Transforming into a Soul Spirit

"If nothing unexpected happens, we can draw this rising star back toward Shrek and the Tang Sect. After that, events can follow their normal course to the Qiankun Asking Love Valley. If it succeeds, we can turn her into a boy, letting Xiao Qi return to being a girl. That would take quite a burden off me, and I wouldn't have to explain things to Xiao Wu anymore."

"If it doesn't..."

His words faltered as his thoughts reached that point.

"Perhaps Xiao Qi might enjoy being a boy. But if it really comes to that, Xiao Qi, please spare a thought for your father."

Another three weeks passed like that, with happy events and frustrating ones following one after another.

The happy event was, naturally, that Xiao Xiao's parents had come to the school and spent some time with the three of them. They also told them that their small business had successfully established itself in Mingdu. Whenever they had time off, they could visit them at the shop.

As for the frustrating matter, the two of them had tried for three weeks, but every attempt at their Martial Soul Fusion Skill had ended in failure.

Neither had understood why at first, but as those three weeks slowly passed, they discovered that the problem lay with Lin Mo.

It seemed that Lin Mo's martial soul had not fully awakened, preventing them from unleashing their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. At the same time, however, they learned something else: their Martial Soul Fusion Skill was close to succeeding. They were only a tiny step away.

According to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, in a situation like this, the martial soul would probably awaken at around level thirty.

Because of that, Lin Mo now wished he could break through to three rings immediately. He wanted to see what his martial soul would awaken into.

But wanting was one thing, and doing was another. He had not forgotten his teacher's words, nor did he want a moment's curiosity to leave his strength severely compromised.

Likewise, Ye Guyi had spent four weeks regulating and compressing her soul power. Yet the soul power she had gained this time seemed so immense that even after four weeks, there had been little change.

After Nana formally confirmed that she would join the Spirit Pagoda, Lin Mo gave her the two cultivation methods. She had spent these four weeks continually compressing her soul power.

Sitting cross-legged in his room, meditating to cultivate his spiritual power, Lin Mo opened his eyes.

"When I really think about it, time has been passing both quickly and slowly."

Indeed, in the blink of an eye, a mere year had passed.

Huo Yuyao was now only a little over nine years old. At this point in the original story, she would still have been at the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.

"According to the original timeline, the protagonist left the Duke's Mansion at ten, spent over a year at school, and turned eleven. By the first tournament, she was twelve."

"If I calculate it that way, there are still three years until the first tournament in the story. Three years would probably be enough for us to reach level fifty."

Remembering that Electrolux had once said Huo Yuyao might be able to condense her first soul ring at level fifty made him want to laugh.

Whenever he imagined the other academies facing a Soul Master with a soul core at the tournament, he simply could not keep the corners of his mouth from rising.

"Speaking of which, what exactly will my second martial soul be?"

"This sword definitely has something to do with yin and yang. Could my second martial soul lean toward yin and yang or the five elements too?"

Lately, aside from cultivating, all he did was cultivate-or attend classes. He could now skillfully engrave level-two Soul Guidance Cores, and he was considering whether he should take this opportunity to learn about level-three ones at the library.

"Ah, my spiritual power still feels a little lacking. Wait, speaking of that, Little Yao's spiritual power is ridiculously high now. She seems to be on the verge of reaching the formless and intangible realm."

Just as he brought up spiritual power, Electrolux's voice rang out in his mind.

"Little Mo, call Little Yao over."

"Oh, Teacher, you're finally willing to come out."

For the past month, Electrolux had practically vanished without a trace. After taking them into the Undead Demiplane, he had gone silent.

"Hmph, wasn't it all for you, you little brat?"

"Hehehe, thank you for all your hard work, Teacher."

"All right, enough cheek. Go call her. I've finished updating the Soul Spirit Method. Still, I must say, your ideas were a great help. Without them, I would probably have needed another three months."

"Yes!"

Lin Mo happily prepared to jump off the bed, only to suddenly realize something.

Watching Lin Mo pause just as he was about to jump, Electrolux asked in puzzlement.

