A Deal Between Kings, a Ten-Thousand-Year Pact

Inside the cave, every speck of dust hung suspended in the searing light, utterly still.

The distinctive scent of sulfur and rock baked by intense heat mingled with a faint, elusive fragrance of stars, creating a strange atmosphere.

Han Yuchen let out a long breath, slow and drawn out, as though he were expelling all the gloom that had built up in his chest over ten thousand years.

That breath carried a faint starlight, like shattered diamond dust, drawing a brilliant yet fleeting trail through the dim cave before quietly fading into the air.

Refreshing.

That single word perfectly summed up everything he was feeling at that moment.

The Soul Fragment had been thoroughly absorbed, digested, and fused. The sensation was like a lake that had been dry for centuries suddenly being flooded by a raging torrent spanning an entire galaxy.

The territory of his Sea of Consciousness had been expanded brutally yet efficiently, growing by far more than double.

What had once been a small pond was now a vast, misty expanse stretching beyond sight, as deep as the reflection of the universe.

His Soul Power, which had previously felt somewhat unstable, had now been completely tempered and condensed like a steel ingot.

Most importantly, once he added his second Soul Ring, he could rocket straight toward the threshold of Soul Elder.

So the question was—

Which Soul Ring should he choose for his second?

Han Yuchen slowly turned his gaze toward the cave entrance.

There, the members of the Mengli Squad were staring at him as though they were looking at an immortal, scarcely daring to breathe.

At their feet, the thousand-year-old Jade Eyed Fox lay obediently sprawled on the ground, trembling.

Those emerald green eyes no longer held their previous cunning and savagery. All that remained was pure awe and submission.

A ready-made Thousand-Year Soul Ring of excellent quality.

With a mere nod from him, Meng Li and the others would immediately rush forward, cleanly dispose of the fox, and offer him that purple Soul Ring.

Simple. Convenient.

Meng Li clearly thought so too.

He cautiously shifted his feet, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tentatively asked,

"Sir, how should we deal with this beast...?"

His eyes had already drifted toward the skinning knife at his waist.

Han Yuchen said nothing.

His gaze passed over the fox, over the Mengli Squad, and even beyond the entire valley.

A Thousand-Year Soul Ring? A purple halo?

In the past, it might have been a decent choice.

But now...

After personally "witnessing" that universe-shattering cosmic war, after "experiencing" Starlight Ruse King's tragic grandeur as he burned the galaxy to ashes...

A mere thousand years?

Heh. Was that supposed to be charity for a beggar?

My second ring must be worthy of my identity as Starlight Ruse King.

Han Yuchen slowly turned around and looked once more into the depths of the cave.

At that enormous, bottomless fissure that was still giving off wisps of sulfurous vapor.

Hey, little brother.

Want to come out and talk?

His actions left Meng Li and the others outside the cave completely dumbfounded.

"W-what is sir trying to do?"

"He's not going to kill the fox? Why is he looking at that crack?"

"Hiss... Don't tell me he wants to..."

The most outrageous, absurd, scalp-numbing thought rose in everyone's mind at once.

The next second,

Han Yuchen's actions confirmed their guess.

He walked to the edge of the fissure and stopped.

He neither summoned his martial soul nor activated his Soul Power.

He merely calmly extended a wisp of Spiritual Power into that profound darkness.

"Earth Dragon King, I need a Soul Ring."

The spiritual message was clear and direct, without the slightest hint of reverence. It was as though he were not speaking to an ancient colossal beast, but chatting with a vendor at a market.

"But I am unwilling to kill a king that has just escaped the darkness for it."

The depths of the fissure fell silent for a moment.

A spiritual message filled with confusion slowly returned.

If it was not killed, how could he obtain a ring?

This was common sense ingrained in the souls of all soul beasts, and even all soul masters.

To obtain a Soul Ring, one had to kill a soul beast.

That was the iron law of this world.

Han Yuchen smiled.

The iron law of this world?

Heh. My existence is meant to break every iron law.

"I have a method that does not require your life."

Han Yuchen's Spiritual Power turned into a stream of information, briefly presenting the core function of [Plunder and Evolve] from the [Star Atlas] to the Earth Dragon King in a way it could understand.

"I only need you to willingly separate a small portion of your Soul Origin for me to imprint."

"It will harm you, but it will not be fatal. With your cultivation, you will recover after resting for a time."

Below the fissure, silence fell once again.

The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive.

Han Yuchen could sense that the Earth Dragon King's mountain-sized soul was engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

Separate its Soul Origin?

That was ten thousand times more painful than carving a piece of flesh from its body while it was alive! It would shake the very foundation of its life!

Why should it pay such a tremendous price for a human?

Because of that small favor of Purification just now?

Not enough.

Far from enough.

Han Yuchen knew the heat was still not quite there.

He needed to add one final bargaining chip—one no king could refuse.

"I know what you are hesitating over."

Han Yuchen's voice became incomparably clear through Spiritual Power, carrying the calm indifference of someone who saw through everything.

"So this is a transaction."

"You offer your origin and help me obtain a Soul Ring. In exchange—"

He paused, and his tone suddenly became solemn, as though he were proclaiming a divine decree.

"First, the debt for the Purification I granted you earlier will be written off. We will owe each other nothing."

"Second..."

Han Yuchen slowly raised his head. Though he stood within a cave, his gaze seemed to pierce through countless layers of rock and behold that boundless sea of stars.

"I swear in the name of the stars!"

"When I return to my peak, I will help you completely purify your bloodline and sever the final shackle of the Abyss upon you!"

His voice thundered through the entire underground space, every word carrying unquestionable majesty and power!

"Giving you the possibility of reaching God-tier!"

Reaching God-tier!!!

Those four words were like a world-creating thunderclap, like billions of supernovas erupting at once!

They crashed brutally and precisely into the deepest part of the Earth Dragon King's soul, which had lain dormant for who knew how many tens of thousands of years!

God-tier!

It was the ultimate dream that every top-tier soul beast could never attain in its lifetime!

The shackles of bloodline! The chains of this world's rules!

It had been trapped in this realm for far too long, so long that it had believed there was no hope left in this life.

And now—

Hope lay before it!

Trade one grievous injury for a chance to reach God-tier!

Was there even a choice to make?!

"ROAR—!!!!!"

A terrifying dragon roar that shook the entire valley and forced every soul beast within ten miles to prostrate itself erupted from the depths of the earth!