Chapter 9: There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters.
Sunset Forest.
The hunting process for the third brother, Yu Xiaozhen, for his first soul ring went smoothly. This was because it had been decided beforehand that their target was a soul beast with lightning-attribute attack skills.
It wasn't that defense wasn't important, but with the treasure "Dragon Scale Soft Armor," ordinary soul master attacks were no threat.
Ultimately, as planned, the second master led them to hunt down a 450-year-old lightning lizard in the central part of Sunset Forest.
Yu Xiaozhen also successfully obtained his first soul skill, Thunder Dragon Claw.
Watching Yu Xiaozhen's lightning-stirred dragon claw, the second master nodded with great satisfaction.
Next up was Yu Xiaogang.
But… he had a mutated martial soul, and there were no precedents in the family history to refer to. Yu Xiaogang didn't have many thoughts on this, since his plan from childhood was to awaken the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex martial soul. Even in the years that followed, he hadn't figured out what kind of soul skill a martial soul that resembled neither a pig nor a dragon should acquire.
The group walked and observed for a full six hours, but still couldn't reach a conclusion, which really gave the Second Master a headache.
Encountering a spirit beast with high HP and defense, Yu Xiaogang thought,
"It's so slow. With my and my spirit's physical abilities, we can't fully utilize our advantages."
Facing a spirit beast with high agility and speed, Yu Xiaogang thought, "Its defense is too weak. What if we can't dodge or withstand a powerful attack?"
Absorbing a spirit beast that attacks from a distance, Yu Xiaogang thought,
"I'm afraid of being caught in close combat."
Absorbing a spirit beast that attacks in melee combat, Yu Xiaogang thought,
"I'm afraid I won't be able to get close to the enemy."
Absorbing a spirit beast with strong overall strength, Yu Xiaogang thought,
"What if my spirit power is too weak to control and I explode?"
Fearing this from all sides, the experienced Second Master was deeply troubled, his brow furrowed with worry.
Seeing everyone's silence, Yu Xiaogang felt both embarrassed and anxious. He then made a specific request regarding the spirit beast:
"Second Grandfather, do you have any spirit beasts that can subdue the enemy without a fight, preferably one that can force them to retreat with a single blow?"
Second Grandfather, annoyed by Xiaogang's pickiness, teased,
"There are some. In Sunset Forest, the one that can make most spirit beasts hesitate is naturally the Thunderhorn Skunk."
Yu Xiaogang, anxious, immediately asked to find one to try, seeing that Second Grandfather had recommended a suitable spirit beast.
Seeing that he had finally made his firm choice, Second Grandfather stopped trying to persuade him and ordered the guards to begin searching.
Soon, the scout team ahead found their target.
"Young Master, that Thunderhorn Skunk ahead is nearly 400 years old. I see its strength and speed are quite good."
Yu Xiaogang's voice trembled with excitement as he urged, "Catch it quickly, I want this one!" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After working with their young master all this time, they were finally going to hunt a spirit beast.
But then another unexpected problem arose… Despite the smooth capture process, an embarrassing issue arose when absorbing the spirit ring – for some reason, he simply couldn't absorb the 400-year-old spirit ring.
Luo Sanpao's spirit spirit always showed difficulty and extreme pain when Yu Xiaogang attempted to transfer the spirit ring. Several attempts failed.
The cold reality was laid bare before him, instantly extinguishing the fire in Yu Xiaogang's heart. Looking at the yellow spirit ring floating in the air, about to dissipate, Second Master couldn't help but advise:
"Xiaogang, why don't you go back first, wait for your spirit power to accumulate for a while, and then come back to find a suitable spirit beast?"
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's expression changed drastically.
Go back? What a joke! To be branded a piece of trash and continue to be criticized behind his back?
The humiliation of being trampled on by several outer disciples was something Yu Xiaogang would never forget.
At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: even if he lowered his standards, he had to absorb a spirit ring as soon as possible.
"No! Second Grandfather, if you can't absorb four hundred years, try two hundred, or even one hundred! I won't give up!"
"..."
Under his persistent pleading, the Second Grandfather had no choice but to have the guards find him another Thunderhorn Skunk, around 150 years old.
This absorption wasn't smooth sailing either. Yu Xiaogang's biggest problem wasn't just not realizing Luo Sanpao's true potential, but also his inability to achieve a true connection with his spirit.
If his spirit hadn't mutated, this wouldn't be a problem.
But Luo Sanpao possessed an independent consciousness and could act autonomously, giving him this extra obstacle compared to other spirit masters.
Fortunately, this time, the Thunderhorn Skunk was only around 150 years old, making absorption easy, and he ultimately succeeded.
Seeing himself become a formal spirit master, Yu Xiaogang's entire demeanor changed. Although his third brother's spirit talent was stronger than his, at least at this moment, they were on the same level.
A formal spirit master was the dividing line between nobility and mediocrity; from now on, he was no longer the criticized good-for-nothing. Me! Yu Xiaogang! He's completely transformed!
