Soul Power Transformation, Undercurrents Surge Again

Tang San fled the valley in a sorry state. The sinister, lingering killing intent that had haunted the woods dissipated completely, and the secluded valley returned to silence. Only the faint, acrid stench of poison remaining in the air served as a reminder of the heart-stopping clash of lethal schemes that had just transpired.

The Shrek group sat together, their minds unable to settle for a long time. As they looked at one another, their eyes held a newfound certainty born from surviving life-and-death trials, and they had completely severed the last shred of pity they held for Tang San.

Xiao Wu gripped Lin Chen's sleeve, her small face filled with indignation and regret. "I truly didn't expect Tang San to become like this. He ignores all our past ties, his mind filled only with revenge and poisonous plots. It is truly disappointing."

"A person's heart is hidden behind their face. He has long been blinded by hatred and has walked down a crooked path; he has no further connection to us." Dai Mubai spoke in a deep voice, his White Tiger soul power flowing steadily around him. After the recent real-world combat, his control over his own soul skills had improved by another notch. "From this day forward, if he dares to strike again, I will show no mercy."

Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Oscar all nodded in succession. Having experienced this toxic ambush, everyone had fully awakened, understanding that in the law-of-the-jungle world of the Douluo Continent, mercy toward an enemy was cruelty to oneself. Only by constantly growing stronger could they withstand all unknown dangers.

Lin Chen watched the group's now-settled state of mind, a flash of approval crossing his eyes. He spoke slowly, "A crisis that allows you to see through human nature and temper your character can be considered a gain. While your coordination during the recent defense against the poison was flawless, there were still gaps—especially when facing unconventional toxic attacks; your adaptability remains lacking. In the upcoming training, I will specifically target your real-world adaptability while helping you push through your soul power bottlenecks, striving to elevate everyone's strength to the next level."

As his words fell, Lin Chen once again initiated targeted guidance. Compared to the previous optimization of basics, this training was even more rigorous, fully simulating various dangerous scenarios from actual combat.

He took action himself, using suppressed soul power to simulate the attacks of various powerful enemies—sometimes launching frontal assaults, sometimes ambushing, and sometimes releasing strange energy to erode their defenses, testing everyone's on-the-spot reactions and team coordination. Dai Mubai was responsible for taking the hits head-on; Lin Chen continuously increased the intensity of his attacks, forcing him to fuse the defensive and explosive power of his White Tiger Martial Soul to the limit, compensating for his endurance shortcomings. Ma Hongjun was required to precisely control his Phoenix Flame, learning to both burn large areas to break a stalemate and condense the flames to snipe targets, completely taming his volatile fire soul power. Under Lin Chen's high-speed pursuit, Zhu Zhuqing continuously optimized her Hell Spirit Cat movement techniques, executing dodges, strikes, and counterattacks in one fluid motion while honing her close-quarters defensive skills. Ning Rongrong abandoned her sluggish rhythm of amplification, achieving instantaneous switching and precise support for her teammates, pushing the auxiliary capabilities of her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to the limit. Under the high-pressure environment of real combat, Oscar continuously compressed his sausage-making time, developing simple support sausages better suited for emergency combat situations. Xiao Wu's Soft Bone techniques were dismantled one by one by Lin Chen, who strengthened her ability to borrow force to strike back and increased the lethality of her close-quarters combat, while also teaching her to sense surrounding dangers and avoid hidden threats in advance.

Under the rigorous combat training, the group broke through their limits time and again. Sweat soaked their clothes and their soul power was exhausted several times over, yet not one person complained or retreated. Whenever they reached their limit, Lin Chen would provide soul power guidance at the perfect moment, while pointing out the essence of soul power circulation, allowing them to undergo a transformation amidst their exhaustion. Their cultivation efficiency far exceeded anything they had known before.

In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

Within the valley, the concentration of soul power reached an unprecedented level.

Dai Mubai was the first to achieve a breakthrough. The light from the soul rings around him surged violently; his two yellow and one purple soul rings pulsed frantically. The soul power within his body surged like a rushing river, and the golden White Tiger phantom roared toward the sky. His soul power level steadily broke through to become a level 31 Soul Elder! The bottleneck that had originally constrained him was completely shattered, and the power of his White Tiger Martial Soul increased significantly, achieving a qualitative leap in both defense and attack.

"I broke through! Brother Chen, I really broke through level 30!" Dai Mubai could not hide his excitement, his voice even trembling. The bottleneck that had plagued him for so long had been broken so easily under Lin Chen's guidance. This improvement filled him with confidence for his future cultivation.

Following closely, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, and Oscar also saw their soul power improve. Ma Hongjun's soul power approached level 29, and his fire soul power became increasingly refined; even without releasing a soul skill, an introverted, scorching aura lingered around him. Zhu Zhuqing's soul power stabilized at level 28, her movement becoming increasingly ghostly, and the power of her Nether Slash increased significantly. Oscar's soul power rose steadily, and the speed and efficacy of his support sausage production reached new heights, even vaguely touching the threshold of a new soul skill.

Under the continuous high-intensity auxiliary training, the light of Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul became increasingly brilliant. As the seven-colored halo flowed, her amplification strength increased by nearly thirty percent, and she even broke through the traditional amplification methods of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, achieving the instantaneous stacking of multiple amplifications, making her auxiliary capabilities peerless among soul masters of the same level.

