The Soul King realm
Spirit Hall Branch at dawn, a specially reinforced carriage was already parked at the foot of the stone steps. Several Spirit Hall Soul Master were escorting Bu Borisin's deputy out of the underground prison. His limbs were firmly fixed with heavy chains, and metal buckles were also installed on his shoulders to restrict his strength, making him almost unable to move. Even so, the Soul Master in charge of the escort were not careless in the slightest. After confirming that all the locks were in good working order, they put him into the prison carriage and added two more iron locks to the outside of the carriage door.
Lin Yuan stood not far away, watching the group load the last few boxes of goods seized from the Borisin camp onto the carriages. He had already carefully stored away the bone star map and the black token. In addition, there were some weapons, bone ornaments, and bottles that the Spirit Hall had never seen before, all of which he planned to take back to Spirit City and hand over to the Worship Hall. Just as he confirmed that the team was ready, Qian Renxue walked up from behind, glanced at the fully prepared convoy, and said with obvious dissatisfaction in her tone, "I thought we could stay for a few more days this time, but we've only just settled a few things and we have to go back. We finally managed to come out together, and the trip is over so quickly?"
Lin Yuan found it somewhat amusing, and gently ruffled her hair, smoothing a few strands of golden hair ruffled by the morning breeze to the side. "Business comes first. The spatial rift, Borisin, and all those things on them—none of these can be ignored. Once we've dealt with these matters, there will be plenty of opportunities to come out later. If you really want to have fun, I'll accompany you even further."
Qian Renxue slapped his hand away, but wasn't really angry. She just glanced at him and said, "You said it yourself. If you dare to use 'too many tasks' or 'too busy with cultivation' to brush me off again, I'll go straight to the Worship Hall and drag you out." Lin Yuan smiled and agreed, then mounted his horse. With the order given, the caravan slowly left the branch hall and headed towards Spirit City along the official road.
No further incidents occurred on the return journey. After several days of continuous travel, Lin Yuan's Soul Power, which had been nearing its bottleneck, gradually began to change. During this time, he experienced battles against the Medicine King Holy Church and the Borisin, and his control over the Imperial Bow became more proficient than before. In particular, after fighting the Bu Li Borisin captain who had activated Moon Rage, the barrier that had blocked his path for so long had become extremely loose.
On the third night, the caravan rested at an inn near the mountains. Lin Yuan cultivated in his room as usual, his Soul Power slowly circulating along his meridians. However, after completing one cycle, the power that had accumulated in his body for a long time suddenly began to converge towards the bottleneck on its own. He did not deliberately force a breakthrough, but simply maintained his original cultivation rhythm, allowing his Soul Power to wash over the already extremely thin barrier again and again.
Late at night, a soft sound, perceptible only to Lin Yuan, emanated from within his body. His previously restricted Soul Power instantly expanded outward, as if the power accumulated in his meridians had finally found an outlet, and his aura rose to a new level. Lin Yuan opened his eyes, and after a moment of sensing, he confirmed that his Soul Power had officially crossed the threshold of level forty-nine.
Level 50.
He raised his right hand, Imperial Bow slowly condensed amidst specks of azure starlight. Four azure Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet. Starlight continued to flow slowly within the Soul Ring, just as before. However, Lin Yuan waited for a long time, but the fifth Soul Ring never appeared.
In the past, every time he broke through a major realm, the Imperial Bow would resonate with the Path of the Hunt, automatically forming Soul Ring for him. But this time, apart from the Imperial Bow's aura becoming stronger, there were no other changes. Lin Yuan tried to activate his Soul Power and carefully sensed the connection between the depths of his Martial Soul and the Hunt again, but still could not find any signs that the fifth Soul Ring was about to form.
There was a gentle knock on the door. Qian Renxue had clearly sensed the fluctuation of Soul Power earlier, and after receiving a response, she pushed the door open and came in. Seeing the four azure Soul Ring surrounding Lin Yuan, she quickly understood what had happened. "He broke through?"
