The Heavenly Screen continued its projection.
But it was not being broadcast at a 1:1 time ratio.
After showing Lin Yi's Martial Soul Awakening, it flickered and moved on to the next scene.
Seeing the filthy little savage in the image, his smile radiant and his whole body brimming with a certain special light, the Soul Masters of both Douluo I and Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King seemed moved.
For the Soul Masters of Douluo I, the joy of obtaining a First Soul Ring struck close to home.
They had been through it themselves.
The satisfaction of finally obtaining a Soul Ring they were happy with after a narrow escape from death was stirred, welling up from some corner of their hearts.
For the Soul Masters of Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King, though they could not share that feeling, the scene still touched them.
Among the Soul Masters penned up in peaceful cities, a certain yearning for Soul Hunting in the wild seemed to be stirred.
Just then, an ill-timed comment floated across the screen.
[Yu Xiaogang: He dared hunt a Soul Beast alone, knowing no fear.]
After a while, he added several replies of his own.
[Look at the Soul Beast behind him. It's a Space-Escaping Rat over three hundred years old. The Space-Escaping Rat has the Spatial Blink Soul Skill, and its claws are coated in spatial power, with an exceptionally prolonged tearing effect. Even a three-ring Soul Elder would give it a wide berth. This Lin Yi doesn't know his own limits. If he hadn't had a stroke of dogshit luck, he would certainly have died.]
[Besides, the Space-Escaping Rat is completely incompatible with his Martial Soul. This Lin Yi is simply cultivating at random.]
Douluo I.
After posting his comments, Yu Xiaogang wore a hint of mockery on his face, while deep in his eyes lay an emotion called jealousy.
Innate Full Soul Power!
What right did an idiot like that have to possess Innate Full Soul Power?
He himself knew Soul Master theory like the back of his hand, could devise cultivation plans with effortless ease, and knew every detail about Soul Beasts by heart. Why?
Why did he have only level-one innate Soul Power?
At that thought, Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists tightly.
His jealousy was plain to see.
But he realized that Tang San, whom he had just taken on as a disciple, was watching him from beside him. He took a deep breath and reined in those negative emotions.
"Xiao San, a Soul Master has room for at most nine Soul Rings in his entire life. Every Soul Ring is crucial. If you choose the wrong one, you won't just waste a Soul Ring slot; even your Martial Soul's cultivation could be held back."
He also pointed at the image on the Heavenly Screen, explaining to Tang San the various drawbacks of Lin Yi absorbing the Space-Escaping Rat's Soul Ring.
"Never mind that he succeeded in absorbing it. The dangers involved were countless. Leaving aside how he killed the Space-Escaping Rat alone, merely absorbing an incompatible Soul Ring could have caused his body to explode during the process."
"..."
Tang San nodded repeatedly as he listened, deep in thought.
He was at an age when he was curious about Soul Master cultivation, and his gaze kept drifting to the bright yellow Soul Ring beneath Lin Yi's feet on the Heavenly Screen.
So this is a Soul Ring?
How amazing!
Seemingly noticing Tang San's gaze, Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened slightly.
He realized how eager Tang San was for a Soul Ring.
"Xiao San, once you've finished your enrollment ceremony, I'll personally take you Soul Hunting. When the time comes, I'll be sure to find you the most suitable Soul Ring."
Tang San's eyes lit up at once.
His Mysterious Heaven Skill had been stuck at the peak of its first stage, and it had troubled him for a long time.
Seeing Tang San's delight, Yu Xiaogang was very pleased and raised his head slightly.
Unexpectedly, that slight movement sent his gaze sweeping across the Heavenly Screen, where he saw a familiar name.
[Yun Ming: Easy for you to say when you're not the one doing it. You can't be so much trash that you've never even been Soul Hunting, can you?]
[He didn't have a scratch on him after killing a Space-Escaping Rat over 300 years old all by himself, yet you don't say a word about that.]
Yu Xiaogang's face turned exceedingly ugly at those words.
More than anything in his life, he hated being called trash.
[Yu Xiaogang: One look is enough to tell he only managed to kill that Space-Escaping Rat by taking advantage of an opportunity. What's there to comment on?]
Reading Yu Xiaogang's words from the other side, Yun Ming merely shook his head.
Yun Ming had never hunted a Soul Beast alone at level 10.
But he had killed Soul Beasts above his level many times in the Spirit Ascension Platform.
As long as one had nerves of steel and strong execution, even without a Soul Skill, Soul Beasts under a thousand years old could still be dealt with.
The Space-Escaping Rat was strong, but its weakness was also obvious: its defenses were lacking.
If someone anticipated the timing and destination of its Spatial Blink, evaded its claw attack, and counterattacked, it would die too.
Of course, under normal circumstances, reaching that point required a great deal of combat experience.
What amazed Yun Ming was that Lin Yi had only recently awakened his Martial Soul and had not a single Soul Skill to give him room for error, yet had managed to do it.
Perhaps luck had played a part.
But it was certainly nowhere near as pathetic as the trash impersonating Yu Xiaogang claimed.
Douluo II.
Watching the two clash in the comments once again, Lin Yi was speechless for a moment.
Is there something wrong with Yu Xiaogang's brain?
Does he instinctively put down everything he sees?
Lin Yi, who had been moved by the scene shown on the Heavenly Screen, had his mood spoiled for a moment.
A silvery-white light flashed in midair, and Lin Yi vanished.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Inside an empty classroom.
Xiao Hongchen, only three years old, tiptoed inside.
Jing Hongchen, who was making a Soul Tool, sensed someone entering, and a flash of helplessness crossed his eyes.
His hand, however, remained steady as he used a soul-engraving knife to inscribe an intricate Core Array on the Soul Tool core before him.
Outside the window, Lin Yi watched the scene, considering whether to intervene.
Since he had laid out this chessboard of heaven and earth, he had naturally chosen the Sun Moon camp.
So he would pay attention to the gifted Soul Engineers and Soul Masters on the Sun Moon side and guide them.
These were the pieces he played.
He did not need them to take part in the final battle to come; even if they merely crushed the morale of the Douluo Three Kingdoms before then, it would still be meaningful.
Especially where Huo Yuhao was concerned.
Defeating Huo Yuhao would amount to Lin Yi's interception of Tang San.
Just then, the Heavenly Screen's projection changed again.
This time, it was another scene of Soul Hunting.
But unlike his first Soul Hunt, when Lin Yi had gotten himself filthy, this time he had help.
With the help of an academy teacher, he successfully killed a thousand-year Soul Beast and absorbed its Soul Ring.
By this time, Lin Yi had gained a distinctive bearing.
[Yu Xiaogang: Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could a Soul Master absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his Second Soul Ring?]
The Grandmaster's comments were never late.
[Yun Ming: You've never even seen a thousand-year second ring? Just how narrow is the vision of trash like you?]
This time, a great storm swept through the Soul Master World of Douluo I.
It was a disadvantage of the era.
In this era, the Soul Ring limits recognized by the Soul Master World were the set of maximum Soul Ring ages summarized by Yu Xiaogang.
But now, that theory had been shattered.
On the Heavenly Screen hanging high above the nine heavens, a boy who looked no more than seven stood upright.
Though his face was still somewhat youthful, a presence that looked down upon all under heaven seemed to be taking shape in his eyes.
In truth, he was not looking down upon the world, but surveying the chess game of his own Martial Soul.
Yet from the angle shown on the Heavenly Screen, Lin Yi appeared to be looking down upon all living beings, treating them as pieces.
Outside his body, one yellow Soul Ring and one purple Soul Ring shone together, each setting off the other.