Can Blue Silver Grass Not Entangle on Its Own?

Xiao Hongchen opened his mouth, but it took him a long while to squeeze out a sentence. "You... how did you do that? How could you control it so precisely without using a soul skill?"

This went against the fundamental laws of Douluo Continent. Shouldn't he have desperately obtained a hundred-year soul ring and then gained a soul skill called Red Gyroscope to achieve something like this?

He lowered his head and looked at his own hand. They were both Soul Elders, and his Metal Control was already considered outstanding among his peers, yet he could only achieve it with the aid of soul skills.

If he were asked to shape a metal component out of soul power from thin air, let alone a gyroscope, he would be sweating bullets just to make a ball.

Ye Chenxing was initially stunned when he saw their expressions.

"Really?" He thought for a moment before offering an explanation that even he found rather unconvincing. "Maybe... my spiritual power is simply different from ordinary people's?"

That sentence was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Monster!

Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen screamed inwardly in unison. They both turned their faces away, unwilling to let Ye Chenxing see the resentful expressions on their faces.

Xiao Hongchen had always regarded Ye Chenxing as an imaginary rival. During the entrance examination, Ye Chenxing had outdone him, but he could console himself by saying that it was merely a difference in martial soul quality—something unavoidable.

However, ever since learning that Ye Chenxing was a pure soul master, another thought had always lingered in his heart.

I'm a soul engineer. As long as I keep my distance and blanket the area with firepower, Ultimate Fire, Ultimate Light—none of them will be my match.

This was the pride he held as a soul engineer. In his mind, soul engineers were unquestionably superior to pure soul masters, and it was where he found the confidence to tell Ye Chenxing, "I'll definitely surpass you once school begins."

But that one finger had shattered his sense of superiority.

Ye Chenxing's strike had come with no windup at all. Xiao Hongchen asked himself whether his head could possibly be harder than that golden tiger's. Moreover, judging from Ye Chenxing's casual expression, the range of that attack had clearly been nowhere near its limit. In other words, if this had been real combat, Ye Chenxing could have instantly killed his opponent before even getting a good look at their martial soul.

He took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly.

It's fine. I got careless this time. I used too much soul power, had no soul power left to activate my defensive soul tools, and didn't keep my distance. At full strength, I might not lose. And now that I know he has this kind of attack, I can prepare for it next time...

That's right, I can still fight!

He repeated those words to himself several times before finally forcing down the surging sense of defeat in his heart.

Naturally, Ye Chenxing had no idea what sort of mental storm Xiao Hongchen had gone through in those few short breaths. He merely added silently to himself that his explanation earlier had only been half the truth.

The reason he could casually manipulate fire elements to such an extent, aside from his spiritual power far surpassing those at the same level, was an even more crucial factor: he had inherited all of Qian Renxue's abilities.

She was the true Angel God. Although she was more accustomed to crushing her enemies head-on with the Angel Sacred Sword and overwhelming numerical power, and fire control was not her specialty, she still possessed divine-level experience and insight.

What was more, as a transmigrator, Ye Chenxing's mind contained all sorts of ways to use souls that people in this world could never imagine. Rolling flames into a gyroscope was nothing. He simply had not yet shown them how to shape a fireball into a Rasengan, or make them a little lotus flower.

Meng Hongchen spoke up. "Then, Chenxing, how did you choose your first soul skill? Since you can do things without soul skills that others can only achieve after obtaining soul rings, what direction do you want your second soul skill to take?"

Ye Chenxing pondered for a moment. The casual smile from earlier faded, and his expression became serious.

"Strictly speaking, my first soul ring gave me pure stat enhancements. Greater soul power, greater physical strength." He paused, seeming to organize his words. "In my view, most soul masters in the current world have taken the wrong path."

"The wrong path?" Meng Hongchen was taken aback.

"Yes." Ye Chenxing nodded, his tone certain. "Soul masters should have been using their own martial souls to attack. The role of soul skills should be to strengthen one's fundamental attributes—strength, speed, defense, total soul power."

"Then they should fight through their own practice and proficiency. In my view, directly using soul skills as attack methods is an enormous waste."

He raised one finger and gave an example. "Imagine two Soul Saints fighting. One person's first soul ring grants a hundred-year enhancement-type soul skill, even if it only increases strength by five percent. The other person's first soul ring grants a hundred-year attack-type soul skill. If every other condition is roughly equal, that hundred-year attack skill would play a negligible role in a battle at the Soul Saint level. But that five percent enhancement could become the key to changing the entire battle."

"In this regard, the White Tiger Duke lineage from the former Three Douluo Kingdoms—the descendants of Dai Mubai, one of the Shrek Seven Monsters from ten thousand years ago—did quite well." Ye Chenxing's tone carried a hint of praise. "Their first six soul rings consisted of three enhancements, one single-target burst skill, one long-range attack, and one area attack. They had reinforcement, burst damage, sustained output, and AoE. It could be considered a fairly ideal setup."

"And the most foolish approach..."

"Is when someone even needs a soul ring to grant an attack method their martial soul already possesses. For example, a Blue Silver Grass soul master adding Entanglement as their first soul skill—what's the point? Can't Blue Silver Grass entangle on its own? Why waste a precious soul ring slot to obtain an ability the martial soul should already have?"

Xiao Hongchen shook his head. "Chenxing, your theory is indeed brilliant, but it's too idealistic. Most soul masters spend their entire lives only reaching three or four rings. They only have three or four soul skills. Not everyone has your talent. If they don't add attack-type soul rings, they truly have no other means of attack."

Ye Chenxing neither agreed nor disagreed. Just as he was about to say something, Meng Hongchen suddenly clicked her tongue and jabbed her elbow into her brother's side.

"Xiao, are you stupid?" She lifted her chin, her voice carrying a hint of frustration at his failure to meet expectations. "Have you forgotten what we are?"

Xiao Hongchen froze.

What are we?

It was as though an electric current had struck him. His whole body stiffened, then he suddenly slapped his thigh.

That's right! We're soul engineers!

He had always treated Ye Chenxing as an imaginary rival, so when considering Ye Chenxing's theory, he had subconsciously placed himself within the framework of a pure soul master. But the problem was—he was not a pure soul master at all! His damage output had never relied on soul skills!

Those attack-type soul rings, those skills added to compensate for insufficient firepower—he could replace all of them with soul tools! Fixed Soul Guidance Cannons, Soul Guidance Rays—which of them was not fiercer than a hundred-year or thousand-year attack soul skill?

His soul skills should be used for things soul tools could not yet accomplish, such as strengthening his Metal Control, increasing his ability to survive, or compensating for his weaknesses in close combat and defense.

Use soul skills to cover weaknesses, and soul tools for damage output.

When talent fell short, soul tools made up the difference!

Once this line of thought opened up, Xiao Hongchen felt as if everything before him had suddenly become clear. He abruptly raised his head. The competitive edge in his gaze toward Ye Chenxing had diminished, replaced by greater sincerity.

"Thank you, Chenxing." He spoke solemnly. "I know how I should proceed from here."