Jiang Ce had thought this was The Legend of Qin. He never imagined it would turn out to be Douluo Continent.
He turned his gaze toward the two giant lizards Yan Lingji had killed.
Sure enough, two yellow Soul Rings slowly rose from the corpses.
"Soul Beasts, Soul Rings... It really is Douluo Continent."
"Master, what are Soul Beasts and Soul Rings?"
Jiang Ce immediately passed along some basic information about Douluo Continent to Yan Lingji.
In an instant, her mind felt as if it had been stuffed full like a cream puff.
"Awakening a Martial Soul, Soul Masters, Soul Beasts, Soul Rings... becoming a god at level one hundred?"
"Are there really gods in this world?"
Yan Lingji murmured to herself.
According to the information Jiang Ce had given her, becoming a god meant living as long as the heavens.
That was terrifying.
"Of course there are. And there are even some old schemers."
"Since this is Douluo Continent, let's see what Martial Soul you awaken."
"There are two Soul Tools among those corpses. One of them has an Awakening Stone."
Yan Lingji immediately went to loot the bodies.
She found the Soul Tools.
Soul Tools needed Soul Power and mental strength to open. Yan Lingji had mental strength, but no Soul Power. By copying the memories of those Soul Masters, Jiang Ce simulated Soul Power and opened them without a hitch.
Neither Soul Tool was very large, each measuring about one cubic meter.
Inside were some daily necessities, Gold Soul Coins, materials, and medicinal herbs.
Yan Lingji rummaged through the pile and found six Awakening Stones and a crystal ball.
Awakening Stones and crystal balls weren't high-end goods, and they didn't cost much. But operating them required a Soul Master. They were used to awaken Martial Souls in six-year-old children. Some small clans bought a set for themselves so they could awaken their descendants and test their Soul Power.
"Come on, let's see what Martial Soul you awaken."
Jiang Ce suddenly felt a little excited.
Yan Lingji did as he said.
Immediately afterward, she felt a surge of fire well up inside her.
Two things appeared before her: a crimson hairpin, radiating scorching heat,
and a fiery-red nine-tailed fox, with flames gathering at the tips of its tails and an alluring, bewitching air about it.
"Fire Spirit Hairpin, Fire Charm Nine-Tailed Fox."
Yan Lingji blinked curiously as she sensed the information her Martial Souls conveyed.
She never would have thought her hairpin would become one of these so-called Martial Souls.
"Twin Martial Souls? Tsk, tsk. Hurry up and test your Soul Power."
Jiang Ce knew she'd been born with a Fire Spirit Body.
It came as no surprise that the Fire Spirit Hairpin had become her tool-type Martial Soul.
But this Fire Charm Nine-Tailed Fox... Jiang Ce was a little puzzled.
Could it be that because her nickname was Fire Charm Enchantress and she looked like a fox spirit, her other Martial Soul had become a fox spirit too?
While he was pondering this, Yan Lingji had already placed her little hand on the crystal ball.
The crystal ball lit up with a red glow, illuminating this small patch of forest.
As expected, she had Innate Full Soul Power.
Tang San had managed to attain Innate Full Soul Power while cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill, so Yan Lingji certainly could too.
And judging by Yan Lingji's early Xiantian-stage strength, she should be equivalent to a level 52 Soul King in this world.
Her combat strength, however, could probably match that of a level 60 Soul Emperor.
After all, even the techniques of a second-rate Tang Sect counted as a cheat,
and Yan Lingji, who came from the Warring States period and possessed a Fire Spirit Body and the Fire Charm Technique, was naturally even stronger.
The world of The Legend of Qin had already been developing in the direction of high martial arts.
Fire control, sword spirits, Pixiu, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden—there was no shortage of any of them.
"Are Twin Martial Souls a good thing?"
"Of course. Cultivate one Martial Soul first. Once you reach Titled Douluo, add ten-thousand-year Soul Rings or better to every slot on your other Martial Soul. You'll level up in a flash, rise at lightning speed, and charge straight to level 99, Peerless Douluo."
"By the way, I sensed that your original strength was equivalent to a level 52 Soul King. After awakening your Martial Souls, your inner energy will gradually transform into Soul Power."
"Sounds pretty good."
Yan Lingji's lips curled into a smile.
Level 52 Soul King. Level 99 Peerless Douluo.
That was interesting.
Then she saw Jiang Ce extend tendrils from his chest again and wrap them around the two Soul Beast corpses on the ground.
Before long, he had digested them completely.
She was just about to ask when she suddenly felt a surge of power flow back into her.
What was going on?
"After eating two six-hundred-year Soul Beasts, I gained one hundred and twenty years' worth of Soul Power, mental strength, and physical toughness."
"My age is now equivalent to one thousand one hundred and twenty years."
