"Watch out. I'm going all out."
As Xie Yue spoke, his Soul Power surged, and the Moon Blades appeared in his hands.
His face was solemn.
Their keen edges gleamed.
The next moment, without using a Soul Ring, he gave a low shout: "Crescent Moon!"
"Crescent Moon?"
"What skill is that?"
"Shouldn't it be Full Moon?"
Never mind everyone else-even his own younger sister, Hu Liena, had never heard of this Soul Skill.
But the next moment, they witnessed what Crescent Moon was.
Before everyone's eyes, Xie Yue's figure vanished.
Even the sunlight disappeared.
The light inside the shop instantly dimmed.
But just as confusion arose in their hearts, a silver light suddenly flashed.
Everyone saw it clearly.
It was a silver crescent moon, slashing toward Snake Lance Douluo with astonishing speed and force!
Swift, powerful, capable of cleaving through anything!
That was the impression this crescent moon gave everyone.
Even Hu Liena and Yan instinctively imagined how they would respond if they had to face this strike.
It's too fast, too fierce. Even if I used every trick I had, I'd probably struggle to block it. I might be cut in two before my charm even took effect, Hu Liena silently sighed.
So this is Boss's true strength? If Demon Charm had unleashed such a fierce strike back when I transformed into Lie Yan Pinoch, I probably couldn't have blocked it, could I?
Unless they're a defensive Soul Saint, they'd have to avoid its edge.
Yan was stunned as well.
Yet the most shocked of all was Snake Lance Douluo.
He was the one experiencing it firsthand. How is this brat Xie Yue so uncanny? Is this really an attack a Soul Ancestor can unleash? Even a Soul Emperor could only manage this much, right?
Looks like I really underestimated this brat. Without my Martial Soul, this will be hard to handle.
"Break!"
With a cold snort, Snake Lance Douluo summoned a long lance into his hands. Gripping it with both hands, he thrust it toward Xie Yue.
Without question, he had now broken his word.
But faced with Xie Yue's strike, he had no other choice. He could only meet it head-on.
Boom!
Crescent Moon collided with the lance, unleashing a dazzling flash and powerful surges of Soul Power.
The terrifying force erupted, even making Hu Liena and Xie Yue retreat several steps in succession.
"Hmph."
Off to the side, Soderos snorted coldly, and invisible sword energy erupted from his body.
It stopped the surges of Soul Power from spreading, compressing all that force into the space between Xie Yue and Snake Lance Douluo.
With the pressure suddenly reduced, Hu Liena and Yan finally noticed that such a powerful old man had appeared in the shop.
He can suppress the shock waves from my brother's battle with Snake Lance Douluo using his aura alone. This old man is probably a Titled Douluo as well.
Hu Liena had seen enough of the world to roughly gauge the old man's strength.
"Don't be nervous. This is Old Suo, my servant."
Seeing their nervousness, Lin Xiao offered an explanation.
Soderos voiced no objection.
A servant?
A powerhouse like him was actually willing to serve someone?
They would have been better off without the explanation. Hearing it only shocked Hu Liena and Yan even more.
It truly confirmed His Holiness the Pope's speculation. This mysterious shopkeeper's strength absolutely surpassed everyone's imagination!
Bang!
At that moment, the surges of Soul Power vanished completely.
Xie Yue and Snake Lance Douluo came into view once more.
Xie Yue's face was very pale, clearly showing how much he had expended, but his eyes were filled with excitement.
Clearly, he was delighted that his newly comprehended Crescent Moon could unleash such power.
Meanwhile, Snake Lance Douluo stood in the middle of the shop with an ugly expression.
As if performing a face-changing act, his face had gone from dark to ashen.
"Brother, how exactly should we decide who won?"
Hu Liena blinked her large eyes and asked curiously.
"Of course the fellow wearing armor lost."
"Not only did he use his Martial Soul, but if this boy hadn't held back, that fellow would probably have been cut in two."
A cold voice rang out.
Soderos had spoken.
"What?"
"No way!"
Yan could hardly believe it.
Snake Lance Douluo had summoned his Martial Soul and still failed to block it?
"See for yourselves."
As Soderos's voice faded, a strange sound rang out.
Crack, crack, crack.
Everyone followed the sound and discovered that a crack had suddenly split open across the Cold Iron Armor Snake Lance Douluo wore.
"Did Boss really cut that crack into it?"
Yan exclaimed in disbelief.
"Indeed, I lost. I underestimated you. Xie Yue, you truly deserve your place among the most outstanding talents of this generation in Spirit Hall."
Snake Lance Douluo's expression shifted several times before finally settling into a sigh of admiration.
Snake Lance Douluo had admitted defeat?
Beyond her shock, Hu Liena looked curious. "Brother, when did you master such a powerful Soul Skill? You didn't even tell me!"
They had spent every day together for so many years, yet she had never imagined Xie Yue was keeping such a powerful move up his sleeve.
"I wasn't hiding anything from you."
Xie Yue explained, "This is the Self-Created Soul Skill I comprehended after taking those two Proficiency Capsules just now."
"You comprehended it just now?"
Everyone was dumbfounded. Were Self-Created Soul Skills really that easy to comprehend?
"To be precise, I modified Full Moon. I used to be trapped in a mistaken approach, wanting to make my Full Moon perfect by combining offense, defense, and even speed... Looking back now, that idea was far too naive. You could even call it stupid."
If comprehending a Self-Created Soul Skill makes him stupid, where am I supposed to put this old face of mine? Snake Lance Douluo thought irritably.
Then he heard Xie Yue continue at an unhurried pace. "Even Soul Masters are divided into power attack, support, and control types. As a Power Attack System Soul Master, why should I pursue perfection? Attack is king, so I discarded Full Moon's defensive capabilities and the like. Full Moon became Crescent Moon, but its attack power more than doubled!"
"And for reaching this point, I have to thank Boss Lin for granting me this opportunity. Without the tremendous amount of Soul Skill insight those two Proficiency Capsules gave me, I could never have achieved this."
Xie Yue's eyes were filled with gratitude as he looked at Lin Xiao.
"No need to thank me. Thank your own good luck."
Lin Xiao claimed no credit. "I don't produce opportunities. I just deliver them."
"Boss Lin, you're too modest..."
In everyone's minds, Lin Xiao made the jars, so weren't their powers bestowed by him as well?
This truly is a miracle.
Snake Lance Douluo couldn't help silently marveling.
This time, he believed it. At the same time, an intense desire for Proficiency Capsules arose in his heart.
If he could use them to comprehend a Soul Skill as powerful as Xie Yue's, wouldn't he be able to shake off his reputation as the bottom of the barrel among Titled Douluos?
"So, are you interested in opening another couple?"
Lin Xiao turned to Hu Liena and Yan as he asked.
Hu Liena pressed her lips together. "Thank you for your kindness, but we have to leave for now."
"Oh, you're leaving already?"
Lin Xiao was a little surprised. He had thought Yan or Hu Liena would open some jars.
"Yes. My brother's Soul Power has reached rank fifty now, so we need to hunt a Soul Ring for him. We'll also complete a task our teacher assigned us along the way. It'll count as a trial of sorts."
"Once we complete the trial, our teacher will reward each of us with a million Gold Soul Coins. Then I'll be able to come open jars."
"I see."
After hearing Hu Liena's explanation, Lin Xiao nodded in understanding, thinking, This is good news. That's twenty jars reserved.
After watching Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan leave the little shop, Lin Xiao turned his gaze back to Snake Lance Douluo. "Are you opening any more jars?"
P.S.
I posted an extra update.
So, will there be votes tomorrow?
Before you continue