My Nowhere-to-Go Charm!

Du Busi smiled as he watched the three youngsters chat.

"Junior Disciple, how was it? How much did you improve?" Princess Vina asked with a beaming smile.

She had met Minghui when he challenged Long Aotian to a spar in order to test his cultivation results and further temper his practical combat ability. The three of them had become good friends because of that.

After Father Emperor learned that they had grown close, he had asked her what she thought of Junior Disciple Minghui during last year's New Year celebrations.

She had already been twelve then, so of course she understood what Father Emperor meant.

But she also knew that she and Junior Disciple Minghui were impossible. Her aspirations lay with her family and nation, while his lay with becoming a god. Their ambitions were different.

Once one became a god, one was destined to go to the God Realm, just like the Shrek Seven Devils of old.

Under such circumstances, if they had no children and she followed him to the God Realm, she would not leave even a trace of her bloodline behind for the family.

The result could be seen from Ning Rongrong of the former Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. After becoming a god, she had not left behind a single descendant in the lower realm, and in truth had brought little help to the sect's growth. If not for the lingering prestige she retained after ascending to the God Realm, the sect might well have declined because of it.

The Tang Sect's current decline was the best example!

The continuation of outstanding bloodlines was one of the crucial factors allowing a family to survive and prosper in this world where the strong preyed upon the weak.

If Sea God Tang San had left an outstanding bloodline in the lower realm back then, passed down from generation to generation, producing powerful figures in every generation, how could things have come to this?

But if she did have children, could she, as their mother, truly bear to leave her own flesh and blood in the lower realm?

She did not think she could bring herself to make such a heartless decision. Yet for the sake of her family and the Empire, she had to pass on her bloodline that had awakened Twin Martial Souls, giving the family more chances to produce new powerhouses in the future.

Relying on others was inferior to relying on oneself. Only one's own strength was true strength. She understood that deeply.

And that was where the contradiction lay. Therefore, no matter what, she would never choose Junior Disciple Minghui as her partner.

Besides, Junior Disciple Minghui was too young. Not merely in age—he was three years younger than her. He looked young too. Though his personality was mature, his appearance made him seem as though he would never grow up. He had a naturally youthful face, adorable and cute.

She simply could not develop those feelings for him.

So, she had always treated Junior Disciple Minghui as a younger brother—a soft, cute little brother.

With those two reasons, she had successfully dispelled Father Emperor's idea of winning him over through an arranged marriage.

"Level 32, almost 33." Minghui turned to Princess Vina and replied with a chuckle.

After spending more than a year together, he had seen through it too. This girl liked tall, imposing, mature-looking tough guys like Long Aotian. Maybe they made her feel safer. As for him, she had always treated him like a little brother.

Ah, there was nothing he could do about it.

His face had been given to him by his parents. His looks leaned toward the cute, youthful type, and that was not something he could change.

He was happy to let it be. His body had not fully developed yet, so he could not do anything anyway, nor did he intend to flirt with girls or fall in love. He might as well spend that time practicing archery.

With this cute face of his, he could discourage the budding affections of quite a few girls in the sect.

Except for the rare few with a little-brother complex or overflowing girlish hearts who wanted to smile and pat him on the head! Fortunately, his status in the sect was special. Though certain girls looked at him oddly, they did not dare approach him rashly.

Besides, it had to be said that children on the Douluo Continent seemed generally somewhat precocious.

My nowhere-to-go charm!

"The soul skill is Spiritual Weakness." Minghui continued, "It can target either a group or an individual. Its effect is to plunge enemies within range into a weakened state, greatly reducing abilities such as attack power, speed, and perception. Of course, the specific effect still depends on the gap in Spiritual Power between both sides."

"Looks like we got lucky this time. You really did obtain that soul skill." Du Busi looked thoroughly pleased.

"With this soul skill supporting it, the power of your Second Soul Skill will surely increase considerably."

His disciple's Second Soul Skill was called Sacrifice of Soul. Its effect was to ignite the opponent's soul at the cost of burning his own Spiritual Power.

