The First Soul Spirit: Power of Empty Green

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

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

Xiao Ran and Mu Wan sat on opposite sides of the table. Though they were still elegantly eating breakfast on the surface, the faint flicker in their eyes and their occasionally quickened breaths from excitement exposed the unrest in their hearts.

The night before, they had barely slept. Their minds had been wholly immersed in the mysterious world of the Taixuan Technique.

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

Mu Wan gently stirred the porridge in her bowl, her eyes gleaming. "Vast, righteous, and conceived on an extremely lofty level. It shares certain common ground with the cultivation philosophy of our Body Sect, but its perspective is far broader, pointing directly toward the origin of life.

"If this method can truly be used to solidify one's foundation, then combined with Soul Power cultivation, its future potential 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. "From my initial observations, the two do not conflict. On the contrary, they complement each other. Soul Power focuses outward, drawing upon heaven and earth; the Taixuan Technique focuses inward, excavating one's own potential. If both can be cultivated together to form a cycle, the result will be far more than one plus one equals two." His tone carried anticipation and eagerness.

Yet neither of them rushed to switch cultivation methods. As Title Douluo, they knew the dangers of recklessly changing techniques. Xiao Cheng had obtained this Taixuan Technique through a fortunate opportunity, and they needed to understand and verify it from the most basic level.

"Cheng'er." Xiao Ran turned toward his son, who had long finished breakfast and was now boredly poking at the fried egg on his plate with his chopsticks. "Did you sleep well last night? Did you try circulating those... techniques you mentioned?"

Xiao Cheng had bread stuffed in his mouth. He swallowed before casually answering, "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 cozy!" He made it sound as though he had merely done some bedtime exercises.

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

Xiao Cheng did not notice his parents' shock. He was immersed in a novel experience. Strangely enough, although he had fused the souls of three lifetimes and possessed an adult's mentality, this six-year-old body seemed to come with some sort of "correction mechanism." Whether it was his hormone levels or instinct, it would occasionally make him act childish no matter what, and he could not maintain a mature façade even if he wanted to.

He did not dislike it, though. He even found it somewhat amusing. Kids should act like kids. If I acted old and serious all day, wouldn't that be exhausting?

"Dad, Mom, are we going to get my first Soul Spirit today?" Xiao Cheng blinked his big eyes and changed the subject, his face brimming with pure anticipation. Yesterday had been shocking, but it had only been the beginning. Today was the day he would truly embark upon the road of cultivation!

"That's right." Xiao Ran rose to his feet and ruffled his son's hair. "Let's go. Dad prepared the most suitable partner for you long ago."

The headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda, a cluster of buildings symbolizing the highest authority in the soul master world, radiated a cold and imposing gleam beneath the morning sun.

As one of the four Spirit Envoys, Xiao Ran possessed extremely high clearance. With Xiao Cheng in tow, he did not head to the Soul Spirit selection halls open to the public. Instead, he passed through layers of security checkpoints and spatial teleportation gates, entering an extremely confidential underground research area.

Even the air here seemed to carry special energy fluctuations, and the silence was almost frightening. Huge reinforced glass walls lined both sides of the corridor, behind which stood independent laboratories. Strange instruments and culture dishes could be seen within, containing clusters of light or biological tissue of all kinds floating inside.

Xiao Cheng curiously looked around. To him, this place was like a scene from a science fiction movie. Such technology had not existed in the martial arts world of his previous life.

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

"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 brilliant record.

Thinking back, Xiao Ran had possessed a bit of background in his younger days. His father had been a Soul Douluo, but that much 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 Envoy of the Spirit Pagoda. What had he relied on? Was it merely his high cultivation?

Being good at fighting was worth shit. To make it in this world, one needed connections and influence. As a nobody from Eastsea City, how could it ever have been his turn to become a Spirit Envoy?

Title Douluo were hardly rare among the Spirit Pagoda's upper ranks. Seniority? He was only a little over fifty 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 had been shallow indeed. Background? There had been nothing to speak of.

