First Soul Ring

Several hours later.

Yang Yunhai followed Chang Gong Ao to a low-lying valley.

"Splash, splash." Before they even drew close, they could already faintly hear the sound of running water.

"That green one is it." Chang Gong Ao slightly raised his chin toward the front as he spoke, summoning his Martial Soul.

The next second, his gaze turned sharp. He raised his longbow as Soul Power surged around him, and a long arrow condensed on the drawn bowstring in the blink of an eye.

Whoosh! His fingers loosened, and the arrow shot out like a meteor.

Then his hand rose and fell in one fluid motion. In a single breath, he unleashed a Seven-Star Volley, firing forward like a torrential downpour.

Puff! Puff! Puff! Each arrow buried itself in the roots of the emerald-green vine a hundred paces away.

Rustle, rustle, rustle! Leaves and branches trembled violently as dirt flew from the ground, and vine after vine twisted as it burst from the soil.

Damn, every vine-type plant Soul Beast is such a scheming bastard. Watching vines continuously push their way out of the dirt, Yang Yunhai felt his scalp go numb.

An image immediately surfaced in his mind: someone walking along a road, suddenly seized by vines that sprang from the ground and dragged away.

Seeing a Soul Beast Azure Vine's method of attack for the first time, he felt that he had truly learned something.

For safety's sake, whenever I encounter plant-type Soul Beasts in the future, I'll whittle them down from afar and never engage in close combat. He silently set that flag for himself.

Plant Soul Beasts might have extensive root systems and long vines, but their main bodies could rarely move independently. That was their greatest weakness.

Besides, plant Soul Beasts were generally weak against thunder, which counted as an advantage for him.

The same went for fighting Spirit Masters. For the sake of personal safety, it was better to be someone who knew when to run... Thinking of Tang San's many methods, he silently added that line.

As he pondered, Chang Gong Ao lowered his Martial Soul and said confidently, "Xiao Hai, it's ready. Go over."

As the captain of the Patrol Team, no one was more familiar with the weaknesses of the Soul Beasts in this Soul Hunting Forest, nor did anyone have more experience hunting them.

"Alright, thank you, Uncle Ao." Yang Yunhai immediately came back to himself and looked ahead. The vines could now only lie on the ground and tremble. Even the occasional twist and wriggle appeared utterly weak. Although hundred-year plant-type Soul Beasts had developed hunting instincts, they were still far from becoming truly intelligent creatures. Under normal circumstances, they would need to cultivate for at least ten thousand years.

That was also why Soul Impact only occurred when absorbing Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings.

Therefore, the Azure Vine before him had no possibility of playing dead. Every action it took came purely from instinct.

With that in mind, he strode forward with his spear in hand.

Chang Gong Ao had originally prepared a bow for him, but since he had never practiced archery, he chose to bring a standard-issue spear instead.

He was quite accurate with thrown spears.

Tap, tap, tap. His footsteps quickened, and when he reached a distance of around six meters, Yang Yunhai directly raised his spear and hurled it.

Puff! The spearhead struck the wound at the root dead on.

"Rustle." The vines on the ground trembled weakly before falling completely silent. A yellow Spirit Ring floated out.

He really is accurate! Chang Gong Ao inwardly marveled. Yang Yunhai had previously said that he had practiced with a spear, but Chang Gong Ao had not quite believed him.

Why would someone who used Blue Silver Grass practice with a spear?

As he thought, Yang Yunhai had already sat down cross-legged and summoned his Martial Soul to draw in the Spirit Ring.

Seeing this, Chang Gong Ao's previously calm heart could not help but tighten, and his expression began to change.

His tiger-like eyes widened slightly as he stared straight at Yang Yunhai, looking somewhat nervous.

Drawn by the attraction, the Spirit Ring floated above Yang Yunhai's head at tremendous speed. Then it swiftly shrank to the size of a golden bracelet and fell straight down, encircling the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul before his abdomen.

The next moment, Yang Yunhai's body suddenly trembled violently.

Seeing this, Chang Gong Ao's fists clenched almost instantly as he muttered, "The Spirit Ring's energy has started entering his body. Xiao Hai, you have to hold on!"

On the other side, heat was Yang Yunhai's first sensation. Vast energy surged into his body like scorching magma. Part of it spread through his limbs and bones, while another part flowed into his meridians, racing wildly through them like unbridled horses.

Pain. It felt as though his meridians could melt and burst apart at any moment.

Cross-Level Soul Ring Absorption really isn't as easy as I imagined. Yang Yunhai gritted his teeth and endured, unable to stop himself from sighing inwardly.

Lightning Guiding Body Tempering sounded impressive, but in reality, it was nowhere near as effective as he had imagined. Notting City had roughly sixty to eighty rainy days a year, about the same as the number of rainy days per year in the south in his previous life. And each time he used Lightning Attraction, he could only withstand two bolts before needing around four days to recover. By that calculation, he could use Lightning Attraction at most twenty times a year, for a total of forty lightning bolts.

