If I could go to the Douluo Continent, if I could seize all those opportunities... wouldn't I soar to greatness in the future?
"Sun Moon Lin Qing sure had big dreams."
Lin Qing could not help but sigh as well.
That was right, he had thought the same thing.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Electrolux were Huo Yuhao's two greatest "cheats."
If he could get his hands on them... just thinking about it made his heart race.
But the narrator's voice quickly pulled him back to reality.
But after thinking it over for a long time... I realized this would be far too difficult.
Sun Moon Lin Qing put down the map and furrowed his brows.
Not just ordinarily difficult.
First, I'm from the Sun Moon Empire. With relations between the nations so tense, how could I safely make it to the Douluo Continent?
Even if I got there, how could I ensure I wouldn't be arrested as a spy?
Sun Moon Lin Qing paced back and forth through his dormitory.
Second, even if I really managed to sneak in, where would I find Huo Yuhao?
The Star Dou Great Forest is so enormous. How could I possibly happen to be in that exact place when he encountered Sky Dream Ice Silkworm?
The odds were lower than winning the lottery.
"Exactly."
His Parallel World self had analyzed things quite accurately.
Snatching opportunities sounded easy, but actually doing it was harder than reaching the heavens.
In the end, I gave up on that unrealistic idea.
Sun Moon Lin Qing shook his head and put away the map.
It'll already be good enough if I can survive this coming age of chaos. What I should do is make the most of my advantage—my spiritual-type martial soul—and use this opportunity to properly study the Sun Moon Empire's most advanced Soul Tool technology. That's the right path.
So I decided to bury myself in studying Soul Tools and forge a path of my own.
"That was at least a clear-headed choice."
When safety could not be guaranteed, stubbornly chasing after vague, uncertain opportunities was indeed foolish.
Keeping his feet on the ground and doing what he was good at was the proper road.
At the very least, Lin Qing did not think Sun Moon Lin Qing's reasoning was wrong.
The final words continued playing.
Not long after, I broke through to Level 10, and my teacher came looking for me.
A stern middle-aged male teacher wearing glasses summoned Sun Moon Lin Qing to his office.
"Lin Qing, your Soul Power has reached Level 10. According to academy regulations, I can take you to obtain your first Soul Ring."
The teacher adjusted his glasses and looked at him seriously.
"Regarding your first Soul Ring, do you have any plans or ideas of your own?"
Sun Moon Lin Qing fell silent for a moment before saying something shocking.
"Teacher, I want to... try absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring."
"What?!"
The teacher shot to his feet, and his glasses nearly slid off.
"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring as your first Soul Ring? Are you insane?!"
The teacher's voice was filled with shock, along with a trace of anger.
"You're treating your own life and future as a joke!"
Yet Sun Moon Lin Qing remained very calm.
He waited until the teacher had finished before speaking slowly.
"Teacher, the Soul Ring I chose is from an Ice Silkworm."
"Ice Silkworm?"
The teacher froze.
"Yes."
Sun Moon Lin Qing nodded.
"An Ice Silkworm is an especially weak soul beast. Even after cultivating for a thousand years, its actual combat strength might not even compare to that of an ordinary hundred-year soul beast."
"Its strength lies in its powerful Spiritual Power, while its Soul Power is relatively mild and weak. It suits my Heavenly Eye Martial Soul very well."
The teacher frowned, as if considering whether this proposal was feasible.
"But the Soul Power impact of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring..."
For Soul Rings below ten thousand years, there was no need to worry about spiritual shock. The main issue was whether the body could withstand the Soul Power impact.
Sun Moon Lin Qing took over.
"I checked the academy library's records and calculated my physical strength and Spiritual Power level."
"I think I can give it a try."
"..."
The teacher stared at him for a long time.
Finally, he sighed. "I can't make this decision myself. It has to be reported to the academy."
My teacher reported my choice to the higher-ups at the academy.
After quite some time, my teacher returned.
The office.
The teacher looked at Sun Moon Lin Qing with a somewhat complicated expression.
"The academy... has agreed."
"But!"
He stressed the word.
"You alone will bear all consequences."
"If the absorption fails, you may suffer serious injuries and damage to your martial soul. In the worst case... you could lose your life."
