Five Years Later, the God of Destruction's Trial

Withdrawing his finger from the blade, Lin Yao swung the fierce blade Soul Devourer in his hand with satisfaction.

Even as a standard melee weapon, this carving knife was an incredibly cost-effective item.

Its sharpness was so exaggerated that even when Lin Yao swung it casually, he could clearly hear the heart-palpitating sound of it slicing through the air.

Next, I need to find a way to scout out Huo Yuhao's situation, and then see if I can use the Gold of Life to lure Electrolux, Lin Yao calculated inwardly.

Based on the three-year age gap between himself and Ye Guyi, Lin Yao estimated that at twelve years old, he would be just in time to catch Huo Yuhao's encounter in the Star Dou Great Forest at age eleven.

Shrek and the Star Dou Great Forest were not far apart, and with his family's fast horses, he could easily make the round trip without any issues. Even if he were delayed, Lin Yao believed Shrek wouldn't reject him over such a thing.

If they were truly that arrogant, they wouldn't have bothered to deliver an invitation to his door personally.

Lin Yao finished his brief calculations and tucked the ranked carving knife into his storage soul tool. What is gained is my fortune; what is lost is my fate.

No matter how much he planned now, it would all have to wait five years to be verified. Before then, he should focus on cultivation.

Lin Yao was a person who loved to plan but was also pragmatic. After organizing his thoughts, he sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.

Time flew by, and five years passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Yao and Ye Guyi had become much more familiar with each other, and the reservations between them had faded.

The black energy on the Soul Devourer, the fierce blade condensed from the Gold of Life, had gradually receded thanks to Ye Guyi's golden soul power.

The life force radiated by the Gold of Life had also benefited both Lin Yao and Ye Guyi immensely.

Even the people in the Lin Mansion had become much healthier and stronger under the nourishment of this life force.

Coupled with Lin Yao's innate full soul power—reaching two rings at seven and level forty at twelve—he had truly achieved the status of a son bringing honor to his father, which had significantly solidified Lin Xueli's position in the Douling Empire's court.

When Lin Yao broke through to the Soul Master realm at age nine, he had another dream about that temple.

This time, a purple figure appeared in the dream. Lin Yao couldn't see the face, only the figure waving an arm, with purple energy forming a line of text.

[First Trial of the God of Destruction: Defeat a 30,000-year soul beast]

It was only then that Lin Yao realized what the things in his dreams actually were: they were the divine trials of the God of Destruction.

The God of Destruction, looking so stern and imposing, actually wants to jump ship?

By the time Lin Yao reached the Soul Master level, Lin Xueli had basically stopped questioning his affairs. Lin Yao's third soul ring was chosen from an 8,000-year Dark Night Pterosaur, granting him the soul skill Dark Radiance Protective Barrier. Like his first soul skill, it was an augmentation-type skill.

With two layers of augmentation, plus his second soul skill—the dragon claw attack that could strike from near or far—Lin Yao's configuration at the Soul Master level was already quite formidable.

During this period, Lin Yao had made many attempts, but whether he activated his soul skills to increase his focus on his dark attribute or concentrated all his mental energy to control his body, he could not use dragon breath on his own.

Under these circumstances, Lin Yao concluded that dragon breath indeed required the addition of a soul ring to be acquired. Although this made him briefly annoyed, he eventually let it go.

At worst, it just takes up a soul ring slot. Besides, soul ring slots aren't some rare treasure; their purpose is to be filled with soul skills to enhance a soul master's combat power.

If he were to obsessively calculate the gains and losses of every soul ring slot, he would only be trapping himself.

Now, for his fourth soul ring, Lin Yao prepared to seek out a soul beast proficient in dragon breath or breath-type attacks to unlock the Ender Dragon's breath ability.

Since his first two rings had already exceeded his level and his third had reached 8,000 years, Lin Xueli agreed to the plan for Lin Yao to challenge a ten-thousand-year soul ring for his fourth, replicating the legendary feat of Tang San back in the day.

He even went as far as to use his personal connections, going through the Prime Minister of the Douling Empire to invite a level-91 Titled Douluo-level retainer loyal to the imperial family to secretly watch over Lin Yao.

The goal was to train Lin Yao without letting him die during the soul-hunting operation.

This Titled Douluo never met with Lin Yao. From start to finish, Lin Yao only knew that someone was following him, but he never truly sensed their presence or saw their face.

Under Lin Yao's instruction, the carriage headed toward the southern part of the Star Dou Great Forest, getting as close as possible to the place where Tianmeng Iceworm met Huo Yuhao.

As the carriage jolted, Ye Guyi sat next to Lin Yao, gently gripping the corner of his sleeve, and said, "It's a pity that I haven't hunted any Evil Soul Masters these past few years. Relying solely on my own cultivation, my soul power growth has been slow. Otherwise, I could have gone to hunt for my fourth soul ring today, and you wouldn't have surpassed me."

Lin Yao smiled at this, leaning gently against the carriage wall, and said to Ye Guyi, "Cultivation is a matter of talent; one shouldn't be in a rush. Forcing progress will only hinder your foundation. If your foundation isn't solid, even if your soul power level is high, you'll still be crushed by those at the same level."

Ye Guyi nodded, finding Lin Yao's words deeply reasonable, and then looked at him, asking, "Tell me, how do you cultivate? You manage to maintain such powerful cultivation while your soul power level increases so much faster than mine."

Lin Yao chuckled at Ye Guyi's complaint, brushed his hair back, and said to her gently, "That's even easier to understand. I have innate full soul power, so logically, my cultivation speed should be faster than yours. The reason you were able to cultivate so quickly before was essentially because you were receiving feedback from killing Evil Soul Masters through your martial soul. However, this isn't without its benefits. The soul power you gained from hunting Evil Soul Masters and obtaining holy energy has invisibly cleansed your meridians. Although you can't feel it yet, the higher your level gets, the more you will realize the advantage of having such a foundation."

"Pills that cleanse meridians are incredibly expensive on the market; you've saved a huge amount of cultivation resources."

Ye Guyi covered her mouth and laughed after hearing Lin Yao's words, then stretched and said, "That's true, I suppose my martial soul is quite easy to maintain."

Their carriage eventually stopped at a mountain village a few dozen miles from the south.

Although the village looked barren, it was actually home to many soul masters—mostly those on the verge of a breakthrough preparing to hunt for soul rings, as well as some high-level soul masters who dealt in the soul master trade year-round.

Lin Yao and his group rented a stable here, leaving the Lin Mansion servants to watch the carriage and tend to the horses, while they set off on foot toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

If they took the horses any closer, they would likely catch the scent of the soul beasts within the Star Dou Great Forest and, in their terror, lose control and run off, wasting the trip.

Therefore, no fool would choose to ride a horse into the Star Dou Great Forest...