Lord of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches

"Young Master, although this soul beast is indeed rare, it completely fails to meet the family's arrangements."

Old Wu hesitated.

After all, the Young Master was the Qilin Clan's only hope for reemergence.

The family had discussed every one of his soul rings countless times, determined to find the ones best suited for him.

Before this departure, the family head had repeatedly stressed that his first soul ring had to come from a bear-type soul beast with a powerful bloodline.

This would ensure that the Young Master's First Soul Skill enhanced his physical strength.

The Fire Dragon before them clearly did not meet the family's requirements.

"Old Wu, I have my own plans."

Ye Ruilin did not explain further.

The two quickly found a suitable place to absorb the soul ring.

"Young Master..."

Old Wu still wanted to persuade him again, but Ye Ruilin cut him off directly.

"Old Wu, trust me."

With just that simple sentence, Old Wu silently fell quiet.

After delivering the final blow, Ye Ruilin sat cross-legged and began absorbing the soul ring's power.

This was the outer edge of the forest, where no powerful soul beasts lurked.

Besides, with Old Wu guarding him nearby, he felt perfectly at ease.

Ye Ruilin focused wholeheartedly on resisting wave after wave of surging, scorching energy.

The energy seemed determined to burn him to ashes.

The Primordial Art within him seemed to sense the powerful fire-element energy. It immediately guided the violent power through his entire body before gathering it in his heart.

After several failures, he finally managed to gather the scorching, violent energy successfully.

The burning sensation spreading from his heart swept through his body. It felt as though his entire body had been submerged in lava, the searing pain of flames vivid and intense.

Just as he had expected, the moment he obtained his first soul ring, the Primordial Art, which had stagnated for years, truly broke through!

A powerful fire-element energy took root directly in his heart, throwing the balance of the five elements within him into disorder.

Several days later, at the Kirin Ye Clan.

An enraged roar erupted from Ye Ruilin's home!

"Ye Ruilin, have you lost your mind?!"

"Do you know what you've done?"

"The elders spent days discussing and planning your path of advancement, and you just..."

Ye Zhentian's face was ashen as he gritted his teeth and glared at the youth standing in the middle of the room.

Even the heavy bluestone table and chairs had been shattered by the tremendous force, countless cracks spreading across them.

Ye Ruilin gave a bitter smile.

His intended path had conflicted with the family's plans. He had anticipated this scene before returning.

"Dad, that was an extremely rare dragon-type soul beast."

Ye Ruilin tried to use the soul beast's rarity to lessen his father's anger.

"Dragon-type soul beasts are indeed rare."

"But it was a Fire Dragon that controlled elemental power. Its physical strength may be decent, but it cannot compare to certain powerful bear-type soul beasts."

"If you cannot gain overwhelming physical strength from the start, how will you make up for your early weaknesses?"

"This path is the best route of advancement, tested by countless powerful ancestors of the Ye Family."

Ye Zhentian looked at his disappointing son with fury, as if he hated iron for failing to become steel.

"When you usually fool around, I turn a blind eye."

"But this concerns the most important matter of your life, and you still treat it so carelessly!"

Ye Zhentian was truly furious now, and even his breathing had grown heavier.

"It's not like your son found a suitable soul beast..."

Ye Ruilin still wanted to joke his way through it.

"Shut up."

"Before you left, every bear-type soul beast suitable for you had already been marked."

"How could you possibly fail to find one?"

"Do you even understand the responsibility you carry?"

"Whether my Ye Family can return to Douluo Continent rests entirely on your shoulders."

"Now, promise me that you will stop acting recklessly from now on and honestly absorb your future soul rings according to the family's arrangements."

Ye Zhentian rubbed his brow, considering how to make up for the wrong step his son had taken.

"Dad, as a Divine Beast Qilin, merely enhancing physical strength is not the best choice!"

Ye Ruilin could not help speaking up.

He wanted to explain his plans.

"Shut up. This path was tested by countless forebears. Are you saying you have greater foresight than those ancestors?"

Ye Zhentian's tone turned icy.

His father's stubbornness made Ye Ruilin sigh deeply.

It could not be said that the path his ancestors had tested was wrong.

But they ultimately did not understand the unique nature of the Qilin Martial Soul well enough.

If he followed his ancestors' arrangements, he could indeed become an Ultimate Douluo without issue.

With a stroke of fortune, he might even become a second-class god.

But merely becoming a second-class god was not what he wanted.

As a transmigrator, he clearly understood the power of the Divine Beast Qilin!

There were many types of Qilin, and each corresponded to one of the five elements.

Even cultivating just one such Qilin would make him far stronger than the physical enhancement his ancestors had arranged.

Not to mention that Tang Yuge's Five Elements Qilin had already shown the way ahead.

If the powers of the five elements could gather as one, that might well be the direction in which his Martial Soul should develop.

If he could perfectly control the power of the five elements through his first five soul rings,

his Auspicious White Qilin would directly evolve into a Five Elements Qilin, carrying Auspicious Power.

If he then divided the five elements into yin and yang, he could draw forth the Ten Heavenly Stems and, in turn, command the power of the Twenty-Eight Mansions.

In the end, he would wield the power of the Four Symbols!

The Four Symbols of Heaven: the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. With the four anchoring the central palace, the fifth sacred beast at the center would awaken.

Its attribute was earth!

The foremost of the Five Spirits!

The Yellow Dragon Qilin!

The Four Symbols suppressed the universe, while the Yellow Dragon governed rise and fall.

Wu and Ji earth were not truly earth, but the primal qi of space and time. With the perfected body of the Qilin's five elements as a vessel, he could trace the river of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and command the Mandate of Heaven behind the changing of imperial power!

The Qilin Martial Soul would no longer be a Divine Beast Martial Soul, but a Sacred Beast Martial Soul.

He would become the only person on the entire Douluo Continent to possess a Sacred Beast Martial Soul.

And it would be the Yellow Dragon Qilin, foremost among the Five Spirits.

Yet even all of this was not the endpoint he desired.

If, during this process, he made some careful moves to control the power of the Twelve Earthly Branches,

then one day!

He would become the Lord of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, controlling every change in the world!

Taking a deep breath, he tried to persuade him once more.

"Dad, listen to me..."

"The power of the five elements far surpasses the physical defense you speak of."

"The future of the Divine Beast Qilin should not be bound by this!"

Ye Zhentian rose to his feet at once and stared coldly at Ye Ruilin.

"I must have spoiled you too much."

"That is why you have become so lawless, with no respect for the rules of our ancestors."

"I will ask you only this: from now on, are you willing to absorb the appropriate soul rings according to the clan's arrangements?"

After saying that,

the entire room fell silent.

Ye Ruilin's silence once again successfully enraged Ye Zhentian.

"Fine, fine, fine!"

"Since you have such backbone,"

"then go prove your path. From this day forward, you are no longer a member of my Ye Family."

"Everything belonging to the Ye Family has nothing to do with you."

"I want to see how you intend to forge your path without the family supporting you."

After hearing her husband's words, Madam Ye's face filled with shock.

She had just opened her mouth to speak.

But Ye Zhentian's icy gaze swept toward her.

Madam Ye understood her husband extremely well. She immediately said nothing more and looked at her son with a conflicted expression.

Looking at his enraged father, Ye Ruilin no longer argued.

Some things would ultimately sound hollow when described with words.

If he compromised, he would regret it for the rest of his life!

Let time prove whether he was right or wrong today.