Spatial Soul Skill, Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire

Time trickled by.

Standing guard nearby, Dugu Bo saw little sign of pain on Ye Han's face, and wonder once again rose in his eyes.

Although he had expected Ye Han to absorb this Soul Ring without any major mishaps, such composure still exceeded his expectations.

Two hours passed.

The violently fluctuating Soul Power around Ye Han gradually subsided and stabilized completely.

He slowly opened his eyes, a glimmer of delight flashing through them.

He focused his mind on the Fire Qilin, and an attribute panel slowly appeared in his vision:

[Martial Soul: Fire Qilin]

[Fused Heavenly Flames: Green lotus core flame, fallen heart flame, three thousand burning flame, nine dragon thunder gang fire]

[Soul Power: Lv41]

[Mastered Soul Skills: ...Qilin Step, Qilin Claw, Qilin's Breath, Spatial Prison...]

Ye Han carefully read the new Soul Skill's description on the panel, ecstasy swelling in his heart.

Just as he had hoped, the Fire Qilin had obtained a spatial Soul Skill from the Sky-Splitting Wyvern's Soul Ring. It had even been formed from the wyvern's strongest spatial talent.

Once Spatial Prison was activated, the Fire Qilin could teleport continuously within its domain without restriction.

Even without activating Spatial Prison, the Fire Qilin could still teleport independently, though this method came with a cooldown.

What surprised Ye Han most was that, within Spatial Prison's domain, even he, its host, could enjoy unlimited teleportation!

Teleporting himself would consume considerably more Soul Power than having the Fire Qilin do it, but it undoubtedly gave him an extraordinarily powerful life-saving trump card!

"And this fourth heavenly flame... it can transform into nine fire dragons. By fusing it with the other heavenly flames, I'll be able to unleash a three-color heavenly flame!"

Ye Han clenched his fists.

In truth, this was his strongest trump card.

However, he could not expose his heavenly flames carelessly, and fusing them was no simple matter. At present, he could only reliably fuse two colors; three would be a strain. As for four... he was merely a Soul Elder right now and did not dare attempt it.

"How do you feel? What's your fourth Soul Skill?"

Seeing Ye Han open his eyes, Dugu Bo immediately asked.

Some embarrassment still lingered on his face over his failure to subdue the enemy with a single strike, but curiosity dominated his gaze. "That wyvern's cultivation wasn't top-notch, but it was a slippery little beast, terribly difficult to deal with. Without overwhelming it through superior cultivation, taking it down wouldn't have been easy. I imagine it gave you a fine-quality Soul Skill?"

Ye Han nodded slightly, a smile rising on his face. "You're right, Senior. It's an exceptional Soul Skill. How about having the Fire Qilin demonstrate it?"

"Oh? Let me have a look!" Dugu Bo's interest immediately perked up.

With a thought, Ye Han sent a command to the Fire Qilin.

The Fire Qilin let out a low cry, and its newly acquired black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring suddenly lit up!

An invisible spatial ripple spread outward from its body, enveloping an area over a hundred meters across in an instant.

Spatial Prison, activate!

The next instant, the Fire Qilin vanished into thin air. When it reappeared, it was already just ahead of Dugu Bo, off to one side.

Its claws gleamed coldly with a metallic sheen as they swiped straight down at him!

"Heh, little fellow, trying a sneak attack?"

Dugu Bo teased it, but his reactions as a Titled Douluo were lightning-fast.

Without even using a Soul Skill, he casually raised a hand and firmly blocked the Qilin Claw. A slight shake dispersed the Fire Qilin's force and pushed it aside.

He controlled his strength perfectly, leaving the Fire Qilin entirely unharmed.

The instant the Fire Qilin drew Dugu Bo's attention, silver light flashed in Ye Han's eyes, and his own figure abruptly vanished.

Almost simultaneously, he appeared behind Dugu Bo, gathered his surging blood energy into his right fist, and punched straight toward the center of Dugu Bo's back!

"Hmm?"

As though he had eyes in the back of his head, Dugu Bo lightly swept his other hand backward without turning around.

An invisible surge of force rolled out, effortlessly neutralizing Ye Han's punch and sending him staggering several steps back.

The gap between their cultivation levels was simply too vast. To Dugu Bo's senses, every movement Ye Han made and every fluctuation of his Soul Power stood out like a lamp in the dead of night.

Yet unmistakable surprise still appeared on Dugu Bo's face. He turned toward Ye Han. "You brat... was that teleportation just now? Not only can your Martial Soul teleport, but you can too?"

The Fire Qilin withdrew its Soul Skill, and Spatial Prison's domain effect slowly dissipated.

Ye Han nodded with a smile.

"That's right. It's an additional effect of the Fire Qilin's fourth Soul Skill. As long as I'm inside the Spatial Prison it creates, I can teleport too."

Dugu Bo could not help exclaiming repeatedly, "Impressive, truly impressive! Ye Han, could this be another domain-type Soul Skill like your third one?"

Ye Han shook his head gently. "It's a similar type, but like Blazing Sun, it only counts as a pseudo-domain, not a true domain."

He paused briefly before continuing, "And as far as I know, aside from a few exceptions, only hundred-thousand-year soul beasts reliably produce true domain Soul Skills."

