Gui Yuan released his first Martial Soul, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
"Sky-reaching golden chrysanthemum, condense a petal to guard the body."
He recited a soul incantation, and a chrysanthemum petal appeared in his palm.
A soft halo shimmered along the golden petal's edges, and it gave off a faint fragrance.
"This is my first Soul Skill, called Singular Velvet Heart-Guarding Petal."
"After consumption, it increases defense and resistance by fifty percent for three minutes."
Yue Guan's eyes lit up. "A fifty-percent increase in defense and resistance? That's a pretty good percentage."
"How many can you make at once? How long can they be stored?"
Gui Yuan said, "With my current Soul Power, I should be able to make ten petals at once. They can be stored for a month."
Yue Guan nodded in satisfaction.
That storage time was outstanding for a Food System Soul Master.
The food made by many low-level Food System Soul Masters could only be stored for a few hours, or a few days at most, before losing its effects.
A month was enough for Gui Yuan to stockpile a large number of petals, and they would also be of great use to Spirit Hall.
Looking at the petal in his hand, Gui Yuan suddenly grew curious.
What would happen if I ate it myself? Would the effect be halved, like with other Food System Soul Masters?
He picked up a Singular Velvet Heart-Guarding Petal and popped it straight into his mouth.
The petal dissolved as it entered his throat, and a warm force flowed down his esophagus into every limb and bone.
Immediately afterward, a thin layer of golden light appeared on the surface of his skin.
The light was faint, yet it had a dense, weighty quality.
"Indestructible Vajra Body!" Yue Guan cried in delight. "Hahaha, I never expected this! That layer of golden light is precisely the hallmark of the Indestructible Vajra Body!"
"Xiao Yuan, how do you feel?" Yue Guan looked at him expectantly.
After all, hadn't this effect been the very reason they had decided on the Food System path?
Gui Yuan felt the changes in his body. "The increase is just as I expected. It's halved, so I only get a twenty-five-percent boost."
"But after taking it myself, I really did feel a strange change, as though something deep inside my body was slowly being altered."
"I don't know whether it's the Indestructible Vajra Body you mentioned, First Dad."
Yue Guan nodded repeatedly. "It definitely is. That golden light doesn't lie."
"Make two more petals for your Second Dad and me to try."
Gui Yuan nodded and quickly recited the soul incantation twice. Two Singular Velvet Heart-Guarding Petals appeared in his palm.
He handed them to Yue Guan and Gui Mei.
Each of them consumed one.
Soon, their pupils contracted at the same time.
They had discovered something extraordinary.
Gui Yuan's first Soul Skill actually increased their defense and resistance by fifty percent as well!
That percentage increase was actually fixed!
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
Food made by Food System Soul Masters usually only worked on Soul Masters at the same stage or a lower level.
For example, food made by a Soul King provided a fixed percentage increase to Soul Masters below the Soul King level.
But for powerhouses at the Titled Douluo level, that percentage would drop sharply.
After all, the quality of the food's Soul Power set its limits.
How could something made by a Soul King possibly give a Titled Douluo an equally powerful boost?
In the original story, Oscar's Super Recovery Big Sausage had an excellent recovery effect on ordinary Soul Masters in the later stages.
But for Tang San and the other Shrek Seven Devils, its effects were nowhere near as heaven-defying.
On the Douluo Continent, only one support-type Martial Soul was universally recognized as capable of providing fixed percentage increases-the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
But its drawback was obvious too: maintaining the same percentage increase for higher-level Soul Masters required more Soul Power!
The food Gui Yuan made, however, did not!
The Soul Power needed to make a single petal was fixed!
Moreover, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's support had a limited duration, while Gui Yuan's support was essentially unlimited as long as enough petals were carried.
And as Gui Yuan's cultivation improved, the duration of each petal's boost would probably grow even longer.
Yue Guan murmured, "To think an immortal-grade Martial Soul has a property like this..."
Gui Yuan had not expected the food made with the immortal-grade Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum to have such an effect either.
That meant that if he followed the Food System path, he could provide effective boosts to Titled Douluo-level powerhouses even now.
Yue Guan composed himself, then continued, "Aside from that, your first Soul Skill really can help develop an Indestructible Vajra physique."
"But only for Soul Masters with the same Martial Soul."
"It works on me. Even if it's only a tiny trace, I can feel that change."
"But your Second Dad doesn't have that layer of golden light on his body, so it probably doesn't work on him."
Gui Yuan nodded. "As long as it works on you, First Dad. I'll make some more when we get back, and you'll be able to develop an Indestructible Vajra physique too."
As a Power Attack System Soul Master, Yue Guan's strength lay in the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum Martial Soul itself.
But he was merely the wielder of this "Tool Martial Soul." His flesh did not possess the qualities of an Indestructible Vajra Body.
Even when he entered his Martial Soul Avatar state, he was still some distance from a true Indestructible Vajra Body.
That was how the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum worked: it had to be consumed to obtain the effects of the Indestructible Vajra Body.
"All right, let's head back," Gui Mei said evenly. "Your teacher is still waiting for your report."
The three packed up and began their return journey, which also took five days.
On the evening of the fifth day, the three returned to Spirit City.
Inside the Pope's Palace.
Bibi Dong still sat in the seat of honor, with Hu Liena standing diagonally below her.
"You're back?" Bibi Dong looked at Gui Yuan. "How did this trip go? Did you obtain a Soul Skill you're satisfied with?"
Gui Yuan stepped forward. "Teacher, it went well."
He released his first Martial Soul, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, and circulated his Soul Power. A purple Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet and circled his body.
"Purple?!"
Hu Liena cried out in shock and covered her mouth.
Bibi Dong's pupils also contracted sharply. A thousand-year first Soul Ring?
How was that possible?
Gui Mei explained from the side, "Your Holiness, while Xiao Yuan was absorbing his Soul Ring, he received the inheritance of a deity."
"As a result, his Soul Ring's age increased to a thousand years, and he also obtained a divine artifact."
"A deity's inheritance?"
Bibi Dong stood up, her gaze sharpening as she looked at Gui Yuan.
"Bring out your divine artifact and let me see it."
Gui Yuan nodded. With a thought, he condensed the Darkin Bow in his palm.
The dark-purple bow gave off a deep luster, and that heart-quailing presence spread once more.
Bibi Dong's figure flickered, and she instantly appeared before Gui Yuan from her papal throne.
She reached out to touch the bow.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei had no time to stop her.
The instant Bibi Dong's fingertips touched the Darkin Bow, its darkin presence erupted!
Like a living thing, that presence invaded Bibi Dong's sea of consciousness through her fingers.
Bibi Dong's face paled. She let go as though electrocuted and retreated two steps, her breathing slightly hurried as a trace of shock flashed through her eyes.
"Teacher, are you all right?" Gui Yuan hurriedly asked.
Bibi Dong steadied her mind and shook her head. "I'm fine. This divine artifact has acknowledged its master, and the power it contains is extremely overbearing. Even I can't forcefully touch it."
Gui Yuan said helplessly, "Teacher, it seems no one but me can touch this divine artifact."
Bibi Dong was silent for a moment and was just about to say something.
Just then, a figure appeared soundlessly inside the hall.
The newcomer had long golden hair and looked middle-aged. As he stood there, he gave off no fluctuations of Soul Power whatsoever, yet exerted a heavy sense of pressure.
Qian Daoliu!
P.S. Brothers, if you have any ideas for the protagonist's Food System Soul Skills, feel free to share them~