Bai Xiao did not know how long his consciousness had been lost in the darkness.
He was like a cell in Blue Star's ocean.
Drifting, rising, and sinking with the currents in that darkness, then falling still.
Gradually, he developed thoughts of his own.
He could feel his consciousness clearly.
He asked himself, "Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?"
Tirelessly, he questioned himself over and over again, again and again.
It was like some vague, fated instinct—like a chick pecking its way out of an eggshell, or a drowning animal desperately struggling to break the surface.
His consciousness kept breaking free from the Chaos, lunging again and again toward the "surface."
Gradually, he could feel his "hand" breaking through the surface and reaching the air.
Like a drowning man desperately gulping air, or a man dying of thirst greedily drinking great mouthfuls of water.
A flood of information surged into his consciousness. "I am Bai Xiao, a university student from Blue Star."
"I Traversed to Douluo Continent. Here, I am also Bai Xiao!"
Bai Xiao understood who he was!
Next, Bai Xiao sensed his body. A warm current flowed through his limbs, and a familiar feeling emerged. Like someone who had just awakened from sleep, Bai Xiao opened his eyes.
He saw a green forest and blanked out for a moment.
Only then did he remember that he had been absorbing a four-thousand-year Soul Ring. Looks like I succeeded!
Bai Xiao controlled his limbs and pulled himself free from the flesh. The moment he rose from the apparatus, he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, kid, did sleeping turn you stupid?"
Seeing Bai Xiao sitting there contemplating life, Dugu Bo could not help mocking him.
"Absorbing a Soul Ring beyond my level this time dealt a huge blow to my consciousness. I nearly became a vegetable!" Bai Xiao said with a bitter smile.
"Hey, that's all? There's plenty more to come. Just be more careful next time!" Dugu Bo's heart was enormous now, all thanks to Bai Xiao's training.
Bai Xiao: "..."
That's because you're not the one who nearly became a vegetable. If I became a vegetable, Dugu Yan would have to take care of me for the rest of her life! Bai Xiao complained inwardly.
"Stop standing there in a daze. Hurry up and tell me what your second soul skill is!" Dugu Bo urged.
Bai Xiao stopped letting his thoughts run wild and sensed his Cell Martial Soul. A dragon-shaped Martial Soul phantom appeared, followed by one yellow and one purple Soul Ring.
Bai Xiao felt that his control over the Cell Martial Soul had become smoother, allowing him to manipulate it with even greater finesse.
Does a Thousand-Year Soul Ring really improve me this much? Bai Xiao silently asked himself.
"Good grandson-in-law, you're not really stupid, are you? It's fine, just say it. Grandpa won't despise you!"
Seeing Bai Xiao remain dazed ever since waking up, Dugu Bo began to wonder whether his grandson-in-law had truly gone stupid.
When Bai Xiao saw the look in Dugu Bo's eyes—the kind of concern one showed an idiot—the veins on his forehead bulged. Hold it in! Hold it in! You can't beat him right now. If you make a move, he'll pin you to the ground and grind you against it! Bai Xiao fiercely warned himself.
After Dugu Bo's interruption, Bai Xiao no longer dwelled on the matter. He used his Martial Soul to sense the information conveyed by the Soul Ring.
Dugu Bo saw the broad smile on Bai Xiao's face and could not help wanting to ask what his soul skill was.
Bai Xiao discovered that his second soul skill was "Energy Conversion."
It could instantly alter the proportion of soul power within Bai Xiao's cells, increasing the cells' rate of soul power utilization and absorption.
In other words, Bai Xiao could use this soul skill during ordinary cultivation to speed up his training.
He could also increase the proportion of soul power in his body during battle, reducing the damage from certain energy-type soul skills and allowing more refined control over his soul power in combat.
Bai Xiao explained to Dugu Bo, "My soul skill is called 'Energy Conversion.' It transforms a portion of the cells into energy-form entities, increasing my body's resistance to energy soul skills and my own control over soul power."
"Tch, that's all it does?"
Dugu Bo had finally found an opportunity to knock Bai Xiao down a peg and could not help showering him with mockery.
Bai Xiao did not explain further. The reason he had smiled upon seeing this soul skill was because its true terrifying aspect lay in using it together with his first soul skill.
With the Devouring effect of the first soul skill enhanced by the second soul skill, its pulling force would not merely increase dramatically.
Moreover, with the second soul skill continuously replenished by the soul power from the first soul skill, the proportion of soul power within his cells would rise to another level.
If Bai Xiao encountered an opponent whose energy-type soul skill was not especially powerful, then while in the "Energy Conversion" state, he could use "Devouring" to absorb all the incoming soul power, strengthen his own "Energy Conversion" state, and teach the other party how to behave with his fists.
Bai Xiao looked at Dugu Bo and could not help smiling. Who knew what crooked scheme he was plotting in his heart.
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