night before, they had barely slept, their entire minds immersed in the profound world of the Taixuan Technique.

"Wan'er, what do you think?" Xiao Ran set down the data tablet in his hand, which displayed his preliminary analysis of the Taixuan Technique's energy circulation model, its lines intricate and beautiful.

Mu Wan gently stirred the porridge in her bowl, light flowing through her eyes. "Vast, righteous, and conceived on an exceptionally grand scale. It has points in common with the cultivation philosophy of our Body Sect, but its perspective is even broader, directly addressing the origin of life.

"If this method can truly be used to solidify one's foundation, then combined with Soul Power cultivation, one's future accomplishments will be limitless." She paused and looked at her husband. "What about you? Have you found a way to integrate it with the Soul Power system?"

A sharp glint flashed through Xiao Ran's eyes. "At first glance, the two do not conflict. On the contrary, they complement each other. Soul Power focuses outward, drawing upon heaven and earth; Taixuan focuses inward, excavating one's own potential. If one can cultivate both internally and externally and form a cycle, its power will be far more than a simple one plus one equals two." His voice carried a hint of anticipation and eagerness.

Yet they did not rush to change their cultivation method. As Title Douluos, they knew full well the risks of rashly switching techniques. Xiao Cheng had obtained this Taixuan Technique through a fortunate encounter, so they needed to understand and verify it from its most fundamental levels.

"Cheng'er," Xiao Ran said, turning to his son, who had long since finished breakfast and was absentmindedly poking the fried egg on his plate with chopsticks, "did you sleep well last night? Did you try circulating those... techniques you mentioned?"

Xiao Cheng had his mouth full of bread. He swallowed before answering carelessly, "I slept great! Dad, I tried the strongest technique in the inheritance last night, the Dragon Transformation Sutra. I circulated it once, and I felt all warm and comfortable!" He made it sound as casual as doing some stretches before bed.

But Xiao Ran and Mu Wan were both shaken to the core! The Dragon Transformation Sutra! Stronger than the Taixuan Technique? The Taixuan Technique was already so exquisite, yet Cheng'er could already begin circulating an even stronger Dragon Transformation Sutra? This level of comprehension was simply...

Xiao Cheng did not notice his parents' shock. He was immersed in a novel experience. Strangely enough, although he had merged the souls of three lifetimes and possessed an adult's mind, this six-year-old body seemed to come with some sort of "correction mechanism." Whether it was hormone levels or instinct, it always made him occasionally act like a child. No matter how much he tried to put on airs, he could not maintain them.

He did not dislike it, though. He even found it rather interesting. Kids should act like kids. Otherwise, acting old and solemn all day would be exhausting.

"Dad, Mom, are we going to get my first Soul Spirit today?" Xiao Cheng blinked his big eyes, changing the subject, his face filled with pure anticipation. Yesterday had been shocking, but it was only the beginning. Today was the day he would truly set foot on the path of cultivation!

"Yes." Xiao Ran stood and ruffled his son's hair. "Come on. Dad prepared the most suitable companion for you long ago."

The Spirit Pagoda headquarters, the complex of buildings symbolizing the highest authority in the Soul Master world, gave off a cold, imposing sheen beneath the morning light.

As one of the four Spirit Pagoda envoys, Xiao Ran possessed extremely high clearance. Taking Xiao Cheng with him, he did not head for the Soul Spirit selection halls open to the public. Instead, he passed through layers of security and spatial teleportation gates, entering an extremely classified underground research area.

Even the air here seemed to carry a peculiar energy fluctuation, and the silence was terrifying. Huge reinforced glass walls lined both sides of the corridor. Behind them were independent laboratories filled with strange instruments and cultivation tanks, within which floated light clusters or biological tissue in all sorts of forms.

Xiao Cheng looked around curiously. To him, this place resembled something out of a science fiction movie. His Martial Dao world from his previous life had never possessed such technology.

"Dad, where are we going?" Xiao Cheng could not help asking quietly.

"To see the 'gift' Dad prepared for you." Xiao Ran's tone was calm, but a trace of barely perceptible pride and anticipation lay in his eyes.

