Soul Seed and Talent

Hodan had successfully cultivated his Fate God Clone and simultaneously chosen to achieve godhood externally. This resulted in his original body's soul splitting once more, instantly reverting his soul to the state it was in before he had absorbed any Soul Golden Beads.

"Cultivation resources are still insufficient," Hodan lamented. He desperately wished he had an endless supply of Soul Golden Beads so his original soul could recover rapidly, allowing him to comprehend other laws and rules. At the same time, his Fate God Clone also required Soul Golden Beads to reach the limit of a Lowgod. However, aside from a set of Thunder Godhead and some survival supplies, Hodan had nothing left. He could only endure the feeling of an unfulfilled soul and cultivate in silence.

Yulan Continent

After returning to the Arctic Icefield, Hodan built a snow house next to the Plane Teleportation Array, identical to the one in the original story, to settle his mind. He was aware that he had cultivated a Fate God Clone—a clone he had developed through his own efforts, and one belonging to the Four Rules. This realization filled Hodan with encouragement; there was still a path forward for him. Simultaneously, Hodan began contemplating his next steps and how to obtain the opportunities hidden within the Yulan Continent.

First, he needed to confirm the current date in the Yulan Calendar. Although Hodan knew that Linley had certainly not been born yet—after all, he had only just arrived in the Yulan Continent to take up his post, and the tenure of a Plane Overseer was at least a thousand years.

Hodan also knew that the Coiling Dragon Ring was located in the ancestral hall of the Baruch family's old residence. As for where that was, in such a small place, it would be easy to find with a little searching. However, the Baruch Clan was Beirut's experimental subject. Although Beirut did not monitor them every single second, he would occasionally cast his gaze toward the clan to see if any new blood had emerged.

Therefore, it was impossible for Hodan to personally investigate the Baruch residence, so he would have to find someone else to do it for him.

"How can I get someone to do this for me without leaking any information?" Hodan felt a headache coming on.

"Wait, I've got it!" Hodan's eyes suddenly lit up. "Soul Seed!"

By condensing his soul power into a Soul Seed and planting it into another person's soul, that individual would be completely under his control. Furthermore, the servant and master could communicate through their souls. Most importantly, as long as one did not act strangely, outsiders would never know that a Soul Seed had been planted.

As one of the Four Rules, the Fate Rule, while not as adept at manipulating souls as the Death Law, was still among the best when it came to soul research. Naturally, there was a method to condense soul power into a Soul Seed. Although his Fate God Clone could not risk sending a condensed Soul Seed over, didn't he still have his Thunder God Clone?

Currently, the soul of his Thunder God Clone had reached the limit of a Mid-God, and the quality of the Soul Seed did not need to be very high—it only needed to control a third or fourth-rank warrior. He believed the Baruch Clan would welcome a third or fourth-rank warrior to do odd jobs.

Action followed thought. Hodan's Fate God Clone hurriedly learned the method of condensing a Soul Seed and shared the technique with his Thunder God Clone in the Yulan Continent through sensory synchronization.

Through extensive experimentation, Hodan slowly mastered the method of condensing a Soul Seed. He had to admit the difference between his Fate God Clone and his Thunder God Clone. His Fate God Clone, having just reached the strength of a Lowgod, succeeded after practicing a few times. However, his Thunder God Clone, despite having a soul at the limit of a Mid-God, actually took a month to successfully condense one. Hodan couldn't help but sigh at the specialization of different fields.

Hodan looked at the fingernail-sized, grayish-glowing sphere in his hand; such a tiny thing could make a person completely subject to his control. At the same time, the servant and master could communicate through their souls. Hodan marveled at the wonders of creation. The next step was to find someone to test the effectiveness of this Soul Seed.

Hodan realized he had been holed up in the Arctic Icefield for a month. Thinking that Beirut must have relaxed his vigilance by now, he stepped out of the snow house, intending to head into the Yulan Continent to find a bandit to test whether his Soul Seed was effective.

However, the moment Hodan stepped out of the snow house, his soul suddenly trembled. He felt something sweep across his body, and from the fluctuations of this scan, his soul sensed a pressure of a different level.

It was a coincidence. Ever since Hodan had met Beirut, he had been hiding in the snow house in the Arctic Icefield, and Beirut had ignored him. A month had passed, and Beirut had merely used his divine sense to scan what Hodan was doing.

After all, Beirut knew Hodan was sent by the Eight Great Clans, though he didn't believe Hodan could stir up any trouble in his territory. However, Hodan was still a key subject of Beirut's attention, just to prevent him from causing any chaos in the Yulan Continent. After all, apart from Beirut's own family, Hodan was already the strongest person in the Yulan Continent; he could do whatever he wanted.

Hodan was stunned. He clearly felt a prying gaze, yet his own divine sense did not detect anyone investigating him. One had to know that the only person in the Yulan Continent capable of scanning him like this was Beirut. Even the three Harvey brothers couldn't do it; although they were stronger than Hodan, they were essentially still Mid-Gods.

Hodan would have sensed their prying instantly, and at this stage in the Yulan Continent, there were no soul mutants. Most importantly, during this specific scan, Hodan's soul clearly felt a pressure of a different level.

This was the reason Hodan was stunned. His soul could actually sense the prying of a Chief Sovereign—this was unprecedented. A god could actually sense the prying of a Chief Sovereign! Since he could perceive a Chief Sovereign, he would also be able to perceive the prying of anyone below the Chief Sovereign level, including Grand Perfections. This was a life-saving ultimate skill.

Hodan thought this must be a trait brought by being a transmigrator, or perhaps his "golden finger." Thinking of this, Hodan was no longer in a hurry to leave. It was most important to first understand his own abilities; after all, if one didn't even know their own capabilities, how could they talk about becoming stronger?

Hodan returned to the snow house, connected with his original body, and immersed himself in his soul to study it carefully. He discovered that there seemed to be a layer of grayish mist over his blade-shaped soul, which blocked the probing of divine sense and soul power. At the same time, as this mist merged into his soul, his soul aura actually underwent a change.

Hodan stared at the gray mist for a long time, suddenly thinking of the biggest boss in the Coiling Dragon World—the Fate Chief Sovereign Oufu. He was a member of the Bula Clan, and the Bula Clan possessed a racial secret technique that allowed their souls to undergo metamorphosis. Different information separated by different god clones led to different soul auras for each clone.

How similar his own talent was to that of the Bula Clan! When a god clone's soul fused with the gray mist, the soul's aura would change. God clones were composed of divine power and could change at will; combined with the change in soul aura, if Hodan intended to take on the appearance of another person, even Elder Muli, who was closest to him, would not be able to recognize that he was Hodan.

The most important essence of people in the Coiling Dragon World was the soul, because all divine bodies were manifested from divine power, and most magical beasts took on human form after achieving godhood. Therefore, before they revealed their true forms, no one knew whether they had achieved godhood as a magical beast or as a human.

Although most people identified others by their appearance, the essence still relied on the soul aura. This was the most reliable method, and the Renars Clan also confirmed their clansmen this way. Only those who had never met would identify a person by their appearance. Of course, this was related to the fact that those gods were not accustomed to changing their appearance; strong experts all had their own pride.

Naturally, this would also be matched with the intensity of the person's aura. It was impossible for a weakling to impersonate a strong expert and get away with it. Those god-level experts were not fools; one could roughly analyze whether someone was strong or not by looking at their demeanor and actions.

The demeanor of a strong expert could not be faked; it was the composure brought by strength. Those weaklings who lived in fear every day could not cultivate such spirit.