Riftblade Giant Toad Inherited Soul Skill

The sunlight was just right that day.

In the training grounds of Hongchen Duke's Estate, five figures stood quietly beneath the morning light.

Liu Yueming, Meng Hongchen, and Yan Hongchen stood side by side at the edge of the grounds, their gazes fixed upon the two figures facing each other.

A flash of golden light enveloped Xiao Hongchen. From behind him, at the position of his backside, a leg emerged. The leg was completely golden, and at the same time, a dazzling golden layer covered his entire body.

This was Xiao Hongchen's martial soul—the beastified form of the Three-Legged Golden Toad, a martial soul bearing divine beast bloodline. Yan Hongchen raised an eyebrow slightly as he watched. Xiao Hongchen's beastified martial soul form was truly... difficult to describe. It was far less aesthetically pleasing than his own and Meng Hongchen's martial souls.

Moreover, when it came to developing divine beast bloodlines, Yan Hongchen remembered that Xiao Hongchen had seemingly had nothing particularly outstanding in the original story; it had merely been mentioned in passing. Yan Hongchen thought that, in the future, he could try to obtain that Golden Tortoise for Xiao Hongchen and see whether its potential could be developed.

Across from him, Yi Hongchen watched Xiao Hongchen prepare and summoned his own martial soul as well. A blue-gray phantom condensed behind him, taking the form of an enormous, terrifying giant toad.

Its blue-gray skin carried the cold, hard sheen of alloy. Blade-like metallic protrusions grew along the edges of its limbs and beneath its jaw, gleaming with chilling white light beneath the sun.

Most terrifying was its mouth. As it opened and closed slightly, golden fangs like saw teeth could be vaguely seen within, as though they could tear apart anything.

This was Yi Hongchen's martial soul, the Riftblade Giant Toad. It too was a mutation, possessing both the sharpness of metal and physical strength. Its power carried cutting and tearing effects; it could split gold and stone, sever mountains and rivers.

Seven soul rings rose from beneath Yi Hongchen's feet: two yellow, two purple, and three black. It was a standard configuration, yet it exuded a suffocating pressure.

His muscles swelled in that instant, while a faint metallic sheen appeared over his skin. Every strand of his short hair stood on end, and his entire body radiated boundless sharpness, just as flamboyantly bristling as a hedgehog.

Xiao Hongchen grinned. "Dad, be careful. I'm attacking."

He crouched slightly, and two yellow soul rings shone as he activated his first soul skill, Metal Control, and his second soul skill, Golden Shaping.

As his back arched slightly, golden bulges pushed out from beneath his clothes one after another, radiating a soft golden glow.

He scattered eight metal spheres, along with a great deal of metal powder. They instantly floated in midair, completely enveloping him.

With the metal spheres as their centers, thick metal cannon barrels grew out one after another. Within the span of a breath, he had turned into something like a giant hedgehog.

One major advantage of metal-attribute martial souls was the ability to control metal. Xiao Hongchen's first soul skill controlled the metal spheres and metal powder, while Golden Shaping then transformed the metal powder into whatever form he desired, such as cannon barrels.

Yi Hongchen merely nodded. The first, third, second, and third of his soul rings lit up in succession. He was not as flashy as Xiao Hongchen.

He simply tossed out several chunks of metal. The metal blocks hovered in the air before instantly turning liquid, then condensed under his mental control into eight metal shields.

His soul skills had not completely departed from the Hongchen Family's traditional soul skills. His first two soul skills were the same as Xiao Hongchen's, but his third soul skill was Golden Affinity.

He had once discussed his soul rings with Jing Hongchen, bluntly stating that while the family's arrangement had its merits, he had his own ideas.

In this world, the soul skills one gained were not entirely random; there were still certain fixed patterns. By having a specific martial soul absorb the soul ring of a specific soul beast, one had a very high chance of gaining a designated soul skill.

Such soul skills were known as inherited soul skills. The White Tiger martial soul was the clearest example. Generally, only before obtaining the Martial Soul True Body could one follow a set path; afterward, one had to explore on one's own.

Thus, Yi Hongchen had prioritized several distinctive soul skills within the Hongchen Family, then combined them with his own traits to carve out his own path.

Although Xiao Hongchen and Yi Hongchen each had their own mutations, neither had yet stepped beyond this category. It would depend on how the two of them used them.

Xiao Hongchen stood as steady as a rock. Eight metal cannon barrels roared, unleashing countless shells in a torrential barrage.

Yi Hongchen did not move even half a step. He merely waved an arm to control the eight metal shields, defending without a single gap.

Not only that, Golden Affinity's effect was not limited to liquefaction. During the process, he could make use of metal's toughness, allowing some shells to rebound directly along the force of impact!

Several shells exploded as they grazed past Xiao Hongchen's side, startling him into hastily withdrawing and dodging. His martial soul had three legs, making him as stable as a boulder during long-range attacks, but once he entered beastified form, his movements became far too restricted.

"Dad, isn't that a little too ruthless?" Xiao Hongchen coughed repeatedly after being choked by the flying debris, directly dispelling his beastified martial soul form.

Yi Hongchen did not answer. He merely waved a hand, taking control of all the metal that had gone out of control after Xiao Hongchen dismissed his martial soul, condensing and gathering it into a single mass.

"Xiao'er, didn't you say you were going to use your full strength?" Yi Hongchen looked calmly at Xiao Hongchen. "I merely controlled my shields and counterattacked while defending."

"Your martial soul possesses divine beast bloodline, and your lower-body stability is indeed quite good. It is well suited to a turret-style fighting method. At full burst, your attack power can injure a Soul Elder, but it is far too easy for you to become a stationary target."

"That leg behind you would be best if it could become a tail when you need to move, one that can turn flexibly. Or you could consider making your third soul skill Golden Affinity, so you would not be forced to rely solely on soul tools for defense at close range."

"If you insist on obtaining Golden Boiling and Golden Sacrifice first, then your mobility will be restricted."

"Lastly, there is the matter of soul skill proficiency. That is also related to the fact that you have only just obtained your second soul ring. You need more practice."

Xiao Hongchen brushed the dust from his body, deep in thought. The third leg in his beastified martial soul form truly was an unavoidable problem. If he did not solve it, he would probably end up being used as a target on the battlefield.

Seeing that Xiao Hongchen was unharmed, Yi Hongchen gathered up the scattered metal materials and put them away. They were all good materials that could be recycled, so naturally they could not be wasted.

After watching the battle between Xiao Hongchen and Yi Hongchen, Yan Hongchen gained some ideas regarding support. There were two directions he could consider for his first soul skill.

If he added an enhancement-type soul skill early on, then although its boost would be weaker later, even a weak enhancement was better than directly losing a soul skill in the later stages.

As for the other option, Yan Hongchen remembered an exceptionally special soul skill from the original story called Mermaid Duet. When used alongside any spiritual-type soul skill he possessed, it could directly produce twice the effect.

That was the direction he was currently considering for his soul ring and soul skill. As for whether he had any other ideas, he would need to see the next practice match.

After Yi Hongchen finished collecting the metal materials from the grounds, he turned to Meng Hongchen. "Meng'er, would you like to test your new power?"

As Meng Hongchen looked at Yi Hongchen, it was impossible for her to say that she did not want to try it. She immediately stepped forward, ready to test her skills.

Seeing this, Liu Yueming also stepped forward. When it came to guiding her daughter's martial soul, it was ultimately more suitable for her to do it herself.

"Meng'er, Mother will guide you next. You must use your full strength."