The Overworld, beside the Lake of Life.
Li Chen watched Di Tian, the strongest being beneath the gods, enter to scout the way. He should be able to bring back information about The End.
He just did not know whether returning from The End would bring them back to this portal or to some so-called world spawn point.
"Wait here for them to return, then noti..." Li Chen had meant to tell them to notify him, but he was not sure how long they would take to return.
Technology had yet to develop, and relaying information still relied on manpower. He quickly thought of an alternative.
He took a Villager Spawn Egg and a cartography table out of the Transmutation Table. Once the explorers returned from The End, the Cartographer could teleport him over using a map.
"From now on, your name is Fang Beast. Stay here permanently, and teleport me over when the people exploring The End return."
With that, he left a strand of his Soul Power on Fang Beast's map, then used the Teleportation Stele to return to Origin Village first.
Sky City was nearing completion, and demolition was underway in Origin Village. The two mouse girls were helping out wherever they could.
"Red Heart Two, Red Heart Three, come here for a moment," Li Chen called.
Hearing him, the two mouse girls handed their work over to the nearby Villager and trotted over. Red Heart Three, the elder sister, asked, "Master, what are your orders?"
He nodded inwardly. It seemed Wine Fox had taught them well. He casually picked out two Storage Soul Tools that Da Ming had given him free of charge, placed five stacks of Bottles o' Enchanting and one Enchanted Golden Apple in each, and handed them to the girls.
"Drink all the potions in here. Stop when you reach the level cap and need a Soul Ring."
The silver-haired younger sister was rather timid. Only after seeing her older sister start drinking did she dare follow suit, sipping a little at a time.
After just one tiny sip, her whole face scrunched up. She wanted to spit it out but did not dare.
"If you don't want to go back to living like lambs awaiting slaughter, keep drinking. Finish all of it."
Li Chen watched the two girls. He was not deliberately making things difficult for them by refusing to use his eighth Soul Skill to grant them permission to smash the bottles directly.
Rather, his Eighth Soul Ring was the only one of the Command Block's nine commands that had triggered a warning. He still needed to remain cautious, and if he used it, he would gather everyone eligible together and grant them permission all at once.
After patiently waiting for both girls to drink their way to level 10, he took out two hundred-year Soul Ring Crystals for them. His Martial Soul was the Command Block, so he could not tell whether there were any other differences between Soul Rings dropped by Soul Beasts and those created through the Transmutation Table.
These two girls happened to be suitable test subjects.
The younger sister began absorbing her Soul Ring after her older sister, but finished first. Her Soul Power Level rose by only one level.
"Red Heart Two, what Soul Skill did you get?"
"M-Master, my Soul Skill is called Quick Sense. Its passive effect permanently increases my reaction speed by 50%, and its active effect increases it by another 300%."
Li Chen nodded. For a hundred-year Soul Skill to offer both a permanent passive effect and an active effect, this already qualified as a top-tier Soul Ring.
Then he looked at Red Heart Three, who immediately explained, "Master, my first Soul Skill is called Stockpiling. Its passive effect gives me an extra Soul Power reserve equal to 50% of my Soul Power. Its active effect consumes that reserve to restore Soul Power, and it can also be used on other people."
Another top-tier Soul Skill?
Two hundred-year Soul Rings in a row had yielded top-tier Soul Skills. He was not sure whether this was because the girls were special, retaining some animal traits after a "failed awakening," or because these Soul Rings were special.
"Good. Now both of you keep drinking until you reach level 20."
"W-We still have to drink more?" Red Heart Two was somewhat afraid of these Bottles o' Enchanting. They really were not fit for human consumption.
Li Chen ignored the younger sister's complaints and casually pulled over a pixelated librarian Villager. This Villager probably had a later serial number, as he was still only level 8.
Li Chen gave him a stack of Bottles o' Enchanting and a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, then began patiently waiting for the results.
"Venerable Lord, regardless of which Soul Rings we Villagers absorb, our Soul Skills are fixed. The Soul Ring's age only affects their strength."
Li Chen slapped his forehead. He had actually forgotten about that. It seemed he would have to find suitable candidates at the academy to test this.
Red Heart Two and Red Heart Three then absorbed their second, third, and fourth Soul Rings in succession. All of these Soul Rings had both passive and active effects.
"Try these Soul Bones next." Li Chen used the Transmutation Table to create two thirty-thousand-year Left Arm Soul Bones.
He wanted to know whether Soul Bones from the Transmutation Table had no Soul Skills at all and merely improved physical attributes, or whether they would generate suitable Soul Skills automatically.
Both girls gained the same Soul Bone Skill, "Berserk," which increased their attack power.
"Eat those Enchanted Golden Apples, and you'll be able to cultivate. Work hard at it."
After that, he still needed to return to the academy to confirm whether this effect came from the Soul Rings being perfectly suited to their Martial Souls, or whether it was a special case caused by mutation after their Martial Soul awakenings had failed.
Once he confirmed the situation, he could begin adding Soul Rings to his Second Martial Soul. He already had Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings now.
As for a million-year Soul Beast, that Ice Silkworm was probably the only one on the Whole Continent. Whether it had reached a million years at this point was still unknown.
"Go bring Xiao Chenyu, Liu Long, Ling Feng, and Wang Sheng here."
Before long, these four minor characters from the original story were brought into his office.
"Hello, Headmaster." ×4
"I've called you here for something good. I need people to help test my latest creation, Soul Ring Crystals. I'll raise your levels until you can absorb Soul Rings, then give each of you one Hundred-Year Soul Ring and one Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Tell me their effects after you absorb them."
All four immediately looked delighted. "Thank you for nurturing us, Headmaster."
"All right, let's begin." Li Chen handed out Bottles o' Enchanting to each of them, giving each a Soul Ring Crystal once he reached level 20.
The first to finish absorbing his Soul Ring was Xiao Chenyu, whose Soul Power Level had been the highest to begin with.
"Tell me, what Soul Skill did you get?"
"Headmaster, the Soul Skill I gained is called Wolf Claw Rend. It turns my hands into wolf claws. Any wounds I inflict with them will keep bleeding and cannot heal on their own."
Hearing this answer, Li Chen was now fairly certain that a Soul Ring providing both passive and active skills only occurred in special cases like Red Heart Two and her sister.
The other three then finished absorbing their Soul Rings one after another. All their Soul Skills suited their own Martial Souls. All that remained was to check the Soul Bones.
He likewise took out four Left Arm Soul Bones for them to absorb. Xiao Chenyu, Ling Feng, and Wang Sheng all gained "Berserk."
Only Liu Long gained "Healing" after absorbing his, allowing him to heal his own injuries.
The only difference between them might have been that Liu Long alone had a tool Martial Soul.
He was now fairly certain that the Soul Skills gained from absorbing Soul Bones were fixed according to Martial Soul type and body part.
"The four of you should go back and cultivate diligently. Finishing the remaining Bottles o' Enchanting should be enough to get you to level 40. You'll represent us in the next Soul Master Tournament. I hope I'll still see you in the Inner Court."
With that, he sent the four of them away. It was time to add Soul Rings to his Second Martial Soul.
Before you continue