Earth Element

"Yu Chen, given your situation, you'd be best off finding a reliable major power to back you."

Ming Dashan's tone was grave.

Yu Chen's talent was far too outstanding for a mere Intermediate Academy to keep hidden.

Unless he chose to join the imperial family outright.

But the imperial family...

Ming Dashan glanced down at his left leg and fell silent for a moment.

The imperial court teemed with factions and intrigue. If a commoner's child without any backing entered that world, even extraordinary talent might not save him from being devoured without so much as a bone left behind.

"Join a major power?"

Yu Chen rubbed his chin, considering those words.

There were only a handful of major powers of any standing on the Douluo Continent.

Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan...

But even if he joined one, they wouldn't trust him the moment he walked through the door. There would still be a period of observation.

Only after passing trial upon trial would he gain access to their core resources.

In his previous life, he had worked at Professor Oak's Laboratory for over a decade, serving tea, fetching water, and organizing documents every day, all for an occasional word or two of guidance from the professor.

He had only been an employee, not a student at the laboratory.

Upon beginning his third life, Yu Chen had sworn to himself early on: Working for someone else was out of the question! Never again in this life!

"Uncle Dashan, let's leave joining a major power for later. But if it's just a matter of hiding my identity, I have a way."

Yu Chen spoke confidently.

He could clearly sense two currents of energy flowing and intertwining.

The Rock-Earth Dragon Turtle's energy was heavy and substantial, while the ashen mushroom's was light. The two forces existed independently, yet together formed this Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Without waiting for Ming Dashan to answer, Yu Chen sat cross-legged and began to meditate.

After absorbing his second Soul Ring, his soul power had grown explosively.

Level twenty-nine!

His soul power had risen a full nine levels!

The energy of the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone had erupted in full.

With just one more level of soul power, Yu Chen could absorb his third Soul Ring.

That was precisely why he could sense the state of his Soul Rings. He could also clearly perceive the circulation of soul power within him and the condition of all his internal organs.

He could look within himself!

At that moment.

Yu Chen closed his eyes and sank all his attention into the flow of energy within his second Soul Ring.

There were two currents of energy: one from the Rock-Earth Dragon Turtle, the other the remnants of the ashen mushroom.

The two forces were independent, with a clear boundary between them. Yet Yu Chen could feel them slowly blending.

Perhaps in a few days, a few months, or a few years, they would fully merge into a true Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Humm-

Yu Chen's soul power surged, flowing slowly along his meridians toward his second Soul Ring.

He tried wrapping his soul power around the ashen mushroom's energy, drawing it out bit by bit and sending it toward Xiao Bai, who lay on his shoulder.

Xiao Bai lay quietly, her purple eyes half closed.

A warm current flowed into her body. Xiao Bai inhaled gently, as though swallowing a mouthful of warm air.

A short distance away.

Ming Dashan watched everything unfold in silence, dumbstruck.

As Yu Chen meditated, a trace of purple faded from the edge of his second Soul Ring, revealing yellow once more.

Bit by bit, all that energy entered Xiao Bai Dragon's body.

Before long.

His second Soul Ring had turned completely yellow again, looking exactly like an ordinary hundred-year soul ring.

"This..."

Ming Dashan was so astonished that, for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

"Phew-"

Yu Chen let out a long breath and opened his eyes.

"Uncle Dashan, I did it!"

Ming Dashan stared at Yu Chen, looking him up and down several times, his voice brimming with irrepressible astonishment. "Yu Chen, how did you do that?"

"The two currents of energy in my second Soul Ring hadn't fully merged. I simply separated them."

Yu Chen rolled his shoulders, feeling his soul power circulate smoothly and unhindered.

"The Soul Ring itself came from the Rock-Earth Dragon Turtle, around nine hundred and fifty years old. The remaining ashen mushroom energy is stored inside Xiao Bai."

"So that's how it works!"