Over two and a half years, that added up to fewer than a hundred bolts.

And that did not include rainy days he had missed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Although absorbing Thunder Attribute energy while cultivating was more efficient than passively absorbing it, judging by how it felt to him, it was still only so-so.

After all, he came from an ordinary commoner family. His parents' Martial Souls probably were not Thunder Attribute Martial Souls.

Therefore, he had long suspected that the Thunder Attribute of his Martial Soul came from being struck to death by lightning in his previous life and transmigrating with it in his soul. It could be considered an acquired addition.

In other words, his body had not inherited a Thunder Attribute Martial Soul bloodline like the Thunder Hell Vine from his parents.

Yet his Martial Soul had gained the Thunder Attribute because of the lightning carried by his soul.

So, his Martial Soul and physical body could not be considered perfectly compatible at all. They were even somewhat incompatible. Perhaps that was why his Martial Soul's Innate Soul Power was so low.

And since his body lacked a corresponding thunder-element bloodline, it meant that his body had extremely low affinity with Thunder Element and low innate lightning resistance. On top of that, the Blue Silver Grass he had awakened was inherently weak.

Thus, he could use Lightning Attraction, but the energy he could absorb each time was pitifully little. Moreover, every session left his body with lingering aftereffects that required a long recovery period.

Ah, bloodline really does determine one's lower limit. These past few years, he had practically been building lightning resistance from scratch.

As for why drawing lightning to cultivate for so long had not killed him, it was simply because he also possessed Thunder Attribute energy within his body, making him akin to a humanoid conductor. When lightning struck him, it passed directly through him and into the ground. The current that actually remained in his body was very little, nowhere near enough to electrocute him.

Naturally, the cultivation increase and body-tempering effects it brought were limited.

Not to mention that he was struck by lightning only a few times a year to begin with.

The Shrek Seven Devils in the original story had at least Yu Xiaogang to prepare Medicinal Baths to assist them. But he was merely a commoner now, with no money and no formula. Even the Village Chief's family, which had several Spirit Masters, could not afford such a thing, much less him.

He did not have a Cultivation Method either!

As for Soul Bones, that was even more impossible.

In the end, I'm just an ordinary child who has cultivated for two and a half years. Yang Yunhai sighed inwardly.

If this had been an ordinary commoner child without a method like Lightning Attraction to help temper their body, then even if they exercised diligently, it was uncertain whether they could withstand a supposedly optimal-age Spirit Ring in the end!

Much less absorb a Spirit Ring across levels.

A human cultivating from nothing for two and a half years, trying to leverage more than four hundred years of a Soul Beast's cultivation—how could that be easy?

Yet he wanted to exceed that by several more decades. Thinking about it now, it really was absurd.

Still, if I can successfully absorb it this time, my physical foundation won't be as weak as before. Even if Soul Power becomes harder and harder to cultivate as my strength rises, with this First Soul Ring as a foundation, it should be easier than before, right?

Thinking this, hope burst forth in his heart.

I've endured the pain of lightning strikes for so long. Am I really going to fear the energy infusion of a Spirit Ring less than five hundred years old?

He immediately endured the pain and accelerated the circulation of Soul Power within his body.

Time passed bit by bit. He did not know how long had gone by.

"Hm?" His consciousness suddenly brightened. For some reason, Yang Yunhai seemed to see himself immersed in an ocean composed entirely of flames.

At the center of the sea of fire, a tender Blue Silver Grass swayed with the flames, looking exceptionally nimble.

"Inner Vision!?" Yang Yunhai immediately recalled the description of Tang San absorbing his First Soul Ring in the original story.

Tang San had also gained the ability to observe his own body through Inner Vision when absorbing his First Soul Ring.

Could this be an ability that every Spirit Master gains after successfully obtaining their First Soul Ring? he could not help wondering.

Looking again, under the blazing flames, the Blue Silver Grass began to change. Its originally slender branches and leaves lengthened and thickened. Through its smooth outer skin, fine fibers could vaguely be seen inside. Its pale blue color gradually deepened, shifting toward a blue-green hue.

The only thing that did not change was the pale pattern on its surface. It remained extremely clear, only becoming thinner and longer than before.

Seconds and minutes slipped away, and the surging heat within his body seemed to gradually recede.

Soon, a quarter of an hour passed.

The heat completely vanished, leaving only a warm, gentle burning sensation and an indescribable feeling of comfort.

I succeeded! Yang Yunhai could barely contain his joy as he slowly opened his eyes.

"I knew it!" In the distance, Chang Gong Ao's face was filled with excitement. He strode forward with heavy steps and laughed.

"Xiao Hai, congratulations! Uncle Ao knew you could do it! Haha, you nearly scared me to death just now. Your skin was stretched open and cracked."

"Then I really was lucky. It really hurt during the absorption process." Yang Yunhai rose with a smile, then deeply bowed.

