Douluo: My Custom Achievement System

In the outer region, however, Jiang Yi had Li Lingyu's protection, and he suffered no harm while refining the Soul Ring.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves and fell deep into the forest. The dew that had gathered overnight evaporated in the heat.

Jiang Yi's entire body was enveloped in a rich yellow light, with what seemed to be a faint trace of purple within it.

The rich yellow light trembled, then poured into Jiang Yi's body.

Immediately afterward, a yellow Soul Ring rose behind him.

"He did it!" Li Lingyu's face lit up with delight.

A nine-hundred-year First Soul Ring-probably no one else on the entire Douluo Continent could have fused with one, yet his own disciple had done it.

But as he rejoiced, the sight before him suddenly left him utterly shocked.

The yellow Soul Ring rising behind Jiang Yi began to boil.

Yellow light swirled continuously, and wisps of purple Qi rose from it. In an instant, the yellow Soul Ring transformed from yellow to purple.

"How is that possible?" Li Lingyu cried in disbelief.

He had never heard of a Soul Ring changing color after it had been fused.

Changing from yellow to purple was not merely a change in color. It meant a change in the Soul Ring's age.

Purple light enveloped Jiang Yi's body as powerful Soul Power surged.

His Soul Power, which had been stagnant for so long, began rising rapidly like a gushing well.

Level eleven, level twelve, level thirteen... Only when it reached level sixteen did the surge of Soul Power gradually subside.

Jiang Yi slowly opened his eyes, his eyes full of joy.

"Level sixteen. I broke straight through to level sixteen."

Even before fusing with the Soul Ring, his total Soul Power had reached level thirteen. The thousand-year First Soul Ring had directly raised his Soul Power by three levels.

Without spending much time sensing the changes from fusing with the Soul Ring, he turned to the stunned Li Lingyu.

"Teacher, are you all right?"

Li Lingyu gazed at the deep purple Soul Ring and managed to calm himself.

"Little Yi, does anything feel wrong with your body?" Li Lingyu asked tentatively.

"Of course not." Jiang Yi shook his head.

Looking at Jiang Yi's calm expression, Li Lingyu suddenly realized that Jiang Yi himself must have known about this.

Otherwise, he could never have been so calm.

"Good. Take a good look at your first Soul Skill. I've never seen a thousand-year first Soul Skill before," Li Lingyu said with a smile, setting his doubts aside.

Jiang Yi couldn't make sense of such a swift change in attitude.

"Teacher, you..."

Before Jiang Yi could finish, Li Lingyu interrupted him. "Everyone has their own secrets. I won't pry."

"But you must keep it well hidden in the future. Don't let people with ulterior motives find out."

Hearing his words, Jiang Yi smiled knowingly.

"I understand."

He had revealed his ability to increase a Soul Ring's age this time because he trusted Li Lingyu, and because he lacked the ability to hunt for his First Soul Ring on his own.

If absorbing Soul Rings in the future involved a change in their color, he would naturally take care to keep it secret.

After that interlude, Jiang Yi continued to examine the changes from fusing with his Soul Ring.

The improvement to his physical abilities went without saying. His Blue Silver Grass had also grown much stronger after he fused with the Soul Ring.

With a flash of blue light, Blue Silver Grass took shape.

This time, the Blue Silver Grass had doubled in thickness again. It could now be called a vine.

Its original bright blue had turned a deep inky blue. Under the sunlight, the vines seemed to have flowing grayish-white veins, while the faint golden threads had become a little more conspicuous.

A surging yet restrained life force lay within it.

Chapter 39: Hemlock Power, Heading to Shrek (Please keep reading!)

The life emanating from the Blue Silver Grass had changed from its former natural freshness to something steady and weighty, like a mountain.

Li Lingyu's eyes lit up as he looked at the drastically changed Blue Silver Grass, and he nodded slightly.

As expected, a Soul Beast with matching attributes like the Ancient Hemlock brought the greatest benefits to the Blue Silver Grass.

As its owner, Jiang Yi naturally felt the changes to his Martial Soul most clearly.

After fusing with the Ancient Hemlock, his Blue Silver Grass had gained a tremendous increase in both toughness and vitality.

His Blue Silver Grass had finally gone from being so fragile that it couldn't be used in battle to the formidable Martial Soul it was now.

"There's also the Soul Skill."

Without hesitation, Jiang Yi used his first Soul Skill.

The purple ring flashed, and the flowing grayish-white veins on the Blue Silver Grass shone.

Under the influence of that power, the Blue Silver Grass underwent a tremendous change.

The dark blue Blue Silver Grass transformed into enormous grayish-white vines that gave off a cold gleam, like ten-thousand-year cold iron.

The vines' weight, however, remained unchanged.

Jiang Yi controlled the Blue Silver Grass and lashed it out, a sharp whistle cutting through the air.

"Smack!"

The Blue Silver Grass struck a tree so large that it took two people to encircle it, instantly leaving a huge dent in the trunk.

The tree shook violently, sending leaves flying, as though it might snap and fall at any moment.

"This strength..." Li Lingyu was somewhat delighted.

Most Blue Silver Grass on the continent today had poison attributes added to it, emphasizing toughness and using poison to fell enemies.

It was exceedingly rare for Blue Silver Grass to possess such great strength as Jiang Yi's did.

