First Soul Skill: Multiplication: Gluttonous Grip!

Xu Bayan stared with tiger eyes as large as bronze bells at the Black-Patterned Dread Lizard, dead beyond all doubt before him, then at the excited Xu Huxiao. He blankly looked back and forth two or three times.

Only then did he finally confirm the truth:

His six-year-old son had killed an over-eight-hundred-year-old Dread Lizard head-on!

"..."

My son truly was...

Terrifying beyond measure!

What he had originally thought was actually similar to Bao Dexian's thoughts, except Xu Bayan had expected a little more.

In his eyes, it would already have been exceptionally impressive if his son could hold out against this Soul Beast for a short while.

Then he would step in himself, beat the Soul Beast to the brink of death, impart some combat experience along the way, and proudly welcome his son's admiring gaze.

Yet reality was that his son had ended the battle with a single palm strike in under five minutes.

Moreover, throughout this battle, Xu Huxiao had seized every advantage and expanded his gains. Every attack had been clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation. His performance had been practically flawless.

"Haha, as expected of my son! Well done!"

Xu Bayan stepped closer and ruffled Xu Huxiao's still perfectly neat golden hair, looking immensely pleased.

At first.

Xu Bayan had been somewhat worried about his son's path of cultivation. After all, his Martial Soul was not considered top-tier. But after witnessing this battle, all his worries vanished.

With such strength, his son would definitely become the most dazzling rising star on the continent in the future!

Bao Dexian and his daughter also approached. They had watched the entire process, and even now, Bao Dexian could hardly believe his own eyes.

He felt that his worldview as a Soul Ancestor had been completely shattered.

Xu Huxiao had killed an eight-hundred-year-old Black-Patterned Dread Lizard so easily. Bao Dexian even wondered whether Young Master Huxiao was really only six years old?!

Bao Dexian was so stunned that he could not say a word. Only two words repeated in his mind:

Monster!

Genius!

This was what a fucking genius was!

Beside him, Bao Jingjing's little face was flushed with excitement as she cheered:

"Wow~ Young Master Huxiao is so amazing, so amazing!"

Bao Jingjing had only just heard the legend of the Stone Emperor and already worshipped him immensely.

But now, in her eyes, the Stone Emperor she had imagined had been directly replaced by Xu Huxiao's image, becoming the object of her admiration.

Judging from what had happened here, Young Master Huxiao, who had powerfully slain that terrifying monster Soul Beast, seemed even more imposing than the Stone Emperor.

From that moment onward, Xu Huxiao's powerful and handsome figure, with his head of golden hair, had been deeply engraved in Bao Jingjing's heart.

Faced with the praise, Xu Huxiao merely smiled faintly.

What he was more eager to know now was what kind of Soul Skill this Soul Ring would grant him after absorption. Besides a strength boost, the ability he wanted most was that Multiplication ability.

Gluttonous Grip!

Would he get it?

Faint yellow points of light gathered over the Black-Patterned Dread Lizard's body.

In the blink of an eye.

A dark yellow Soul Ring emerged. Even without touching it, one could sense the extraordinary and immense energy contained within.

Seeing that the Soul Ring had formed, Xu Bayan said:

"Huxiao, this is an eight-hundred-year Dread Lizard Soul Ring. Judging from that Soul Beast's performance just now, if you successfully absorb this Soul Ring, your Twin Arms Martial Soul will gain tremendous boosts to strength and defense. You might even gain the ability of Multiplication, increasing your strength enhancement even further."

"Indeed, compared with the Long-Armed Dragon Ape, this Dread Lizard offers superior attributes and abilities. But making your first Soul Ring eight hundred years old exceeds the four-hundred-year limit."

"Let me ask you one more time, son. Are you sure you want to try?"

Xu Huxiao nodded firmly. "I'm sure. And Father, I will definitely succeed in absorbing this Soul Ring."

Because my limit is eleven hundred years, and this one is only eight hundred and sixty years old. There was no problem at all.

Having received an affirmative reply, Xu Bayan secretly nodded, deeply satisfied. Such unwavering conviction was an essential quality for a powerful Soul Master.

"Good! Son, you were born with divine strength, and your Eight Extraordinary Meridians are unblocked. I also believe you can do it."

"Don't be afraid. With Dad here, no danger will arise. When you absorb the Soul Ring later, I'll stabilize your blood and qi. If I discover that the Soul Ring's power is too Berserk, I'll immediately interrupt the absorption and draw that Berserk Soul Ring power out through your open meridians."

Xu Bayan was not speaking empty words. While ordinary people could not receive any outside assistance when absorbing Soul Rings and could only rely on themselves.

