"Why… Why is it still like this?!"
Yunchuan stared down at the Supreme Clear Sky Hammer, the very weapon that had become the bane of his pride. It remained embedded in the earth like it had grown roots, utterly unmoving.
He had just infused it with a soul ring, his body's strength had increased considerably—and he'd even tried channeling the Strength attribute—yet he still couldn't lift it!
What's worse… it seemed heavier than before.
"Oh great… So it was already insanely heavy, and now that it's absorbed a soul ring, it's even worse?" Yunchuan groaned, miserably tugging at the solid gold handle. "And this is only the first soul ring! There are still EIGHT more to add! At this rate, I'll be thirty before I can lift it! Whose soul weapon can't be wielded by its own master?!"
Clutching his forehead, he silently screamed to the heavens.
'Dear gods, can someone PLEASE tell me how I'm supposed to wield my own Martial Soul?!'
…
Bibi Dong approached silently, her expression softening as she saw him hunched in frustration next to the massive hammer. She knelt gracefully beside him.
"Chuan'er, what's wrong?" she asked gently. "Is something wrong with your body? Didn't the soul ring finish fusing without issue?"
"I'm fine, Mom," he muttered, then added reluctantly, "…It's just…"
Just then, Chrysanthemum Douluo spoke up curiously, "Little Chuan, now that you've fused the soul ring, were you able to lift the hammer? What about your first soul skill?"
Yunchuan let out a miserable sigh. "The hammer? It got heavier. I used all my strength—even tried both hands—and it didn't even budge," he said bitterly. "As for the soul skill… well, it seems like there isn't one."
"What?" The two Douluos' eyebrows shot up in shock. "That's not possible, is it?"
"Soul ring fusion always produces a soul skill—how could there be… nothing?"
"It's this hammer," Yunchuan replied, his face twisted in confusion. "It's… weird."
He racked his brain, combing through everything he'd learned about spirit weapons and martial souls. "Normally, attaching a soul ring grants the Martial Soul a new ability or skill, right? But for this hammer… it's like soul skills are unnecessary. Even after fusing a ring, no skill appears. Instead, the hammer itself just becomes stronger."
He frowned. "If I had to compare… it's somewhat like Nine Heart Begonia—a Martial Soul that only ever gets one soul skill, no matter how many rings are added."
"But unlike Begonia, this hammer doesn't even grant one," he continued. "It just has four basic attributes... Light, Thunder, Fire, and Strength. When a soul ring is added, all four of those aspects simply grow more powerful."
Chrysanthemum Douluo paused, then nodded thoughtfully. "That actually isn't bad at all."
He continued, "Your hammer already comes with four innate attributes. That's incredibly rare. With every attack, you're not just dealing physical damage—you're layering it with fire, lightning, light, and raw force. Even if you don't gain traditional soul skills, the enhancement of each core element is, arguably, better."
"In fact," Chrysanthemum added, "for your Martial Soul, gaining soul skills would just clutter its raw power. Your hammer is perfect for one path—a pure attribute route. Focus on strengthening your base attributes rather than learning techniques."
"Indeed," Ghost Douluo chimed in. "Pure attribute soul masters exist, though they're rare. All their soul ring bonuses stack one core stat—like strength, speed, defense. It seems limited, but in practice? A pure attribute soul master at level 80 could overpower a level 90 generalist, simply because they've pushed one ability to extremes."
"You said every soul ring simply increases your Martial Soul's elemental force?"
Yunchuan nodded.
"Then your hammer is a natural-born pure attribute Martial Soul," Ghost Douluo stated firmly.
As those words sunk in, Yunchuan's eyes lit up.
He realized they were right.
His Supreme Clear Sky Hammer didn't need soul skills. Every ring just amplified the raw strength of light, flame, lightning, and force. This was the ideal configuration of a pure attribute system—direct, dominant, devastating.
In the world of Soul Masters, pure attribute builds were uncommon.
Most soul masters preferred versatility. Their soul rings granted a mix of skills—speed boosts, defense techs, power attacks—allowing them to adapt to different opponents.
But pure attribute soul masters invested everything into one stat.
Take the four great clans of the Clear Sky Sect from the original legends—the Strength Clan, Defense Clan, Agility Clan, and Control Clan. Each clan focused solely on a single field. All their soul skills enhanced one trait to the extreme, turning them into specialists.
Of course, there were downsides to specialization.
A pure Strength-type soul master might possess explosive power, but be slow and vulnerable to speed-based foes. An Agility-type might blitz opponents, but lack offense to break enemy defenses. In short: they hit harder than anyone in specific areas, but had weaknesses in others.
It was a tradeoff.
Still—the strength gained was usually well worth the price.
That said, becoming a pure attribute soul master wasn't easy.
It usually required a soul master to find and fuse with the same exact type of attribute-aligned soul beast across every soul ring—especially at higher stages. Sure, a Strength-type beast might be found for a Soul Master's first ring, and maybe even for the second or third. But finding matching soul beasts as you ventured into ten-thousand-year levels became incredibly difficult, if not borderline impossible.
And yet…
Yunchuan was different.
His Martial Soul didn't care what kind of beast his rings came from.
No matter what he hunted, no matter what attribute the beast had, the ring only ever enhanced the hammer's four base properties.
Compared to others who needed carefully matched soul beasts over decades... he had it easy.
His Supreme Clear Sky Hammer was a natural-born pure attribute powerhouse.
And the path he tread?
Might just lead to the summit.
(End of Chapter)