Beyond the Limits: The Second Soul Ring-Shadow Counter-Spike Light Armor!

Hiss~

Such talent was truly monstrous!

Xu Bayan was still reeling in shock. A second Soul Ring surpassing five thousand years—perhaps no one like that could be found across the entire continent.

Truly...

Worthy of being my good son!

After two or three breaths, Xu Bayan's shock turned into immense joy.

Not only that, his son possessed the once-in-a-century Twin Martial Souls. His joy doubled!

The only slight regret was that he had not inherited the Blood Demon Raging Bear King Martial Soul. After all, as a father, he had secretly hoped his son could carry on his Martial Soul.

But Xu Bayan immediately thought again. Although the Martial Soul had not been inherited, with the talent his son had displayed, his Self-Created Soul Skill and the secret technique of Burning Ring could both be passed down!

His Four Heaven-Treading Forms and Burning Ring had extremely demanding requirements for their practitioner. One needed an exceptionally powerful physique and perfect control over one's blood essence to have any chance of mastering them.

And judging from his son's current development, he fully met both requirements!

Thinking of this, Xu Bayan felt much more relieved.

But it was not yet time to pass them down. Burning Ring required a Martial Soul Avatar to master, though he could begin teaching the Four Heaven-Treading Forms.

Xu Huxiao, who was currently absorbing the Soul Ring, had no idea what his father was planning.

With the Blood-Essence Flower's support, he had entered the Essence Intent Cauldron Convergence state. He had now broken through his body's original limits, making the Dragon-Scaled Black Tortoise's Soul Ring much easier to absorb.

Within his Martial Soul's inner vision.

The two black dragons had already entered Triple Amplification. Blood-colored flames swirled around them as their enormous bodies tightly coiled around the purple-black Soul Ring energy mass, which had solidified like a meteorite, continuously devouring it.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

Only when the red sun sank westward and golden twilight spilled down did Xu Huxiao open his eyes. A deep-purple Soul Ring bounced joyfully around his body.

The Soul Ring absorption had succeeded!

Then, in an instant, the purple Soul Ring turned bright yellow.

Tortoise-Breath State—the Soul Ring's color had changed!

Witnessing this, Xu Bayan asked in surprise, "What happened? Huxiao, did something go wrong while you absorbed the Soul Ring?"

Xu Huxiao had already prepared an explanation. "Father, I successfully absorbed this Soul Ring. Its color changing now is a special ability granted by that mutated soul beast: controlling and changing the color of the Soul Ring."

After hearing the explanation, Xu Bayan breathed a sigh of relief.

"That really is an unexpected delight. Yellow is much better. After all, having a purple second ring would be far too conspicuous."

After absorbing his second Soul Ring, Xu Huxiao's body had changed slightly as well. His brows became sharper, and his shoulders and back broadened somewhat, making him look even sturdier.

At the same time, the arms formed by his Martial Soul Possession had undergone subtle changes. Purple demonic patterns appeared atop the dense black dragon scales edged in platinum, adding a strange, bewitching beauty to his arms.

But Xu Huxiao knew it was not merely a superficial change. His Martial Soul had once again gained stronger defense, and his Soul Power had increased substantially.

He clenched his fists, and a surging sensation of power filled his heart. Looking at his dragon-scaled arms, his personal information appeared in his mind three seconds later.

[Human]: Xu Huxiao

[Age]: Eight

[Martial Souls]: Platinum Dragon-Scaled Arms, Monster Shrek, Hulk

[Level]: Twenty-four

[Platinum Dragon-Scaled Arms—Soul Skills]: First Yellow—Multiplication: Gluttonous Grip; Second Purple—Shadow Counter-Spike Light Armor

[Inner Thoughts]: Such powerful strength, what a wonderful feeling! I want to become invincible, the strongest!!

Don't get carried away...

Seeing the words from his own heart, Xu Huxiao immediately snapped out of the joy of his breakthrough. He could not get carried away. Even if his strength had grown, he was still only a rookie Soul Grandmaster.

