The First Soul Ring Year

That night, Ye Lan went to his usual Mimicry Cultivation spot.

Influenced by Ye Lan's soul power, the area had already become overgrown with Blue Silver Grass.

As Ye Lan arrived, the countless blades of Blue Silver Grass swayed their bodies excitedly in welcome.

Ye Lan sat cross-legged amid the Blue Silver Grass, his eyes tightly shut as he carefully sensed the changes in his body after absorbing the Whale Rubber.

After his physical constitution broke through from absorbing the Whale Rubber, Ye Lan discovered that his body had reached a bottleneck.

This book was first published on Taiwan Novel Network. Great experience, t͓͓̽̽w͓͓̽̽k͓͓͓̽̽̽a͓͓̽̽n͓͓̽̽.c͓͓̽̽o͓͓̽̽m͓͓̽̽, super reliable, providing you with error-free and properly ordered chapters for the best reading experience.

Further increasing his training load would be useless. This was because the recovery provided by the food made by the Food System Soul Masters he could currently afford was no longer enough to keep up with the strain training placed on his body.

For Ye Lan's cultivation, the restorative effects provided by Food System Soul Masters' food were crucial.

The growth of physical fitness could not be separated from the tearing and healing of muscles.

If recovery could not keep up, training desperately would only leave behind hidden injuries.

Ye Lan planned to maintain his current training load rather than increase it blindly. Only after his body developed further and his Soul Power Level rose would he increase the intensity of his training.

Simply put, Ye Lan's physical body was currently like a bottle filled to the brim with water. Only an increase in Soul Power Level, the evolution of his martial soul, and physical development could expand the bottle's capacity—his room for growth.

From this perspective, Ye Lan was undoubtedly the strongest Level 7 Soul Master on Douluo Continent!

With his mind settled, Ye Lan began planning for the future after confirming the changes in his body.

Two years later...

Over those two years, aside from his nightly Mimicry Cultivation, Ye Lan often appeared in Nuoding Academy's classrooms and library. He studied knowledge about soul beasts and martial souls, broadening his horizons in preparation for obtaining soul rings in the future.

The young girls of Nuoding Academy were thrilled by the suddenly active, dark-blue-haired pretty boy. They tried every possible way to catch Ye Lan's attention—sending love letters, giving him snacks, talking about martial souls, and so on.

Ye Lan could only deal with them perfunctorily. To him, cultivation progress was what mattered most right now. He could hardly wait to find out what Skill Selection actually was. Besides, these girls were far too young, and he had no interest in them whatsoever. He could only brush them off as if he were dealing with children.

Of them all, Xiao Wu gave Ye Lan the biggest headache. It could only be said that Xiao Wu, who had become Sister Xiao Wu, truly deserved her reputation as Nuoding Academy's famous troublemaker.

At first, Xiao Wu had a favorable impression of the gentle Ye Lan and constantly followed him around, asking this and that. There were also many unpleasant incidents along the way. But after being brushed off repeatedly by Ye Lan, Xiao Wu finally realized that beneath Ye Lan's gentle exterior lay a cold sea.

After being dismissed by Ye Lan several times, Xiao Wu stopped paying attention to him. Instead, she turned her attention to the plain-looking Tang San. Although Tang San looked ordinary, he was also very strong and possessed the talent of Innate Full Soul Power. Most importantly, he granted her every request. During the first-year break, she had even become Tang San's younger sister.

The more Xiao Wu looked at this brother of hers, the more satisfied she became. The two had been inseparable over the past two years, sticking together every day.

Ye Lan was more than happy to have some peace and quiet. If he had a younger sister like Xiao Wu, he could forget about cultivating altogether. Only someone with Tang San's talent could endure Xiao Wu squandering his time like this.

After all, Tang San was Level 13 after obtaining his soul ring, yet he only reached Level 29 by the time he graduated six years later and went to report to Shrek Academy.

