Douluo: When the piano sounds, the hidden weapon returns to the factory

At the foot of Poseidon Mountain, Feng Yao and Qian Renxue had just adapted to the tremendous improvement brought about by the first test when Poseidon's figure appeared silently before them, as if blending into the sea breeze.

“Feng Yao…” Poseidon’s gaze fell on him, with a hint of scrutiny and a touch of approval. “You have passed the first test and have begun to understand the true meaning of the Vast Ocean. Your foundation is now solid. The Sea God will bestow blessings upon every test taker above the Black level to help you go further.”

She slowly raised her hand, and in her palm, a soft yet incredibly powerful golden sphere of light appeared out of thin air. Within that sphere, countless golden stardust seemed to swirl and emanate, radiating a pure and sacred aura. The sheer vastness of its energy far exceeded Feng Yao's imagination!
Feng Yao's eyes instantly turned fervent as he looked at the divinely bestowed soul ring in Poseidon's hand, which was also a major reason why he had come here.

“This is a divinely bestowed soul ring.” Poseidon’s voice was solemn and peaceful. “By integrating it into yourself, it can bestow upon you the soul skills you need most and the soul rings of the highest age, according to your own limits and physical potential. How much you can absorb depends entirely on your own destiny.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the golden ball of light floated lightly toward Feng Yao.

Feng Yao's eyes narrowed, and he dared not be negligent in the slightest. He immediately sat down cross-legged, focused his mind and adjusted his state to its best. Under Poseidon's surprised gaze, he summoned his second martial soul, the Innate Eight Trigrams Disc.

"Twin martial souls, indeed, the Sea God's judgment is..." Poseidon thought to himself with mixed feelings.

The moment the divinely bestowed soul orb touched his body, it instantly transformed into a warm and vast torrent, surging into his limbs and bones!
A massive amount of energy instantly filled every meridian and every cell in his body! Feng Yao felt as if his body was about to be torn apart, but he kept his mind focused and used all his strength to circulate the Xuan Tian Gong and his own soul power, guiding this power to operate in the way he had gained from the new insights brought about by the Nine Trials of the Sea God.

His body began to emanate strong soul power fluctuations, and the first soul ring finally appeared on the Innate Eight Trigrams Martial Soul on his back.

Under the infusion of that vast power, Feng Yao's understanding of "sound" and "water" was elevated to an unprecedented level. Feng Yao could clearly feel that his total spiritual power, soul power, and the precision of his control over power were all soaring at an alarming rate!

The process of him absorbing the divinely bestowed soul ring also resonated wonderfully with the "Power of the Vast Ocean" he had comprehended. The golden energy did not violently impact him, but rather flowed like gentle yet endless waves, one after another, constantly washing over, expanding, and strengthening his foundation, as if composing a symphony of power together with his soul.

After an unknown amount of time, when Feng Yao felt a swelling in his body, the mysterious and unpredictable power gradually disappeared, and Feng Yao suddenly opened his eyes!

A deep, blood-red light suddenly shone from beneath his feet, quickly coalescing into a unique spirit ring—a deep crimson ring with faint golden patterns shimmering around its edges! The energy fluctuations emanating from it were vast yet restrained, far surpassing his previous eighth spirit ring, yet carrying a unique oceanic rhythm!

First spirit ring, complete!

The age is even approaching 200,000 years! And it perfectly matches the power of the vast ocean that he has comprehended!

At the same time, information about this first soul skill naturally surfaced in his mind.

Feng Yao stood up, feeling the surging, roaring, and nearly doubled soul power within him, and the even closer connection he felt to the ocean. His eyes shone with confidence. The divinely bestowed soul ring truly lived up to its name!

"How is it?" Qian Renxue asked excitedly. She could clearly feel that Feng Yao had broken through to the level of a Title Douluo.

After absorbing the divinely bestowed soul ring and stabilizing his soul power at level ninety, Feng Yao did not immediately delve into the content of the Sea God's second trial. With a slight thought, another martial soul that had always been hidden—the Innate Eight Trigrams Plate—quietly appeared in his palm.

It was engraved with intricate innate Bagua runes (Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui), with a yin-yang fish slowly rotating in the center, exuding a mysterious and obscure aura that seemed to be able to deduce the laws governing the operation of all things in the universe. Since awakening, he had almost never used this martial soul, simply because it was too mysterious and elusive.

At this moment, having absorbed the divinely bestowed soul ring, and with his soul power and perception of the laws of heaven and earth reaching new heights, Feng Yao felt that he might be able to initially control this mysterious martial soul.

