Ji Feng surrendered to Nahida's beauty and agreed to let her move about freely whenever possible from then on, and to respect her own wishes.
Sangonomiya Kokomi could only let out a wistful sigh and turn away, unable to bear watching.
"Let me show you my divine-grade Martial Soul with innate full soul power!"
As Ji Feng spoke, his entire bearing changed, and he sank into a peaceful, profound stillness.
At the same time, an unusual emerald light swirled deep within his eyes. Four-leaf clover outlines slowly unfolded at the centers of his pupils, eventually forming cross-shaped petal patterns identical to Nahida's, faintly tinged with an otherworldly detachment and divinity.
"Well? My Martial Soul, the Sharingan!"
He showed it off.
Nahida's temple twitched faintly. She held herself back again and again, but finally could not resist correcting him. "First of all, these eyes aren't called the Sharingan-they're called the Four-Leaf Illusion God Eye. They're one of the primordial marks that already existed when I was the incarnation of Irminsul, not something you can just slap a random name on."
"These eyes actually have a name?" Ji Feng asked in surprise.
"What abilities do they have?" Kokomi cared more about their practical uses. Rising onto her little white-stockinged tiptoes, she examined Ji Feng's pupils curiously.
"On one hand, it's the Martial Soul Kokomi and I designed earlier, which can call upon and simulate people connected through dreams. On the other, it has its own abilities: by looking directly into someone's eyes, I can cast illusions on them and read their mind. But both require eye contact to activate."
"So it's just a watered-down version of my dream authority?" Nahida muttered discontentedly.
She was deeply displeased that Ji Feng had taken her authority only to produce a weakened version of it.
"Martial Souls can grow! I don't have a single Soul Ring yet, and it's already impressive, okay?" Although Ji Feng also thought it was rather lacking, since Nahida had put it that way, he had to insist it was good even if it wasn't!
Besides, having three traits in an initial Martial Soul without any Soul Rings was already outrageously powerful. Ji Feng also felt that his spiritual power had grown considerably after he fused with dream authority, but ultimately, he had only read the novel and had no real idea what level his spiritual power had reached.
"All right! Nahida, help me condense a Soul Ring! It's my first one, so we don't need to be too flashy. A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring will do. For the Soul Skill, give me Susanoo to shore up my combat strength!"
Feeling that he should not be too ostentatious, Ji Feng made a few tiny requests.
Nahida tilted her little face, blinking her emerald four-leaf pupils. "Nahida can't do that!"
"Huh? Which part can't you do?"
Nahida spread both hands, her smile radiant and her voice crisp and cheerful. "All of it-I can't do any of it!"
She counted them off on her fingers for him. "Condense a Soul Ring-don't know how! A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring-don't know how! Susanoo-even less of an idea!"
"I'm just a tiny imitation deity projected by a Martial Soul, not some all-purpose wish-granting machine! You should be more practical, dear host, and think about how to hunt down your first Soul Ring!"
"Wait! You can't even do something as simple as condensing your own Soul Ring?"
Seeing Ji Feng's shocked, disbelieving expression, Nahida instead gave him an odd look and asked, "Dear host, I don't even know what a Soul Ring is, and I've never seen one. Wouldn't it be stranger if I somehow knew the secret art of condensing one under those circumstances?"
She explained patiently, "Strictly speaking, it's only been two hours since I actually arrived on the Douluo Continent. I've gained a basic understanding of this world through your memories, but written descriptions and how things actually work are completely different. Just as reading Douluo Continent didn't teach you the Mysterious Heaven Skill, seeing your memories naturally didn't teach me how to condense Soul Rings."
The God of Wisdom's prestige had taken a massive plunge!!
But Ji Feng also realized that Nahida meant she needed a few examples to study first!
The reason Ji Feng had been able to use Nahida's body to grant himself a Soul Ring was also the result of staying up all night painstakingly researching it, face-to-face with himself. Besides, granting and awakening did indeed fall within areas related to Nahida's authority.