"Just reached level 50, but there's been a problem." Lin Yuan retracted the Imperial Bow into his body, but his expression wasn't particularly worried. "The fifth Soul Ring didn't condense on its own like the previous four, and I don't know why yet. It might be due to changes in the rules after reaching a higher realm, or it might be related to the Abundance power I've recently encountered. I'll check it out when we return to Spirit City."
After listening, Qian Renxue didn't make any wild guesses. She was relieved after confirming that Lin Yuan's body was normal. The next morning, the group continued their journey, stopping almost every day. Several days later, they finally saw the tall city walls of Spirit City.
The message had obviously been sent back in advance. After entering Spirit City, Lin Yuan and Qian Renxue did not even return to their residence, but went directly to the Worship Hall with the most important spoils. The prisoner of Borisin was escorted separately to the prison area below the Worship Hall, where he was personally guarded by several Soul Douluo- level experts.
Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu had been waiting for a long time. Lin Yuan recounted the information obtained from the interrogation in its entirety, and then placed the bone star map and the black token on the table. When he heard that Borisin had entered Douluo Continent through an abnormal spatial rift, and that the clan's priest had said that "the branches of the Yaoshi have already taken root on the other side," Qian Daoliu's expression became noticeably more serious.
Standing to the side, Light Feather Douluo didn't immediately look at the things. Instead, he walked directly to Lin Yuan and punched him on the head. The force wasn't strong, but it made Lin Yuan instinctively cover his head. Guang Ling coldly scolded, "You brat, do you just enjoy doing dangerous things? First the Medicine King Holy Church, then the Far North, and now you even dare to approach those werewolves from the Star Sea. Am I going to have to go to heaven to collect your corpse in a few years?"
Lin Yuan rubbed his head, knowing that what the teacher was really angry about was that he had once again told him about the danger only after he had finished the task. So he didn't argue, but simply said, "This time someone was with us, and I didn't rush in alone. Besides, we even brought one back alive, so at least the result was good."
Guang Ling was about to continue scolding him when Qian Daoliu picked up the bone star map and examined it carefully. After a moment, he looked up and asked, "You said there was one more thing?"
Lin Yuan nodded and summoned the Imperial Bow again. Four azure Soul Ring surrounded him, and the aura of a level 50 Soul King was released. Guang Ling's anger immediately lessened, while Qian Renxue stood silently to the side, clearly already knowing the outcome.
"I broke through level 50 on the way back, but the fifth Soul Ring didn't appear," Lin Yuan said, looking at the Imperial Bow. "The first four times, as long as my Soul Power reached the bottleneck, the Hunt Power would automatically condense Soul Ring. This time, I've stabilized at level 50, but the Imperial Bow hasn't reacted at all. I suspect it might be related to my recent continuous contact with Abundance."
After listening, Qian Daoliu pondered for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face, "It may not be a bad thing. Since your Soul Ring comes from that deity, the fact that your fifth Soul Ring hasn't appeared yet might be a test from the god. Once you've completed what He truly wants you to do, the Soul Ring will naturally appear."
Lin Yuan's eyes twitched slightly as he listened, and he was speechless.
Is Lan testing herself?
Given that Aeon of the Hunt's personality, he's probably currently chasing after the trail left by the Yaoshi in some star field, shooting his way through. He wouldn't have the time to arrange some Soul King test for himself. If Lan were to personally set the test, it probably wouldn't be something like comprehension or temperament. It would most likely be throwing a Abominations of Abundance in front of him and telling him when to shoot it dead, and then it would be over.
However, these words obviously couldn't be explained directly to Qian Daoliu. In the end, Lin Yuan could only look at the Imperial Bow floating quietly beside him, and then glance down at the bone star map on the table.
The fifth Soul Ring did not appear.
But the star map ended up in his hands at this very moment.
He himself hardly believed that there was absolutely no connection between the two.