With the Tribulation-Blood Hawk dead, its corpse floated on the water's surface, a purple soul ring materializing around it.
"Little Iggy, this thunderstorm isn't a good time to absorb the soul ring. Quickly store the Tribulation-Blood Hawk's body in the soul conduit device and find a safe place to absorb it!"
"Now that the Tribulation-Blood Hawk is dead, the smell from the surrounding soul beast corpses will soon attract a large pack of millennial soul beasts. We have to leave immediately."
"Got it."
Ignaz didn't argue with Director Shui's advice. Soul rings don't vanish within an hour, so he only needed to absorb it during that window.
He swiftly packed away the corpse and the soul ring. Using Director Shui's flying soul technique, they quickly left the area. Barely had they taken off when hundreds of water centipedes, water snakes, and sharks appeared, rushing to scavenge — including some millennial-level sea soul beasts.
After leaving the thunderstorm behind, the two found a nearby island.
"Little Iggy, take your time to absorb it!"
"Alright."
As the Tribulation-Blood Hawk's corpse was unpacked, Ignaz sat cross-legged, pulling the purple soul ring to hover above his head. A surging soul force slammed into him. Compared to the previous Blood Scaled Dragon soul ring, this one carried far more intense and wild energy.
Fortunately, after two hours, as the millennial soul ring shrank and fully condensed beneath Ignaz's feet, the absorption was finally complete.
"Ha ha ha!"
Director Shui stroked his beard and laughed heartily.
"Looks like your theory was right, Little Iggy. Soul beast meat combined with your body-tempering training really can push a soul master to the milestone of a millennial second ring!"
But that's another story. After all, which kid can be so disciplined—enduring water pressure shocks, sticking to running training, and other intense body tempering for five or six straight years?
"Little Iggy, how many levels did your soul power increase? What's your second soul skill?"
Curious, Director Shui looked at Ignaz. The Tribulation-Blood Hawk counts as a high-level soul beast, just a hair's breadth below top-tier ones like the Demonic Tiger Whale King. So the soul skill gained must be outrageously powerful.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a strange blood-red spear appeared in Ignaz's hand. Besides the blood mist swirling around the spear shaft, blood-red electric arcs crackled violently, giving the impression that the spear could electrocute and kill at any moment.
"My soul power went up three levels. I call my second soul skill 'Three-Stage Thunder-Slaying Strike.' It's a triple attack using the Blood-Thunder War Spear. The first strike boosts attack power by 50%. The second strike adds another 100% to the attack and speed on top of the first. The third strike adds an extra 150% attack and speed over the second, with an added furious thunder paralysis effect."
Director Shui froze, stunned by how absurdly strong the skill was.
"That's insane! Your second soul skill not only inherits the Tribulation-Blood Hawk's speed and lightning attributes but perfectly copies its three-stage thunder breath burst."
After a moment's thought, Director Shui's expression turned even more alarmed. If his first and second soul skills were combined, the total attack could nearly double. Even a peak-level offensive soul lord wouldn't stand a chance!
"Little Iggy, how many times can you use this powerful second skill? Does each strike require charging?"
Ignaz scratched his head, smiling.
"At my current soul power, I can use the second skill up to five times. The three strikes are a combo and don't require charging."
"Five times? The soul ring skill doesn't have the usual massive charge-time drawback of the Tribulation-Blood Hawk's skill?"
Director Shui's mood swung wildly like a roller coaster. If he had killed a Tribulation-Blood Hawk himself back then, he wouldn't be a low-level soul king running a business in Vast Sea City now.
"All right, all right."
Director Shui looked at Ignaz, then patted his shoulder with relief.
"Little Iggy, you're officially a great soul master now, and your second soul ring is a millennial one. Don't show off your strength too early before you're truly ready. Your body tempering theory's proven, but not everyone can train like you."
"This world needs geniuses, but it's not short on them. It's better to destroy what you can't have than to trust in people's goodwill."
"Director Shui, Little Iggy remembers!"
Ignaz bowed respectfully to Director Shui. Without him and the help of several teachers, he wouldn't have made such strides recently.
"Standing out like a tall tree invites the wind to break it. Without solid backing, no matter how high your innate soul power or how hard you train, if you don't join a faction, you'll be crushed. The Martial Soul Hall is like that, and so are the top three sects."
"If Tang San hadn't had the Clear Sky Sect and the secret protection of his late wife Douluo Tang Hao, he'd have been wiped out after revealing his millennial fourth ring and external soul bones in the Soul Master Competition."
"But joining a sect often means severe restrictions. Even with rich resources, martial souls are bloodline legacies. You might end up a breeding sow, forced into arranged marriage and childbearing, your worth drained and tied to the sect forever."
Half a day later, at dusk, the two returned to the academy, where Director Shui had already prepared Ignaz's graduation certificate.
"Little Iggy, you're the most hardworking kid I've ever seen with poor innate talent. Your strength is enough now. Your understanding of martial souls even makes me, a soul king, feel a bit inferior. You've graduated."
Ignaz accepted the certificate and bowed deeply to Director Shui and Director Lu.
"Thank you, Directors, for your guidance. I'll always remember it."
At that moment, Director Shui smiled meaningfully.
"If you have nowhere to go after graduation, you can come to work at the Wardfark Grand Hotel — it's my family's business."
"What? The Wardfark Grand Hotel is four stars. Director, you're the owner?"
Ignaz was stunned, unaware of this side of the director. It showed how much he wanted to keep him.
"Thanks for the offer. Take care, teachers."
Ignaz reluctantly left the academy. Director Shui and Director Lu exchanged knowing smiles and quickly sent off a letter to Skywater City.
One month later, in a bamboo grove outside Fish Village, Ignaz gripped the Blood-Thunder War Spear, unleashing his first and second soul skills with all his might.
"Boom—"
Within a hundred meters, all the green bamboo crashed down at once. The spear's destructive power rivaled that of a three-thousand-year-old strength-type soul beast.
"Instant soul skill release—I did it!"
Ignaz withdrew the spear, excitement coursing through him. After gaining the second soul skill, he aimed to master instant skill release.
Instant release is just a technique. Once you master your skills, it's doable. Both his first and second soul skills share a feature: they boost spear attack power. The first skill's 40% attack increase is pure amplification lasting three minutes.
This means that within three minutes, by continuously chaining the second soul skill, he could hit 12 to 15 strikes in rapid succession. Whether against control-type or defense-type soul masters, no one could keep up with his absolute attack speed. They'd be forced into a passive stance or even forced to retreat.