Still, he had indeed taken another tiny step down the path to godhood.

Moreover, after absorbing the eight-thousand-two-hundred-year Dragon-Scaled Black Tortoise, coupled with the fact that he had not stopped cultivating after his Soul Power reached level twenty, his efforts had yielded generous rewards.

His Soul Power had actually risen by four levels!

Compared to Sors, the Soul Elder from the cave, Xu Huxiao could feel that his total Soul Power was far greater.

And then there was his Soul Skill.

Xu Huxiao focused his thoughts on the Soul Skill section, and information about his second Soul Skill immediately appeared in his mind.

[Shadow Counter-Spike Light Armor]: Provides one hundred percent defense against energy attacks and twenty percent physical defense. If the light armor is not broken, it absorbs ninety percent of energy attacks and condenses them into purple light bullets. If the light armor is broken, it absorbs fifty percent of energy attacks and condenses them into purple light bullets.

This Soul Skill was the fusion of the Dragon-Scaled Black Tortoise's two innate abilities: Shadow Armor and Energy Reflection.

However, the one hundred percent defense against energy attacks likely meant that as long as the opponent's Soul Power did not exceed his, he could completely defend against energy attacks.

It also provided a certain degree of physical defense. Xu Huxiao sensed that this twenty percent physical defense was roughly equivalent to a suit of iron armor, probably on par with the physical defense granted by an ordinary Soul Grandmaster's hundred-year Soul Ring.

Xu Huxiao was very satisfied with his second Soul Skill. It also compensated for a weakness he had specifically identified.

At this stage, his Platinum Dragon-Scaled Arms possessed formidable physical defense, while his own strength far exceeded those of his level. Together with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, he was confident that even a Soul Elder-level assault-type battle Soul Master would not be his match.

But when facing powerful energy attacks, all he could do was dodge. If he encountered wide-range energy attacks or locking skills, he would be placed in a very passive position.

Now that he had Shadow Counter-Spike Light Armor, Xu Huxiao no longer had a defensive weakness. On top of that, he had gained a means of long-range energy attack.

This trip had been a complete success.

Seeing that his son had successfully absorbed the Soul Ring, Xu Bayan asked, "So, son, what kind of Soul Skill did that mutated soul beast add to your arm Martial Soul?"

In response to his father's question, Xu Huxiao's second Soul Ring lit up. He raised both arms, and two curved, dark-purple pieces of light armor appeared behind his forearms.

The surface of the light armor was not smooth. Instead, it was composed of many small hexagons, somewhat resembling a Dragon Scale Turtle's shell.

"This is it. I call it Shadow Counter-Spike Light Armor. Its abilities are the same as those displayed by that mutated Dragon Scale Turtle. It mainly defends against energy-type Soul Skills and can absorb energy to condense and rebound light bullets."

Xu Huxiao briefly explained the effects of his Soul Skill. The two pieces of light armor were not especially large, but when brought together, they could completely shield the front of his body with room to spare.

As for Soul Power consumption, using it once consumed roughly one-third of his current Soul Power. In other words, not counting the natural recovery of Yang Origin Soul Power, he could use it three times, with each use lasting ten minutes.

The consumption was acceptable. After all, this was an eight-thousand-two-hundred-year Soul Skill. For an ordinary Soul Master, the optimal arrangement for the first four Soul Rings was yellow, yellow, purple, purple. Even after reaching level forty as a Soul Ancestor, the upper limit for absorbable Soul Rings was only around five thousand years. Only with the fifth Soul Ring could one surpass ten thousand years and reach roughly twelve thousand years.

That meant that purely in terms of Soul Skills, no energy attack below the Soul King level could possibly break through Xu Huxiao's Shadow Counter-Spike Light Armor.

After hearing Xu Huxiao's description and seeing the Soul Skill demonstrated, Xu Bayan roughly understood.

