First Soul Skill

Zhang Fei came running over, gleefully carrying an enormous Eight-Foot Serpent Spear in both hands. He looked utterly ridiculous.

She Long pointed his serpent spear at the Golden-armored Dragon Lizard's eye socket. "See that? Stab it in here with all your strength, and it'll become your soul ring."

Zhang Fei took a deep breath and backed up several steps, leaving himself enough room for a running start. Gripping the spear shaft tightly with both hands, he aimed at the Golden-armored Dragon Lizard's eye socket and charged forward at full speed.

Electric arcs crawled along the tip of the Eight-Foot Serpent Spear as it viciously plunged into the Golden-armored Dragon Lizard's eye socket.

"Pssh!"

A dull piercing sound rang out. The incomparably sharp spearhead entered through its pupil, drove straight into its brain, and easily penetrated the Golden-armored Dragon Lizard's skull.

The Golden-armored Dragon Lizard's massive body merely stiffened violently. Its limbs went taut for an instant before completely slackening, and it collapsed limply onto the ground, devoid of life.

Blood streamed down the spear shaft and splattered across Zhang Fei's face, reeking and scalding hot.

"So disgusting!"

Zhang Fei did not even have time to pull out the Eight-Foot Serpent Spear. He immediately let go, stumbled back two steps in a panic, and desperately wiped his face with his sleeves and the hem of his clothes.

Standing nearby, She Long let out a snort of laughter.

Zhang Fei shot him a glare. That old bastard knew blood would spray everywhere, but he didn't warn me in advance. Good thing I can handle it mentally. If someone more fragile had been in my place, this would've scarred them for life.

Compared to strangling that pig earlier, having blood splash onto his face and brains spill out was far more psychologically intense.

In his previous life, he had only been a student who had just finished the endless grind of exam prep and had never seen much of the world. Facing such a close-range bloody spectacle, his stomach churned, and he nearly threw up.

While grumbling inwardly, he viciously wiped his face twice more.

At the same time, a dark yellow soul ring slowly rose above the Golden-armored Dragon Lizard's corpse.

After taking a moment to recover, Zhang Fei reached out and pulled out the Eight-Foot Serpent Spear, recalled it into his body, then summoned his Golden Python martial soul again.

"Sit cross-legged, calm your mind, and use your will to guide the soul ring into absorption," She Long said. "I'll stand guard beside you, so don't worry. Just keep your mind steady. Leave everything else alone."

Zhang Fei sat down as instructed, adjusted his breathing, and sent a command toward the floating yellow soul ring with his mind.

As though it had sensed something, the soul ring slowly drifted over. It circled twice above Zhang Fei's head, then suddenly dropped and entered his body through the crown of his head.

A vast force thundered into his meridians, like molten iron being poured into his veins—searing, tyrannical, and wildly rampaging.

Zhang Fei's entire body shuddered. The veins on his forehead bulged instantly, and his teeth ground together with a creak.

The Golden-armored Dragon Lizard's soul power was incredibly violent, carrying the savage ferocity innate to a sub-dragon species. It rampaged through his body as though it intended to burst his meridians apart.

He circulated his meditation technique with all his strength, guiding that frenzied power along a fixed route, sorting it out and taming it.

It hurt. It really hurt. Cold sweat poured from his temples.

Every inch of his meridians burned. The pain sank into his bones and surged outward from within, leaving him nowhere to hide.

Yet Zhang Fei clenched his teeth without making a sound. His hands rested on his knees, his knuckles white from gripping so tightly, while every muscle in his body tensed.

She Long stood three steps away, his gaze fixed on Zhang Fei's body. The moment he saw even the slightest sign that Zhang Fei could not endure any longer, he would intervene at once.

Although Zhang Fei's body trembled violently, the effects of the whale gelatin body tempering began to show. No matter how fiercely the energy battered them, his reinforced meridian walls firmly held the final line of defense.

An hour passed, and the midday sun crossed over the treetops above.

The burning pain within Zhang Fei finally began to fade layer by layer, replaced by a warm sense of fullness that spread through his entire body.

A dark yellow soul ring formed beneath him, then began to pulse slowly.

Zhang Fei let out a long breath of foul air. He felt as if some restraint within his body had been completely shattered. His soul power circulated far faster than before, and the capacity of his meridians had clearly expanded considerably.

He slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of gold vanished from his pupils.

Zhang Fei rose to his feet and looked down at himself, only to discover that he had grown a little taller.

He had originally been just over 1.3 meters tall. Now, he was nearly 1.4 meters.

The muscle definition in his arms and legs had also become much clearer. He could not exactly be called muscular, but his body was sharply outlined, firm, and powerful, no longer as chubby as before.

The baby fat on his face had receded slightly, and his jawline had tightened a little. He had lost some of his childish immaturity and gained a trace of youthful vigor.

"Success? How do you feel?" She Long walked over and examined him from head to toe.

"Very good." Zhang Fei grinned and stretched his limbs. "My whole body feels incredibly comfortable. And I can feel that my basic attributes have improved by a huge amount. I'm overflowing with strength."

She Long nodded slightly and continued, "What is your first soul skill?"

Zhang Fei sensed the information contained within the dark soul ring and said, "First soul skill: Golden Armor Body. Strength and defense are both increased by one hundred percent."

"One hundred percent? That high?" She Long's brows shot up, and clear surprise appeared on his face.

Among the first soul skills of the soul masters he had seen, basic enhancement soul skills generally only increased attributes by around fifty percent.

Zhang Fei was a little surprised himself. He nodded. "Yes. Maybe it's an extra bonus from absorbing a soul ring beyond my limit. I feel like if I activated my first soul skill now, I could punch that pig from earlier into the air."

"Mm. The Golden-armored Dragon Lizard truly deserves its reputation as a strength-type sub-dragon soul beast. The effect is indeed astonishing." She Long took a deep breath, his tone full of satisfaction.

He took out a crystal ball from his storage soul tool and held it out before Zhang Fei. "Come, test your soul power."

Zhang Fei placed his hand on the crystal ball, and a familiar suction force came from it. Specks of light appeared at the bottom of the crystal ball, then rapidly rose.

"Level twelve. Absorbing an eight-hundred-year soul ring allowed you to directly break through two levels. Not bad at all."

She Long announced the number, and the satisfaction on his face deepened.

Zhang Fei withdrew his hand, finally feeling completely relieved.

With this kind of start, there were probably not many people his age across the entire Douluo Continent who could contend with him.

A faint surge of lofty ambition rose within him, as if he could look down upon all living things, and his back unconsciously straightened a little.

She Long put away the crystal ball and saw Zhang Fei's smug expression. Without a word, he raised his hand and smacked Zhang Fei on the back of the head.

With a sharp "Smack!", Zhang Fei's budding arrogance was slapped away.

"You're only a one-ring soul master. What are you so smug about?" She Long said disdainfully. "You've still got a long way to go. Once we get back, I'll train you properly!"

Rubbing the back of his head, Zhang Fei inwardly wailed, It's over, it's over. My good days are gone!

"Enough. We've obtained the soul ring, so let's head back quickly."

As soon as he finished speaking, She Long walked up to Zhang Fei, placed a large hand on his shoulder, and prepared to wrap him up and soar into the air.

"Grandpa, wait, wait!" Zhang Fei hurriedly reached out and grabbed She Long.

She Long frowned. "What is it now?"