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Contemplating the principle of water's ability to transform into all things, alongside the similar property of the formless shape to become anything, Ye Lan immediately began experimenting, attempting to combine his 'Formless Shape' with the 'Water-Attribute Tentacles' to develop an entirely new soul skill.
First, Ye Lan transformed the 'Water-Attribute Tentacles' into a puddle of blue 'slime.' This 'slime' was wobbly and very difficult to control. After all, Ye Lan was currently using his other 'Water Flames' to maintain flight, and the 'slime' was constantly distorted by the rushing air. However, Ye Lan's 'Formless Shape' was not affected by the air. He channeled his spiritual power, expanding the 'Formless Shape' to a radius of half a meter around his body. In a short while, an invisible spherical membrane appeared around Ye Lan.
He then attached the 'slime' to the spherical membrane formed by the 'Formless Shape.' At this point, the wildly writhing 'slime,' constrained by the 'Formless Shape's' spherical film, gradually began to stabilize. Moments later, the 'Formless Shape' membrane transformed into a deep blue sphere. The Ultimate Water on the sphere's surface rippled gently, and Ye Lan then proceeded to merge this Ultimate Water with his spiritual power.
The very first water-attribute soul skill developed by Ye Lan was thus born, and he named it the 'Perfect Water Shield'!
A shield made purely of the 'Formless Shape' could only defend against spiritual attacks. But when combined with the Ultimate Water of the 'slime,' the two layers superimposed upon each other, resulting in a significant enhancement of its defensive capabilities. In the future, whenever Ye Lan used the second form of the Ancient Beast's Touch, 'Water Flame,' for flight, he could simultaneously activate the 'Perfect Water Shield' to block long-range energy assaults as well as spiritual power attacks.
In addition to blocking attacks, Ye Lan discovered that the 'Perfect Water Shield' could also obstruct others' spiritual probes, thereby achieving a stealth effect. Although the 'Perfect Water Shield's' strength wasn't overwhelmingly exaggerated, it was, in a certain sense, Ye Lan's very first combat technique!
Down on the ground, Dugu Bo, upon discovering that Ye Lan could fly, was so astonished his jaw dropped wide open! It was important to know that if a Martial Soul wasn't a flying type, one had to reach the Titled Douluo realm to be able to fly.
Not long after Ye Lan took to the skies, Dugu Bo noticed him becoming more and more proficient at flying, and the old man's face immediately flushed with embarrassment. He recalled how, when he had just ascended to the Titled Douluo rank, it had taken him a very long time to master flight using his soul power. Ye Lan had managed to fly impressively well in such a short period. Dugu Bo marveled, Is this what a true prodigy is like? It's simply too terrifying!
Dugu Bo's exclamation had barely faded when he saw Ye Lan working on something new again. In just a little while, Dugu Bo witnessed an extremely stable blue shield forming around Ye Lan's body. Furthermore, he noticed that Ye Lan's aura had become much more concealed. He had to remember that he was a Titled Douluo! If it were a Soul Elder or a Soul Ancestor, they would have no hope of sensing Ye Lan's presence with their Martial Soul or spiritual power and would have to rely solely on naked-eye observation!
When Dugu Bo realized that Ye Lan had developed a new soul skill in the middle of flying, he suddenly felt as though he had lived his life in vain! Why was developing a soul skill so ridiculously simple for Ye Lan? If others knew that Ye Lan had created a new soul skill in just a few minutes, what would they possibly think?!
Ye Lan hadn't been flying for long before the 'Ultimate Water' soul power within his body was nearly exhausted from his experimentation. Having no other choice, Ye Lan stopped and slowly descended from the sky, landing gently on the ground.
"Little Lan, how did you manage to fly? And what was that new soul skill?" Dugu Bo asked, his curiosity piqued.
Ye Lan explained, "It's due to the secondary awakening of my external soul bone, I've named it 'Water Flame'! The soul skill I just developed is called 'Perfect Water Shield.' Its defense is pretty decent. This way, I won't have to fear being interrupted by others when I'm flying in the future."
