First Soul Skill

Ye Xunhuan wanted to follow, but Ling Yuan pressed a hand onto his shoulder.

"Be good and stay here. I've set up a soul power detection net within a hundred meters. If any soul beast comes close, I'll know immediately."

With that, Ling Yuan turned and slipped into the dense forest.

Ye Xunhuan helplessly sat back down by the stream, gnawing on a rabbit leg as he aimlessly scanned the surrounding woods.

After the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, Ling Yuan's lowered voice came from the distance.

"Xunhuan! Come quick! There's honey! And... you might have to give up on your Bloodcrazed War Bear."

Ye Xunhuan froze, then rose and hurried toward her voice.

After passing through a patch of low shrubs, the view before him suddenly opened up.

A small natural clearing lay within the forest. At its center stood an ancient locust tree so thick that three people would be needed to encircle it.

A washbasin-sized beehive hung from the crisscrossing branches, golden honey slowly trickling down the trunk.

Ling Yuan stood beside the ancient tree, holding a piece of bark she had scraped off. It was already carrying a generous amount of honey.

Yet her gaze was not on the beehive, but fixed on the other side of the clearing.

Following her line of sight, Ye Xunhuan's pupils abruptly contracted.

At the far end of the clearing, a powerfully built bear-type soul beast slowly emerged from the depths of the forest.

It stood nearly two meters tall at the shoulder, its body covered in coarse, dark-red bristles that looked as though they had been soaked in blood, glinting with an eerie dark sheen beneath the sunlight.

Its frame was leaner and more imposing than that of an ordinary bear-type soul beast, its muscles sharply defined beneath its fur.

It was exactly as described in the Martial Soul Encyclopedia: a Bloodcrazed War Bear.

He had failed to find it after several hours of searching, yet it had delivered itself right to his doorstep.

What a case of searching everywhere in vain, only to find it without any effort at all.

"Sister Ling Yuan, it's decided. I want that one." Ye Xunhuan gave Ling Yuan a slight salute.

At his words, Ling Yuan's delicate brows furrowed deeply.

It was not that she could not handle the Bloodcrazed War Bear before them.

On the contrary, it was merely a hundred-year soul beast. If her little brother wanted it, she would kill it even if it were a true dragon.

The problem was its age. The aura emanating from this Bloodcrazed War Bear was already close to a thousand years. It was at least a 750-year soul beast.

That was already close to the absorption limit for an ordinary soul master's second Spirit Ring.

After a moment of silence, Ling Yuan moved.

She would subdue it first and talk later.

The Blazing Spirit Kite Martial Soul instantly possessed her body, and eight Spirit Rings representing the cultivation of a Soul Douluo rose from beneath her feet.

The Bloodcrazed War Bear, which had still been warily watching the two of them, sensed the overwhelming aura of a Soul Douluo. Without even a second of hesitation, it turned and fled deeper into the forest.

"Trying to run? Third Soul Skill, Flame Feathers!"

Ling Yuan gave a sharp cry, and her third Spirit Ring instantly lit up.

Five Flame Feathers condensed from fire elemental energy shot toward the Bloodcrazed War Bear.

Two pierced directly into its eyes.

Two severed the tendons in its legs.

The last stabbed toward its heart, only to halt abruptly five centimeters before it.

Her control over soul power was exquisite to the extreme.

"Awooo!!!"

A heart-rending howl rang out. Having lost its vision, the Bloodcrazed War Bear could only wildly swing its enormous claws.

Less than two breaths later, it collapsed stiffly to the ground, its twitching body the only sign that it was still alive.

So strong! Ye Xunhuan watched the scene, his shock beyond words. Such precise control over soul power was something no ordinary Soul Douluo could achieve.

In the original story, even Duke Long and Serpent Grandmother had failed to capture a thousand-year Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake. Compared to Ling Yuan's effortless display, the difference was worlds apart.

As he was pondering this, Ling Yuan casually tossed the Bloodcrazed War Bear over.

