Awakening and Breaking Through to Soul Elder

Just like that, time quickly passed until the day of Lin Mo's awakening arrived.

They planned to wait until Lin Mo awakened and reached rank 30, then officially set out for the Star Dou Great Forest with the other three who needed Soul Rings.

Lin Mo, meanwhile, planned to head north to the Far North with Huo Yuyao after their visit to the Star Dou Great Forest.

He could never have imagined how much trouble-and how much opportunity-this journey would bring him.

It was the same familiar competition stage.

The lineup was familiar too. Oh, no, this time Ye Yulin and Ye Guyi had joined them.

Everyone watched with different expressions: surprise, curiosity, and anxiety.

Most of that anxiety, however, belonged to one person.

Please let my brother be all right!!!

After what had happened last time, Huo Yuyao sincerely wished Lin Mo would never do anything so dangerous again. But she could not talk her brother out of it, and she was not yet strong enough to protect him completely.

Standing in the center of the stage, Lin Mo could not help recalling what had happened when he broke through to two rings, but he had already thought many things through.

Three others were also on high alert.

Electrolux, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, and the Ice Empress.

Apart from Electrolux, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress had each brought a small portion of their origin power, forming avatars that passed through the Gateway into Lin Mo's Sea of Consciousness.

They had already heard from Electrolux about the power that surpassed even his own.

But that only made them more curious. What kind of story was hidden within this young man?

Lin Mo listened to the replies from the three within his Sea of Consciousness, then looked at Kong Deming.

Seeing him nod, Lin Mo summoned his martial soul. The familiar Mystic Sword hovered in his hand before he gripped it tightly.

The area beneath his feet lit up, and two Soul Rings appeared in succession, one white and one black. The white was luminous, the black fathomlessly deep. Neither bore any markings, yet anyone could tell they were not normal Soul Rings.

Ye Guyi, seeing these special Soul Rings for the first time, was astonished too.

He tightened his grip on the longsword, then swung it upward with force.

Rather than falling after reaching a certain height as it normally should, the Mystic Sword shot straight into the heavens as though guided by something, tearing the thick clouds apart.

Within mere breaths of the Mystic Sword entering the clouds, the once-clear sky began to darken, and the white clouds were instantly replaced by storm clouds.

"Thirty bolts of tribulation lightning this time, right?"

"I think so. Sigh, I just hope nothing like last time happens."

The siblings, who had initially been quite interested, could not help growing nervous the moment the storm clouds appeared.

"Hm?"

"Why do those storm clouds feel strange?"

"They really do. Why don't they look much like storm clouds?"

Ji Juechen noticed the changes in the clouds first, followed by Xiao Xiao and Jing Ziyan. The Titled Douluos noticed the changes overhead at the same time.

"Ah, another bizarre development?"

The storm clouds overhead changed again. The familiar expanse of oppressive black became black and white, the two colors bleeding into each other and gathering across the sky in thick shades like ink wash.

"Is that ink wash? Why is it so strange?"

The colors in the sky continued gathering, forming a pattern that was half black and half white, its shades cycling endlessly.

"Is that a taijitu?"

At Huo Yuyao's words, everyone turned toward her. They had never heard the term before.

"Sorry, I've only heard my brother mention it. A taijitu is a pattern with one black half and one white half, with a white dot in the black side and a black dot in the white side."

As she spoke, the first bolt of tribulation lightning fell.

It was unlike the heavenly lightning they knew, however. This bolt was formed from black and white, as though condensed from ink wash.

"Ugh!"

Lin Mo had been standing straight, but the first bolt struck him hard enough to send him stumbling.

Unlike the previous two times, when each bolt fell two seconds after the last, this tribulation lightning seemed to be in a hurry, raining down one bolt after another.

Once the strength of the attacks stabilized after the tenth bolt, Lin Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close, so close. At least it stopped getting stronger. If it kept increasing, I really might not survive all thirty."