Sun Moon Lin Qing nodded.
"I understand."
I understood that Sun Moon Royal Academy did not value me that highly. After all, I was merely a commoner with some talent. But if I succeeded, things would be different.
My teacher took me to the outskirts of the Far North.
A world of ice and snow.
The frigid wind howled.
A five-man team moved swiftly across the snowy plains.
Before long, they found an Ice Silkworm.
Its entire body was crystalline, about a meter long, slowly wriggling through the snow.
It really was weak.
The teacher casually knocked it unconscious with a Soul Guidance Ray.
"Finish it."
The teacher looked at Sun Moon Lin Qing.
Sun Moon Lin Qing took a deep breath, stepped forward, and brought his blade down.
The Ice Silkworm died.
A purple Soul Ring representing a thousand years of cultivation appeared.
After killing the Ice Silkworm, I began absorbing this Thousand-Year Soul Ring. However, it truly was more difficult to absorb than I had expected.
"Ugh!"
Sun Moon Lin Qing groaned.
His face turned deathly pale, and his body began trembling violently.
"This is bad!"
The teacher's expression changed.
He hurriedly pulled a silver-white cylinder from his robes.
A Soul Guidance Milk Bottle!
This item could store a large amount of Soul Power and replenish it at any time.
"Hold on!"
The teacher pressed the Milk Bottle against Sun Moon Lin Qing's back.
Pure Soul Power flowed into him continuously, helping him resist the impact of the Soul Ring.
Time passed second by second.
Sun Moon Lin Qing's trembling gradually subsided.
The frost melted, and the purple Soul Ring slowly merged into his body.
By sheer luck, I actually succeeded.
There was a trace of relief in the narrator's voice.
Sun Moon Lin Qing opened his eyes.
His Soul Power fluctuations had clearly risen by a large margin. The testing crystal lit up—Level 14. He had jumped four whole levels!
"This..."
Lin Qing was dumbfounded in reality.
"That actually worked?"
Ice Silkworms might be weak, but that was still a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!
A thousand-year-level Soul Ring as his first Soul Ring...
"Was this guy's luck a little too good?"
He was beginning to wonder whether this Sun Moon Lin Qing had some hidden "cheat" too.
Otherwise, how could this possibly make sense?
Could it really... just be because Ice Silkworms were too weak?
However, regrettably, I didn't obtain the Soul Skill I wanted most: Spiritual Detection.
The narrator's voice pulled Lin Qing's thoughts back.
In the scene, Sun Moon Lin Qing tested his new Soul Skill.
The Heavenly Eye between his brows opened.
His Soul Ring lit up.
Then... his appearance began to blur.
His colors and outline changed rapidly. In just a few seconds, he had "become" the teacher.
Even his clothes and bearing were exactly the same.
Of course, he only looked like the teacher. He was still himself underneath.
First Soul Skill—Simulation. It can alter my appearance, aura, and even the color of my Soul Rings.
It isn't the Spiritual Detection I wanted most, nor is it Spiritual Sharing.
"Since it was only an ordinary Ice Silkworm, not a Million-Year Soul Beast like Sky Dream Ice Silkworm... getting Simulation was already pretty good."
Lin Qing could not help making a small remark.
Huo Gua's Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing had been bestowed by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, not an ordinary Ice Silkworm.
It could only be said that Ice Silkworms and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm were fundamentally different creatures. The gap lay in those million years of cultivation.
Even if Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was a million-year soul beast that was "useless in a fight," its Spiritual Power and the Soul Skills it granted were undeniably formidable.
The next second, the narrator's voice suddenly became excited.
But I also gained an unexpected surprise!
My Heavenly Eye Martial Soul seemed to undergo some kind of change after absorbing this Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
In the scene, Sun Moon Lin Qing's vision changed. Everything before him, even the falling snowflakes, seemed to... slow down in his eyes.
My martial soul awakened an innate Soul Skill—Delayed Vision!
As long as I activate Delayed Vision, everything I see becomes "slow."
It isn't that they actually slow down. Rather, the speed at which my eyes receive and process information increases dramatically! This gives me more time to observe, analyze, and react.
Before you continue