God-Tier Immobility Technique!

Wukong opened his eyes, delight filling them.

"This Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid is incredible."

Although part of the immortal herb's energy had been drawn away to condense a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring,

the majority of its remaining energy had still allowed Wukong, who had only been level twenty-one, to jump five levels in a row.

After all, Oscar had taken it at level thirty-eight in the original story.

The energy needed to rise five levels as a three-ringed Soul Master was far greater than that needed as a two-ringed one.

So after condensing his Soul Ring, Wukong had still had surplus energy left to increase his level.

He was already extremely satisfied with that.

And that was not all.

After consuming the immortal herb, Wukong's physique had been nourished and strengthened once more.

He sensed it carefully.

The actual age of his second Soul Ring was three thousand years greater than he had initially expected.

It had reached a terrifying fifteen thousand years!

Wukong eagerly examined the effects of his second Soul Ring's Soul Skill.

[Second Soul Skill: Immobility Technique]

[Effect: Against those stronger than the user, absolute control for three seconds against anyone below God Rank. One additional second is added for every ten levels of difference. Against those weaker than the user, the duration of immobilization depends on Soul Power consumption. During immobilization, the opponent's Soul Power can be drained to replenish the user, with the replenishment effect depending on the gap in cultivation.]

"Holy shit, this skill is powerful!"

This was practically a rule-based divine skill.

It could forcibly control an enemy, drain mana and restore health, and it even had growth potential.

"Even if Qian Daoliu stood before me, I could forcibly immobilize him for three seconds!"

Three seconds were enough for someone to die several times over in a battle between top experts.

"As expected of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Skill from my second ring. Its effects are stronger than Old Sun's original version!"

The Immobility Technique he had painstakingly developed himself in the past not only consumed an enormous amount of energy,

but also had poor effects against opponents stronger than him.

Now that it had become a true Soul Skill, it directly possessed rule-based properties.

This Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring had been more than worth condensing.

Wukong looked at Cai Lin beside him.

He immediately felt eager to try out his new Soul Skill.

"Cai Lin, stand still. Let me test a skill."

Cai Lin obediently nodded.

Wukong raised his hand and pointed at Cai Lin.

The black second Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

"Freeze."

An invisible force of rules instantly descended upon Cai Lin.

Cai Lin immediately became unable to move.

She was completely confined within the space around her.

Wukong carefully sensed the consumption of Soul Power within his body.

"The Soul Power consumption is still pretty high."

"Probably because Cai Lin's cultivation is far above mine."

Cai Lin currently possessed seventy thousand years of cultivation, equivalent to a human Soul Saint.

Naturally, absolute control across so many levels came at no small cost.

"And the replenished Soul Power isn't much either."

"Only one-tenth of the Soul Power I spent using the Immobility Technique."

Wukong calculated silently.

It seemed that the effect of draining Soul Power to replenish himself was mainly meant for opponents at his level or weaker.

Against powerful opponents, the main value lay in that duration of absolute control.

Three seconds passed.

A sound came from Cai Lin's body.

The force of rules dissipated.

Cai Lin regained the ability to move.

"Not bad. I didn't scare you, did I?"

Wukong smiled and patted Cai Lin's head, both soothing and rewarding her.

"SSS—"

Cai Lin rubbed her head against Wukong's palm to show that she was fine.

After all, she had experienced this Soul Skill back when Wukong had still been a Soul Beast.

So she was not particularly surprised.

By the time Wukong returned to the inn, evening had fallen, and it was time for dinner.

"Grrr—"

Wukong's stomach rumbled again, betraying him.

He had spent the past few days focused on cultivation, only eating enough to get by.

Now that his great undertaking was complete, he had to reward himself properly.

Wukong rolled out of bed, ran into the corridor, and called for the waiter.

"Waiter! Waiter!"

Hearing the commotion, the waiter hurried over at once.

"Young master, what is it?"

"I'm hungry. Make me something tasty."

"Certainly. What would you like to eat today?"

Wukong cleared his throat and listed a long string of dishes.

"Get me a whole roast lamb, with plenty of cumin and chili powder. Roast it crisp on the outside and tender within."

"Then bring me a braised pork knuckle, the kind stewed until it's soft enough to fall right off the bone."

"Two beggar's chickens too. Crack open the clay shells and serve them just like that."

"Lastly, slice twenty jin of fresh raw beef into large chunks and put it in a big basin."

The waiter was dumbfounded by the order and hurriedly wrote down the dishes.

"Certainly! Please rest in your room. The food will be here shortly!"

Before long, the waiter delivered the meal.

The table was piled high with dishes, their fragrance filling the room.

Wukong opened his Hundred Treasures Pouch and did not forget to feed Cai Lin.

One man and one snake ate to their hearts' content.

After eating and drinking his fill, Wukong let out a satisfied burp.

He had the waiter clear away the leftovers while he lay on the bed to digest.

But as he digested, he gradually fell asleep...

The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

Wukong unusually slept in.

After waking up and having a simple meal, he began considering his next move.

"I'm already level twenty-six, but my Fortune is still only at the level of a Soul Elder."

"My cultivation is rising far faster than my Fortune can absorb..."

"If this continues, once I break through to Soul Elder, my cultivation will hit a bottleneck."

"That isn't good news."

Wukong activated his Truth-Breaking Golden Eyes and inspected his current Fortune.

He saw a purple pillar of Fortune floating there.

Its color was faint, and it was even somewhat thin.

Wukong could not help sighing.

"Relying on myself to slowly absorb the surrounding Fortune is simply too slow."

"But if I actively devour other people's Fortune, the karmic backlash will be extremely severe."

"My strength is still weak. I only want to keep my head down and cultivate, not invite trouble."

As he spoke, Wukong's gaze became resolute. He took a manuscript from his Hundred Treasures Pouch.

"So the most urgent matter is to publish God Realm Legend as soon as possible."

"As long as I make a name for myself, I can harvest a huge amount of faith-based Fortune."

"The Fortune I create myself should not bring much karmic backlash either..."

However, publishing the book still carried risks.

The book described the origins of martial souls and Soul Rings, and it even involved gods.

It would definitely attract the attention and investigation of those major powers.

If they followed the trail back to him, it would be troublesome no matter what.

Wukong stroked his chin and began considering an escape route.

"It will take time for the book to spread and gain traction."

"I can use that time to observe the market response."

"If the market response is remarkable and it causes a huge sensation,"

"then I'll immediately grab my things and run, moving to another city to keep living."

"If it flops and nobody reads it,"

"then I'll pretend I never wrote it, use another pen name, and write a new book."

This plan allowed him to advance or retreat as needed.

There would be absolutely no cause for concern.

At that thought,

Wukong could not help smiling confidently again.

"Besides, with Old Sun's current physique and these unfathomable Soul Skills,"

"if I unleash five times my strength at the gold level, combined with the power of the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Staff,"

"then even against a Soul Ancestor-level opponent, Old Sun can put up a fight!"

"As for anyone below Soul Ancestor, I'll slaughter them with ease!"

"Even if I encounter a powerful enemy I can't defeat, Cai Lin is still here."

"Cai Lin is a genuine Seventy-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, with combat strength comparable to a human Soul Saint!"

"As long as a Soul Douluo or Titled Douluo doesn't personally come after me, Old Sun can walk sideways around this place!"