Six Years of Transformation: Flender's Shock

At the outermost edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lu Mingzi sat cross-legged on the ground. Dozens of Soul Beast corpses lay around him, their deaths gruesome.

"Deep Blue!"

He called the name silently, and a deep-blue system panel suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[First Soul Skill: 523 years, Void Spirit Slash. Effects: Fire Poison Level 5, Poison Gas Leakage Level 5]

[Upgrade?]

[Second Soul Skill: 1,290 years, Raging Blade Gale. Effect: Raging Fire Level 1]

[Upgrade?]

Upgrade options had appeared beneath both Soul Skills. Lu Mingzi was delighted.

Since the option had appeared for his thousand-year Soul Skill, he certainly wasn't going to choose the hundred-year one.

"The thousand-year Soul Skill can be upgraded now. It'll probably gain a full thousand years at once, so let's do it."

He had no idea how many units it would cost.

Without hesitation, Lu Mingzi selected "Upgrade" beneath his Second Soul Skill.

Hiss!

The deep-blue modifier shuddered violently and vanished. When it reappeared, the information on the panel had changed.

All the Soul Blood he had painstakingly saved was gone. It had consumed ten whole units!!!

[Second Soul Skill: 2,290 years, Unnamed Soul Skill. Effect: Raging Fire Level 2.]

Still, the Soul Skill had jumped straight from 1,290 years to 2,290. Its power had risen by more than a single notch.

Before the upgrade, his Second Soul Skill could charge up and fire roughly five flame blades in one breath. He wondered how many it could fire now.

Soon, Lu Mingzi felt his Soul Power drain away at terrifying speed. A ravenous hunger seized his stomach, and his whole body felt as though it had plunged off a cliff.

Pain racked him from head to toe, leaving him utterly weak.

He collapsed onto the ground without a shred of strength, sprawled there like a dead dog waiting to die.

"Water. Water. I need water."

In a wretched state, Lu Mingzi used every ounce of strength to crawl to a stream and gulp down water.

Once he had quenched his thirst, he felt a little better and went over to the dead Soul Beasts.

He cut off several thick chunks of meat, built a fire, and set them over it to roast.

Before long, the meat was sizzling and dripping fat. He devoured it chunk by chunk, but it still wasn't enough. He simply grabbed a Soul Beast and sank his teeth into it.

"So this is the price of upgrading a thousand-year Soul Ring? Two thousand years must be the limit of this body. If I upgrade it another level, I'll probably burst apart and die."

Lu Mingzi sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused on restoring his depleted Soul Power.

It was deep into the night before he replenished it.

"Killing a four-hundred-year Soul Beast gives me about half a unit of Soul Blood. One around eight hundred years old gives me exactly one unit."

"And a Soul Beast around a thousand years old gives only two units. One upgrade costs me ten."

Lu Mingzi hadn't expected an upgrade to cost several times as many units as a deduction, which was already expensive enough.

Besides, upgrading or deducing a Soul Ring flooded the body with immense energy. If his body was too weak, it could burst apart and kill him on the spot.

If he hadn't been a Demonic Angel—if he'd been something like Blue Silver Grass instead...

He'd have been fucking dead already.

After recovering, he didn't return to Suotuo City. Instead, he stayed in the Star Dou Great Forest to train.

"Why hasn't my Soul Power improved at all?"

Puzzled, Lu Mingzi stared at his hands.

He had added a thousand years to his Second Soul Ring and fought Soul Beasts in grueling battles, yet his Soul Power had inched forward only a little. His progress was painfully slow.

He had Innate Full Soul Power. By rights, he should have trained much faster than most people.

Now he was progressing even more slowly than someone born with Level 1 Soul Power.

Why?

"My Soul Power hasn't improved, but my body seems to have grown much stronger."

Lu Mingzi noticed he had grown considerably taller.