"Unfortunately, the second form of the 'Ancient Beast's Touch' consumes far too much water-attribute soul power, so I can't sustain it for very long."
Dugu Bo replied with exasperation, "How long did you expect to fly?! You should know, I couldn't even fly when I was a Soul Douluo, yet you're able to fly a full sixty levels ahead of schedule!"
Ye Lan grinned sheepishly. Grandpa Dugu was indeed right; he shouldn't be fantasizing about accomplishing everything all at once.
"Grandpa Dugu, please stand guard for me again. I'm going to consume another immortal herb," Ye Lan said.
Dugu Bo chuckled, "Alright, alright, being able to eat is a blessing! My dear grandson-in-law, the more you eat, the better."
Ye Lan gave a helpless smile. "Eating too many won't be as useful. Even if I consume another 'Yearning Autumn Water Dew,' it will only increase my spiritual power slightly. My soul power and Martial Soul won't change again. The effects of the immortal herbs on me are beginning to diminish."
Dugu Bo had a moment of realization. "So that's how it is! What a pity. It would be great if you could just eat your way to the Titled Douluo realm."
"Ahahaha, I wish I could too," Ye Lan laughed. Grandpa Dugu was treating the immortal herbs like a wishing machine!
After composing himself, Ye Lan sat cross-legged on the grass and began to consume the 'Yearning Autumn Water Dew.' A long while later, Ye Lan felt an unprecedented clarity, as if he had attained enlightenment. After carefully experiencing the changes in his spiritual power, Ye Lan discovered that its level had reached that of a high-rank Soul Ancestor. Unfortunately, his spiritual power level did not break through to the Soul King realm. If his spiritual power had reached the Soul King level, he would have been able to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring for his third soul ring!
However, Ye Lan wasn't too discouraged. After all, he possessed the 'Self-Selecting Soul Skill' ability. No matter the level of the soul skill, he could always obtain a 'Godly Skill'!
Besides his spiritual power increasing to the Soul Ancestor level, Ye Lan's 'Golden Pupils' had evolved once more. The 'Golden Pupils' now seemed to resemble the 'Fiery-Golden Eyes,' allowing Ye Lan to unleash a spiritual shockwave through them! This new special ability of the 'Golden Pupils' was named: 'Golden Gaze.'
Anyone with a spiritual power level lower than his who was subjected to the 'Golden Gaze' would suffer a massive amount of spiritual damage. As for those with higher spiritual power than Ye Lan, while it wouldn't cause any harm, it also wouldn't result in any backlash against Ye Lan. This way, Ye Lan no longer had to worry about how high an enemy's spiritual power level was.
Since there was no fear of backlash, it was much better than Xiao Wu's 'Charm.' If it were like 'Charm,' Ye Lan would absolutely never use 'Golden Gaze.' After all, Ye Lan was confident he could easily defeat any opponent whose spiritual power was lower than his own. If 'Golden Gaze' had the same risk of backfiring as 'Charm,' Ye Lan would rather use his spiritual power on 'Flash' to make a quick escape.
After analyzing the 'Golden Gaze,' he summarized its primary characteristic. It was a divine skill for overwhelming weaker opponents! From now on, Ye Lan also possessed the ability to kill someone with a single stare!
Once he had fully perceived all the changes brought about by the enhancement of his spiritual power, Ye Lan gradually awakened. As he opened his eyes, he found that everyone's gaze was fixed upon him. The moment Ning Rongrong saw that Ye Lan was awake, she instantly threw herself into his arms.
"Ye Lan!!! From now on, you are my god!!!" Ning Rongrong exclaimed with great excitement!! If Zhuqing hadn't been right there beside them, she would have definitely grabbed Ye Lan's face and kissed him relentlessly!!
Ye Lan pretended not to know about the changes to Ning Rongrong's Martial Soul and asked, "What's wrong, Rongrong? Did your soul power increase a lot?"
