Growing Stronger by Eating Soul Skills, the Second Public Test

After returning to Spirit City, news of Sacred Dragon Devouring Essence quickly reached the Papal Hall and the Worship Hall.

Bibi Dong did not merely review the hunting record.

She directly had Yue Guan organize a second public test of the Soul Skill.

The location was once again the Worship Hall training grounds.

In addition to Golden Crocodile, Guang Ling, Yue Guan, and Qian Renxue, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan also participated in the test.

Yan stood at the edge of the training grounds, looking down at Xiao Jin.

"I heard it can eat Soul Skills?"

Xiao Jin recognized Yan.

Over the past few months, it had often entered Yan's fire-attribute cultivation chamber to devour the ambient energy.

The moment it heard the words "eat Soul Skills," Xiao Jin immediately raised its head and nodded vigorously.

Yan extended his right hand.

A ball of flame rose in his palm.

"Can it eat this too?"

Xiao Jin leaned closer and sniffed it.

The Flame Lord's Soul Power was extremely hot.

Yet it did not retreat. Instead, it opened its mouth and bit off a chunk of the fireball.

A small piece of flame was torn from the middle and swallowed into its stomach.

A few sparks drifted from Xiao Jin's mouth.

Yan's eyes lit up.

"It really can eat it."

Yue Guan walked to the center of the training grounds.

"First, we'll test attribute compatibility."

"Light, fire, lightning, ice, wind, and pure Soul Power will be tested in sequence."

"Everyone control the strength and begin at the one-ring level before increasing it."

Qian Renxue was responsible for the light attribute.

Yan was responsible for fire.

Guang Ling tested ice with ice arrows.

The lightning and wind attributes were handled by other Soul Masters from the Worship Hall.

The results of the first round of light testing were similar to those in Sunset Forest.

Xiao Jin had the highest compatibility with light-attributed Soul Power.

It could devour most high-level three-ring attacks, though the small remainder still caused impact.

Its compatibility with fire was slightly lower.

When Yan raised the flames to the middle three-ring level, Xiao Jin's scales had already turned noticeably red.

It could still swallow the flames, but its conversion speed was about thirty percent slower than with the light attribute.

After it finished devouring them, Xiao Jin suddenly let out a burp.

Pfft.

A string of sparks shot from its mouth.

Yan took half a step back and touched the eyebrow that had nearly been singed.

"It did that on purpose, didn't it?"

Xiao Jin's gaze drifted aside, looking as though it knew nothing at all.

The conversion speed for lightning was close to that of fire.

It could devour wind-attribute energy, but its storage efficiency was lower.

Its compatibility with ice was the worst.

When one of Guang Ling's ice arrows at the initial Soul Elder level entered the vortex, less than half of it was swallowed.

The remaining ice arrow struck Xiao Jin's forehead, freezing its whole body into an ice ball.

Xiao Jin struggled free from the ice and sneezed several times in a row.

When it looked at Guang Ling, its eyes were filled with disdain.

Guang Ling chuckled.

"It's quite a picky eater."

Yue Guan recorded the results in his notebook.

"Light is the highest."

"Fire and lightning come next."

"Wind can be converted, but the efficiency is average."

"Ice has the lowest compatibility."

"This basically matches the results from its previous consumption of materials."

The next test involved tangible Martial Souls.

Xie Yue summoned his Moon Blades.

The Moon Blades themselves were condensed from his Martial Soul and were not pure energy.

He first held one Moon Blade out before Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin opened its mouth and took a bite.

Clang!

Its teeth collided with the Moon Blade, producing a crisp metallic sound.

Only two shallow tooth marks remained on the surface of the Moon Blade.

The corner of Xie Yue's mouth twitched slightly.

"Don't actually bite it."

Xiao Jin released the blade and stuck out its tongue to lick its teeth.

It clearly found the thing too hard to be suitable as food.

Xie Yue gripped the Moon Blade again and infused it with Soul Power.

A silver glow lit up across its surface.

"Try it now."

Xiao Jin activated Sacred Dragon Devouring Essence.

A dark-gold vortex enveloped the Moon Blade.

The Martial Soul itself was not greatly affected, but the Soul Power attached to its surface rapidly drained away.

The silver glow dimmed by nearly half.

Xie Yue carefully sensed the changes.

"The Moon Blade is still intact."

"But my Soul Power consumption has increased."

"It can't eat Martial Souls, but it can weaken the Soul Power attached to them."

Yue Guan nodded and recorded it.

"When fighting Tool Martial Soul Masters, it can use this method to disrupt the structure of their attacks."

"However, it needs to get close to the Martial Soul itself, so the risk is high."

Finally, it was Hu Liena's turn.

"My Charm is a spiritual attribute."

Hu Liena walked over to Xiao Jin.

"Are you sure you still want to try?"

"I'll only use a small amount of spiritual power."

Yue Guan said, "Stop immediately once we confirm it cannot devour it."

Pink light gleamed in Hu Liena's eyes.

A wisp of spiritual Charm approached Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin opened its mouth, trying to draw it in as it would a blade of light.

The dark-gold vortex had no effect at all.

The spiritual Soul Power passed straight through the vortex and entered Xiao Jin's mind.

Xiao Jin's eyes instantly became dazed.

It looked at Hu Liena, and its formerly wary expression swiftly vanished as it started walking toward her on all fours.

Hu Liena smiled and crouched down, extending both hands.

