Douluo: I Can Choose My Own Soul Skills

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Deep in thought, Ye Lan remained completely motionless. The blood all over his body had solidified into thick scabs.

He looked like a statue clad in a crimson suit of armor.

Suddenly, the silence was shattered by the cracking sound of blood scabs breaking apart.

Eight black tentacles burst out from behind the blood-armored statue that was Ye Lan.

The scabs on Ye Lan's upper body exploded along with his clothes, spraying across the entire deck.

The black tentacles formed a striking contrast against Ye Lan's pale, flawless skin—his physique carved with well-defined muscle lines.

Fortunately, no girls were nearby. Otherwise, any girl with a normal orientation would have screamed on the spot at the sight of those chiseled muscles.

Old Fisher, standing nearby, didn't scream. But he stood there, dumbfounded, watching Ye Lan transform from a blood-drenched figure into what now looked like an octopus-man.

"Th-this... this… Xiao Lan has been possessed by the Ancient Beast's Tentacle?!"

Ye Lan wasn't surprised by Old Fisher's reaction. Most people didn't know what an external spirit bone was.

Because the old man had risked his life earlier, Ye Lan no longer regarded him as an outsider. He patiently explained the nature of the tentacles.

"Don't worry, Old Man. I'm fine. These eight octopus tentacles are a spirit bone."

While reassuring the old man, Ye Lan grabbed one of the tentacles and examined it carefully.

"Spirit bone? That means you've struck it rich!" Old Fisher's eyes widened. He had heard of spirit bones before—priceless treasures, more valuable than gold and often unobtainable even with wealth.

"Rich? Unless you're planning to take my bones apart," Ye Lan joked with a grin.

"So spirit bones are actually bones inside a Spirit Master's body. No wonder I've never seen one," the old man muttered to himself.

"You're not exactly wrong. Spirit bones can only be used by Spirit Masters. Here, feel it—this octopus tentacle is pretty firm!" Ye Lan kept squeezing the tentacle in his hand, as though he were testing a new organ that didn't quite belong to him. The sensation was strange yet fascinating.

Old Fisher reached out hesitantly and touched it a few times before pulling his hand back in disbelief.

Each of the eight tentacles on Ye Lan's back was nearly three meters long—not quite the twenty-meter length of the original beast's tentacles.

Still, for Ye Lan—who was only 1.8 meters tall—they were enormous.

He decided to name the tentacles Ancient Beast's Touch.

They significantly enhanced Ye Lan's close-combat abilities. The hardness of the tentacles was weapon-grade.

What was truly extraordinary was that despite their hardness, their flexibility was astonishing.

In the past, Ye Lan had relied solely on his fists and feet for close-quarters combat. Now, he could wield tentacles like weapons.

Even if an opponent managed to cut one off, the tentacle's built-in regenerative ability would allow it to slowly regrow.

If it were one of Ye Lan's arms or legs that got cut off, it would be a serious problem. But not so with these.

In addition to functioning as weapons, the most surprising benefit of the Ancient Beast's Touch was the spirit skill it granted—Eight-Faceted Mind!

Octopuses have eight brains, and Ye Lan hadn't expected the spirit bone to grant him eight external brains as well.

Previously, Ye Lan had to control his Blue Silver Grass using a single-threaded process. Now, with eight external brains, he could control nine threads at once.

Before, controlling multiple vines was exhausting and could only be done at a basic level.

Now, with nine threads of control, Ye Lan's potential had skyrocketed.

He could manipulate Blue Silver Grass in all sorts of intricate ways!

Originally, he'd planned to seek out the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's split-focus technique, but now there was no need.

He could now divide his thinking nine ways—far more powerful than the Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.

Retracting the Ancient Beast's Touch, Ye Lan summoned his now fully evolved Blue Silver Grass.

The current Blue Silver Grass bore not only emerald-green and golden patterns but also faint blue starlike specks—absolutely beautiful.

Aside from its appearance, the size hadn't changed drastically—its diameter was about 28 centimeters.

Ye Lan could now summon thirty strands of Blue Silver Grass, and the controllable range had expanded to a 20-meter radius.

Next, he summoned his spirit rings.

A yellow and a purple ring rose from his feet, with the purple one emitting a gentle glow.

"Blue God's Foresight!"

Three strands of Blue Silver Grass shot out from Ye Lan's body, intertwining with one another in midair.

Within seconds, they fused and transformed into a massive Blue Silver Totem.

It rose straight up from the deck, its tip swaying slowly from side to side.

The totem was approximately 18 meters tall and nearly half a meter in diameter.

Its battle power was visibly on a whole different level compared to a single vine.

More importantly, the Blue Silver Totem combined the life force of three strands of Blue Silver Grass.

Ye Lan estimated that only a Spirit Ancestor using a millennial spirit skill could break the Blue Silver Totem.

Unlike the standard vines, which specialized in binding, the Blue Silver Totem focused on heavy impact.

Ye Lan could control how many vines converted into totems—fifteen strands could become five Blue Silver Totems, while the remaining fifteen could be used to bind enemies.

For opponents of the same level, he could first restrain them with fifteen vines, then smash them with five massive totems.

Just thinking about it made Ye Lan feel a rush of satisfaction.

Old Fisher was utterly stunned by the Blue Silver Totem that Ye Lan had summoned. How could something so massive even exist?

Was Ye Lan becoming a humanoid monster?

The enormous golden vine looked as though it could pierce the heavens.

Aside from changes in his martial soul, Ye Lan's level had now reached 23.

He had been stuck at rank 20 for four months and had managed to raise his soul power by a little over one level. The Ancient Beast's Touch spirit ring had given him another level and a bit, totaling a three-rank increase.

At long last, at the age of fifteen, Ye Lan had officially become a Grand Spirit Master, fulfilling Su Yuntao's expectations.

Once he took care of his remaining affairs in Hanhai City, he would return to Notting City to uncover the truth behind his parents' disappearance.

"Old man, stop staring! You'll get a stiff neck," Ye Lan said as he gazed toward the horizon, where the first light of dawn crept over the Black Sea. "Let's get some rest. Once we're up, we'll return to Hanhai City!"

"Your vines weren't this big before. Are millennial spirit skills really this powerful?" the old man asked, still awestruck by the size and power of the Blue Silver Totem. He had stayed up all night, yet showed no sign of fatigue.

"Well, it's a skill from the Ancient Beast's Touch—it's supposed to be big. The Blue Silver Totem still isn't even as big as those tentacles!" Ye Lan replied casually.

"Now hurry up and get some sleep, old man. I'll just enjoy the view for a bit."

Once the old man was asleep, Ye Lan began cleaning the deck of bloodstains and black ink.

The dark mucus, mixed with blood, gave the deck an eerie, terrifying look.

Anyone unaware of what had happened might think this boat had just returned from some haunted encounter.

…

As evening approached, the fishing boat carrying Ye Lan and Old Fisher gradually neared the harbor of Hanhai City.

"Xiao Lan, that sea beast meat is quite chewy when cooked. Once we dock, how about coming to my place for some grilled octopus? I've still got some rice wine left. You've never had alcohol before, have you? Want to give it a try?" the old man asked, practically overflowing with hospitality.

Since Ye Lan would be leaving Hanhai City soon and might never see the old man again, he accepted the invitation.

(End of Chapter)