Precisely Placed Bullet Marks

Stepping into the Soul Hunting Forest again, Chu Heng felt nothing like he had the first time.

On his last visit, he had possessed only level-ten Soul Power and had yet to obtain his first Spirit Ring. He had not even been able to summon his Martial Soul. Forget Hundred-Year Soul Beasts; even against some of the stronger ten-year Soul Beasts, he had needed to tread carefully.

Now, less than two years later, he had his first Spirit Ring and had mastered the various forms of his Martial Soul. With the Tang Sect's secret arts and his other abilities, most Soul Beasts in the outer reaches of the Soul Hunting Forest could hardly threaten him.

Even Chu Heng found the change remarkable.

"Stop daydreaming."

Su Xianling's voice came from ahead.

Chu Heng looked up. Su Xianling had already walked some distance away and had turned back to face him.

"Come on. This time, we'll find a suitable Soul Beast as quickly as possible. Then you can get yourself ready."

With that, she pushed off the ground and sped deeper into the forest.

Chu Heng followed at once.

Once again, their destination was the inner region.

The talent Chu Heng had shown over the past year and more had gradually earned him recognition from the Spirit Hall Branch Hall in Nott City and even higher-ranking branches. The support he received had long since risen to the highest tier. That naturally included permission to enter the deeper reaches of the Soul Hunting Forest.

They wasted little time in the outskirts, heading straight in to search for a Soul Beast suited to Chu Heng.

Finding the right Spirit Ring still took luck, though. They searched the inner forest for three full days.

It was not until the afternoon of the third day that Chu Heng felt a familiar stirring from the Martial Soul within him.

"Su Xianling!"

He looked up. High above, a gray-brown figure swept between the treetops. Its spread wings measured several meters across, and its keen eagle eyes glimmered faintly silver.

Su Xianling followed his gaze.

"A Sharp-Eyed Eagle?"

She studied the Soul Beast's features.

"Judging by its size and wings, it's probably around six hundred years old."

Six hundred years was a good age for Chu Heng's second Spirit Ring.

"Your Martial Soul reacted?"

"Yes."

Chu Heng nodded.

"Then that's the one."

Su Xianling did not hesitate. She drew her bow, and a streak of light shot from the string. Before Chu Heng could see what had happened, the Sharp-Eyed Eagle reeled as though struck by a heavy blow and abruptly lost its balance.

Su Xianling leaped up to meet the falling Soul Beast and brought it under control.

The rest was much simpler. Drawing on his experience absorbing his first Spirit Ring, Chu Heng brought himself to peak condition. Only after nightfall did he finish off the Sharp-Eyed Eagle. A yellow Spirit Ring slowly formed above its corpse.

Chu Heng sat cross-legged and began absorbing his second Spirit Ring.

The night passed.

The next morning, Chu Heng slowly opened his eyes beneath the tree. Two yellow Spirit Rings rose from beneath his feet.

As the rings appeared, Soul Power richer than before spread through him. Level twenty-one.

The Soul Power reserve on his system panel had changed as well.

[Current Soul Power: 437/437]

Chu Heng gave it a quick glance, then turned his attention to his new soul skill.

His second soul skill: Precise Bullet Mark.

By its nature, it was an enhancement skill, and it worked only with the handgun form.

With a thought, Chu Heng summoned his Martial Soul. A handgun appeared in his palm, and he murmured to himself:

Second soul skill, Precise Bullet Mark!

His second Spirit Ring glowed faintly. The instant the skill activated, the world before Chu Heng's eyes changed. Several weak points appeared on a distant tree trunk, marked directly in his vision.

Chu Heng raised the gun and chose one. He poured in five points of Soul Power and pulled the trigger. The shot was silent. Even the sound of the bullet cutting through the air was suppressed almost completely, and it struck the weak point without warning.

The distant trunk shuddered.

"So fast."

Chu Heng narrowed his eyes. He fired several more test shots and soon had a rough grasp of how Precise Bullet Mark worked.

The skill's cost was not fixed. It depended on the Soul Power invested in the bullet. If an ordinary shot took five points, enhancing it with his second soul skill cost another five. If a bullet took twenty points, Precise Bullet Mark cost another twenty.

In other words, it doubled the Soul Power cost of a single attack.

"That's a hefty cost..."

Still, the effect justified it. The boost in speed, the instant identification of weak points, and the reduction in sound all made the shot much harder to defend against.

The only slight disappointment was the damage boost. In terms of raw destructive power, Precise Bullet Mark added little—roughly twenty percent.

That meant even when a shot's total cost rose from five points of base Soul Power to ten, the increase in power remained limited.

"A low-level enhancement skill..."

Chu Heng could not help feeling a little disappointed. He had hoped his second soul skill would bring another enormous leap in strength, but it had only improved the attack of one form he already had. Then again, his first soul skill was already absurd enough to provide multiple weapon forms. He had little reason to worry.

He ought to be grateful for what he had.

Besides, used well, Precise Bullet Mark could be just as valuable in a real fight as a skill that simply dealt more damage.

Su Xianling watched his experiments from nearby.

"How is it?"

Chu Heng put away his Martial Soul.

"An enhancement skill. It only works with that short-gun form you just saw. It makes attacks faster and more accurate, with a modest increase in power."

Chu Heng did not go into every effect. His Martial Soul's abilities were growing more complex, and he had yet to understand many of them himself.

Su Xianling did not press him. She merely nodded.

"As long as you understand it. Keep practicing and find the way to use it that suits you best."

Chu Heng nodded.

"Got it."

As when Chu Heng had obtained his first Spirit Ring, they did not leave the Soul Hunting Forest immediately. They stayed for another full week.

Chu Heng kept testing Precise Bullet Mark in real fights. By the end of the week, he had gained a solid feel for using his second soul skill.

And Chu Heng was not the only one who had grown over those two years. At twenty-one, Su Xianling had reached level fifty-nine Soul Power, just one step from becoming a Soul Emperor. At her current pace, barring any surprises, she had a good chance of breaking through within six months.

The hunt came to an end.

The two returned to Nott City, and life settled back into its usual calm.

Three months flew by. One morning, Su Xianling came to see Chu Heng as usual, but she had something else to tell him.

"Little Chu Heng, I'm giving you a week off."

Chu Heng paused.

"A week off?"

It was not a special occasion. Why give him time off?

"In a week, pack your things and leave Nott City with me."