"Hehe, my soul power is already at rank 30! I feel that after I obtain my next soul ring, my soul power level will definitely leap up by a huge margin!!"
"But the most, most, most crucial thing isn't the soul power level, it's this!!"
Ning Rongrong's eyes curved into crescent moons. With a flash of soul power in her palm, a small pagoda appeared in her hand. The entire pagoda presented a crystal-clear, translucent texture, as if it were crafted from the purest colored glaze, resplendent with a multitude of hues. Blue, green, and gold served as the main colors, with different shades weaving and blending together. But the most miraculous thing was that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had now become the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!
"Ye Lan!! The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda has finally broken its shackles and become the 'Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda'!! Now I have even more confidence in becoming the Douluo Continent's strongest support-type Soul Master!!" Ning Rongrong's face was a portrait of pure happiness. She could hardly wait to return to her clan and show her stubborn old father how much her Martial Soul had grown!
Seeing Ning Rongrong so overjoyed, Ye Lan felt that giving her the 'Exquisite Tulip' was truly worth it.
Ye Lan gently rubbed Ning Rongrong's head. Just then, Zhuqing also drew near. Seeing Zhuqing approach, Ye Lan became extremely curious about her changes as well!
He quickly asked, "Zhuqing, has your Martial Soul changed at all?!"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes glistened with tears as she too threw herself into Ye Lan's embrace, saying happily, "Teacher! Thank you!! I feel like my physical constitution has become terrifyingly strong!! It's as if I have an indestructible body of vajra and glaze!
"And what's more, my Martial Soul has also evolved!!"
"'Nether Civet' has become 'Shadow Sacred Meow'!"
As Zhu Zhuqing spoke, black soul power flashed around her, and she activated 'Sacred Meow Possession!'. A pair of black ears sprouted from Zhu Zhuqing's head, and her hands transformed into black cat paws, making her look incredibly cute. The moment Ye Lan saw Zhu Zhuqing with her Martial Soul possession, he was instantly captivated by her adorable appearance! Even if the 'Shadow Sacred Meow' has no power, I will still raise Zhuqing to the Titled Douluo realm and even to godhood!!
"Teacher, how is it!?"
Ye Lan murmured, "Excellent, excellent, so adorable!!"
Zhu Zhuqing's face instantly turned bright red, and she whispered as softly as a mosquito's hum, "Teacher, I wasn't referring to this..."
With that, Zhu Zhuqing deactivated her 'Sacred Meow' possession and summoned the phantom of the 'Shadow Sacred Meow.' One could see that the 'Nether Civet' had undergone a massive transformation, growing from a small kitten into a jet-black 'panther.' In terms of appearance alone, the small cat had become a very large black feline.
Ye Lan commented, "The 'Shadow Sacred Meow's' martial soul strength is now comparable to the 'White Tiger.' However, the 'White Tiger' is more proficient in power, while the 'Shadow Sacred Meow' is more proficient in speed."
"But speed is power. I believe that once you acquire your next soul ring, Zhuqing, your combat strength will be no less than Dai Mubai's!"
Zhu Zhuqing asked excitedly, "Is that true, Teacher?!"
"Of course. If you still can't match Dai Mubai after all this, then what would your day-after-day of arduous training and those two immortal herbs count for?!"
"Mhm!! I will definitely defeat Dai Mubai and the Nether White Tiger to prove it to you, Teacher!!" Zhu Zhuqing's face was filled with excitement.
Then, Zhu Zhuqing added, "My soul power level has reached rank 30, just like Rongrong. After I get my soul ring, my soul power should increase even further!"
At this moment, Dugu Yan walked up and said, "Idol!! I'm rank 40!! And my Martial Soul has changed dramatically too!!"
"How is the 'Jade Phosphorus Poison'!?" Ye Lan asked quickly.
"Grandpa has already helped me check the 'Jade Phosphorus Poison' in my body! Although the 'Jade Phosphorus Poison' is still there, the poison is now completely incapable of harming my body!!"
