God?

Innovation? It was not as if one could simply innovate whenever they wanted.

The reason he had been able to propose those two ideas earlier was because he had personally experienced them in his previous life, while for some reason, no similar concepts existed here at all.

He had merely taken advantage of the information gap.

But Ye Luochen was not an engineering student, nor had he worked in frontline manufacturing. When it came to machine processing and industrial production, he was an outsider.

Although he had now learned some soul guidance technology, if anyone asked him anything more in-depth, he would not be able to say much.

As an eighth-rank Soul Engineer, Xuan Ziwen naturally understood just how difficult innovation was. He did not press the matter further and instead said,

"No matter what, it is definitely a good thing that your Martial Soul evolved again."

Ye Luochen's Innate Soul Power had now risen to rank six, greatly increasing his chances of reaching a higher Soul Power Level in the future.

And that also meant he now had the potential to reach even greater heights in the field of Soul Tools.

After all, at the current technological level, Soul Tools were still strongly tied to Soul Power.

"But."

As he spoke, Xuan Ziwen abruptly changed the subject, his face full of grievance.

"If you have any ideas next time, make sure to tell me in advance. Let me make a few more finished products before you come to the laboratory."

"Otherwise, every first-generation prototype machine gets swallowed by your Martial Soul. My heart really cannot take it."

Ye Luochen nodded with a laugh that was neither a laugh nor a cry.

He had not known this would happen either.

But as Xuan Ziwen had said earlier, no matter whether this truly was the reason, it was undoubtedly good news for him.

He had only personally experienced the advantages brought by powerful Innate Soul Power a few days ago.

After cultivating at full force for just one night, his Soul Power Level had risen from level thirty-eight to level forty, as if he had boarded a rocket.

Of course, that had been the result of Ye Luochen's long-term accumulation. It was a case of stored-up strength finally bursting forth, and it would likely be difficult to replicate.

But no matter how much strength one accumulated, there still had to be an opportunity for it to burst forth.

The increase in Innate Soul Power brought by swallowing the first-generation Stamping Machine Tool had undoubtedly been the key factor that triggered this breakthrough.

And back then, he had only had rank-five Innate Soul Power.

Now, it had risen another rank.

His cultivation speed would undoubtedly improve even further!

After calming down and sorting things out, the two naturally did not forget to report the matter to Jing Hongchen.

After hearing about it, even with Jing Hongchen's experience, he could not help but fall silent in astonishment.

Achieving groundbreaking results in soul guidance technology could cause one's Martial Soul to evolve?

"This Martial Soul trait..."

Jing Hongchen could not help but sigh.

"It truly is unheard of... Hm?"

In the midst of his exclamation, Jing Hongchen gave a soft sound of surprise and stopped speaking. A thoughtful expression then appeared on his face.

Several breaths later, he slowly spoke again.

"It seems it really is not entirely unheard of."

Ye Luochen immediately focused when he heard that. Anything concerning his Martial Soul could not be treated carelessly, no matter how small the clue.

Jing Hongchen continued.

"After Ye Luochen's Martial Soul showed abnormalities a few days ago, I carefully searched through the records.

This sort of acquired evolution is not without precedent."

"First, one may consume some heavenly treasure, allowing the Martial Soul to receive replenishment and enhancement on an energy level, thereby producing acquired evolution."

"Second, one may use a secret technique. The most typical example is the Body Sect. Everyone knows that the Body Sect possesses a secret method for a second awakening of Body Martial Souls, which can cause a Martial Soul to undergo acquired evolution."

"These two methods are not particularly secret, and they occur from time to time. They are not all that unusual."

As he listened to Jing Hongchen, Ye Luochen said nothing and merely nodded silently.

However, neither of those possibilities seemed applicable to him.

"But aside from those two methods, I found another possibility. That is..."

Jing Hongchen's voice rang out again.

"A god."

That single, simple word instantly made both people present raise their heads sharply, their eyes full of disbelief.

A god?

No one on the entire Douluo Continent was unaware of what that word represented.

They were the absolute authorities of Douluo Continent, its rulers, supreme existences above all else.

For such beings, making someone's Martial Soul undergo acquired evolution was probably no more difficult than a single thought.

"But... how is that possible?"

Ye Luochen could not help but speak.

"With talent like mine, how could a god possibly bestow a blessing upon me?"

He knew himself very clearly.

Compared to ordinary people who could not cultivate, he was certainly far stronger. And not merely compared to ordinary people—even most Soul Masters capable of cultivating could not possess such cultivation at his age.

Fifteen years old, level forty.

Perhaps those numbers alone did not convey much.

But Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, whose cultivation was similar to his, had been directly listed by Shrek as reserve members of the Seven Monsters and nurtured as core disciples.

That alone showed how valuable such talent was.

Yet Ye Luochen also understood very well that there were always greater people beyond people and greater heavens beyond the heavens. There were countless individuals far more terrifying than him.

To say nothing else, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were two living examples.

They were the same age as him, yet their cultivation was more than ten levels higher.

With even more terrifying geniuses like them around, how could a god possibly bless him and cause his Martial Soul to evolve again and again?

Faced with Ye Luochen's question, Jing Hongchen shook his head and slowly said,

"Although records concerning gods are extremely scarce, I still found some information."

"In many cases, divine miracles are not bestowed directly by gods, but through the form of 'divine trials.'"

"As long as the chosen person passes the trial, they will receive corresponding rewards. Martial Soul Evolution and enhanced soul rings are both possible."

"As for what determines whether someone is chosen, no one can say. But it is definitely not something as simple as strength or talent."

"Therefore, although it may sound absurd, being chosen by a god and entering a state similar to a divine trial does indeed bear some resemblance to what you have experienced.

At the very least, it is much more similar than the previous two methods of Martial Soul Evolution."

"Perhaps it is the God of Forging or the God of Soul Guidance? And perhaps the content of the divine trial is to make breakthroughs in forging or Soul Tools?"

For a moment, Ye Luochen did not know how to respond.

He could only stare with widened eyes.

This...

How could that be possible?

That was his only thought at the moment.

Although Jing Hongchen's explanation did seem to make some sense.

Ye Luochen still instinctively felt that it could not possibly be the case.

How could anything involving "gods" possibly have anything to do with him?

As Ye Luochen struggled to believe it, Jing Hongchen spoke again.

"This is only a conjecture. You need not take it too much to heart."