He suppressed his pride and forced a calm expression as he looked at Yu Xiaolie. "
Poor thing, my second brother's talent is inferior to mine. From now on, we're no longer from the same world.
" Yu Xiaogang, with a look of pity, gently patted Xiaolie's shoulder and said earnestly
"Xiao Lie, after all these years, I've come to realize that there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters.
You have to work hard. Look at me, I was just like you, but through so many years of hard work, I finally officially became a soul master."
Xiao Lie rolled his eyes at him and didn't say anything.
Second Master asked with concern and curiosity,
"Xiao Gang, what's your first soul skill?"
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang immediately channeled his soul power, preparing to demonstrate his newly acquired soul skill in front of everyone.
As a yellow soul ring appeared around his body, the chubby Luo Sanpao appeared beside him.
Come on, Sanpao, show everyone your newly learned ultimate move!
Everyone held their breath and waited for a long time, but nothing happened.
Only the chubby Luo Sanpao kept channeling his energy, his face even turning purple.
What kind of skill is this?
Just when everyone was puzzled, a sound accompanied by a weak shockwave rang out.
"Pfft!"
With a loud bang, Luo Sanpao let out a huge fart!
Second Master's forehead was full of black lines. He had thought that the Thunderhorn Skunk's soul skill was weak, but he didn't expect it to be this weak!
This thing has no offensive power and can't control the target, it seems completely useless.
But the next second, Second Master regretted jumping to conclusions so quickly, because a gust of wind blew by...
It stinks!
Luo Sanpao's fart is no different from a chemical weapon. Even the powerful Second Master was choked and coughed repeatedly after accidentally inhaling a mouthful.
"Everyone hold your breath!"
Without needing to be told, everyone had already held their breath and pulled up their masks to cover their mouths and noses with their hands.
Unfortunately, it was no use.
A truly lethal stench sometimes attacks more than just the sense of smell.
Yu Xiaolie felt a stinging sensation in his eyes, as if he had been irritated by the smoke from burning chili peppers.
Looking at the others, everyone's eyes were filled with tears.
"Xiao Gang, quickly put it away."
Second Master remained calm in the face of danger, instructing Yu Xiaogang to stop the release of poisonous gas at its source, while directing the bird-type spirit masters among the guards to use their wings to create a breeze and blow away the stench.
If he had been a second slower, he feared the entire team might have been wiped out by a single fart—that would have been utterly absurd.
A moment later, the stench subsided, and everyone looked at Yu Xiaogang with strange expressions.
He himself was somewhat embarrassed and could only awkwardly explain, "I didn't expect it to turn out like this."
"But this also shows that my spirit is pretty good; my first spirit skill is a large-scale group attack."
Seeing no one was applauding, he boasted again:
"Second Master, Third Brother, from now on, everyone's safety is guaranteed. If there's any danger, I can solve it with a fart."
He deliberately emphasized the words "a fart," clearly speaking to his second brother.
After all, in the current team, only Yu Xiaolie remained who wasn't even a formal spirit master.
"Xiaolie, did you see the demonstration your big brother gave you? In the future, as long as you follow this path and find a Thunderhorn Skunk to absorb, you can reach the same strength as me."
Yu Xiaolie remained noncommittal, his eyes looking in other directions.
Yu Xiaogang continued,
"However, your talent isn't as good as mine, so a hundred-year spirit ring is probably out of the question. How about considering a ten-year spirit beast?"
At this moment, Second Grandfather came over, wanting to comfort Yu Xiaolie.
After all, he had watched this child grow up since he was a child, personally training him for so many years, and he always had a deeper affection for Xiaolie.
Despite his lack of talent, he still didn't want him to be discouraged and fall into despair because of the breakthroughs of his eldest brother and third brother.
Unexpectedly, Yu Xiaolie suddenly asked a question: "Second Grandfather, do you know about a spirit beast called 'Swallowing Beast' in Sunset Forest?"
Second Grandfather was taken aback, recalled for a moment, and said, "I have a vague impression of it. That kind of spirit beast is not very big, and it is mainly omnivorous, occasionally eating other small spirit beasts." "
The biggest feature of this small spirit beast is that it can open its mouth to about three times its own size, so it can even eat spirit beasts larger than itself," Yu Xiaolie added a key point.
"Xiao Lie, you're not thinking of absorbing it, are you?"
Before Yu Xiao Lie could answer, Yu Xiao Gang interrupted, "Xiao Lie, putting aside whether absorbing that kind of soul beast is useful or not, one shouldn't be too ambitious. Is your soul power enough?"
Indeed, without soul power at level ten, talking about soul beasts is just empty talk.
Yu Xiao Lie smiled slightly, revealing a shy smile: "Second Grandfather, actually, I've already touched the edge of level ten. While watching the disciples hunt soul beasts just now, I gained something..." "
Now I've broken through to level ten."
(End of Chapter)