At the End of the Star River, a Terrifying Hall

The Qin Residence.

After dinner, Qin Muchu sat cross-legged on his bed. The aura around him grew slowly with each breath. At last, he opened his eyes. "Whew. Level fifty, finally."

For ordinary Soul Masters, especially control-type Soul Masters, level fifty was a gulf as impassable as the heavens. From the fifth Soul Ring onward, most Soul Masters' rings were black, and the Soul Skills of control-type Soul Masters gained group-control effects. The Golden Generation of Spirit Hall had been at this level during the Continental Elite Tournament.

For Qin Muchu, though, it had come as naturally as water flowing into a channel. He bought another Million-Year Soul Ring from the System Shop. As his account balance dropped almost to zero, a purple-gold Soul Ring appeared in the shop's storage. With a thought, he withdrew it.

In an instant, deep purple-gold light filled the room. The Soul Ring hovered in the air, turning slowly. Its surface shimmered with a gorgeous hue somewhere between amethyst and molten gold, with fine patterns faintly flowing across it.

"I have to say, the effects on these Million-Year Soul Rings get better-looking every time," Qin Muchu remarked. Then he closed his eyes and began absorbing the ring with a thought.

Because of the special nature of Soul Rings provided by the system, he felt not the slightest pressure on his soul, nor any pain in his body. The absorption was exceptionally easy. He sat there, feeling the Soul Power within him climb steadily.

When the last trace of light sank into his body, Qin Muchu opened his eyes. A flash of purple crossed them and vanished. At a thought, five Soul Rings appeared around him: two platinum, one gold, one red, and one purple-gold, all shining brilliantly. He clenched his fist and gauged the Soul Power within him. He was roughly level fifty-five.

Qin Muchu nodded in satisfaction, withdrew his Soul Rings, and examined his fifth Soul Skill.

This time, he had gained two Soul Skills again. Since his fifth Soul Ring had a lightning attribute, both skills naturally carried it. The first was Instant Hell Flash. When used, it compressed violent Soul Power along the edge of the Dancing Shadow Sword into an exceedingly thin, brilliant blade of purple lightning. His body and sword light then surged forward together like a jagged lightning bolt, piercing every enemy in a straight line ahead in an instant, too fast for the naked eye to follow. Anyone near the sword light would also have lightning force invade their meridians, briefly paralyzing them.

The second Soul Skill was Heavenly Punishment Thunder Abyss. With him at its center, the ground within a twenty-meter radius instantly became a boiling purgatory of lightning. Countless violent bolts stabbed upward from beneath the earth, forming a dense forest of lightning. Enemies within the area would be struck continuously and paralyzed. Moving would also expose them to a second burst of damage from the voltage between their steps.

Unlike the pure attack power granted by his third Soul Ring's metal attribute, the Soul Skills of his fifth ring emphasized devastating force, speed, and control. When his first Soul Skill, Ten Thousand Transformations, One Edge, was applied, it would cause paralysis as well.

"Now I've got control, attack, and defense. Pretty much perfect." Qin Muchu flexed his fingers, his knuckles cracking softly, then opened the System Shop to take a look.

As usual, he checked his balance first. It held only a little over a hundred thousand at present, but it was now growing by fifty Gold Soul Coins per second—more than 1.5 billion in a year, nearly 1.6 billion. At last, he no longer had to worry about affording Soul Rings. Soul Bones and other goods could go on his shopping list too.

After returning to the main screen, he selected Mystery Box Opening. Unlike before, there were no fireworks this time. The screen merely flickered, and something resembling a glass marble from his previous life appeared in his hand.

"What is this?" Qin Muchu studied the marble curiously. At its center was a golden character, "Zi." "Last time it gave me a flower I didn't recognize, and now it's a marble. Don't tell me this is useless too?"

He tried pouring his Soul Power into it, but the energy vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea, without the slightest effect. "Does it need blood to recognize its owner?" He forced a drop of blood from his fingertip onto it, but the marble still did not react.

Finally, he steeled himself and sent Mental Power from his Sea of Consciousness toward the marble to probe it.

This time, the marble responded. The golden character "孖" suddenly lit up. Qin Muchu saw a flash of light, then lost consciousness.

He did not know how much time had passed before he slowly opened his eyes. Before him stood a magnificent hall that could not be measured by any mortal scale.

The hall's ceiling hung high above, with no supports in sight, as though some unknown force held the entire structure aloft. Above the ceiling were no sun, moon, or stars, only streams of light in every color that drifted around it as though alive. Each seemed to hold a different attribute: some burned like fire, some were cold as ice, and some were as ethereal as wind... Whatever their nature, each gave Qin Muchu a sense of supreme power. Within every stream of light, countless worlds seemed to be evolving. Yet so many auras intertwined without the slightest discord, forming an indescribable harmony.

Qin Muchu looked down and was shocked to discover that he stood suspended in empty space. There was nothing beneath his feet but a slowly turning river of stars, where billions upon billions of stars flickered in and out. For a moment, he felt as though he stood at the center of the universe.

Whenever he stared too long at either the lights overhead or the star river below, dizziness swept over him. He quickly looked away, even more shaken.

Qin Muchu forced down his shock and studied his surroundings. Soon he realized that apart from the hall ahead, there was nothing around him. He tried stepping back and moving to either side, only to find an invisible wall that left him no choice but to go forward.

With no other option, Qin Muchu advanced. But when he took his first step, he realized in horror that it had carried him across countless worlds. Nothing around him had changed; endless space and the turning star river remained. Yet he was certain he had not imagined it.

"What is this place..." Qin Muchu's voice held a fear he had never known before. In this vast universe, he felt for the first time just how small he was.

He walked forward step by step, unsure how long he had traveled or how far. Just as he felt he might lose himself in the endless void, everything before him vanished. Somehow, he was already inside the hall.

"What a terrifying power. Could any person really achieve this?" Qin Muchu murmured. His voice spread through the hall and returned in countless echoes, as though countless versions of himself were asking one another the same question.

"You're here." At that moment, a faint voice sounded. What kind of voice was it? It seemed like human speech, like birdsong, yet unlike any sound an instrument of this world could make. It was more like the primordial voice of all things, carrying every melody in existence. He could not make it out clearly, yet it was everywhere.

"Who's there?" Qin Muchu cried, his face draining of color. He had not sensed anyone here at all.

"And who are you? Qin Muchu... or Ye Xin?"