Chapter 8: Bai Ze's Innate Skill
News of the incident involving Fan Chen quickly reached Qian Daoliu's ears.
"Being able to see the soul bones inside another person… what kind of ability is that?"
Qian Daoliu, who rushed over after hearing the report, looked at Fan Chen—who lay on the bed in a deep sleep—his heart full of confusion.
Since the founding of the Spirit Hall, countless martial souls had been recorded, yet Fan Chen's martial soul had never appeared in any archive. There wasn't even a single similar type.
"Golden Crocodile, I heard that this brat ran to Xiao Xue's door yesterday."
"Did you ask him clearly how he managed to do it?"
This was information Qian Daoliu had only just received. Combined with what he had heard today, it became evident that Fan Chen's martial soul seemed to possess a unique sensitivity toward soul power.
"This part… I'm not too sure. But something else happened this morning when I went to get him."
Golden Crocodile Douluo recounted the events that occurred when he picked Fan Chen up earlier that day.
Everyone present was taken aback.
"After waking up from sleep, his soul power was completely drained. What kind of ability activates while someone is asleep?"
"I'm not certain—perhaps it's an ability related to dreams."
"There's no point guessing right now. Let's wait for the boy to wake up and study it then. His martial soul might be the most unusual one I've ever encountered."
Everyone agreed with this viewpoint. Fan Chen currently carries far too many mysteries on him. Even he himself barely understood his own abilities, let alone them.
At that moment, Fan Chen's eyelids twitched as he lay unconscious. A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Did I… just wake up?"
"In a strict sense, yes."
Fan Chen turned his head, only to see a group of people crowding around his bed.
And the person who had just spoken was none other than Qian Daoliu himself.
Seeing this scene, Fan Chen immediately remembered what had happened earlier.
"Where's Xiao Bai?"
He looked around the room, but Xiao Bai was nowhere to be seen.
"Brother, I'm here."
A voice echoed inside Fan Chen's mind. The next moment, Xiao Bai emerged from the soul mark.
Appearing before everyone once again, Xiao Bai stretched lazily, as if he had also just woken up.
Fan Chen scooped Xiao Bai into his arms and looked at the people surrounding him. He knew very well what they wanted to know.
"Xiao Bai, is that ability yours as well?"
"Brother, you mean those shiny bones? I've always been able to see them."
Xiao Bai's tone was casual, as though it were describing the most ordinary thing in the world.
But thinking about it more carefully, it truly wasn't strange. Just like how people are born knowing how to breathe, how hunger makes them seek food, and thirst makes them look for water, no one ever bothers to question the underlying reason.
For Xiao Bai, seeing the soul bones within others was likely as natural as breathing. From beginning to end, he had never considered this to be some sort of special ability.
"You've always been able to see them? So you can see them right now, too?"
Xiao Bai turned its head to look at Qian Daoliu, and a strange light once again flashed in its eyes.
"Xiao Bai, don't—"
Fan Chen could clearly feel his soul power rapidly being consumed. The last thing he wanted was to faint again right after waking up.
"It's fine. Let it continue."
Qian Daoliu placed a hand on Fan Chen's shoulder, pouring a vast amount of soul power into his body, instantly replenishing the soul power that had just been drained.
"Brother, you can see it too. If you look carefully, you'll be able to."
Xiao Bai turned toward Fan Chen and reminded him.
"That's right. This little guy is your martial soul. If it can see it, there's no reason why you, the main body, shouldn't be able to."
Golden Crocodile Douluo also spoke from the side. No matter how special Xiao Bai was…
It was still Fan Chen's martial soul. The two of them were one. Any ability the martial soul possessed should naturally be something Fan Chen himself could use as well.
"Is that so? I'll give it a try."
Fan Chen focused his attention and looked toward Qian Daoliu.
As his focus gathered within his eyes, that same strange light that appeared within Xiao Bai's gaze now appeared within Fan Chen's as well.
Fan Chen could feel his soul power being consumed at a frightening rate, but with Qian Daoliu continuously supplying him with soul power, any consumption was restored almost instantly.
A warm current circled his eyes, and the entire world before him shifted into a completely different state.
The strange light surged, and Qian Daoliu's figure began to change in his vision.
At this moment, Qian Daoliu looked as though he had been completely laid bare to him—everything within his body was visible with absolute clarity.
"Six golden soul bones… and the flow of soul power… this…"
Even Fan Chen was shocked by the sight before him. He then shifted his gaze toward the others standing nearby.
His master, Golden Crocodile Douluo, possessed five soul bones—he was missing the skull bone.
Fan Chen shifted his gaze again, and he could also see the soul bones of the remaining elders.
'To think I can actually see them… so this is the innate ability bestowed by Bai Ze? This is far too heaven-defying!'
Qian Daoliu observed Fan Chen's expression and the soul power consumption, and it was clear that Fan Chen was indeed seeing something.
"Alright, this seems like a pretty good innate ability. However, judging by the rate at which your soul power is being consumed, you still can't use it freely."
Based on his consumption versus the time he could sustain it, Fan Chen would need at least the strength of a five-ring Soul King before he could use this ability for extended periods under his own strength.
Otherwise, just like earlier, he would faint from excessive depletion.
This innate ability probably wasn't just simple detection—there were likely more abilities hidden within it.
That was Qian Daoliu's guess. With his experience, a skill with such high consumption could not possibly have only a single function.
It was like fire-type innate abilities: they usually had at least burning and explosive effects, and some even carried fire poison.
"That's enough for now. I'll come back tonight to take another look."
Based on what Golden Crocodile Douluo said, it seemed something else would happen to Fan Chen at night while he slept.
He wanted to personally investigate. It had been a long time since he felt such interest in a junior.
Not even his own granddaughter, Qian Renxue, had received this level of attention from him.
After Qian Daoliu left, the others soon followed suit. Of course, before leaving, every single one of them made sure to mock Golden Crocodile Douluo in perfect unison.
Soon, only Golden Crocodile Douluo and Fan Chen remained in the room.
"You brat really knows how to stir up trouble. Every time I turn around, you're causing something new."
Golden Crocodile Douluo looked at Fan Chen and couldn't help but laugh and scold helplessly.
The abilities of a martial soul had to be developed by the user themselves. The information gained at martial soul awakening was limited.
Even the same martial soul would manifest differently in different people. It all depended on how well the user understood their own martial soul.
Fan Chen's martial soul was extremely unique—unlike others, it had no reference or precedent. He had to start from zero and explore its properties step by step.
"You've met most of the people you need to meet. Next, it's time for me to take you around and help you familiarize yourself with the surroundings."
—
End of Chapter