Black Fog

After an unknown amount of time, the ground ahead suddenly split open, and a figure shot out of the hole, landing steadily on the ground.

Elder Chen had returned. His robe was covered in dust, and his graying hair was somewhat disheveled, but he looked more energized than before. A trace of unconcealed excitement hung on his face. Clearly, his trip underground had not been in vain.

"Elder Chen! That giant lizard..." An Chen opened his mouth.

"It's taken care of." Elder Chen's graying beard trembled as he replied.

He strode over to An Chen, his gaze passing over him and landing on the Shadow Leopard's corpse nearby. Then he looked at the yellow Soul Ring quietly floating above the body. His eyes lit up before narrowing.

"Good lad, you killed it?" Elder Chen looked at An Chen in disbelief, then at the Stone Armor Bear standing beside him. "Don't tell me this oaf killed it?"

The Stone Armor Bear shook its head innocently.

"I smacked it." An Chen pointed at the Iron Pot on the ground. A little dark-red blood still stained its bottom. "It tried to ambush me. Grandpa Bear clawed it once, and I landed the finishing blow."

Elder Chen circled the Shadow Leopard's corpse, crouched down, and measured the length of its spine with his hand before finally looking at the yellow Soul Ring.

"A hundred-year Shadow Leopard, around four hundred years old. That's above average among hundred-year beasts." Elder Chen nodded. "And it has the Shadow Attribute you need. The age is suitable too."

An Chen's heartbeat quickened slightly. "Then... should I absorb it now?"

"No rush. Sit down and regulate your breathing first." Elder Chen motioned for An Chen to sit cross-legged. "Remember this for your first Soul Ring absorption: when the Soul Ring enters your body, there will be an energy impact and a mental impact. The mental impact from a Shadow Attribute Soul Ring is especially fierce. You must guard your mind and keep your will firm."

An Chen sat down where he was, took a deep breath, summoned the Big Iron Pot, then activated his Soul Power and drew the yellow Soul Ring toward himself.

The Soul Ring trembled slightly, slowly descended over his head, and turned into a warm current that gradually flowed into his body along his meridians.

At first, everything was fine. The warm current merely flowed through his limbs and bones. But before long, as the Soul Ring was absorbed, that warm current suddenly transformed into a frenzied fighting spirit.

Then a sharp pain exploded deep within his mind, as though something were battering his consciousness.

A Shadow Attribute Soul Ring really did possess a powerful mental impact.

An Chen frowned. Just as he was about to grit his teeth and endure it, the Wuhun Mark in his hand flashed.

The faint gray mist surrounding the Iron Pot surged soundlessly.

The frenzied fighting spirit in An Chen's mind seemed to crash into an invisible wall and instantly recoiled. Only a gentle stream of energy remained, obediently flowing through his meridians.

An Chen vaguely sensed something, but he had no time to think about it. He focused all his attention on guiding the Soul Ring's power.

After an unknown amount of time, that power finally merged completely with the Iron Pot.

With a boom, An Chen felt his entire body grow lighter as his Soul Power steadily rose.

At the same time, a piece of information flooded into his mind:

First Soul Skill, Black Fog.

An Chen slowly opened his eyes, a glimmer flashing through them.

The sky had already darkened. Elder Chen had remained by his side the entire time. Seeing him open his eyes, he asked, "How was it?"

"Success." An Chen nodded and activated his Soul Power to sense it. "My Soul Power seems to have... reached level thirteen."

"Reaching this level after absorbing a Soul Ring for the first time is quite impressive." Elder Chen's eyes showed a hint of approval. "What about the Soul Skill? Let me see the first Shadow Attribute Soul Skill of your Iron Pot Wuhun."

An Chen thought for a moment, then stood up with a thought.

The Iron Pot Wuhun appeared in his palm.

As he activated his Soul Power, a mass of dense Black Fog suddenly poured from the mouth of the pot, like a pot of boiling ink. In the blink of an eye, it spread out and swallowed An Chen's entire body.

An Chen felt the world before him suddenly darken, but strangely, his mind within the fog felt exceptionally clear.

He could clearly sense Elder Chen's location, the rhythm of his breathing, and could even vaguely "see" the circulation of Soul Power around Elder Chen's body.

Outside the fog, Elder Chen's brows furrowed slightly.

"My senses are being suppressed..." Elder Chen muttered. His gaze toward the Black Fog became more solemn. "Outside the fog, I can't even properly sense your presence, much less see your position."

A moment later, An Chen withdrew his Soul Skill, and the Black Fog slowly dispersed.

"This is my First Soul Skill, Black Fog," An Chen said. "It releases Black Fog from the pot, concealing my body and blocking vision. Enemies' senses are weakened inside the fog, while mine are enhanced."

"What else?" Elder Chen pressed.

An Chen thought for a moment, then added, "I seem to feel that... at night, or in places with many shadows, the fog becomes denser and covers a larger area."

