Developing a Self-Created Soul Skill

The days passed one by one amid all the chaos.

Bao Liang's ultimate talent continued to perform reliably, and all three of them steadily gained Soul Power and spiritual power.

Although their progress was nothing like riding a rocket, Bao Liang could clearly feel that with every level he gained, his foundation became a little more solid than other people's.

Outside of cultivation, Meng Hongchen had not been idle either.

When she heard that Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen's laboratory had been sealed off, she went out of her way to plead with Grandpa. He agreed to let the two of them spend half an hour each day studying Soul Tool blueprints when they were not cultivating-though they were only allowed to draw, not build anything.

"So... does this count as lifting the ban in disguise?"

"Dream on." Xiao Hongchen rolled his eyes at Bao Liang. "Grandpa said you could draw, so stick to drawing."

"Drawing works! Drawing is progress too!" Bao Liang happily spread out the blueprints. "Once I've mastered this array's structure, sooner or later... heh heh!"

"Sooner or later, what?" Meng Hongchen leaned over.

"Sooner or later, I'll make the most powerful bomb on the entire continent!" Bao Liang declared grandly.

"...As long as you're happy." Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen spoke in unison.

The next day, Meng Hongchen finally had a chance to introduce her second Soul Skill.

She gathered the three of them in the courtyard, saying she wanted to give them a proper demonstration of her newly acquired Soul Skill.

She planted her feet, and a Soul Ring lit up beneath her-two Soul Rings, one yellow and one purple, slowly appeared. The purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring in particular shimmered with a deep luster in the sunlight, making the little girl look especially impressive.

Bao Liang clicked his tongue in amazement, and even Xiao Hongchen showed a rare look of satisfaction.

"Second Soul Skill, Ice and Fire Poison Ring." Meng Hongchen opened her hand, and an icy blue light streaked with vermilion swirled in her palm. "My second Soul Skill can strengthen my own deadly poison, turning a single-target poison attack into an area attack and doubling its potency.

"At the same time, it inflicts the conflicting effects of ice and fire poison on the poisoned targets, dealing double continuous damage."

As she spoke, she gently flicked a fingertip, and an icy blue and vermilion ring of light spread out from beneath her feet.

A thin layer of frost formed on the ground wherever it passed, with a faint reddish glow showing through. Even the air in the courtyard grew a little colder.

"You've tested its power?" Xiao Hongchen asked.

"I have!" Meng Hongchen nodded excitedly. "Grandpa took me to test it in the Far North. A hundred-year ice-type Soul Beast touched the poison ring and dropped in less than three breaths!"

"What happened to the Soul Beast?" Bao Liang pressed.

"Grandpa dealt with it." Meng Hongchen stuck out her tongue. "He said the poison was too powerful, so it couldn't be left alive."

Xiao Hongchen nodded. "Seems all right."

"Sister Meng," Bao Liang said, suddenly leaning closer, his eyes shining, "I have a bold idea about your second Soul Skill."

"Hm?" Meng Hongchen tilted her head. "What idea?"

"Since your second Soul Skill deals area damage, and you can launch an area attack centered on yourself..." Bao Liang said slowly, "why can't we use it as the basis for a Self-Created Soul Skill?"

"A Self-Created Soul Skill?!" Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were both stunned.

"That's right." Bao Liang nodded. "I read in a history book that ten thousand years ago, two Soul Masters had Soul Skills similar to Sister Meng's second Soul Skill, but they used them to completely different effect.

"Their Soul Skills weren't meant to kill or injure, but to protect themselves-they pushed away every target that came close to them."

"And those two Soul Skills were called Repelling Ice Ring and Repelling Fire Ring."

"I was thinking, since Sister Meng releases her Soul Skill in much the same way they did, could she create a Self-Created Soul Skill like that too?"

After hearing Bao Liang's explanation, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were dumbstruck.

The idea not only sounded feasible, there were even examples of it! They could really make something of this!

"C-could it work?" Meng Hongchen was excited but apprehensive. "A Self-Created Soul Skill-isn't that something you only hear about in legends?

"No one on the Sun Moon Continent has ever created a Self-Created Soul Skill. Can I really do it?"

