After fully grasping the unique nature of his Martial Soul, Yunchuan no longer felt bothered by its lack of conventional soul skills. After all, the Supreme Clear Sky Hammer came equipped with four potent attributes by default. If he could find ways to refine and master them, he might be able to develop his own set of powerful, self-created soul techniques.
Light-speed punches, divine thunder strikes, blazing fire balls... as long as he put in the effort, he might really be able to create something like that.
In that sense, not having soul skills wasn't a disadvantage after all. On the contrary, as each ring was added, the hammer's elemental power would only grow stronger. Looked at from a different angle, that sounded like a blessing in disguise!
But Yunchuan still faced a practical issue—he couldn't lift the hammer.
An artifact Martial Soul that couldn't be wielded in battle was as good as useless. The hammer carried power far beyond ordinary calculation, but without the ability to swing it, everything it offered would remain theoretical.
So the question before him now was a simple yet brutal one:
How could he possibly lift the hammer?
Even though he could use the hammer's four elemental abilities directly, they always felt like side effects. The hammer itself... that was the real power.
Think about it: the tiniest impact from the hammer caused tremors throughout the entire forest. Just imagine what kind of devastation he could cause if he actually managed to swing it.
Later, Bibi Dong, along with Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, took Yunchuan back into the forest to hunt another ten-thousand-year soul beast—this time, one that was thirty thousand years old. They wanted to see whether adding a stronger soul ring would change anything.
And it did—but not in the way they'd hoped.
The Supreme Clear Sky Hammer grew noticeably stronger, its lightning, flame, glow, and thunder effects becoming even more vivid and intense. But it also became significantly heavier.
If it had been impossible to move before, it was now even more immovable.
Even Bibi Dong and the two elder Douluos were at a loss. None of them had ever seen a Martial Soul like this—one that grew more powerful, yet more unusable, with every ring.
In the end, they decided to stop adding rings for now and focus on research. After all, Yunchuan was still only six years old—he was years ahead of his peers. There was no rush.
...
Inside the Pope's chambers at Spirit Hall.
At six, Yunchuan still slept at night in his mother's soft, warm embrace. Curled against Bibi Dong's gentle form under the sheets—an experience most could only dream of—his nights were tranquil beyond imagination.
But tonight, he was alone. Bibi Dong had left earlier for affairs unknown and wouldn't be back for a while.
"Open status panel," Yunchuan whispered inwardly.
A translucent sci-fi interface materialized in his field of vision, shimmering with soft light and displaying a range of detailed attributes:
[Name: Yunchuan]
[Charm: 100]
(Charm Maxed! Your charm transcends the very concept of species. To all living things, you're the most dazzling being they've ever seen. Even across the myriad realms, you're among the most radiant few!)
[Comprehension: 24+]
(Tempered by cycles of reincarnation, your comprehension may not compare to the top geniuses of higher worlds, but in this low-tier world, you rank among the supreme few.)
[Innate Aptitude: 60+]
(Thanks to exceptional bloodlines inherited from your parents and the enhancement of attribute points, your potential has surpassed the mortal plane. Even across countless realms, your cultivation foundation is considered top-tier. Your future is limitless.)
[Attribute Points: 0]
(Attribute points are incredibly valuable. Spend them wisely!)
[Newbie Reward: One Free Draw]
(This draw holds infinite potential. Anything is possible.)
[Current World: Douluo Continent]
[Accessible Worlds: None]
(Conditions for world traversal not yet met.)
Yunchuan's gaze scanned over the panel and quickly zeroed in on the Newbie Reward—his one free draw.
Given his current dilemma… it felt like the perfect time to take a gamble.
He had some guesses as to why he couldn't lift the hammer. The most likely reason? His body was just too weak. He couldn't even endure the hammer's raw Strength attribute, so of course he couldn't lift it.
He was sure—if he could simply elevate his own physical power, that hammer would no longer be a problem.
In this world, improving physical strength came only from three methods: Martial Soul traits, adding soul rings, and fusing soul bones.
The first two paths were a dead end. Adding rings to the Supreme Clear Sky Hammer only made it heavier. Not helpful.
What about soul bones?
Would they be enough to make a difference?
Maybe... but realistically, probably not. The kind of power needed to wield that hammer was extraordinary. Just dropping it onto the ground caused localized tremors—how heavy was it?
Sure, soul bones could reinforce muscles, skeleton, enhance strength—but only to a point. This wasn't some high-fantasy world where you broke planets by sneezing. Even after reaching godhood in the Douluo world, the average soul master's peak strength was just a million jin.
One million jin sounded insane... until you realized what it meant:
That translates to around 500 metric tons.
Terrifying for a human?
Yes.
Impossible?
Not really. With machines—hydraulic presses, demolition rigs—humans could reproduce that force easily. In other words, the so-called gods of this world were roughly as strong as construction equipment.
Hardly divine.
By contrast, Yunchuan's own "Node Aptitude" stat—his foundation-level talent—had long surpassed the ceiling of this world thanks to bonus points. Sixty out of a hundred max—this was a level of aptitude that couldn't even exist naturally here.
In this low-tier fantasy world, he was like a descending god in disguise.
His Martial Souls were bound to be unusual.
He couldn't even compare them to normal.
More importantly, perhaps that explained his current problem:
He had simply… outgrown the limitations of the world.
This world was too small to raise someone like him.
Shallow waters couldn't raise a dragon.
And that dragon was only getting started.