Star Tempering, One Ring, Two Skills!

Han Yuchen sat cross-legged, immediately closed his eyes, and immersed all his focus into the Star Atlas in his mind.

Star Tempering! Activate.

Following the guidance provided by the atlas, he visualized that boundless sea of stars and extended his spiritual intent toward the deepest reaches of the night sky.

"By my name, I summon the Power of Stars to temper my Spirit Ring!"

Boom!

The moment that thought left his mind, the temperature throughout the Soul Hunting Forest seemed to drop several degrees.

In the night sky, the thick clouds seemed to be torn open by an invisible hand, leaving a massive rift.

Endless starlight poured down from that opening.

At first, it was merely fine strands of silver light.

But in the blink of an eye, they converged into a dazzling silver pillar visible to the naked eye. It seemed to descend from beyond the heavens, crossing endless space to envelop Han Yuchen with perfect precision!

This was the Power of Stars!

Bathed in the pillar of light, Han Yuchen felt no violent impact from the energy.

Quite the opposite.

It felt warm and gentle, like soaking in the finest hot spring. Every pore on his body opened wide, greedily absorbing this pure power from the depths of the cosmos.

Amazing!

So damn amazing!

Before him, the purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring appeared on its own and slowly pulsed.

The instant the Power of Stars touched the Spirit Ring, it let out a sharp, resonant hum!

Like a beggar who had starved for a thousand years suddenly catching sight of a feast fit for an emperor!

The ring's color deepened at a visible rate. Flecks of starlight seemed to merge into its purple glow, making it gorgeous and mysterious.

At the same time, the number representing the Spirit Ring's age on the atlas panel in Han Yuchen's mind began to race wildly upward!

[1,100 years...]

[1,200 years...]

[1,358 years...]

[1,500 years...]

The number climbed even faster than power-leveling in his past life's games!

Power!

Han Yuchen could clearly feel streams of incomparably pure energy continuously feeding back into his martial soul and body through the Spirit Ring.

His Soul Power was rising, and his muscles and bones were growing stronger!

The feeling of leveling up on a rocket nearly made him moan aloud.

[1,800 years...]

[1,900 years...]

[1,999 years!]

The number abruptly stopped just as it was about to break through the two-thousand-year mark!

The infusion of the Power of Stars also suddenly slowed.

The purple Spirit Ring began trembling violently, as though instinctively resisting.

A bottleneck!

Han Yuchen's heart tightened.

He understood that the Spirit Ring's material had reached the limit it could withstand at its current stage.

Like a cup filled to the brim—pour in any more, and it would overflow.

If an ordinary soul master encountered such a situation, they would have to endure countless hardships for even a chance to raise the Spirit Ring's quality another level.

But Han Yuchen...

He was no ordinary soul master!

"Break for me!"

He let out a low roar in his heart and fully activated the Divine Soul Origin buried in the deepest part of himself!

The strands of dormant power within his soul, belonging to the Starlight Ruse King, were forcefully drawn forth!

Hummm—!

A faint azure divine light flickered from the depths of his soul.

An will far older, more domineering, and nobler than the Power of Stars descended in an instant!

If the Power of Stars was a minister, then this will was an emperor ruling over all beneath heaven!

Before that will, the Thousand-Year Soul Ring that had still been trembling in resistance instantly cowered.

Like a cat with its fur raised suddenly encountering a tiger descending the mountain, all resistance and struggle vanished in an instant, leaving it incomparably docile.

The bottleneck shattered at once!

[2,000 years!]

[2,001 years!]

The number representing the Spirit Ring's age settled firmly on "2,001 years."

At the same time, a crisp system notification exploded in Han Yuchen's mind!

[Ding! The First Spirit Ring has successfully surpassed the two-thousand-year threshold!]

[Conditions fulfilled. Comprehending a brand-new Soul Skill...]

[Comprehension successful!]

[Notice: The later a skill is comprehended, the stronger it will be.]

It was here!

Han Yuchen's heart skipped a beat!

A flood of brand-new information surged into his mind like a bursting dam.

[Second Soul Skill: Blade of Flowing Water]

[Effect: Highly compresses Water Element Soul Power into a high-speed rotating blade as sharp as a knife, capable of short- to mid-range cutting attacks.]

[Traits: Extremely fast, powerful Armor Piercing capability, low Soul Power consumption, and can be cast instantly!]

It worked!

Han Yuchen abruptly opened his eyes, and a sharp glint flashed through them!

He slowly raised his right hand, and with a thought—

Hum!

A faint tremor rippled through the air.

A water blade no larger than his palm silently floated above his hand. It was crystal clear, with water rapidly spinning within it.

It looked like an exquisite work of art, harmless to humans and animals alike.

Yet Han Yuchen could clearly sense the terrifying cutting power contained within that tiny water blade!

His gaze shifted toward a hard boulder half the height of a man nearby.

Go!

There were no flashy effects, no deafening roar.

The water blade became an almost imperceptible streak of light and vanished in a flash.

Sshk—

A faint cutting sound, nearly impossible to hear, rang out.

The massive rock before Han Yuchen remained standing quietly in place, as though nothing had happened.

But the next second—

Crack.

An incomparably smooth cut appeared at the top of the boulder and swiftly spread downward.

Then, the upper half of the entire boulder slowly slid along that cut and crashed heavily to the ground.

The cut was as smooth as a mirror!

Han Yuchen walked over and lightly ran a finger across the polished stone surface.

"Damn..."

Satisfied, he blew nonexistent dust from his finger, his grin stretching nearly to his ears.

"One ring, two skills—attack and defense in one."

"[Restraint] is the shield of absolute defense, while [Blade of Flowing Water] is the spear that pierces all."

"Now I finally look a little like a properly geared player."

He could not help grumbling inwardly.

While everyone else is still in the beginner village debating whether to bring a wooden club or a wooden shield, I'm already thinking about enchantments for my endgame gear.

This feeling was simply too good!

Han Yuchen contentedly reined in his aura and disguised his Soul Power fluctuations as those of someone who had just broken through level ten.

The purple Spirit Ring, now gradually tinged with black after being tempered, also faded from sight.

A tree that stands above the forest will be toppled by the wind.

Better keep a low profile for now.

He stood, dusted off his clothes, and glanced in the direction of Nuoding City.

It was time to head back.

He wondered what expression that Master, hailed at the academy as "invincible in theory," would make when he saw his "ordinary" First Spirit Ring.

It should... be quite spectacular, right?

A teasing curve rose on Han Yuchen's lips.

He could hardly wait.