"At the same time, I give ten percent back to you, which is twelve years."
"You have Innate Full Soul Power, so you need less time to cultivate the same amount of Soul Power. That's equivalent to four days of hard cultivation."
At the same time, Jiang Ce had also acquired all the skills of the two Soul Beasts: Fireball and Fire Lizard Claw.
His resistance to fire had also increased by five percent.
Yan Lingji blinked.
Jiang Ce had eaten two six-hundred-year Soul Beasts, and she'd received something in return too?
That was equivalent to four days of hard cultivation in one go?
But it was four days each for mental strength, Soul Power, and physical toughness.
Hadn't she effectively cultivated for twelve days all at once?
That was far too powerful.
Sure, he only returned ten percent of the years he gained from devouring Soul Beasts. It seemed like layer upon layer of exploitation.
But this was the kind of opportunity other people could only dream of.
"By the way, search the caves of those two Fire-Spitting Lizards. There should be some good stuff in there."
Star Dou Great Forest, Lake of Life.
Silver light flowed slowly through the darkness like water.
A massive silver-white dragon lay there, the patterns of silver scales faintly visible across her body.
She had been asleep there for a long time.
But today—
Her consciousness fell into turmoil.
It was a dream, but more than a dream.
She could sense clearly that these were fragments of the future.
Soul Beasts wailed.
Their habitats kept shrinking, and their populations dwindled.
High-level Soul Beasts were hunted, kept in captivity, and used as materials.
The title of ruler of the Soul Beasts was pale and powerless before such devastation.
The scene shifted.
Countless timelines swept past her eyes—
In some, Soul Beasts intermarried with humans and dwindled in greenhouses.
In others, they fought a war by force, leaving corpses strewn across the land.
In still others, they withdrew from the world, and Soul Beasts died out in silence.
She searched and sifted through them.
At last—
Amid those boundless fragments, she saw a scene entirely unlike the rest.
A mass of pitch-black liquid emerged from a rift in the void.
It devoured, evolved, and repaid its host.
The women it parasitized grew stronger by leaps and bounds in a very short time.
And in the final scene, Gu Yuena herself was parasitized.
Her power surged to unprecedented heights, and she alone suppressed all the Divine Kings of the Divine Realm.
She even left this world.
She glimpsed the myriad worlds of the heavens.
Only then did she understand that the so-called ruler of the Soul Beasts
was no more than an ant, no more than a frog at the bottom of a well.
The dream ended.
Silver light scattered.
Gu Yuena opened her eyes, her violet pupils like a cold moon suspended in the sky.
Dragon might swept across the land. The earth trembled beneath it, and rubble rained down.
She slowly rose, transforming into a graceful woman dressed in a silver-white gown.
Silver hair spilled down her back, and her bare feet touched the ground.
Di Tian immediately sensed the Silver Dragon King's awakening.
He came in from outside and knelt on one knee.
"My lord, you're awake."
Gu Yuena didn't respond. She gazed into the void for a long time.
"Di Tian."
"Your subordinate is here."
"I dreamed of the future." Her voice was low and cool. "The Soul Beasts' plight is worse than it is now."
Di Tian clenched his fists and remained silent.
"But I found one possibility."
She raised a hand, and silver energy sketched a shifting shadow in the air—formless and shapeless, yet possessed of a will.
"I don't know what it is. But it appeared across countless timelines, and every time it appeared, it changed the world."
Her gaze sharpened, her tone resolute.
"I will find it."
"My lord, its whereabouts..."
"I need to enter the human world." Gu Yuena cut him off. "The Soul Beasts' living space hasn't yet been squeezed to the breaking point, but we must make preparations. Otherwise, we face certain death. That unknown being may be the only key to breaking our deadlock."
"So, my lord, you intend to go to the human world?" Di Tian asked gravely.
Gu Yuena didn't answer.
She closed her eyes and replayed the fluctuations of that black liquid from her dream over and over—
Strangely, whenever she used her dragon senses to lock onto it, the signal grew even more indistinct.
She had tried.
Even sensing with all her might had revealed nothing but chaos.
But in her dream, she had "seen" it while half-asleep—
That was when she was at her weakest, closest to a human state.
Her own power was the interference.
The Silver Dragon King's presence was too strong, strong enough to distort every energy fluctuation around her.
The thing's signal was already faint. One surge of dragon might and it vanished completely.
Only by sealing her memories, restraining her power, and reducing her presence to a minimum could she truly "hear" its voice.
Once she understood this, she no longer hesitated.
"I will seal my memories and enter the human world as a human. Di Tian, during that time, I may develop other personalities. They may even come into conflict with one another—but whatever happens, you must not interfere."
"But, my lord..."
"No buts."
Before you continue