First Soul Skill, Peerless Sword Body

As Qi Dao released fluctuations of soul power, the yellow soul ring above the Ironclad Turtle's body moved toward the top of his head, soon appearing above him.

"Buzz~"

The Peerless Sword lying horizontally before Qi Dao suddenly let out a hum. Then, it actually flew out of its sheath on its own, its tip pointed downward as it floated in midair.

Immediately afterward, the yellow soul ring Qi Dao had drawn over rapidly contracted and slipped around the Peerless Sword's blade.

The next instant, Qi Dao felt a powerful surge of energy rush into his body, battering his meridians and causing a faint prickling pain.

Qi Dao immediately understood.

Six hundred years was clearly not the current limit of his body.

Meanwhile.

Qi Dao's father and mother kept a constant watch on the changes in him.

But when they saw not the slightest trace of pain on his face, they finally let out relieved breaths.

The others in the soul hunting group were equally astonished.

"Dao is an incredible kid!"

"When I absorbed my four-hundred-year second soul ring, I still felt some pain. Yet Dao is absorbing a six-hundred-year first soul ring as if nothing's happening."

"That's why the gap between people is even bigger than the gap between people and dogs!"

"Once he gets past this hurdle, Dao's future will be smooth sailing!"

"Captain, Vice-Captain, you've raised a fine son. You'll be enjoying the good life from now on."

The members of the soul hunting group all sighed in admiration while subtly flattering Qi Dao's father and mother.

Though they usually hunted soul beasts together as companions, connections still had to be cultivated.

Although they had not known Qi Dao for long, both his knowledge and talent gave them the feeling that he was destined for greatness.

Naturally, they wanted to take this chance to strengthen their ties with his parents. Once Qi Dao truly achieved something in the future, they might be able to benefit from his success as well.

Seeing everyone's reactions, Qi Dao's parents also felt immensely proud.

Time passed, and several hours later.

The impact of the soul ring's energy had posed no threat to Qi Dao, so the rest of the absorption process naturally went without a hitch.

Within Qi Dao's consciousness, the Peerless Sword glowed faintly, its blade gleaming with a cold, polished sheen.

Most importantly, the cracks on the blade had transformed into exquisitely carved patterns.

Qi Dao could feel that the Peerless Sword was rejoicing.

Its quality could not yet be called high-grade, but it was absolutely no longer related in any way to a useless martial soul with a malignant mutation.

Clearly, the Ironclad Turtle's soul ring had made up for the flaws in the Peerless Sword's blade, allowing it to complete its first evolution.

Qi Dao slowly opened his eyes, a faint smile curling his lips.

"Dao!"

Seeing Qi Dao open his eyes, his father cried out joyfully.

Under everyone's watchful gaze, Qi Dao stood up and said with a smile, "Dad, I made you worry."

His father broke into a broad laugh. "Haha, as long as you successfully absorbed the soul ring, that's all that matters!"

"Quick, see what changes your martial soul has undergone!"

At those words, everyone turned curious eyes toward Qi Dao.

After he finished absorbing the soul ring, the Peerless Sword had already returned to his body on its own.

Qi Dao nodded with a smile, then summoned the Peerless Sword once more.

After examining it closely, someone exclaimed, "All the cracks that were originally on the blade have turned into patterns!"

"The flaws in the blade have all been restored!"

Qi Dao's mother's eyes reddened slightly.

"It's restored. That's wonderful, truly wonderful!"

Who would dare call her son's martial soul useless again?

Qi Dao's father smiled from the side. "All right. Since Dao has finished absorbing his first soul ring, it's time for us to head back."

Everyone nodded.

After leaving the Soul Hunting Forest, they gathered for a meal at an inn outside the forest before going their separate ways.

On the way back, Qi Dao examined the changes in his body.

After absorbing his first soul ring, the most obvious change was to his body.

Not only had he grown a little taller, but the lines of his muscles had become more distinct as well.

With each soul ring absorbed, the body developed once. No wonder soul masters on Douluo Continent matured early on average.

Besides that, there was also his soul power level.

Qi Dao could feel that his level had directly reached Level 13.

(I need to explain this here. In the original work, Tang San rose to Level 13 after absorbing a soul ring over four hundred years old. Logically, the protagonist should be even higher than Level 13, but later on, when Tang San absorbed his third soul ring and a soul bone, as well as his ten-thousand-year fourth ring, there were no consecutive level increases. It feels like this setting exists sometimes and disappears at others, so I did not let the protagonist gain too many levels.)

Breaking through to Level 13 was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for Qi Dao.

Otherwise, at his usual cultivation speed, it would have taken at least half a year of steady training to reach Level 13.

When he returned home, Father and Mother Qi asked Qi Dao about his first soul skill.

Qi Dao smiled. "My first soul skill is called Peerless Sword Body. It can slightly increase my strength and soul power for a short time, while also increasing my defense by one hundred percent."

(The strength of this soul skill is based on Dai Mubai's thousand-year Vajra Tiger third soul skill from the original work, which could double attack, defense, and strength for half an hour.)

He was fairly satisfied with his first soul skill, especially its defensive aspect.

After all, this was a precious percentage-based boost!

Father and Mother Qi drew sharp breaths after hearing it.

"A-Dao, people would believe that the effect of your soul skill belonged to a second or third soul skill!"

Qi Dao smiled faintly. "No matter how high the boost is, building a solid foundation is the key."

For example, if his base defense was only one hundred, then even doubled, it would only be two hundred.

But if his base defense was one thousand, or even ten thousand, then the gains after doubling it would naturally be much greater.

After school started, Qi Dao quietly returned to Notting Academy.

Two years ago, he had applied for a separate teacher's dormitory for himself. He usually did not attend classes, only going alone to the library to read.

The contents of books were not necessarily always correct, but they were still greatly helpful in broadening Qi Dao's horizons.

This was also one of the important reasons why he remained at Notting Academy.

To repay the academy, he would occasionally act as a teacher, giving lessons to the students in class or teaching them some practical combat techniques.

Fourth-year dormitory.

When everyone saw Qi Dao appear, they excitedly crowded around him.

"Boss!"

Several familiar faces stood before Qi Dao.

Xiao Chenyu, Liu Long, Ling Feng!

The three of them looked somewhat more mature than they had three years ago. Moreover, with Qi Dao leading by example, they had become far more diligent than in the original work.

Xiao Chenyu currently had the highest soul power level, having already reached Level 8.

Liu Long and Ling Feng came next, both having reached Level 7.

It was expected that all three would break through to Level 10 before their sixth year.

Qi Dao looked at them and offered each of them a few words of encouragement.

After he left, Liu Long, Ling Feng, and the others watched his departing back and could not help saying, "Why does it feel like Boss has changed so much after just one break?"

Xiao Chenyu said faintly, "As far as I know, after soul masters absorb soul rings, it promotes their physical development. Xiao Haijie was the same back then."

The moment those words were spoken, the dormitory erupted.

"What?!"

"Y-you mean Boss has already absorbed his first soul ring?"

"Th-this is impossible!"

"Wasn't Boss's innate soul power only half a level?"

"How is he cultivating faster than us?"

Xiao Chenyu shook his head. "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't believe it either. But if it's Boss..."

"Then everything feels perfectly reasonable!"

"Have you forgotten what Boss said?"

"A true genius will never be constrained by their martial soul!"

"Without a doubt, Boss is a true genius!"