The Trial and the Soul Ring

Chen Mo had spent the entire previous night arranging Lin Yaodong's trial, and his eyes were still a little red.

Early that morning, Chen Mo had summoned Lin Yaodong for the trial.

Chen Mo said, "I left something in a Gale Falcon's nest. Your trial is to bring it back to me. You can't put it in a Soul Tool; you must carry it on your person. The time limit is half a year. Do you have any questions?"

Lin Yaodong thought for a moment before answering, "First question: there are lots of Gale Falcon nests, belonging to falcons anywhere from ten to ten thousand years old. Can you narrow it down? Sunset Forest is so big that if I really searched every nest, forget half a year-I might not find them all even in two years."

Chen Mo answered, "Ten thousand years or older."

Lin Yaodong asked another question. "Second question: does the thing you want me to bring back have to be intact, or can it be damaged?"

Chen Mo replied, "You must bring it back to me intact."

Chen Mo thought for a moment, then added, "Before the trial, you can add a Soul Ring to your Martial Soul.

"For your Soul Rings, you must choose Soul Beasts with characteristics very similar to your Martial Soul's: vitality, tenacity, or spiritual power.

"You can choose one of those three, and once you do, you can only absorb Soul Rings in that direction from then on. The Soul Master System isn't strong to begin with. If the Soul Rings you absorb are a mishmash on top of that, you'll be completely crippled.

"You must remember what I've said."

Lin Yaodong nodded seriously. "Yes, big brother. I'll choose only one direction to strengthen my Martial Soul."

Chen Mo added, "Also, you must obtain every Soul Ring you absorb yourself. You can't ask anyone for help. Kill the Soul Beast yourself, then absorb the ring yourself.

"And I require every one of your Soul Rings to be at least ten thousand years old. Even your First Soul Ring is no exception."

Lin Yaodong was startled. Big brother had said that Soul Beasts below ten thousand years old, whether ten or nine thousand years old, could have their Soul Rings absorbed directly as long as one's body could withstand them.

But Soul Beasts over ten thousand years old were different. One's spiritual power also had to be strong enough, or the Soul Beast's resentment after death would turn one into an idiot or even kill one.

So was his spiritual power already strong enough? Could he absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring?

Lin Yaodong had a faint feeling that something was off.

Why had big brother suggested that he absorb a Soul Ring before the trial?

Lin Yaodong arrived at an answer: it was dangerous. This trip really was extremely dangerous, and he might lose his life.

Lin Yaodong had a reasonable idea of his current strength. He was fully capable of putting up a fight against a Soul King.

An ordinary ten-thousand-year Soul Beast therefore wouldn't pose much of a problem, yet this trial was extremely dangerous. That meant the Soul Beast involved in the trial-the Gale Falcon-was far more than just ten thousand years old.

It was at least fifty thousand years old, and it wasn't impossible for it to be a hundred thousand years old.

Only then could it kill him easily. Having him absorb Soul Rings wasn't meant to let him fight the falcon; it was essentially just to improve his chances of survival, giving him a better chance of passing the trial safely.

Lin Yaodong said, "Third question: if I absorb Soul Rings, can I only absorb one, or can I absorb several?"

Chen Mo said, "Up to you, as long as none are below ten thousand years old."

Up to me?

That meant he could absorb as many as he could. Otherwise, big brother's answer would have been that he could only absorb one.

It seemed big brother didn't want to watch him die either and hoped he would pass.

That was what Lin Yaodong thought.

Lin Yaodong had long known that although his Soul Power Level wouldn't change without absorbing a Soul Ring, his Soul Power could still increase.

He had kept up his cultivation for nearly four years, and for three of those he had cultivated using a cultivation method. His Soul Power was probably far beyond level ten by now; level twenty or even level thirty was entirely possible.

Watching Lin Yaodong leave, Chen Mo sighed.

After all, he would certainly travel to the myriad worlds in the future. Other worlds weren't as safe as the Douluo World. He was bound to encounter many powerful opponents, and when that happened, he wouldn't be able to spare the attention to look after Lin Yaodong.

Lin Yaodong had followed Chen Mo for nine years, and his mental fortitude and perseverance were barely up to standard.

But there was one test Chen Mo didn't know if he could pass: luck, or in other words, fate!

Strength and the like were easy enough to deal with. Keep cultivating, and one would grow stronger eventually. But fate was different.

If Lin Yaodong didn't have the fate for it, Chen Mo would only be harming him by letting him continue to follow him.

If Lin Yaodong's fate wasn't tough enough, he would surely die a miserable death at some powerful enemy's hands if he followed Chen Mo in the future.

So this trial was a gamble with his life.

If he survived, it would mean his fate was tough enough and he wouldn't die so easily. Chen Mo would take him along to the myriad worlds in the future.

If he died?

Chen Mo wasn't really so heartless. Lin Yaodong had followed him for nine years, after all. Even raising a random pet for that long would give rise to some affection, let alone a person.

Xiao Wu: I feel called out.

┐(￣ヘ￣)┌

Chen Mo had long ago secretly placed a life-saving item on him. If misfortune really befell him, the item would die in his place.

He wouldn't actually die. Of course, that would also mean his fate wasn't tough enough and he wasn't destined to follow Chen Mo to the myriad worlds.

