24: Chapter 24 Choosing Your Own Soul Skill
After Lu Mengmeng's Martial Soul mutated, she had two acquired Soul Skill slots.
Lin Mo examined them closely and nodded, "Not bad. Of these two Soul Skill slots, the upper limit for one is high-grade Profound rank, and the other is low-grade Profound rank."
"Upper limit? What does that mean? Acquired Soul Skills have an upper limit too?"
As a Level 73 Battle Soul Master, Mother Lu was also hearing this for the first time, and she couldn't help but frown.
"Of course, this is determined by one's Martial Soul aptitude and physical constitution."
Lin Mo explained while writing and drawing on a piece of paper.
"For someone with Martial Soul aptitudes like Da Chun and myself, low-grade Profound rank is our absolute limit. We can't even dream of anything higher."
Hearing this, Father Lu and Mother Lu frowned even deeper.
This meant that although Lu Mengmeng had an S-rank Martial Soul, these two Soul Skills had absolutely no chance of reaching the Earth rank, which was indeed a bit of a pity.
"But don't worry."
Lin Mo looked up, his tone confident. "Although we can't awaken Earth-rank Soul Skills, I can guarantee one hundred percent that Mengmeng will awaken Soul Skills that she likes and that suit her perfectly."
As soon as he said this, Father Lu and Mother Lu were both startled.
Having been through it themselves, they knew all too well that awakening Soul Skills had always been a matter of luck.
There were countless unlucky people with S-rank Martial Souls who ended up only awakening low-grade Yellow-rank Soul Skills.
Yet Lin Mo spoke with such absolute certainty.
Ignoring their shock, Lin Mo turned and had System AI generate a bunch of Soul Skill options based on Lu Mengmeng's Martial Soul data.
He filtered out all the Yellow-rank ones, copied only those at the Profound rank or higher onto the paper, and pushed it in front of the three of them. "Auntie, Uncle, Mengmeng, these are all the Soul Skills she can awaken. Pick two."
He specifically warned them, "Remember, what suits you best is the best. Don't just focus on choosing the high-level ones."
Father Lu, Mother Lu, and Lu Mengmeng looked at the densely packed Soul Skill names and detailed descriptions on the paper, instantly dumbfounded.
Wait, since when was awakening a Soul Skill like shopping for vegetables at a wet market, where you could actually choose for yourself?
This operation completely subverted their understanding.
Lu Mengmeng was the first to react. Her finger slid rapidly across the paper, her eyes growing wider and wider:
"Mid-grade Profound rank 'Nether Vine Prison'? It can trap multiple targets simultaneously and apply continuous poison? This is great!"
"And this high-grade Profound rank 'Vine Shadow Clone'!"
She pointed to another line of text. "It can create three Devil Vine clones to confuse enemies!"
Mother Lu leaned in to take a closer look. She saw that each Soul Skill was marked with its compatibility, Soul Power consumption, and even combination effects with her existing innate Soul Skills. It was as clear and organized as a meticulously crafted menu.
"Can... can this really be done?"
Her fingertip trembled as she traced the description of "Nether Vine Prison." Mid-grade Profound rank, combining control and poison damage—it perfectly fit her daughter's all-rounder path.
Lin Mo didn't explain; the facts would speak for themselves.
"Are you sure it's these two?"
"Mm-hmm, Boss, I'm sure."
Being able to choose her own Soul Skills made Lu Mengmeng extremely excited.
Father Lu and Mother Lu had no objections either.
"Alright then, these are the items needed to awaken the Soul Skills. Have someone buy them now!"
Mother Lu took the list and looked at it.
What on earth?
Attribute soul crystals, exotic beast essence blood, medicinal herbs, exotic beast bone powder... It looked just like a medical prescription.
It made the couple's heads spin.
Mother Lu stared at the list for a long time, her brow furrowing deeper. "Little Lin, is this really for awakening Soul Skills? Why does it look like a Chinese medicine prescription to me?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I explained. Just buy everything on the list, and I guarantee the awakening!"
"For our daughter!" Mother Lu made a prompt decision, pulling out her phone to call the family butler. "Old Zhou, get the items on this list delivered to the house within half an hour, no matter how much it costs!"
Half an hour later.
A servant pushed in a cart piled high with the materials Lin Mo requested.