His son's Eight Extraordinary Meridians were open, making him different from ordinary people. Combined with Xu Bayan's status as a powerful Title Douluo with profound research and insight into Soul Power and blood and qi, if Xu Huxiao could not bear this eight-hundred-year Dread Lizard Soul Ring, he truly could forcibly stop the Soul Ring absorption.

His strength as a powerful Title Douluo and his son's extraordinary talent gave Xu Bayan the ability to provide his son with room for error.

"Even if the absorption fails, you won't be injured."

"Alright, sit cross-legged, focus your mind on your Martial Soul, and begin."

Xu Huxiao was thrilled. Following his father's instructions, he sat down cross-legged. However, he did not immediately begin absorbing the Soul Ring. Instead, he first regulated his breathing. After his Yang Origin Soul Power completed one minor circulation.

Xu Huxiao's heart returned to calmness, and with a thought.

Platinum Dragon-Patterned Arms, Martial Soul Possession!

His arms instantly took on a platinum sheen, as if forged from metal. Dragon-shaped patterns curled around them. With a gesture of one hand, under the pull of platinum light, the eight-hundred-and-sixty-year Black-Patterned Dread Lizard Soul Ring flew toward him.

Very soon, the dark yellow Soul Ring arrived above his head and expanded. The Soul Ring's power condensed within it like jade before directly settling around his upper body.

Buzz—!

In an instant, a powerful and tyrannical energy merged into his body.

But Xu Huxiao had long been mentally prepared and remained unmoved.

Speaking of tyranny, his Yang Origin Soul Power had been cultivated through the Nine Yang Divine Skill, the utmost yang and the utmost hardness.

What kind of energy could possibly be more tyrannical than his Nine Yang?

Xu Huxiao closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his Twin Arms Martial Soul.

In his inner vision, his arms turned into two golden dragons. They let out bursts of joyous, resonant dragon roars as they continuously devoured the Black-Patterned Dread Lizard Soul Ring's energy.

As they devoured it, black demonic patterns appeared on the golden dragons' scales, and their bodies grew a full size larger. They had originally embodied the utmost yang and hardness, but now they were also imbued with the tyrannical aura of demonic dragons.

Time passed second by second.

The sea of dark yellow Soul Ring energy continuously shrank under the devouring of the two black-patterned golden dragons.

At the very end of the absorption, an unexpected change occurred!

A wisp of black-red Dread Lizard blood energy drifted from the Soul Ring, then slammed into Xu Huxiao's heart.

Xu Bayan was startled by this change, but after sensing it briefly, he gave up the thought of stopping it.

Because.

In his perception, his son's blood and qi were completely normal.

This black-red blood energy should have been all the essence of the Black-Patterned Dread Lizard's sub-dragon bloodline. Huxiao's Twin Arms Martial Soul required Soul Rings from Soul Beasts with earth dragon bloodlines. This blood energy was likely an additional benefit from the Soul Ring brought about by his Martial Soul's characteristics, enhancing Huxiao's physique so that he could adapt to the powerful strength granted by the Soul Ring.

After sensing this, Xu Bayan relaxed.

His son's Soul Ring absorption process was much easier than he had imagined.

Buzz!

A fluctuation of greatly increased Soul Power rippled outward.

Xu Huxiao opened his eyes, brilliance flashing from them. The Soul Ring had been completely absorbed!

He had succeeded!

Xu Huxiao exhaled a breath of stale air, unable to hide the joy on his face.

Today, he had officially taken the first step on the path to godhood and become a Soul Master!

At the same time, the bottleneck of the Nine Yang Divine Skill within him had broken through. A large amount of Yang Origin Soul Power began gathering in his dantian once more. Once the second Golden Sun condensed, it would be time for him to break through to Soul Grandmaster.

Even though his Yang Origin Soul Power was exceptionally abundant due to his powerful physique, and breaking through to level twenty required a great deal of accumulation.

At this rate, that day would not be far away.

After all, once his Eight Extraordinary Meridians had opened, the Nine Yang Divine Skill no longer required guidance and circulated through its cycles on its own at every moment.

Although this autonomous circulation was still less effective than actively cultivating through Heart-Submergence meditation, the Soul Power accumulated bit by bit, every moment of every day, was still considerable.

Moreover, among those of the same level, the more solid one's Soul Power foundation, the stronger one's explosive power and sustained combat ability would be.

This was an incredible blessing!

Xu Huxiao had always believed in one principle: one step ahead meant staying ahead every step of the way. A powerful strength advantage was accumulated little by little, from dominating those of the same rank to fighting above one's level.

Eventually, when he entered the godly realm, he would also become the strongest God!

Xu Huxiao stood up, a powerful sense of strength filling his limbs and body. He could clearly feel that he had grown slightly taller, while the muscles on his shoulders, back, and arms had expanded somewhat, and his skin had become tougher.

Every aspect of his body had improved. He even felt that after the Dread Lizard blood energy fused into his body, his life force had increased as well.