"Teacher, Sister Tian Meng, Ice Empress, can you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Me too."

This was a method he and Electrolux had arranged before his breakthrough.

Neither of them had expected what happened after the final bolt last time, so this time, they planned to check in after every bolt, or every two or three.

Lin Mo would communicate with them to confirm he was still conscious. If he failed to respond once or twice, they would immediately intervene and investigate.

As the seconds and minutes passed, the first twenty-odd bolts fell considerably faster than they had during his two-ring breakthrough.

Soon, only the final bolt of tribulation lightning remained.

Everyone held their breath and focused, both those within the Sea of Consciousness and those standing below the stage.

Aside from Ye Yulin and Ye Guyi, who had only just joined them and knew nothing about it, everyone knew what had happened before. They were on utmost alert, ready to act the moment anything went wrong.

Though they did not know whether their intervention would help.

Sure enough, the final bolt did not fall immediately after the others.

The ink-like clouds overhead gradually took shape, becoming a complete taijitu that spun continuously across the firmament.

And this time, the unusual developments were not limited to the sky.

"Look at the Soul Rings beneath Lin Mo's feet."

Xiao Hongchen spoke with a frown.

The two Soul Rings beneath Lin Mo's feet began spinning around him, faster and faster.

Rotating at tremendous speed, the inner and outer Soul Rings pressed against each other, as though merging into a single ring.

Everyone clearly saw the two rings, originally white on the inside and black on the outside, begin seeping into and merging with one another.

Likewise, the taijitu in the heavens was spinning at tremendous speed.

Everyone noticed the black and white dots on the taijitu.

"Wait, wait, wait! Are my eyes playing tricks on me? How did those two dots turn into eight as it spun?"

"Huh? No, that's not right. Why are there six now?"

"Wait, why are there three now? No, they've turned into six again!"

"Whoa, my eyes are starting to blur."

After the taijitu overhead reached its maximum speed, it seemed to slow down, eventually returning to its original appearance.

"Huh? Why did it stop? No, it looks like it's gone back to how it was."

"No, its speed isn't the same as at the beginning. It seems just a tiny bit faster."

"Is it ending? But the final bolt hasn't fallen yet, has it?"

"No, it hasn't slowed down. Its speed has reached a point our naked eyes can no longer perceive, making it appear to have returned to its original form in a way that's difficult to explain."

Xuan Ziwen spoke with a frown.

The instant he finished, the taijitu overhead seemed to vanish, stunning everyone. Before anyone could speak, a pillar of light coursing with yin-yang qi plunged down and engulfed Lin Mo.

"Brother Xiao Mo!"

"Again?"

"What's happening?"

Everyone was about to rush forward, but the light struck the ground and spread across the entire competition stage, forming a yin-yang taijitu that continued expanding beneath their feet.

Those trying to advance had barely lifted their legs when they discovered their movements seemed to have slowed thousands of times over.

"This..."

"What?"

"Again!"

Meanwhile, Lin Mo, engulfed by the pillar of light onstage, lost consciousness before he could even send a message.

"Little Mo!"

"Little Mo?"

"Little Mo?"

The three within his Sea of Consciousness watched him fall unconscious without the slightest chance to react.

The eyes of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress lit up, and brilliant, dazzling waves of spiritual power spread throughout his Sea of Consciousness.

What they needed to do next was constantly monitor every fluctuation within the Sea of Consciousness.

Electrolux summoned his Undead Staff and went straight to the center of the Sea of Consciousness, slamming the base of the Scepter downward.

A strange gray pulse instantly sent ripples spreading across the surface of the Sea of Consciousness.

"I'm telling you, that's quite enough."

A clear voice rang out beneath their feet.

Along with the voice came an immense pressure. Even Electrolux, who had already attained divine sense, felt danger rising within him. No, that terrifying aura arrived even faster than his sense of danger could rise.

All three immediately looked down.

On the formerly calm surface, Electrolux's pulse revealed a pair of silver-white eyes.

