Purple Ring Shocks the World, Martial Soul Evolution!

The battle was over.

The air still carried a strange stench, a mixture of blood-sweetness and scorched rot.

Han Yuchen stood where he was, taking a couple of ragged breaths.

"Damn, that nearly killed me."

He kicked aside a stone that had been shattered by the energy blast.

The once-arrogant Thousand-Year Mandala Snake now lay sprawled in the mud like a huge, rotten pink rope.

It was taking in less air than it let out.

The ferocity in its snake eyes had faded, leaving behind only its fear of death.

Han Yuchen walked up to its massive head, expressionless.

Unlike other soul masters, he did not hurriedly sit cross-legged to prepare for the life-or-death risk of absorbing a spirit ring.

He merely reached out a hand.

An utterly ordinary hand pressed against the Mandala Snake's cold forehead.

"Don't blame me. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for looking too much like an experience pack."

With a thought—

[Star Atlas], activate!

[Plunder and Evolve], activate!

Buzz—!

A faint glow, imperceptible to anyone else, flashed between Han Yuchen's brows and vanished.

The next second, a sudden change occurred!

"Hiss!!!"

A shrill, soundless scream from the level of the soul exploded in Han Yuchen's mind!

A phantom serpent, identical to the dying Mandala Snake itself, was forcibly stripped from its flesh and blood by an invisible force!

The serpent shadow thrashed and twisted wildly, but it could not resist that suction from a higher dimension.

It was as though an invisible hand had seized it and yanked it upward!

Whoosh!

The phantom serpent transformed into the purest Soul Origin and shot into Han Yuchen's brow like a streak of light, disappearing without a trace.

[Ding! Successfully plundered the Soul Origin of a Thousand-Year Mandala Snake!]

[Analyzing... Analysis complete.]

[Obtained innate bloodline: Neurotoxic Venom (trace amount). Automatically integrated into the Martial Soul Origin.]

It worked.

Almost at the same instant, the Mandala Snake's huge body stiffened violently and fell completely lifeless.

A radiant purple ring slowly rose from its corpse.

That purple was deep, eerie, and filled with explosive power.

A Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

Han Yuchen grinned.

He did not even spare the spirit ring a glance before directly summoning his Martial Soul.

The palm-sized blue fish, Yiyou, still floated at his side with that same vacant, silly look.

"Come on, time to eat."

As if it had received an order, the purple spirit ring did not struggle in the slightest. Gentle as a tamed kitten, it proactively slipped over the Yiyou Martial Soul.

The entire process was smooth and effortless.

It took less than a minute from start to finish.

No pain.

No risk.

No going berserk.

When others absorbed spirit rings, it was like enduring a heavenly tribulation, a near-death ordeal.

For me... it's like scanning a code to pay with a phone. Ding, and it's done.

Damn it, a cheat-powered life really is this plain and unpretentious.

As that deep purple ring perfectly settled around little Yiyou, the Soul Power inside Han Yuchen instantly boiled over!

[Ding! First Spirit Ring absorbed!]

An unprecedented sense of power surged from every limb and bone, coursing through every inch of his meridians!

His soul master rank began soaring!

Level eleven!

Level twelve!

At last, it stabilized firmly at level twenty!

Previously, Han Yuchen had possessed level-twenty Soul Power without the corresponding rank.

Now, he lacked nothing.

He had officially become a Quasi Great Soul Master!

But this was merely the appetizer.

The real show was only beginning!

Bound by the Thousand-Year Soul Ring, the Yiyou Martial Soul trembled violently, as if it had been injected with a potent stimulant.

A purple cocoon of light swiftly enveloped it.

Crack... crack...

From inside the cocoon came dense bursts of bones breaking and reforming.

Its once dull, adorably foolish fish eyes became narrow and sharp, radiating an icy killing intent!

Its fins grew broader, their edges glinting with sharp cold light like blades of water.

Its form was evolving toward a higher, more majestic lifeform!

A Soul Power fluctuation dozens of times stronger than before burst outward!

Crack!

The cocoon shattered.

A brand-new Martial Soul appeared behind Han Yuchen.

It was no longer the harmless ornamental fish, Yiyou.

It was now a combat creature nearly a meter long, clad in blue scales, with eagle-sharp eyes and a body that combined the sleekness of a fish with the majesty of a dragon!

Evolution form—Yulian!

"Not bad."

Han Yuchen felt the surging power within him and nodded in satisfaction.

"It evolved from a pet fish into a fighting fish. At least it finally looks presentable."

Almost the instant the Martial Soul Evolution was complete, a flood of information poured into his mind.

The details of his First Soul Skill had arrived.

Han Yuchen closed his eyes and examined them carefully.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, an extremely strange excitement shining within them.

Damn!

So that was how it worked!

[First Soul Skill: Restraint]

[Effect: When the host "subjectively believes" that an opponent's Martial Soul, attribute, or attack method "restrains" them, this skill will activate automatically. Once activated, all damage and control effects received this time will be 100% nullified and reflected back at the opponent at 200% power, unchanged!]

[Note: Ignores rank and defense. As long as you believe it, it works.]

Han Yuchen's lips curled upward wildly.

What the hell kind of counterattack skill was this?

This was practically a divine skill for staging fake accidents!

"Subjectively believes"...

Those four words were outrageous to the core!

That meant whether this skill was powerful had nothing to do with his opponent. It depended entirely on how thick Han Yuchen's skin was and how good his acting was!

"Ah, your Martial Soul is Assault System. It restrains someone like me who swims in water the most. I surrender!"

Bang! Double damage reflected.

"Oh no, oh no! Your fire attribute completely restrains my water attribute. How am I supposed to fight this?"

Bang! Double damage reflected.

"Your Spiritual Power is too strong. I can't take it!"

Bang! Double Spirit Shock reflected.

"You say you restrain me? What a coincidence, I think so too!"

Han Yuchen nearly burst out laughing.

He finally understood that the thick skin and actor-level performance skills he had honed across two lifetimes were actually his greatest core combat power!

Playing the pig to eat the tiger?

No. He was forcing the tiger to admit that he was a pig, then making the tiger die of pure frustration!

He clenched his fist, feeling the exhilarating rush of Soul Power through his meridians. An unprecedented feeling of strength welled up inside him.

Soul master.

He had obtained the true ticket into this world.

Han Yuchen raised his head, looking first at the Mandala Snake's corpse, now completely dead, then at the deep purple spirit ring on his body.

Han Yuchen smacked his lips, a mysterious smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Plunder and Evolve was only a small appetizer.

Next, it was time to taste the main course.

His gaze passed over the dim forest and toward the night sky veiled by dark clouds.

There, countless stars glittered.

That was... his true source of power.