He had shot up from 1.6 meters to 1.8. His once-thin frame had filled out with well-defined muscles.

"Looks like all the energy of heaven and earth I absorbed went into strengthening my body."

That was the conclusion Lu Mingzi reached. He also discovered that eating Soul Beast meat could strengthen his body.

He went over to a Mandala Snake, cut off a small piece of meat, and swallowed it raw.

A warm current immediately flowed through every part of his body.

Then Lu Mingzi's body shook as he transformed into a Demonic Angel. Black markings surfaced on his skin, and black wings grew from his back.

In his Demonic Angel form, he digested the meat with astonishing speed, as though a black hole inside him were devouring every scrap of energy.

"Is this... the power to devour?"

He punched a boulder. The terrifying force blasted it to pieces.

"Not bad. With my body as it is now, I can take on a thousand-year Soul Beast head-on."

Next, he would keep hunting Soul Beasts, gathering units of Soul Blood and strengthening his body.

The stronger his body became, the more powerful a Soul Ring it could withstand.

Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy.

Flender sat in his office, leisurely sipping tea. A twelve-year-old boy stood before him.

"Headmaster, I want to get stronger."

Dai Mubai clenched his fists and hesitated.

"What, finally come to your senses?"

Flender spoke unhurriedly. "Which Soul Grandmaster beat you?"

He had seen Dai Mubai enter the Great Soul Arena that morning, so he had pieced together what had happened.

"He seemed to be my age. Just another boy."

Dai Mubai's fists tightened. Remembering his defeat in the Soul Fighting Arena made anger surge through him.

"And his Soul Power was six levels lower than mine."

"The same age?"

Flender poured himself another cup of tea.

"With your abilities, beating him shouldn't have been hard. Did you underestimate him?"

"Headmaster, honestly, even if I hadn't underestimated him, I might've lost even worse."

Dai Mubai lowered his head until his face was almost buried in the floor.

"His second Soul Ring was a thousand-year one."

Pfft!

"What did you say?!"

Flender spat out every drop of tea in his mouth and stared at Dai Mubai in disbelief.

"His second Soul Ring was a thousand-year one," Dai Mubai repeated.

"Are you sure you saw it right?"

"I'm sure. One yellow ring, one purple."

At that, Flender sprang from his chair and paced around the office for a long while before finally speaking.

"Then I'll train you myself. If you want to beat him, you'll need to give it twelve-tenths of your effort."

Six years passed in the blink of an eye.

One morning, a thunderous blast rang through the Star Dou Great Forest as Lu Mingzi killed a thousand-year Soul Beast.

For the past six years, he had hunted Soul Beasts, increased the ages of his Soul Rings, and strengthened his body.

His First Soul Ring had now reached 999 years—terrifying enough. His Second Soul Ring was even more monstrous: it had climbed straight to 9,003 years, on the verge of becoming a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

His Soul Power was currently Level 32, making him a Power Attack System Soul Elder. His third Soul Ring came from a 5,300-year-old Lord of the Earth.

Though he was only a Soul Elder, he could already crush even top-tier Soul Elders.

He could even go toe-to-toe with a Soul Ancestor. A Soul King would have a hard time keeping him from escaping.

"Twenty units now. Barely enough to upgrade my third Soul Ring twice."

Age had deepened Lu Mingzi's voice. He stood 1.8 meters tall, his body packed with muscle.

He was considerably more handsome than the celebrities of his previous life.

"Deep Blue!"

He called the name silently and opened the deep-blue modifier.

[First Soul Ring: 999 years, Void Spirit Slash. Effects: Fire Poison Level 9, Poison Gas Leakage Level 9]

[Second Soul Ring: 9,003 years, Raging Blade Gale. Effect: Raging Fire Level 9]

Just as he was about to upgrade his third Soul Ring, an unfamiliar voice sounded in his mind.

"Lu Mingzi... you were born for slaughter. With the body of a devil, you shall rule over all."