"Elder, how about letting me use your hammer first?"
Xie Yue looked at the hammer in Snake Lance Douluo's hand.
"Ah... sure."
Snake Lance Douluo snapped out of his daze, handed the Lucky Magic Hammer to Xie Yue, and obligingly stepped aside.
He wanted to see what Xie Yue would get.
Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.
Four crisp cracks rang out, and all four jars shattered in the blink of an eye.
Without exception, they all gave off white light.
"Yes, that's more like it."
"Seeing this makes me feel much better."
After watching, Snake Lance Douluo felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him.
What a comforting sight. These odds looked just right.
But when he got a clear look at the items, he lost his composure again.
Why wasn't there a single Rusty Samurai Sword?
Didn't everything Xie Yue got look a little better than mine?
Snake Lance Douluo instantly felt aggrieved again.
Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan all recognized the items in the first three jars. They were all "little blue bottles" of Magic Juice.
However...
The fourth jar, the double-reward jar, yielded two capsules that looked very similar to Experience Capsules...
"Huh? Experience Capsules?"
"But they don't look quite right!"
Xie Yue and Yan were both puzzled.
Hu Liena couldn't make sense of them either, so she turned to Lin Xiao, blinked her large eyes, and asked directly, "Boss, what are these? They seem different from Experience Capsules."
Item: [Character Proficiency Capsule] Grade: [Common] Type: [Untradeable] Description: [Character proficiency experience gains have been converted into Soul Skill proficiency gains.] Effect: [Grants extensive insight into the use of Soul Skills upon consumption.]
"To think even these can come out of the jars..."
Lin Xiao remembered that character proficiency had levels in the Dungeon City game.
After reaching the level cap, proficiency worked like an experience bar, requiring players to grind monsters to raise it.
The higher that level was, the more it indirectly demonstrated a player's understanding of their chosen class.
Character Proficiency Capsules worked like Experience Capsules, adding experience to the character proficiency bar upon use.
In the game, these things were chicken ribs-hardly worth eating, yet a shame to throw away.
But judging by the description alone, these capsules seemed quite useful after incorporating the characteristics of the Douluo world.
After all, Self-Created Soul Skills existed in this world. Only a deep understanding of one's own Soul Skills made it possible to modify them.
Lin Xiao remembered that Tang San's Blue Silver Thrust in the original story was one such modification of a Soul Skill.
"These two capsules are called Proficiency Capsules. Unlike Experience Capsules, which increase Soul Power, Proficiency Capsules deepen your understanding of Soul Skills after you take them."
"As for how far that understanding goes, that depends on your own aptitude."
Lin Xiao didn't dare make any absolute promises.
After all, Snake Lance Douluo, that god of rotten luck who had pulled two Rusty Samurai Swords in a row, was a living example of how reality could slap him in the face.
If Xie Yue lacked the aptitude, or the Proficiency Capsules weren't potent enough, and he ended up gaining no insight at all, wouldn't Lin Xiao be smashing his own shop's reputation?
"Hiss... that's a pretty powerful effect..."
After hearing Lin Xiao's explanation, everyone drew in a sharp breath, secretly astonished.
"Increase Soul Skill proficiency?"
Xie Yue froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up. Without the slightest hesitation, he eagerly popped both Character Proficiency Capsules into his mouth at once.
Boom!
The next instant, Xie Yue felt as though a mysterious door had been pushed open.
A flood of ideas about how to use Soul Skills appeared in his mind.
They continuously simulated, practiced, and refined his own Soul Skills.
Ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times-with every rehearsal and deduction, Xie Yue's understanding of his Soul Skills deepened.
Soon, Xie Yue became so absorbed in these deductions that he couldn't pull himself away.
Before everyone's eyes, Xie Yue actually closed his eyes, seemingly sinking into a state of enlightenment.
Could it really be that miraculous?
Who ever improved their Soul Skills or gained insight without being hammered and tempered a thousand times in actual combat? Yet Xie Yue could deepen his understanding of his Martial Soul just by standing still?
This is hard to believe. Only youngsters like Hu Liena and the others would take it at face value. I think Xie Yue has swallowed some sort of hallucinogenic drug...
Snake Lance Douluo felt he had seen through to the truth.
It seemed as though a long time had passed.
In reality, only a few seconds had gone by.
Xie Yue opened his eyes again, a sharp gleam flashing briefly in their depths.
Xie Yue is still standing right here, but he looks completely different from before he closed his eyes!
He's probably still lost in the hallucination and hasn't fully come out of it.
Snake Lance Douluo had been watching Xie Yue the whole time and instantly noticed the change.
"Brother, how do you feel? Are you all right?"
Hu Liena also vaguely sensed that her brother had changed, but she couldn't put her finger on how.
In short, there was a hint of unfamiliarity amid the familiarity.
"Boss, I feel like I've gained a lot of insight into Soul Skills. Is this insight real, or am I hallucinating?"
Instead of answering Hu Liena, Xie Yue looked at Lin Xiao, his face filled with excitement, anticipation, and a measure of uncertainty.
If this wasn't a hallucination, it was truly terrifying.
Only a few seconds had passed, yet he felt as though he had lived through several years.
His understanding of how to apply his Soul Skills had improved tremendously. Compared to before, the difference was like clouds above and mud below.
Yet even that wasn't the real surprise.
What thrilled him was the tremendous insight he had gained into his Self-Created Soul Skill, Full Moon. It was nothing short of casting off the old to bring forth the new, shedding his old bones and being reborn!
Thinking back now, what even was my old Full Moon?
All flash and no substance!
I've never taken one myself. How would I know what sort of insight you gained? Lin Xiao grumbled inwardly, but his expression remained calm as he said, "Remember this: practice reveals the truth. Whether it's genuine insight or a false illusion, one test will tell you."
Test it?
Xie Yue glanced left and right, finding himself in a bind.
If his insight was real, neither Hu Liena nor Yan could withstand a single strike from him.
He might end up hurting them.
Besides, this was a little shop, not a training arena. It wouldn't do to break something and upset the boss.
Just then, Snake Lance Douluo immediately spotted Xie Yue's dilemma.
"As it happens, I'd like to see just what you've understood. Why not try it on me?"
"Don't worry. I'll control my strength when I hurt you, and I won't damage anything in the shop."
Snake Lance Douluo was quite confident when facing a level-fifty Soul Master.
At the same time, he wanted to see whether it really was as miraculous as Xie Yue claimed.
"Boss, would that be all right?"
Xie Yue looked at Lin Xiao inquiringly.
Lin Xiao didn't mind. "Just pay the full price for anything you break."
"All right."
After speaking, Xie Yue took two steps back and looked at Snake Lance Douluo solemnly. "Elder, you'd better summon your Martial Soul."
"Summon my Martial Soul?"
"With my strength, my Soul Power and physique alone are enough to crush an ordinary Soul King."
Snake Lance Douluo answered confidently, "Even you should wait until you've become a Soul King before talking about making me summon my Martial Soul to face you."
Before you continue