"Offense and defense alike. It seems you're taking a balanced assault path. Very good. That is how an assault-type battle Soul Master should be."

"Once you have your own team in the future, you'll understand. We are not control mages, nor are we agility attack assassins. We are assault warriors, and in battle, we must always stand at the very front of the team."

"In team battles, assault-type battle Soul Masters face the most dangerous and complicated situations. While protecting our teammates and bearing the pressure, we must also learn to protect ourselves."

"That is why balanced development is best suited for assault-type battle Soul Masters."

"Huxiao, I'm very happy to see that you have plans for your path as a Soul Master. But the road to becoming a powerful Soul Master is still long. To become someone who can stand on your own, you must cultivate steadily and persistently, without arrogance or impatience."

"I understand, Father."

"Haha, worthy of being my son. Let's go, board the boat and head home. Luo Ming has probably finished absorbing his Soul Ring too. Tomorrow, we'll come back and find a suitable soul beast for Jingjing."

After hearing Xu Bayan's words, Xu Huxiao felt a long-lost sense of security. Being guided and cared for like this felt wonderful.

By the time they returned to the Returning Moon Island estate, it was already dark.

Across Thousand Islands Lake, the lighting Soul Tools on every island lit up one after another, reflecting off the surrounding waters in a dazzling riot of colors.

Now that night had fallen, the islands had become even livelier. There were street stalls, acrobatic acts, exhibition soul battles, scantily clad beauties, and all kinds of fine wine and delicious food.

It truly lived up to its reputation as a vacation paradise.

"Thousand Islands Lake, paradise on earth. Neither lovebirds nor immortals are worth envying. Huxiao, want to come take a stroll with Uncle Xiao Kong? Let's find a few pretty young ladies and have a heart-to-heart by the lake. What do you say?"

After dinner, Xiao Kong grabbed Xu Huxiao and spoke with a knowing expression.

A heart-to-heart in bed, more like...

Just as Xu Huxiao was about to refuse, Yun Ji, who had overheard them, immediately signed up excitedly.

"Uncle Xiao Kong, take me! I want to go, and Jingjing too. The two of us will go together."

But Xu Huxiao grabbed Yun Ji's hand and said, "Uncle Xiao Kong, you all go have fun. Yun Ji and I are planning to study Martial Soul knowledge together tonight."

After saying that, he looked at Yun Ji, whose face was full of confusion. With a thought, a voice that outsiders could not hear entered her mind.

If you still want to complete that ritual of destiny, listen to me.

Hearing Xu Huxiao's voice, Yun Ji looked at the lively sights outside and furrowed her adorable brows. She really wanted to go out and play, but...

All right, I'll listen to you.

Then Yun Ji looked enviously at the people preparing to go out and said, "You all go have fun. Brother Huxiao and I won't be going tonight."

Seeing this, Xiao Kong spread his hands. "All right. Such a beautiful evening, then we'll be heading out. Come on, Luo Ming, Jingjing."

Watching them happily leave just like that, Yun Ji was incredibly envious. Just as their figures were about to vanish through the doorway, she shouted:

"Jingjing, remember to bring Brother Huxiao and me some late-night snacks!"

"Mm-hmm, I will~"

Bao Jingjing replied with a sweet smile, indicating that she understood.

Then the main doors closed. Aside from the servants, only Xu Huxiao and Yun Ji remained in the estate.

As for Xu Bayan, the moment they returned to Returning Moon Island, the Demon Bear Douluo had used sore muscles as an excuse, claiming that he needed a massage and therapeutic treatment. Then he disappeared. He was probably somewhere on the island enjoying himself with satisfied groans.

With the estate nice and quiet, Xu Huxiao led the dejected-looking Yun Ji to his bedroom on the second floor.

He activated the lighting Soul Tool, shut the door, and drew the curtains.

After ensuring the doors and windows were securely closed, Xu Huxiao looked at Yun Ji and said:

"All right, come here. From now on, do exactly as I say."