Then time around him seemed to freeze outright.
Bibi Dong's lowered lashes stopped in midair, the smile at the corner of Hu Liena's lips froze in place, and Yue Guan and Gui Mei remained with their heads turned toward him.
Gui Yuan was the only person in the Pope's Hall who could still move.
Five Hex options appeared before Gui Yuan.
[1. Level Up!: For every two levels of Soul Power gained through meditation, gain one additional level of Soul Power. Immediately gain two levels of Soul Power.] [2. Hedge Fund: Immediately add five hundred years to your first Soul Ring. Every year thereafter, add five hundred years + interest to all Soul Rings. Interest: For every rank of Soul Power advanced, add an additional one thousand years to the Soul Rings' ages.] [3. Golden Egg: Grants a golden egg that takes 11 years to hatch. Open it to receive generous rewards.] [4. Living Forge: Immediately gain 1 Artifact Anvil, then gain 1 additional Artifact Anvil every 8 years.] [5. Pandora's Items: Unabsorbed Soul Bones in your possession will randomly transform. Gain one random five-hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone.]
Looking at the five options before him, Gui Yuan froze for a moment.
"System?"
"Hahaha, six years! Do you know how I've spent these past six years? System, you've finally arrived!"
It took him less than a second to go from stunned to ecstatic.
He had read plenty of webnovels in his previous life, but he had never really thought this day would come for him, too.
Although he now had twin Martial Souls and innate full Soul Power, placing his talent among the best of his peers.
But who would complain about having too many cheats?
Then he reined in his smile and looked seriously at the clusters of light before him.
These five Hexes could all improve his combat strength, covering everything from Soul Power, Soul Bones, and Soul Rings to artifacts.
Besides those, there was also a golden egg, a must-pick for gambling addicts.
Still, this was reality, not a game. He had to choose the three most suitable options based on his needs.
A moment later.
Gui Yuan chose one, two, and four: Level Up!, Hedge Fund, and Living Forge.
The [Level Up!] Hex could only be triggered by Soul Power gained through meditation; absorbing Soul Rings or immortal herbs would not trigger it.
But with his innate full Soul Power talent, every two levels of Soul Power he gained through meditation would earn him another level.
His cultivation speed would increase by at least fifty percent!
After all, the further he progressed, the more Soul Power he would need to level up.
Gaining one extra level for every two seemed like a fifty-percent improvement in efficiency at first glance, but in reality, it was far higher.
As for [Hedge Fund], a Hex that could increase the ages of his Soul Rings, that went without saying.
If his first Soul Ring was five hundred years old, it would automatically advance to a thousand years after he absorbed it.
Moreover, after he became a Soul Master, his Soul Rings would gain fifteen hundred years in the very first year. By the time he reached the Titled Douluo level, they could gain nearly ten thousand years a year!
"System, does the increase in age also mean an improvement in physique?" Gui Yuan asked another question, just to be safe.
[Yes.]
In that case, what else was there to say? It was a must-pick!
This Hex could also work in tandem with [Level Up!].
After all, the [Level Up!] Hex would let him advance through the ranks faster!
As for his third Hex, there was no question: he would choose [Living Forge]. He would immediately gain one artifact, then another every eight years, with no limit.
As long as he lived long enough, he would have more and more artifacts.
The more artifacts he had, the stronger he would be.
"System, about this Artifact Anvil, are the four artifacts that appear inside it from Battle of Golden Spatula, or are they from the Douluo Continent?"
[Ding. In reply to the host: Both.] [Artifacts from Battle of Golden Spatula will adapt to the Douluo Continent's combat system, with certain changes to their attributes, but their core attributes will remain largely unchanged.]
With that affirmative response, Gui Yuan already had his answer.
The other two Hexes, [Golden Egg] and [Pandora's Items], looked good, but were actually rather average.
What could the golden egg yield? He did not know.
With other, better Hexes available, he was unwilling to gamble.
He remembered that the golden egg's possible rewards were limited, too, including things like an Artifact Anvil, a Champion Duplicator, and a Radiant Upgrade.
But for Artifact Anvils, he could choose [Living Forge] and get even more artifacts.
The Champion Duplicator would most likely duplicate a Martial Soul or a bloodline or something of that sort, but he had twin Martial Souls and did not lack those.
Besides, twin Martial Souls required a Soul Master to have a very powerful physique to withstand the pressure from the Soul Rings absorbed by both Martial Souls, as well as the conflict between the Martial Souls themselves.
At most, another Martial Soul would be used to quickly raise his Soul Power in the later stages.
That was not as good as [Level Up!], which let him level up quickly early on and would remain useful even in the later stages.
As for Pandora's Items, a five-hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone was certainly tempting.
But as far as he knew, this world already had quite a few Soul Bones hundreds of thousands of years old, some even older than five hundred thousand years.
Besides, what were Soul Bones for? They improved a Soul Master's physique and talent.
They actually did not increase a Soul Master's Soul Power by much.
In the original story, whether it was Tang San, Huo Yuhao, or Tang Wulin, absorbing Soul Bones had hardly raised their Soul Power. Most of the improvement was to their physiques and the quality of their Soul Power.
Of course, there was one exception.
For example, if someone was at a bottleneck, absorbing a high-quality Soul Bone could help them break through.
There was another point: Pandora's Items could not change a Soul Bone's age, only its position, which made it rather like chicken ribs-too little meat to savor, yet a pity to discard.
"System, I choose one, two, and four!"
Then three rays of prismatic light entered his body.
[Artifact Anvil granted. Open it?]
Gui Yuan suppressed the urge to open it right then. He would deal with it after he returned.
Time around him resumed its normal flow.
Bibi Dong's gaze focused on him again.
She looked at Gui Yuan for quite a while before speaking, her voice cool and clear. "Good talent."
"Thank you, Your Holiness," Gui Yuan said respectfully, a smile on his face.
The hall fell silent for two seconds before Bibi Dong's voice rang out again. "Would you like to become my disciple?"
Gui Yuan froze for a moment.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei both nudged his arm.
"Since Her Holiness intends to take you as a disciple, this is an honor for you. Hurry and pay your respects to your master."
Gui Yuan came back to his senses and immediately bowed. "Your disciple, Gui Yuan, pays his respects, Teacher."
On the Douluo Continent, becoming someone's disciple did not require kneeling.
Bibi Dong gave a slight nod, accepting him.
Standing diagonally below the raised platform, Hu Liena saw this and lightly curled the corner of her lips.
She was thirteen this year and Bibi Dong's only disciple.
Her teacher was usually far too cold. That lofty authority bore down on people until they could hardly breathe.
It would have been a lie to say that cultivating alone under her teacher was not stressful.
Now she had a junior brother, and one with such excellent talent, too.
At last, some of her teacher's attention could be diverted, and she could relax a little.
P.S. Please keep reading my new book and send some votes~~