As Dugu Yan finished speaking, a green shadow of light appeared in her palm. The 'Jade Phosphorus Serpent' had transformed into an emerald 'Eastern Dragon.' With antlers like a deer, a neck like a snake, a belly like a clam, scales like a fish, claws like an eagle, paws like a tiger, and ears like an ox, the 'Jade Phosphorus Dragon Emperor' soared and tumbled within the poisonous mist in Dugu Yan's palm as if riding the clouds.
"Yanyan, how strong is your Dragon Emperor?!"
"Grandpa says that my 'Jade Phosphorus Dragon Emperor' is now comparable to a poison-attribute 'Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon'!" Dugu Yan said happily.
Just then, Dugu Bo spoke up, "Ye Lan, in the future, you and Yanyan should have a whole litter of children. Then you can establish a 'Jade Phosphorus Dragon Emperor Clan,' and let me experience the thrill of being the clan master of the continent's number one beast martial soul clan!! Hahahahaha!"
"Grandpa!! What nonsense are you spouting?!" Dugu Yan's cheeks and the tips of her ears turned completely red.
Ye Lan gave an awkward laugh. It wasn't that he didn't want to agree with Dugu Bo. The issue was that three death glares were now completely locked onto him!
Ye Lan quickly changed the subject, "Xiao Xue, were the changes to your Martial Soul significant?"
Seeing Ye Lan's concern for her, Xiao Xue retracted her death glare, and a golden flash of soul power appeared in her hand. A slender Angelic Holy Sword materialized in her palm, now emitting an incomparably scorching light. Compared to the Angelic Holy Sword Ye Lan had first seen, this one was now wreathed in platinum-gold flames.
Holding the Platinum Flame Holy Sword, Xiao Xue began to perform a dance of flames. As she moved, the very air distorted from the searing heat. Under the night sky, countless incandescent flames followed her movements, creating ripples of golden fire. Ye Lan was completely mesmerized by Xiao Xue's fire dance.
When the sword dance concluded, Ye Leng Leng took the lead in applauding! Only then did Ye Lan snap back to his senses and join in the applause.
After accepting everyone's praise, Xiao Xue explained to Ye Lan, "Ye Lan, the flame power of my Martial Soul has increased by about thirty percent!"
Ye Lan thought to himself, Thirty percent of the Ultimate Fire? That's truly terrifying. As expected of the 'Phoenix Crest Herb'! He felt that the changes to the Six-Winged Seraphim Martial Soul were not limited to just this.
After learning about Xiao Xue's changes, Ye Lan turned to Ye Leng Leng and asked, "Leng Leng, has your Martial Soul evolved!?"
"Mhm!"
A green flash of soul power appeared in Ye Leng Leng's palm, and a 'Nine Heart Begonia' materialized there. Different from the previous 'Nine Heart Begonia,' its white and pink petals now had a faint yellowish tint, making the 'Nine Heart Begonia' appear even more sacred!
"The 'Nine Heart Begonia' has evolved! But I'm not sure if it's the legendary 'Nine Heart Sacred Begonia'."
Ye Lan stepped forward and gently took Ye Leng Leng's small hand. A moment later, Ye Lan immersed himself in the Blue Silver consciousness to retrieve information about Ye Leng Leng's Martial Soul.
After a short while, Ye Lan said with pleasant surprise, "Leng Leng, it is now the 'Nine Heart Sacred Begonia'!! The flaw in your Martial Soul is no longer there!"
Upon hearing Ye Lan's confirmation, Ye Leng Leng threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. At that moment, countless 'Nine Heart Sacred Begonia' petals began to flutter all around, creating a rain of flowers just for the two of them.
As a thought occurred to Ye Leng Leng, a blush gradually appeared on her cheeks and earlobes.
"Ye Lan, you promised me..." Ye Leng Leng's shy voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum.
(End of Chapter)