Everyone knew that the restrictions on a Soul Beast sacrifice were few and far between.
As long as the Soul Beast was completely willing, the sacrifice would basically go off without a hitch.
And sacrifices had another extremely important trait.
If the one making the sacrifice burned through their life force and then fused their soul into the Soul Ring, the sacrifice would have no level restrictions, no pressure to endure, and no Soul Shock.
The recipient could easily obtain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring—even if they were only a Soul Master at level sixteen!
In just a moment, under Xiao Wu's sacrifice, Jiang Ci'an's Soul Power surged like floodwaters bursting through a dam. It easily broke through its bottleneck and reached level twenty.
A blood-red Soul Ring suddenly appeared, naturally circling Jiang Ci'an as it radiated a heart-stopping pressure.
Jiang Ci'an didn't move.
He couldn't even be bothered to actively accept the Soul Ring. He merely watched in silence as it formed, feeling it naturally absorbed by his body.
As for everything else, he left it to Xiao Wu.
Soon, the Soul Ring completely merged into his body. As his aura surged violently, his Soul Power, which had stalled at level twenty, began to climb again!
Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three...
His level rose at breakneck speed. In just a moment, it soared straight to level thirty, where it finally halted once more at a bottleneck.
The sacrifice was nearing its end. The surrounding red flames slowly faded away.
Xiao Wu's figure had also vanished completely into thin air, leaving behind only a huge, charred ring on the grass as a trace of the sacrifice.
Jiang Ci'an looked at the spot where Xiao Wu had disappeared and sighed softly, feeling a little regretful.
If a few more Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts sacrificed themselves for him, he might not leap straight to Titled Douluo, but reaching Soul King or Soul Emperor shouldn't be a problem.
Of course, that was just wishful thinking.
He couldn't take this cultivation with him anyway.
He had previously thought that perhaps he could use the sacrifice to obtain a Second Soul Ring and unlock more strange Soul Skills for his World Modulation Mode Martial Soul.
But in reality, although he could obtain Soul Rings in this Virtual World, the Soul Skills they granted couldn't give him the same special abilities they would in the real world.
For example, the Soul Skills attached to this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring were Void and Invincible Golden Body.
They were both extremely powerful defensive skills, but still far inferior to Indifference, which he had gotten from a five-hundred-year-old Silent Form Mouse.
And unlike Indifference, they couldn't receive a special boost in this world.
They were only worth studying.
Of course, that wasn't important.
What mattered was the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring itself.
Jiang Ci'an lowered his eyes to the blood-red Soul Ring circling him, his gaze thoughtful.
Everyone knew that the Clear Sky Sect had a secret technique called Ring Detonation.
The technique detonated Soul Rings to unleash enormous amounts of Soul Power in a short time, empowering the user and allowing them to burst forth with astonishing strength far beyond their normal state!
So, here was the question.
Was there some way to use the principle behind Ring Detonation to truly raise one's Soul Power level?
It was a question worth investigating.
After repeatedly observing Tang Hao's Ring Detonation for reference, he discovered that:
The reason Ring Detonation could only boost one's combat power for a short time, rather than directly raising one's cultivation, was fundamentally because the technique was too crude.
It could indeed blast apart a Soul Ring and release its enormous reserves of energy, but because of the way it was done, that energy instantly turned berserk. There was simply no way to refine and absorb it.
At the same time, if the user wasn't physically strong enough, that rampaging energy couldn't remain in their body for long. Otherwise, the body would be overloaded and explode.
For all these reasons, anyone using Ring Detonation would immediately put the Soul Ring's energy to use as soon as they blew it apart.
They might unleash a powerful attack or break through some kind of restriction or restraint, but they would never let that berserk energy linger in their body for long.
Over time, Ring Detonation became fixed as an explosive offensive technique.
Even later improvements only made slight refinements to the method of detonating the ring. The energy remained berserk, impossible to absorb and refine.
But he had a different idea.
If detonating the entire Soul Ring at once made its energy turn berserk and the body unable to withstand it, then...
Could he avoid detonating all of it at once, and instead chip open a tiny hole, absorbing and refining only the energy flowing out through that opening to raise his cultivation?
And Soul Rings could repair themselves and replenish their energy...
Wouldn't that be like hooking up an external energy absorption device?
Of course, this was only Jiang Ci'an's ideal scenario.
Even if he chipped open only a tiny hole, the energy flowing out of the Soul Ring wouldn't be negligible. If a large amount flooded into his body, his flesh would still struggle to withstand it.
But that was where the Martial Way came in!
Why had he created the Martial Way?
To build a powerful physique? To be invincible among those of the same rank?
No. Those were merely side benefits.
His true goal was to raise his cultivation as quickly as possible!
A level-twenty Soul Grandmaster or a level-thirty Soul Elder, no matter how brilliant or invincible among those of the same rank, was still an ant that a Titled Douluo—or even a deity—could crush with a single finger.
After all, one of the Divine Realm's God Kings had really pulled off the feat of a higher-level cultivator crushing one below!
So, his real goal was to build a system for himself that could speed up his path to becoming a Titled Douluo, reaching the Limit, and even becoming a god!
As for fully perfecting the Martial Way and turning it into a complete cultivation system...
Wouldn't that be easier once his cultivation was higher and he could see further?
And now!
He could use a body strengthened by the Martial Way to easily withstand the energy flowing through the gap in the Soul Ring, then refine it to raise his Soul Power level and physical strength. Once the energy had been absorbed, he could seal the gap and let the Soul Ring accumulate more energy on its own.
When the accumulation was complete, he could chip it open again and absorb more!
Later, he could rely on the powerful body nourished by the Soul Ring's energy to absorb Soul Rings with even longer cultivation periods than his own level would normally allow!
Soul Rings with longer cultivation periods held more energy, which could raise his Soul Power and physical strength faster. And once his physique grew stronger, he would be able to absorb Soul Rings with even longer cultivation periods.
The cycle would repeat, like a snowball rolling downhill, gathering speed again and again!
Under normal circumstances, a talented Soul Master could gain five levels a year in the early stages of cultivation.
But their cultivation speed would slow with every realm they broke through.
From five levels a year to three, and later, once they reached Soul Emperor or Soul Saint, to two levels a year or even less.
Even Tang San and Huo Yuhao hadn't become Titled Douluo until they were barely in their twenties.
Was that slow? No! But if his method worked and he successfully developed it, perhaps five levels a year would become the norm—or even faster: six levels a year, seven!
Ten years...
No, perhaps he wouldn't even need ten. He might reach Titled Douluo in less than that!
Before you continue