"Uncle Ning, where is my master?"
"I've finished developing my Self-Created Soul Skill. I wanted him to take a look at it too."
"My cultivation speed will return to what it was before, so you and my master can rest easy."
Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao appeared.
Just then, Gu He's voice came from outside the meeting hall, and his figure followed it into the hall.
To Ning Fengzhi, those words were nothing short of heavenly music.
Sure enough, Xiao He was not like Feng Xiaotian, forever trapped in his Self-Created Soul Skill and unable to pull himself free.
The last trace of worry in his heart vanished at once.
With Gu He's Innate Full Soul Power and the resources of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he should have become a Soul Elder long ago, at the age of twelve.
But around half a year ago, Gu He's cultivation speed had suddenly dropped.
That had frightened Gu Rong and Ning Fengzhi badly. Both had thought something had gone wrong with Gu He's cultivation.
Only after asking Gu He about it had they learned the truth.
As it turned out, Gu He had been struck by inspiration and wanted to combine it with his mutated Bone Dragon Martial Soul to create a Soul Skill suited to himself.
A Self-Created Soul Skill naturally required a great deal of attention and effort.
That was precisely why Gu He's Soul Power cultivation had slowed down so much.
Even after learning the reason, both Gu Rong and Ning Fengzhi had been troubled.
They were terrified that Gu He would tunnel into a dead end, waste the best years of his cultivation for nothing, and hold himself back completely.
But mindful of the boy's pride, neither of them could bring himself to stop him outright, for fear of hurting Gu He's self-respect.
In truth, it was perfectly normal for Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong to feel such worry and alarm.
There were examples in the historical records of people holding themselves back by creating their own Soul Skills, and the present-day Soul Master World had a living example of its own.
That example was Feng Xiaotian.
He, too, possessed Innate Full Soul Power, but he had devoted most of his efforts to developing a Self-Created Soul Skill.
As a result, Feng Xiaotian's cultivation speed had dropped to an absurd degree.
On the Douluo Continent, strength reigned supreme.
He had the gift of Innate Full Soul Power, yet he had let it go to waste.
He had put the cart before the horse!
In the eyes of outsiders, Feng Xiaotian had done something monumentally foolish, wasting the fine aptitude heaven had given him for nothing.
Wouldn't raising his Soul Power have been more useful than a Self-Created Soul Skill?!
That was why Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong had reacted so strongly upon learning that Gu He was creating his own Soul Skill.
Fortunately, through their repeated questions and indirect probing, the two of them had finally established something that put them at ease: Gu He knew what to pursue and what to give up.
He had not, like that Feng Xiaotian, become utterly obsessed with a Self-Created Soul Skill.
At the same time, to put his master's mind at ease, he had taken the initiative to make a six-month promise.
If there was still no progress on the Self-Created Soul Skill after six months, he would give up developing it of his own accord and devote himself to cultivating Soul Power from then on.
It was because of that promise that Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong had stopped trying to dissuade Gu He and chosen to wait and see.
If Gu He had really been like Feng Xiaotian, all but abandoning cultivation just to develop a Self-Created Soul Skill,
Gu Rong and Ning Fengzhi would truly have felt as though the sky were falling.
As things stood, he would waste at most half a year, and with his own aptitude and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's investment, he could still make up for it.
"Ning Xuan, you may leave."
"Yes, Sect Master."
Meanwhile, Ning Fengzhi had also grown curious about the Self-Created Soul Skill Gu He had finished developing.
Could a useful Self-Created Soul Skill really be developed in half a year?
After signaling the sect disciple who had come to report to withdraw, Ning Fengzhi prepared to ask about it.
"Xiao He, like your Uncle Ning, I'd also very much like to know what this Self-Created Soul Skill of yours is like."
"I wonder if you could open my eyes."
The newcomer was none other than Sword Douluo Chen Xin. He, too, knew that his old friend's disciple had been trying to develop a Self-Created Soul Skill.
Chen Xin's gaze as he looked at Gu He was full of affection and anticipation.
Now that the Soul Skill was complete, Gu He would not keep them guessing as he had before.
He announced it directly: "Uncle Ning, Grandpa Sword, I call this Self-Created Soul Skill the 'Shadow Corps'!"
As his voice fell, Gu He circulated his Soul Power.
In an instant, shadow after shadow appeared on the ground around him.
The indistinct shadows began to billow and gather slowly like smoke. Breaking free of the ground, they gradually rose to their feet.
At first, their outlines flickered in and out of sight, like ghosts born from the shadows.
Gradually, their forms grew clear, becoming eerie humanoid figures dressed in tight black robes, with scarlet eyes.
"This is the result I created by combining it with the innate abilities of my Martial Soul."
"I call them Shadow Soldiers."
Gu He's voice was full of pride as he introduced the Shadow Soldiers.
Surrounded by the many Shadow Soldiers, he looked like a king under their protection.
The Shadow Soldiers stood silently at his sides. They gave off no fluctuations of presence, yet radiated a suffocating pressure.
The well-informed Ning Fengzhi deduced almost instantly just how enormous the Shadow Corps' strategic value was!
He could not remain calm at all. Casting aside his status as sect master, he rapidly fired off the questions on his mind in one breath:
"Xiao He, how long do these Shadow Soldiers last once they're created?"
"Is there a limit to the number of Shadow Soldiers?"
"How strong is an individual Shadow Soldier?"
"Is there a so-called distance limit on the movements of the Shadow Soldiers you create..."
Though Sword Douluo Chen Xin, standing nearby, said nothing, he made no attempt to hide the curiosity on his face.
The string of questions struck like a relentless bombardment, but Gu He seemed to have expected it, and his expression did not change in the slightest.
He answered fluently, addressing the questions one by one as he explained to Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin.
Uncle Ning was a mentor he respected, and Grandpa Sword was an old friend of his master.
Like his master, Bone Douluo, those two were among the people closest to him.
Although his master was absent at the moment, Uncle Ning and Grandpa Sword were just as trustworthy.
So Gu He had no need to hide anything and simply told them everything.
Even after learning the details of the Shadow Corps, Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin would not casually pass them on to others and put him at a disadvantage.
Besides, Gu He considered his Shadow Corps perfect, without a single flaw.
Even if outsiders found out, so what?
They simply would not be able to find a way to deal with it.
Most importantly, the Shadow Corps was not merely a Self-Created Soul Skill.