Chen Mo would still make use of him in the Douluo World, but only in the Douluo World.

As for the myriad worlds, Chen Mo could only go alone.

Chen Mo murmured to himself, "It's time for me to break through the Soul Scholar stage too."

Ever since reaching Foundation Establishment, Chen Mo had made the Immortal Cultivation System his primary cultivation method. Absorbing Soul Rings would no longer affect him at all.

Chen Mo had also long since decided what kind of Soul Beast he needed to absorb.

Space.

Chen Mo would only absorb Soul Rings from Soul Beasts with spatial characteristics.

With the system's help, absorbing Soul Rings wouldn't give him Soul Skills. Instead, it would increase his affinity for space. That was also why Chen Mo had to absorb Soul Rings from Soul Beasts with spatial characteristics.

Even the system couldn't create something out of nothing. To increase his spatial affinity, the Soul Ring itself had to possess a certain spatial attribute.

As for the Soul Ring's age, it didn't have to be high, but it had to be at least ten thousand years old. Otherwise, the increase in his spatial affinity wouldn't amount to much.

How much spatial affinity he gained depended on the Soul Ring's age and the proportion of its characteristics that were spatial.

So Chen Mo had chosen Soul Beasts over ten thousand years old with extremely strong spatial characteristics.

Only then could Chen Mo turn his spatial affinity into combat power in the shortest possible time.

As for the Soul Rings' ages, Chen Mo had long since made a plan for those too.

Experience Cards.

Chen Mo could use a tier-five Douluo World Experience Card and become a god of the Douluo World. By taking advantage of that world's laws, he could give himself a God-Given Soul Ring and thereby increase the age of his Soul Ring.

As long as his body could withstand it, it was entirely possible for all nine of his rings to be a hundred thousand or even a million years old.

By then, Chen Mo's own spatial affinity could also rise to a truly terrifying level.

Somewhere in Sunset Forest.

Chen Mo was currently driving a flying sword as he pursued a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast-a Giant Pattern Butterfly.

Chen Mo had been chasing it for eight to ten hours and had lost it twice along the way. Two hours ago, he had finally left a mark on it, allowing him to keep following it and prevent it from escaping.

The Giant Pattern Butterfly attacked mainly with its pollen and mouthparts.

Its pollen could induce hallucinations. A mere breath of it would plunge its target into an illusion, whereupon the butterfly would use its sharp mouthparts to suck the victim dry.

That was how the Giant Pattern Butterfly had dealt with Chen Mo at first, but once it realized it couldn't beat him, it promptly made a run for it.

Using its own spatial jumps, it quickly shook Chen Mo off.

At first, the Giant Pattern Butterfly's spatial jumps had only covered a few hundred meters, while Chen Mo's spiritual sense currently had a range of about eight hundred meters.

Although it could quickly open up some distance, Chen Mo would catch up again before long.

But later, the Giant Pattern Butterfly made a spatial jump of nearly a thousand meters, taking it straight out of the range of Chen Mo's spiritual sense.

Chen Mo was both frustrated and delighted.

He was frustrated that he had failed to capture it and let it get away, but delighted that this Giant Pattern Butterfly had an exceptionally strong spatial characteristic. If he made it into his Soul Ring, his spatial affinity might rise to a terrifying degree.

And so one chased while the other fled. Along the way, Chen Mo was intercepted by more than ten Soul Beasts over ten thousand years old.

Chen Mo was already irritated. How could he put up with that?

He formed a few hand seals, and his flying sword lopped off their heads.

Finally, after more than twenty hours, Chen Mo had nearly worn the butterfly to death. Though it could still make spatial jumps, each one covered less than a hundred meters, and the distance grew shorter with every jump.

Chen Mo rejoiced inwardly. The thing was finally almost done for. If he hadn't had an ample supply of medicine and popped quite a few pills to restore his true essence along the way, he would have collapsed long ago.

Sure enough, the pill-popping path was the true way.

At last, amid the Giant Pattern Butterfly's mournful cries, Chen Mo took its life with a single sword strike.

Soon, a black Soul Ring appeared beside the Giant Pattern Butterfly's body.

Chen Mo first set up several formations around the area, then began absorbing the Soul Ring.

After an unknown length of time, Chen Mo finished absorbing it.

Twenty-seven thousand years.

The Giant Pattern Butterfly was a full twenty-seven thousand years old.

Although the Giant Pattern Butterfly wasn't particularly strong and had a fairly limited range of attacks, its ability to make spatial jumps meant there were probably few beings in all of Sunset Forest, or even the entire Douluo Continent, that could threaten it.

The power of space truly defied the heavens.

If it hadn't run into a cheater like Chen Mo, who marked it and then chased it while popping pills, the Giant Pattern Butterfly would have left him at the ends of the earth long ago.

What's this?

An External Soul Bone!

This luck is too good!

Chen Mo recalled something else: both times the Giant Pattern Butterfly had shaken him off, he had only found it again because it had gotten into fights with other Soul Beasts.

After Chen Mo successfully marked it, it had never again been delayed by anything else. But by then it had been too late. Even if it had run to the ends of the earth, Chen Mo could still have found it.