Heart Refining?

After Ye Han's provocation, Xiao Chenyu had thoroughly recognized his place.

Though he was amazed by Esdeath and the others' combat strength, thinking about it now, they were all geniuses. If they could not even manage this, how could they be called geniuses?

Since Ye Han and the others were in the Soul Hunting Forest, they acquired their Soul Rings quite quickly. In just five days, everyone had obtained their second Soul Ring.

Esdeath's second Soul Skill was quite interesting. It was called Breath of Frost. Once activated, enemies struck by ice or near Esdeath would be slowed down.

At first glance, the skill did not seem particularly powerful, but after specific testing, they found that it slowed not only movement speed, but also attack speed and casting speed.

That was somewhat terrifying. Especially when others did not understand the skill, its surprise effect was even more pronounced.

Lia's second Soul Skill was relatively simple and unadorned: Wind King's Hammer. It released the Wind King Barrier to condense the air and sweep away enemies, revealing the Sword of Promised Victory's true form. Her Soul Power increased by 20%, and her attack power rose by 20%.

Yoruichi's second Soul Skill was the Shihōin secret technique, Utsusemi. She could escape an attack at the cost of a piece of clothing. It was a very practical life-saving technique, though it wasted clothes.

Honjou Kaede's second Soul Skill was called Cover. Its ability was to take attacks in place of nearby teammates, increasing her defense by 10% when activated.

That 10% did not seem like much by itself, but Honjou Kaede had put all her attribute points into defense. That was terrifying.

Of the remaining two, one was Todo and the other Kurumi. Since Todo's first Soul Skill had not changed, his second Soul Skill was called Calm the Mind, and its ability was simply to force calmness.

This made Ye Han think the Soul Ring Release Device had malfunctioned. After asking the system, he received confirmation that there was no issue. In that case, Ye Han could only ask Todo.

Unexpectedly, Todo seemed to like the skill very much.

As someone who controlled time, Kurumi's skill naturally came from Zafkiel. Zafkiel: First Bullet increased the target's speed by 20%.

However, what disappointed them this time was that they had not obtained a single Soul Bone. Ye Han believed it might be related to the Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest being captive-bred.

Although there were no Soul Bones, Ye Han now had a Treasure Map in his hand.

Side Quest Completed: Acquire Soul Rings

Reward: One Mysterious Soul Hunting Forest Treasure Map

"Brother Han, all of you have gotten your Soul Rings. Aren't we leaving?" Xiao Chenyu asked Ye Han in confusion.

Ye Han did not hide it from him and directly pulled Xiao Chenyu over. "Hehe! Today, I'll take you treasure hunting. See this? A Treasure Map. The location is the Soul Hunting Forest!"

The moment he heard "Treasure Map," Xiao Chenyu became excited. After all, he was still a child and could not resist something like that.

The Soul Hunting Forest was not large, and before long, the group reached the place marked on the map.

Unfortunately, there was only a single tree nearby and nothing else. Ye Han carefully confirmed the location and, after finding no mistake, became somewhat frustrated.

Xiao Chenyu looked up at the tree, then patted its trunk before asking in confusion, "Brother Han, are you sure it's here? It feels like there's nothing here! Could it be underground?"

As soon as Xiao Chenyu said that, Ye Han took out an iron shovel from his backpack and handed it to him.

Still brimming with enthusiasm, Xiao Chenyu accepted the shovel, transformed into the ultimate laborer, and began digging downward nonstop.

"Why isn't there anything?" The once-excited Xiao Chenyu was now somewhat despairing, because the hole he had dug was already deeper than he was tall.

Ye Han could only tell Xiao Chenyu to climb back up first. Meanwhile, Yoruichi circled the tree a few times before slowly saying, "This tree's soul fluctuations are very strange."

The moment he heard a clue, Ye Han perked up and hurriedly asked, "Can you tell what it is?"

Yoruichi merely drew her Zanpakuto and thrust it directly into the trunk. A tremendous force instantly began spreading through the area, and before long, a hollow opening formed in the middle of the tree.

The group exchanged glances, dragged the terrified Xiao Chenyu along, and entered the hole.

The instant they entered, a blinding light flashed. The next moment, the surroundings changed dramatically. An ancient aura rushed toward them, and a stream of energy suddenly gathered around Yoruichi.

The sudden change startled everyone. Zhao Lei quickly rushed over, wanting to cut off the energy, only to discover that he could not interrupt it.

"What is happening?" Lia asked worriedly as she looked at Yoruichi sitting on the ground.

Ye Han seemed to think of something and hurriedly said, "I have an idea to try!" As he spoke, he directly opened the Guild Chat.

Ye Han: "@Yoruichi, are you there?"

Yoruichi: "Stop bothering me. This energy is pure soul power. It seems to be getting absorbed by my Zanpakuto. I need to hurry and digest it."

Seeing Yoruichi's reply, everyone sighed in relief. Since there was no major danger, they could relax.

