Jin Jiuxiao fired Instant Thunder Flash at a boulder.
Boom!
The boulder shattered into scattered fragments.
"Wait, did you just activate your second soul skill?" Xiong Jun immediately noticed something different.
Jin Jiuxiao's second soul skill had clearly been Thunder Sacrifice just moments ago. How had it become Instant Thunder Flash?
"I can freely mix and match my soul skills."
Jin Jiuxiao remembered now. Wasn't this just like choosing which skills to bring into battle in Seer?
"Later, I can also replace some skills that will be difficult to use after becoming human with soul ring skills, so I can activate them quickly."
And that was only one insignificant benefit among many.
Future Martial Soul Evolution would grant him plenty of additional new skills.
Many skills' added effects, status effects, enhancements, and so on had turn limits.
Take his first soul skill, Charge, for example.
Originally, Charge doubled the damage of his electric-type moves for one turn.
Once it became a soul skill, that turn limit disappeared!
While the soul skill was active, the damage of all his electric-type moves doubled!
Did that mean that once skills with these additional effects became soul skills, he could enjoy all their bonuses in the same battle?
In plain English, as long as his mana didn't run dry, his buffs wouldn't drop!
And once he reached the Titled Douluo stage, the number of skills he could equip would rise to nine!
He could use attack skills on his own, so there was no need to waste soul ring slots on them.
Forget those heaven-defying forms he would gain later-even Thunder God Rey alone was enough.
Immunity to crowd control, paralyzing attackers when hit, healing, stealing and reversing buffs, removing enemy buffs, reflecting status effects, boosting every attribute, a chance to nullify enemy skills... a whole mountain of effects and bonuses!
You're telling me I can get that entire mountain of buffs, and none of them will drop?
"That's a good thing, isn't it?" After speaking, Xiong Jun frowned and studied Jin Jiuxiao's expression. "..."
"All right, it really is a good thing. A downright monumental one, at that."
"Look at the fright you gave me."
Xiong Jun breathed a sigh of relief and settled back into his rocking chair.
Jin Jiuxiao's expression was strange because he was holding back his laughter.
Xiong Jun didn't quite understand. Sure, Jin Jiuxiao could freely choose his soul skills, but weren't those the only skills he had?
It wasn't as though he hadn't used them before taking human form.
"Sorry. I'll explain sooner next time. But Uncle Xiong, you can't lie down yet." Jin Jiuxiao then called toward the Lake of Life, "Uncle Di Tian, something's come up."
Hearing Jin Jiuxiao's call from the lake bed, Di Tian appeared beside him in a flash. "What did you call me for?"
"I found a human who may be the Asura God's successor."
"His name is Tang San. He has twin martial souls: his first martial soul is the Blue Silver Emperor, and his second martial soul is the Clear Sky Hammer."
"He also has a cultivation method that doesn't belong to this world."
"And a Titled Douluo protecting him."
Having backing and allies, yet keeping everything hidden and refusing to act-that was what a stupid bastard did.
With Di Tian backing him and these ferocious beasts helping him, Jin Jiuxiao certainly wasn't going to act like a fucking idiot and insist on putting on a show all by himself.
If he had people, he would call them in!
Di Tian's expression grew grave. "Blue Silver Emperor... Clear Sky Hammer... an otherworldly cultivation method..."
"Are you certain?"
Jin Jiuxiao nodded. "I'm certain."
At that, Di Tian looked toward Zi JI.
Zi JI understood. "Little Brother Jiuxiao sparred with that human named Tang San."
That told Di Tian that Jin Jiuxiao wasn't shooting arrows without a target.
"..." Thoughts raced through Di Tian's mind.
Should I go and deal with Tang San directly?
After a little thought, he dismissed the idea.
Tang San could die at a human's hands, or at the hands of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
But he absolutely could not die at the hands of Di Tian, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King.
Otherwise, given the Asura God's temperament, he would turn the Douluo Continent upside down investigating it.
If they discovered that the Master was also slumbering on the Douluo Continent, things would become troublesome.
Yet knowing a threat existed and taking no action left Di Tian deeply unwilling to let matters lie.
With twin martial souls and exceptional talent, Tang San would certainly seek out powerful soul beasts.
He would hunt them for their high-age soul rings.
With Tang San's talent, obtaining a divine trial would hardly be difficult.
Even if Tang San wasn't the Asura God's successor, he would become another deity's successor.
He was a major threat in his own right.
Watching Di Tian brood, Jin Jiuxiao asked tentatively, "Uncle Di Tian, are you wary of those gods sitting high above us?"