"If others could create one, why can't we?" Bao Liang said confidently. "Besides, with those examples from the past right in front of us, following their path is better than groping around blindly."

"But what if she hurts herself?" Xiao Hongchen showed a rare look of concern. "The clash between ice and fire poison is no joke."

"That's why the three of us need to work on it together." Bao Liang had already thought it through. "The three of us working together will be better than Sister Meng fumbling around on her own."

"Let's do it." Xiao Hongchen was unusually decisive. "Whatever we need, I'll go prepare it."

"First, find a healing-type Soul Master, and someone we can trust." Bao Liang counted off on his fingers. "Sister Meng's ice and fire poisons clash. The slightest mistake while developing the Soul Skill could hurt her, so we need someone there as a safety net.

"Besides, if we really manage to develop it, it'll definitely be a trump card for saving her life."

"I'll go talk to Grandpa," Meng Hongchen said.

And so, under the supervision of a healing-type Soul Master summoned by Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen began developing her Self-Created Soul Skill.

When Jing Hongchen heard that the three children wanted to create a Self-Created Soul Skill, he was stunned for quite a while before bursting into laughter. "Good! Good! That's the spirit! Grandpa supports you!"

With a grand wave of his hand, he not only arranged for an experienced healing-type Soul Master to stay at the residence, but also cleared out a spacious training room specifically for Meng Hongchen to practice in.

"The training room is lined with impact-resistant cushions. Blow things up all you like-if anything breaks, Grandpa will have someone fix it!"

"You're the best, Grandpa!" Touched, Meng Hongchen threw herself into his arms.

"But there's one condition." Jing Hongchen raised a finger. "You can practice for no more than four hours a day. Don't wear yourself out.

"Your body is the foundation of everything. If you ruin your health practicing, Grandpa won't stand for it."

The process of developing it was far harder than they had imagined.

The ice and fire poisons clashed, and the slightest mistake could hurt her.

For the first few months, Meng Hongchen blew herself into an ice sculpture almost every day, relying entirely on the healing-type Soul Master to serve as her safety net.

Xiao Hongchen worried about his younger sister. Though he said nothing, he secretly combed through every book on Soul Power control in the residence, copied the useful parts into a booklet, and gave it to Meng Hongchen.

Bao Liang, meanwhile, stood to the side offering dubious advice. "Sister Meng, stop thinking about throwing the ring out all the time.

"Imagine it's a wall. Wherever you move, the wall pushes that way."

"...How does a wall push?" Meng Hongchen looked utterly bewildered.

"It pushes like this!" Bao Liang gestured with both hands and feet. "Like this and this, and that and that."

"Oh... I'll try." Meng Hongchen closed her eyes and tried to push the Ice and Fire Poison Ring outward-with a bang, an invisible force sent Bao Liang flying thirty feet, and he landed on his backside.

"It worked!" Meng Hongchen jumped up in delight.

"It worked..." Bao Liang rubbed his backside as he climbed to his feet, grimacing. "It just had a little too much force..."

"Ah! Little Baozi, are you all right?" Meng Hongchen hurried over to help him up.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. My mouth just feels a little numb for some reason..." Bao Liang waved a hand, but his eyes were shining. "Still, Sister Meng, you should have gotten a feel for it now, right? Keep practicing in that direction!"

"Mm!"

Even the healing-type Soul Master they had invited could not help clicking his tongue in wonder. "In all my years of practicing medicine, this is the first time I've seen children this young developing a Self-Created Soul Skill.

"These three children will be remarkable in the future."

That autumn, Meng Hongchen turned eight.

That day, Bao Liang had the kitchen make a bowl of longevity noodles especially for her, then secretly tucked two poached eggs beneath the noodles.

Meng Hongchen ate with her eyes curved in delight, saying over and over, "Little Baozi is the best."

Xiao Hongchen gave her a set of ice-blue Soul Tool hair ornaments that he had polished himself. With them on, the little girl looked even more graceful and lovely.

Jing Hongchen watched the three children playing together, his eyes full of smiles.

It suddenly occurred to him that since Bao Liang's arrival, the residence, which had been quiet and lonely for so many years, seemed to have been lit up.

There was more and more to look forward to.