"There are so many herbs here! We can take them back to make potions." Honjou Kaede said excitedly as she looked at a pile of stored herbs.

Sure enough, there were quite a few good things in the palace. Herbs, weapons, and many other items were everywhere.

After searching around, Ye Han found a Jade Box in the center. After identifying it, he discovered that it contained a pill that could increase Innate Soul Power. Unfortunately, it was defective.

It had a side effect he could not accept. Anyone who took the pill would need to expend ten years of their lifespan to absorb its power.

After Ye Han explained the pill's effects, everyone instantly lost interest.

"Brother Han, can you give this to me?" Xiao Chenyu hesitated for a moment before asking solemnly.

Ye Han was stunned, then said seriously, "Xiao Chenyu, you'd better not take this pill. Ten years of lifespan is no joke!"

Xiao Chenyu seemed to have made up his mind. He said solemnly, "Brother Han, if I don't increase my Innate Soul Power, at most I'll become a Soul Ancestor! But with this, even at the very least, I can advance one more rank and become a Soul King."

Seeing the longing in Xiao Chenyu's eyes, Ye Han understood that although ten years of lifespan was a lot, Xiao Chenyu's desire to become stronger was even greater. This might also be one of his few chances to grow stronger.

Ye Han closed the Jade Box and handed it to Xiao Chenyu, then glanced toward the distant statue.

A dangerous aura rushed toward him. Before Ye Han could say anything, a powerful force enveloped everyone in the entire space.

A cold voice slowly came from the void. "Seven individuals meet the requirements. Two do not."

In an instant, Ye Han felt the world spinning. He arrived in a blank space with nothing around him, so quiet that it was frightening.

In such a situation, Ye Han quickly opened the Guild Chat. When he discovered it still worked, he sighed in relief.

Ye Han: "What's everyone's situation right now?"

Esdeath: "I seem to have returned to my world. The Empire is at war right now. No, this battle should be the one that laid the foundation for the Empire's establishment."

Kurumi: "Same here. I've met the Original Spirit, but I can't attack her. I feel like an observer, watching the tragedy happen again!"

Ye Han naturally knew that Kurumi's wish in the original story was to kill the Original Spirit and make the very fact of Spirits' existence cease to exist.

Honjou Kaede: "Have all of you returned to your own worlds? It's so strange here! There are weird codes everywhere. Honestly, I can't understand them."

Yoruichi: "My situation is about the same."

Todo: "I seem to have returned to a long time ago. I think I saw Ryomen Sukuna!"

Lia: "Something seems wrong!"

Ye Han's heart tightened when he saw Lia's message, and he no longer had the mind to consider what was happening on his own side.

Ye Han: "What is it? Are you in danger?"

Lia: "I've also returned to the time when Britain was founded. I saw myself, but I didn't choose to draw the Sword in the Stone. I gave up the throne, and in the end, Britain still headed toward destruction!"

Esdeath: "How ridiculous. I was actually that weak!"

Todo: "I helped the curses?"

Honjou Kaede: "Why does what I'm seeing seem so different from me? I don't even play games here."

Kurumi: "Same here. It feels like I've completely forgotten about the Original Spirit."

Yoruichi: "Same here. I actually became Aizen's subordinate and helped him invade the Soul Society."

Looking at their descriptions, Ye Han roughly understood. What they were being shown were lives opposite to their own.

After confirming that no one was in danger, Ye Han once again observed the white space before him.

"Could it be because I'm a transmigrator, so this entire space has not changed in the slightest?" Ye Han looked around in confusion and slowly began walking.

"It isn't because you're a transmigrator!" At that moment, a voice sounded in front of Ye Han. His heart jolted. Transmigrator was not a term just anyone should know.

The figure of light before him seemed able to know what Ye Han was thinking. It spoke again, "You may call me Hui. I do not know what a transmigrator is. I only know because you thought of it."

Ye Han finally relaxed a little, then asked vigilantly, "What was your purpose in bringing us here?"

Hui smiled. "Didn't you enter on your own?!"

At that, Ye Han froze. It really did seem to be the case. Then he asked somewhat helplessly, "Then how do we leave?"

"Wait. Once Heart Refining is over, you can leave," Hui said calmly.

"What does Heart Refining mean? Why do we need to refine our hearts?"

"After seeing an opposite life once, do you truly believe this life of yours is correct? Some things are not merely words." Hui spoke with deeper meaning.

"What about me?" Ye Han pointed to himself, looking at the endless white around him. "Don't I need Heart Refining?"

"You are very special. They all have their own ideals, ambitions, or perhaps distracting thoughts. But from you, all I sense is tranquility, or rather, peace." Hui seemed puzzled as well.

After thinking for a while, Ye Han came up with a possibility and hurriedly called out in his mind, System?

Ye Han looked up at Hui, who showed no reaction, and finally sighed in relief.

Host, please rest assured. This system will prevent all negative mental interference against the host.