First Ring Body Tempering, Qilin's First Cry

Lin Qingmo's breathing quickened noticeably, his eyes flashing with irrepressible joy.

He lowered his voice, his tone filled with the excitement of one who had discovered a rare treasure:

"Ciyan, our luck is truly... absurdly good! This is a Dawn Spirit, a rare soul beast that exists almost exclusively in records!"

He observed the soul beast, whose entire body shimmered with a halo like the morning sun, and quickly explained to Lin Ciyan:

"It is not adept at close-quarters combat, but its control over the light element is nothing short of art! It balances offense and defense, and can even guide the light of dawn to nourish all things."

"Using it for your first soul ring, the attributes are a perfect match; it might even further purify your origin of light!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ciyan felt a surge of heat in his heart.

He could clearly feel the joy and resonance emanating from the Holy Radiance Qilin Martial Soul within him.

Lin Ciyan recalled what Mu En had once told him:

"Ciyan, your Holy Radiance Qilin is the Ultimate Light, sacred and auspicious."

"Soul rings from ordinary light-attribute soul beasts would merely be icing on the cake for you, and might even fail to fully stimulate the potential of your martial soul."

Mu En had pointed out several clear directions for Lin Ciyan, all related to the top-tier light-attribute soul beasts known on the Douluo Continent.

First was the Golden Hawksbill Turtle; this soul beast possessed an extremely pure light attribute and unparalleled defensive power.

Mu En believed this would likely provide Lin Ciyan with a powerful, life-saving soul skill that could be called absolute defense.

This was something any soul master would dream of.

Second was the Light White Tiger. The White Tiger governs slaughter, and the Light White Tiger is the representative of condensing the light element into ultimate attack power.

If he could obtain its soul ring, Lin Ciyan's offensive capabilities would surely see a qualitative leap.

Lin Ciyan silently took note; in the original records, both of these soul beasts were extremely rare and powerful.

The Golden Hawksbill Turtle, in particular, was a top-tier existence possessing a golden-grade body martial soul.

As for higher levels, Mu En mentioned soul beasts of the Holy Light Dragon lineage.

True Holy Light Dragons had long since gone extinct, but their descendants with thin bloodlines, such as the Holy Giant Dragon or the Radiant Dragon Bird, could perhaps only be found in certain ancient ruins or isolated islands overseas.

Time returned to the present.

Lin Qingmo continued to guide him, "Look at the surface of the Dawn Spirit."

"The color of the halo is pure, and the edges already have a subtle crystalline texture; this is a sign that its cultivation is nearing eight hundred years! It is exactly at the edge of your tolerance limit."

"The energy quality is extremely high, enough to make up for that insignificant gap in age."

Just then, the Dawn Spirit, which had been drinking by the stream, seemed to sense danger, a flicker of vigilance crossing its crystalline eyes.

Its four hooves shifted, its elegant long neck suddenly lifted, and light swirled around its body as it prepared to merge into the morning glow and flee.

"Want to run? Stay!"

Lin Qingmo let out a low shout, and the phantom of a light dragon flashed behind him and vanished.

Without using any soul skills, he simply used the vast soul power of a ninety-fifth-level Super Douluo to manifest a solid, light-attribute dragon claw.

Like picking up a chick, he firmly pinned the Dawn Spirit to the spot just as it was about to take flight, leaving it unable to move.

At the same time, a gentle wave of soul power lifted Lin Ciyan, and in an instant, the two arrived before the soul beast.

"Ciyan, now." Lin Qingmo handed a short sword with a blade flowing with cold light to Lin Ciyan.

"Aim for its eyes and pierce its core."

Lin Ciyan took a deep breath and accepted the short sword. He looked into the soul beast's pure yet terrified eyes, his own gaze resolute.

This was the law of the Douluo Continent, and the first step he had to take on his path to becoming a powerhouse.

He gripped the hilt tightly and thrust his wrist forward steadily.

"Puchi!"

The short sword pierced precisely into the bright eye and twisted.

Suppressed by absolute power, the Dawn Spirit only twitched slightly before losing its life entirely.

[Ding! First independent soul beast kill completed. Mindset stable, practicing the survival laws of the soul master world. Slacking points +130!]

