Nine Years Old, Escaping Death

During Huo Yuhao's era, Xiong Jun did not even seem to have reached the limit. Otherwise, how could Xian Lin'er, who was only a Super Douluo, have fought him for so long?

The increase in cultivation years was far too disproportionate to the increase in strength, making it seem as though the cultivation of the later several hundred thousand years was all fake.

It was precisely because of this that Jing Chen had no intention of letting Yi Yi advance to two hundred thousand or three hundred thousand years.

That would be all effort for little gain. The investment and return were simply not proportional, making it an unworthy endeavor.

As for whether a Super Soul Beast like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger could break through its limits and gain god-level combat power after reaching two hundred thousand years, Jing Chen had considered that as well.

The answer was no. The fact that soul beasts in this world could not become gods had already set their upper limit in stone.

Let alone two hundred thousand years—even if they reached a million years, they still could not become gods. The rules were there; no amount of time would change that.

Jing Chen even felt that the small increase in strength soul beasts experienced at major thresholds like two hundred thousand and three hundred thousand years was related to the God Realm forbidding soul beasts from becoming gods, deliberately restricting their power.

After returning to Shrek City this time, Jing Chen did not sell the Soul Tools himself. Instead, he paid someone to sell them for him.

After selling all forty Soul Tools, he obtained two thousand four hundred Gold Soul Coins.

He did not save the money he earned. He spent it all on metals and materials needed to make control systems.

For the following period, Jing Chen's life was basically fixed: selling Soul Tools and purchasing materials in the city.

Within the Star Dou Great Forest, he made Soul Tools, conducted research, and cultivated. His life was busy and monotonous, with little free time.

This busyness paid off. Constantly making Soul Tools steadily improved his skill at crafting them.

Before even reaching the twenties in soul power, he was already capable of making second-grade Soul Tools suited to a Soul Grandmaster.

At that time, he had not yet turned seven. In other words, he was a second-grade Soul Engineer at just over six years old.

At such an age, with such mastery of Soul Tools, no one like him had ever appeared even in the Sun Moon Empire, which was renowned for its Soul Tools.

Aside from his advancement in Soul Tool craftsmanship, Jing Chen's Soul Power was also rising rapidly.

By coincidence, the day Jing Chen broke through to level twenty was exactly his seventh birthday.

He regarded this breakthrough as a birthday gift to himself. He wished himself a happy birthday, even deliberately adding "for the third time" at the beginning.

That was right. This was his third seventh birthday. What others envied—returning to youth and having one's years reversed—had become reality for him.

Yet this reversal of age brought him no joy. Instead, a sense of loneliness washed over him.

Since Blue Star, he had always been alone. His unusual method of reincarnation had left him without parents, with no one by his side.

Back on Blue Star, friends had at least wished him a happy birthday. Now, only he could say it to himself. Who could understand that kind of solitude and loneliness?

Fortunately, Yi Yi was there to keep him company, easing his emotions somewhat. At least he had someone to talk to.

After reaching level twenty, Jing Chen and Yi Yi went to the Far North once more to obtain his second soul ring.

His second soul ring was obtained from the Ice Sea, from a thousand-year Ice Sea Profound Kun.

It was a top-tier water-element soul beast. Although its quality could not compare to a Super Soul Beast like the Ice Crystal Behemoth, it ranked among the best of water-element soul beasts.

If water-element soul beasts were ranked, this soul beast could place in the top ten. It was an excellent choice for a second soul ring.

After absorbing this thousand-year soul ring beyond his level, Jing Chen's Soul Power reached the peak of level twenty-two.

During this trip to the Far North, Jing Chen considered having Yi Yi hunt and devour soul beasts here.

In such a freezing environment, his cultivation speed would certainly surpass that of cultivating in the Star Dou Great Forest.

After careful thought, however, he decided against it. Yi Yi was not suited to icy, snowy environments and would have a harder time fighting here.

Moreover, the soul beasts of the Far North were relatively united. He worried that if they hunted too many soul beasts here, they might draw Snow Empress's attack.

If Snow Empress set her sights on them in this icy environment, then even though Yi Yi had already reached ten thousand years of cultivation, they would have absolutely no chance of survival.

Adhering to the principle of safety first, Jing Chen obediently left with Yi Yi after obtaining his second soul ring, without lingering long.

After returning to Shrek City, Jing Chen rested for a day before heading to the Star Dou Great Forest again.

Time flew by. Three years passed in this manner, and Jing Chen had celebrated his ninth birthday a few days ago.

Within the Star Dou Great Forest, a nine-year-old boy rode atop a black tiger, racing wildly through the forest.

The boy had well-defined features. Though his childishness had yet to fade, he could already be considered handsome.

His early development had given him a height of one and a half meters. His body was well-proportioned, and his black clothes made him look vigorous and spirited.

This boy was none other than the now nine-year-old Jing Chen, while the Black Tiger beneath him was naturally Yi Yi.

After staying in the Star Dou Great Forest for three years, Yi Yi could be said to have undergone earth-shaking changes.

These changes were mainly reflected in its cultivation and battle form. In its miniature form, it was still that lazy, adorably foolish little creature.

After devouring for the past few years, Yi Yi's cultivation had reached more than forty-three thousand years, over twenty-one times what it had been three years ago.

With more than forty thousand years of cultivation, it already possessed Title Douluo-level combat power, comparable to a Super Douluo.

This was not baseless speculation, but something tested in actual combat. More than ten days ago, they had encountered an expert at the Super Douluo level.

This Super Douluo was not a human soul master, but a fierce beast from the Great Danger Land of the Star Dou Great Forest: Hell Demon Dragon King Zi Ji.

Yi Yi fought Zi Ji for a long time and was only slightly at a disadvantage. It had not been defeated by Zi Ji, who stood at the level of a fierce beast.

Only after that battle did Jing Chen gain a relatively clear understanding of Yi Yi's strength. It should be equivalent to a level ninety-seven Super Douluo, with power close to level ninety-eight.

At the same time, he learned a piece of bad news: their hunting of soul beasts in the Core Zone had drawn the attention of those fierce beasts.

More accurately, it had drawn their killing intent.

Encountering Zi Ji had not been an accident, but an inevitability, because she had come specifically for him and Yi Yi.

That group of fierce beasts would never allow a soul beast like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger to continue living. It was a massive threat to the entire Star Dou Great Forest.

Therefore, the moment they sensed the aura of a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, they came to kill it.

When Yi Yi had fought Zi Ji, several powerful auras had also surged from the Great Danger Land. Clearly, fierce beasts such as Di Tian had wanted to act as well.

Fortunately, they could hide within the Time and Space Divine Tower, allowing them to escape disaster. Otherwise, Yi Yi and he would already be dead.

At the time, he had Yi Yi attack the ground and send mud and sand flying into the air, confusing the fierce beasts' senses so they could not discover the Time and Space Divine Tower.

After Jing Chen entered the Time and Space Divine Tower, it shrank to roughly the size of a grain of sand and emitted no energy fluctuations at all. Mixed among the dirt and sand, it was virtually impossible to distinguish.

After narrowly escaping death, Yi Yi and he stayed in the Time and Space Divine Tower for more than ten days before daring to emerge.

The moment they came out, Jing Chen and Yi Yi quickly fled the area. They remained on edge the entire way, terrified of encountering fierce beasts like Di Tian again.

Today's second chapter. The new book is setting sail—please bookmark it and vote with recommendation tickets.