Jin Jiuxiao's words drew Di Tian back from his thoughts. "Yes. There are some things it's time you learned."
Di Tian told Jin Jiuxiao about the great war back then and the Dragon God's story.
"The Dragon God split in two. The Golden Dragon King was imprisoned in the Divine Realm, while the Silver Dragon King, our current Master, now slumbers in the deepest part of the Star Dou Great Forest."
"The Master's injuries have yet to heal. We must not draw the Divine Realm's attention."
Jin Jiuxiao merely nodded, without dwelling on the subject of the Silver Dragon King.
"Then we'll take another approach." Jin Jiuxiao understood Di Tian's meaning. "Since you're worried that Tang San's death will draw the Asura God's attention, Uncle Di Tian..."
"Why don't we reduce him to 'mediocrity,' then deal with him once we're fully prepared?"
Di Tian's golden eyes flashed. "Tell me your plan."
Mediocrity? How would he make him mediocre?
He knew what Jin Jiuxiao meant by being fully prepared.
Once Jin Jiuxiao's cultivation improved, he would form a contract with the Master and heal her injuries.
Then they would have God King-level strength backing them up.
Why not form the contract now? Di Tian could understand that, too.
First, Jin Jiuxiao's cultivation was still relatively low, so he might not succeed.
A god was still a god, after all.
Second... Di Tian could tell that Jin Jiuxiao didn't particularly care about or revere things like bloodline hierarchies or the common sovereign of soul beasts.
He treated them as family living together, not as superiors and subordinates.
Di Tian understood that as well. How could a god-level soul beast from another world willingly bow beneath someone else?
If they woke the Silver Dragon King now, given her domineering personality...
It would be a miracle if those two didn't clash.
Words that undermined unity should remain unsaid.
Deeds that undermined unity should remain undone.
Jin Jiuxiao gathered his thoughts. "Only one Blue Silver Emperor can exist at a time, and the Blue Silver Emperor hasn't completely died."
"I know where the 'seed' she left behind is."
"Tang San hasn't fully awakened his Blue Silver Emperor yet, either."
"My third contract will be with Sister Bi Ji."
A ruthless gleam flashed in Jin Jiuxiao's eyes. "When the time comes, I'll take Sister Zi JI, Sister Bi Ji, and Uncle Xiong on a trip to the Human World."
"We'll reclaim the Blue Silver Emperor's 'seed' and soul bone, and eliminate Tang San's protector at the same time."
"As long as the Blue Silver Emperor grows back, Tang San will never be able to awaken the Blue Silver Emperor martial soul in his lifetime. He'll be stuck with Blue Silver Grass."
"While the Blue Silver Emperor is growing back, we'll relocate the Blue Silver Kings and Blue Silver Grass soul beasts in the Blue Silver Forest to the outer reaches of the Lake of Life."
"That will eliminate any chance of Tang San awakening the Blue Silver Emperor early."
Di Tian went over Jin Jiuxiao's words in his mind. It would indeed work. "Those aren't the only two precautions you've prepared, are they?"
Relocating those Blue Silver Kings and Blue Silver Grass soul beasts to the area around the Lake of Life would certainly work, too.
Even the lake's outer reaches lay within the Core Area of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Just because Blue Silver Grass was pathetic didn't mean the Blue Silver Emperor was.
She was worth nurturing and could become a powerful ally.
Jin Jiuxiao immediately confirmed it. "Of course not. We also need to pay particular attention to the movements of soul beasts over seventy thousand years old in the Star Dou Great Forest."
With that hint from Jin Jiuxiao, Di Tian understood. "Yes. I'll pass down the orders."
Aside from the Star Dou Great Forest, only the seas and the Far North had soul beasts over a hundred thousand years old.
Finding targets out at sea was difficult and would take a great deal of time.
The Far North's environment was harsh, and neither the Snow Empress nor the Ice Empress was someone to trifle with.
This move would undoubtedly make obtaining high-age soul rings much harder for humans. They needed to put it into effect as soon as possible.
"One more thing," Jin Jiuxiao reminded him. "Uncle Di Tian, don't enter secluded cultivation for the next hundred years."
"For some things, I'll need you there to hold the fort so I can do my part."
Di Tian smiled and nodded slightly. "No problem. It's only a hundred years. If you have an idea, go ahead and act boldly. If anything goes wrong, I'll back you up."
On this Douluo planet, Di Tian still had both the standing and the confidence to say those words.
"Yes, that's everything for now." After saying goodbye to Di Tian, Zi JI, and Bi Ji, Jin Jiuxiao called to Xiong Jun, "Uncle Xiong, shall we head out for a bit?"
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