Martial Soul Possession, Transforming Toward Divinity

"This place... I hadn't been here in a long time."

After getting off the carriage, Yu Xingtuo looked at Frostscale Marsh before him, a trace of nostalgia flashing through his eyes.

Following confirmation from that sea soul master scholar, the source of Su Ming's first soul ring had been decided.

A Tidal Marsh Crocodile around four hundred years old was the minimum requirement, serving as a guaranteed baseline.

If they encountered one with a better cultivation age, Su Ming could absorb that instead.

After all, he was no ordinary person. His body could withstand far more.

Thus, the very next day after everything had been decided, sect master Yu Xingtuo personally took Su Ming to Frostscale Marsh to hunt for a soul ring.

Several days later, Su Ming finally arrived at Frostscale Marsh.

Frostscale Marsh was blanketed in snow all year round. The forest outside was like a snowy cover, sheltering the marshlands within.

"Great-Grandpa, Frostscale Marsh is already this cold. Just how terrifying must the Extreme North farther north be?" Su Ming asked as he looked at the marsh before him.

Hearing Su Ming's curious question, Yu Xingtuo's expression shifted, and he quickly warned him:

"Ming'er, remember this. Even if you become a Title Douluo someday, you must never set foot in the Extreme North."

"The Extreme North is a true forbidden zone for humanity."

"Why is the northern border of our Heaven Soul Empire so bitterly cold? Is it not because of the Extreme North's influence?"

"The farther in you go, the lower the temperature becomes. Even the strongest soul masters might not be able to endure it."

"Not to mention the countless powerful soul beasts within. Even Title Douluo risk perishing there..."

Every word carried his deep wariness of the Extreme North.

"I understand, Great-Grandpa." Su Ming obediently nodded.

Through the emotions he sensed from Yu Xingtuo using Listening to the Sound of All Things, Su Ming concluded that Yu Xingtuo had not merely heard legends. Heavenly Dragon Sect had likely suffered a loss in the Extreme North before.

That was precisely why Yu Xingtuo was warning him so earnestly.

"Alright, Ming'er. Great-Grandpa will take you in to hunt your soul ring." With that, Yu Xingtuo led Su Ming into Frostscale Marsh.

Frostscale Marsh was not very large, and the soul beasts living there were generally not particularly powerful.

With Yu Xingtuo's strength as a Soul Douluo, he could move through this place without restraint.

Even so, he kept Su Ming carefully protected at his side, wary of any unexpected danger.

"Look, Ming'er. That is a Tidal Marsh Crocodile." Upon reaching the edge of a marsh lake, Yu Xingtuo pointed ahead, signaling Su Ming to look.

In truth, Su Ming had noticed the Tidal Marsh Crocodile much earlier than Yu Xingtuo had.

After all, he possessed the absurd ability of Listening to the Sound of All Things. Everything in the world served as his eyes and ears, able to relay information to him.

Yet Su Ming still looked in the direction Yu Xingtuo pointed.

It was over two zhang long, with most of its body submerged beneath the water.

"This size is about right. Even if it isn't six hundred years old, it must be close." Yu Xingtuo looked at the Tidal Marsh Crocodile with satisfaction.

Before coming to Frostscale Marsh, they had conducted appropriate tests on Su Ming's physical condition.

Su Ming could completely absorb a soul ring of this age.

They had not expected their luck to be so good. They found one immediately, and its cultivation age was just right.

"Ming'er, stand still and don't move. Great-Grandpa will bring that Tidal Marsh Crocodile over for you."

With that, Yu Xingtuo moved, summoned his martial soul, and charged explosively toward the Tidal Marsh Crocodile.

Within a single breath, Yu Xingtuo knocked the Tidal Marsh Crocodile unconscious and placed it before Su Ming.

Su Ming finally got a clear look at the Tidal Marsh Crocodile's full appearance.

"Come, Ming'er."

"Use this soul tool dagger to kill the Tidal Marsh Crocodile, then absorb its soul ring. Great-Grandpa will protect you while you do so."

As he spoke, Yu Xingtuo took an exquisite dagger from his storage soul tool and handed it to Su Ming.

However, Su Ming pushed the dagger away.

He slowly explained, "Great-Grandpa, I can kill the Tidal Marsh Crocodile myself."

Before Yu Xingtuo could ask how he intended to do it, Su Ming directly activated his martial soul, Kyogre.

At a thought from Su Ming, water elements from heaven and earth instantly gathered, forming a continuously spinning water drill.

As the god of the ocean, Kyogre had created the seas themselves.

Controlling every water-related element in the world was naturally an innate ability.

This was Kyogre's authority.

An innate ability brought by his martial soul? It truly is extraordinary! Surprise flashed through Yu Xingtuo's eyes at the sight.

What followed was nothing but delight.

After all, the greater Su Ming's talent, the brighter his future.

That only further proved that the choice Heavenly Dragon Sect had made was correct and wise.

The Spiral Water Drill easily ended the Tidal Marsh Crocodile's life.

Before long, a yellow hundred-year soul ring gradually condensed above the Tidal Marsh Crocodile's corpse.

Seeing this, Su Ming immediately sat down cross-legged.

He steadied his mind and released his soul power, guiding the hundred-year soul ring toward himself.

That's it?! The next moment, Su Ming opened his eyes.

The instant the soul ring had been drawn in and absorbed into his body, it had succeeded.

For Su Ming, this was undoubtedly tremendous news.

Seeing Su Ming suddenly open his eyes, the shocked Yu Xingtuo hurriedly asked:

"Ming'er, what happened? Have you already absorbed the soul ring?"

"That's right, Great-Grandpa. I'm officially a soul master now." Su Ming nodded, then rose from the ground.

Immediately afterward, he willed the soul ring he had just absorbed into view.

Buzz! A yellow hundred-year soul ring appeared beside Su Ming.

At the same time, Su Ming underwent martial soul possession.

A pale blue radiance spread around him, and his body's outline transformed into a translucent, deep-blue whale phantom.

Primitive crimson patterns spread from his chest and abdomen to his limbs, while his eyes became bright yellow vertical pupils.

His hair drifted as though submerged in the deep sea, while droplets of water and fine ice crystals continuously condensed in his palms.

With every breath, damp mist flowed from his nose and mouth. His expression was indifferent, without sorrow or joy, like an ocean sovereign walking upon land.

"That was far too fast..." Yu Xingtuo muttered.

He truly was stunned. It was the first time in his life that he had seen someone absorb a soul ring so quickly.

Then, Su Ming's appearance after completing martial soul possession stunned him once again.

If not for the translucent whale shadow appearing around Su Ming's body, who could have imagined that this martial soul possession form belonged to a sea soul master?

"Ming'er, why does your martial soul possession lack all beast soul master traits aside from that phantom behind you?" Yu Xingtuo asked curiously.

Ever since the day he met Su Ming, the surprises he had experienced had grown day after day, never stopping.

"Great-Grandpa, I'm not very sure about that either." Su Ming shook his head.

How could he explain it?

Could he tell Yu Xingtuo that his martial soul was not an ordinary beast martial soul, but a true divine martial soul?

That during martial soul possession, it transformed him more toward the form of an innate sacred being—a god?