"A bug, a little scorpion, and you, old man. Aren't you going a little too far? You start rummaging through someone else's Sea of Consciousness and soul at the drop of a hat."

Ripples spread across the water before them, then a figure formed from pure white light emerged.

"Who are you?"

"The voice sounds like a girl's."

"My name is Electrolux, and I am Little Mo's teacher. May I ask who you are, why you continue residing within my student's body, or what exactly your relationship with him is?"

Hearing even Electrolux address her respectfully, the two Soul Beasts did not dare say much more.

"Yes, I know you're his teacher. So what? Old man, I suggest you mind your own business. Just do your job."

The points of light before them had indeed formed a girl whose long hair nearly reached her calves.

Her tone, however, was harsh and cutting.

"Instructing my disciple, my student, is my duty as his teacher. But likewise, as his master, I do not wish for some unknown figure to reside within my disciple's body. Do you understand what I mean?"

"A mere fragment of divine sense dares speak to me like that? Even at your peak, you were probably only as powerful as a First-Level God. How insolent!"

A terrifying wave of force crashed toward the three, and Electrolux immediately swung his Scepter, forming a barrier.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress hardly dared speak.

Electrolux, however, remained calm as he looked directly at the girl.

"I bear no ill will. I merely wish to ascertain whether you pose any danger to my disciple. As his master, I still hope he can grow up safely and peacefully."

The girl studied him. There was not the slightest trace of deceit on Electrolux's face.

"Sigh, there's no harm in telling you. You'll find out before long anyway. I will become his second martial soul-or rather, my true form will become his second martial soul. Look forward to it. Perhaps you'll even count yourself fortunate to have found such a fine disciple."

"I have always been proud of my disciple. In that case, allow me to apologize for disturbing your rest."

As he spoke, Electrolux truly placed the hand not holding his Staff against his chest and bowed slightly in apology.

"Hmph. You'd best remember what you said today."

With that, the girl dissolved into specks of spiritual power and sank beneath the Sea of Consciousness again.

"Heavens, that really was unbelievable."

"Elder Yi, with your experience, that... person just now..."

For a moment, neither Soul Beast could find a suitable way to address her.

"Her strength was probably at least at the Divine King level."

"Hiss... Divine King level? Doesn't that mean the Five Great God Kings you told us about? Could she be one of them? Or..."

"She just said she would become Little Mo's martial soul."

"Does that mean Little Mo will have a Divine King-level martial soul?"

"That's wonderful!"

Seeing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm clench his fists excitedly, the Ice Empress looked at him in confusion.

"Think about it, Bingbing. Elder Yi told us that under the Divine Realm's rules, once someone cultivates to become a First-Level God, they can bring one relative up with them. Now that Little Mo possesses such strength, even if Little Yao never gains a deity's favor, she can still go up with him."

"That's true."

Despite saying that, the Ice Empress felt little change in her mood. She was still immersed in the spiritual power the girl had displayed.

That spiritual power, which towered above everything, had left her utterly unable to break free.

"Damn, where the hell have I been dumped this time?"

Lin Mo shook his head and looked around. It appeared to be a dorm room, a classic four-person setup with beds above desks.

A suitcase stood beside him.

Everything before him felt incredibly familiar.

"This is my previous life... right?"

He seemed so uncertain himself that he had added a "right?"

"You're Lin Mo, right? I didn't expect you to be the first one here. I'm Liu Feng, the guy called Crazy Feng in the group chat."

Before he could recover, the dorm room door beside him opened, and a buzz-cut young man walked in, also carrying a backpack and pulling a suitcase. He looked a few centimeters taller than Lin Mo.

"I have to say, being local really makes things easier for you. Unlike me-I spent ten hours on a high-speed train."

He sighed helplessly as he walked over to his spot.

"But it looks like we're the first two here. The others said they were arriving today too, but who knows what time?"

Before he finished speaking, someone else chimed in.