He took a deep breath and poured his immense soul power into it. As the soul power surged, the Qian trigram, representing "Heaven," on the Bagua plate suddenly shone brightly, becoming incomparably dazzling! A vast, robust, righteous, and inviolable power of Heaven and Earth was drawn from the plate, and the other seven trigrams on the plate temporarily disappeared, leaving only the Qian trigram shining brightly, faintly resonating with some kind of law above the heavens!
Feng Yao, inspired by a sudden inspiration, shouted loudly, "First Soul Skill: Qian Gua Heavenly Movement! Heavenly Gang Body Protection!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a pure and dazzling golden beam of light suddenly shot out from the Qian hexagram. It did not attack the enemy, but precisely enveloped Qian Renxue, who was protecting him!
Qian Renxue was slightly taken aback, only to feel a surge of pure and vast energy, extremely yang and strong, instantly merge into her body, forming a thin yet indestructible golden barrier on her skin—the "Heavenly Barrier"! At the same time, a powerful sense of strength surged from her limbs and bones, and the activity of her soul power, speed, strength, mental power, and even angelic holy power all received a terrifying 50% comprehensive boost in an instant!
Even more remarkably, she felt her mind become incredibly clear and transparent. All external disturbances, including the natural pressure emanating from Seagod Mountain, and even the subtle ripples in her heart caused by Tang San, were quietly shut out by the "Heavenly Barrier." It was as if all evil could not invade her, and all thoughts were undisturbed!

"This is...?" Qian Renxue felt the surging new power within her body and the absolute protective state, her golden eyes filled with shock. This support effect was simply heaven-defying! Having experienced the amplification of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, she instantly felt that the Innate Eight Trigrams Disc in Feng Yao's hand should be the number one support martial soul in the world.

A hint of surprise flashed in Feng Yao's eyes, but he did not stop. The light of the Qian hexagram grew even brighter, and he raised his hand to point to a huge reef in the sea in the distance.

"The Qian hexagram moves with the heavens! The majestic power of heaven is awe-inspiring!"

“Boom-ka-!!!”

The heavens seemed to be torn apart by an invisible force, and the once clear sky suddenly darkened! Amidst deafening thunder, nine bolts of purple lightning, as thick as palace pillars and containing endless destructive and judgmental will, tore through the sky like the wrath of the gods, striking the huge reef with unparalleled precision!
Boom, boom! ! !

A series of deafening explosions rang out as the incredibly hard reef blasted open with a huge gash under the first bolt of lightning, sending debris flying everywhere! The next eight bolts of lightning struck the same spot almost without pause, each bringing even more terrifying destruction! Lightning raged, electric snakes danced wildly, and the air was filled with the smell of ozone and a numbing sensation that sent chills down one's spine!

When the lightning dissipated, only some charred debris remained in that sea area; the huge reef had vanished without a trace! One can imagine the devastating blow that would have been dealt to enemies, especially those with ghost, poison, or other spiritual abilities, under this supremely yang and evil-resistant "Heavenly Punishment"!

Feng Yao slowly withdrew his martial spirit, his face slightly pale from the sudden surge of energy expenditure, but his eyes burned with excitement. "A combination of offense, defense, and support..." Qian Renxue swallowed hard and murmured.

This Qian hexagram, with its integrated offense and defense, is terrifyingly effective! The absolute defense and all-attribute amplification provided by the Heavenly Gang Body Protection are enough to instantly change the course of a battle; while the devastating lightning strikes of Heavenly Punishment and the double restraint on evil martial souls have become a powerful trump card in his hand!

The Innate Eight Trigrams Martial Soul, in its first appearance, has shown its unparalleled potential as a top-tier support-type and power-attack-type martial soul!
Looking at the martial spirit in Feng Yao's hand, Poseidon couldn't help but marvel. In her opinion, any martial spirit that could mobilize the power of heaven and earth was a divinely bestowed martial spirit, because it was a power possessed only by gods, just like her Sea God martial spirit and Qian Renxue's Six-Winged Angel martial spirit. Obviously, this understanding had been shattered by the innate Bagua plate in Feng Yao's hand.

For the first time, Poseidon's stunningly beautiful face revealed an undisguised intense interest and a hint of inquiry.

“Feng Yao,” Poseidon’s voice remained calm, yet it carried a subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuation, “did the strange symbols engraved on your martial spirit plate just now have any special meaning?”

As the High Priestess of the Sea God, she had lived for countless years and believed she had seen many powerful and bizarre martial spirits on the continent, but she had never seen such a peculiar existence. The martial spirit did not emit any earth-shattering energy fluctuations, but the aura of the power of heaven and earth it stirred up when it was in operation made her feel that it was profound and unfathomable.

