Howling Celestial Dog's Abilities

Yang Jian studied the Three-Point Double-Edged Saber for a while longer and discovered that the weapon was not limited to three meters; it could also change size according to his will.

Of course, at his current stage, he could only make the Three-Point Double-Edged Saber smaller. Only after attaching soul rings would he be able to make it larger.

As for just how large it could become, that remained to be tested.

"Come out, Howling Celestial Dog."

Yang Jian recalled the Three-Point Double-Edged Saber into his palm, preparing to study his second martial soul.

When it had first awakened, he had only gained a rough understanding of the Howling Celestial Dog's power. He still did not know exactly what abilities it possessed.

A flash of white light passed, and the Howling Celestial Dog appeared beside him. The moment it saw him, it happily began wagging its tail.

"Master!"

Yang Jian was slightly startled. "You can actually talk?"

The Howling Celestial Dog nodded, its voice carrying a trace of childishness. "I could always talk. Earlier, it was because it was my first time coming out, so I wasn't very familiar with things yet."

Yang Jian understood.

He was not surprised that the Howling Celestial Dog could speak.

After all, if his guess was correct, this was a genuine divine beast. Talking was merely a basic ability.

Still, he gave it a warning. "Don't ever speak in front of other people unless I give you permission. Understand?"

This was something he had to guard against.

After all, throughout the history of Douluo Continent, the only martial soul that seemed able to speak was Huo Yuhao's third martial soul, Electrolux.

The key was that, strictly speaking, Electrolux did not count as a martial soul either.

As for martial souls brought about by the sacrifice of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, that was another matter entirely.

For example, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion that had sacrificed itself to Huo Yuhao.

"Understood, Master!" the Howling Celestial Dog barked twice.

Yang Jian then asked, "Since you can talk, tell me about your abilities."

Upon hearing this, the Howling Celestial Dog immediately held its head high and puffed out its chest, looking rather proud.

"Master, listen carefully!"

The corners of its mouth lifted into a humanlike, prideful expression as it sat beside Yang Jian.

"My abilities can be divided into seven types. First, I am extremely fast. By this world's standards, if I run at full speed right now, even a Soul Grandmaster would not be able to keep up with me."

"Second, my bite force is incredibly strong. If someone below Soul Grandmaster is bitten in a vital spot by me, they will either die or be crippled."

"Third, my body is extremely tough. No one below Soul Grandmaster can break through my defenses."

"Fourth, my sense of smell is exceptionally sharp. So long as I remember a scent, even if the target is a thousand miles away, I can instantly lock onto them."

"Fifth, I can fly."

"Sixth, I can change my form according to my will. I am not limited to the form of a dog."

"Seventh, I can cultivate on my own by consuming the essence of the sun and moon, and can even condense soul rings that can grow!"

After explaining its seven abilities, the Howling Celestial Dog stared straight at Yang Jian with its little eyes, seemingly waiting for praise.

Yang Jian was utterly shocked.

Any one of these abilities would be terrifying on its own, let alone all of them combined.

He had not even obtained his first soul ring yet, but the Howling Celestial Dog was already enough to threaten soul masters below Soul Grandmaster. Once it gained soul rings, would it not be unstoppable?

The seventh ability was even more heaven-defying.

Cultivating on its own by consuming the essence of the sun and moon, then condensing soul rings that could grow—did that not mean that his second martial soul could potentially have nothing but hundred-thousand-year soul rings or even million-year soul rings in the future?

Just thinking about it made him invincible!

"Not bad. You're amazing, Howling Celestial Dog."

Yang Jian was overjoyed. He reached out and rubbed the Howling Celestial Dog's head back and forth, praising it without pause.

The Howling Celestial Dog thoroughly enjoyed having its head petted. It let out comfortable little hums before finally lying down and presenting its belly to Yang Jian.

Yang Jian smiled helplessly. How could he fail to understand what it meant? He turned his hand over and began scratching its belly.

The Howling Celestial Dog became even happier, humming continuously.

After playing around for a while, Yang Jian decided to cultivate the Eight-Nine Mysteries.

He recalled the Howling Celestial Dog into his left hand, sat cross-legged on the ground, calmed his mind, and began recalling the cultivation method of the Eight-Nine Mysteries.

It had to be said that this technique was truly profound.

If it had not been imprinted in his mind and given him a basic understanding of it, he would probably have needed decades, perhaps even a century, merely to study it. Otherwise, he would never have figured it out.

"Phew."

Yang Jian breathed rhythmically, attempting to guide the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into his body and circulate it through his meridians.

Time passed without him realizing it.

Before dawn.

Yang Jian slowly opened his eyes. As he sensed the changes in his body, the delight between his brows could not be concealed.

After cultivating the Eight-Nine Mysteries for only a few hours, his physical strength had doubled.

That was right, a full doubling!

Though this had something to do with it being his first time cultivating the Eight-Nine Mysteries, as well as his previously weak physique, the results were real.

"This feels great!"

Yang Jian could not help throwing back his head and letting out a long howl.

He was even more confident in his future.

As everyone knew, the age limit of a soul ring one could absorb was directly proportional to physical strength. The stronger one's body, the older the soul ring one could absorb.

He had once been malnourished. He would probably have struggled even to absorb a hundred-year soul ring.

But now, absorbing a soul ring around two hundred years old would absolutely not be a problem.

If this continued, a thousand-year first ring or even a ten-thousand-year first ring would no longer be a dream!

Yang Jian did not dare hope for a hundred-thousand-year first ring.

After all, cultivating his physical strength to the point where he could absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring was simply unrealistic in the short term.

The golden period for a soul master's cultivation was those few years of childhood.

If he focused solely on improving his physical strength and refused to obtain his first soul ring, it would bring him more benefits than drawbacks, but it was not realistic.

First of all, with his talent, once he joined Spirit Hall, he would definitely receive special training.

How could those people possibly allow him to remain stuck in place?

If he dared say that he would not obtain his first soul ring, he would probably receive a beating no child his age should have to endure the very next second, then be forced to absorb one.

Second, it seemed that less than twenty years remained before Tang San became a god.

If he fell too far behind, what would it matter even if his first soul ring was a hundred thousand years old?

Would he not simply be killed by Tang San the moment they met?

"Ugh, the crippled version of the Eight-Nine Mysteries is still too restrictive. This technique has nine layers. Before level 10, I can only cultivate the first layer. Before level 20, I can only cultivate the second layer, and so on."

"If there were no such restriction, even if I never added another soul ring and just focused on cultivating the Eight-Nine Mysteries for twenty years, I would have nothing to fear even after Tang San became a god."

After some thought, Yang Jian ultimately decided that a ten-thousand-year first soul ring would be enough.

The Eight-Nine Mysteries could not only strengthen his body, but also greatly improve his soul.

If his physical strength was enough to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring, then his soul strength should also be enough to withstand the soul shock of a ten-thousand-year soul beast.

"But I'm afraid Spirit Hall won't believe it."

Yang Jian sighed. "I'll take things one step at a time. It's time to go back. My brother and Xiao Chan have not seen me for so long—they must be worried."

He cast aside the unnecessary thoughts, rose to his feet, and headed down the mountain toward Yellow Fish Village.