Early the next morning, in the Soul Hunting Forest.
Han Qiu was awakened by a damp sensation.
His eyes flew open, and there before him was yesterday's tool deer, the Silver Moon Spirit Deer. It was extending the tip of its soft tongue to gently lick his cheek.
"Mm!"
Han Qiu jerked upright from the ground and quickly scanned his surroundings.
The Silver Moon Spirit Deer was the only one in sight, standing quietly at his side.
Seeing that Han Qiu was awake, the Silver Moon Spirit Deer blinked its eyes.
"Did you guard me all night?" Han Qiu looked at the spirit deer and asked softly.
The Silver Moon Spirit Deer nodded gently.
Han Qiu took a deep breath, warmth rising in his heart. "Thank you, Little Deer."
"Right, what level has my Soul Power reached now?"
Han Qiu took a deep breath and focused on examining the Soul Power within him.
But when he looked inward, he froze.
"My Soul Power is only level 9? What the hell? How did it drop so much?"
Questions bubbled up in his mind.
Before, he had relied on Qi-State Origin-Flow to steadily accumulate strength and push his body beyond its limits. His Soul Power had accumulated to the level of Innate Full Soul Power at level 20, so how had it gone down after he put on a ring?
And that seven-thousand-year Soul Ring had been perfectly absorbed. By rights, his Soul Power should have soared, so why was there less than half as much Soul Power in his body as before?
This was not very Douluo at all.
"Could I have used up most of my Soul Power repairing my body last night?" Han Qiu muttered.
Last night, he had refined the seven-thousand-year Purple Lightning Mane Lion Soul Ring.
The excruciating pain of having his body crushed to pieces by the power of lightning was etched into his bones. He would never forget it for the rest of his life.
Afterward, the Martial Soul of Light-no, it should now be called the Martial Soul of Light and Lightning-had unleashed a powerful healing force, reshaping his body and foundation.
That power had transformed him from the inside out, but as formidable as it was, the price had been outrageous. Fuck, it had hurt.
"System, get out here. We need to have a proper talk."
The system did not respond.
"No, wait. This level 9 Soul Power seems to have been restored by Qi-State Origin-Flow running on its own all night. And my body..."
Han Qiu frowned deeply and carefully assessed his condition.
A vast power lay dormant in his flesh and blood-a mighty power that could even be called invincible.
Tsk, tsk. His physical strength had more than doubled compared to before he refined the Soul Ring.
His Soul Power Level appeared unchanged, but the purity of every strand of Soul Power was nothing like it had been before.
Very good. Very powerful.
With a thought, he gave a light leap.
Whoosh!
His body shot into the air, leaping dozens of meters high!
"Hiss!"
He had yet to grow accustomed to his dramatically increased physical strength and couldn't control his body. With a bang, he slammed hard into a thick tree trunk!
Han Qiu's gaze fell on the towering ancient tree beside him.
Whoosh! He swung his hand sideways, chopping straight at it.
Crack, crack, crack!
The enormous tree, so thick that four or five people would have had to join hands to encircle it, snapped in an instant and crashed to one side.
"The strength of a casual palm strike from me has probably already exceeded a thousand jin," Han Qiu murmured.
On Earth in his previous life, even the boxing champion Tyson's heaviest punch at his peak had only carried six or seven hundred jin of force, and Tang San had only managed about five hundred jin at level 30. Now, a casual strike from Han Qiu could unleash a thousand jin of force. What did that mean?
A thousand jin was equivalent to 0.5 tons.
He couldn't help pondering to himself: If Little San were standing here right now, could I seriously injure him with a casual palm strike?
Perhaps it really was possible.
"Although my total Soul Power has dropped somewhat, my physical condition and my five senses have all undergone an earth-shaking transformation!"
Han Qiu closed his eyes and calmly listened to the world around him.
Even the faint sounds of insects and ants crawling a kilometer away registered clearly in his senses.
Even Tang San, who had already cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, probably couldn't reach this level.
All of this should have been the result of refining the seven-thousand-year Soul Ring and having his body completely reforged.
His body could be said to have truly been reborn in the flames.
The baptism of the power of light, the tempering of the seven-thousand-year Soul Ring's lightning pressure, his past painstaking cultivation that had pushed him beyond his limits time and again, and the primal energy he had accumulated in his body early on-all these conditions combined to bring about the transformation before him.
"Hahaha, with this body alone, I can probably crush the vast majority of Soul Elders in their thirties now!" A smile lifted the corners of Han Qiu's mouth.
He had grown considerably taller, a full three or four centimeters. He no longer looked like a six-year-old child, but rather a boy of eight or nine.
"As for my Soul Power? With Qi-State Origin-Flow, I should recover it soon, but before that, I'd better speed things up. Otherwise, I really won't feel safe."
"Little Deer, keep watch for me. Let me cultivate for a while first."
Han Qiu then sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, formed a sword seal with his fingers, and recited an incantation:
"Mystic source of heaven and earth, root of all Qi. Through vast cultivation across a hundred million kalpas, I attain my divine powers. Within and beyond the three realms, the Dao alone reigns supreme. Golden light fills my body, covering and illuminating me..."
In an instant, the energy of heaven and earth across most of the Soul Hunting Forest grew restless. As if drawn by an invisible force, it surged and churned, rushing toward Han Qiu.
Han Qiu had become the very center of this energy storm.
The Silver Moon Spirit Deer paced anxiously on the spot beside him, its gaze fixed on Han Qiu.
Its heart was full of doubt and surprise: What's going on with this human child? He's only cultivating, so how is he causing such a huge commotion? Is this fellow really human? Could he be a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast in human form?
Level 10, level 11...
Level 15, level 16...
In just two hours, he had raised his Soul Power from level 9 to level 16.
No, this won't do. The Martial Soul of Light's own abilities are powerful, but they consume a lot. Level 16 Soul Power isn't quite enough! I remember that starting in Douluo II, people began cultivating Soul Cores, right? Although I can't form a Soul Core with my current strength, I should still be able to compress my Soul Power! Han Qiu thought. With my current physical condition, my body can easily withstand compressing my Soul Power two- or threefold!
The compression of Soul Power was closely tied to a Soul Master's physical foundation.
Ordinary Soul Masters simply couldn't compress their Soul Power. For one thing, their bodies couldn't withstand the enormous burden; for another, they simply wouldn't think along those lines.
Han Qiu understood that this might also be one of the reasons Soul Masters had to rely on a Soul Ring to advance their Soul Power after every ten levels.
But now, with his reforged body, he could withstand the immense pressure brought on by compressing Soul Power.
Han Qiu's eyes grew brighter. He knew he had found an entirely different path to becoming stronger.
After compression, the total amount of Soul Power would neither increase nor decrease, but the quality of the Soul Power itself would be worlds apart.
The most immediate benefit was that he could use the same Soul Skill more times.
Soul Power did not increase linearly, but at an accelerating rate. The higher the level, the greater the disparity in strength between each level.
Take Power Attack System Titled Douluo, for example. A difference of just one level could often decide victory or defeat.
For that very reason, the farther one progressed, the more terrifyingly difficult it became to compress Soul Power. An ordinary body simply couldn't withstand the immense pressure.