Feng Yao was slightly taken aback, not expecting Poseidon to be so interested in his second martial soul. After a moment's thought, he respectfully replied, "Senior, this martial soul is called the 'Innate Eight Trigrams Plate.' Inscribed on it are eight basic symbols called 'trigrams,' representing eight natural forces and phenomena: Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Water, Fire, Mountain, and Lake. What I just used was to activate the power of the Qian trigram, which represents 'Heaven.'"

“The hexagrams… Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Water, Fire, Mountain, Lake…” Poseidon repeated these words softly, her eyes flashing with increasing astonishment. These few words encompassed all things in heaven and earth. Even the sea god she worshipped could only control the ocean with his power, and could also summon storms and drive thunder and rain. In a sense, he was also part of this great power of nature.

"A martial soul that encompasses all things in heaven and earth... perhaps he really can surpass Lord Sea God..." Poseidon couldn't help but sigh inwardly, her gaze turning to Feng Yao again, filled with scrutiny and curiosity, "So, your martial soul is not a simple support or offensive one, but rather closer to... mastering the rules?"

Feng Yao shook his head and said, "You flatter me too much by saying I wield the rules. Perhaps I could do what you say if I reached the level of the Sea God. Right now, I can only invoke the rules, follow the rules, and use the rules as tools in my hands."

Upon hearing this, Poseidon looked at Feng Yao and said softly, "You are very modest."

She could see clearly that the "Heavenly Gang Protection" was not a simple energy barrier, but rather a temporary reversal of the rules around Qian Renxue to achieve a defensive state of "invulnerability to all evils". The energy field around her body was also perfectly transformed into an environment that perfectly suited Qian Renxue. The lightning that was like a divine punishment was not an ordinary lightning soul skill. In fact, even the soul power fluctuations were very small. It was more like a lightning strike filled with a sense of nature.

Feng Yao nodded: "Senior, you flatter me. The power of the Innate Bagua Plate does indeed lie in communication, induction, and even defining rules within a small scope. However, my cultivation is currently shallow, and I can only incite the superficial aspects."

Upon hearing this, Poseidon remained silent for a long time, gazing at Feng Yao as if he were a priceless treasure. After a long while, she slowly spoke, "The power of the Sea God is one of the most vast and powerful rules in this world, governing the oceans and nurturing life. Your martial soul seems to have touched upon similar, yet more fundamental, rules of heaven and earth through another path..."

Her tone carried a hint of emotion: "It seems that the Sea God's test of 'comprehending the power of the vast ocean' that he placed on you was not without purpose. Perhaps the true potential of your martial soul far exceeds our imagination. Comprehend it well, Feng Yao; it may allow you to see a unique path to godhood, unlike any other soul master."

After speaking, Poseidon took a deep look at the hidden position of the Innate Eight Trigrams Plate, and his figure slowly faded away, disappearing from the two of them, leaving behind the surging Feng Yao and the astonished Qian Renxue.

Poseidon's words opened a whole new door for Feng Yao, giving him a deeper understanding and greater expectations for his second martial soul.

When Feng Yao and Qian Renxue returned to the quiet courtyard in Haima City, the setting sun cast a warm golden glow over the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling, along with the others who had finished the first test, were all drenched in sweat and had exhausted their soul power. They were sitting by the stone table, recuperating. Upon seeing the two return, and especially sensing the increasingly unfathomable aura emanating from them, which even carried a hint of the immense power they had just acquired and had not yet fully contained, the three women couldn't help but raise their heads, their eyes filled with anticipation.

"You're back!" Ning Rongrong spoke first, her voice still a little breathless. "Judging from your expressions... has something good happened?"

Qian Renxue smiled slightly, revealing a faint but genuine smile, and nodded: "Yes, I've made a breakthrough by chance."

Feng Yao walked to the stone table, his gaze sweeping over the three women's tired yet resolute faces, and smiled, "It seems you've had quite a haul today. Congratulations."

A slight ripple appeared in Ye Lingling's usually cold eyes as she softly offered her congratulations: "Congratulations."

Ning Rongrong pressed on with curiosity, "Tell me quickly, what reward did the Sea God give you? Was it amazing?"

Feng Yao smiled slightly and said, "Xue'er's reward is quite impressive..."

Qian Renxue nodded slightly in agreement.

Although Feng Yao spoke vaguely, the three women could all sense the significant changes in them, especially Feng Yao. He was just standing there, yet he gave off a profound feeling as if he were one with his surroundings, and his soul power level had clearly increased by a large margin.

Upon learning that the two had successfully passed the assessment, the atmosphere in the department immediately became much more relaxed and cheerful. The pressure of the past few days seemed to dissipate considerably, replaced by greater confidence and motivation.

...(End of chapter)