His confidence came from his glorious record.

Thinking back, although Xiao Ran had some minor connections and an old man who was a Soul Douluo, that little bit of background amounted to nothing at the Spirit Pagoda headquarters in Shrek City. Starting from Eastsea City, he had fought his way to Shrek City and become a Spirit Pagoda envoy. What had he relied on? Was it merely his high cultivation?

What the hell was the use of being good at fighting? To make it in the world, one needed power and connections. As some nobody from Eastsea City, how could it ever have been his turn to become a Spirit Pagoda envoy?

Title Douluos were hardly rare among the Spirit Pagoda's upper ranks. Seniority? He was only in his fifties now, and he had been even younger back then. In the eyes of those old monsters who had lived for over a century, his seniority was shallow indeed. Background? There was even less to speak of.

He had obtained the powerful and prestigious position of Spirit Pagoda envoy through solid, irreplaceable contributions!

He was a Rank-9 Mecha Designer, a Red-Rank Mecha Master, and a Three-Word Battle Armor Master. More importantly, he had achieved outstanding results in Soul Spirit research.

Using his unique understanding of spatial attributes, he had once solved the instability of the Spirit Ascension Platform's internal space, a problem that had plagued the Spirit Pagoda for years. But what truly made his name was the project praised as "epoch-making"—the Artificial Break Evil Dragon Soul Spirit.

The Qiangu Family of the Spirit Pagoda had the dragon soul of the Break Evil Dragon attached to their inherited Martial Soul, the Coiling Dragon Staff. The Break Evil Dragon, also known as the Heaven-Awakening Holy Golden Dragon, was formed from the righteous energy of heaven and earth. It was not a true dragon race and was not governed by the Dragon God. It was innately capable of banishing evil and possessed an unyielding nature. The Qiangu Family had always wanted to extract the dragon soul power from their Martial Soul and create Break Evil Dragon Soul Spirits for their younger generation, but they had always fallen just short of success.

It was Xiao Ran who, with his astonishing talent and Soul Guidance Technology, overcame the obstacle and successfully created the first generation of Artificial Break Evil Dragon Soul Spirits! Though they were not as powerful as true Break Evil Dragons, they already possessed their core traits and were highly compatible with the Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Soul.

Furthermore, the Break Evil Dragon valued intent over power. If a descendant of the Qiangu Family could truly comprehend its unyielding true intent and the righteous energy of heaven and earth, there was even hope that it could grow alongside its host, cast off the shackles of being "artificial," and transform into a true Break Evil Dragon!

This achievement earned Xiao Ran the appreciation of Qiangu Dieting and naturally secured him a Spirit Pagoda envoy seat. Of course, the foundation of it all was still his own hard strength as a rank-97 Super Douluo.

Therefore, Xiao Ran would naturally not be perfunctory in preparing his son's first Soul Spirit. He had long poured his heart into personally creating a one-of-a-kind Soul Spirit for Xiao Cheng.

When they arrived at a core laboratory, the staff had already been waiting for some time. In the center of the lab floated a huge transparent cultivation chamber filled with pale green nutrient fluid.

Within that nutrient fluid, a tiny snake only about a foot long, entirely jade-green and with the faint outline of a pair of wings, drifted lazily through the liquid. Subtle spatial fluctuations emanated from its body, and its aura was pure and peaceful.

"This is the first Soul Spirit Dad prepared for you—the Azure Sky Snake." Xiao Ran pointed to the cultivation chamber, his voice carrying a trace of pride and expectation.

Xiao Cheng approached the chamber and curiously studied the little snake. He could sense that this artificial Soul Spirit possessed a natural closeness with him, as though they were connected by blood.

"Dad, did you make this?" Xiao Cheng asked, looking up. He knew that with Xiao Ran's accomplishments in Soul Spirit research, this would be no difficult task.

Xiao Ran smiled and nodded, a trace of reminiscence flashing through his eyes. "That's right. Cheng'er, you should know that I did not become a Spirit Pagoda envoy merely through cultivation. I also made a few insignificant technical contributions."

He slowly told his son about those events from the past, his tone calm as if he were speaking of someone else's story.

