After hearing Gu Yang introduce his Martial Soul, Sword Bone Douluo and Ning Fengzhi all fell into thought.
In a sense, Gu Yang's Martial Soul counted as an entirely unprecedented new Martial Soul.
Both its cultivation and its direction of development were unknown.
Ning Fengzhi's brow remained furrowed as he asked, still looking puzzled, "Gu Yang, does your Martial Soul belong to the Power Attack System? Or the Defense System?"
Seeing the bone sword in Gu Yang's hand, Ning Fengzhi's first thought had been the Power Attack System, but then he remembered that Bone Douluo, whose Martial Soul was a Bone Dragon, belonged to the Defense System, and added the latter question.
"With bones as his Martial Soul, naturally he should take the Defense System route!" Bone Douluo stepped forward and pressed his palm against the bone sword in Gu Yang's hand. He could sense that, as a Martial Soul, Gu Yang's bones were far stronger than human bones.
Sword Douluo interjected, "A bone sword is still a sword. In my opinion, Gu Yang could absolutely study under me and take the Power Attack System route!"
"What are you butting in for, you old fossil? You, teach my grandson? What a joke!" Bone Douluo naturally refused to give way.
"Uncle Gu, Uncle Jian, surely Gu Yang understands his own Martial Soul best. Let's hear his thoughts and opinions first!" Ning Fengzhi said, his words noticeably warmer toward Gu Yang.
Or rather, Ning Fengzhi's attitude had already changed when Gu Yang awakened his Martial Soul with Innate Full Soul Power.
Ning Fengzhi fully intended to cultivate Gu Yang as Sword Bone Douluo's future successor. After all, Sword Bone Douluo's age was there for all to see. Who knew when he might retire?
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect relied primarily on recruiting and winning over outside disciples for its fighting strength. Among those disciples, they might not find a promising seedling in years, sometimes even decades.
Having both Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo at the same time was already a rare blessing in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's history.
"Gu Yang, you must understand that choosing the wrong direction for your Martial Soul's development can have an enormous impact on a Soul Master!"
"Have you decided which route you want to take?"
Had it been some other Martial Soul, Gu Yang might not have known, but as for Shikotsumyaku...
Considering Shikotsumyaku's combat characteristics, Gu Yang immediately declared decisively:
"The Power Attack System! Grandpa, I plan to take the Power Attack System route!"
"The Power Attack System... You really want to study under Old Jian?"
Bone Douluo repeated the words, carefully examining the Martial Soul in Gu Yang's hand.
Gu Yang shook his head at that.
"Although I'm taking the Power Attack System route, I won't necessarily cultivate along Grandpa Jian's path. My bone Martial Soul has many transformations and methods of attack. If I relied solely on a sword, I'd only be limiting myself."
Although Gu Yang's explanation was well reasoned, Bone Douluo still felt uneasy.
"More talk is useless. Come at me boldly with your Martial Soul. If you want to take the Power Attack System route, first let me see what your Martial Soul is made of!"
Hearing this, Gu Yang knew that the best way to convince Bone Douluo was to act.
With his opponent being a level ninety-five Defense System Titled Douluo, Gu Yang was not remotely worried about hurting him.
The bone sword swept sideways in a swift slash, its opening movement carrying a few traces of Sword Douluo's style.
When training his movements and fighting skills, Gu Yang had naturally sought Sword Douluo's guidance, so his swordsmanship was at least passable.
Since they were testing the attacking power of Gu Yang's Martial Soul, Bone Douluo naturally would not dodge. He immediately raised his hand, preparing to catch the blade barehanded.
With a Titled Douluo's physical body alone, taking an attack head-on from a Soul Master who had just awakened his Martial Soul would naturally pose no problem.
Yet just as Bone Douluo entertained that thought, facing Gu Yang's incoming slash, he inexplicably felt something bad-a sense of wariness.
This was the intuition Bone Douluo had developed as he grew step by step into a Titled Douluo. Although it sounded somewhat unreal, he still instinctively released his Martial Soul.
An enormous dragon-shaped skeleton enclosed Bone Douluo within it.
Clang!
The instant the dragon-shaped skeleton appeared, it met Gu Yang's bone sword with a crisp, faint sound.
A conspicuous scratch had actually been cut into one of the dragon-shaped skeleton's thick ribs.
Though the scratch was small compared with the entire Bone Dragon Martial Soul, everyone present saw it clearly.
A Soul Master who had only just awakened his Martial Soul had actually injured a level ninety-five Titled Douluo renowned for his defense!
If word of this spread, anyone telling the story would probably be mocked as a madman.
Sword Douluo's eyes lit up. If his earlier intention to teach Gu Yang had partly stemmed from wanting to squabble with Bone Douluo, now he genuinely wanted to take Gu Yang as his disciple.
Indeed, a bone sword was still a sword!
If that sword was sharp enough, it would naturally win a swordsman's favor.
Ning Fengzhi's eyes lit up. Gu Yang's strike had not merely breached Bone Douluo's defenses. In Ning Fengzhi's eyes, it had also carved out a future for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
His gaze passed over Ning Rongrong, and there seemed to be another consideration in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Gu Yang, the one responsible, also fixed his gaze on the notch in Bone Douluo's Bone Dragon Martial Soul.
It was indeed a slash mark. On either side of the shallow sword mark, the color of the Bone Dragon's rib had changed. It was no longer white, but tinged with a withered dark gray, like ashes left after a fire, ready to crumble away at any moment.
What's this... Could my Martial Soul be not Shikotsumyaku, but All-Killing Ash Bones, capable of instantly killing everything?
The two were very similar, but their power was as far apart as heaven and earth.
"What Shikotsumyaku? All-Killing Ash Bones? Gu Yang, what are you talking about?"
Only after a long while did Bone Douluo recover from the shock of having his defenses breached by Gu Yang. As the one who had received the blow, he could feel more clearly the unstoppable destructive force within Gu Yang's slash.
That destructive force was still somewhat weak, but once it grew stronger, it might truly be capable of severing his Bone Dragon Martial Soul with a single strike.
"Grandpa, I was just talking nonsense. Does this prove my Martial Soul can take the Power Attack System route now?"
Hearing this, Bone Douluo naturally had no reason to stop him. The bone sword's destructive power alone was enough to qualify it for the Power Attack System route.
"Of course."
Ning Fengzhi also clapped lightly and said, "With Gu Yang's talent and temperament, I believe it won't be long before the continent gains another illustrious Titled Douluo!"
"Rongrong, you'll be awakening your Martial Soul soon too. Spend more time with Gu Yang and learn more from him. Don't spend all day thinking about playing and making mischief!"
Ning Rongrong had yet to awaken her Martial Soul, so Ning Fengzhi did not dote on her as much as he did in the original story. Ning Rongrong still did not dare show too much displeasure toward her father, Ning Fengzhi, and merely stuck out her tongue briefly.
Gu Yang's attention, meanwhile, was entirely on All-Killing Ash Bones. Was his Martial Soul Shikotsumyaku or All-Killing Ash Bones? If it was not, was there any possibility of it becoming All-Killing Ash Bones?
Gu Yang could not figure out the answers to these questions, but he could ask.
For example, he could ask the Intelligent AI System he possessed.
"In response to your questions, the following conclusion can be drawn: your Martial Soul more precisely possesses the characteristics of Shikotsumyaku. Although it is not All-Killing Ash Bones, it theoretically has the potential to become All-Killing Ash Bones. However, that possibility is very small."