Supercritical State

Everyone was stunned after hearing him out.

Though there were some terms in Bao Liang's explanation they did not quite understand, once he told them to think of him as a walking Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Bomb, Jing Hongchen and the others quickly grasped the precise effect of his fourth Soul Skill in light of what he had said.

Who among them had never encountered a Soul Guidance Bomb?

A Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Bomb was a strategic weapon powerful enough to threaten a Titled Douluo, and it took an entire team of Soul Engineers months to make one.

Yet Bao Liang, a boy of only ten, had condensed that kind of power into a single Soul Skill.

"...Honestly, if I could trade years of my life for a Soul Skill like that, I might be willing to do it too," Ye Yulin suddenly said, a trace of envy in his voice.

"Old Ye, shut your mouth!" Jing Hongchen glared at him. "Bao Liang, tell us the side effects! Don't tell me there aren't any! There's no way a Soul Skill like that has no side effects!"

"The side effects..." Bao Liang thought for a moment. "First, it consumes a tremendous amount of power. Even with my Soul Power full, I can't use it ten times as I am now.

"Second, the internal reaction-the same effect is happening inside my body too. It just won't take my life for the time being while it's inside me. Instead, it keeps reacting and building up around my new heart, the External Soul Bone formed from the heart of the Star-Bearing Dragon Beast that devoured the Thundering Hell Vine-the Heart of Negative Creation."

"Of course, it's not all bad." Bao Liang smiled. "Because I obtained this special heart External Soul Bone entwined by the Thundering Hell Vine, the side effects have been reduced considerably.

"At the same time, my fourth Soul Skill has three release states."

Bao Liang held up one finger. "One, [subcritical state]-there isn't enough material to begin with, so a large number of Soul Power fragments escape directly into the air without striking the next particle. The chain is broken, the explosive force quickly decays, and it produces only an ordinary explosion.

"Two, [critical state]-each time something shatters, it produces exactly one effective fragment to trigger the next Explosion.

"The explosion doesn't spiral wildly out of control. Its power remains stable and sustained, allowing it to be used as an attack that continuously burns and shakes the target, without swallowing me up along with it in an instant.

"Three, [supercritical state]-a sufficient 'critical mass' is achieved, with enough power particles gathered together.

"Each shattering produces two or three effective bombardment fragments, and the chain reaction surges exponentially.

"In an instant, countless explosions pile layer upon layer, unleashing all their power in a flash and forming a devastating sphere of light.

"At the same time, the Soul Bone Skill 'Negative Creation' that comes with the heart External Soul Bone can convert the output into an amplification by an equivalent multiple."

"As for why I said I wouldn't live past sixteen," Bao Liang said frankly, "it's because the amplification is limited by my body, and that limit is fixed.

"I have four rings now, and my body can withstand an amplification of at most sixteen times, so I can only live to sixteen."

"Wait!" Xiao Hongchen suddenly spotted the flaw, his eyes flying wide. "You mean... don't tell me the oldest you can live to is the square of your current number of Soul Rings? Then how old can you live to with five rings?"

"Twenty-five. Is there a problem?" Bao Liang looked utterly puzzled, seemingly not thinking it was a big deal.

"Is there a problem? It's a huge problem!" everyone cried in unison.

"What level are you now?" Veins bulged at Xiao Hongchen's temple, and his voice changed pitch. "Don't tell me you can't make it to level fifty in six years!"

"Because of my fourth Soul Ring and my heart External Soul Bone, I have the beginnings of a Soul Core, and my Soul Power has been compressed again... Level forty-five." Bao Liang paused, then added, "Besides, I can guarantee I'll reach level fifty by next year at the latest. Xiao, are you looking down on me?"

"Then why were you acting like you were at death's door?!" Jing Hongchen pointed at Bao Liang's nose, his hand trembling. "Do you know you nearly scared this old man to death?! You'll be level fifty next year, so with five rings you can live to twenty-five. You're alive and well, and you were just playing us for fools?!"

Bao Liang blinked in confusion. "Grandpa Jing, I wasn't wrong. I really don't have long to live.

"Although the supercritical state can unleash tremendous power, every time I use it, I'm burning my life away.

"Right now, I can only use the supercritical state sixteen times at most. Once they're used up, I'll..."

"Then why wouldn't you let us tell that girl Meng?" Ye Yulin could not help asking, his voice choking up a little.

Bao Liang spread his hands. "Like I said, there's no need.

"Although the supercritical state costs me years of my life, it's not like I really won't live until then.

"And I don't want Sister Meng to worry."

"Then why did you have that miserable, regretful look on your face from the start?! Speak! Look my eyes!!!" Xiao Hongchen had his face almost pressed against Bao Liang's, his eyes as red as a rabbit's.

