Chapter 3: First Soul Skill

At the Li residence.

After falling unconscious while controlling the Azure Scaled Snake Emperor's clone, Li Chang'an's main body awoke and couldn't help but rub his temples. Splitting his mind to control two bodies simultaneously was extremely taxing on his mental strength.

He couldn't help but wonder if things would improve once his cultivation level increased.

With this thought, he summoned his sword martial spirit once more and gently stroked it, as if caressing the delicate skin of a beauty, treating it like fragile porcelain that could shatter at any moment.

After all, in this world, wealth, power, and dominance would all rely on this sword in his hands.

"I'll name this sword the 'Azure Scaled Sword.'"

Having decided on a name for his martial spirit, he began to carefully explore its capabilities.

After some research, Li Chang'an discovered that in its normal state, his martial spirit primarily functioned as a sword. However, if necessary, it could transform into a snake form. Unlike beast-type martial spirits, though, it couldn't possess his body and alter his form. Instead, it could only be controlled like an external avatar, similar to controlling a spirit beast.

Still, this was already quite impressive. Besides, possession might not necessarily be a good thing. Wasn't Dugu Bo constantly plagued by the poison of his martial spirit due to spirit possession? His inability to use spirit possession spared him the threat of being poisoned.

At most, he would lose the physical enhancement provided by spirit possession, but compared to the risk of being poisoned, that loss was trivial.

The Next Day

The emperor's envoy arrived at the Li residence.

The envoy was a handsome middle-aged man who was also a Spirit Saint-level soul master. His mission was to escort Li Chang'an to the spirit beast forest to hunt for a spirit beast and obtain his first soul ring.

Although the emperor of Heaven Dou had taken an interest in Li Chang'an due to his innate full soul power, there was still uncertainty surrounding his mutated martial spirit. No one knew whether the 'Azure Scaled Sword' was strong or weak, as it had never appeared before. If it turned out to be flawed, things would become awkward.

To avoid prematurely granting great rewards only to discover later that he was nothing more than a showpiece with no real potential, the emperor decided to first send someone to observe him during his soul ring hunt. His first soul skill would serve as a basis to evaluate his future potential and determine whether he was worth cultivating and how much effort should be invested.

The Spirit Beast Forest

The spirit beast forest was an area designated by the Heaven Dou Empire for raising and containing spirit beasts. It was much safer than a wild spirit beast forest, though it also had fewer species and lower age limits.

For obtaining a first soul ring, however, this forest was sufficient. There was no need to travel to the dangerous great spirit beast forests, where even with a Spirit Saint-level escort, life-threatening risks could arise.

The middle-aged Spirit Saint led Li Chang'an to the forest. The guards at the gate clearly recognized him and didn't even require a token, opening the gate immediately.

Such was the privilege of status.

"Based on the characteristics you've described, your sword martial spirit has inherent poison attributes and the sharpness of a weapon martial spirit. Therefore, suitable spirit beasts would either be poisonous or have piercing and armor-breaking traits," the middle-aged Spirit Saint explained as they strolled leisurely through the forest. "Do you prefer poison or sharpness? The choice is yours."

"…"

Li Chang'an remained silent for a moment before asking, "Is it possible to have both? Could we find a spirit beast that has both poison and sharpness?"

The middle-aged Spirit Saint was briefly stunned but, after some thought, responded, "Generally speaking, diversifying too much can weaken the soul skill's power. However, if you insist, given the unique nature of your martial spirit, we can give it a try. You might actually manage to combine both."

The main reason he agreed so readily was that first soul rings were typically transitional. Even a strong hundred-year soul ring would have limited utility in the long run. As long as the age of the ring was appropriate and its characteristics weren't too far from the martial spirit's nature, it would suffice.

Being familiar with the forest, the middle-aged Spirit Saint soon led Li Chang'an to a dense bamboo grove.

Unlike ordinary bamboo, the bamboo in this grove had a white jade-like hue, with leaves shaped like sword blades. The leaves, which were a pale blue with black veins, swayed in the wind, exuding a faint fragrance.

Anyone who saw this grove would think the bamboo was a rare treasure.

