Second Spirit Ring and Exploiting a Bug

Amon's Main Body had long since recovered cultivation talent equivalent to Innate Full Soul Power. On top of that, he delegated many miscellaneous matters to his clones and focused on meditation himself, so his Soul Power Level rose quickly. He had already reached level thirty.

His second spirit ring came from a two-thousand-year Lying Beast.

Since he could use Worm of Time clones to help Yan Jin share the energy and absorb a spirit ring beyond the limit, he could naturally use the same method to absorb a higher-year spirit ring himself.

Likewise, after its energy was divided up, the spirit ring's age decreased to only around thirteen hundred years.

Lying Beasts were not low-level Soul Beasts like Slimes. They were cunning and dangerous.

In order to hunt this Lying Beast, the Ice Thorn Chamber of Commerce had paid a hefty price. Even Glen had been injured and spent a full week in bed before recovering.

Amon called his Second Soul Skill "Scammer."

It could increase his affinity, making others more likely to believe what he said. It was a subtle mental influence. This was a permanent effect that persisted without needing to activate the Soul Skill.

When actively activated, it could affect the thinking ability of targets within fifty meters, slowing their thoughts. Its effectiveness depended on the difference between his own mental strength and that of the target. If the target's mental strength far surpassed his, the influence would become extremely limited.

Amon's target for his third spirit ring was the Eyeless Snake, a Soul Beast with extremely powerful senses. This type of Soul Beast was not found in the Xilin Mountain Range, so he planned to first enroll in an advanced Soul Master Academy, then head to Sunset Forest to hunt one.

Aside from his Soul Power reaching level thirty, the number of half-complete-soul Time Clones had also reached more than a hundred and fifty.

All of these Amons had reached Soul Power Level twenty!

Their spirit rings did not need to be hunted. Once they reached the required level, spirit rings identical to the Main Body's would automatically form.

The cultivation talent of half-complete-soul Time Clones was equivalent to merely half a level of Innate Soul Power. Under normal circumstances, they could not have cultivated so quickly, but Amon had exploited a Bug.

When he reached level twenty, he tried having a clone draw in the spirit ring produced by a Soul Beast he had hunted.

In theory, Worm of Time clones were also part of his Martial Soul, so they should have been able to absorb spirit rings. However, the clones' spirit rings were automatically generated based on the Main Body, so they could not obtain new spirit rings themselves.

In the end, the clones did not gain the corresponding Soul Skills, but they did absorb the energy contained in the spirit rings, causing their Soul Power Levels to rise rapidly.

After Amon reached level thirty, he made a special trip to the Xilin Mountain Range and slaughtered low-level Soul Beasts in the outer regions. Using this Bug, he raised all his clones to level twenty.

"Ah... this is so boring. When will we get there?"

Yan Jin rubbed her butt. The carriage's shock absorption was terrible; sitting in it for too long was simply a disaster.

"Be patient. It's only been three days. Northland City is several hundred kilometers from Frostleaf City, so we'll have to spend more than ten days on the road," Lei Yin replied.

"Ah?" Yan Jin let out a mournful wail and lay motionless on the cushion like a corpse. "I'm going to die of boredom. Can't we find some way to have fun...?"

"If you're really that bored, I do have a suggestion." Amon adjusted his Monocle, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Hm? Let's hear it."

And so...

Amon kicked Yan Jin and Lei Yin out of the carriage and had them jog behind it, calling it physical training. At last, the carriage interior became quiet again.

The driver was a middle-aged man whose temples were already streaked with white. He had not wanted to take such a long-distance job, since the journey was too far and danger was easy to encounter.

But Amon had offered him a price he could not refuse: fifteen Gold Soul Coins, more money than he could normally earn in an entire year. On top of that, the three of them were willing to follow his advice and take detours for safety, so he accepted the job.

He glanced back at the two people following behind the carriage and shook his head. He could not understand why they would abandon a perfectly good carriage and travel on foot instead.

"Damn it, what kind of bullshit suggestion was this?" Yan Jin complained as she ran.

Lei Yin sighed. "Sister, say less. You were making such a fuss that you angered Mr. Amon."

"Angered? I don't think so. That guy never gets angry." Yan Jin shrugged indifferently. "Even if you put a knife to his throat, he'd still speak to you with a gentle expression... He just has a twisted sense of humor."

Lei Yin thought that anyone would speak nicely with a knife at their throat.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped, and the horse pulling it became somewhat panicked.

More than a dozen black-clad men with their faces covered blocked the road, bright blades in their hands.

The driver looked at them in terror and could not help but regret his decision.

He should have known better than to be greedy for this money. Sure enough, it had not been easy to earn. This time, he would probably lose his life.

The leader of the black-clad men stepped forward, resting his blade on his shoulder as he said viciously:

"Stop the carriage. This is my territory. If you want to pass, leave something behind as tribute..."

He suddenly spotted Yan Jin catching up from behind, and his eyes lit up. "Whoa, there's even a pretty little lady."

"Hehe... he called me a beauty." Yan Jin smiled with unusual delight. "No one's ever praised me like that before."

Lei Yin helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead.

Amon placed a hand on the carriage window, pushed himself up, and flipped from inside the carriage onto the roof. He adjusted his Monocle and sat on the edge of the roof, ready to watch the show.

"Hand over the beauty and all your valuables—"

"Hand over all your money!" Yan Jin said faster than him.

With her hands on her hips, she walked forward and repeated herself to the somewhat stunned bandit leader. "Hand over the money. Since you called me a beauty, I can let you leave."

"Huh? Me?" The bandit leader pointed at himself with a finger. "Hand over money?"

"Why are you yammering and wasting time?" Yan Jin had never been a patient person.

Her fist lit up with red light. The scorching aura raised the surrounding temperature by several degrees, and as the air heated up, its density abruptly changed, making the scenery ahead appear slightly distorted.

Her first spirit ring lit up. Its yellow halo was not dazzling, but it was exceptionally solid.

Great Eruption!

A gigantic fist formed from lava arrived in an instant, swallowing the bandit leader and the two unlucky men behind him.

Clothes, hair, skin, flesh, bones... The terrifying heat incinerated everything they possessed until not even ashes remained.

When Yan Jin withdrew her Martial Soul, the lava vanished. Only the melted ground proved that the horrifying scene just now had not been an illusion.

The driver was both delighted and horrified, and his gaze toward Yan Jin gained a measure of reverence.

He had originally assumed that the three were children from some wealthy family. Amon, who looked like their older brother, might have been a Soul Master, but he could not have been very strong.

He never expected that the girl who had chattered and caused trouble nonstop along the way, and who seemed the most childish of the three, could reveal such a side of herself.

"A... a Soul Master?"

Although the remaining bandit lackeys were so frightened that they could barely hold their blades, they still did not scatter and flee.

Amon noticed that they repeatedly glanced toward a small black-clad figure at the edge. He realized that this might be their true leader.

He did not rush to act, instead watching quietly and waiting for Yan Jin to handle it.