Compared to ordinary people, that was naturally exceptional talent. But for Tang San, raising his soul power by sixteen levels in six years was merely a normal cultivation speed and could not be called diligent. Xiao Wu's constant troublemaking undoubtedly wasted much of Tang San's time.

Watching Tang San and Xiao Wu stick together, Ye Lan stopped thinking about them. Instead, he planned to contact Uncle Tao in the next few days and obtain his first soul ring.

That's right. After five years of cultivation, Ye Lan was now eleven years old. His height had shot up to 1.7 meters, and his soul power had reached Level 10. Raising it by seven levels in five years was already the result of Ye Lan giving it his all, considering that he had begun with Level 3 Innate Soul Power.

At a normal pace, even if Ye Lan worked as hard as possible, it would have taken him eight years to reach Level 10.

Thanks to Mimicry Cultivation, the boost from Whale Rubber, and the complete development of his physical potential, Ye Lan had reached Level 10 three years early. Once he obtained a soul ring, he would meet Nuoding Academy's graduation requirements.

Two years ago, Ye Lan could have absorbed a soul ring with a Soul Ring Year of around six hundred years. Over the past two years, with the growth of his soul power, physical development, and further breakthroughs in his physical constitution, his first soul ring could now reach around seven hundred and fifty years.

Why could he exceed others by more than three hundred years? Ye Lan guessed that soul masters with lower talent had low Innate Soul Power and cultivated slowly. They also lacked any good techniques to temper their bodies. More importantly, most people did not have the resources to obtain hundred-year soul rings, so the soul rings they absorbed were mostly white.

As for those genius soul masters with high Innate Soul Power, although their physical constitutions were already excellent, they had not spent five years tempering their bodies like Ye Lan had. Most of them obtained their soul rings at the age of six.

Those with Innate Full Soul Power would not linger at Level 10 either, waiting for their bodies to develop while training every day without obtaining a soul ring. Therefore, a little over four hundred years was the limit for a first soul ring.

Another point was that the fact that physical constitution affected Soul Ring Year was likely known only to a select few, and those who knew would not spread it around.

If the news that Ye Lan could absorb a seven-hundred-and-fifty-year soul ring as his first soul ring were announced, soul masters across Douluo Continent would certainly think it was a bad joke.

This was because the maximum absorption limit for a second soul ring was only a little over seven hundred years. As for the seven hundred and sixty-four years in Yu Xiaogang's theory—that was pure nonsense. A little over seven hundred years might be correct, but being precise down to a specific number of years was nothing more than making a serious guess.

Soul rings did not have growth rings like trees to record their age. Their color could only be used to identify whether they were ten-year, hundred-year, thousand-year, ten-thousand-year, or Hundred Thousand Year soul rings. Even the age of soul beasts could only be estimated through experience. A soul beast that had lived for several hundred years might have forgotten its own age, let alone a human.

Soul masters could only roughly determine a soul ring's age when absorbing it, not its exact number of years. Thus, Ye Lan could only laugh at Yu Xiaogang's soul ring absorption theory that was precise to the year. He would never believe it.

Putting away those thoughts, Ye Lan returned to his dormitory and packed his things. He prepared dry rations, water, insect-repelling incense, and other supplies for his upcoming trip to the Soul Hunting Forest.

Once he was done packing, Ye Lan changed into a fitted black training outfit, slung on his travel pack, and headed for the Martial Soul Branch Hall in Nuoding City.

Ye Lan had commissioned the travel pack from a tailor shop. It could hold plenty of things and was very convenient to carry.

The inconvenience of traveling was the only thing Ye Lan envied about Tang San. Storage Soul Tools were extremely convenient for carrying items, but they were truly expensive—far beyond what Ye Lan could afford.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the dark-blue-haired youth walked along the main road of Nuoding Academy with a travel pack on his back, forming a scenic sight.

When he arrived at the gates of Nuoding City's Martial Soul Branch Hall, the building before him was breathtaking.