"Uncle Ao, thank you. If you hadn't helped me hunt it and stood guard for me, I wouldn't have been able to obtain this Spirit Ring."

"Haha, it was nothing!" Chang Gong Ao's smile did not fade as he hurriedly asked, "How much did your Soul Power increase? And what Soul Skill did you gain?"

"A little over level 11. I think I'm not far from breaking through level 12." Yang Yunhai smiled.

Unlike Tang San, he did not have the Mysterious Heaven Skill, nor had he accumulated much internal energy before awakening his Martial Soul. After absorbing his Spirit Ring, Tang San's stored internal energy had manifested directly and shot him up to level 13. Yang Yunhai had accumulated almost no extra Soul Power, and he had not exceeded the Spirit Ring's age limit by much either. He was already very satisfied with this increase.

"As for the Soul Skill..." As he spoke, Yang Yunhai raised his right hand and summoned his Martial Soul. He activated his Soul Power and gave it a light flick.

The next second, the Blue Silver Grass branches and leaves grew and stretched at incredible speed, seemingly without limit. They transformed into a blue-green vine and shot straight toward a towering tree sixty meters away. Then, with a soft puff, it made contact and wound around the trunk like a slender snake, climbing upward.

After several breaths, dense vines had covered more than ten meters of the trunk.

"It's so long. It's practically just like a real Azure Vine." Chang Gong Ao was astonished.

Yang Yunhai nodded. "My First Soul Skill is called Stretch. As long as I have enough Soul Power, there's no limit to its length."

"Because my Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass and the Spirit Ring came from an Azure Vine, and because its age wasn't low, the Soul Power consumption is very small. Also, its toughness is extremely good."

As soon as he finished speaking, he clenched his five fingers, grabbed the vine, and pulled hard.

Crack! The bark shattered inch by inch, and even the sturdy trunk caved in several degrees.

Entangle still needs to be displayed through a Soul Skill? Isn't that an innate trait of every vine-type plant Soul Beast? Didn't my Martial Soul just inherit it? If Tang San had been here, Yang Yunhai truly would have wanted to say that.

Clearly, Blue Silver Grass was a plant, and Azure Vine was also a plant. Their compatibility could be called perfect.

Therefore, through this Spirit Ring absorption, his Martial Soul had almost perfectly inherited the Azure Vine's excellent traits.

Azure Vine was famous for its toughness and extensibility, hunting through binding.

After absorbing the Spirit Ring, its toughness was directly inherited by his Martial Soul. Its extensibility needed to be expressed through plant growth, while a Martial Soul required Soul Power to actively accelerate growth. Thus, the Azure Vine's extensibility became an actively cast Soul Skill with no limit on length.

As for entangling and binding, vine-type plants would all wind around obstacles and climb as they grew. After becoming Soul Beasts, this evolved into an instinctive hunting method, deeply imprinted in their genetic makeup and virtually indistinguishable from an innate trait.

Therefore, his Martial Soul had inherited it passively.

Tang San, however, had a plant-type Martial Soul absorb an animal-type snake Spirit Ring. Snakes were long, fairly tough, and venomous, relying on wrapping around their enemies to poison them to death. Thus, after the Spirit Ring fused with Blue Silver Grass, it produced something akin to an active Soul Skill. And because the Spirit Ring came from an animal, which lacked high extensibility, Tang San's First Soul Skill initially had a casting range of only fifty meters.

Simply put, Tang San's Martial Soul inherited animal traits, while his inherited plant traits.

As plants of the same kind, his Martial Soul could easily inherit all of the Azure Vine's excellent traits, including entangling. But Tang San could not. A snake's venomous fangs and scales were traits exclusive to animal Soul Beasts. They had nothing in common with a plant, so it was impossible even to consider.

Animals were animals, and plants were plants. They were not even the same species.

Of course, all of that was merely his speculation, as well as his intuitive feeling after gaining his First Soul Skill.

"What strength. It seems it isn't just your Martial Soul's toughness—your physical strength has increased a lot as well." Chang Gong Ao could not help but sigh.

"It was still a Spirit Ring absorbed across levels, after all." Yang Yunhai smiled.

"Haha, true." Chang Gong Ao laughed loudly. Then he looked up at the sky and continued, "There's still some time before evening. If we move quickly, we should be able to return to the camp tonight, so we won't need to stay here overnight. Let's go. It's time to head back."

"Alright." Yang Yunhai nodded and followed Chang Gong Ao.

Time passed little by little, and it was not until deep into the night that the two finally returned to the camp.

After eating and drinking their fill, they each went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Yang Yunhai bid Chang Gong Ao farewell, left the forest, and arrived at the Post Station to retrieve Little Yellow Horse.

He mounted up and began his journey home.

PS: The protagonist chose Azure Vine as his Spirit Ring for a special purpose. Everyone can try guessing what it is first.