Ming Dashan stood stunned for a good while, then reached out and patted Yu Chen's shoulder.

"Yu Chen, you're not a genius. You're a monster!"

"If you ask me, Xiaogang might as well hand his title of theoretical Grandmaster over to you!"

Ming Dashan spoke excitedly.

Yu Chen waved a hand. "I wouldn't dare. I still have great respect for Grandmaster Yu."

Ming Dashan smiled, then grew serious again. "Yu Chen, a Thousand-Year Soul Ring is far stronger than a hundred-year one. Can you restore it after separating the energy?"

There was a widely accepted saying in the soul master world: true powerhouses began at Soul Elder.

It wasn't merely because of their soul power level, but more because Soul Elders could absorb Thousand-Year Soul Rings.

For a first Soul Ring, the difference between a ten-year ring and a hundred-year ring wasn't that great.

But for the third Soul Ring, choosing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring over a hundred-year one could mean a twofold difference.

A Soul Master with a thousand-year third Soul Ring would completely overwhelm one whose third ring was only a hundred years old.

The Empire also considered this criterion when granting noble titles.

If Yu Chen couldn't recombine his Soul Ring's energy after separating it, that would be a tremendous loss.

"It can be restored."

Yu Chen said with certainty, "The power hasn't disappeared. It's simply stored somewhere else. In fact, after a few more years, even I won't be able to stop the energies from merging naturally."

As he spoke, he patted Xiao Bai's head.

Yu Chen had already thought it through. He didn't intend to keep hiding his strength forever.

At a crucial moment, he would reveal his "temporary" thousand-year second ring, letting those around him gradually accept that his second Soul Ring sometimes turned purple.

Little by little, everyone would get used to it.

Once he had enough strength to protect himself-for example, after reaching Soul Saint-he would no longer need to hide it.

"Good, good, good!"

Ming Dashan repeated the word three times, beaming. "Let's head back. This trip couldn't have ended better!"

Yu Chen nodded. He could sense the Soul Beasts frightened away by the earlier explosion slowly creeping back.

About the time it took an incense stick to burn.

The two returned to the forest, where the surrounding temperature dropped and the smell of sulfur vanished entirely.

Ming Dashan slowed down and asked curiously, "By the way, Yu Chen, what's your second Soul Skill?"

"My second Soul Skill lets me control some earth elements. I've named it Earth Element."

Yu Chen spoke as he ran.

"As for its abilities, there are only two for now."

"One is [Defense]. It draws earth elements from the ground to form a layer of armor, increasing both my defense and Xiao Bai's by fifty percent."

"The other is [Stone Edge]. It lets me make sharp stones burst out of the ground to attack enemies."

Hearing this, Ming Dashan spoke excitedly. "Two abilities again, and their effects are completely different! You really are a genius! Your Martial Soul deserves to be called the continent's number one!"

Ordinary Soul Masters could only gain abilities by absorbing Soul Rings.

Take a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master, for instance.

Even Tang San had to rely on a Soul Ring to obtain an Entanglement ability.

Perhaps this was what truly made a detached martial soul so formidable!

Noticing Ming Dashan's astonishment, Yu Chen merely smiled calmly.

He didn't think developing Soul Skills required any special talent.

Soul Skills, in the end, were simply manifestations of power, the circulation and release of energy. Once someone mastered the power itself, they should be able to develop various ways to use it.

He didn't know the Mysterious Heaven Skill, but with his level-twenty-nine soul power, he could already look within himself.

Those with higher soul power could undoubtedly do the same.

Apart from abilities that provided percentage-based boosts, things like fireballs, hurricanes, and earthen walls could absolutely be mastered through repeated training.

Having worked at Professor Oak's Laboratory for over a decade, Yu Chen had long since learned the training methods for all sorts of Pokémon by heart.

Developing Soul Skills simply followed a similar principle.

No matter how dim someone was, could they really reach level twenty-nine soul power and still not know how to create their own Soul Skills?