The Gothic structure was a hundred meters wide and over twenty meters tall. No matter how many times Ye Lan saw it, he still found it awe-inspiring.

It could only be said that Spirit Hall truly lived up to its name. Even a branch hall in Nuoding was so majestic. He could hardly imagine what Spirit City must look like.

The gatekeeper of the Nuoding Branch Hall looked at the dark-blue-haired youth and greeted him familiarly. "Yo, long time no see. Xiao Lan, you've gotten taller again. With looks like these, are you planning to become Nuoding City's heartthrob?"

Faced with the guard's teasing, Ye Lan merely smiled. "Don't make fun of me. Where's Uncle Tao?"

"He's inside! Su Yuntao has been doing quite well these past few years!" The gatekeeper spoke of Su Yuntao with envy in his voice.

This was because Ye Lan had taught Uncle Tao how to make Candied Hawthorn Skewers and had told Su Yuntao the detailed methods for running the business. Even after five years, the profits from Candied Hawthorn Skewers were still considerable for a Soul Grandmaster.

Of the Gold Soul Coins earned from Candied Hawthorn Skewers, one portion went to Su Yuntao, one portion to Ye Lan, and another portion was donated by Su Yuntao at Ye Lan's request to Harvest Village, helping the village improve its roads and meals.

Hearing that Uncle Tao was inside, Ye Lan walked directly into the Nuoding City Martial Soul Branch Hall.

The branch hall was resplendent in gold and jade. Its dome rose over twenty meters high, a breathtaking sight. The dome was covered in murals depicting various Soul Beasts. Beneath his feet lay the enormous Sacred Sword emblem of Martial Soul Hall, dozens of meters long.

Grand music continuously echoed around him. Under the dazzling light filtering through the crystal glass windows, Ye Lan felt somewhat dazed.

Following his memories, Ye Lan headed straight for the side hall where Uncle Tao usually stayed. Ignoring the nuns' fixed stares, Ye Lan soon found Su Yuntao, who was chatting with a glamorous female Soul Master at his side, his face full of smiles.

The female Soul Master was the first to notice Ye Lan. "Brother Tao, isn't that Xiao Lan? He's suddenly grown so tall!"

Su Yuntao turned toward Ye Lan and said in pleasant surprise, "Xiao Lan, what brings you here? Short on cultivation resources again?"

"Uncle Tao, I recently broke through to Soul Power Rank Ten. I wanted to discuss going to the Soul Hunting Forest to obtain a Soul Ring." Ye Lan candidly told Su Yuntao of his plans.

The female Soul Master exclaimed, "So fast! I remember Xiao Lan is only eleven, right? Brother Tao and I were already fourteen or fifteen when we obtained our Soul Rings!"

"Of course! You have no idea how hardworking Xiao Lan is. During holidays, he'd find any spot in Harvest Village and start cultivating! This kid has been running since he was little, and he's really fast!" Su Yuntao proudly introduced Ye Lan's diligence as though he himself had been the one working hard, then asked Ye Lan about his plans.

"Xiao Lan, what kind of Soul Ring do you want? What Soul Ring Year?"

"A hundred-year one, preferably from a plant-type Soul Beast. Something related to sunlight would be best." Ye Lan stated his request, but did not reveal the Soul Ring Year he was capable of absorbing, since someone else was present.

As for why it had to be related to sunlight, that was Ye Lan's own plan. Blue Silver Grass was most famous for its vitality. Even if all Soul Beasts went extinct, Blue Silver Grass might not; it was a stubborn sort of plant.

However, Ye Lan was not set on absorbing a Soul Beast with especially strong vitality. For one thing, most plant-type Soul Beasts were relatively tenacious to begin with, while fragile plant-type Soul Beasts were rare.

Secondly, among the conditions necessary for plant survival, the most important was sunlight, followed by water. Therefore, absorbing a sunlight-type plant would definitely be the right choice.

