Chapter 25: A Powerful Foundation of Confidence-Tornei-me o Rei das Rochas, mas estou realizando tarefas de todos os mundos(Quem garante, tem alma de garantia.)

Chapter 25: A Powerful Foundation

Since that night, Bibi Dong had acted as if nothing had happened, taking Zhong Yan into the Star Dou Great Forest every day to search for a suitable soul beast.

Perhaps light-attribute soul beasts were simply too rare, or perhaps the Star Dou Great Forest was too vast. After searching for several days, they hadn't found a single suitable candidate. They had, however, encountered plenty of earth-attribute soul beasts, which they simply marked for later reference.

At this moment, Zhong Yan looked at a light-attribute horse that had just reached ten thousand years of age and said to Bibi Dong, "Teacher, we have been looking for days. Light-attribute soul beasts are too difficult to find. I think that Rock Drake we saw earlier, the one around 16,000 years old, was quite suitable. Why don't we go back and finish it off?"

*Hmm... I need to return to the Spirit Hall as soon as possible. I cannot be away for too long, and this boy will likely need to acquire his fourth soul ring soon. We are running out of time.*

Having made up her mind, Bibi Dong said to Zhong Yan, "Let's go with that Rock Drake. It shouldn't be a problem for you."

With that, Bibi Dong took Zhong Yan back to the habitat of the Rock Drake they had found earlier. Thanks to the mark they had left behind, it was easy to locate.

When they arrived, the Rock Drake was still sleeping soundly, completely unaware that its end was near. Bibi Dong did not even need to summon her martial soul; she simply released her soul power, suppressing the sleeping beast instantly.

The Rock Drake struggled in vain. Zhong Yan jumped in front of it and drew his great spear. The sharpness of the Vortex Vanquisher was beyond doubt; with a single thrust, he pierced its skull, ending its life.

A black soul ring slowly drifted upward. Zhong Yan quickly sat down; he was about to create the miracle of having a ten-thousand-year third soul ring for the first time in history. He felt a bit nervous, but he was mostly joyful. From this third soul ring onward, by connecting to the ley lines, he would finally have the foundation and capital to truly stand firm in this world.

As the soul ring settled onto his body, Zhong Yan slowly closed his eyes. The moment the black energy surged into him, he felt the surrounding light dim, as if he were being submerged in a towering tidal wave. This was no exaggeration; the energy from the soul ring filled every corner of his body in an instant.

The energy of a Rock Drake was different from that of typical earth-attribute soul beasts. Most earth-attribute beasts carried a sense of heaviness and oppression, but the Rock Drake was full of vitality. Its energy was incredibly active.

Zhong Yan suddenly recalled that Rock Drakes over 30,000 years old could utilize other elemental energies. Perhaps this characteristic was related to such lively energy. Only by being sufficiently active could one connect to other elemental energies, and the tolerance unique to earth had cleverly transformed into fusion within the Rock Drake.

It seems my fourth soul ring has been found! Have you ever seen a falling star imbued with molten lava? But for now, the most important thing is to absorb this ten-thousand-year soul ring.

An hour passed. Bibi Dong sat down in a clearing just a few meters away.
Two hours passed. Bibi Dong’s spiritual power remained constantly vigilant, monitoring everything around them.
Three hours passed. Bibi Dong began to fidget with her fingers out of boredom, though her spiritual power continued to scan the surroundings.

Four hours passed, and Zhong Yan finally showed signs of movement. Two yellow rings and one black ring. One hundred-year, one near-thousand-year, and one nearly twenty-thousand-year soul ring.

The three soul rings circled his body, rising and falling. As they appeared, an invisible pressure immediately bore down on the surroundings, though Bibi Dong seemed completely unaffected—or rather, this level of pressure was indeed nothing to her.

Seeing that Zhong Yan had fully awakened, Bibi Dong asked, "How did it go? How was the absorption of the third soul ring? What is your third soul skill?"

"Teacher, the absorption went very smoothly. After your guidance, that bit of spiritual impact was nothing. And my third soul skill is truly incredible."

Hearing this, Bibi Dong asked with interest, "Oh? Tell me about it."

"I have named my third soul skill 'Cangbi.' It upholds the heavens and grants me the ability to connect to the ley lines."

"After connecting to the ley lines, the cost of all my skills is covered by the earth itself. In other words, my body acts as a filter; I draw energy from the ley lines, filter it through my body to convert it into soul power, and then apply it to my soul skills. I can now use many of my self-created skills without restraint. You know that even though my soul power capacity far exceeds that of ordinary soul masters, it is nothing compared to the demands of those self-created skills."

To explain the Jade Shield and the Falling Star granted by the Gnosis, Zhong Yan used the excuse of self-created skills. As for why Bibi Dong did not suspect him, it was because the development of his first two skills had already proven his talent for creation.

"And the drawbacks?" Bibi Dong was not carried away; after a calm analysis, she asked this question.

"Teacher is truly a teacher. Such a powerful soul skill naturally has its limits. However, the drawback is not the skill itself, but my body. When connected to the ley lines, the total amount of energy I can filter depends on how much my body can withstand. For now, if I were to spam my ultimate moves without restraint, I could sustain it for ten minutes!"

*Hah! From now on...*

*Order guide you!*
*Heavenly principles prevail!*
*This is the way of heaven!*

"It is truly worthy of being the power of a god. It is frightening. What is your soul power level now?" After sighing, Bibi Dong asked the question she cared about most. She still had doubts about what exactly these "ley lines" were, but she didn't know if she could ask, so she chose not to. Perhaps one day, Zhong Yan would tell her himself.

"My calculations were correct. After absorbing the soul ring, my soul power jumped straight to level forty. And because of the body tempering from the past period, I have completely mastered this surge of power; there is no instability in my foundation," Zhong Yan said happily.

"In other words, you can acquire your fourth soul ring now?"

"Yes, Teacher. And I have already decided on my fourth soul ring: a Rock Drake over 30,000 years old!"

Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong realized his plan. "You want to acquire the Rock Drake's ability to use other elements?"

"Exactly! That's the one. Teacher is indeed brilliant, hehe."

"Since that is the case, let us delve deeper. I am becoming more and more curious about your future."

"Yes!"