Third Soul Skill

After the Wither-Glory Fire Dragon fell, Uncle Lin, his face still showing shock and relief, walked over to Lin Yan while maintaining Martial Soul Possession. "Young Master, meditate and restore your Soul Power first. This old servant will watch these two beasts."

Lin Yan did not refuse. He nodded slightly. "Alright. I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Lin."

Although Lin Yan had suppressed the Wither-Glory Fire Dragon throughout the battle, the cost had been obvious—he had almost no Soul Power left.

This was also his greatest problem at present: insufficient endurance. He ran out too quickly.

Once Lin Yan sat cross-legged and began meditating to restore his Soul Power, Uncle Lin's expression turned solemn as well. He vigilantly watched the surroundings while keeping a close eye on the two unconscious Wither-Glory Fire Dragons lying on the ground.

Fortunately, Lin Yan was not cursed with terrible luck. By the time he had restored himself to peak condition and slowly opened his eyes, the surroundings remained peaceful, and no accident had occurred.

Meeting Uncle Lin's concerned gaze, Lin Yan said, "Uncle Lin, to prevent the other Wither-Glory Fire Dragon from dying while I absorb the Soul Ring later, I'll first refine the Origin Beast Fire from that five-thousand-year Wither-Glory Fire Dragon."

As soon as Lin Yan finished speaking, a trace of worry flashed through Uncle Lin's eyes. He looked as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

After hesitating for a moment, he still could not help persuading him, "Young Master, why not play it safe and absorb the five-thousand-year Soul Ring instead? A seven-thousand-year Soul Ring is nearly five thousand years beyond the limit that an ordinary Soul Elder can absorb!"

"Uncle Lin, there's no need to worry. Didn't you already confirm the strength of my body before?"

Lin Yan's gaze fell upon the two unconscious fire dragons, his tone firm and confident. "Over the years, I've never stopped taking Whale Rubber, other precious medicines, or medicinal baths. Combined with the body-tempering fist technique I created and practiced day and night, my physical strength is more than enough to absorb a seven-thousand-year Soul Ring."

Although Uncle Lin was still somewhat worried, he knew that Lin Yan was telling the truth.

He also understood that the higher the Soul Ring's age, the more powerful the Soul Skill it granted would certainly be.

It was simply that, to him, even though Lin Yan had shattered his understanding countless times, concern clouded his judgment.

Combined with the ingrained beliefs of the Soul Master world over the years, that was why he had been unable to suppress his worries and had spoken up to persuade him.

Lin Yan said no more. He walked over to the five-thousand-year Wither-Glory Fire Dragon, withdrew a Class Four Soul Tool—the Flame Blade—from his Storage Soul Tool, and brought it down in one clean stroke. Cold light flashed, and dragon blood spurted out.

Almost at the same time, a purple Soul Ring slowly condensed above the dragon's corpse, wreathed in a faint, scorching dragon aura.

Next, Lin Yan summoned his martial soul, Emperor Flame. His first Soul Ring lit up, but this time, its attribute amplification effect did not activate.

The Nine-Colored Flame surged instantly, transforming into a blazing mass that enveloped both the Wither-Glory Fire Dragon's corpse and the newly condensed Soul Ring.

Emperor Flame continued to burn and refine them. Moments later, the dragon corpse turned into a pile of ash, and the Soul Ring dissipated as well.

In its place floated a gray-green Origin Dragon Fire. A tiny dragon shadow flickered faintly within its flames, radiating a primal, domineering heat.

This was the additional effect of Lin Yan's first Soul Skill. It could use the soul and flesh of a soul beast possessing beast fire as fuel to refine its Origin Beast Fire for Emperor Flame to devour.

Once the Origin Dragon Fire had been refined, familiar information came back from Emperor Flame.

Lin Yan understood that it would take roughly ten days to completely devour and refine this dragon fire.

Emperor Flame's devouring of different flames could not be completed overnight; it required time.

The strength of a flame differed, and so did the time needed to refine it.