Thirdly, Ye Lan's greatest difficulty at present was his cultivation speed. He was eager to improve it, so he wanted to use a plant-type Soul Beast most closely related to sunlight to evolve his Blue Silver Grass.

After hearing Ye Lan's request, Su Yuntao nodded firmly. "Good. If you want to change your situation, a hundred-year Soul Ring is absolutely necessary. This time, even if your Uncle Tao has to risk his life, I'll get you a hundred-year Soul Ring."

Hearing Uncle Tao talk about risking his life, three black lines appeared on Ye Lan's forehead. "Uncle Tao, it doesn't have to cost you your life. If you're going to be like this, I won't ask you to come. I'll go form a random Soul Master party."

Su Yuntao scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "Wasn't I just hoping Xiao Lan could get a better Soul Ring? And here you are, looking down on your Uncle Tao!"

"There's no need to worry too much. My current strength is enough to deal with a hundred-year Soul Beast. With Uncle Tao's help on top of that, it'll be foolproof." Ye Lan spoke confidently.

Su Yuntao nodded. He knew a little about Ye Lan's usual training, so he was not surprised that Ye Lan could fight a hundred-year Soul Beast. He turned to the female Soul Master beside him. "Si Si, I'll take Xiao Lan to Hall Master Ma Xiunuo to collect a Soul Hunting Token."

Si Si looked at Su Yuntao with reluctance. "Have a safe trip! Come back early—I'll be waiting for you."

Su Yuntao agreed with a smile, then led Ye Lan toward the center of the branch hall. Along the way, he spoke to Ye Lan about Spirit Hall Academy. "Xiao Lan, it's a pity your Innate Soul Power is too low. Otherwise, I would have recommended you to Spirit Hall Academy no matter what. If you studied there, you wouldn't have to worry about Soul Rings."

"It's fine. Don't I have Uncle Tao?" Ye Lan did not reject Martial Soul Hall. If Douluo Continent had no Martial Soul Hall, the situation of Commoners would only be worse.

Apart from the threat of Soul Beasts, Evil Soul Masters were even more rampant. The harm caused by a single Evil Soul Master often came at the cost of thousands of lives. But now, Martial Soul Hall had hunted down most Evil Soul Masters until the City of Slaughter was their only remaining path to survival.

As for the threat of Soul Beasts, Martial Soul Holy City stood guard beside the Star Dou Great Forest, the largest Soul Beast habitat. Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu of Douluo Hall and the many Super Douluo were no pushovers. During this era, beast tides could barely stir up any trouble at all.

Ye Lan was not discouraged by his lack of a better starting point. He had long since planned what he needed to do at every stage.

The Soul Hunting Forest lay northeast of Nuoding City. It was a Soul Hunting Forest specially designated by the Heaven Dou Empire and Martial Soul Hall for low-level Soul Masters. Most Soul Beasts within were ten-year to hundred-year Soul Beasts, while Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were quite rare, making it less dangerous. It was the first choice for nearby low-level Soul Masters seeking Soul Rings.

To enter the Soul Hunting Forest, one not only had to reach the advancement rank, but also needed a Soul Hunting Token bearing the signatures of three nobles. However, the Nuoding City Martial Soul Branch Hall had a yearly quota of Soul Hunting Tokens. As a Martial Soul Hall Deacon, it was not difficult for Su Yuntao to obtain one; he only had to collect it from Ma Xiunuo.

After Su Yuntao collected the Soul Hunting Token from Martial Soul Hall, he and Ye Lan took a carriage to the Soul Hunting Forest together.

After several days of jolting travel, the carriage arrived amid dense forest.

The Soul Hunting Forest had many towering trees, and the air was filled with the earthy smell of soil. No matter where one looked, the eye met lush greenery.

Yet unlike many primeval forests, the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest were extremely lively, with rows of wooden houses. All kinds of cries and calls rang out without pause, clearly showing that people had gathered here.