Early the next morning, they returned to Holy Spirit Village.
By now, Xiao Lin had fully understood the nature of his Soul Skill. Coincidentally, he spotted Tang San in the distance practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill. After offering his thanks to Tang Hao, Xiao Lin rushed toward Tang San at full speed.
"Little San!"
Xiao Lin let out a loud shout, giving the fully focused Tang San a massive startle.
"Brother Lin! You're back."
Though startled, Tang San smiled as soon as he saw who it was.
Looking at Xiao Lin's sun-drenched, beaming face, Tang San knew instantly that his friend must have obtained an exceptionally powerful skill.
"Brother Lin, that was so fast!" Tang San scratched his head, looking at the smug Xiao Lin.
"Hehe, I got my first Soul Skill, and after my physical attributes were reinforced, I asked Uncle Hao to carry me straight back."
"You have no idea how strong Uncle Hao is or how fast he moves. I nearly suffocated from the wind!" Xiao Lin chuckled.
He had specifically asked Tang Hao to hurry back just so he could show off in front of Tang San.
"By the way, we'll have plenty of beef to eat from now on."
"That 800-year Vajra Giant Ox has enough meat to last us two months. By the time we head to Nuoding Academy, you won't look this malnourished anymore." Xiao Lin shook his head as he looked at Tang San's face.
Still not robust enough. How could someone who wields the Clear Sky Hammer be so scrawny?
"Alright." Tang San smiled, genuinely interested in the beef.
The Three-Eyed Salamander they ate last time hadn't been very tasty, except for the tail. But there were only so many tails to go around, and they were gone in a flash.
"So, Brother Lin, what is your first Soul Skill?" Tang San asked curiously.
Ever since Xiao Lin suggested that Soul Skills could be influenced by a Soul Master's cognition—and that it was possible to obtain multiple effects—Tang San had become fascinated by the subject.
"Hmph, hmph!"
Hearing the question, Xiao Lin's lips curled into a triumphant smirk.
He had been waiting for this exact moment.
"My skill is called Heaven and Earth Toss. It's an attack-amplification type. Take a guess—how much does it increase my attack power?"
Xiao Lin leaned in so close his face was almost touching Tang San's. He lived for this look of bewildered curiosity. He planned to let Tang San guess, reject the answer, and then drop a value so astronomical it would leave the boy reeling.
"Heaven and Earth Toss?"
"Such a powerful name?"
Tang San was stunned.
He leaned back to escape Xiao Lin's intense gaze and finally offered his guess.
"Your Soul Ring came from a Vajra Giant Ox, so it should increase strength. But since you said it's for attack, I'll guess a 300% attack enhancement."
Tang San made a very bold guess.
It wasn't because he could calculate the exact relationship between a Martial Soul and a Soul Ring, but because he knew that if Xiao Lin was this smug, it couldn't be a normal skill.
It had to be something shocking.
"Too small! Your vision is too small!"
Xiao Lin's smirk widened as he delivered the heavy blow.
"Attack power is enhanced by 400%. Not only that, I feel my raw strength has more than doubled, and the hardness of the Horned Dragon Staff is reinforced by 50%."
Xiao Lin looked up at the sky in a classic display of arrogance.
"And if I activate my Vajra Imperishable Divine Skill? Guess how much the attack enhancement becomes then?"
"At least 800%, and the staff's hardness doubles!"
Xiao Lin provided his own answer, causing Tang San to lose his composure completely.
"How much!?" Tang San blurted out.
Seriously, are you using cheats?
Tang San had thought that with his Twin Martial Souls, nothing Xiao Lin did could truly shock him. But today's revelation left him utterly floored.
"800%? Then by the time you become a Soul Saint, won't it become 1600%?"
Tang San began to seriously doubt the basic Martial Soul knowledge he had learned.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda of the famous Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect only offered a 20% boost per ring!
"This is the talent of my Innate Tool Soul Avatar. It's like I have two transformation stages. I am the protagonist of destiny! If I can't transform twice, what kind of protagonist would I be?"
Xiao Lin's nose was practically pointing at the clouds.
"Wait, Brother Lin... that skill is heaven-defying, and with a name like Heaven and Earth Toss, I can accept it. But what's with the doubling of your strength? Why doesn't the strength double again when you use the Vajra Imperishable Divine Skill?"
Tang San, being a martial genius, immediately noticed the inconsistency.
"Oh... you're right. That's not very scientific." Xiao Lin lowered his head and rubbed his chin.
"The reason I chose the Vajra Giant Ox was to test my theory. I wanted to guarantee an attack boost while gaining as much strength and hardness as possible. The attack and hardness boosts are fine, but why is the strength boost different?"
"Could it be that the 800-year soul power wasn't enough to provide more abilities?"
Xiao Lin sat on the ground to think it through.
The reason for the Ox was peak attack power. Even though it's a herbivore and lacks ferocity and agility, I have a Tool Martial Soul, so I didn't need a predator like a Vajra Tiger. Predators aren't even as strong as a Vajra Giant Ox.
My choice was right; I got 400% attack and 50% hardness. But the strength...
If my Innate Tool Soul Avatar can't amplify that strength, it means the strength isn't part of the Soul Skill itself.Is it a base strength increase given by the Horned Dragon Staff?
Xiao Lin looked up, about to ask Tang San if that was possible, when a sudden exclamation from Tang San caused him to subconsciously touch his own forehead.
"Brother Lin, you have two horns growing out of your forehead!"
Tang San's words made the truth flash through Xiao Lin's mind.
Could it be an External Soul Bone!?The legendary External Soul Bone, second only to a one hundred thousand year soul bone?
Xiao Lin felt his forehead.
Sure enough, his fingers brushed against two hard, small protrusions. They were about the size of his thumb's fingernail, slightly curved into a crescent shape.
"Brother Lin, they look like a pair of little ox horns!"
"Little ox horns?" Hearing this, Xiao Lin's heart raced.
He was now almost certain it was an External Soul Bone.
"I see... so that's where the strength came from. They were so small Uncle Hao didn't notice them?"
Xiao Lin touched the horns and channeled his soul power into them.
Using his intent, he commanded them to retract.
In an instant, his forehead was smooth and clear again.
"Brother Lin, what is that?" Tang San was fascinated.
Those tiny horns had doubled his strength?
"Little San that is an External Soul Bone. Aside from one hundred thousand year soul bones, it is the most top-tier type of soul bone. It will grow stronger as I grow."
Xiao Lin hid nothing and explained everything to Tang San.
"By the way, you must never tell anyone about my External Soul Bone."
Xiao Lin gave a final, stern warning.
In the original story, no one managed to steal Tang San's Eight Spider Lances, and he hadn't heard of anyone successfully stripping an External Soul Bone from someone else.
But even if it couldn't be stolen, if someone grew greedy and thought it could be taken, Xiao Lin's safety would be in serious jeopardy.