Through his research over the years, Lin Yan had discovered that the refining speed was also affected by his own Soul Power Level and the strength of Emperor Flame's origin.

As his level rose and Emperor Flame evolved, the refining speed had steadily increased.

For example, when he had first obtained his first Soul Skill, his martial soul had essentially been nothing more than an ordinary mortal flame.

At that time, even devouring a century-old beast fire had taken more than ten days.

Over the past four years, Lin Yan had fed his martial soul a total of 188 Origin Beast Fires across 103 different types, allowing it to transform continuously. Now, his martial soul—Emperor Flame—was infinitely close to Ultimate Fire.

In fact, it needed only one opportunity to truly cross that threshold!

Thus, before the nearly ultimate Emperor Flame of today, even though this Wither-Glory Fire Dragon's Origin Dragon Fire was of no low quality, it could not escape the fate of being devoured.

Besides these factors, Lin Yan had also speculated that since Soul Ring age affected the strength of Soul Skills, then even though his Soul Skill was already extraordinarily powerful and of an exceptionally high nature, its current Soul Ring age might still be holding it back, leaving part of its potential yet to be fully unearthed.

However, this was ultimately only a conjecture for now. Since he had yet to find a way to increase a Soul Ring's age, it had never been verified.

Fortunately, once Electrolux awakened this time, those temporarily shelved studies could finally be put back on the agenda.

With a thought, Lin Yan temporarily stored the Wither-Bloom Dragon Fire awaiting refinement within his martial soul. Now was not the time to refine it—he still needed to focus on absorbing his third Soul Ring!

Under Uncle Lin's watchful gaze, Lin Yan raised his blade and sent the other Wither-Glory Fire Dragon to join its good brother with a swift, decisive stroke.

As a deeper purple Soul Ring condensed, Lin Yan turned and gave Uncle Lin a reassuring look. Without further hesitation, he sat cross-legged and guided the Soul Ring over, formally beginning the absorption process.

The dark purple Soul Ring slowly settled around Lin Yan's body. Powerful, scorching Soul Power instantly surged from it, recklessly crashing and raging through his meridians with searing force.

Piercing pain coursed through his meridians, but Lin Yan's expression did not change.

Enduring the burning pain within his body, he methodically mobilized the Soul Power in his dantian, following the meditation route he had repeatedly improved to gradually guide and refine this violent Soul Ring energy.

As the Soul Ring was continuously absorbed, Lin Yan clearly sensed the invisible bottleneck within his body.

Surging Soul Power was like a roaring river, carrying unstoppable force as it slammed fiercely toward that intangible barrier.

Crack!

A faint yet distinct shattering sound rang out within his body. The bottleneck broke in response, and the flow of Soul Power became even more ferocious.

Energy continued pouring into his body without end, but Lin Yan no longer paid much attention to refining the remaining Soul Power.

He had something more important to do!

Lin Yan withdrew most of his focus. With a thought, the Prajna Heart Lamp hidden deep within his sea of consciousness was instantly lit.

The countless thoughts accumulated within the lamp transformed into an endless supply of "lamp oil" and began to burn rapidly.

Boundless Wisdom Divine Light bloomed, sweeping the dust from his mind. Lin Yan's comprehension, perception, and wisdom soared wildly. A single thought turned a thousand times, perceiving all things!

In his perception at that moment, the flow of time seemed to abruptly slow. Every sound, every flicker of light and shadow in the outside world, even the minute traces of Soul Power flowing through the air, were infinitely magnified and instantly fed back into the depths of his consciousness.

Next, he spread his perception outward like an invisible net, then abruptly drew it inward. Ignoring the flesh, blood, and bones of his body, it directly penetrated to the most microscopic level.

Then, with practiced ease, he found a Microcosmic Space hidden somewhere unknown within his body, existing between illusion and reality. Within that microcosm, he "saw" the quietly burning Nine-Colored Emperor Flame.

His perception continued to deepen. Time seemed to blur, eternal one moment and instantaneous the next.

In the next instant, his consciousness stepped into a boundless space with neither sky nor earth.