The Second Element

"Lin You, what's your first Soul Skill? Why are you so happy?"

Brother Sky Dream was also curious. Logically, a Soul Ring produced by a Soul Beast whose cultivation was far below his own was absolutely not worth his attention. After all, he himself was a Million Year Soul Beast. If it was not a hundred-thousand-year-level Soul Skill, he could not even be bothered to look at it.

But Lin You was different. His Martial Soul was extraordinarily peculiar, so under the influence of such an unusual Martial Soul, his Soul Skills would naturally undergo marvelous changes as well.

Hearing this, Lin You said nothing more and instead proved it through action. As he swiftly activated his Soul Power, the Soul Skill he had just acquired immediately displayed its might.

"First Soul Skill, Elementalization!"

The next second, accompanied by an ethereal ripple, Lin You's entire body underwent a subtle, inexplicable change.

His aura vanished completely in that brief instant. Visible to the naked eye, the light shining down from above passed through his body without obstruction, and even his shadow disappeared.

The Gathering Dispersing Stone Beast had granted the traits of splitting and reassembling, and Lin You's Soul Skill had inherited those traits. It could transform his entire body into Hydrogen atoms for a short time before reassembling him.

It was an utterly unreasonable Soul Skill, one that defied the laws of physics.

Then again, with something like Soul Power in this world, did the laws of physics really matter?

"Girl, attack me," Lin You said confidently.

Huo Yuhao nodded. Without the slightest hesitation, she formed a blade with her hand, stepped forward, and fiercely chopped toward Lin You's left shoulder. With her physical strength enhanced by Soul Power, a faint whistle of air being torn could even be heard.

This simple strike could split gold and shatter stone.

Yet the instant her arm came into contact with Lin You's body, ripples like water spread across his surface. Then Huo Yuhao's hand blade slid straight down as smoothly as if she had struck Air.

"What happened? There was no sensation of contact?"

The girl's reactions were extremely sharp. The moment she realized her strike had missed, her hand blade curled into a fist and she immediately withdrew her force to avoid injuring herself. This made Brother Sky Dream quietly praise her in his heart. "Her combat instincts are countless times better than Yuhao's. This rebirth is pure enjoyment."

About three seconds later, that special state slowly faded from Lin You's body.

"Whoa, a one-ring Soul Skill can produce such an effect? Brief invincibility—what an amazing Soul Skill. So what are its weaknesses?"

Brother Sky Dream had figured it out. This was probably a Soul Skill similar in type to Jiang Nannan's Invincible Golden Body.

However, it seemed somewhat different. For instance, her Invincible Golden Body could only last three seconds. Although even powerful Soul Skills could not harm her while it was active, the price was severe: she could not move, use other Soul Skills, or attack. It also occupied the crucial fourth Soul Ring slot. Its value for the cost was merely average; it could not be called a Divine Skill.

But Lin You's first-ring Soul Skill was different. Its duration was longer, and in the future, first-ring offensive Soul Skills would basically have little chance to shine. State-type Soul Skills like this, however, were extremely useful at critical moments.

Still, Brother Sky Dream's eye was sharp. As the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm who had once entered the God Realm, he naturally knew that powerful Soul Skills often came with risks. A hundred-year Soul Ring could not possibly surpass a six- or seven-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring in every respect. There had to be some flaw.

"Ahem, Brother Sky Dream really sees things clearly. This Elementalization can briefly transform my entire body into the Hydrogen Element or other elements. On the surface, I am still myself, but from the most fundamental perspective, that is merely a mimicry I display. The real me has already 'dispersed.' This Elementalization can take on different states depending on the elements I awaken. However, no matter what state it takes, it cannot resist spiritual attacks. It is not complete invincibility."

There was another point he did not mention. Unlike other types of Soul Skills, this Elementalization offered a variety of elemental choices. For example, with the current Hydrogen Element, once he entered this Hydrogen Elementalization state, he was practically a walking high-energy hydrogen reactor. If he were attacked by a fire-type Soul Skill, his body would ignite, making him even more vulnerable to severe damage.

The corresponding advantage was that, because Hydrogen atoms were extremely light, he could stop restraining himself and rise into the sky for a short time. Of course, once the duration ended, he would still fall back down. But one second before hitting the ground, he could enter Hydrogen Elementalization again to negate the falling damage. His spatial maneuverability was simply maxed out.

As Lin You continued awakening New Elements, he would also develop more varieties of Elementalization. Different elements possessed different chemical reactions, producing different effects.

However, this Soul Skill was not the reason for Lin You's delighted grin.

What truly surprised him, and what he could not reveal, was that on the Periodic Table that was his Martial Soul, another symbol had now begun to glow, apart from the one in the upper left corner that had already been faintly shining.

The second element had awakened. Its name was oxygen.

Oxygen Element!

With an atomic number of 8, it was located in Periodic Table group VIA of the second period. At normal temperatures, it was a colorless, tasteless, odorless transparent gas.

Based on his intuition, perhaps he could awaken one element every time he obtained a Soul Ring or Soul Skill. He could not yet conduct enough comparative tests to confirm it, but one conclusion could currently be drawn: the awakening of this Oxygen Element did not include any other isotopes. It referred solely to Oxygen-16, the most common isotope—commonly known as oxygen gas.

Originally, Lin You had thought that the Hydrogen Element awakening had only included ordinary elemental hydrogen, without deuterium or tritium, by accident.

But after sensing that the Oxygen Element likewise did not include highly radioactive isotopes such as oxygen-17 and oxygen-18, he was finally able to make an accurate judgment.

In truth, he found it quite regrettable.

Deuterium and tritium were the main materials for a Hydrogen Bomb. After releasing energy through a Nuclear Fusion reactor, one kilogram of deuterium could produce an explosion equivalent to dozens of tons of TNT, while tritium could soar to the ten-thousand-ton level. Little Boy and Fat Man had only yielded 15,000 and 21,000 tons, respectively.

The power of a Hydrogen Bomb was far beyond what an atomic bomb could compare with. If, when he had awakened the Hydrogen Element at the start, those two isotopes had awakened along with it, perhaps he would already possess the strength to single-handedly blow up the Duke's Mansion. Even the two Limit Douluo, Long and Ye, could die beneath the explosion of a Level Nine Fixed Soul Device in the Underground Palace. If he could craft a Hydrogen Bomb by hand, would he not be able to swagger across the continent?

But dreams were ultimately just dreams. For now, he should first study how to use this newly awakened Oxygen Element.

"Huo Yuhao, right? I'm saying it's time to go," Brother Sky Dream said with a light cough. He had subconsciously wanted to call out Yuhao, but fortunately he did not say the wrong name. Otherwise, it would have been awkward.

"Mm."

The girl nodded and immediately called for Lin You to get into the carriage. Then she looked at her mother's gentle sleeping face inside and could not help revealing a heartfelt smile. "Mom, did you see that? I've been working hard. Next, we're going to Star Brilliance City, then Shrek City, and live a good life! Hyah!"

Then she drove the carriage swiftly toward Star Brilliance City.