Xiao Wu's progress was even more astonishing. Her proficiency with her Soft Bone Martial Soul reached its peak, and combat techniques like the Waist Bow, Soft Bone Lock, and Eight-Stage Throw became masterful. Her soul power was agile and elegant, and not only was her close-quarters combat power extremely strong, but she had also developed a keen sense of danger. Her soul power level also quietly rose to level 28, and her entire temperament became increasingly agile and resilient.

After several days of extreme tempering, the individual strength and team combat power of the Shrek group reached their peak since enrollment. Their tacit understanding required no words; a single glance was enough to know the other's intent. They had already become an invincible elite team.

Lin Chen watched the reborn group, a faint glimmer appearing in his ink-colored eyes. During this time, he had also continuously stabilized his own cultivation, his divine sense becoming increasingly refined. Every movement within the entire valley and the surrounding dense forest could not escape his perception.

And just as the group's strength was transforming, in a dark cave deep within the dense forest, another undercurrent was surging wildly.

Tang San had his meridians sealed by Lin Chen, unable to touch poisonous materials or refine toxic arts. Like a venomous snake with its fangs pulled, he still had not given up on the idea of revenge. He curled up in the corner of the cave, feeling the restriction of his meridians and the cold seal on his dantian, the resentment and paranoia in his eyes almost turning into something tangible.

He was unwilling to accept this. He was unwilling to accept that he, who possessed the secret arts of the Tang Sect, had repeatedly lost to Lin Chen, and even more unwilling to be abandoned by his former companions, reduced to a stray dog.

With his soul power sealed and his toxic arts forbidden, he had no chance of winning in a frontal confrontation. Yet, he refused to give up. He frantically flipped through the records of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in his mind, searching for even the slightest chance of a comeback. He knew that in his current state, he could not confront Lin Chen head-on; only by finding a more powerful backer or utilizing more bizarre power could he complete his revenge.

Suddenly, a flash of madness crossed Tang San's eyes. He remembered a strange legend circulating in the depths of this wild, dense forest—it was said that in the core area of the forest, there existed mutated soul beasts contaminated by soul power. They were brutal by nature and possessed innate toxic attributes, to the point that even veteran soul masters dared not easily step foot there.

"Mutated soul beasts... poisonous soul beasts..." Tang San muttered in a low voice, a sinister smile curling the corners of his mouth. "Lin Chen, since you sealed my toxic arts, I will borrow external forces to kill you! These mutated soul beasts in the forest are my best weapons!"

He had already brewed an even more vicious plan in his heart: since he could not act himself, he would find a way to provoke the highly toxic mutated soul beasts in the depths of the forest and lure them toward the valley where the Shrek group was located, using the hands of the soul beasts to eliminate Lin Chen and the Shrek group!

Even if this plan could not completely kill Lin Chen, it would force him to exhaust his soul power and struggle to cope, allowing him to sit back and reap the rewards, waiting for an opportunity to exact his revenge.

Thinking of this, Tang San endured the intense pain in his body and struggled to stand up. Relying on his Purple Demon Eye to identify the direction, he carefully avoided the soul beasts in the forest and groped toward the deeper, more dangerous core area. He walked with a limp, yet his eyes were firm. Every step was filled with resolute malice, like a poisonous scorpion wandering in the dark, quietly laying a new trap for death.

Inside the valley, Lin Chen, who was stabilizing his cultivation, suddenly saw his gaze sink. His divine sense captured the sinister aura moving toward the core of the forest, and he instantly perceived Tang San's malicious intentions.

"Refusing to repent, obsessed and lost." Lin Chen said to himself faintly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He had originally intended to give Tang San a way out, but since the other party had repeatedly tried to put them to death, there was no need to show mercy any longer.

At this moment, the Shrek group also noticed Lin Chen's unusual behavior and stopped their cultivation, gathering around.

"Brother Chen, what is it? Is Tang San up to his tricks again?" Dai Mubai immediately tensed his nerves, his soul power surging as he prepared for battle.

Lin Chen looked toward the depths of the forest, his tone calm but carrying a chill. "He is unwilling to accept defeat and intends to lure the highly toxic mutated soul beasts from the depths of the forest to deal with us."

As soon as these words were spoken, the group's expressions changed slightly. They had been cultivating in the valley for many days and could occasionally feel the violent soul power fluctuations coming from the depths of the forest; clearly, that area hid extreme danger.

"Mutated soul beasts? What should we do?" Ning Rongrong asked softly, her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda already primed and ready.

A faint arc curled the corners of Lin Chen's mouth. His gaze swept over the group, and he said in a deep voice, "Since he has delivered a gift of training to our doorstep, how could we not accept it? It just so happens that we can use these mutated soul beasts to test the results of your cultivation over this period and completely settle the score with Tang San."

"Everyone, follow me out to engage the mutated soul beasts!"

At his command, the Shrek group's eyes became resolute, their soul rings pulsing, their fighting spirit soaring. After several days of tempering, they were no longer the naive soul masters they once were. Facing a powerful enemy now, they felt no fear, only a heart full of fighting spirit.

Sunlight pierced through the branches and leaves of the forest, casting dappled shadows. The peace within the valley was completely shattered. A fierce battle between humans and soul beasts, a final showdown between justice and evil, was about to erupt in the wild, dense forest!