Chapter 487 - 458: [Mad Soul]! [Body as Martial]

Chapter 487: Chapter 458: [Mad Soul]! [Body as Martial]

[High Tier Profession "Berserker" is available.]

[Requirements: Power 25, Constitution 22, Spirit 4, Level 3 Blood Qi Surge, 3/3 Full Level Heavy Weapon Skills, 1/1 Full Level Hand-to-Hand Combat Skills, 2/2 Full Level Throwing Weapon Skills, 3/3 Full Level Body Tempering/Refining Techniques, single-handedly slay 100/100 enemy targets while in the ’Blood Qi Surge’ state.]

[Advance?]

"Advance."

In an instant, resplendent gold text appeared in his vision.

[Advancement successful. Current Profession: Berserker]

[Attribute Bonus acquired: Power +10, Agility +10]

A searing, violent power erupted from the depths of his body like an awakened flood, surging through every inch of his muscles and bones.

He could clearly feel his Power climbing wildly, while his body’s Agility and explosive strength took a qualitative leap.

However, before Roland could fully savor the feeling of fulfillment from this surge in his base Attributes,

an even more primal and violent force, like an ancient beast slumbering in the depths of his bloodline, was abruptly awakened by the Professional Advancement and erupted from within him.

In that instant, Roland felt as if he had been stripped of all external perception.

Sight, hearing, smell...

Everything in the surrounding cabin vanished. It was as if he had been cast into a realm of absolute Void and silence.

In this dead silence, only one sound grew increasingly clear, consuming his entire consciousness.

THUMP... THUMP... THUMP... ℯℯ𝑙.

It was the sound of his own heartbeat.

But the sound was no longer gentle. It was like a heavy war drum being beaten by an invisible, giant hammer.

Each beat was deafening, carrying a tyrannical, savage rhythm, as if trying to break free from the confines of his chest.

Then, driven by this war drum-like heartbeat, a violent power so hot it nearly set him ablaze was forcibly pumped to his limbs and bones with every contraction and expansion of his heart’s ventricles.

Like rushing Magma, it brutally scoured and saturated every inch of his skin, every one of his bones, and even...

fused completely with his coursing blood.

Just as his consciousness was about to be overwhelmed by this torrent of pure power, a line of golden text, seemingly written in burning blood and radiating an aura of boundless ferocity, appeared before his eyes.

[Trait acquired: Mad Soul]

[Mad Soul: You command blood with will; you bear fury with blood.]

[When this Trait is actively enabled, your life essence—your blood—will become fuel for your soul. In the Forging Furnace of blood and soul, you can extract your Spiritual Attribute Value and, by means of boiling blood, temporarily infuse it into your Power or Agility, or allow it to flow in balance throughout your body.]

[When the sea of your Spirit boils away with your blood and the bulwark of reason completely collapses, your life form will transform, and you will progressively descend into the three tiers of the Blood Burning Realm.]

[Primary Burning causes your blood to boil like Magma, granting you a toughness that surpasses mortal life, allowing you to completely ignore pain and physical damage, transforming you into a tireless iron creation.]

[Deep Burning causes your blood to begin evaporating. The rising blood mist will forge your Combat Skills and muscle memory into one. Every attack you make will follow the guidance of instinct, unleashing a deadly flourish that transcends the limits of thought.]

[And the final, complete madness will ignite all of your blood and your very reason for existence. You will no longer be human, but a surging star of calamity, dominating the battlefield with absolute power.]

[However, when the fires of blood burning are extinguished, the price you pay will be an exhaustion and dead silence bordering on annihilation.]

Roland carefully contemplated the power contained within [Mad Soul], and tremendous waves surged in his heart.

’This... is practically an engine of destruction built for war!’

It was completely different from the relatively gentle, stable, and continuous "stimulant-like" enhancement of [Fermented Battle Intent].