"Come here."

Xiao Jin took two steps.

The First Soul Ring within its body lit up on its own.

Roar!

Holy Dragon Soul Suppression erupted.

The spiritual Charm was shattered by the dragon's roar.

Xiao Jin regained its senses and discovered that it had already walked up to Hu Liena. It immediately leaped a great distance backward.

It was clearly somewhat embarrassed and angry, growling continuously at Hu Liena.

Hu Liena smiled even more happily.

"It can't swallow it."

"But it can resist spiritual control on its own."

Yue Guan finished his record.

"Just as expected."

"Sacred Dragon Devouring Essence cannot handle spiritual attacks, souls, curses, or poison."

"If it encounters those types of attacks in the future, it cannot rely on the Second Soul Skill."

Xiao Jin was still glaring at Hu Liena.

Hu Liena reached out, intending to pet it.

Xiao Jin swiftly hid behind Chu Jin, only poking its head out to stare at her.

The testing continued.

The final item was its single-use limit.

Golden Crocodile personally made his move.

He did not summon his Martial Soul. He merely condensed his Soul Power into a golden palm seal, beginning at the initial Soul Ancestor level and steadily increasing its strength.

"Get ready."

Chu Jin nodded.

Xiao Jin stood in front of him, its Second Soul Ring lighting up.

Golden Crocodile thrust out his palm.

The palm seal tore through the air.

The dark-gold vortex met it head-on.

Xiao Jin was most efficient at devouring light and pure Soul Power.

Even after a palm seal at the initial Soul Ancestor level entered the vortex, it was not completely swallowed.

The Soul Power around its outer layer was rapidly stripped away.

The palm seal shrank by nearly half.

The remaining core power struck Xiao Jin's body.

Bang!

Xiao Jin was blasted more than ten meters away.

Its body rolled across the ground before finally crashing into the stone wall at the edge of the training grounds.

Through their Martial Soul connection, Chu Jin felt a sharp surge of pain.

Xiao Jin's scales had not shattered, but the Soul Power within its body was violently disturbed.

It climbed up from the ground, shook its head, and ran back to Chu Jin's side.

"High-level Soul Elder attacks can be almost completely devoured."

"At the initial Soul Ancestor level, it can only weaken them."

Yue Guan said, "This should be its current single-use limit."

Golden Crocodile withdrew his Soul Power.

"In a Soul Master battle, the opponent will not stand still and wait for it to devour their attack slowly."

"The timing of its use is more important than its devouring limit."

Chu Jin nodded.

Sacred Dragon Devouring Essence was very powerful.

But it was not yet powerful enough for Xiao Jin to ignore every attack head-on.

When facing Soul Skills beyond its limit, it could at most swallow part of the Soul Power and weaken their force. If it misjudged the situation, the remaining power could still severely injure it.

After the testing ended, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan left first.

Yue Guan returned to the Papal Hall with the complete records.

Golden Crocodile, meanwhile, had Chu Jin continue with his Heavy Halberd training that afternoon.

By nightfall.

Chu Jin returned to his residence and began meditating as usual.

Xiao Jin had devoured Soul Power of several different attributes throughout the day, and its body was already extremely exhausted.

It lay on the soft cushion beside the bed and soon closed its eyes.

Chu Jin circulated the Worship Hall Meditation Method.

Soul Power from the outside world was drawn into his body, completing a circuit through his meridians before gathering in his dantian.

After cultivating for half an hour, he gradually noticed something unusual.

Tonight, the rate at which Soul Power gathered was slightly faster than before.

The change was minuscule.

If not for the Double Pupils' extreme sensitivity to the flow of Soul Power, it would have been difficult to notice.

Chu Jin did not stop meditating.

His spiritual perception followed the connection of their martial souls into Xiao Jin's body.

Not all the energy it had consumed during the day had vanished.

Part of it became the foundation for Xiao Jin's growth, settling into its scales, bones, and bloodline.

An even smaller portion was being fed back to its master through their martial soul connection.

This feedback did not directly raise Chu Jin's Soul Power Level, but it allowed him to absorb external energy more smoothly while meditating.

Xiao Jin had also fed energy back to him after consuming materials in the past.

Its effects had mainly been on the body.

After gaining Sacred Dragon Devouring Essence, the energy feedback began to affect Soul Power cultivation as well.

Chu Jin continued observing.

The feedback lasted for an hour before gradually ending.

He opened his eyes and recorded the changes in the booklet beside him.

[After devouring combat energy, a small amount of power is fed back to the host.]

[Effect: Speeds up meditation and restores Soul Power.]

[Specific ratio unknown.]

Chu Jin set down his pen.

He turned to look at Xiao Jin beside the bed.

Xiao Jin had its eyes closed, its body slowly rising and falling with each breath. It appeared to be sleeping deeply.

Yet aside from Chu Jin's own Soul Power, there seemed to be another faint current of energy flowing through the room.

At first, he thought it was merely the lingering feedback from Sacred Dragon Devouring Essence.

But after sensing it carefully, Chu Jin discovered that the energy's movement followed an extremely regular rhythm.

Inhale.

Gather.

Exhale.

Sink into the heart.

This rhythm was very similar to the one he followed during his daily meditation.

Chu Jin did not immediately open his Double Pupils.

He closed his eyes again and pretended to continue cultivating.

Yet his spiritual perception quietly locked onto Xiao Jin.