At this, Ye Han sighed inwardly.

Had this Sky-Splitting Wyvern possessed a hundred thousand years of cultivation, the Fire Qilin would probably have obtained the more powerful Space Lock Domain rather than Spatial Prison.

But the thought only flickered through his mind.

If the Sky-Splitting Wyvern really had reached the hundred-thousand-year level, he and Dugu Bo would have been the ones turning tail and fleeing for their lives.

Although he had only obtained a pseudo-domain rather than a genuine domain, Ye Han still harbored some anticipation.

As he recalled, there were quite a few ways to increase a Soul Ring's age in this era.

One was the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, whose body contained vast amounts of origin energy. He did not know whether Di Tian and the others were still holding him captive at this moment, drawing out that energy.

Another was divine trials!

He remembered that in another timeline, one of the rewards from the Sea God Nine Trials Tang San underwent had increased the ages of all his Soul Rings by fifty thousand years at once. How astounding!

At that thought, Ye Han's expression grew slightly solemn.

His own traits and those of the Fire Qilin were not particularly compatible with the Sea God's divine position.

But that did not mean he could not follow the example of the other Shrek members in that timeline and participate in the Sea God Trial.

Setting all the other rewards aside, the God-Given Soul Ring alone was enough to make his heart race.

For him, a God-Given Soul Ring was practically equivalent to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring perfectly matched to his body martial soul.

It could spare him enormous amounts of time and effort searching for a suitable Soul Beast.

Moreover, the Sea God Inheritance was currently the path to godhood for which he had the clearest leads and the greatest chance of reaching.

All he needed was that crucial token—the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.

That would be tantamount to knocking open the gates of the Sea God Nine Trials!

On the return journey, Ye Han felt faintly disheartened.

He had successfully absorbed a genuine Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, yet his Soul Power had not increased as much as he had expected.

By his own estimation, his Soul Power had risen only about a level and a half, advancing from the level-forty bottleneck to midway through level forty-one.

Unlike his first three Soul Rings, each of which had reliably raised him by two levels.

"It seems increasing Soul Power really does get much harder after reaching level forty."

Ye Han murmured to himself.

He could not help recalling Tang San's experiences absorbing Soul Rings beyond his level.

Tang San had likewise absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as his fourth ring, yet his Soul Power had only reached level forty-one afterward.

Only later, when Xiao Wu sacrificed herself to give him a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring as his Sixth Soul Ring, had his Soul Power soared by five or six levels in one go.

At this thought, Ye Han shook his head gently.

He did not have a Xiao Wu to sacrifice herself for him. That path was bound to be a dead end.

Meanwhile.

At Spirit Hall.

Inside the papal hall.

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan stood below with his body bowed, quietly reporting to Bibi Dong, who sat upon the papal throne.

"Your Holiness, I have just discovered that She Long secretly returned to headquarters some days ago and retrieved the file of a Soul Master named Ye Han."

On the throne, Bibi Dong held her scepter, her expression calm and unruffled.

At the name "Ye Han," her indifferent expression shifted slightly.

"Ye Han? Bring me the file She Long consulted."

"Yes." Yue Guan immediately stepped forward and handed her a copy of the file.

Bibi Dong raised a hand and quickly leafed through it.

But as she examined the outdated file in her hand, her slender brows drew together slightly.

"These records are still from several years ago?" A chill entered her voice. "His Soul Power is only recorded up to level seventeen. Where is the subsequent information?"

Yue Guan hurriedly bowed and replied, "Your Holiness, the information in a Soul Master's register is only transmitted back to headquarters when they visit a Spirit Hall branch to collect their stipend."

"This record was only updated during the first month or two when Ye Han collected his stipend in Heaven Dou City. Ever since then... he has never applied for a stipend at any Spirit Hall branch again. Thus, the information in headquarters' database has remained at that point."

Bibi Dong tapped her fingertips against her scepter, producing crisp clicking sounds.

Heaven Dou City?

Snake Lance Douluo She Long made a special trip back to headquarters to retrieve a low-ranking Soul Master's old file from years ago?

A glimmer of understanding crossed her eyes.

She Long was Qian Renxue's personal guard to begin with. To a great extent, his actions represented Qian Renxue's intentions.

"It seems she has taken an interest in this boy." Neither joy nor anger could be discerned in Bibi Dong's voice.

Standing below, Yue Guan looked somewhat troubled and did not dare casually respond.

This involved the tangled relationship between His Holiness the Pope and Spirit Hall's young mistress. As a subordinate, he ought not say much, nor did he have any room to interject.

Only after a moment did Yue Guan cautiously ask, "Your Holiness, would you like me to go to Heaven Dou City personally and secretly investigate Ye Han's current circumstances?"

Hearing this, Bibi Dong lightly waved her hand, her tone as indifferent as ever.

"No need."

She casually tossed the file aside. "Since she already has her eyes on him, there's no need for me to interfere."

Looking toward the depths of the hall, she slowly said, "She is her own person, and I am mine. Whatever she wishes to do is her choice. As for me, keeping my Spirit Hall secure is enough!"

Yue Guan remained silent for a moment, then bowed deeply.

"Yes, I understand."