First Soul Skill

Zhang Fei came trotting over with an enormously long Eighteen-Foot Snake Spear held in both hands, looking utterly ridiculous.

She Long pointed his Snake Lance at the Golden-Armored Dragon Lizard's eye socket. "See that? Stab through here with all your strength, and it'll become your soul ring."

Zhang Fei took a deep breath and backed up several steps to give himself room for a running start. Gripping the shaft tightly with both hands, he aimed at the Golden-Armored Dragon Lizard's eye socket and charged with all his strength.

Electric arcs danced along the Eighteen-Foot Snake Spear's tip as it plunged viciously into the Golden-Armored Dragon Lizard's eye socket.

Squelch!

With a muffled sound of penetration, the razor-sharp spearhead pierced its pupil, drove straight into its brain, and easily punched through the Golden-Armored Dragon Lizard's skull.

The Golden-Armored Dragon Lizard's massive body stiffened violently, its four limbs going rigid for an instant before relaxing completely. It slumped limply onto the ground, all life gone.

Blood surged out along the shaft and splashed onto Zhang Fei's face, hot and reeking.

"That's disgusting!"

Without even pulling out the Eighteen-Foot Snake Spear, Zhang Fei immediately let go with both hands and scrambled back two steps, frantically wiping his face with his cuffs and the hem of his clothes.

She Long stood to one side and snickered.

Zhang Fei glared at him. This old bastard knew blood would spray everywhere, but didn't even warn me. Good thing I can handle this sort of thing. Someone more fragile would've been left with a childhood nightmare.

Compared with strangling that pig earlier, having blood spray onto his face while brain matter spilled out was a far more intense shock to his nerves.

In his previous life, he had merely been an inexperienced student who had just finished his "career of grinding practice questions." Faced with this bloody spectacle at point-blank range, his stomach churned, and he nearly threw up.

As he silently grumbled, he scrubbed hard at the blood on his face a couple more times.

Meanwhile, a deep yellow soul ring slowly rose above the Golden-Armored Dragon Lizard's corpse.

After taking a moment to recover, Zhang Fei reached out and pulled free the Eighteen-Foot Snake Spear, withdrew it into his body, then summoned his Golden Python martial soul.

"Sit cross-legged, settle your mind, and guide the soul ring into yourself with your will," She Long said. "I'll stand guard beside you, so don't worry. Just keep your mind steady and leave everything else to me."

Zhang Fei sat down as instructed, steadied his breathing, then directed a mental command toward the hovering yellow soul ring.

As though sensing something, the soul ring slowly drifted over, circled twice above Zhang Fei's head, then suddenly sank, entering his body through the crown of his head.

A tremendous force thundered into his meridians, like red-hot molten iron poured into his blood vessels-scalding, overbearing, and rampaging wildly.

Zhang Fei's entire body shuddered violently. Veins instantly bulged on his forehead, and his clenched teeth ground audibly.

The Golden-Armored Dragon Lizard's soul power was exceptionally savage. Carrying the ferocious wildness innate to lesser dragons, it rampaged through his body as though determined to burst his meridians.

He pushed his Meditation Method to its limit, guiding that frenzied power along a fixed route, smoothing it out and taming it.

It hurt. It truly hurt. It hurt so badly that cold sweat poured down his temples.

Every inch of his meridians burned. The pain sank deep into his marrow and surged outward from within, leaving him nowhere to hide.

But Zhang Fei gritted his teeth without making a sound. His hands rested on his knees, clenched until his knuckles turned white, and every muscle in his body was taut.

She Long stood three paces away, his gaze fixed on Zhang Fei's body. At the slightest sign that Zhang Fei could no longer endure it, he would intervene immediately.

Though Zhang Fei's body shook violently, the effects of tempering it with whale rubber began to show. No matter how fiercely the energy battered them, his strengthened meridian walls held firm, protecting that final line of defense.

Two hours passed, and the midday sun moved past the canopy overhead.

The searing pain inside Zhang Fei finally began to recede, layer by layer, replaced by a warm sense of fullness that left his whole body at ease.

A deep yellow soul ring took shape beneath him, then began pulsing slowly.

Zhang Fei let out a long breath of stale air. He felt as though some shackle within him had been broken completely. His soul power circulated much faster than before, and the capacity of his meridians had noticeably expanded.

He slowly opened his eyes, a trace of gold flashing through his pupils before vanishing.

Zhang Fei stood up and looked down at his body, discovering that he had actually grown a little taller.

Previously just over 1.3 meters tall, he now stood close to 1.4 meters.

The muscles in his arms and legs were far more defined than before. Though he could hardly be called burly, their contours were clear, firm, and powerful, no longer soft and pudgy as they had been.

Some of the baby fat had faded from his face, and his jawline had tightened slightly. He looked a little less like an innocent child and a little more like a spirited youth.

"Did it work? How do you feel?" She Long stepped forward and looked him up and down.

"Really good." Zhang Fei grinned and stretched his limbs. "My whole body feels incredibly comfortable. And I can feel that my basic attributes have risen by a huge amount. I've got strength to spare from head to toe."

She Long nodded slightly, then asked, "What's your first soul skill?"

Zhang Fei sensed the information contained within that deep-colored soul ring and said, "First soul skill, Golden-Armored Body. It boosts both strength and defense by one hundred percent."

"One hundred percent? That high?" She Long's eyebrows shot up, clear surprise spreading across his face.

Among the soul masters he had encountered, first soul skills that boosted basic attributes generally provided an increase of around fifty percent.

Zhang Fei was a little surprised himself. He nodded. "Yes. Maybe it's an extra bonus from absorbing a soul ring beyond the age limit. I feel like if I activated my first soul skill now, I could send that pig from earlier flying with a single punch."

"Mm. The Golden-Armored Dragon Lizard certainly lives up to its name as a strength-type lesser-dragon soul beast. The effect really is remarkable." She Long took a deep breath, his voice filled with satisfaction.

He took a crystal ball from his Storage Soul Tool and held it out to Zhang Fei. "Here, let's test your soul power."

Zhang Fei pressed his hand against the crystal ball, and the familiar suction came. Tiny glimmers appeared at the bottom of the ball, then rapidly rose.

"Rank twelve. Absorbing an eight-hundred-year soul ring pushed you straight up two ranks. Very good."

She Long announced the number, the satisfaction on his face deepening.

Zhang Fei withdrew his hand, finally feeling completely at ease.

With a start like this, there probably weren't more than a handful of people his age across the entire Douluo Continent who could challenge him.

A surge of lofty pride welled up in his heart, as though he could look down upon all living beings, and his back unconsciously straightened a little.

She Long put away the crystal ball and noticed Zhang Fei's smug expression. Without another word, he raised his hand and smacked the back of Zhang Fei's head.

With a sharp smack, Zhang Fei's newly sprouted arrogance was knocked clean away.

"You're only a One-Ring Soul Master. What are you so smug about?" She Long said disdainfully. "You've still got a long road ahead. Once we're back, I'll put you through some proper training!"

Zhang Fei rubbed the back of his head and lamented inwardly, I'm done for, done for! My good days are coming to an end!

"All right, you've got your soul ring. Let's hurry back."

As soon as he finished speaking, She Long walked up to Zhang Fei and placed a large hand on his shoulder, ready to envelop him in his power and take straight to the air.

"Grandpa, wait! Wait!" Zhang Fei hurriedly reached out and grabbed She Long.

She Long frowned. "What is it now?"