Chapter 3: Heaven-Defying Soul Skill, Future Plans
Exiting from the sea of spirit, Lin Qinghan opened his eyes. Letting out a deep breath, a flash of lightning glinted in his eyes as he stood up.
"Level 16, just as expected."
Thanks to the absorption of a thousand-year soul ring and the Skydream Iceworm's soul ring, Lin Qinghan had directly risen from level 10 to level 16. If the Skydream Iceworm hadn't been nearly drained by the ferocious beasts in the core region of the Star Dou Forest, he might have shot straight to level 20 or even 30.
"How does your body feel? Any discomfort?" Lin Tian stepped forward with concern, placing a hand on Lin Qinghan's wrist.
"Level 16? How did he jump five levels?" Lin Tian was somewhat puzzled. He had expected Lin Qinghan to rise to at most level 14.
"It must be due to the medicinal supplements. The ones the family provided were absorbed well by Qinghan," Jiang Wan added from the side.
Although still slightly puzzled, they didn't dwell on it since Lin Qinghan's soul power had increased, and they were simply happy for him.
"Qinghan, what's your first soul skill? Show me," Lin Tian said, pointing at a nearby tree. "It should be an offensive skill. Use it on that tree."
"Alright."
With that, Lin Qinghan activated his Bioelectric Martial Soul and released his first soul skill.
"First Soul Skill: Thunder Body!"
Lin Qinghan's eyes emitted blue lightning, his body crackled with arcs of electricity that didn't harm his clothes. With a wave of his hand, a bolt of thunder shot toward the tree.
After a sizzling burst of current, the tree was half-charred, with flames beginning to rise.
"Very good. That attack power is nearly on par with a level-25 Power Attack Soul Master. Explain the skill to me in detail," Lin Tian said with satisfaction.
"This soul skill is called Thunder Body. It lets my thunder-element martial soul cover my body, enhancing my reflexes and physical abilities. It also allows me to better control lightning."
Lin Qinghan had no reason to hide the skill's effects from his parents.
After hearing the explanation, Lin Tian nodded. "An offensive skill this strong with additional buffs—definitely a top-tier soul skill."
"It's still unsafe to stay overnight in the Star Dou Forest. Let's travel through the night," Jiang Wan suggested.
Without hesitation, Lin Tian and Jiang Wan picked up Lin Qinghan and equipped their flying soul devices. Since they were only in the outer area, they didn't worry too much and flew directly toward their family home.
They traveled like a gust of wind. Despite just absorbing soul rings, Lin Qinghan was full of energy. Under the protection of his parents' soul power, he peacefully fell asleep.
When Lin Qinghan woke up, he was already in his bedroom. He got out of bed and released his Brainwave Martial Soul to experiment with his soul skills.
Just as the Skydream Iceworm had said, there were four soul skills: Mental Shield, Mental Overdrive, Mental Projection, and Mental Link—all support-type abilities.
Mental Shield formed a shield in his sea of spirit, immune to any spiritual attacks from enemies with lower spiritual power. It could also create a daily "invincibility shield" for mental attacks.
Even though it wasn't truly invincible, it could block anything unless the enemy's spiritual power exceeded his by more than twenty times.
Mental Overdrive was a boosting skill, increasing his mental power by about 50%.
Mental Projection combined mimicry and projection, allowing him to simulate himself and project it with spiritual power. Enemies with lower spiritual power wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Mental Link worked in conjunction with Lin Qinghan's mental domain, like sharing mental detection. It could also apply Mental Overdrive and Mental Shield to others.
"Why does your soul ring have such good effects? If I had these skills back then, I'd have been invincible!" The Skydream Iceworm, upon learning about his soul ring effects, was emotionally distraught.
Lin Qinghan remained silent. These skills had evolved from his martial soul and were vastly different from the original versions. The Skydream Iceworm had few abilities to begin with, so they had to evolve accordingly.
"Whatever, I'm going to sleep. Call me if there's danger. I can still handle the usual stuff." After venting, the Skydream Iceworm's voice vanished.
Lin Qinghan was a little speechless. The Skydream Iceworm was really lazy—it said just a few sentences before disappearing.
Shaking his head, he resumed practicing the soul skills while also activating his Mental Domain.
After various experiments, he discovered that his mental domain had a radius of over 200 meters.
That was already excellent. Within that range, he could control almost everything, and he was confident that most Soul Exalts wouldn't be a match for him.
Moreover, after obtaining the Thunder Vine soul ring, his Bioelectric Martial Soul became extremely refined—just like Lin Tian had said. His soul power felt compressed, which was a huge gain. And due to the unique nature of his martial soul, he could even manually compress his soul power—a feat typically only possible when forming a soul core.
This made Lin Qinghan very excited. At this rate, he was confident he could form a soul core right after level 50.
"Qinghan, time to eat."
As Lin Qinghan was lost in practicing his skills, Jiang Wan's voice came from outside. Since Lin Qinghan had always demanded personal space, Jiang Wan didn't enter directly.
"Okay, coming." Lin Qinghan responded and went downstairs.
At the dining table, Lin Qinghan wasn't surprised to see more luxurious dishes than before. After awakening a martial soul and especially after obtaining a soul ring, nutritional supplements obviously helped with cultivation.
"According to your training plan, you're still young. Focus on medicinal meals for now and eat more. But to keep you from turning into a little fatty, you'll have two hours of physical training each day," Jiang Wan reminded him over dinner.
"Oh."
Lin Qinghan said nothing more and quietly activated his Bioelectric Martial Soul to enhance his digestive system while eating heartily.
Seeing this, Jiang Wan didn't say anything else and joined him for the meal. Lin Tian, on the other hand, was busy with clan affairs. After all, he would be taking over as clan leader in two years.
After the meal, at Lin Qinghan's personal training ground...
Electric arcs crackled around Lin Qinghan's body. Strangely, his hair didn't stand on end like someone shocked—instead, it flowed smoothly, now tinged with a faint blue at the tips.
This was the first time he had pushed his first soul skill, Thunder Body, to its maximum. He found that it not only enhanced his reflexes like before but also gave him hyper-detailed perception of everything in front of him—even without his mental domain active.
His agility and strength improved too—it felt like a shot of adrenaline.
"Bioelectric Martial Soul... it's actually a body-type martial soul. It has all the properties of the lightning element and can even stimulate cellular growth."
Under deliberate stimulation, Lin Qinghan's hair grew visibly fast, soon falling past his shoulders.
"Looks like I really need to fully develop both martial souls." Lin Qinghan deactivated his soul skill and fell into thought.
"Next year is the next Youth Soul Master Tournament. Huo Yuhao should be around five or six now... should I go find him?"
After thinking for a while, he decided to stay quiet for now—drawing Tang San's attention wouldn't be good.
But he decided to keep an eye on next year's Soul Master Tournament.
(End of Chapter)
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