After all, the nature of a Soul Beast like Blue Silver Grass had already determined that it would never possess much strength.

"Little Yi, attack me," Li Lingyu instructed. He wanted to test the strength of Jiang Yi's Blue Silver Grass himself.

Jiang Yi didn't hesitate. The Blue Silver vines moved as easily as his own arm, whipping toward Li Lingyu.

Facing the fierce assault of the Blue Silver vines, Li Lingyu neither dodged nor retreated. He raised a hand and caught them.

The Blue Silver Grass that had nearly snapped a tree with one blow felt as light as nothing in Li Lingyu's hand.

Jiang Yi's expression remained unchanged. Although his Blue Silver Grass had grown stronger, affecting a Soul Emperor was still impossible.

"Continue. Try wrapping me up this time," Li Lingyu said after testing its strength.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Blue Silver vines broke free of his grasp.

Like a giant python, they wound frantically around Li Lingyu, binding half his body, arms and all, in an instant.

The vines continued to tighten, pressing in on Li Lingyu.

The tremendous force made even Li Lingyu exert a little strength to maintain his composure.

"I'm going to try to break it now. Get ready," Li Lingyu warned.

Li Lingyu strained with both hands, forcing the tightening Blue Silver vines apart in one motion.

Just as the Blue Silver vines were about to snap, they burst with intense gray light, releasing a powerful breath of life.

The cracking Blue Silver vines healed instantly and erupted with even greater strength, actually managing to faintly suppress Li Lingyu, a Soul Emperor.

"Interesting." Li Lingyu was somewhat surprised as he felt that power.

He then exerted more strength and snapped the Blue Silver vines in an instant, before that powerful life force could take effect.

But to Li Lingyu's renewed surprise, the broken Blue Silver vines took root and sprouted again in the blink of an eye.

"Little Yi, your first Soul Skill is exceptionally powerful. As expected of a thousand-year First Soul Ring."

"Under normal circumstances, its strength and toughness are already on par with a high-level Soul Grandmaster. When its vitality erupts, it can rival a Soul Elder."

"If a Soul Elder were bound by it, even breaking free would be difficult."

Li Lingyu voiced his assessment in praise.

Seeing how powerful his Soul Skill was, Jiang Yi smiled as well.

His first Soul Skill was called Hemlock Power, a Martial Soul enhancement Soul Skill.

When used, it allowed the Blue Silver Grass to enter Hemlock Form, tripling its strength and toughness.

Its vitality also increased greatly, allowing it to heal quickly when injured and regenerate through its life force even after being severed.

Of course, those were far from the only uses of a self-enhancement Soul Skill like this.

As long as a Soul Master had enough imagination and control, there were many ways to use it.

Having fully grasped the changes brought by fusing with his First Soul Ring, Jiang Yi was thoroughly satisfied.

His Soul Power, Martial Soul, and combat strength had all improved tremendously. It was an all-around transformation.

"Now that you've finished fusing with the Soul Ring, let's leave the Star Dou Great Forest," Li Lingyu said.

"Teacher, after we leave, could we visit Shrek Academy?" Jiang Yi suggested, a little embarrassed.

Li Lingyu looked at him with narrowed, smiling eyes, then said, "Of course."

After leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, Jiang Yi and his teacher headed toward Shrek Academy.

Standing on a small hill, they could see the vast, majestic city not far away.

Jiang Yi's eyes held a trace of excitement, while Li Lingyu's expression was far more complicated.

There was nostalgia and resistance, but most of all, regret.

"Let's go. Nannan has probably been waiting for you at Shrek for a long time," Li Lingyu said with a mischievous grin, composing himself.

A helpless look crossed Jiang Yi's face. He had said he would go see Jiang Nannan soon, but nearly a year had slipped by.

When Jiang Nannan saw him, she would surely throw a little tantrum.

At Shrek Academy, Jiang Nannan was excitedly packing her things in her dormitory. It was now late November.

In another three days, they would be able to go home for the holidays.

How could she not be excited when she would get to see her mother and Brother Jiang Yi?

"Nannan, what are you doing? There are still three days until the holidays, and you're already busy packing your clothes?"

Just then, a lively girl in a school uniform ran into the dormitory, hugged Jiang Nannan, and asked with a laugh.

"Hmph, can't I start a little early?" Jiang Nannan complained, breaking free of her embrace.

"We know our Nannan is in a hurry to go back and see her Brother Jiang Yi."

"I wonder what those male students in the outer academy would think if they saw our usually aloof number one beauty of the outer academy making that face over a man," the girl teased.

"What those people think is none of my business." Jiang Nannan couldn't have cared less.

"Nannan, stop packing. There's still plenty of time. Come out and stroll around with me."

"You're going home anyway. Wouldn't it be nice to buy some gifts for your mother and Jiang Yi?" the girl coaxed Jiang Nannan.

Jiang Nannan thought the girl had a point, and unable to withstand her pestering, she reluctantly followed her out of the academy gates to go shopping.

Chapter 40: Old Friend (Please keep reading!)

Only after entering Shrek City did Jiang Yi realize how insignificant Spirit Mountain City was on the Douluo Continent.

This place was ten or even a hundred times more prosperous than Spirit Mountain City, and Soul Masters could be seen everywhere.

There were also many somewhat dark-skinned people from the Sun Moon Empire who had come with merchant caravans to sell Soul Tools.