Before long, under the scorching heat, the ill-fated Cooling Flower was reduced to a charred black mass.
In the blink of an eye, amidst the blazing flames, countless golden light particles dispersed, gradually condensing into a bright yellow soul ring.
It must be said, low-year plant-type soul beasts should be among the easiest to hunt.
If a soul master's martial soul is of the plant type, even without a team leading the hunt, they could still use various tricks and strategies to have a chance at obtaining the best first soul ring.
After a while, the burning oil was exhausted, and the flames gradually died out.
"Xiao Yang, release your martial soul and guide the soul ring over."
Huo Lie said to Mu Yang.
Nodding slightly, Mu Yang raised his right hand. Gathering soul power in his palm, a faint earthy yellow halo emerged as a ginseng martial soul, about four inches long with three green leaves at its tip, appeared from his palm.
With a wave of his hand, under the guidance of the faint earthy yellow glow, the century-old Cooling Flower soul ring slowly flew toward Mu Yang.
As the soul ring approached, Mu Yang felt a powerful pressure descend, his entire skeletal structure making faint cracking sounds under the strain.
Soon, the bright yellow soul ring arrived above Mu Yang's head. Without giving him any chance to react, the soul ring suddenly shrank to the size of a bracelet and directly settled onto the ginseng martial soul in his right hand.
In that instant, Mu Yang felt as though his right hand had plunged into a turbulent ocean. An overwhelming surge of energy, using the ginseng martial soul as a medium, poured into his body as if it might explode at any moment.
"Xiao Yang, no matter how the soul ring's energy impacts your body, remember to stay conscious."
Huo Lie, standing nearby, sternly reminded him.
However, at this moment, Mu Yang couldn't afford to pay attention to Huo Lie's advice. All his focus was on the massive influx of soul ring energy pouring into his body like a tidal wave.
The moment the soul ring's energy entered his body, Mu Yang instinctively began operating the Extreme Flame Meditation Technique to speed up the refinement of the overwhelming energy from the soul ring.
Although the Extreme Flame Meditation Technique could only absorb fire-element particles during meditation, it was not limited when processing energy already within the body. It could even convert non-elemental or other elemental energies into fire-attribute soul power.
Fortunately, his ginseng martial soul was an element-neutral martial soul, and not an opposing element like ice or water. Otherwise, the single-attribute Extreme Flame Meditation Technique would not have been suitable for his cultivation.
As the meditation technique operated, the soul ring energy within his body began to rapidly convert into his own accumulated soul power.
At the same time, Mu Yang didn't notice the changes occurring in his ginseng martial soul in his palm.
Originally earthy yellow, the ginseng became slightly larger and fuller. The three green leaves at the top turned a deeper shade of green with faint vein patterns, their color resembling the small blue flowers of the Cooling Flower.
"Boom—"
A surge of soul ring energy exploded. Mu Yang heard what seemed like a clear cracking sound. The soul power within his body, which had once been a mere trickle, instantly surged into a flowing stream that coursed through his entire body, bringing an indescribable comfort.
At this moment, with the addition of the soul ring, the restriction on his soul power level caused by the lack of a soul ring was finally broken!
Time passed slowly. When Mu Yang eventually opened his eyes, his ginseng martial soul had already returned to his body. The Sunset Forest was now cloaked in night, with stars scattered across the sky and the moon hanging high.
Feeling the unprecedented strength of the soul power within his body, a faint smile appeared on Mu Yang's lips.
"Not bad. You've grown taller. I imagine your frequent weakness issue should no longer be a problem in the future."
Huo Lie, sitting by the campfire and tending to the flames, looked at Mu Yang, who had grown slightly taller after gaining his soul ring, and nodded in satisfaction.
Hearing this, Mu Yang's face froze, and he felt a twinge of embarrassment.
Weak? Dear Uncle, I'm not weak! Not at all!
However, Mu Yang could foresee that as long as he continued using his innate deduction ability, this "weak" reputation would likely stick with him for life.
Ugh... If he one day achieved the rank of nine-ring Titled Douluo, would people start calling him the "Weak Douluo"?
Mu Yang: I'll beat the nonsense out of you!
Rolling his eyes, Mu Yang pulled out a soul power testing crystal ball from the storage soul tool bracelet on his left wrist.
Seeing this, Huo Lie chuckled and said, "Alright, there's no need to test it. Your soul power has reached Level 12. Show me your first soul skill."
With Huo Lie's strength, it was easy for him to discern Mu Yang's modest soul power level at a glance.
After a pause, Mu Yang put away the testing crystal ball. With a flash of soul power, he manifested his ginseng martial soul, accompanied by the emergence of a bright yellow soul ring.
"Essence of the Eight Desolate Heavens and Earth, Soul Revival!"
Feeling the effects of his first soul skill, Mu Yang softly chanted the incantation. As his soul power surged and the soul ring glowed, a three-inch-long ginseng appeared in his hand.
Compared to the ginseng martial soul, the soul power-created food, Soul Revival Ginseng, was entirely blue, lacking leaves and possessing only a plump root body and dense root hairs. The color and appearance differed significantly from the martial soul itself.
As expected, Mu Yang had acquired the soul skill he desired. The first soul skill, Soul Revival Ginseng, could restore both soul power and spiritual power.
As for the soul skill's incantation, food-type soul masters needed to chant one when creating soul power food, and many auxiliary-type soul masters also required incantations for their skills.
However, incantations weren't absolutely necessary. If a soul master had high enough control over their own soul power, they could chant mentally or skip it entirely.
Of course, his incantation was a proper one. Reciting it while creating soul power food was harmless and wouldn't seem unpleasant at the very least.
"Sigh~"
Hearing Mu Yang's incantation, Huo Lie couldn't help but recall a certain figure chanting their soul skill and let out a sigh.
"Soul Revival Ginseng, capable of restoring soul power and spiritual power," Mu Yang explained while handing the ginseng to Huo Lie.
Returning from his thoughts, Huo Lie took the ginseng, put it in his mouth, and began chewing like it was a radish, without immediately activating his soul power to refine it.
"Not bad!"
After carefully experiencing its effects, Huo Lie nodded in approval.
Although the Soul Revival Ginseng had little effect on him as an eight-ring Soul Douluo, it would undoubtedly have impressive restorative effects if used by a soul master of equal or similar strength.