At the same time, Ling Yuan's worried voice reached him.

"Xunhuan, are you sure you want to absorb this Bloodcrazed War Bear's Spirit Ring? Its age far exceeds the theoretical limit for a soul master's first Spirit Ring. We still have plenty of time..."

"It's fine, Sister Ling Yuan. Trust me. If I only cultivate step by step, when will I ever avenge my parents?" Ye Xunhuan interrupted her, a ruthless glint flashing through his eyes.

Ling Yuan opened her mouth, knowing she could no longer change Ye Xunhuan's mind. She softly said, "Then do it. If anything goes wrong during the absorption, I'll forcibly interrupt it even if it means damaging your foundation."

Ye Xunhuan nodded solemnly. The Behemoth Martial Soul instantly possessed his body, and his massive iron-cleaving claws swept down, ending the Bloodcrazed War Bear's life.

A deep-yellow Spirit Ring floated up from the corpse.

Ye Xunhuan swiftly sat cross-legged. The Behemoth Martial Soul appeared behind him, and guided by his heavy soul power, the Bloodcrazed War Bear's Spirit Ring flew above his head.

Almost the instant they made contact, the two streams of soul power began a fierce struggle. The Bloodcrazed War Bear's violent and savage soul power poured endlessly into Ye Xunhuan's limbs and bones, seemingly intent on bursting his meridians apart.

As a result, Ye Xunhuan's body began to tremble faintly as he absorbed the Spirit Ring.

"Hmph! How dare the glow of a firefly compete with the brilliance of the moon!"

Ye Xunhuan accelerated the circulation of the Behemoth's soul power. The majesty of a primordial beast could not be violated, and in the blink of an eye, he suppressed the Spirit Ring.

The scene within his sea of consciousness better demonstrated what it meant to be killed the moment one showed oneself.

The Bloodcrazed War Bear's resentful remnant had barely opened its mouth to provoke him before the Behemoth living in his sea of consciousness tore it apart with a single claw.

As that resentment vanished, the Spirit Ring absorption gradually fell into place.

Two hours later, Ye Xunhuan suddenly opened his eyes. Divine light flashed within them, and the usual gentleness in his gaze had been replaced by exposed golden radiance, lending him an unstoppable air.

"Roar!!!" A low growl rolled from Ye Xunhuan's throat, carrying surging blood and qi in all directions and stirring waves of unrest throughout the forest.

"What are you roaring for? Your breath nearly knocked me out. You absorbed one first Spirit Ring and now you think you rule the world?" Ling Yuan rolled her eyes at him and fanned her nose theatrically.

Ye Xunhuan hurriedly withdrew his Martial Soul and scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.

Seeing his expression, Ling Yuan chuckled and rubbed his head, unable to hide the satisfaction in her eyes.

"All right, I was only teasing you. An eight-hundred-year first Spirit Ring—our Xunhuan has truly done something unprecedented!"

Ling Yuan did not hold back her praise. Only she knew how agonizing the past two hours had been.

The frequent trembling, his terrible complexion... she had truly feared that her wrong decision would ruin Ye Xunhuan.

Withdrawing her hand, she softly said, "Show me your first Soul Skill. I'll be your target."

"First Soul Skill! Berserk Blood Battle Physique!"

Ye Xunhuan shouted, and his aura surged. His originally fair skin was instantly covered in a heavy armor of muscle.

Ling Yuan's eyes lit up. "As expected, it's a strengthening-type Soul Skill. This aura surpasses even that of a Great Spirit Master. Your soul power has also broken through to Rank 13."

"My first Soul Skill is called Berserk Blood Battle Physique. It increases my strength, defense, attack, and soul power by fifty percent. Its armor-piercing ability—my claws' sharpness—increases by one hundred percent. The only drawback is that wearing this armor lowers my speed by around ten percent, and using the Soul Skill for too long may cause me to lose my mind." As he spoke, Ye Xunhuan revealed the sharp twin claws hidden beneath his thick fur.

"How much???"