First Soul Ring, Soul Power Level Fourteen (Part 2)

Ordinary Soul Masters only raised their Soul Power by one level after absorbing a Soul Ring. In the original timeline, Tang San had additionally spent several months cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill to accumulate Soul Power, and only with the addition of a four-hundred-year Mandala Snake Soul Ring did his Soul Power rise by two levels after obtaining his Soul Ring.

For Chen Ming to break through four levels in one go was already extraordinarily astonishing. It was the combined accumulation of an eight-hundred-year Soul Ring, all kinds of supplements over the past two months, and grueling training methods.

Whale Rubber, Mermaid Oil, Mysterious Water Pills, and all kinds of Pills available only to the Sun Moon Empire's Imperial Family...

Although a large portion of their medicinal effects had been absorbed by Chen Ming's body and strengthened his physique, the energy that had accumulated was still far from insignificant.

In fact, if the resources Chen Ming had consumed over the past two months were converted into money and reasonably allocated to an ordinary Soul Master, it would be more than enough to raise them from Soul Master to Soul Grandmaster. In truth, even raising them from Soul Master to Soul Elder or even Soul Ancestor would have been easily affordable.

Behind such tremendous progress lay the Dragon Elephant Sect's Gold Soul Coins flowing away like water, all manner of visible and invisible professional teams, and Chen Ming's efforts—efforts enough to make an ordinary person collapse.

Once they confirmed that nothing was wrong with Chen Ming's condition, Chen Ping and Chen Li exchanged a glance and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then Chen Li slowly spoke.

"Xiao Ming, what is your First Soul Skill?"

"Within our Dragon Elephant Sect, the Diamond Mammoth's First Soul Skill is usually obtained from defensive Soul Beasts such as the Rockhide Elephant, which possesses the Golden Bloodline. The First Soul Skill gained is generally Defense Enhancement, increasing defense and resistance to abnormal conditions by fifty percent."

"You directly obtained yours from a top-tier Soul Beast like the Diamond Mammoth, and it was an eight-hundred-year Soul Ring at that. I imagine the Soul Skill you gained must be extraordinary."

"My First Soul Skill is called Ancient Strength. It is also a strengthening Soul Skill. Its effect is similar to Defense Enhancement, only stronger and more comprehensive." As Chen Ming spoke, he unleashed his Soul Skill.

As golden light flared from the Soul Ring and bathed Chen Ming's entire body, his massive frame was stimulated once more, and he seemed to swell by several more degrees. Setting aside the bestial transformation brought about by Martial Soul Possession, he vaguely resembled one of the bronze men from martial arts novels.

"Ancient Strength is very simple. It increases defense, resistance to abnormal conditions, and strength by one hundred percent. It's a simple strengthening ability, but its power is solid."

"Excellent. Even among Thousand Year Soul Skills, your skill would be nearly top-tier." Chen Li's eyes lit up upon hearing Chen Ming's skill, and joy immediately spread across his face.

As everyone knew, the strongest strengthening Soul Skill on the Douluo Continent was Dai Mubai's White Tiger Adamant Form. As a Thousand Year Soul Skill, it possessed the terrifying effect of increasing strength, attack power, defense, and resistance to abnormal conditions by one hundred percent.

Though it was a Thousand Year Soul Skill, it had actually eclipsed the vast majority of Ten Thousand Year Soul Skills in the Original Work. It was practically a bug in the Original Work, to the point that whenever a strengthening skill appeared, people instinctively compared it to the White Tiger Adamant Form.

Later on, Dai Mubai's White Tiger Demon God Transformation was practically held back because of it, with its true enhancement values withheld for a long time out of fear that even a top-tier Ten Thousand Year Soul Skill would not surpass the Thousand Year White Tiger Adamant Form. From any angle, the White Tiger Adamant Form was a bug skill that was not quite a bug.

In this world, the White Tiger Adamant Form truly was the most top-tier strengthening ability. It was an exceptional Thousand Year Soul Skill exclusive to the White Tiger lineage, and few skills of the same age could compare to it even among Ten Thousand Year Soul Skills.

Although Chen Ming's Ancient Strength lacked the White Tiger Adamant Form's one-hundred-percent increase to attack power, a closer look showed that it was even more astonishing.

After all, the White Tiger Adamant Form generally came from the Adamant Tiger, a top-tier Soul Beast with White Tiger bloodline and a cultivation of around fifteen hundred years. Although the Diamond Mammoth Soul Ring Chen Ming had obtained was of the same quality as the Adamant Tiger's, it was only about half the normal age of a White Tiger Adamant Form Soul Ring.

Overall, this was already an exceptionally outstanding strengthening skill. For Soul Masters with slightly inferior Martial Souls and Soul Ring quality, even a Ten Thousand Year strengthening Soul Skill might not reach this level of enhancement.

Let alone compared to the First Soul Skills of ordinary Dragon Elephant Sect Soul Masters—even compared to their Third Soul Skills, it was somewhat stronger.

"Good, good, good!"

Chen Li rubbed Chen Ming's smooth head and nodded with a smile. Chen Ming chuckled, displaying a rare, pure excitement.

After absorbing the Soul Ring, Chen Li seemed to have relaxed for some reason. He was no longer as impatient as before.

After whispering a few words to Great Elder Chen Ping, Chen Ping's expression changed slightly as well. His gaze toward Chen Ming carried a trace of hesitation, as if he was not quite sure whether this was truly appropriate.

However, Chen Li was ultimately the Sect Master. After thinking for a while, Chen Ping finally sighed and put away his impatient manner. Instead, he calmly instructed Chen Ming on how to dissect the Diamond Mammoth's corpse.

Chen Ming did not understand what they were thinking, but his experiences over the years had taught him to trust that the Great Elder and Sect Master would not plot against him. He simply accepted the Great Elder's guidance in silence. Under the reinforcement of Soul Power, a specially made Soul Tool knife slowly cut open the Diamond Mammoth's corpse and stripped away its valuable parts.

As expected, this Diamond Mammoth, with a cultivation of only eight hundred years, had not produced anything like a Soul Bone or Inner Core. Chen Ming merely collected its valuable flesh, blood, and bones, then decided to take the tusks home and display them as trophies.

After using all kinds of ingenious little tools under the Sect Master's guidance to remove the scent and traces from his body, Chen Ming followed the Sect Master and Great Elder as they leisurely wandered through the Mixed Area, choosing dinner for the day.

The Soul Beast hunted for the Soul Ring had been an eight-hundred-year top-tier Soul Beast, a Diamond Mammoth, yet the ingredient for dinner was a five-thousand-year high-level Soul Beast, a Heavy Armor Earth Dragon.

Within that Soul Beast's territory, Chen Ming carefully grilled the Heavy Armor Earth Dragon's plump belly meat over the flames of a Soul Guiding Furnace under the Great Elder's guidance. Most of the fragrance and smoke produced by the grilling were drawn away by the lid atop the Soul Guiding Furnace, avoiding unnecessary trouble as much as possible while still satisfying their appetites.

The barbecue in the wilds of the Star Dou Great Forest lasted until midnight. Once Chen Ming had eaten and drunk his fill, he sat comfortably on a large boulder, digesting the dragon meat in his stomach. Great Elder Chen Ping and Sect Master Chen Li, who had spent the entire afternoon thinking, sat down beside him.

The two looked at Chen Ming with complicated expressions. Then Chen Li raised a hand and pointed in one direction.

"Do you know what lies beyond that side of the forest?"