A Living Martial Soul

A faint emerald sheen had appeared along the blade of his Dart Blade Martial Soul.

Life force flowed along its edge, and every slight tremor sent flecks of green light drifting into the air.

The flame of the Nine-Turn Soul-Guiding Lamp had changed from deep blue to interwoven blue and green. As it flickered, the aura of life spread around it.

The quality of his Martial Souls had improved dramatically.

Both had gained a life attribute.

After three days and three nights,

Lin Chen had finally finished absorbing it.

His Soul Power, however, had barely risen.

It had stopped at level forty-four.

Everything else had gone into nourishing his two Martial Souls.

The life essence of the Gold of Life and the remaining Soul Power from the Golden Hawksbill Turtle King's sacrifice had almost entirely poured into them.

His two Martial Souls had undergone an epic transformation.

It would not be an exaggeration to call them divine-grade Martial Souls now.

Apart from the skills he had redeemed,

every Soul Skill he had gained by absorbing Soul Rings had changed.

His first, second, third, and even newly acquired fourth Soul Skills had all transformed under the infusion of the life attribute. Their power had soared, and each now carried incredible effects born of life force.

But that was not his greatest gain.

His greatest gain was that both Martial Souls had developed Martial Soul Spirits.

Not Soul Spirits.

The sacrifice of the Gold of Life had endowed his Martial Souls with life in its purest form.

They had gained their own consciousness and life. They had come alive.

Two tool Martial Souls had come alive.

It defied all reason.

Tool Martial Souls were inanimate things: a blade and a lamp, without life or consciousness.

Yet now, they were alive.

Lin Chen thought of External Beast Martial Souls.

That, in turn, made him think of Gangzi.

That peerless genius who had broken through from level twenty-nine to level fifty—his greatest achievement had been producing a god.

External Beast Martial Souls already had life and could leave the body to fight. Tool Martial Souls were different.

For a tool Martial Soul to come alive and gain its own consciousness was unheard of in the entire history of Douluo Continent.

Lin Chen summoned both his Martial Souls.

The Dart Blade and the Nine-Turn Soul-Guiding Lamp.

Black light flashed, and a pitch-black Dart Blade hovered beside his right hand. An emerald sheen of life flowed across it, and the blade trembled softly with a faint hum.

Blue light appeared, and an ancient-looking soul lamp hovered beside his left hand. Its flame wove blue and green together, spreading an aura of life as it flickered.

The moment they appeared, both Martial Souls began conveying their delight and longing to Lin Chen.

The Dart Blade tilted slightly, pointing its tip downward as it rubbed against his hand like an affectionate cat.

The Soul-Guiding Lamp's flame danced more merrily, and the lamp turned slightly as it drew closer to him.

They wanted him to touch them.

Lin Chen obliged at once.

He reached out with his right hand and gently stroked the hilt.

The instant his fingertips touched it, warmth met his skin, as though he were touching a living creature. The Dart Blade shuddered, then gave a pleased little hum.

Lin Chen rested his left hand against the soul lamp.

It felt as smooth and warm as jade. Its flame danced against his fingertips without burning him, carrying a trace of warmth instead.

After Lin Chen touched them, both Martial Souls began to sway.

The Dart Blade darted up and down, frolicking.

The Soul-Guiding Lamp circled above Lin Chen's head, its flickering flame betraying its delight.

Unbeatable.

Lin Chen immediately thought of the remaining Gold of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest.

If I absorb all of it, what will my Martial Souls evolve into?

Could they even take human form?

Now that would be interesting.

But for now, it was only a thought.

He could return to the Star Dou Great Forest for it once he was strong enough.

Right now, he had no confidence he could defeat the Silver Dragon King.

That being of astonishing wisdom.

She might be foolish, but her strength was genuinely divine-grade.

He did not think his clone could beat the Silver Dragon King at full strength.

Better to play it safe.

Lin Chen gathered his thoughts and looked at Madara Uchiha beside him.

"Who were you fighting just now?"

Lin Chen asked curiously.

"A dragon."

Madara Uchiha folded his arms and spoke evenly.

"He said he was Beast God Di Tian. He could barely dance before me, but that was all. I beat him to a pulp. I could have slain the dragon."

"But a powerful woman rescued him."

"I pursued them and ran into a group of strange people. They were all strong."

"Strong?"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

"What stood out about them?"

Madara Uchiha had given him a lot to process. Lin Chen needed to take it piece by piece.

First, Beast God Di Tian had actually been drawn here.

The Gold of Life must have lured him over.

The Silver Dragon King had come too, to rescue him.

And Di Tian had actually lost to Madara Uchiha.

Lin Chen knew a body created by Impure World Reincarnation was strong, but he had not expected it to be that strong.

"One of them used a spear. She was a woman, and there were several others with considerable strength,"

Madara Uchiha continued.

"Their Martial Souls were all weapons. They didn't seem like people from this world. I could sense they were like me, capable of unleashing terrifying power. Their strength might even rival mine."

Hearing that, Lin Chen understood.

Madara must have run into people from the King's Escort Agency.

Fortunately, they had not fought.

Otherwise, watching his own people fight each other would have been quite a spectacle.

With his thoughts in order, he turned his attention to Tang Ya, who remained subdued.

Tang Ya still lay bound by Truth-Seeking Orbs amid the ruins. Her eyes were shut tight, her brow furrowed, and her body twitched from time to time.

Nine Blue Silver vines hung limply behind her. Their dragon heads drooped as well, with none of their earlier ferocity.

Lin Chen frowned at once. Tang Ya was in terrible shape.

The soul lamp had gone out.

The flame he had left in her sea of consciousness had been completely devoured by her berserk, corrupted mind.

Without him, Tang Ya would certainly die. She had absorbed Di Tian's dragon blood without her body bursting apart. That was incredible.

Tang Ya defies all reason too.

Lin Chen immediately released the Nine-Turn Soul-Guiding Lamp.

The blue-green soul lamp hovered above Tang Ya's head. Its flame flickered, and fist-sized sparks separated from it.

One, two, three...

Carrying a gentle aura of life, the sparks entered through the spot between Tang Ya's brows and slipped into her sea of consciousness.

The moment they entered, churning black and bloody miasma rose within her sea of consciousness and surged toward them like raging waves, seeking to swallow them whole.

The sparks neither dodged nor retreated. Blue-green light bloomed, and wherever it passed, the black and bloody miasma hissed as it was purified and soothed.

One spark was not enough.

Two were not enough.

Lin Chen kept releasing sparks, sending them into Tang Ya's sea of consciousness one after another.

It took a full nine sparks to suppress the churning miasma and restore clarity to Tang Ya's sea of consciousness.

Tang Ya stopped twitching. Her furrowed brow slowly relaxed, and her breathing steadied.

Nine sparks.

It had taken nine whole sparks to bring Tang Ya back to her senses.

It seemed Tang Ya would be a considerable burden from now on.

She would need nine sparks each week to remain calm.

Lin Chen wanted to see just how far gone she was—and how much stronger she had become.