Chapter 29: Martial Soul

"That's about it."

Huo Yuhao sighed. "Rather than continuing to grind for potential soul power levels, it's better to learn from you regarding martial soul manipulation and the development of innate traits."

"Wang Dong happened to mention it, so I just went along with it. Who knew..."

As he spoke, he glanced down at the person pinned beneath him, unable to move. "Are you calm now?"

"You... you..."

Lying on the ground, Wang Dong chewed on a blade of grass, his eyes brimming with tears of rage as he struggled violently. "You jerk!! Let me go!"

One day, one day... he would return this humiliation tenfold!

"Oh, then just stay down there for a while longer."

Huo Yuhao’s expression remained indifferent; he even shifted his body to find a more comfortable position. One shouldn't rashly initiate a fight without understanding the disparity in strength.

"Ahem."

Xiao Xiao’s gaze wandered, doing her best not to look at the struggling Wang Dong. "Actually, I don't really understand how the suppression power awakened. It just happened after I figured out how to unify the three cauldrons."

She then gestured with her hands, summoning three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons that landed around the trio.

"My martial soul is the result of a mutation. The original single heavy cauldron split into three smaller ones upon awakening. Thanks to this, the power of my soul skills has indeed increased, but the soul power consumption has also grown accordingly."

"As for the unification of the three, that’s a move I developed while practicing multitasking with them. It allows the power of the separated martial soul to condense into one, making the soul skills much more potent."

Xiao Xiao swayed from side to side, and inspiration suddenly struck her. "Huh? Do you think it’s because I was 'using' the cauldrons to 'train' the cauldrons that I awakened a special attribute?"

"What do you mean?" Huo Yuhao listened with uncharacteristic focus.

"Think about it. Sword intent awakens because a weapon master is dedicated to practicing sword techniques. The emergence of blade aura or spear energy is also based on a soul master’s long-term, arduous practice, eventually awakening through a chance encounter."

Xiao Xiao tilted her head, looking at Huo Yuhao’s slightly glowing eyes. "If you focus on developing the uses of your eyes, maybe you can also awaken corresponding traits~"

"Of course, I can't offer advice on martial soul manipulation. The Soul-Suppressing Cauldron is inherently an external remote-control weapon soul; precise operation is innate. It’s really just the multitasking of the three cauldrons that needs training."

"Traits..." Wang Dong, still lying on the ground, pondered this, resting his chin on his crossed arms. "Do awakened traits continue to strengthen with training?"

"I suppose?" Xiao Xiao’s own cultivation in this area was just beginning, and she had to rely on guesswork. "After all, sword intent grows as a sword cultivator's realm improves, doesn't it?"

That certainly made sense. Huo Yuhao stood up, his eyes thoughtful.

***

Wang Dong scrambled up, not bothering to brush off the dirt, and backhanded a small, gleaming black metal hammer.

"Xiao Xiao! Do you think I have the talent to awaken traits?"

Although he had always felt his martial soul wasn't simple, his memory was a chaotic mess of blurriness and gaps. He only remembered that the martial soul was called something like the Clear Sky Hammer.

"...You are a twin martial soul user too?" Xiao Xiao was suddenly stunned, looking at the hammer in his hand.

"...Sorry." Wang Dong choked on his words, locking eyes with her. "I forgot to tell you guys before."

"Hiss..." Huo Yuhao looked at the two of them, feeling a sudden toothache. He then used Tian Meng to manifest his own unformed, ice-attribute second martial soul.

A chilling frost spread rapidly, and the temperature in the forest plummeted under the influence of this power.

It eventually became as cold as the atmosphere.

This situation...

What did it mean that three twin martial soul users had appeared in the same freshman class?

What did it mean that these three people were all familiar with each other?

What did it mean that the three of them were currently guiding each other’s cultivation?

"..." x3

Huo Yuhao and the others were in exactly that predicament. The three of them sat in a triangle, fingers interlaced, supporting their chins, saying nothing.

If this were pure coincidence, it was far too coincidental!

After a long silence.

"We... really have a strong connection, haha~" Wang Dong offered a dry laugh, breaking the deadlock. "I only know my second martial soul is called the Clear Sky Hammer. Back home, my elders told me to focus on the Radiant Butterfly Goddess first, saying they would teach me how to use the hammer once I reached the fourth ring."

Right now, his Clear Sky Hammer didn't even have a soul ring, let alone an awakened piercing trait.

"My second martial soul is tentatively set as ice, but it’s not yet formed. When I attach the first soul ring, it will gradually take on a corresponding shape. In other words, my second martial soul is currently as good as nonexistent," Huo Yuhao explained, then turned his gaze toward Xiao Xiao.

"I..." Xiao Xiao released her Nine Phoenix Flute with a hint of dejection. "My martial soul was inherited from my mother. Because both are external weapon souls, my physical strength has never been able to keep up with the demands, and my growth potential might be quite low."

The two people across from her were different: one held the world's number one weapon soul, and the other could even choose his own martial soul category.

Both had promising futures.

Only she—her family could provide some gold soul coins to ensure she lived comfortably, but they couldn't help her compensate for her flaws. And she, in her desperation to stand out and secure resources at Shrek, had even used a ring slot on her second martial soul, wasting it.

***

"It's okay, we believe in you!"

Wang Dong said words he didn't even feel confident about. He stole a glance at the serious-looking Huo Yuhao and shut his mouth, his face full of regret.

No matter how much was said, it couldn't change the facts.

The total age of soul rings a person could withstand was limited, especially for those at lower tiers.

Xiao Xiao already had low tolerance, and now she had wasted a century-old soul ring slot on her second martial soul. If she had been left to develop naturally since the start of school without any resource assistance, she likely wouldn't even have crossed the thousand-year threshold for her third ring.

Although the combination of medicinal pills and physical tempering had temporarily filled the void, the wasted ring slot was a reality.

Moreover, as her realm increased, the gap between Xiao Xiao’s physical strength and that of beast soul masters would only widen...

"I might have a way, but it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."

Huo Yuhao took her hand and began channeling soul power, following the contents of the scroll in his mind.

"This is!" Xiao Xiao’s eyes widened.

"A meridian path to strengthen external spirit power; you could also call it a physical cultivation method. Since I don't have a practical soul power circulation circuit for it right now, it’s currently useless to me."

Huo Yuhao focused on guiding his soul power through her meridians. "However, since you have already joined the Tang Sect and obtained the Mysterious Heaven Technique, you can try using it to drive this secret method. It might have miraculous effects."

A cultivation method...

He didn't even have one he could use himself...

Xiao Xiao’s lips trembled. She suddenly remembered that it was Huo Yuhao who had told her to seek out Tang Ya.

If not for his words, she probably would never have obtained a decent technique, nor would she have touched the Tang Sect’s supreme skills intended to enhance one's own body.

There was also the physical tempering, the Mysterious Water Pill, and...

"I—" Xiao Xiao opened her mouth, subconsciously wanting to pull her hand away, but Huo Yuhao held it firmly.

"Don't move, just a little more."

"...Okay."

Xiao Xiao remained silent for a moment, eventually choosing to accept the gift.

"..."

Wang Dong watched the two of them holding hands, the bracelets on their wrists forming a perfect pair, one on the left and one on the right. He hadn't been mistaken in class earlier after all.