The reason he could sit in the powerful position of Spirit Envoy was because of genuine, 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 the field of Soul Spirit research.

Relying on his unique understanding of spatial attributes, he had once solved the long-standing issue of unstable internal space within the Spirit Ascension Platform. Yet what had truly made him famous was the project praised as "epoch-making"—the Artificial Break Evil Dragon Soul Spirit.

The Qiangu Family of the Spirit Pagoda possessed the dragon soul of the Break Evil Dragon attached to their inherited Coiling Dragon Staff martial soul. 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 and was not governed by the Dragon God. It was innately capable of dispelling evil and possessed an unyielding nature. The Qiangu Family had always wanted to extract the power of the dragon soul from their martial soul and create Artificial Break Evil Dragon Soul Spirits for their younger generation, but they had always fallen short at the final step.

It was Xiao Ran, with his astonishing talent and Soul Guidance Technology, who overcame that hurdle 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 possessed their core traits and had an extremely high compatibility 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 in the future, there was even hope that it could grow alongside its host, cast off the shackles of being "artificial," and become a true Break Evil Dragon!

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

Therefore, Xiao Ran naturally would not be perfunctory when preparing his son's first Soul Spirit. He had already poured his heart into personally crafting a unique 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 laboratory floated a huge transparent cultivation chamber filled with pale green nutrient fluid.

Within that nutrient fluid, a small snake barely a foot long lazily swam about. Its entire body was jade-green, faint outlines of wings had begun forming on its back, and it emitted subtle spatial fluctuations. Its aura was pure and tranquil.

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

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

"Dad, did you make this?" Xiao Cheng looked up and asked. He knew that, with Xiao Ran's attainments in Soul Spirit research, this would not be difficult for him.

Xiao Ran smiled and nodded, a trace of reminiscence flashing through his eyes. "That's right. Cheng'er, you must understand that I was able to become a Spirit Envoy not merely because of my cultivation, but also because of some insignificant technical contributions."

He slowly recounted that history to his son, his tone calm, as though he were telling someone else's story.

Xiao Cheng was speechless after hearing it. Good lord, his father had been a top technical expert too! What "insignificant contribution"? This was clearly core competitiveness! After all, whose family would not want its younger generation to use the most compatible first Soul Spirit?

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

He paused, and his tone turned solemn. "Cheng'er, you must remember that 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, 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 level of cultivation, you will be able to use them in the form of ordinary soul skills. This will allow you to gain an intuitive understanding of high-level attribute fusion from the very beginning, saving you a great deal of time that would otherwise be spent exploring on your own."

Xiao Cheng's heart shook. This was not a Soul Spirit at all—it was practically an "external cheat package" his father had personally created! 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 into a hundred-year Soul Spirit. But it's all right. Once you enter the Spirit Ascension Platform in the future, increasing its age will be easy."

Xiao Cheng did not care much about its age. A hundred-year yellow Soul Ring was perfectly ordinary. The key was its skills and potential!

Under the staff's guidance, Xiao Cheng placed his small 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 guided it according to the method of the Dragon Transformation Sutra. To his surprise, he discovered that 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 within 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 form. At the same time, an enormous stream of information flooded 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. Rather, it was an extremely pure yet incomparably important passive enhancement and attribute-control soul skill.

Once Power of Empty Green was activated, the wind-attribute Soul Power and spatial-attribute Soul Power within his body would automatically fuse into a higher-level, purer form of power—the Power of Empty Green.

This power greatly improved his affinity and control over both attributes. Simply put, when he previously mobilized wind and space, it was like trying to grab flowing water and air directly with his hands—laborious and imprecise. Now, it was as though invisible channels guided 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 ahead of time 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 intensified before stabilizing firmly at level 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 filled with gratification. "Cheng'er, remember that this is only the beginning. From today onward, your road of cultivation has truly begun. Tonight, we'll try the introductory stage of the Taixuan Technique."