In reality, this was a type of plant spirit beast known as the 'Poison Sword Bamboo.'

The sword-like leaves were extremely sharp and coated with poison. Its primary attack method involved using its branches to slash enemies with its leaves. When necessary, it could also shoot its leaves like flying daggers.

There were at least dozens of Poison Sword Bamboo in the grove, ranging from ten-year to thousand-year levels. Among them was a suitable hundred-year-old Poison Sword Bamboo for Li Chang'an.

"Roar!"

Upon arrival, the middle-aged Spirit Saint let out a roar, activating his martial spirit. His body instantly grew taller, muscles bulged, and thick brown fur covered him, transforming him into a humanoid brown bear.

Seven soul rings surrounded him, and the second and third rings lit up. His bear form was enveloped in golden light, creating a protective barrier, while his claws extended several feet, gleaming with a golden hue.

With a roar, he charged into the bamboo grove.

Faced with his assault, the Poison Sword Bamboo fought back by lashing out with its branches. However, their attacks were blocked by the golden barrier, unable to penetrate his defense. Those farther away fired their leaf-daggers, but they too were deflected.

Standing at a distance, Li Chang'an watched as the middle-aged Spirit Saint, in his bear form, rampaged through the grove. He eventually uprooted a Poison Sword Bamboo and rushed back out.

Plant spirit beasts had the disadvantage of being immobile. They could only stay rooted in place, unlike high-level plant beasts capable of movement. Since these Poison Sword Bamboo were at most a thousand years old, they lacked such ability.

After the Spirit Saint exited the grove's range, the remaining bamboo could only futilely fire leaves, powerless to pursue.

"Boom!"

The Spirit Saint tossed the uprooted bamboo to the ground. Deprived of soil, it immediately began to wither.

"Go ahead. Aim for its core roots and sever them to kill it," he instructed.

The Poison Sword Bamboo, estimated to be between 400 and 500 years old, was already heavily damaged and half-dead from being uprooted.

Without hesitation, Li Chang'an summoned his Azure Scaled Sword. The jade-like blade gleamed as he aimed at the core roots and thrust downward.

"Shk!"

The blade pierced the surface effortlessly. Before he could drive it deeper, green poison spread from the wound, quickly engulfing the bamboo's roots.

In an instant, the entire core had been poisoned and destroyed.

Seeing this, the Spirit Saint's pupils shrank in surprise. "What a potent toxin! It even has such a strong effect on plant-type spirit beasts. This boy's martial spirit is truly extraordinary!"

As the bamboo's roots completely withered, a yellow soul ring rose from its corpse, hovering in midair, waiting for him to absorb it.

Li Chang'an didn't rush. He turned to the Spirit Saint, who assured him, "Judging by the color, this soul ring's age is around 400 years and definitely under 500. With your innate full soul power, absorbing it might be a bit difficult, but it won't endanger your life."

Since soul rings didn't come with exact age indicators, determining precise years was impossible. Being able to estimate a general range based on color was already impressive.

In truth, so long as a first soul ring didn't exceed 500 years, absorption typically posed no major risks. Claims like Yu Xiaogang's assertion that the maximum safe age for a first soul ring was precisely 423 years were widely regarded as nonsense.

Firstly, how could one know whether a soul ring was exactly 423 years old, or perhaps 424 or 425 years? Did soul rings come with age indicators?

Thus, Yu Xiaogang's overly precise claim was deemed unrealistic.

More importantly, even if the number was somehow accurate, how could anyone ascertain a soul ring's exact age?

Satisfied with the Spirit Saint's assurance, Li Chang'an prepared to absorb the soul ring. After all, life was precious, and he couldn't risk recklessly absorbing an overly high-age soul ring. Unlike those people with cheats, he dared not attempt the feat of absorbing a thousand-year soul ring as his first.

Moreover, if necessary, he could later participate in divine trials to enhance the soul ring's age. There was no need to take unnecessary risks now.

Li Chang'an sat cross-legged, and with a wave of his soul power, the yellow soul ring floated gently above his head before slowly merging into his body…

(End of Chapter)