"Condensing a Soul Ring isn't as simple as you imagine. It involves the underlying rules of the Douluo Continent. If you think carefully, you'll realize that Douluo's rules are extremely strange-it barely resembles a normal world at all. A blade of grass can actually drop a leg bone that humans can use after it dies. Doesn't that sound strange already?"
Nahida continued her analysis. "The Douluo Continent is quite a convenient world. To grow stronger, all you need to do is awaken your Martial Soul, cultivate, and then hunt for Soul Rings. If everything goes smoothly, you can become powerful. Only when you try to become a god do you encounter any real barriers, and throughout that process, neither cultivation nor absorbing Soul Rings requires much specialized learning."
"After awakening their Martial Souls, the humans on this continent seem able to figure out a basic meditation method quite naturally. I've examined that method too, and for people on the Douluo Continent, it truly is as natural as breathing. Absorbing Soul Rings also appears to be something they can accomplish instinctively."
Nahida spoke with considerable interest.
"To be honest, the only hurdle is needing someone to help awaken your Martial Soul. After that, highly talented people are practically destined to become powerful as long as they don't die in an accident. It really is remarkably convenient. And Martial Soul awakening can actually be triggered independently. You've used my body to help awaken your own Martial Soul, so you should understand: even without anyone's help, a Martial Soul can awaken on its own under extreme emotion or intense pressure. An assisted awakening merely lets you skip that step."
Nahida surmised that the first people on the Douluo Continent to awaken their Martial Souls had probably done so themselves during life-threatening battles with Soul Beasts. Those Soul Masters then helped other humans awaken, and because the line of Soul Masters had never been broken since, the original awakening method had instead been lost.
"As for why this world is like this, I also..."
Seeing Nahida grow more enthusiastic as she spoke, with every intention of continuing, Ji Feng hurriedly interrupted her.
"Wait! I'm not really interested in all that right now! O mighty God of Wisdom, could you tell me the best cultivation path for me at the moment?"
Nahida answered decisively, "Hunt for Soul Rings, of course!"
Seriously? So I got this cheat for nothing? I'm carrying the Lesser Lord Kusanali around with me, and in the end I still have to scrape by with a Yellow Soul Ring.
Besides, if we're hunting for Soul Rings, can anyone in this party actually fight?
Ji Feng glanced to his left: the healer, Sangonomiya Kokomi. He glanced ahead: the support, Lesser Lord Kusanali.
"If our party goes hunting for Soul Rings, am I supposed to be the main fighter as a mere Soul Scholar?"
With a lineup like this, Ji Feng seriously suspected he would end up using ten-year solitary bamboo for his first Soul Ring!
"Do not worry, my lord. We need only seek out Ah Yin. She is gentle and kind, and her cultivation is at the Soul Emperor level."
Kokomi spoke up at just the right moment.
"Besides, you have shown her kindness, my lord. With her personality, she naturally would not refuse. After witnessing the entire process of you absorbing your first Soul Ring, I imagine the Dendro Archon will also be able to work out a method for condensing Soul Rings independently."
Kokomi did not forget to dangle a grand promise before him. "After that, you might be able to obtain Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings for all your rings, my lord. Even for your first Soul Ring, with the Dendro Archon here, we may later find a way to increase its age."
Ji Feng thought that sounded quite good.
Nahida: ...
You're treating me like an all-purpose wish-granting machine, aren't you!
Besides, Nahida felt that they were underestimating her far too much when it came to combat. Naturally, she was no great fighter compared with those battle-oriented gods, but could she, the illustrious Lesser Lord Kusanali, really be weaker in combat than a Soul Emperor Blue Silver Emperor?
Nahida clarified, "Wait! It's true that combat isn't my specialty, but that's in comparison with other gods. I may be a support in that game, but in reality, I can control Dendro to fight! I may not be as strong as the demon gods, but how could I lose to mortals? You're underestimating me far too much!"
Before you continue