Douluo: Sons of the Version Gather, but the Era Is Misaligned

In that situation, trying to fight Huo Yuhao through guerrilla tactics would have put him at a disadvantage, so Bai Chen could only choose to confront him head-on in close combat.

One more skill meant one more option. Just as no one ever complained about having too much money, no Soul Master would ever complain about having too many soul skills.

Of course, Bai Chen could also try developing self-created soul skills to solve this problem, but creating them generally required a great deal of time. How could that compare to simply taking one directly?

By this point, Bai Chen's trip to the Spirit Ascension Platform could be considered a full harvest. The two issues troubling him most—soul power and soul skills—had both been resolved here one after another.

Boom—

A flash of azure light swept past, and the massive tree before Bai Chen slowly toppled over, crashing to the ground.

Bai Chen shook out his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

"Mm, this will do for now."

He had already raised the Wind Blade's power to the point where it could chop down a large tree. At the very least, it could serve as a ranged attack for keeping enemies at bay.

At the same time, an idea arose in his heart.

Should he apply to Zang Xin for a teammate?

His current strength was not weak, but he was certainly not invincible within this Junior Spirit Ascension Platform.

Take the wolf pack from earlier, for example. Without those three people he had run into helping restrain them, he truly would not have been able to handle that situation alone.

If he had a powerful teammate, many things would become much more convenient.

"I'll ask when I get back."

Bai Chen shrugged and continued sweeping through the Spirit Ascension Platform.

His strength truly was formidable. After that, he encountered Soul Beasts many more times, but he always escaped danger safely.

It was not until he faced three Millennium Soul Beasts at once that he was defeated under their combined assault and forced out of the Spirit Ascension Platform.

During this process, he also obtained a new soul skill.

This soul skill had a darkness attribute. Its effect was to blacken an area of space centered on him, and only he, as the skill's caster, could completely ignore its effects.

It was a wide-area blinding technique, but it was not particularly useful. When that Soul Beast had used the skill, even Bai Chen's Purple Demon Eyes had not been fooled, which showed just how mediocre its effect was.

The truly important thing about acquiring this soul skill was the meaning behind it. Once could be a coincidence, but twice was different. This proved that Bai Chen really could use this method to expand his skill set, and the success rate of seizing skills was quite high.

Drops of water could wear through stone. He could obtain two soul skills in a single trip to the Spirit Ascension Platform. As the number of times he entered increased, one day he would surely find powerful soul skills.

"Mm, you performed very well. I'm quite satisfied."

Seeing Bai Chen climb out of the chamber, Zang Xin asked with a smile, "So? Can you cultivate normally through this method?"

"Don't ask what you already know, Senior."

Bai Chen stretched his body and smiled. "If that place had not benefited my cultivation, I would have come out on my own long ago, wouldn't I?"

"Indeed. It seems you're very satisfied with what you gained this time."

Zang Xin waved his hand and said calmly, "Then let's go. I'll take you somewhere else that's nice."

Bai Chen blinked curiously.

"What kind of nice place? Is it even better than the Spirit Ascension Platform?"

Zang Xin revealed a mysterious smile and held a finger to his lips.

"Secret."

"Oh."

Bai Chen raised an eyebrow but did not press further, following Zang Xin out of the Spirit Pagoda.

From his experience with Zang Xin over the past two days, Zang Xin was not someone who liked to keep people guessing.

Then the reason he had not answered Bai Chen was most likely because it had been inconvenient to answer inside the Spirit Pagoda.

Sure enough, after they got into the car, Zang Xin immediately handed Bai Chen a card and said, "Over the past two days, I had the relevant departments handle the procedures. Starting today, you are a member of the Soul Battle Hall."

Bai Chen took the card and examined it.

"Soul Battle Hall... I remember it's one of the Tang Sect's Inner Three Halls, right?"

"That's right." Zang Xin nodded affirmatively and started the car. "And the place I'm taking you next is one of the welfare facilities prepared for Soul Battle Hall disciples."

Soul Battle Hall

Zang Xin then began introducing Bai Chen to the origins and primary functions of the Soul Battle Hall.