[Mad Soul] was more like a "Key of Destruction" fueled by one’s own life and soul, one where you could control the explosive yield yourself.

The terror at its core lay in two points.

The first was Attribute conversion and control.

It could actually temporarily convert his Spiritual Attribute by burning his blood.

He had a full seventy points in his Spiritual Attribute Value right now.

Even a partial conversion, done without severely affecting his sanity, would be enough to push one of his Attributes past one hundred, reaching a threshold unattainable by ordinary people.

This was a fundamental application of power that nearly defied common sense and shattered the barriers between Professions.

The second was its progressive, cost-ignoring transformations.

The three tiers of the "Blood Burning Realm"...

From the "iron creation" that ignored pain and fatigue, to the "deadly flourish" where combat instincts and skills merged perfectly, and finally to becoming a "star of calamity"...

Each breakthrough came at the cost of burning life more violently in exchange for near-invincible battlefield dominance for a short period.

This was truly an ultimate method for desperate situations, trading "existence" itself for power.

In comparison, [Fermented Battle Intent] was more like an excellent, persistent combat state with stable enhancements and controllable costs.

But [Mad Soul] was a trump card that could only be played at the most critical moment, betting everything on the line.

Its instantaneous burst potential and its ability to overturn the tide of battle far surpassed [Fermented Battle Intent] by several levels.

However, as his gaze swept over the last paragraph of the description, Roland’s expression grew solemn.

Behind ultimate power lay an equally clear and terrifying price.

The fuel was life itself.

Its power source was directly linked to "blood," which was life essence.

Frequent or prolonged use was no different from slow suicide.

As one delved deeper into the levels of blood burning, the bulwark of reason would collapse.

In the "Deep Burning" and "Complete Madness" states, he would likely become a terrifying weapon that knew only destruction, unable to distinguish friend from foe, and might even harm his allies.

Especially the final "Complete Madness."

The description "an exhaustion and dead silence bordering on annihilation" was no exaggeration.

Once used, it was almost guaranteed to end in mutual destruction. It was a last resort in the truest sense.

’A double-edged sword... no, this is more like a Demon Blade that wounds its wielder before it’s even been drawn.’

Roland slowly clenched his fists, feeling the dormant, violent power within him that seemed ready to roar out at any moment.

’I must use this Trait with extreme caution.’

’The Attribute Point exchange is a secondary concern. The Blood Burning Realm... I must never enter it unless absolutely necessary, especially... the complete madness that comes from burning my very existence.’

Just as Roland was deep in thought, a familiar golden radiance lit up his vision again.

[Professional Advancement detected. Related Skills integrating...]

[Skill acquired: Mastery of Hand-to-Hand Combat]

[Hidden Trait detected: A Knight Does Not Die Unarmed]

[Conditions met. Triggering Trait fusion...]

[[A Knight Does Not Die Unarmed] and [Mastery of Hand-to-Hand Combat] are fusing...]

[Fusion complete.]

[Hidden Trait acquired: Body as Martial]

[Body as Martial: When the capacity to master all things merges with a War Soul that can incinerate the world, the mundane path of Martial Arts is utterly transcended, evolving into an eternal Authority etched into your very bloodline.]

[Henceforth, all that you grasp shall be Divine Soldiers. All that your fists and feet reach shall be the edge of a blade.]

[Not only can you still instantly comprehend the "Weapon Skills" of any object upon touch, but you now also have a profound understanding of the ’No Weapon’ Realm.]

[Your body itself is a suit of Legend-tier armor, eternally roaring and never unequipped.]

[When you swing your fists, it is the judgment of a warhammer. When your fingertips slice through the air, it is the cold glint of a shortsword. Every shard of stone you throw carries the majesty of a ballista, and even the flap of your cape can stir up a deathly Storm like a chain flail.]

[All things in the world, be they metal, stone, earth, or wood, are instantly endowed with the fate and soul of a weapon the moment you touch them, submitting to your already god-like Combat Skills.]

