Chapter 157: The Prison of Azure Waves
After Nami finished absorbing the immortal herb and greeted Ning Fengzhi, the three of them set off for Han Hai City.
Since they weren't in a rush, Ning Bei didn't plan on using flight.
The trio traveled slowly by carriage toward Han Hai City.
Along the way, Nami kept up her exceptionally high training frequency, which made Dugu Yan stare in amazement.
"Is this how you treat your own disciple? Even a draft horse needs rest, right?"
Ning Bei immediately gave an innocent look.
"You're mistaken. This child wants to participate in the Soul Master Competition with her friends, so she needs to make up for the six years she lost with hard work."
Upon hearing Ning Bei's explanation, Dugu Yan sighed. If she had trained like Nami, she would have at least been a Soul Saint by now.
Upon arriving at Han Hai City, seeing the expectation in Nami's eyes, they didn't delay any further and headed straight for the seaside.
Here, it was necessary to summon the useful tool, Da Ming.
"Da Ming, we need your help again. Nami requires a nearly thousand-year-old Bubble Steering Fish."
Da Ming nodded and transformed into his true form, diving into the sea.
Before they left, the group had already flipped through the catalog, and this type of fish soul beast was highly likely to provide Nami with a control-type soul skill.
Then, the waiting began. Ning Bei summoned Yao Yao and created a three-room, two-hall space for them. The three of them entered the room and began their lunch.
Just as they finished their meal, Da Ming appeared with a flat fish, its body a deep blue, in front of them.
The three of them looked at the fish, which was exactly the Bubble Steering Fish they had seen in the catalog. From its length, it seemed to have around 900 years of cultivation.
After thanking Da Ming, Ning Bei stored the fish in the Dan Tower.
He took out a dagger and handed it to his little disciple.
"Nami, you can kill it by stabbing its eye."
Nami took the dagger and swallowed nervously. This was her first time hunting a soul beast, and she felt very anxious.
Ning Bei and Dugu Yan looked at her expression and understood. They had all been through it, so they didn't rush her, trusting that Nami could mentally prepare herself.
Five minutes later, Nami took a deep breath and, with her eyes still closed, stabbed the fish's eye with the dagger. The fish's tail quivered and it stopped moving.
A deep yellow soul ring slowly rose from the fish's body.
"Nami, release your martial soul and try to guide the soul ring with your soul power."
Nami nodded, took the protective pulse pill Ning Bei had given her, and sat cross-legged beside the Bubble Steering Fish. She released her Summoning Tide Sea Queen and began to draw the soul ring toward her.
Under her soul power's guidance, the soul ring slowly settled onto her martial soul. All they had to do now was wait.
"The first soul ring is nearly a thousand years, that should be fine, right?"
Dugu Yan saw a hint of pain on Nami's face and anxiously squeezed Ning Bei's hand. Although she had known there wouldn't be a problem, seeing Nami absorb the soul ring made her heart race.
"This is something Nami has to go through to become stronger. Otherwise, her friends will just leave her behind. We have to trust Nami!"
Fortunately, after the initial pain, Nami's expression slowly returned to calm, and the soul power fluctuations around her began to rise steadily.
Dugu Yan, seeing this, finally relaxed. She had grown quite fond of the shy little girl who called her "Teacher's Wife" and didn't want to see anything go wrong.
An hour later, Nami finally finished absorbing the soul ring and slowly opened her eyes.
Her green pupils were filled with excitement.
"Master, Teacher's Wife, I did it!"
"Good job, Nami!"
Dugu Yan didn't hold back her praise, ruffling Nami's head in encouragement.
Ning Bei, however, remained practical and directly asked about the effect of the soul skill.
"How's the soul skill? If you want to test it, you can use it on me!"
Upon hearing her master's words, Nami closed her eyes to feel the power, then summoned her martial soul and released the soul skill toward Ning Bei.
"First Soul Skill, Prison of Azure Waves!"
The staff of the Summoning Tide Sea Queen behind Nami gently swayed, and a water sphere several meters in diameter formed around Ning Bei, trapping him. The water sphere was a deep green, hiding soul power within.
Ning Bei felt the suffocating and dizzying sensations coming from the sphere and thought to himself, this soul skill was indeed just as he had expected.
After assessing the strength of the water prison, he realized it could easily control soul masters below the rank of Soul Sovereign. He nodded inwardly.
With a wave of his own soul power, he expanded it outward.
With a loud "crack," the water sphere shattered, revealing Nami's eager face, awaiting her master's evaluation.
"Not bad, a control-type soul skill. For a first soul skill, it's quite strong. Soul Sovereigns and below can't escape it."
Nami smiled widely, nodding and expressing her own thoughts.
"Master, I can feel that this soul skill will grow stronger as I improve my cultivation!"
"Is that so? Then it's perfect."
Dugu Yan, after hearing Ning Bei's evaluation, felt happy for Nami. The little girl had officially taken her first step toward becoming a soul master.
"It's getting late. Let's return to Han Hai City and rest for the night. The Water Gun Turtle needs to be found on a rocky seabed or an uninhabited island. We'll set off tomorrow."
"Yes, Master!"
Indeed, after absorbing the first soul ring, Nami's soul power had already reached level 20, meaning she still needed to obtain one more soul ring.
The Water Gun Turtle was the second soul ring they had selected after consulting the catalog in the sect.
Back at the hotel, Ning Bei booked two rooms at the front desk. After sending his little disciple to familiarize herself with her soul skill, Ning Bei took Dugu Yan to see the backflipping Star Spirit Cat.
A night of passion ensued, and Dugu Yan was quite pleased with the cat's performance.
The next morning, eager as ever, Ning Bei took the two of them and flew toward the sea.
Within half an hour, the three of them found an island covered in lush greenery, clearly a remote place.
This time, they would need to call upon another tool, Yao Yao.
After summoning Yao Yao, Ning Bei had her communicate with the native trees of the island.
Not long after, Yao Yao's efforts led them to a suitable Water Gun Turtle.
The three of them followed Yao Yao to the center of the island, where the environment was exceptionally beautiful, with a shallow pool under a giant tree.
By the pool, a turtle soul beast was peacefully resting. It was nearly two meters long, and its shell had grooves resembling gun barrels. This was a Water Gun Turtle with close to 2,000 years of cultivation.
"That's the one. Should you or I take care of it?"
After confirming that it was their target, Ning Bei looked at Dugu Yan.
"I'll handle it. It's been a while since I've moved."
"Who said that? Didn't we just 'move' last night?"
"Slap!" Dugu Yan's face turned bright red as she smacked Ning Bei's arm, glaring at him, seemingly reproaching his mischief.
Ning Bei immediately raised both hands in mock surrender.
Nami, standing nearby, watched the interaction between Master and Teacher's Wife, feeling somewhat confused.
Dugu Yan ignored her annoying man and turned, releasing her martial soul as she walked toward the Water Gun Turtle.
The large turtle was sleeping soundly, unaware of the trouble about to befall it.
"Third Soul Skill: Azure Phosphor Purple Poison!"
As Dugu Yan's voice fell, a purple poisonous mist enveloped the Water Gun Turtle in an instant.
The turtle awoke, sensing danger, and tried to attack the three of them.
However, it was too late. After inhaling the poison mist, it fell unconscious in mere seconds.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen10