The First Time Might Hurt a Little

"Wake up quick, the sun's burning your butt!"

In a daze, Chen Fu was roused from sleep by someone. Lifting his hand to check the time, it wasn't even seven yet.

The flame of morning anger was about to ignite, but then he saw the true "Flame Lord" and instantly cooled down.

"The experiment, right! The experiment!"

Remembering the experiment, Chen Fu perked up at once. He hurriedly got up, tidied himself, and went through washing up and breakfast in one smooth motion.

"Eat faster. Dawdling like this—what kind of behavior is that?"

The girl stabbed gloomily at the bread on her plate. This wasn't the outcome she'd expected?

Soon, the two of them, refreshed and full, re-entered the laboratory.

"Xiaotao, just lie down in there. Relax, don't be nervous."

Ma Xiaotao followed Chen Fu's instructions, changed into a tight-fitting bodysuit, and lay down inside.

The movable modules slid and adjusted, finally letting Ma Xiaotao recline in the most comfortable position.

"Link the Technology Throne."

[Link successful]

"Begin Battle Soul Instrument data import."

[Data updated, import successful]

Finally able to ditch the inconvenient Battle Soul Instrument research glasses, Chen Fu took them off and stored them in his Space Ring, then started manipulating the gradually digitized Spirit Body Martial Soul.

Programming the Technology Throne into a convenient Soul Tool operation panel—this was something Chen Fu had squeezed in over the past few months.

The Technology Throne's inherent ability to control physical matter made this possibility a reality.

As for the data storage core, Chen Fu sealed one of his transparent Soul Rings. All data generated by the Technology Throne would be stored within it in the form of Soul Power fluctuations.

As for memory capacity issues, that would be a problem for his future self to update.

[Divine Ring] was both a description of the new Soul Tool's function, but wasn't it also an annotation for the Data Soul Ring of the Technology Throne he was building?

As the first operational Soul Tool device programmed into the Technology Throne, [Divine Ring] inherently carried some of Chen Fu's expectations.

[Soul Power Adaptation Module activated]

"Xiaotao, release 10% of your Soul Power."

Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao's body began to glow with red flames.

[Intensity adapted. Estimating... Estimation complete]

"Release 50% of your Soul Power."

[Equipment functioning normally]

"Xiaotao, release everything!"

Ma Xiaotao inside [Divine Ring] instantly turned into an orange-red fireball.

[Energy conversion program initiated. Current conversion rate: 47.36%. Module functioning normally]

Using energy to counter energy—a technique that effectively raised the heat resistance limit of materials. Though the conversion rate was low for now, it was already sufficient.

"Alright, Xiaotao. Circulate your Soul Power and inject it according to the mechanical prompts."

Chen Fu's voice transmitted into Ma Xiaotao's mind via his Martial Soul in the form of spiritual waves.

Then began the long charging process. Ma Xiaotao had to use her own Soul Power to gradually increase the base Soul Power reserves of [Divine Ring].

To ensure the purity of the base Soul Power, this process could only be done slowly.

The reason Chen Fu had been so fast was that most of the Soul Power in the Ark Core had been injected by him in his spare time, ready for direct use.

This charging process stretched all the way into the evening. Ma Xiaotao came out midway to eat a meal and asked someone to send a message to the academy.

[Estimated charge reserves have reached the target]

"Xiaotao, inject your Spiritual Power following the guidance. This is the main event."

[First charge impact prepared]

[Soul Ring has reached the designated position]

"Xiaotao, bear with it. It'll hurt a bit."

???

"First Spirit Soul Clash, initiating!"

A sharp sting shot through her, and Ma Xiaotao's face turned pale. Her originally bright yellow First Soul Ring now had a small patch of light on it.

[Physique estimating. Conducting state recovery timing. Countdown: 8 minutes]

"How do you feel? The first time might hurt a lot, but don't be afraid. It'll get much easier afterward."

"You're insane!" Ma Xiaotao cursed inwardly, then ignored him and focused on regulating her breathing.

[Proceeding with second Spiritual Power injection]

[Second Essence Soul Clash Initiated]

She couldn't hear a single sound. Ma Xiaotao only felt as if a beam of light had pierced through her, but the pain was immense.

Yet, just as Chen Fu had said, the spiritual pain gradually weakened.

Because she'd gone numb from the pain?

"The remnant soul will be worn away bit by bit during the clash, slowly reducing its attachment to the host's spirit, and eventually be stripped away. So the pain decreases."

As Ma Xiaotao's adaptability improved, the interval between [Divine Ring] Soul Tool clashes grew shorter and shorter.

Before she knew it, the sky had brightened, then quietly darkened again.

[The 2023rd Essence Soul Clash Initiated]

With a crack, Ma Xiaotao seemed to hear something shatter in her spiritual perception, along with meaningless roars. Then she felt her spirit suddenly loosen.

Psssh!

With the sound of an air valve, the specially-made glass cover separated to all sides.

Looking at the girl before him, drenched in sweat and utterly haggard, Chen Fu was silent for a moment before speaking:

"You've worked hard, Xiaotao."

He took out a special nutrient solution and fed a little to the girl, then lifted her limp, powerless body from the Square Chamber and gently placed her on the bed in the rest room.

"You're an absolute lunatic."

The weak, powerless words crawled out of the girl's mouth.

"Mm... Can I take that to mean 'lunatic' is a higher form of praise than 'genius'?"

"Alright, get some good sleep. When you wake up, everything will be better."

Closing the door, Chen Fu stood in the hall, staring at the [Divine Ring] device before him, maintaining his silence.

Recalling the scene of himself torturing himself with a crude clash machine back then...

Was I actually a masochist???

He quickly shook his head to cast aside that terrifying thought.

Seeing the inscription patterns on the wall flash again, Chen Fu tidied himself up and stood waiting at the laboratory entrance.

"Welcome, Dean, to grace us with your presence once more."

"..."

The old man's originally sour face stiffened.

"What the hell are you up to! Xiaotao hasn't been back for three days!"

He'd felt a dark weight in his heart these past few days, a persistent unease.

"The experiment just ended. Xiaotao is resting now. As for the specifics, it's better if she tells you herself when she returns tomorrow."

The old man stared at the young man before him for a long time, then vanished without a trace.

Sigh. He remembered that before handing over the [Nirvana], this old man had been pretty warm toward him?

Chen Fu shook his head and sighed inwardly. Stubborn old man.

At least you know your limits, you brat! A certain old man, currently hurrying home, cursed in his heart.

Silently, the morning light once again spilled across the world.

"How do you feel now?"

Looking at the girl stretching lazily in the morning light, Chen Fu couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Ah! I'm going to take a shower first!"

Feeling a bit disheveled, the girl shrieked and quickly fled.

Pursing his lips, Chen Fu closed the door and stepped out.

It didn't take long for Chen Fu to wait. A refreshed and spirited girl appeared before him again.

White, yellow, purple, purple, black—five Soul Rings appeared behind the girl.

"The Soul Ring's power has dropped by at least forty percent! But in terms of control, it feels exceptionally smooth and effortless now!"

The white Soul Ring was unusually agile in the girl's hands. Various Soul Skill transformations could now be executed swiftly and with remarkable vitality!

"Once your spirit and soul gradually adapt to this Soul Ring, and your soul power slowly permeates it, you can enter the stage of nurturing the Soul Ring."

The suffering hadn't been for nothing. The girl's eyes were filled with surprise.

"Now I finally understand why you used to say how foolish it was to just blast Soul Skills straight at each other."

Gazing at the white Soul Ring full of vitality in her hands, Ma Xiaotao sighed with genuine feeling.