World Permission

Before absorbing the Soul Rings, Li Chen took a 900,000-year Left Arm Soul Bone and Right Arm Soul Bone out of the Transmutation Table. Both had been contributed by Da Ming and Er Ming.

Their ages had not originally been that high, but the Transmutation Table had its own ways. He sat cross-legged and began by absorbing the two Soul Bones.

The most obvious effect of absorbing the Soul Bones was a massive improvement in his physical attributes. The Left Arm Soul Bone had two Soul Skills: Berserk and Healing.

Berserk increased attack power by 425% for one minute, while Healing immediately restored 335% of maximum health.

The Right Arm Soul Bone's two Soul Skills were Heavy Strike and Demon Hunt.

Heavy Strike delivered a punch with five times his strength in an instant, while Demon Hunt dealt triple damage with a single punch, or fifteen times the damage if the target was not human.

There was nothing special about these Soul Bone skills. They were all raw numbers.

Li Chen then transmuted nine 900,000-year Soul Rings and summoned his Second Martial Soul, the Book of Knowledge.

As he crushed the first Soul Ring Crystal, he closed his eyes and began absorbing it. As long as his physical attributes were sufficient, absorbing the Soul Rings from Soul Ring Crystals was quite easy.

Absorbing the first Soul Ring raised him to level 92, and absorbing the second raised him to level 93... By the time he absorbed the ninth Soul Ring, his level had shot straight up to 99.

The instant he reached level 99, he was pulled into a special space.

"Outsider, I never expected you to reach level 99 so quickly. Are you ready to accept my permission?" A childish voice came from every direction.

Li Chen looked around but saw no one.

The voice spoke again. "Don't bother looking for me. As the World Will, I have no actual body."

Li Chen fell silent for a moment, quietly activated Creative Mode, then asked, "What should I do?"

"Summon your Martial Soul and place it on the ground," the voice said, then added, "That block Martial Soul you used at the beginning."

He did as instructed. Then the space collapsed, turning into streams of blue light that flowed into the Command Block.

[Ding! Host successfully obtained world permission! Current permission level: 2]

[Ding! Player status panel updated! World management panel added!]

"Are you really the World Will? Your permission level is so low." Li Chen did not even know how to begin roasting the World Will.

"Outsider, all the remaining permission lies within the Divine Realm," the World Will said from inside the Command Block.

Taking the view that something was better than nothing, Li Chen first examined the system's newly added world management panel.

[World Manager (permission level 2)]

[World name]: Douluo Star

[World level]: Level 2 (60%)

[Level cap]: Level 99

[World rules]:

1. Soul Rings: Upon death, Soul Beasts drop Soul Rings of an age equal to their own (set by administrator: Divine Realm Core)

2. Heavenly Tribulation: When a Soul Beast reaches 100,000 years of age, and for every additional 100,000 years thereafter, a destructive Lightning Tribulation descends (set by administrator: Divine Realm Core)

3. Level lock: Soul Masters must obtain a Soul Ring every ten levels to advance (set by administrator: Divine Realm Core)

4. Ascension: Soul Masters above level 99 must ascend to the Divine Realm (set by administrator: Divine Realm Core)

[Fortune management]:

Tang San: 60% (Abnormal!!!)

Qian Renxue: 30% (Abnormal!!!)

[Administrator list]:

Level 4 permission: None

Level 3 permission: None

Level 2 permission: Li Chen, Divine Realm Core

Level 1 permission: Sea God, Angel God (disconnected)

--

After reading it, Li Chen did not know where to begin roasting it. All the rules had been set by the Divine Realm, and the World Will had even lower permission than the Divine Realm.

His permission was insufficient to change the rules the Divine Realm had set. He could not even adjust Tang San's and Qian Renxue's fortune back.

"Why is the world's level cap only 99?"

"After the Sea God and Angel God came into being, they gave back to the world and ascended to the Divine Realm. The Divine Realm reclaimed all of that portion of the world's essence. There is no longer enough essence to nurture anyone to level 100. That can only be achieved through a divine position from the Divine Realm."

After studying it for a while, he discovered that the World Will's permission actually granted only a global view, with its level tied to the world's level cap.

But the World Will's permission being useless did not mean his Command Block was useless. Within Douluo Star, his Command Block could now make all Soul Skill durations permanent, and he could freely toggle them on and off.

Back in his room, he took dozens of different items out of the Creative Inventory. Creative Mode remained unaffected.

"This is like playing a cracked version!" Yet Li Chen was not excited, because ever since he had obtained the Transmutation Table, he had essentially had unlimited resources anyway.

"Hey, is there any other way to reach level 100?"

"There is one way, and only one: raise the world's level." As the World Consciousness spoke, it even sounded a little like a child whose scheme had succeeded. "Also, you're now bound to this world."

Li Chen was not angry. After all, he had guessed this long ago. Despite knowing he was an outsider, the World Will had voluntarily given him its permission.

Considering how the World Will later had its own body seized instead, it either wanted to rely on him to survive or wanted to bind him to it.

"How do I raise it?"

"It's simple. First, the easiest method is to devour other worlds. Second, complete the world's development and open up new dimensions. Third, colonize and assimilate other worlds. Fourth, support more living consciousnesses. Oh, and those creatures you summon don't have real consciousnesses."

Li Chen listened carefully. Devouring, colonizing, and assimilating worlds were beyond him for now, but opening up new dimensions-wasn't that a happy coincidence? He could make use of the Nether, as well as The End and the Sky Realm.

He checked the progress of Wine Fox's party. They still needed some time to reach Heaven Dou City.

He could first study how to incorporate the Nether, then modify it into an underworld and establish reincarnation. That way, more and more living beings could be born.

Closing the system interface, Li Chen took out obsidian and the Flint and Steel and built a portal right inside his office. Once it was finished, he sold all the leftovers to the Transmutation Table.

On his second visit to the Nether, everything remained unchanged. This time, he entered with permission, but he had no idea how to fully merge the Nether into the Overworld.

"Hey, do you know how to do this?" It was his first day on the job. If he did not understand something, he would ask the World Will.

"First, my name isn't Hey." The World Will seemed displeased with that form of address. "Second, I don't know."

"Do you even have a name? If you don't, what else can I call you but Hey?" Li Chen replied. Since the World Will was unreliable, he could only experiment himself.

There was not a single creature in the Nether, so in theory, it belonged to no one. He first took out some items related to the Nether-Nether Stars.

The moment he took out a Nether Star, he sensed a reaction, but it was unstable. He immediately switched to a Beacon and built a maximum-level netherite base.