The Soul Battle Hall was one of the Tang Sect's Inner Three Halls. Being able to enter it meant Bai Chen had already become a core member of the Tang Sect.

Among the Inner Three Halls, the Law Enforcement Hall was responsible for managing Tang Sect members. If a member's conduct became problematic, Law Enforcement Hall members would punish and correct them.

The Hall of Consecration was the prerequisite for entering the Hall of Heroes. Whether they came from the Outer Three Halls or the other two Inner Halls, members could transfer to the Hall of Consecration once their cultivation reached a certain level.

The Soul Battle Hall's primary task, meanwhile, was dealing with threats to public security, such as Evil Soul Masters and terrorists.

In the Douluo III Era, the Federation was really only a government on the surface. In reality, the true core of power remained in the hands of several major Soul Master factions. Even the various legions did not listen particularly closely to the Federation, instead being controlled separately by major Soul Master clans and Soul Master factions.

That was only natural. No matter the era, strength was always the most important thing. As the saying went, truth lay only within the range of cannon fire. Top-tier Soul Masters were clearly those so-called "cannons," and the clans and factions possessing those "cannons" were the true players moving the pieces.

Thus, in the Douluo III Era, it was easy to see that the various core functions of Soul Master society were actually handled separately by the major Soul Master factions.

The Spirit Pagoda was responsible for the awakening and advancement of Soul Masters, the Tang Sect was responsible for public security and scientific research, Shrek Academy was responsible for nurturing core Soul Masters, and the Temple of War was responsible for upholding the Federation's public image—but even the Temple of War did not really obey the Federation all that much.

Within the Tang Sect, the organization specifically responsible for dealing with those who disrupted public security was the Soul Battle Hall.

Zang Xin had chosen to let Bai Chen join this Inner Hall mainly so that he could interact more with people who fought Evil Soul Masters year-round. Through subtle influence, this would completely eliminate the possibility of him becoming an Evil Soul Master.

"The Soul Battle Hall's member rankings differ somewhat from those of the Tang Sect's other departments. Like Soul Rings, they are ranked by color: white, yellow, purple, and black, from low to high. The higher your rank, the better the benefits you enjoy. Naturally, the missions you face will also be more dangerous."

At this point, Zang Xin paused slightly, then smiled at Bai Chen.

"But you don't need to think about that for now. You're still a long way from a promotion."

As a newly joined member of the Soul Battle Hall, Bai Chen automatically received the status of a White-Rank Fighter.

To advance to Yellow-rank Fighter, he needed to complete at least ten missions and become a One-Word Battle Armor Master.

The first requirement for advancement was manageable, but the latter was extremely demanding.

At Shrek Academy, a One-Word Battle Armor Master could even graduate from the outer academy. Battle Armor Masters were a highly prestigious profession even across the entire world, truly one in ten thousand.

With Bai Chen's talent, becoming a One-Word Battle Armor Master naturally would not be a problem. But even for him, achieving that would require a long time.

After all, the first condition for reaching that point was possessing the cultivation of a Soul King.

Zang Xin had been nearly fifteen when he became a One-Word Battle Armor Master. No matter how gifted Bai Chen was, he would still need at least another six years to reach that stage.

At that moment, Zang Xin suddenly stopped the car and said to Bai Chen, "All right, get out."

It turned out that while he had been introducing the Soul Battle Hall to Bai Chen, they had already arrived at their destination.

It was a small courtyard. Unlike the Hall of Heroes they had visited last time, the place Zang Xin brought Bai Chen to this time did not exude any high-tech atmosphere. It even carried a faintly antique charm.

They entered the building and went down the stairs. After reaching roughly the third underground level, they switched to an elevator. Only after waiting five minutes did they finally reach their destination.

As the elevator doors opened to either side, Zang Xin and Bai Chen walked out together.

Before them stretched a long corridor, with a wooden door at its far end.

Zang Xin stopped and said to Bai Chen, "I can't accompany you any farther. After entering, you may freely choose what to do inside, but you can only stay for twelve hours. Once those twelve hours are up, you have to come out. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Bai Chen understood inwardly. He already knew where Zang Xin had brought him.

