Dragon Pillar Space

Opening his eyes, three pillars reaching toward the heavens came into view.

On the left was the White Dragon Pillar, in the center the Golden Dragon Pillar, and on the right the Black Dragon Pillar.

A white soul ring immediately flew toward the White Dragon Pillar, while a strand of energy was stripped from it and drifted toward the Golden Dragon Pillar.

The white dragon coiled around the jade-white pillar soared into the air, swallowing the white soul ring in a single gulp.

Simultaneously, the golden dragon in the center shot into the sky, consumed that strand of energy, and then coiled back around the Golden Dragon Pillar.

Ling Chen witnessed this scene, rendered speechless.

What had he just seen? A dragon! Even as a transmigrator, he had never seen a dragon so vivid and full of life!

Not only that, but the two dragons had actually split the soul ring between them; it shattered his understanding of reality and left him in utter disbelief.

Ling Chen slowly approached the Golden Dragon Pillar, the magnificent, gilded pillar tempting him to reach out and touch it.

But the moment his hand made contact with the Golden Dragon Pillar, a miraculous power surged into his body.

"What is this?"

No sooner had Ling Chen spoken than the golden dragon on the pillar began to talk.

"This is the Dragon Pillar Space. The power that just entered your body is the martial soul origin I stripped away. It can briefly manifest your martial soul and strengthen it."

Ling Chen recoiled in terror; this was truly a living dragon, a real, breathing golden dragon!

Before Ling Chen could react, the golden light of the pillar dimmed, and the golden dragon seemed to fall into a deep slumber.

Ling Chen reached out to touch the White Dragon Pillar, and the information regarding the soul ring the white dragon had swallowed appeared in his mind.

[White Soul Ring]: 49 years.
[Source]: Solitary Earth Dog.
[Soul Ring Element]: Earth.
[Effect]: Can be stacked onto your own soul ring to increase its age, with a very low chance of adding the soul ring element.
[Current Stored Soul Rings]: 1.
[Current Stacking Limit]: 99 years.

The white dragon did not speak; like the golden dragon, the white light it emitted gradually faded as it returned to slumber.

Ling Chen was too shocked to speak. Setting aside the sheer magnificence of the three dragon pillars, the dragon speaking in human tongue and the information he had just received left his mind momentarily blank.

A moment later, Ling Chen realized that this was clearly his golden finger.

Ling Chen felt a surge of excitement. Based on the current information, he needed to touch a corpse to trigger the stripping ability.

The white dragon stripped soul rings, while the golden dragon stripped origins. The soul rings could be stacked onto his own, while the origins could briefly manifest his martial soul and strengthen it.

With this, he finally had the strength to fight in Slaughter City.

Ling Chen attempted to mobilize his martial soul origin. In an instant, his hands spread wide, and the Green Steel Sword that had previously vanished now hovered above his palm.

"Isn't this the Green Steel Sword I lost? It actually became my martial soul!"

The corners of Ling Chen's mouth curled upward, though he tried to suppress it; his expression now looked exactly like Zhou Yu trading the Imperial Seal for troops.

"Wait, if this Green Steel Sword of mine could clash with the Asura God Sword or the Sea God Trident, would it be sharp enough to cut through iron like mud?"

Ling Chen shook his head, not daring to follow that line of thought, and turned his gaze to the three dragon pillars. The Black Dragon Pillar on the right remained dim and lusterless.

Ling Chen tried to touch it to activate it, but the Black Dragon Pillar showed no reaction.

However, Ling Chen was already satisfied. When he thought about it, what kind of place was Slaughter City?

Corpses were strewn everywhere; bodies were created every single day. As long as Ling Chen reached out and touched a corpse, soul rings and martial soul origins would be his for the taking.

The point was, everyone was equal here; even a Title Douluo could not use soul skills. If a Title Douluo were to fall here...

Heh heh...

Ling Chen couldn't help but drool slightly. He wasn't in a hurry to stack the soul ring.

After all, his martial soul hadn't even awakened yet, and he didn't know if he had Innate Full Soul Power. But since the white dragon could store soul rings, if he stored a hundred or a million of them here, wouldn't he soar to the heavens the moment he stepped out and stacked a million-year soul ring?

But that was just wishful thinking; he was well aware of what kind of place Slaughter City was.

Even if he could briefly manifest his martial soul, it was impossible to kill anyone here for now; even a sneak attack might not succeed.

Of course, it wasn't impossible. As long as he stripped enough martial soul origins and leveled up his briefly manifested martial soul, there might be a glimmer of hope.

It was just that the erosion of the killing intent here was already starting to make Ling Chen feel uncomfortable.

Although he had been here for nearly three months and could grit his teeth through the discomfort, he couldn't stay here forever.

Returning to consciousness, Ling Chen cleaned his wounds, snapped the skeleton of the Solitary Earth Dog apart, and sucked out the marrow inside.

It had been two days since he last ate tree bark, and with the significant physical exertion he had just undergone, Ling Chen had to make do with what he had.

He didn't discard the gnawed bones, instead piling them in a corner of his kennel.

Next, he had to go out and touch some corpses.

Not knowing if the scarred man was waiting for him to walk into a trap, Ling Chen could only briefly manifest his Green Steel Sword to practice his combat techniques.

The proportions of the blade suited his small, lean frame, making it feel like a juvenile version of the Green Steel Sword, and Ling Chen found it effortless to wield.

Why was the Green Steel Sword so powerful? Naturally, it was because of its sharpness, which could slice through iron like mud and cleave bone like water, granting him an absolute advantage when killing.

Judging that a long time had passed, Ling Chen cautiously approached the dog hole.

After clearing away the rubble inside, Ling Chen slowly crawled out. The alley remained dim, and he spent some time circling the area to familiarize himself with his surroundings.

After all, this would be his future dwelling; it would be troublesome if he went out and couldn't find his way back.

Leaving inconspicuous marks along the way, Ling Chen finally stepped out.

Ling Chen sniffed the complex air, ready to rush toward any trace of the stench of a corpse.

He did not walk long before he arrived beside a body.

It appeared to be a female corpse, lying face down with tattered clothing; she had likely been raped then killed, or perhaps raped, killed, and then raped again...

Ling Chen did not care about such things; the law of survival here was simple: either hide away or slaughter your way through.

Although it was somewhat disgusting, Ling Chen still reached out to search the body, and to his surprise, it felt rather stiff.

However, Ling Chen's harvest was not small; he managed to extract four Soul Rings and a small amount of Martial Soul Essence from the corpse.

The Martial Soul Essence he stripped this time was more than what he had obtained from the Solitary Earth Dog earlier, perhaps because the body was relatively intact, meaning less essence had leaked away.

Ling Chen attempted to use the Martial Soul Essence to strengthen his Green Steel Sword, and as he did, the blade in his hand trembled continuously, its weight seemingly increasing slightly.

"This bit of improvement is not enough! If I haven't left this place within four years, my Martial Soul will fail to awaken and will solidify permanently!"

"Even if I possess such a powerful Martial Soul and a golden finger, it will be to no avail."

Ling Chen pulled his hand back from the corpse and continued his search for the next one.