Immediately following, a circle of rich yellow light emerged from the soul beast's corpse, streams of light escaping and rapidly condensing above it.

Within a few breaths, it transformed into a deep, bright, deep-yellow soul ring, emitting pure and powerful light-attribute energy fluctuations.

"I am starting."

Lin Ciyan did not hesitate; he sat cross-legged in front of the soul ring, held his breath, and entered a state of meditation.

Guided by his own soul power, the deep-yellow soul ring seemed to find its home and slowly descended.

It slipped over Lin Ciyan's head and finally hovered around his body, pulsing steadily like a heartbeat.

Seeing his grandson begin the absorption, Lin Qingmo finally breathed a sigh of relief, a gratified smile appearing on his face.

He did not deal with the soul beast's corpse, but instead focused entirely on guarding Lin Ciyan, his soul power perception spreading out to remain vigilant against any movement in the surroundings.

To him, his grandson's safety at this moment was far more important than that precious soul beast carcass.

At this moment, Lin Ciyan was undergoing his first true test since becoming a Spirit Master.

The deep yellow spirit ring acted like a violent energy source, with massive amounts of pure light-attribute energy surging into his meridians like a bursting river.

"BOOM!"

A tremendous sense of spirit power pressure arrived instantly, as if it were about to burst his small, thin body apart.

His meridians throbbed with tearing pain, and his entire skeleton emitted a faint humming sound under the scouring of the energy.

However, just as this violent energy rampaged, the foundation Lin Ciyan had built through two months of hellish training and top-tier dietary supplements began to show terrifying results.

His meridians were far wider and tougher than those of his peers; despite the intense pain from the energy impact, they remained as solid as a fortress, showing no signs of rupture.

His muscles and bones greedily absorbed the overflowing energy, becoming even more dense under the pressure.

More importantly, the Holy Radiance Qilin Martial Soul within his dantian began to operate on its own.

Lin Ciyan's entire body radiated a magnificent, divine might.

The light-attribute energy belonging to the Dawn Spirit that had surged into his body, upon sensing this pressure—which was of the same origin but of a higher order—gradually became docile.

It was as if subjects had encountered their king, being guided, refined, and integrated into his own spirit power with greater efficiency.

[Ding! Successfully guided and withstood the spirit ring energy impact. Physical fitness and spirit power quality have improved simultaneously. The operating efficiency of the Great Dream Freedom Scripture has slightly increased. Slacking Value +90!]

The absorption process, though painful, was safe and without danger.

Seeing that his grandson had reached the final stage of absorption, Lin Qingmo did not remain idle.

With a flip of his wrist, he produced various dissection tools and began to skillfully process the corpse of the precious spirit beast.

"The horn is the essence of light elements and must be removed intact. The few ounces of blood from the heart are the most nourishing. And this fur—tsk tsk, it carries a natural, gentle glow; it will be warm in winter and cool in summer if made into inner armor."

He muttered to himself while deftly dismantling the beast, as if he were handling a precious work of art.

"It is a pity that it did not produce a spirit bone," Lin Qingmo shook his head slightly, "but the body of this rare spirit beast is already very valuable."

Time ticked by second by second, and the light of the deep yellow spirit ring gradually dimmed until it finally merged completely into Lin Ciyan's body and vanished.

He slowly opened his eyes, a brilliant golden light flashing through his pupils before fading away. His entire aura was like a drawn sword, suddenly becoming significantly stronger!

A layer of lustrous sheen flowed across the surface of his skin, as if his entire body had undergone a thorough tempering.

He had successfully broken through the bottleneck and officially become a one-ring Spirit Master!

"How do you feel?" Lin Qingmo immediately stepped forward, asking with concern, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Lin Ciyan clenched his fists, feeling the surging, far more potent and pure spirit power within him, as well as the sense of strength filling his body. A satisfied smile appeared on his face, and he felt great joy in his heart.

"Very good, Grandfather. My spirit power should have reached level thirteen, and besides..." He focused his mind.

A deep yellow spirit ring rose from beneath his feet, circling his body and emitting powerful energy fluctuations.

"My first spirit skill has also been formed!"