He crossed the corridor, arrived before the wooden door, and pushed it open.

A powerful sense of distortion immediately struck him. Bai Chen felt dizzy, and when he came back to his senses, he had arrived in another new space.

Looking back, the wooden door he had entered through had already turned into a streak of white light and vanished. Clearly, it would not appear again until the twelve hours had ended.

The corners of Bai Chen's lips lifted slightly. He had guessed correctly—Zang Xin had brought him to this special space.

In the original Douluo III story, Tang Wulin had also come to this space. The greatest difference between this artificial space created by the Tang Sect and artificial spaces like the Spirit Ascension Platform was that its construction involved the Time Law.

The ratio of time flow here to the outside world was twelve to one. In other words, cultivating here for twelve hours would only cause one hour to pass outside.

Bai Chen suspected that the Tang Sect had found inspiration in Dragon Valley, which also possessed a difference in time flow. Of course, that was merely a guess; the exact truth was unknown.

However, unlike Dragon Valley, he could not remain here for long. This was not because the Tang Sect was stingy, but because staying in this space for too long carried a certain danger.

If someone remained here continuously, their body would be assimilated by the Time Law of this place. Once that assimilation reached a certain degree, their body's structure would undergo abnormalities.

At that point, even if they returned to the outside world, their rate of time flow would not return to normal.

Put simply, they would age twelve times faster.

Therefore, after leaving this place each time, they had to wait another week before entering again.

However, this rule might not apply so readily to Bai Chen.

"..."

Bai Chen silently raised his hand, and a mass of invisible energy emerged in his palm.

From the moment he entered this space, he had felt the Time Force within his body become more active than ever before.

Every Soul Master had a sacred place suited to their cultivation, and cultivating in such places would greatly increase their speed.

For example, plant-type Soul Masters were more suited to cultivating in forests, while fire-attribute Soul Masters could achieve twice the results with half the effort by cultivating beside volcanoes.

This was mainly because different environments contained different quantities of elements. As Bai Chen understood it, when this Soul Battle Hall space had been built, this principle had been taken into consideration. The Tang Sect had specifically established cultivation areas suited to Soul Masters of different attributes.

Time Secret Realm

Sure enough, after walking forward a few steps, Bai Chen saw signs reading "Plant-Type Soul Master Cultivation Room," "Fire-Attribute Soul Master Cultivation Room," "Light-Attribute Soul Master Cultivation Room," and so on.

However, none of these cultivation rooms were where Bai Chen intended to go.

At most, these cultivation rooms had a higher concentration of related elements in the air. For Bai Chen, who could not cultivate normally through meditation, they held no meaning whatsoever.

What concerned him more was what the activity of the Time Force within his body meant.

When he devoured Soul Beasts in the Spirit Ascension Platform, Bai Chen had been able to feel his understanding of the related attributes improving.

That feeling was difficult to describe with words, but in any case, it was definitely a good thing.

Within this space, he experienced a similar sensation, except the attribute whose comprehension was improving had changed to time.

As long as he remained in this space, Bai Chen's understanding of the time attribute could slowly improve.

Moreover, he did not know whether it was an illusion, but the time elements in the air seemed to be entering his body.

If, as Zang Xin had said, the reason people could not remain here for long was the erosion of the Time Law, then perhaps he could resist it to some extent?

Bai Chen narrowed his eyes and stopped before a room.

Whether that guess was correct or not would have to wait until after he left to be confirmed.

For now, he should focus on business first.

With that thought, Bai Chen pushed open the door labeled "Forging Room."

Since he did not wish to choose a specialized cultivation room, the only rooms suitable for Bai Chen were those used to learn technical skills.

As a blacksmith, he naturally would not choose anything other than the Forging Room.

Soon, the clanging sounds of metal filled the Forging Room.

When twelve hours had passed, white light gathered before Bai Chen and formed the shape of a door.

Bai Chen wiped away his sweat, put away his forging hammers, and left the space.

"You're out. How did it feel?"

"Senior..." Bai Chen frowned and asked, "Is this space related to the time attribute?"

"Oh?" A trace of surprise flashed through Zang Xin's eyes. "Why do you say that?"