It seemed that choosing the Black-Patterned Dread Lizard had been the right choice!

With a thought from Xu Huxiao, Platinum Dragon-Patterned Arms, Body Martial Soul Possession. A dark yellow Soul Ring circled his body, bouncing joyfully up and down.

He could feel that his Soul Power had increased tremendously as well, but as for the exact amount...

Xu Huxiao's gaze fell upon his arms, which looked as though they had been cast from platinum. The dragon-shaped patterns on them had turned black-gold, making them appear even more powerful.

Three seconds later.

Information from the Eye of Omniscience appeared in his mind:

[Human]: Xu Huxiao

[Age]: Six

[Martial Soul]: Platinum Dragon-Patterned Arms, Monster Shrek, Hulk

[Level]: Thirteen

[Platinum Dragon-Patterned Arms - Soul Skill]: One Yellow - Multiplication: Gluttonous Grip

[Inner Monologue]: This is a small step on my path to becoming stronger, but it is... a tiny, tiny step on the path to godhood. Keep it up!

Level thirteen!

Xu Huxiao was delighted. He had actually risen three levels at once!

One had to know that his three levels of Soul Power were likely more than twice that of an ordinary Soul Master.

Being able to improve so much at once was thanks to the eight-hundred-year Soul Ring, but also to the fact that he had continued cultivating without pause even after reaching full Soul Power before.

Very good. Now let's see how this Soul Skill worked.

[Multiplication: Gluttonous Grip]: After activating this Soul Skill, both arms instantly multiply fivefold. While multiplied, the strength and defense attributes of both arms increase to three times their original levels, and Soul Power consumption likewise becomes three times greater. During multiplication, arm speed is reduced by fifty percent.

The Soul Skill's description was not extensive, but its effects delighted Xu Huxiao. Not only had he obtained the ability of Multiplication, but after activating the Soul Skill, his strength and defense would both increase threefold!

Three times!!

He could now casually swing a fifty-jin stone lock. If he activated the Multiplication Soul Skill, with a threefold boost, even an adult weighing one hundred and fifty jin could be played with at will.

"Being able to condense such a powerful enhancement Soul Skill during the Hundred-Year stage should be due to my mutated Twin Arms Martial Soul. I could clearly sense that while absorbing the Soul Ring energy, another stream of Black-Patterned Dread Lizard blood energy was absorbed as well. It should have been the sub-dragon essence bloodline contained within that Soul Beast itself. The bloodline energy merged with the Martial Soul energy, not only strengthening my physique but also triggering such an extraordinarily powerful enhancement to the Soul Ring Soul Skill. Otherwise, an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Skill, even if absorbed beyond its proper age limit, could never possess such a powerful enhancement effect."

Xu Huxiao made this deduction inwardly.

It seemed that this Twin Arms Martial Soul, born from the martial art of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, was far stronger than he had anticipated.

As for the threefold Soul Power consumption afterward, Xu Huxiao was not too worried, because his Nine Yang Divine Skill naturally possessed rapid autonomous recovery.

High consumption was not a problem.

And the fifty percent reduction in arm speed could be compensated for through the force-generating techniques of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and skill in activating the Soul Skill.

His advantage in strength had expanded another step further. Xu Huxiao was very satisfied.

Seeing that his son seemed pleased, Xu Bayan hurriedly asked:

"Son, how is it? What is your first Soul Skill?"

Xu Huxiao answered honestly, "My first Soul Skill is called Multiplication: Gluttonous Grip. When I use it, my arms can instantly multiply fivefold, and both my strength and defense increase greatly."

"Also, my Soul Power has risen three levels this time."

As he spoke, Xu Huxiao's first Soul Ring lit up.

Whoosh—!

He spread his arms, and his platinum arms marked with black dragon patterns directly multiplied fivefold, turning into a pair of gigantic arms with an intense metallic texture.

When his arms hung down, his palms could rest completely against the ground. His hands had directly expanded to five times their original size, then gradually tapered down toward his shoulders.

In other words, his palms had multiplied fivefold, gradually transitioning to a little over twice their original size near his shoulders. This gradual multiplication also allowed Xu Huxiao to exert force more effectively.

As for length, they were roughly two to three times longer.

They could be described as:

Thick, long, and hard!

Xu Huxiao was extremely satisfied with his multiplied giant arms. He clenched his fists and swung them around. They were still very flexible to control, with no inconvenience apart from the speed delay.

"Come, son. Try hitting me with a palm strike. Let me see how much your strength has increased. Use your Golden Dragon Palm."

It was Xu Bayan's first time seeing someone obtain an eight-hundred-year Soul Ring as their first ring, and he wanted to help his son test the Soul Skill's power.

"Alright, Father, be careful. Here I come."