Purple-glowing Shadow Leopard essence blood, ink-black Nether Grass powder, and a shimmering, faintly glowing Tier 2 dark-attribute soul crystal...
It was a mountain of money.
Lin Mo directed Lu Mengmeng to sit cross-legged.
She absorbed or consumed the soul crystals and materials one by one.
"Focus your mind and guide your Soul Power along the route I drew."
Sweating on their foreheads, Father Lu and Mother Lu watched Lu Mengmeng without blinking.
For them, every second at this moment was pure torture.
It wasn't until half an hour later that Lu Mengmeng's Soul Power suddenly erupted.
The Soul Power surged along the route Lin Mo had marked.
The route was like a precise tunnel, avoiding all turbulent Soul Power currents and heading straight for the core of the Soul Skill slot.
*Buzz!*
On the illusory Devil Vine Martial Soul, one of the Soul Skill slots lit up with a blinding black light.
"It worked! It's Nether Vine Prison!" Lu Mengmeng suddenly opened her eyes.
She excitedly looked at the Martial Soul in her hand.
"It... it really worked!"
Father Lu and Mother Lu watched in dumbfounded amazement.
Mother Lu covered her mouth, tears nearly falling.
The deep black vine prison rotated in Lu Mengmeng's palm. Amidst the swirling toxic mist, it faintly exuded the unique pressure of a mid-grade Profound-rank Soul Skill.
"Quick, test its effect!" Father Lu's voice trembled as he clenched his fists tightly.
Lu Mengmeng took a deep breath.
As she channeled her Soul Power, the Devil Vine suddenly grew exponentially, with countless vines weaving into a three-meter-square cage.
The toxic mist on the cage walls was incredibly dense, and even the solid wood coffee table next to it sizzled and emitted black smoke from the fumes.
"It can shrink too!" She gave a low shout, and the vine prison suddenly tightened. The steel-like vines actually produced a sharp whooshing sound as they constricted, as if they could shred anything.
"Great! Wonderful!" Father Lu slapped his thigh in excitement, his gaze toward Lin Mo completely changing.
This was no green horn; he was simply a living, monstrous genius!
Lin Mo didn't stop, pointing at the remaining Light-Shadow Flower juice and Moonlight Grass powder on the cart:
"Rest for ten minutes, then prepare for the second one. 'Vine Shadow Clone' has higher requirements for Soul Power control. Guide it using the thread-splitting method I taught you later."
Lu Mengmeng nodded vigorously, her admiration for Lin Mo already beyond words.
Ten minutes later.
She sat cross-legged again and smeared the Light-Shadow Flower juice on the tips of the vines.
Lin Mo guided her in a deep voice from the side, "Divide your Soul Power into four streams. Keep thirty percent in the main channel, and distribute the other three streams equally to the three sub-channels. Remember, the fluctuations must be completely identical..."
Everyone held their breath.
This awakening took even longer than the last one.
A full two hours passed.
"Condense!"
With a low shout from Lu Mengmeng, three clones suddenly solidified.
One of them even mimicked her action of whipping its vine and made a funny face at Father Lu.
"The clones can carry poison too!" Lu Mengmeng controlled one of the clones to whip out a toxic vine, wrapping it precisely around the potted plant in the corner, which instantly withered and turned black.
"It worked again!"
Father Lu and Mother Lu could no longer hold back their gasps of surprise.
This had 100% proven that Lin Mo indeed possessed real capability.
Mother Lu quickly walked up to Lin Mo and bowed deeply. "Little Lin, Auntie really doesn't know how to thank you..."
"You're too polite, Auntie."
Lin Mo smiled.
After all, awakening Soul Skills was a service he charged extra for.
Mother Lu was very straightforward. "There is ten million in this card. Consider it the fee for awakening the Soul Skills."
Mother Lu then thought that money was just a number and didn't seem enough to express her family's sincerity.
So, she pulled out a yellowed book.
"Auntie knows it's hard for ordinary Soul Masters like you to get access to cultivation techniques. This is our Lu Family's cultivation method. I'll pass it on to you!"
Lin Mo looked at the book, which had the words "Changchun Breathing Method" written in large characters.
An embarrassed look immediately appeared on his face.
Lu Mengmeng covered her face directly:
"Mom, you should keep that trash cultivation technique to yourself. My boss has a much better one."