Soul Skill Requirements

"Old Xiu Nuo, if you dare laugh out loud, I'll make you pay even if it costs me my life."

Elder Ma had compressed his Soul Power into a fine thread and sent it straight into Bishop Xiunuo's ear, warning his old friend not to laugh out loud in front of Mu Tian'en.

Only after hearing the threat did Old Xiu Nuo wipe a hand over his face, forcibly twisting his smile into a serious expression.

"Don't worry, I definitely won't laugh." Another transmitted message reached Elder Ma's ear.

But then...

"Grandpa Ma, is that kind of illness contagious?" Mu Tian'en had never heard of such a terrible illness in Anlan Village. He instinctively stepped in front of Elder Ma. "Grandpa Ma, you go first. I'll take Grandpa Xiunuo to the infirmary."

Mu Tian'en looked utterly serious, completely unaware that the supposed illness that would kill a person if he laughed out loud was nothing but an invention of the Grandpa Ma he trusted.

At that moment, Old Xiu Nuo completely lost it. "Hahaha!"

"Sorry, Old Ma, I really couldn't hold it in." Old Xiu Nuo waved a hand at Ma Chengyuan, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

But looking left at Grandpa Ma's blackened face, then right at Grandpa Xiunuo, who was laughing so hard he could no longer straighten his back, Mu Tian'en realized that the two grandpas had been joking. He wiped away the tears that had been welling up in his eyes.

In his previous life, Mu Tian'en had only been nine years old when he died of a serious illness.

What he had carried over from that life was mostly the gentle memories of how orphans had been treated in that era.

It was in this world that Mu Tian'en had truly experienced the kindness—and malice—that could exist between people.

For that reason, he cherished this kindness all the more.

But the two grandpas' bad habit of talking about illnesses every time they opened their mouths still made Mu Tian'en a little angry. "Grandpa Ma, Grandpa Xiunuo, you can't say things like that carelessly. If an illness like that really does appear, it'll be too late for tears."

After a flurry of fussing, the two old men, whose ages together nearly reached two hundred, finally managed to soothe Mu Tian'en.

Only then did Jin Huang speak up, interrupting the exchange between the three.

"Old Master Ma, just tell me directly what kind of Soul Beast this little fellow needs to hunt for his First Soul Ring, and exactly what area it might be found in."

"Sorry." Old Master Ma instinctively patted Mu Tian'en on the head, shifting his attention from him to Jin Huang.

Hearing a trace of impatience in the voice of this younger man, Old Master Ma stopped trying to test the little fool.

"Little Tian'en needs to follow the Power Attack System path, but from what I can sense, the Power Attack System path he takes may be different from the others."

"Other Power Attack System Martial Souls overwhelm their opponents with their own combat techniques."

"But the little fellow's Martial Soul is enormous. It doesn't need any so-called Soul Skills; it only needs to overpower its opponents with sheer force. Its size alone is enough to suppress everything."

"This is the grand and righteous path."

Elder Ma even threw in an archaic phrase.

After that, however, Ma Chengyuan's eyes instinctively narrowed. "And that is precisely why Soul Power reserves and recovery have become the first hurdles the little fellow needs to overcome."

"But sacrificing a Soul Ring slot solely for recovery and reserves would be rather wasteful."

As he spoke, Ma Chengyuan's eyes began to shine, their brightness a little frightening.

"So the Soul Ring skill I've chosen for the little fellow needs to expand his Soul Power reserves, strengthen his Soul Power recovery, and, while it's at it, create an environment suited to his activities."

As he spoke, Old Master Ma had already activated his Martial Soul.

The Boundless Book flew out from beside him.

As it expanded, countless pages fluttered, drawing out the relevant Soul Beast records he had compiled, bit by bit.

Not only that, but the Soul Rings around Old Master Ma also began to appear.

His purely auxiliary Martial Soul skills began to light up.

"Third Soul Skill: Memory Filtering!"

"Fourth Soul Skill: Memory Palace!"

"Fifth Soul Skill: Memory Manifestation!"

Three Soul Rings lit up in succession.

Almost in an instant, Old Master Ma drew everyone around him into his world of memories.

"Old Ma, it's practically impossible for a Hundred-Year Soul Beast to possess a skill like that. Don't go mad now."

Almost as soon as he heard Old Ma's idea, Old Xiu Nuo had wanted to step in and suppress the auxiliary Soul Master's use of Soul Power, putting a stop to the madness of his old friend, who had fallen into a state of developing Martial Soul Theory.

At the very least, he had to keep it from affecting the little fellow.

During this, Old Xiu Nuo even gave a meaningful look to Jin Huang, the Spirit Hall's main hall envoy who had just interrupted the exchange between the two of them and Mu Tian'en.

Unfortunately, by the time Old Xiu Nuo actually made his move, it was too late.

The Soul Rings had already lit up.

Everything was already settled.

Looking at the vast sea of lifelike Soul Beast images arrayed before him, Old Master Ma turned to the three people, who looked surprised, uncomprehending, and wary, respectively. A smile of almost mad delight curled his lips.

"I know what you want to say. You think I'm indulging in wild fantasies, that an ordinary Soul Beast could never grant the little fellow a Soul Ring skill that comes so close to being a domain."

"But as it happens, I found one."

Only then did Jin Huang recall how his father had once described Old Master Ma.

He had never been the old pedant he appeared to be now.

He was a man so wildly arrogant that he regarded nothing but his own theories.

Now that was more like it.

Jin Huang nodded.

Old Xiu Nuo, however, stepped forward and firmly covered Mu Tian'en's curious eyes, refusing to let him look at Old Ma.

Not only that, but a chill gleam rose all around Old Xiu Nuo, whose face was usually serious.

Taking care to avoid little Mu Tian'en, he raised a giant wall of ice behind himself, large enough to block the Soul Beast images Old Ma had revealed.

"Old Ma, wake up! This child isn't a tool for putting your theories into practice. He's a child of our Vast Sea City."

"We can work toward what you just proposed step by step. There are nine Soul Rings in all; you can use each one to realize one of your ideas. Don't treat the child's life as if it means nothing."

Old Xiu Nuo's voice was somewhat hoarse.

But beneath that hoarseness lay an unprecedented fury.

Old Xiu Nuo, who had once fought Old Ma over this very kind of thing, now felt that the punches he had landed on him back then hadn't been heavy enough, ruthless enough, or fast enough.

Otherwise, how could this fellow still be afflicted by his madness?!

Not only that, but the old man no longer cared about the difference in strength and status between himself and the main hall's consecrator represented by Jin Huang. He shouted sharply.

"Envoy Jin, I know you and Old Ma go way back, but he's clearly starting to go mad. Please protect the child. I'll beat some sense into this old friend of mine who's fallen into madness."

As Old Xiu Nuo spoke, a tortoise shell emerged on his back.

It gleamed like an iceberg!

A frigid wind swept up.