Gu Rong and Chen Xin did not pursue them. Instead, they slaughtered the remaining Spirit Hall Soul Masters and took the opportunity to suppress the killing intent within Ling Chen.
The crimson in Ling Chen's eyes gradually faded, and his consciousness cleared. His trembling hands released the Green Steel Sword.
A wave of exhaustion swept through him. Ling Chen poured every last bit of his strength into unleashing Hundred Demon Shadow Clone, then sank into a deep, groggy sleep.
Such an intense expenditure of Soul Power and energy was too much for Ling Chen's small body to handle.
There were still so many corpses lying around, and Ling Chen couldn't let all those Martial Soul Origins go to waste. With Hundred Demon Shadow Clone here, the task was simple.
Ling Chen's body was asleep, but his consciousness had entered the Dragon Pillar Space.
The Golden Dragon and White Dragon flew around their respective pillars. Ling Chen had long since gotten used to the sight. He strode forward and touched the Golden Dragon Pillar.
He needed to work out how much Martial Soul Origin Soul Masters at each rank could provide. The Martial Soul Origins held by Soul Masters and Soul Beasts of each level should fall within a certain range.
Soul Scholar: 0–10 points
Soul Master: 0–100 points
Soul Grandmaster: 0–1,000 points
Soul Elder: 0–10,000 points
Soul Ancestor: 0–100,000 points
Soul King: 0–1,000,000 points
Soul Saint: 0–10,000,000 points
Soul Douluo: 0–100,000,000 points
Title Douluo: 0–1,000,000,000 points.
That might seem rather exaggerated, but in reality it also depended on the strength of the Soul Master's Martial Soul, the condition of the corpse, and various other factors.
Ling Chen had been looting corpses for a while now, but he had never once obtained the maximum Martial Soul Origin those Soul Masters possessed. In fact, he usually didn't even get half.
Still, though the Martial Soul Origin gained from each corpse was small, there were plenty of corpses to make up for it. Nearly ten thousand people had died on the battlefield at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect alone.
And that didn't even include the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's losses. There had to be at least five thousand more.
"Sweet!"
Watching his Martial Soul Origin points shoot upward, Ling Chen was absolutely thrilled. The deaths of two Title Douluo in particular had provided him with a massive amount of Martial Soul Origin.
Yu Yuanzhen was the strongest Beast Martial Soul Title Douluo, and Ling Chen had extracted a full hundred million Martial Soul Origin from him. Bone Armor Douluo had been rather average, providing only five million points—not even ten million.
Of course, it was thanks to the outstanding contributions of those two Title Douluo that Ling Chen had learned it took a hundred million Martial Soul Origin to condense a new Martial Soul.
In other words, at least one Title Douluo with an exceptionally high-quality Martial Soul had to die before him for Ling Chen to have a chance at condensing a new Martial Soul.
Thinking of it that way, what about Tang Chen, Qian Daoliu, and Bo Saixi—the three Limit Douluo?
Ling Chen could hardly contain his excitement. Their Martial Soul Origins had to be worth more than a hundred million. Just one rank short of godhood, their strength at this stage was beyond question. They were the strongest people on the Douluo Continent.
Wait... that wasn't all, was it?
Rakshasa God, Food God, Nine-Colored Goddess, and the other divine seats must all have guardians like the High Priest and the Great Enshrined.
They sacrificed their lives to open the path to godhood for those who would ascend.
Ling Chen couldn't help but click his tongue in silent amazement. Those gods were truly devious—devious beyond measure. They established places of inheritance, then dragged in a highly talented person to serve as a stepping stone for the new god.
It wasn't that these gods couldn't help them break through level 100. They had other designs.
Suddenly, Ling Chen seemed to realize something.
After Chen Xin's death, Sea God Tang San would reconstitute his divine soul in the Divine Realm and allow him to establish a sword inheritance on the Douluo Continent.
Then could Ling Chen himself become the Great Enshrined of that sword inheritance? As the Sword God's disciple, it was certainly possible.
Ling Chen thought it unlikely that he would be allowed to become a god. Only dual gods like Tang San could pull strings like that.
"Shh..."
Ling Chen couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath. This was going to be troublesome.
Ling Chen didn't want to become a stepping stone, nor did he want to be constrained by the sword inheritance. A sword cultivator ought to roam the world freely and follow his own heart. How could he spend his days meekly serving beneath someone else?
Perhaps condensing a new Martial Soul would let him find another path, one beyond Chen Xin's control.
When the Golden Dragon and White Dragon returned to circling their pillars, Ling Chen figured the clone had finished its work.
He touched the Golden Dragon Pillar and checked what he had gained this time.
[Martial Soul Origin]: Tool Martial Soul: 786495 points. Beast Martial Soul: 106855618 points. Body Martial Soul: 7568 points. Special Martial Soul: 92446 points. [Martial Soul Enhancement Count]: 4 times. (Martial Soul Origin required for enhancement: 1000000 points.) [Second Martial Soul]: Not yet awakened. (Martial Soul Origin required to condense a Second Martial Soul: 100000000 points)
Without a second thought, Ling Chen began condensing his Second Martial Soul while enhancing the Green Steel Sword for the fifth time.
In an instant, the Golden Dragon breathed out a mass of golden light that enveloped Ling Chen. Within his body, he could feel the power of Martial Soul Origin taking shape.
"What terrifying power. Wait, why does this energy feel so familiar?"
Lightning. Such an overbearing force. Could it be... the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?
Ling Chen felt the vast power of Martial Soul Origin washing over his entire body, as if he were inside a pill furnace, his flesh slowly melting away.
Yet his soul seemed to plunge into an icy abyss. The cold struck straight at his spirit, leaving him unable to think.
He trembled, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Watching Ling Chen's face turn red, then pale, Chen Xin couldn't help worrying. Ling Chen's clone, however, seemed perfectly normal, which only made Chen Xin more puzzled.
Ling Chen's consciousness cleared a little. If he hadn't been in the Dragon Pillar Space, he would have thought he was immersed in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
After half an hour of torment, the pain gradually receded, replaced by a comforting warmth flowing through Ling Chen.
As expected, without the heaven-defying talent of Twin Martial Souls, obtaining a new Martial Soul by other means was rather painful.
By now, the golden light on the Golden Dragon Pillar had dimmed considerably. The Golden Dragon and the others seemed to have no complaints. They seemed to want Ling Chen to grow stronger as soon as possible.
"This power... is this the strongest Beast Martial Soul?"
Ling Chen clenched his hand. The feebleness of a child's body seemed to vanish in an instant.
"Now, it's your turn!"
The Green Steel Sword gradually floated above Ling Chen's hand as Martial Soul Origin poured into it.
"Rumble!"
A bolt of lightning flashed and struck the Green Steel Sword. Ling Chen staggered back several steps and stared in disbelief at the space above the Dragon Pillar.
Where... had that lightning come from?
Above the Dragon Pillar was nothing but endless darkness. He couldn't even see any clouds.
A tingling sensation spread throughout his body. It seemed the lightning hadn't struck the Green Steel Sword at all—it had struck Ling Chen.
Then a second bolt crashed down, and Ling Chen dropped to his knees with a thud.
Ling Chen had only just emerged from the torment and was already utterly exhausted. Now he had to endure a Thunder Tribulation powerful enough to knock him flat. His child's body couldn't withstand such punishment.
Before Ling Chen could catch his breath, another bolt of lightning struck the Green Steel Sword.
The once heavy, sturdy Green Steel Sword was split by cracks from this third Thunder Tribulation bolt, and Ling Chen lost consciousness.
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