Chapter 7: First Soul Skill, Birth of the Tree Realm, Thorny Jungle

Li Xun watched the spectacular scene before him and nodded slightly. As long as one of these hundreds of thousands of seeds successfully germinated, the life of this Silver-Branch Spruce would be continued. His vision for his first spirit ring stemmed from this very idea.

As the flying sword descended, Li Xun walked slowly to the side of the Silver-Branch Spruce and gave it a gentle push. The massive silver spruce toppled to one side. After waiting for a while, a yellow light ring slowly rose from the stump.

Sword Douluo looked concerned. "Sit cross-legged, Xiao Xun. Calm your mind and hold your martial spirit with your intent."

Li Xun complied, sitting cross-legged and focusing his intent on the Thousand-Hand Buddha in his right hand. His martial spirit immediately generated a suction force, slowly drawing the yellow spirit ring from the stump. As the ring neared his martial spirit, Li Xun felt a surge of pressure. It felt as if his body were being compressed, causing his bones to creak.

Soon, the spirit ring reached the top of his head, suddenly contracted, and settled directly onto his martial spirit. Li Xun felt the pressure multiply. Although the nearly six-hundred-year-old spirit ring had gentle attributes, its high age exceeded his current limit. Fine wounds appeared all over his body—a sign that his body could not absorb the expanding energy—but his Wood Release immediately healed them with its powerful regenerative ability. This cycle repeated several times.

Sword Douluo’s eyes narrowed, but even one as strong as him could do nothing. Absorbing a spirit ring was a solitary task; interference would only harm the recipient.

After an unknown amount of time, the pressure began to fade, and a surge of energy flowed from the ring into his body. As it entered, it rapidly merged with the flame formed by his chakra and spirit power. The moment the energy fused with the flame, the Thousand-Hand Buddha began to change; the brown statue took on a hint of vibrant green vitality.

"It's done."

Feeling the change in his body, Li Xun felt a surge of joy and opened his eyes.

"Good!" Chen Xin’s mouth curved into a smile. He had been worried about not being able to bring Li Xun back safely, but fortunately, the process had been perilous yet successful.

Li Xun stood up slowly to adapt to the changes. He felt that he hadn't just gained a spirit ring; his physical strength had also increased.

"How is it, Xiao Xun?" Sword Douluo asked curiously.

Li Xun smiled. "My spirit power has increased to level twelve. I don't think I'm far from level thirteen." Having absorbed a ring beyond his limit, coupled with his innate full spirit power, he might have already reached level thirteen if his foundation weren't so thin. "As for the spirit skill..."

Li Xun raised the Thousand-Hand Buddha, and the yellow spirit ring beneath his feet lit up.

The next second, ten energy fruits were launched by the statue's arms. Upon reaching the air, they burst, transforming into seeds that flew in designated directions according to Li Xun's will. Once the seeds were in place, Li Xun joined his fingers in the Snake seal and channeled his chakra.

"Birth of the Tree Sea."

As he spoke, the seeds of life in the ground began to grow rapidly. In the blink of an eye, fifty or sixty small trees, each half a meter tall and as thick as three fingers, had formed.

"Xiao Xun, does this first spirit skill have room to grow?" Sword Douluo asked, looking thoughtful. Initially, he hadn't placed much importance on this first skill, as even a unique century-old ring rarely provided a qualitative leap. However, he noticed that after Li Xun used the skill, a large number of seeds remained in the ground, prompting his question.

"Yes, Sword Grandpa. This first spirit skill will enhance the quality of the plants and the quantity summoned as my level increases," Li Xun said, looking at the small saplings. "As long as there are tree seeds left in the ground, I can regenerate an equal amount of plants even if the enemy destroys the forest."

This first spirit skill confirmed his hypothesis: choosing an augmentation-type ring was far more beneficial than an attack-type. Given his current chakra levels, he could scale the technique larger, but that would be mere showmanship with no tactical value. He had to reserve chakra to manipulate the trees in battle. While there were limitations now, the future potential far exceeded early attack-oriented rings.

Tang San’s Blue Silver Entanglement served as his guide on what to avoid. In the mid-to-late stages, Tang San had almost abandoned his first few rings; his Blue Silver Emperor bloodline and domain lacked presence. If not for the chance to replace his rings during Xiao Wu’s resurrection, his combat power would not have been so formidable.

Dismissing these thoughts, Li Xun formed a seal with one hand and channeled his chakra to manipulate the trees. Influenced by his Wood Release, the tough wood softened and began to entwine, looking from a distance like dense, tangled vines. What caught Sword Douluo’s eye most was that these vines had grown dense, sharp thorns of varying lengths, from two to eight centimeters.

Sword Douluo nodded approvingly. "Not bad. It has both control and lethality." He had worried that Li Xun would be weaker than his peers due to a lack of offensive skills, but that concern was clearly misplaced. In his judgment, this skill was sufficient to affect low-level spirit masters. Though flawed, it held great promise as a first spirit skill.

Li Xun chuckled. This skill was an evolution of the Wood Release: Cutting Technique. While it couldn't fire the thorns, his control turned the trees into a living forest of thorns.

"Let’s call this first spirit skill combination 'Birth of the Tree World: Forest of Thorns'."

As the flying sword ascended, Li Xun glanced into the distance. The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was still waiting for him in the heart of the Sunset Forest.

...

Sword Douluo’s flying sword was fast. Including the time taken to absorb the ring, the round trip took only about five hours.

"Brother Li Xun, I've finished today's lessons, so you should go on your own..." Ning Rongrong complained, shaking Li Xun’s arm and acting spoiled. Since she had declared her intention to cultivate diligently, Li Xun had discussed it with Ning Fengzhi. Ning Fengzhi was, of course, happy to see them spend time together; one was the future sect leader and the other a future pillar of the sect. Even Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo remained silent on the matter.

"Fine, I'll give you half a day off," Li Xun said helplessly.

"Yay! Thank you, Brother Li Xun! I’m going to play now!" Before he could reply, Ning Rongrong hopped away.

"Aunt Xue, I'll have to trouble you to accompany me," Li Xun said, turning to the woman beside him.

Dragging Ning Rongrong to study was merely a pretext; his main goal was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s library. He needed to study spirit beast classifications and herbal knowledge, especially regarding immortal herbs, which were of paramount importance. Currently, only three people in the entire continent knew the most about them: Tang San, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Yang Wudi. Chrysanthemum Douluo, as an Elder of the Spirit Hall, was inaccessible, and asking Tang San was a path to self-destruction. Yang Wudi was knowledgeable but reclusive and stubborn, requiring a slow, calculated approach.

"Aunt Xue, please post a task for me. The objective is to collect books on rare herbs from across the continent. Any book containing herbs I haven't seen counts. The reward will range from one to one hundred gold spirit coins, depending on the content."

Li Xun paused, then added, "If the book is something I truly need, the reward can go up to one thousand gold spirit coins."

"Young Master, isn't the bounty too high? I fear many might try to forge books to claim it," Aunt Xue said with concern.