Of course, to truly burn the opponent's soul, he first had to exhaust the other party's Spiritual Power. But even so, this soul skill was extraordinarily tyrannical. Unless the opponent's Spiritual Power far surpassed his own, they simply could not dispel it. It would continue burning until their soul scattered and perished.

He had already had people test it. If the opponent's Spiritual Power exceeded his disciple's by no more than one-third, it took three times as much Spiritual Power to remove it.

Any higher, and it could be erased instantly, rendering the soul skill ineffective on the spot.

It had come from a Three-Eyed Ghost Fox, and thanks to the Light of Life bestowed by the Goddess of Life that had improved his physique, its age had reached three thousand years.

This third soul ring from the Purple Spirit Wolf had reached six thousand years.

"Indeed!" Princess Vina nodded in agreement. "And it will not merely increase the power of his Second Soul Skill. It can also raise Junior Disciple Minghui's limit for attacking opponents above his rank."

"Weakening an opponent's spirit is effectively the same as increasing the strength of one's own Spiritual Power, isn't it?"

"That way, opponents who could not be harmed by his Second Soul Skill before can be harmed now."

Du Busi found that perfectly reasonable and burst into laughter. "Haha, well said."

Minghui smiled as well, deeply satisfied inside.

Huo Yuhao's third soul ring for his Spirit Eye Martial Soul could reach fifteen thousand years because Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion had sacrificed themselves for him one after another, even providing him with a four-hundred-thousand-year-old torso bone. Minghui had merely bathed in a watered-down version of the Light of Life, along with spending money on medicinal supplements for a while. Having a soul ring of this age was already quite good.

Why watered-down? Because the Goddess of Life was a God King. If she had gone all out, he felt the effect would not have been inferior to the sacrifice of a million-year Soul Beast.

Of course, there was nothing to be done about that. As his teacher had said, with the strength of his bones at the time, he could not have endured too great an enhancement anyway.

Hadn't his Martial Soul evolved as well? There was nothing more to say. Goddess of Life, you're the best!

As for why he had gained less than three levels this time, he could only say that the Light of Life from the Goddess of Life had caused the toughness and width of his meridians to far surpass what someone his age should possess, long before now. Their capacity was fucking huge!

Because of that, he had ample confidence that among Soul Masters of the same rank across the continent, no one should be able to match his mana pool!

That was far more practical than simply raising his level!

I'm no longer who I used to be. Now, I'm the very definition of endurance! At that thought, Minghui unconsciously straightened his back a little before speaking loudly.

"Teacher, Senior Brother Aotian still hasn't obtained his soul ring. We should set out quickly."

Du Busi nodded and turned to the two accompanying elders behind him. "Elder Six, Elder Seven, pack up. We leave at once."

His disciple Minghui, Princess Vina, and Long Aotian were the three finest disciples of their generation in the Body Sect. Nothing could be allowed to happen to them. He had brought two Titled Elders along this time so that even if they unfortunately ran into a Fierce Beast, they could immediately grab the children and flee.

He had to admit that ever since taking on this disciple, his personality had become much steadier.

After a rustling of movement, everyone packed up and continued deeper into the forest.

Thanks to being illuminated by the Light of Life back then, Long Aotian's Body Martial Soul had successfully undergone its Second Awakening. Minghui did not know whether this had happened earlier than in the original story, but one thing was certain: after testing, Long Aotian's fourth soul ring could fully absorb one at the ten-thousand-year level.

Thus, they needed to enter the region inhabited by ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts to find a suitable target to hunt.

Soul Beasts with strength-based attributes were far less rare than those with Spirit Attributes, so it did not take much time.

By the afternoon of the second day, the group had found a suitable ten-thousand-year Soul Beast. A Great Strength Vajra Bear, renowned for its formidable strength and defense. Though it could not compare to a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, it was still among the top tier, and its characteristics suited Long Aotian's Skin Martial Soul extremely well.

By the time he finished absorbing it, several hours had passed, and night had fallen.

PS: This chapter was a simple summary of the protagonist's emotional and cultivation progress over his first three years.