Two Years Later! Research Results!

Afterward, Luo Chen took Luo An'an to search the Sunset Forest for a while.

They were very fortunate to find the first soul beast they needed: a Spirit Light Butterfly!

Dugu Bo naturally followed along. The tsundere old poison master claimed, "I'm idle anyway, might as well go watch the fun," but from the moment they set off, he used his poisonous miasma to clear the path, causing all soul beasts within a hundred-meter radius to flee in advance. Luo An'an, riding on the back of the Blazing Wolf, asked curiously, "Grandpa, why did those little animals run away?"

Dugu Bo remained expressionless. "Perhaps it is because I look frightening." Luo An'an examined his face seriously and said in a milky voice, "You don't look scary, your beard is just a bit green." Dugu Bo's mouth twitched, and he said nothing more.

The process of hunting the soul ring was simple and brutal. Luo Chen first used a mental attack to interfere, then had the Ghost Vine bind and control the Spirit Light Butterfly, and finally, he let Luo An'an use a dagger to deliver a fatal blow to the butterfly's head. A yellow soul ring rose from the Spirit Light Butterfly's corpse, hovering above Luo An'an's head.

The little girl sat cross-legged. As she absorbed her first soul ring, the milky-white light of the Dream-Weaving Immortal Garment intertwined with the yellow light of the soul ring, lasting for nearly an hour.

The second soul beast could not be found in the Sunset Forest because its ecosystem was inferior to the Star Dou Great Forest. Therefore, Luo Chen had to take Luo An'an to the Star Dou Great Forest to search for a Morning Dew Flower Spirit. Plant-type soul beasts were relatively easy to find; once their habitat was known, one could almost always find a whole cluster, much like Blue Silver Grass.

Luo Chen finally found a Morning Dew Flower Spirit of a suitable age in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Her first soul skill, "Spirit Light Protection," condensed a small light-gauze hat above her head to increase mental resistance. Her second soul skill, "Dream-Weaving Clear Dew," condensed a dewdrop to dispel toxins, stop bleeding, and alleviate fatigue.

From then on, Luo An'an became a two-ring Great Soul Master. With these matters settled, Luo Chen wanted to send her to school so he could begin traveling the continent. In truth, having been in the Douluo Continent for so many years, he still did not understand it well, and he wanted to take this time to complete some research.

After returning to Tiandou City, Luo Chen sent his sister directly to the primary division of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Meng Shenji arranged everything personally; she would live on campus and return home on weekends. She didn't cry the first day, nor the second, but on the third night, she stood at the door of Luo Chen's room clutching her pillow, eyes brimming with tears, saying, "Brother, I want to go home." Luo Chen sat with her all night, and the next morning, she happily went back to school.

Luo Dashan and Lin Xiaomei opened a new fish stew restaurant in Tiandou City, and business was even better than in Hailun City. Luo Chen used the power of time to repair some of Luo Dashan's old injuries and hidden ailments, so he no longer walked with a limp. Life was as plain as boiled water.

Finally, one month after Luo An'an enrolled, he began his travels. He walked through the border towns of the Heaven Dou Empire, ducking into blacksmith shops, soul tool workshops, and herb markets. He learned forging from old blacksmiths, extraction from old apothecaries, and the principles of soul tools from the descendants of fallen noble families. His goal was clear: to create Gulu Balls.

In the first year, he used ordinary metals and low-grade soul tool materials to make his first batch of prototypes. The success rate was less than ten percent, and the soul beasts he caught could break free from the Gulu Balls in less than three days. A room full of scrap metal piled up.

Half a year later, he finally found a way. Making a Gulu Ball required three core materials: space-attribute ore (to compress volume), mental-attribute crystals (to establish a mental connection), and a stable energy carrier (to maintain operation). He spent nearly half of the resources in Meng Shenji's ring to finally produce the first batch of usable products.

Ordinary Gulu Balls used simple materials and could be mass-produced in small batches. He could steadily produce twenty per month himself.

The Intermediate Gulu Balls, which awakened at level thirty, could also be mass-produced in small batches, but the materials were more expensive, and the output was only about one-third of the ordinary balls.

Other types of balls could not be mass-produced for the time being—Tide Balls required sapphires, Dark Balls required bone marrow extract from shadow-type soul beasts, and Slow Balls required space-time crystal powder. Luo Chen made a few finished pieces of each to keep on hand.

His fifth soul ring awakened at level forty-eight, manifesting as a brand-new type of ball that Luo Chen called the Life Ball. The ball contained gentle life energy, specifically designed to capture natural-type or healing-type soul beasts. The core material was a rare ore called the "Life Core," which took Luo Chen half a year to find; he only managed to make one.

Research on the symbionts went more smoothly than the Gulu Balls.

The mass of venom he had forced out of Dugu Bo's body had grown quite a bit over two years. It could change shape, shrinking into a ball the size of a fist or unfolding into a silver-purple cape as thin as a cicada's wing, draping over Luo Chen without discomfort—in fact, it fit perfectly. It could engage in vague mental communication with Luo Chen: hungry, sleepy, happy, unhappy. Luo Chen named it "Chu" because it was the first, though it also had a nickname given by Luo An'an: Little Black.

From then on, he began trying to create more symbionts. Using the power of time combined with different attribute energies, he attempted to replicate the birth process of "Chu." After dozens of attempts, most failed, but he eventually succeeded twice more.

The second was born in Gengxin City. While Luo Chen was cultivating the power of space, he absorbed the massive amount of metal energy contained within Gengxin City. He used the power of time to condense this metal energy and injected a wisp of a soul beast's life essence into it. Three days later, a pale gold, jelly-like symbiont was born. It was extremely quiet, curling up to sleep all day, but its sensory abilities were incredibly strong, and it could transform into a hard weapon. Luo Chen named it "Wu."

The third was born by a small stream outside Tiandou City. He accidentally discovered the remains of a discarded Tide Ball that still contained the energy of a water-type gemstone. He extracted the water energy and used the power of time to catalyze it for three months, eventually forming a translucent, jellyfish-like symbiont. It liked humid environments and could heal wounds. Luo Chen named it "Di."

Chu, Wu, and Di—three symbionts.

They could attach themselves to him for combat. When "Chu" attached, it formed silver-purple armor on Luo Chen's skin, capable of releasing toxins—not just the Jade Phosphor Snake venom, but a brand-new, mutated toxin. When "Wu" attached, it could transform into a hard weapon or form metal-colored armor with superior defensive capabilities. When "Di" attached, it could automatically heal Luo Chen's wounds; it provided defense but had no offensive power. The three could not attach simultaneously, but he could switch between them during battle.

They were not soul beasts, nor were they soul spirits. They were a brand-new life form that Luo Chen had created with his own hands using the power of time and different energies, connected to Luo Chen's mind and consciousness. They lacked complete intelligence for now, but they possessed emotions.

Perhaps one day, their life level would undergo a leap, and they would truly become a race of their own.

Two years later, in the spring, Luo Chen stood on the mountain behind the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, overlooking the entire city.

Inside the space of his ring, several rows of Gulu Balls were neatly arranged: ordinary balls, intermediate balls, Tide Balls, Dark Balls, Slow Balls, and Healing Balls. These were all made by his own hands.

The symbionts rested quietly beneath his skin.

He pulled out his Pocket Watch and flipped open the cover. The third graduation mark was fully lit, and the fourth began to flicker. The third trial of the God of Time was coming soon.

He closed the watch and turned to head down the mountain.

It was time to go home.