Bao Liang smiled calmly-

"Hehe~☆"

"Hit him! Beat him to death for me!" Jing Hongchen launched the attack himself, landing a solid punch on Bao Liang's forehead. "You've made this old man furious! How dare you play that kind of joke on me!"

Xiao Hongchen followed up the instant Jing Hongchen made his move, unleashing a flurry of little bee elbow strikes on Bao Liang.

Even the good-tempered Ye Yulin could not resist kicking Bao Liang high and low, with no end of satisfaction.

"Wait! Wait! There's another surprise! I have another surprise!"

"We don't want it! If I don't break your legs today, my name isn't Jing Hongchen!"

"Count me in!"

"Count this old man in too!"

"Nooooo! Aow-!!!"

"What?! You said you received a Divine Trial?!!"

In the room, everyone cried out together, their voices filled with incredulous shock.

Bao Liang lay on the bed, his face black and blue and his nose bleeding from the beating. Yet now he still had to bear this even more explosive news, and he looked utterly miserable.

"Mm-hmm, I got a D'vine Twial."

Hearing Bao Liang's slurred words, Jing Hongchen and the other two awkwardly looked away.

They really had hit him a little too hard just now. Now that he had received a Divine Trial, if they kept beating him, something might actually go wrong.

"Um, ahem... Weren't Divine Trials made up over on the Douluo Continent? How did they turn out to be real?" Xiao Hongchen scratched his head, sounding somewhat confused.

He had grown up in the Sun Moon Empire and had regarded the myths and legends of the Douluo Continent as mere rumors, never taking them seriously.

"You're wrong, Xiao. That's not a legend; it's a fact." Jing Hongchen's expression grew grave. "Do you remember that descendant of the Dugu Family I told you about? His ancestor witnessed it firsthand-and was a victim, too."

Xiao Hongchen's eyes lit up. "You mean Uncle Dugu Bo, who fled here from the Douluo Continent? He said his ancestor was once a friend of a god despite their difference in age, but was later deceived by the Sea God, lost his family and home, and was left with a name that would stink for ten thousand years..."

"That's right." Jing Hongchen nodded. "So the Bao boy is now just like those people from ten thousand years ago-oh, no, I should call them gods now.

"Just like those gods, he's gained the Divine Realm's recognition."

Bao Liang nodded in confirmation. "That's right, Grandpa Ye.

"As long as I complete the Divine Trial, I'll be able to become a god too."

Ye Yulin sucked in a breath of cold air, then asked, "Old Toad, you mean... there really were gods ten thousand years ago?"

"There were," Jing Hongchen said with certainty. "And according to rumor, Divine Trials aren't confined to the Douluo Continent. They're how gods select their successors.

"It's just that in the past ten thousand years, no one on the Douluo Continent has gained the recognition of a Divine Trial again."

"Not only that," Bao Liang suddenly said. His voice was weak, but unusually clear. "Grandpa Jing, didn't you ask me why I wanted to do this? Would you like to hear the answer?"

"Let's hear it." Jing Hongchen looked at him, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Ten thousand years ago, Tang San and his teammates in the Shrek Seven Devils passed their Divine Trials, ascended to godhood, and went to the Divine Realm," Bao Liang said slowly. "Unlike some of the gods in the Divine Realm who had grown tired of its dull life, Tang San was in his prime when he ascended, and his ambition was at its height.

"Besides, he had always been the backbone of the team on the Douluo Continent. As a result, even after becoming a god, he couldn't forget the taste of power, much less give up his desire to claim the Douluo Continent for himself.

"Most important of all, Tang San was a man of extreme double standards, one thing on the surface and another underneath, and his desire for control was beyond imagination."

At that, Jing Hongchen and Ye Yulin both understood.

"Little Bao Liang, don't tell me you mean..." Jing Hongchen's voice was grave.

"That's right," Bao Liang said firmly. "No one has become a god in these past ten thousand years, not because they lacked talent, but because a certain god acted out of selfishness, unable to give up the power in his hands."

He paused and looked at Jing Hongchen. "Grandpa Jing, you still remember what was in Travels in the Douluo Continent, the Immortal Herb Catalogue, and Record of the Dugu Family's Blood-and-Tears Vendetta, right?

"The Sea God once had a treasure land, which he encountered and acquired before becoming a god. Immortal Herbs grew there in countless numbers.

"The Sea God gave Immortal Herbs to his teammates, and together they gained the qualifications to become gods, ascending to godhood."

"Grandpa Jing, that place was none other than the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, which Tang San tricked Poison Douluo Dugu Bo out of and ultimately seized for himself by force."