"What is it?"

"I just remembered that Little Yao and I have a mental link. Doesn't that mean I could call her through my Sea of Consciousness?"

It was a novel idea that had never occurred to Electrolux. In his eyes, the two were practically inseparable and rarely spent any time apart, so he had never considered that possibility.

"Perhaps. You can give it a try."

With that thought, Lin Mo flashed into his Sea of Consciousness and gently pressed his hand against the door, which gave off no energy fluctuations.

The next instant, ripples spread across the previously empty surface of the door.

"Little Yao, Little Yao, can you hear me? Come to my room. I have something important to discuss with you all."

The sleeping Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze.

"Huh?"

The sleep mask over his eyes slipped to one side.

"Why did I just hear that kid Lin Mo's voice? No, wait-why did I hear it inside the Sea of Consciousness?"

"Oh, Brother Xiao Mo, why is your voice inside my Sea of Consciousness? Okay, I'll come over now."

Although Huo Yuyao was puzzled, she did not ask any further questions.

A brief three minutes passed. Huo Yuyao seemed to have tidied herself up before coming over.

The girl pushed open the door, wearing a pale-yellow nightdress, her azure hair falling loosely around her.

"So what exactly is going on?"

"Yeah, what the heck? I was sleeping!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress flew out of her Sea of Consciousness as well.

Lin Mo then briefly explained the idea he had just come up with.

"So that's it. That really is convenient."

"Exactly. Even if Little Yao and I are far apart in the future, we'll be able to communicate this way."

Hearing the words "far apart," Huo Yuyao immediately grew unhappy.

"I'm not going to leave Brother Xiao Mo's side."

"Hehe, it was just an example. All right, let's get down to business."

Electrolux's figure slowly appeared, and he explained the new Soul Spirit Contract he had successfully developed to the four of them. In return, he received astonished looks from Huo Yuyao and the two soul beasts.

"R-really? I can really turn from a Wisdom Soul Ring into a soul spirit?"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke in utter disbelief.

Ever since the Ice Empress had become a soul spirit, he had felt rather dejected. After all, the difference between the two was enormous. A soul spirit could travel a considerable distance from its host, whereas a spiritual body could not.

"Yes. Not only that, the updated and improved Soul Spirit System also has a feedback effect."

"Feedback?"

Everyone who heard this was puzzled. Of course, that excluded Lin Mo.

He naturally knew what this so-called feedback meant. After all, he had proposed it, and he had modified this part himself.

"To put it simply, we modified the limiting values governing Soul Masters and soul beasts within the contract. This allows soul beasts to cultivate within soul rings and the Sea of Consciousness. Not only that, ten percent of the cultivation they gain will feed back into the Soul Master. Likewise, ten percent of the Soul Master's cultivation will feed back into the soul beast. The two will complement each other."

The two soul beasts were stunned by his words. They had never imagined that they could continue cultivating after becoming soul rings or soul spirits.

"Of course, when I say cultivation, I don't mean merely letting you experience the sensation of cultivating. It will also strengthen your own soul ring. Even if it begins as a hundred-year soul ring, the soul spirit's cultivation can raise it to the thousand-year level. At that point, the soul ring will become a Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

"I-it's that incredible?"

"Not only that, I've also performed calculations concerning soul beasts like you, who must endure a heavenly tribulation every hundred thousand years. The fundamental reason you face one every hundred thousand years is that the world's order is being enforced. Or, more simply, it is a rule established by the Divine Realm. But that rule only targets soul beasts."

"When you become soul spirits, you have already left the category of soul beasts. Under the rules of the world, you merely count as soul rings possessing spirituality."

Hearing this, the Ice Empress spoke in disbelief.

"Then what you mean is..."

"Exactly what you're thinking. You can use this method to avoid heavenly tribulations. However, you will also lose your freedom as a result. Still, the greatest advantage over becoming an ordinary soul ring is that you retain your consciousness and can travel a considerable distance from the Soul Master's body."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm waved his hands and spoke excitedly.

