Martial Soul Materialization

Time passed slowly. Dugu Yan gradually absorbed the purple Soul Ring's radiance, and the painful trembling that wracked her body began to subside.

When her body absorbed the Soul Ring's last trace of energy, her martial soul underwent its final transformation.

The little seven-colored snake, which had yet to take its true form, had changed completely. Its scales, shape, and aura were now identical to those of the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent.

Brilliant seven-colored light shimmered around its scales, and an eerie rainbow glow shifted in its eyes. No longer an incomplete form, the true Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent martial soul had appeared.

Cleansed by a highly compatible Immortal Herb and tempered by a thousand-year Soul Ring, Dugu Yan's martial soul had finally completed its evolution.

"Haha, it worked!" At the sight, Lu Xuan's tense heart finally settled, and he let out a long breath.

The plan to pair Dugu Yan with the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent and Seven-Colored Rainbowglow Ginseng had not come from Ye Renxin's teachings.

Lu Xuan had devised it himself, combining his Huang Yaoshi template with the pharmacological knowledge his master had taught him.

After working with so many Immortal Herbs and poisonous plants, Lu Xuan had gained a deeper understanding of their properties. He could now try matching each person's constitution with a suitable Immortal Herb.

Dugu Yan's case was his first practical test of that approach.

"Huh? Wait!"

Just as Lu Xuan and Dugu Yan were rejoicing, Dugu Bo suddenly spoke up, surprise in his voice. "Yanyan's martial soul has materialized!"

"What?"

"Martial Soul Materialization!"

The smile froze on Lu Xuan's face.

Martial Soul Materialization?

His heart skipped a beat as a thought flashed through his mind.

Had Dugu Yan's martial soul become a living beast martial soul like Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao?

Ye Renxin hurried forward and gently touched the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent coiled around Dugu Yan's shoulder.

"It really has materialized." Ye Renxin withdrew his hand and turned to the bewildered Dugu Yan. "Yanyan, sense it for yourself. Does anything feel different inside you after Martial Soul Possession?"

"Something has changed, but I can't tell what." Dugu Yan was only six and knew nothing about martial soul theory, so she naturally could not make sense of it. She asked nervously, "Grandpa Ye, is something wrong with my martial soul?"

"Before you, the records mention only one materialized martial soul. It belonged to Yu Xiaogang!" Ye Renxin took a deep breath, his expression grave. "But his materialized naturally, while yours was brought about by an acquired opportunity. We'll need to observe it over time to learn what effects it may have."

"A materialized martial soul might not be a bad thing." Lu Xuan held out his hand and coaxed the lifelike Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent from Dugu Yan's shoulder onto his palm. Intrigued, he scratched its soft, scaled body with a fingertip.

Dugu Yan's expression changed at once. She snatched the little snake from Lu Xuan's hand, hugged it to her chest, and glared at him with puffed cheeks. "Don't touch Xiao Cai!"

Xiao Cai was the name she had just given the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent.

When Lu Xuan touched Xiao Cai, the bond formed by the Immortal Herb's power carried the sensation from the snake's body straight to Dugu Yan, sending a strange tingling through her whole body.

Seeing how strongly the little girl objected, Lu Xuan did not try to touch Xiao Cai again.

He looked at Dugu Yan, who was cradling Xiao Cai. "What's your First Soul Skill? Can you still use Martial Soul Possession?"

"Of course I can."

With a thought from Dugu Yan, the lifelike, materialized Xiao Cai flashed and dissolved into streams of brilliant color. Like an ordinary beast martial soul, it merged with her body.

Vivid seven-colored snake markings spread up her arms to her neck, faintly shimmering.

She took a deep breath and explained her Soul Skill's effect. "My First Soul Skill is called Seven-Colored Transformation. It's an enhancement skill. It increases seven attributes—strength, speed, defense, mental power, Soul Skill power, poison potency, and recovery speed—by twenty percent each!"

Hearing the effects of his granddaughter's Soul Skill, Dugu Bo finally relaxed and let out a long breath.

Until then, he had been deeply uneasy. No one could say whether a martial soul that had materialized after birth was a blessing or a curse.

After all, the only recorded case was Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao, a martial soul widely considered useless. With that precedent, how could he not worry?

But his granddaughter could still use Martial Soul Possession normally, and her First Soul Skill enhanced seven attributes at once. Its effects were far stronger than he had expected.

The weight on Dugu Bo's heart lifted completely, and satisfaction showed on his face. As long as her strength had not suffered, this unusual materialization was a welcome surprise.

"I don't know who this Yu Xiaogang Master mentioned is, but could we treat a materialized martial soul like a Soul Beast she can summon whenever she wants?" Lu Xuan also breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then asked Dugu Yan, "Can it eat, too?"

Lu Xuan pointed at the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent's corpse on the ground and said earnestly, "Yanyan, let it eat that."

"Are you a monster?"

Before anyone else could speak, Dugu Yan's eyes widened. She stared at Lu Xuan in disbelief. "You want my martial soul to eat a serpent of its own kind?"

"What's wrong with that?" Lu Xuan's expression did not change as he argued in all seriousness, "Yanyan, I suspect your materialized martial soul can help you cultivate. Let it try. If we wait too long, the spiritual energy in the corpse will dissipate, and it won't be of any use."

"Grandpa, I'm scared."

Lu Xuan's suggestion frightened Dugu Yan so badly that her eyes reddened and she nearly burst into tears. She threw herself into Dugu Bo's arms.

Over the past few days, she had thought Lu Xuan was simply a clever, extraordinarily talented little boy with a gentle nature and an adorable face.

How could he suddenly propose something so outrageous, something almost cruel?

Dugu Bo gently patted his granddaughter's back to comfort her. "Yanyan, you and I are both ignorant when it comes to these strange martial soul mutations. But Xiao Xuan is clever. If he suggested it, he must have his reasons."

"Give it a try, Yanyan." Dugu Bo kept patting her back as he patiently persuaded her. "It's your martial soul that would eat the corpse, not you. It won't hurt you."

"That's right, Yanyan," Dugu Xin chimed in. "You should study martial souls properly from now on. The more you know, the less helpless you'll feel when something strange like this happens again."