Fish Leaping in the Vast Sea, Opportunity in the Magma

In the volcanic magma, a figure clad in Golden Flame Armor crawled out. The delight on his face was impossible to hide.

That figure was Wang Qi. After absorbing the Fire Spirit Soul Ring, when he activated his third Soul Ring, Wang Qi's Golden Flame would gain the power of Extreme Fire.

Now, Wang Qi's third Soul Ring could amplify his flames to the level of Extreme Fire. Mere magma was nothing more than a denser swimming pool before him. As for breathing?

Wang Qi had practiced boxing and stances for years. Though he was not yet proficient in the Fetal Breath Technique, with the support of Soul Power, surviving beneath the magma for half an hour was no problem.

Wang Qi had entered the magma to search for the Hundred-Thousand-Year Flame Swallowing Beast Embryo, but he had unexpectedly found another pleasant surprise within it.

Wang Qi discovered that when he used his second Soul Ring, Golden Flame Armor, while activating his third Soul Skill, Golden Flame Divine Body, within magma, it not only reduced consumption and extended the duration of the Extreme Fire amplification, but also greatly accelerated the increase of Golden Flame Armor's Soul Ring Age.

Golden Flame Armor, his second Soul Skill, could receive sunlight and absorb fire-attributed elemental energy to increase its Soul Ring Age. Wang Qi had swum beneath the magma for half an hour, and the age of his second Soul Ring had directly increased by ten years.

If Wang Qi's martial soul had truly possessed Extreme Fire, then by soaking in a magma pool for at most half a year, his second Soul Ring could have broken through to the ten-thousand-year level. It was truly an unexpected windfall.

"It's still slow. It can't compare to those people undergoing divine trials, who can increase their Soul Ring Age by several thousand or even tens of thousands of years in one go. But for me, this is already not slow."

"Besides, once my Spiritual Power level and my self-created Engraved Soul Skills are properly developed, it will only be a matter of time before I figure out a method to increase Soul Ring Age."

"Tsk, this feels amazing. This place is a treasure land. It can increase Soul Ring Age, and it even has a damaged Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo."

Wang Qi sighed inwardly.

His purpose in entering the magma this time was not cultivation. Without the balancing effects of a Mimic Environment Training Room, the fire-attributed elemental energy of an Active Volcano was abundant but far too violent. At his current level, it was difficult for Wang Qi to absorb.

His true goal was the Hundred-Thousand-Year Mutated Flame Swallowing Beast Embryo Scarlet King had brought over a year ago.

"Severely damaged" did not simply mean wounded or critically injured. A broken mirror could not be restored, nor could spilled water be gathered again. The difficulty of repairing a Mutated Soul Beast still in its embryonic state was no less than a mother suffering from congenital deficiencies during pregnancy.

Whether that Flame Swallowing Beast could hatch successfully was still unknown. Wang Qi had come this time to determine the embryo's condition.

Wang Qi did not know the process by which a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast took human form, but judging from the Original Work, Xiao Wu's bone age was the same as Tang San's. Wang Qi guessed that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast transforming into a human would likewise have to pass through the stages of human growth.

The stages of childhood, adolescence, youth, and adulthood were all indispensable. If the Flame Swallowing Beast Embryo had already hatched, then Wang Qi could only temporarily miss out on a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and simply take its bone.

If it had not, then Wang Qi would be able to obtain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring in the future without any effort—one whose attributes were almost perfectly compatible with his own, along with its Soul Bone.

As for Xiao Wu in Nuoding City? When Wang Qi had previously been in Nuoding City, he had only secretly glimpsed her from afar. How should he put it? Tang Hao guarded Xiao Wu as if she were his ancestor, so Wang Qi had no chance to approach her.

On the other hand, Xiao Wu's Soul Ring and Soul Bone were not particularly compatible with Wang Qi's, reaching only seventy-eight percent.