"No, no, no, even so, it's already amazing! If this method could spread throughout the entire Douluo Continent, I think relations between humans and soul beasts would definitely ease considerably."

"As for that..."

Electrolux said no more, instead turning his gaze toward Lin Mo.

"Let me explain that part. I told you before, didn't I? I established the Spirit Pagoda, and its purpose is to spread soul spirits. Although our organization will safeguard the method, others will be able to obtain soul spirits through us. Likewise, in the future, I hope we can establish partnerships with the soul beasts in every soul beast forest."

"If that's truly the case, the Far North can cooperate with you. Rather than letting humans and soul beasts fight until both sides are battered and broken, this method would indeed be better. Soul beasts that become soul spirits could keep cultivating, and in the future, they could regain their freedom by dissolving their Soul Spirit Contracts. Even if humans won't casually release a soul spirit back into the Far North, as time passes and they are handed down from generation to generation, even hundred-year or thousand-year soul beasts could grow into ten-thousand-year soul beasts."

"What's more, many ten-thousand-year soul beasts could use this method to avoid their hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation. In the long run, this would count as a virtuous cycle."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke, but Lin Mo interrupted him as soon as he finished.

"No, it doesn't really qualify as a virtuous cycle. There are still many problems."

"Huh?"

He clearly had not expected a human to refute something that benefited humanity.

"As society stabilizes, the human population will continue to grow, and so will the number of Soul Masters. The soul rings-or soul spirits-in shortest supply will mostly be hundred-year or thousand-year ones. But once the first batch of soul spirits is put into use, fewer and fewer soul beasts will be born. In essence, nothing has changed."

Indeed, even with these modifications, he had only altered some aspects of the soul spirits' circumstances in the original story. Nothing had fundamentally changed. What he needed to do now was change that underlying situation and avert the soul beasts' impending extinction over the ten thousand years between Douluo II and Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King.

"That's something Teacher and I are currently researching."

"All right, enough idle talk. What matters more now is turning the little worm into a soul spirit."

"Okay."

"Ah, don't we need to draw some kind of formation this time?"

"No. Little Yao only needs to summon her soul ring. You should return to her Sea of Consciousness as well."

Following Electrolux's instructions, the two of them-or rather, the human and the soul beast-made their preparations.

As Electrolux chanted the incantation, the scepter gripped in his hand began to emit a faint glow.

Huo Yuyao and the first soul ring around her also began to shimmer softly.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Million-Year Soul Ring changed from its disguised pale yellow to brilliant gold.

As the light in the room grew brighter, powerful, invisible fluctuations of spiritual power began surging unchecked.

Cold sweat seeped from Huo Yuyao's forehead as she sat cross-legged. The brilliant-gold Million-Year Soul Ring grew larger and larger, and the spiritual power emerging from it became increasingly terrifying.

Inside Huo Yuyao's Sea of Consciousness.

As the Contract Magic stirred the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's origin power and vast spiritual power, the entire Sea of Consciousness showed faint signs of expanding.

"No, if this keeps going, forget expanding the Sea of Consciousness-it'll probably shatter first."

The Ice Empress looked anxiously at Electrolux, who had reappeared inside Huo Yuyao's Sea of Consciousness.

Under normal circumstances, even casting this magic would not allow him to enter Huo Yuyao's Sea of Consciousness. He had only managed it by passing through the link between her Sea of Consciousness and Lin Mo's.

"Indeed, this little worm had quite a lot of spiritual power hidden away. It has rather exceeded my expectations."

"Of course! My reserves run deep!"

"Thanks to that spiritual power you hid away, the entire Sea of Consciousness has become somewhat unstable."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who had just been about to puff himself up with pride, paled in alarm at those words. He had intended to keep this readily accessible portion of his origin power as a spiritual means of protecting Little Yao, but had forgotten to mention it.

"Then what do we do? I didn't expect anything like this to happen."

"It's nothing serious. We only need to transfer this spiritual power elsewhere."

"That's easy to say, but how exactly do we transfer it?"