Elder Chen fell silent for a while before slowly nodding. "I've seen many Shadow Attribute Soul Rings. Most use shadows for sneak attacks or concealment. Your Black Fog combines offense and defense, suppresses perception, and enhances yourself. It's quite rare."

On the carriage ride back, Elder Chen leaned against the carriage wall with his eyes closed, resting as he leisurely said, "After we get back, cultivate properly. Once your Soul Power reaches level twenty, I'll bring you here again."

Elder Chen then reminded him, "Tomorrow, you can go to Spirit Hall in the city to register as a Soul Master and receive a Soul Master Badge. From then on, you can collect one Gold Soul Coin each month as a cultivation subsidy."

An Chen acknowledged him without saying much.

At dusk, the carriage stopped at the academy gates.

An Chen jumped down, bid Elder Chen farewell, and headed toward the dormitory with the Basic Meditation Cultivation Method tucked inside his clothes.

When he returned to the dormitory, Shitou and Qian Yiming were both there. The moment they saw An Chen, they surrounded him and began asking questions.

An Chen answered bluntly, "I went to the Soul Hunting Forest with Elder Chen."

"Damn, are you really innately full of Soul Power? You're a Soul Master now? You already have a Soul Ring?" Shitou and Qian Yiming bombarded An Chen with questions.

An Chen gave them a few perfunctory answers before lying down.

Once night fell and the lights went out, thunderous snoring and teeth grinding soon filled the dormitory. An Chen lay in bed, his mind fixed on the system rewards, unable to sleep.

That night, Shitou's snores shook the room, while Qian Yiming ground his teeth with grating creaks.

An Chen lay in bed, tossing and turning without being able to fall asleep.

He had not dared to make any moves in front of Elder Chen during the day, forcing himself to endure until now.

After lying there for an unknown amount of time, he could no longer restrain himself and climbed out of bed in the dark.

The academy latrine stood in a corner of the courtyard. It was pitch-black at night, with no one around.

An Chen softened his footsteps as he slowly entered. He first pricked up his ears and listened. Aside from one or two distant barks, there was no other sound.

After confirming that no one was nearby, he lowered his voice. "Pot, arise."

Gray mist appeared before his eyes, and the familiar panel slowly unfolded.

[Big Iron Pot System]

[Name]: An Chen

[Race]: Human

[Wuhun]: Big Iron Pot

[Soul Power]: Level 13

[Soul Ring]: Yellow

[Pathway]: ???

[Sequence]: ???

[Digestion Progress]: ???

[System Status]: Concealment Enabled

[System Prompt]: Potions can be concocted using the Iron Pot.

[Mission]: Completed (Reward Pending)

An Chen's breathing paused slightly.

"Claim the reward."

The gray mist stirred slightly. Then a stream of information entered his mind:

[Reward One] Seer Potion Formula:

Main ingredients: One Singing Black Mushroom, one Deep Dark Bat.

Auxiliary ingredients: 100 milliliters of red wine, a section of Candle that has been offered in a church, one poisonous mushroom of any kind, 10 grams of vervain Powder. (The rewards are stored in the system space.)

[Reward Two] Divination Attempts: 4 (Can be viewed under System Abilities.)

With a thought, an additional option appeared on the panel.

[System Ability: Divination (×4) (Level: 9)

Ability: Divination

--Divination is not omnipotent.]

[Reward Three] Meditation Method

At that moment, a memory flooded into his mind. This was... the Meditation Method... after consuming a Potion... restrain Spirituality...

After a while, An Chen had learned how to remain clear-headed after consuming a Potion.

He shook his head and looked down. The Iron Pot had appeared in his palm.

At that moment, singing came from within the pot. Describing that sound as ghostly wails and wolfish howls would have been entirely fitting.

The moment An Chen heard the singing, he hurriedly used his First Soul Skill, Black Fog.

Black Fog instantly poured from the Iron Pot, enveloping An Chen and trapping the singing within it.

Phew. An Chen let out a breath of relief. Looking closely, he saw that the contents of the pot were slowly melting into liquid, while the singing gradually weakened.

Ding. The Seer Potion has been successfully concocted! It is recommended that it be consumed within three minutes.

Caution: There is a risk of losing control and madness. Please consume it in an uninhabited place while in a calm state of mind.

As the system's voice sounded, An Chen stared at the sacred-looking black liquid in the Iron Pot, where bubbles occasionally rose. He was secretly alarmed. Can this really be drunk?

In this world, Soul Masters cultivated through Soul Power, drawing strength from Soul Rings. No one had ever become stronger by drinking medicine.

What exactly was this thing? What would he become after drinking it? He had no idea.

Three minutes. Whatever. Would the system really harm me?

After steeling himself, An Chen held up the Big Iron Pot with both hands and drank all the liquid inside in one gulp. An intense bitterness instantly flooded his mouth.