In the darkness, a blazing, dazzling fireball appeared out of nowhere. Within it, a figure knelt on one knee, faintly visible.
Beast-like roars continuously echoed from the fireball.
"Ah... ah... ugh... ah..."
The sounds were filled with immense pain.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~~
Flames visibly seeped into his body without end.
The enormous fireball was also gradually shrinking.
Time passed bit by bit...
One day, two days, three days...
Those hellish roars still rang out from time to time.
In the blink of an eye, two years passed.
The fireball that had once been as large as a football field had vanished. Only a black-haired man in black armor stood where it had been.
There was no pain on his face. Instead, he looked peaceful and serene, as though asleep.
Suddenly, his eyelids twitched.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Those crystal-clear eyes shimmered with a hazy red glow, filled with boundless allure, as though they could draw in a person's very soul.
After two years, Chen Daolin had finally absorbed the entire red fireball and turned it into the power of his own soul.
Within his sea of consciousness, the originally blood-red soul crystal sphere had become even more dazzling, as though fully charged. The secret patterns on each crystalline facet had grown more intricate and profound, emitting a faintly mysterious, unfathomable aura.
"The first layer of the first forging is finally complete..." Chen Daolin opened his mouth and exhaled a scorching breath.
The two years of having his soul burned still felt vividly fresh in his mind. Even now, he found it hard to believe he had endured it.
Though he knew he was somewhat thick-skinned, enduring pain to such an extent made him wonder whether he had some sort of masochistic tendency.
It had to be an illusion.
"Chen