Having grown accustomed to exquisite delicacies, Wang Qi honestly looked down somewhat on such a low compatibility rate. Of course, that did not mean he intended to give up on Xiao Wu. If an opportunity arose in the future, he would still be quite willing to collect them even if he had no use for them.

After returning to the top of the volcano, Wang Qi recovered his Soul Power and ate a simple meal before entering the magma again. With his experience of using Extreme Fire to enter the magma the first time, he dove even deeper this time.

As he continued descending through the magma, Wang Qi could clearly sense the fire elements around him growing stronger and stronger. They increased along with the temperature of the magma.

It was like diving: the deeper one went, the greater the pressure one endured.

This was not good news for Wang Qi. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo, especially one recuperating from injuries, would definitely cause unusual phenomena in its surroundings.

It was true that a Soul Beast embryo in human form would conceal its aura while it developed, and Wang Qi agreed with that. But an embryo transformed from a Soul Beast was bound to differ from its surroundings.

"How could it not be here? If it hadn't been recovering from injuries, what reason would a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast have to voluntarily attack a human city?"

Wang Qi had studied the history of Douluo Continent. It was mainly divided into two eras. The first was the era when the Angel God led humanity against Soul Beasts and served as humanity's protector.

The second was the age of empires, when various kingdoms fought for territory, and the eventual victors became the current two great empires.

The era in which Soul Beasts left the Soul Hunting Forest to attack and kill humans was before the age of empires. At the time, Spirit Hall's Qian Family was at the height of its power. It was precisely because of the Qian Family that those ferocious beasts over a hundred thousand years old did not dare act too recklessly.

As for the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts ten thousand years later? Perhaps the Titled Douluo and Super Douluo of this era could not compare to those of the Soul Core era ten thousand years later, but the Peerless Douluo of today were not people whom the Limit Douluo of ten thousand years later could even compare to.

One was Peerless, the other Limit—the difference was apparent from the names alone. Moreover, nearly all the Peerless Douluo of this era had countless ties to gods behind them.

Divine power and Soul Power differed by only one word, but the gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth.

That was precisely why Wang Qi did not believe that Scarlet King, a ferocious beast, would leave the Star Dou Great Forest without reason.

"Could I be searching in the wrong place? Forget it. I won't dwell on it. I'll keep looking. Whether I find it or not, using the power of the magma to help increase my second Soul Ring's age is not a loss."

Wang Qi had no clues, but he believed that as long as he kept searching, he would definitely discover that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo.

While Wang Qi searched through the magma for the Hundred-Thousand-Year Embryo, the All-Continent Advanced Elite Soul Master Competition outside was also in full swing.

In the Heaven Dou Empire division, Xue Ye sat in the main seat of the Great Soul Arena, smiling as he looked over the intelligence in his hands.

Star Luo Royal Team: three Soul Ancestors and four Soul Elders.

Exotic Beast Academy Team: one Soul Ancestor and six Soul Elders.

Plant Academy Team: two Soul Ancestors, four Soul Elders, and one Soul Grandmaster.

The Four Elements Academy within the Heaven Dou Empire had roughly the same lineup. On average, one or two Soul Ancestors led the team, while the rest were Soul Elder-level members.

Spirit Hall had kept the cultivation levels of this generation's students well concealed, but Heaven Dou Empire's intelligence network had still obtained some rumors.

Seven Soul Ancestors, including two high-level Soul Ancestors. Even so, Xue Ye remained confident in Heaven Dou Royal Academy's team this year.

To prepare for this All-Continent Advanced Elite Soul Master Competition, nearly all the nobles within the Heaven Dou Empire, including the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, had contributed money and manpower to support the Heaven Dou Royal Team.

As for the results, Heaven Dou Team Two had three Soul Ancestors and four Soul Elders.

Heaven Dou Team One was even more outrageous: seven Soul Ancestors, five of whom were high-level Soul Ancestors above rank forty-seven. It could be said that the Heaven Dou Empire was determined to claim the championship of this All-Continent Advanced Elite Soul Master Competition!