Chapter 23: The Changes

In Su Cheng's case, shortly after he absorbed the Cloud Patterned Bronze Horn Rhino's soul ring into his martial soul, subtle anomalies began to appear all over his body.

Under the astonished and worried gaze of Qian Renxue, faint shadows resembling sword scars emerged on Su Cheng's bare upper body.

However, these sword scars didn't seem physical; they lacked any bloodstains and appeared more like some sort of imagery.

The number of sword scar shadows gradually increased.

After a moment, tiny traces of sword qi began to emanate from his body.

These chaotic sword qi strands, like headless flies being driven away, scattered in all directions, but never flew beyond three feet away from Su Cheng's body. They appeared and disappeared irregularly, without any discernible pattern.

But as time passed, after more than half an hour, the fragmented sword qi began to condense.

The countless small sword qi strands gradually gathered into more than ten transparent, three-inch-long mini-swords, rotating around Su Cheng's upper body, forming a remarkably aesthetic sight.

This scene left Qian Renxue perplexed.

Generally, when a soul master absorbs a soul ring, if the energy contained within the soul ring exceeds their capacity to bear, various peculiar phenomena might indeed occur due to energy leakage.

But at this moment, Su Cheng was seated on the ground with his upper body upright and firm, showing no signs of struggling. It was evident that he could effortlessly control the energy within his body.

Moreover, the series of changes that occurred were clearly related to Su Cheng's martial soul, and these sword qi strands were not ordinary energy leaks.

Qian Renxue suddenly felt a flash of insight.

"Martial soul awakening?!"

But then she shook her head, denying her own speculation. "No, this isn't a second awakening of the martial soul."

She had read records in the ancient texts about the reawakening of certain special martial souls, and the manifestations were not as mundane as this.

"It's really strange..."

However, although she was somewhat concerned, she remained calm.

From Su Cheng's words and actions earlier, it was clear that this soul ring absorption was definitely different from before. With her teacher's character and abilities, absorbing a third soul ring shouldn't pose any risks.

And so, after another half hour or so, Su Cheng's breathing became even more stable, and the surrounding anomalies stabilized as well, no longer showing any new changes.

At this moment, footsteps approached from behind.

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan arrived at the slope where the two were located.

After exchanging greetings with Qian Renxue, Yue Guan looked at Su Cheng with some surprise. "What's going on?"

"I'm not too sure either. Let's ask him after Teacher finishes absorbing the third soul ring," Qian Renxue replied.

Yue Guan nodded understandingly, realizing that the critical moment of soul ring absorption shouldn't be disturbed. So, he stood aside silently, waiting patiently.

Seeing that he came to find Su Cheng, Qian Renxue didn't continue speaking.

Time passed slowly.

Two hours later, Su Cheng's bones suddenly began to crackle, emitting faint and dense sounds, but they were soon drowned out by a long sigh.

At the same time, both Qian Renxue and Yue Guan noticed that the special cage used to imprison soul beasts nearby was directly split in half.

Then, a faint pressure enveloped the two of them before disappearing without a trace.

But they were both extraordinary individuals and immediately reacted.

They exchanged a surprised glance and exclaimed, "Domain?!"

At this moment, Su Cheng, who was seated on the ground, slowly stood up, observing the sword martial soul that had now acquired the third ring.

"Teacher, was that just now a domain?" Qian Renxue hurried over to Su Cheng, her voice filled with excitement.

"It's just a rudimentary form."

In fact, Su Cheng had long been capable of reaching this level; what held him back was the defect in his martial soul.

Although this body's aptitude for swordsmanship was poor, his tenacious nature and high intelligence, coupled with his experiences from two lifetimes, allowed him to grasp concepts beyond the ordinary and draw parallels between them.

Moreover, with enough focus, he wisely chose to abandon swordsmanship and focus solely on sword Dao.

Through repeated practice of basic sword techniques, he had already touched upon the essence of sword Dao.

Now, with the changes in his martial soul, he finally broke through this barrier.

At this moment, both Qian Renxue and Yue Guan finally noticed the changes within Su Cheng himself.

Especially Qian Renxue, who had spent years with him, felt the changes most acutely.

In the past, although Su Cheng had a strong will and formidable strength, he always seemed to lack a certain vigor, but this feeling was overshadowed by his strong aura of confidence, making it difficult for people to perceive.

But now, that sense of lackluster energy had completely disappeared.

To use an inappropriate description, it seemed that Su Cheng had become even more complete than before.

"Teacher, you seem to have become more handsome," Qian Renxue said dumbfoundedly.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had said something silly, her cheeks instantly turning red as she lowered her head in embarrassment.

Beside her, Yue Guan stood speechless.

Su Cheng twitched the corner of his mouth, choosing not to respond.

Yue Guan, now a peak-level Rank 95 Titled Douluo, with a far better understanding of martial souls than Qian Renxue, quickly caught on and looked at Su Cheng's right hand.

"Mr. Su, your martial soul..." Yue Guan began.

Su Cheng nodded and realized he couldn't hide the changes in his martial soul, so he simply extended his hand and openly displayed his transformed martial soul to the two of them. "Indeed, the martial soul is ultimately the most fundamental symbol of a soul master's strength, and there seems to be some wonderful connection between the soul master and their soul."

At this moment, Su Cheng's Broken Sword Martial Soul, or perhaps it couldn't even be called "broken sword" anymore.

The sword, once riddled with cracks and seemingly on the verge of shattering at any moment, was now no longer the same.

The sword spine was sturdy and powerful, the blade smooth and shining with cold light. Although it was just an ordinary iron sword, it was vastly improved compared to before.

"Teacher... you've really undergone a second awakening of your martial soul..." Qian Renxue couldn't help but exclaim as she looked at Su Cheng's revitalized sword martial soul, her eyes filled with a mixture of joy and sorrow.

The joy was natural because her teacher would no longer be constrained by his innate aptitude in the future, but the sorrow stemmed from the hardships he had endured due to his poor aptitude in the past.

Her emotions were extremely complicated for a moment.

"Not exactly," Su Cheng glanced at her and his expression seemed inexplicable.

Then he shook his head, "This isn't really a martial soul awakening."

"Not an awakening?"

This time, not only Qian Renxue but even Yue Guan was taken aback.

After a moment of pondering, Su Cheng pondered, "Hmm, if I had to say, it should be considered as completing the martial soul."

With a chuckle, he added, "Ah, as I've always said, where there's a will, there's a way. If you're lacking in innate talent, just make up for it with hard work, right?"

At this moment, Su Cheng's mood was extremely good. It seemed like he saw a road to heaven unfolding right before his eyes.