First Soul Skill: Ever-Changing

Su Xianling had already thought Chu Heng's first soul skill was impressive. Now he was telling her it had other effects?

Could it have some kind of support ability too?

Su Xianling watched him quietly, waiting for him to demonstrate.

Chu Heng understood what she meant. The corner of his mouth lifted.

His first soul skill was called Ever-Changing. Besides the handgun form he had just shown, it could also transform into a rifle, a grenade launcher, or a sniper rifle.

The only drawback was that switching forms took time. During the change, he could not use his Martial Soul. If an enemy seized that opening, he would be vulnerable.

But that did nothing to diminish the skill's power.

Next, Chu Heng intended to show her its second form: the rifle.

At a thought, pale blue light shimmered over the handgun in his hand. Its short body lengthened rapidly as its internal structure rearranged itself. A moment later, a beige-and-blue rifle rested in his hands.

Su Xianling narrowed her eyes.

It could change form too?

She grew even more curious about his Martial Soul. Compared with the little handgun, this rifle was much larger and more complex. Its shape was still utterly unfamiliar, yet somehow it felt colder and more dangerous.

"What does this one do?"

Su Xianling asked.

"You'll see in a second."

Chu Heng looked around. He had considered testing it on the Soul Beast again, but thought better of it. Killing was one thing; tormenting a creature just for an experiment was another.

He settled on a thick tree nearby. He raised the rifle, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

The next instant...

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!"

A rapid burst rang out. Dense shots of highly concentrated Soul Power streamed from the muzzle and struck the trunk ahead.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Wood chips flew. In moments, holes riddled the trunk, each Soul Power bullet leaving a mark nearly a centimeter deep.

If he concentrated every shot on one spot, Chu Heng reckoned he could punch straight through it.

There was just one problem: Chu Heng's aim...

Su Xianling walked over to the tree. She looked at the row of bullet holes scattered rather freely up and down the trunk and fell silent for a moment.

"..."

Chu Heng quietly looked away.

It was my first time firing it. I had to get used to the recoil, didn't I?

Su Xianling did not comment on his aim. Instead, she checked the depth of the holes. After a moment, she nodded.

"Good power. Each shot is a little weaker than the handgun form, but there are plenty of them. This form should be better against multiple enemies who aren't too strong."

Chu Heng nodded in agreement.

Each shot did less damage because he had put only two points of Soul Power into each bullet. Thirty shots made a full magazine, costing sixty points in all. Switching forms had consumed another five.

Chu Heng glanced at his system panel.

[Current Soul Power: 66/160]

He still had sixty-six points because, while he had been testing and talking, he had slowly recovered one point.

The burst had certainly cost a lot, but Chu Heng still found it exhilarating.

After all, something he had only encountered in another world was now truly in his hands. It was a strange feeling.

Su Xianling returned from the tree and looked at him.

"This soul skill of yours..."

Her tone was complicated.

"No matter the form, it's a means of inflicting damage, pure and simple."

Chu Heng said nothing. He simply channeled his Soul Power, and the rifle changed again. Its body thickened, its structure rearranged, and it became a heavy weapon he had to hold in both hands.

Su Xianling stopped. "There's a third form?" She was genuinely surprised. "Yep." Chu Heng smiled.

"This one's effect is pretty ordinary, sis."

Su Xianling did not respond. By now, she had little faith in his definition of "pretty ordinary."

Chu Heng did not have much Soul Power left, and the grenade launcher required at least five points to fire. He had no intention of testing it at full strength. After a quick estimate, he put in ten points. Soul Power gathered, forming a strange projectile inside the barrel.

Chu Heng aimed at the same tree and fired.

"Boom!"

An explosion shook the forest. A powerful shock wave hurled years' worth of rotting leaves and soil into the air.

Chu Heng squinted instinctively. As the dust cleared, the tree still stood, though much of its trunk had been charred black.

Sparks spread around it. In the blink of an eye, flames roared to life.

Chu Heng's eyes lit up. The attack, powered by ten points of Soul Power, had not blown apart the tree, which had cultivated for ten years. But the blast had left a clear burning effect, rather like an incendiary round. Su Xianling looked at the burning tree, then turned to Chu Heng.

"You held back on that shot, didn't you?"

It could cause an explosion and leave flames burning afterward. At full power, it would surely do far more than this.

Chu Heng scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

"I'm almost out of Soul Power..."

In fact, he could put up to 120 points of Soul Power into a single grenade launcher shot. With his current reserves, firing one at full power would drain most of them at once. Chu Heng had no idea how powerful that would be, and he certainly could not test it casually now.

"Mm."

Su Xianling watched the flames and nodded thoughtfully.

"This form is good too. It covers a larger area and has an added effect. Against numerous enemies, or in certain environments, it might prove unexpectedly useful."

"But you need to test it more yourself. How much power you get from different amounts of Soul Power, how far the attacks reach, how much fighting strength you have left afterward... You'll have to work all that out gradually."

Chu Heng nodded seriously.

"I will."

He still had one last form: the sniper rifle.

But he did not plan to show Su Xianling yet. With so little Soul Power left, he could not bring out its true effect even if he transformed it. Better to wait until he recovered and test it properly than fire a pointless shot now.

When Chu Heng failed to produce a fourth strange weapon, Su Xianling secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The boy had surprised her enough for one day. An ordinary hundred-year Spirit Ring had given him three completely different ways to attack.

Once her surprise faded, another question came to mind.

Chu Heng had obtained his first Spirit Ring. Now they needed to consider his future development.

Who should she find to be Chu Heng's teacher?