Lu Ran's palm glowed softly, enveloping the Rock Crystal Dragon. Its barely living body gradually healed in the warm light, while it slowly turned transparent.
At last, it vanished into the Small World with the light.
Lu Ran's Soul Power began to rise. Level ten... level ten and a half... level eleven... His meridians felt warm, and he could clearly feel his Soul Power growing.
Meanwhile, in the Small World, which had been nothing but emptiness,
the influx of earth-element energy gradually brought forth specks of ocher light in the void. They were the earliest, purest elements of earth. More and more specks gathered, colliding and coalescing until they became streams of ocher energy swirling through the sky. Wherever they fell, heavy rocks and fine grains of sand formed, spreading out in layer upon layer to create a desert.
In several low, uplifted rocky hills, the faint outlines of crystal ore veins could be seen. They were minerals naturally birthed by the earth element.
On a flat rock at the center of the desert, the Rock Crystal Dragon's body slowly took shape. Its wounds had healed completely, and its ocher scales gleamed with a richer amber luster. It looked healthier now.
In the end, the Small World expanded by about fifty zhang.
Its total area grew several times over. It was still cramped, but its future looked promising.
Yan Shaozhe and the other two held their breath as they stared at Lu Ran, their eyes full of disbelief. Everyone knew that Soul Beasts cultivated slowly. Everyone knew that the Star Dou Great Forest had been shrinking over the past ten thousand years. And everyone knew that, if things continued as they were, one day there would be no powerful Soul Beasts left on the continent. Perhaps the highest available Soul Rings would be a hundred years old—or even just ten. Even a Titled Douluo might have to absorb a Ten-Year Soul Ring.
The situation was dire, but there was no way to change it.
For millions of years, Soul Masters had slaughtered Soul Beasts to absorb their Soul Rings. It was an ironclad rule: if you didn't kill Soul Beasts to grow stronger, someone else would come to kill you.
There was no other choice.
Yet now, Lu Ran had shown them a completely different way.
Contracting Soul Beasts!
This was something that went completely beyond common sense.
They remained silent until Lu Ran let out a relaxed breath.
"Done."
His Soul Power eventually stabilized at level twelve, and it flowed more smoothly than before. Low levels had their own unique appeal. Even though the total amount of Soul Power he'd gained wasn't much, it felt like he had more than twenty percent extra.
This kind of exhilarating leap was something a Titled Douluo could hardly experience, though they certainly must have experienced it once.
"How do you feel?"
Yan Shaozhe suppressed his shock and asked eagerly.
"Better than ever."
Lu Ran clenched his fist, feeling his abundant Soul Power flow through him. The Small World was gradually taking shape, and there was also...
A pale yellow Soul Ring lit up. He raised a hand and pointed. Three Rock Pillars burst from the ground. Turning his palm over, he let Soul Power flow along his arm, and a layer of scales rapidly covered his forearm. They were identical to the Rock Crystal Dragon's, with an amber sheen, yet they didn't hinder his movement at all.
Two Soul Skills?!
Yan Shaozhe and the other two did a good job of keeping their expressions in check this time. They only looked slightly surprised... though, at this point, they were more or less numb to it.
One Soul Ring granting two Soul Skills was certainly astonishing. It had never happened on the continent...
But when it came to Lu Ran... it seemed perfectly normal.
It seemed that anything could happen to Lu Ran and still feel perfectly normal.
Lu Ran explained, "The Rock Crystal Dragon gave me three Soul Skills: 'Earth Vein Rock Spike,' 'Rock Crystal Armor,' and a thirty percent increase in strength."
"Oh... So it's three Soul Skills." The three nodded together.
"Wait..."
Yan Shaozhe noticed something keenly. Staring at Lu Ran, his eyes gleamed with an almost frightening intensity. "Soul Beast age can increase. Don't tell me your Soul Skills can improve too?!"
Lu Ran replied calmly, "Of course they can. What, you think a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would only provide a hundred-year Soul Skill?"
Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin'er, and the third person all felt dazed. The solid ground beneath their feet seemed to rise and fall like ocean waves, leaving them unsteady. Their minds, only just beginning to recover, were struck by another shock.
Lu Ran's talent far exceeded anything they could have imagined. They didn't even know what his Martial Soul had been inherited from. Their investigation had only revealed that he was adopted.
They knew nothing else about him.
Their goal accomplished,
the group set out on the return journey, moving much faster than they had on the way there.
Along the way, Lu Ran looked down at the Star Dou Great Forest from the Flight Soul Tool. From time to time, he spotted Soul Beasts: a herd of deer with iron-colored antlers raced through a clearing, while groups of turtles basked on the sandy lakeshore. If he deliberately ignored the bloodshed and brutality lurking behind it all, it was a scene full of life.
Something stirred in Lu Ran's heart.
Maybe... he could try bringing some weaker Soul Beasts into the Small World?
Raise Soul Beasts?
...And grow crops!
He suddenly understood.
Right, the Small World was so convenient. He could use it to grow crops and raise Soul Beasts.
Once the idea took root, he realized this was just a management sim—a farming game like the ones he'd played in his previous life!
He could start a farm, grow crops, brew wine, gather honey... and sell it all for Gold Soul Coins.
The more Lu Ran thought about it, the more excited he got. Then he realized there was a problem:
There was no water in the Small World yet, and he couldn't grow anything in a desert...
Well, there was no helping it. He couldn't exactly bring water in from outside, could he?
It seemed he'd have to wait until he contracted a water-element Soul Beast for his Second Soul Ring and changed the Small World's terrain.
As he was thinking,
the activity in the Small World caught his attention.
The Rock Crystal Dragon had woken up.
"The Rock Crystal Dragon's awake. I'm going into the Small World to take a look."
Before he'd finished speaking, Lu Ran vanished in an instant, leaving not the slightest trace. Even Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er, both Super Douluos, couldn't detect him.
The two exchanged another glance.
The Rock Crystal Dragon slowly woke up. It looked around at its unfamiliar surroundings, confusion flickering in its amber eyes before wariness replaced it.
It clearly remembered being injured... Wait, how had its wounds healed?
Sensing movement behind it, it turned around and saw Lu Ran.
Memories of what had happened after it lost consciousness flooded into its mind. It immediately understood what had happened, without dwelling on why it could remember anything from while it had been unconscious.
As Lu Ran walked over across the sand, the Rock Crystal Dragon's clear eyes filled with affection. It nuzzled against him.
"Don't you want me to explain?"
Lu Ran asked in confusion as he reached out to stroke the Rock Crystal Dragon's head. Its scales were smooth and cool.
It felt wonderful.
"Never mind. Come walk around the Small World with me first."
The Small World was only a little over a hundred zhang across, so they soon made a full circuit. Lu Ran asked, "Do you want to go out or stay here?"
The Rock Crystal Dragon gave a bark.
Clearly, it wanted to go out.
"Sure."
Lu Ran snapped his fingers. In an instant, he and the Soul Beast appeared in the outside world.
Seeing the Rock Crystal Dragon suddenly appear, Yan Shaozhe and the others couldn't help examining it with curiosity. Its wounds had healed, and its eyes seemed more lively too.
The Rock Crystal Dragon curiously looked around at everything. It realized it was on a large, silver-white thing that could fly, but it wasn't frightened at all. Instead, it sat cross-legged, mouth open to the wind, looking completely at ease.
If no one told them, they'd never guess that it had fought the Split-Horn Earth Rhino in such a bloody, brutal battle.
Lu Ran simply lay down on its back, thinking about what he should plant in the Small World.
Before you continue