[You need not seek a weapon, for where you stand is an armory. You need not choose a battle style, for your every move is the embodiment of war.]

Before Roland could even recover from the long stream of text, an unprecedented "cognition" and "instinct," as if innate, washed over his entire body like a warm tide.

He looked down at his own hands. In his eyes, they were no longer flesh and blood, but...

weapon embryos, tempered a thousand times over; the starting point of a blade’s edge with infinite possibilities.

With a slight shift in his thoughts, he didn’t even need to assume a stance.

Simply by curling his five fingers slightly, feeling the subtle tension of his muscle fibers and the support of his skeletal structure, a clear image of "fist like a warhammer, fingers like daggers" naturally emerged in his mind.

It was as if, should he will it, a swing of his seemingly ordinary fist could truly unleash the terrifying kinetic energy of a Siege Hammer.

A light swipe of his fingertips could create a sharp edge that would tear through the air.

’So this is... the ’No Weapon’ Realm? The body itself is the armament...’

The intense shock and novelty drove him to test it out immediately.

Roland quickly left the relatively fragile cabin of the Shell Ship and went to a wide-open area outside Sui Cang Hall, which was covered in rubble and debris.

His gaze swept over the ground, and he casually selected an ordinary, fist-sized stone with sharp edges.

Previously, he would have had to pick it up and use [A Knight Does Not Die Unarmed] to understand its properties before he could effectively use it as a "Throwing Weapon."

But now...

He didn’t even bend down.

With what looked like a casual scrape and flick of his right foot, the stone, as if guided by an unseen force, leaped gracefully to hover an inch above his instep.

Immediately after, his lower leg shot out like the fully drawn arm of a crossbow, and his instep precisely struck the bottom of the stone!

WHOOSH!

A sharp sound of something tearing through the air suddenly rang out.

The stone became a blurry gray shadow. With speed and power far exceeding a manual throw, it flew like a projectile from a heavy ballista, instantly crossing several dozen meters to slam viciously into a half-crumbled wall in the distance.

BOOM!

A loud explosion erupted. The spot on the rammed-earth-and-rubble wall that was hit instantly exploded, creating a washbasin-sized hole as dust and debris filled the air.

Its power was already comparable to some powerful Low Ring spells.

Roland slowly raised his hand. Without using any Fighting Spirit, he simply used his palm as a blade and "slashed" downward through the air.

There was no flash of light, no whistling sound.

But in his Perception, the trajectory of this hand-blade, the focus of its "edge," and the intent of its "cut" were even purer and more lethal than when he performed some of his Light Spirit Slashes with the Moonlight Longsword.

He could even "feel" that if a block of solid wood were in front of him, this hand-blade alone could split it cleanly in two.

He glanced around at his surroundings.

The rubble at his feet, the broken stone pillars, even the wind flowing through the air...

In his Perception, everything seemed to have been stripped of its original concept as an "object" and endowed with a new possibility and "soul" as a "weapon" or "armament."

He felt as if he were standing in a vast, invisible armory that was completely under his command.

’I need not seek a weapon, for where I stand is an armory...’

Roland repeated the line from the maxim in a low voice, the corners of his mouth curling uncontrollably into an arc of astonishment and absolute confidence.

This [Body as Martial] was not a simple increase in Power, but a complete sublimation of his combat "Realm."

It perfectly forged the skills of a Weapon Master, the Authority to wield all things, and the potential of his own physical body into one, transforming it into an instinct that bordered on the "Tao."

From this day forward, he, Roland, was a walking war fortress, a living, legendary armament.

Any environment would become his home ground; any object would become his sharp blade.

Just as Roland’s spirits were soaring, golden text appeared once more.

[Apprentice Knight Profession detected. Professional Resonance can be triggered.]

[Professional Resonance]

[Berserker + Apprentice Knight]

[Extra Benefit acquired: Glory Execution]