Xiao Cheng clicked his tongue after hearing it all. Damn, his old man had been a technical powerhouse back then too! What "insignificant contribution"? This was clearly core competitiveness! After all, what family would not want its younger generation to have the most compatible first Soul Spirit?

"So," Xiao Ran said with a smile as he looked at his son, "I naturally put thought into preparing this Azure Sky Snake Soul Spirit for you. Not only is it perfectly compatible with your Azure Sky Snake Martial Soul, more importantly, I incorporated some of my own insights into the fusion of spatial and wind attributes."

He paused, his expression turning solemn. "Cheng'er, remember this: a Soul Spirit is not merely a tool for providing Soul Rings and soul skills. It is more like a companion who grows alongside you, perhaps even a mentor. Within this Azure Sky Snake Soul Spirit, I sealed the prototypes of several Self-Created Soul Skills.

"Once you absorb it and reach a certain cultivation level, you will be able to use them in the form of ordinary soul skills. This will give you an intuitive understanding of high-level attribute fusion from the very start, saving you an enormous amount of time exploring it on your own."

Xiao Cheng was shaken. This was not a Soul Spirit at all. It was practically an "external cheat package" personally crafted by his father! And it even came with a tutorial!

"As for its age..." Xiao Ran helplessly spread his hands. "When I designed it, I never expected your spiritual power talent to be so terrifying, so I only made it a hundred-year Soul Spirit. But it doesn't matter. You can easily raise its age later in the Spirit Ascension Platform."

Xiao Cheng did not care about its age. A hundred-year yellow Soul Ring was ordinary enough. The important thing was its skills and potential!

Under the staff's guidance, Xiao Cheng pressed his little hand against the cultivation chamber.

Buzz—

The chamber door opened, and the jade-green snake instantly transformed into a streak of light that entered Xiao Cheng's palm.

A cool, gentle energy flowed into his body. Xiao Cheng immediately followed the Dragon Transformation Sutra's method to guide it. To his surprise, this energy faintly resonated with the "warm current" produced when he circulated the Dragon Transformation Sutra the night before. The Azure Sky Snake Martial Soul in his sea of consciousness hissed excitedly, becoming several times more active than before!

He seemed to see a blurry azure dragon shadow flash behind the little snake.

Could the Dragon Transformation Sutra also help the Azure Sky Snake Soul Spirit evolve into a True Dragon?

The thought set Xiao Cheng's heart ablaze.

The absorption process went unexpectedly smoothly. About half an hour later, light flashed around Xiao Cheng's body, and a bright yellow Soul Ring appeared out of thin air. It slowly rose before finally settling around him.

The pale yellow Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath Xiao Cheng's feet and condensed into shape. At the same time, a massive stream of information surged into his mind—the contents of his first soul skill.

"First Soul Skill—Power of Empty Green!"

Xiao Cheng closed his eyes and carefully sensed it. He discovered that this soul skill was neither offensive nor defensive. Instead, it was an exceptionally pure yet incomparably important passive enhancement and attribute-control soul skill.

Upon activating the Power of Empty Green, the wind-attribute Soul Power and spatial-attribute Soul Power within his body would automatically fuse into a higher-grade, purer form of Power of Empty Green.

This power greatly enhanced his affinity and control over both attributes. Simply put, before this, manipulating wind and space was like trying to grab flowing water and air directly with his hands—laborious and impure. Now, it was like having invisible channels to guide them smoothly, allowing him to wield them freely with more concentrated and powerful effects.

More importantly, it opened a window for him, allowing him to touch upon the mysteries of wind and spatial fusion in advance and lay the firmest possible foundation for learning higher-level fusion soul skills in the future.

"Buzz—"

Xiao Cheng's aura changed, and his Soul Power fluctuations visibly strengthened, steadily stopping at rank eleven! He had officially stepped through the gates of becoming a Soul Master!

"Very good." Xiao Ran patted his son's shoulder in satisfaction, his eyes full of gratification. "Cheng'er, remember, this is only the beginning. Starting today, your path of cultivation has truly begun. Tonight, we'll try the introductory stages of the Taixuan Technique."