area51novel Chapter 257 It's time to seize the opportunity.
Chapter 257 It's time to seize the opportunity.
Di Tian's voice sent a chill down Long You's spine. The spiritual warning was indeed accurate; Di Tian had indeed harbored murderous intent towards Long You upon hearing that he had many soul beast companions with him. Fortunately, Da Bai's spontaneous actions truly demonstrated that all his current behavior was entirely of his own volition, not forced by Long You, indirectly giving Long You a "good guy" card and allowing Di Tian to temporarily spare Long You's life.
Before even landing at the Lake of Life, Long You saw the ritual magic circle already set up, and a Cloud-Stepping Black Panther that, even with the naked eye, was clearly in the final stages of its life. The materials were complete, but who would consume them?
This is a soul transformation experiment. Souls need to be attached to the martial soul of a soul master to exist. There are no soul masters here now. How does Di Tian plan to conduct the experiment?
Before Long You could even ask questions, Xiong Jun, the dark gold-clawed bear with a fierce face, rushed over carrying an unconscious Soul Master like a chick.
Seeing this, Long You's brain, whose processing speed had been super-aggregated, instantly sorted out the whole situation. More than a month ago, during the experiment of converting ordinary animals into soul spirits at Shrek Academy, Di Tian had proposed to see if ordinary animals could generate soul spirits of higher age, but at that time there were no suitable soul masters in the academy, so the experiment was postponed.
Now, a month has passed, and neither Di Tian's patience nor Elder Mu's health can continue to wait. Therefore, the academy has reached a new cooperation agreement with the Star Dou Great Forest. The Star Dou Great Forest will directly find soul masters in the forest who need to add a fifth or sixth soul ring.
While this may seem inhumane and hostile, a closer look reveals it's not entirely harmful. First, let's address the inhumanity issue—the kidnapping itself is inexplicable—and focus on the benefits. Soul spirits are far more useful than simple soul rings. Even without awakened martial soul consciousness, a soul spirit can essentially help a soul master achieve their dream of automated combat. Soul masters come to the Star Dou Great Forest to acquire soul rings for advancement; now, after being treated unfairly, they've received a more useful soul ring. If we disregard psychological factors, it's not a loss; even with psychological considerations, it's barely acceptable.
Let me explain the issue of suspicion against Zidi. To explain this, we first need to understand how the Star Dou Great Forest selects Soul Masters. Long You asked the seemingly easy-going Bi Ji and already knew the answer: the Star Dou Great Forest selects solo Soul Masters with a Soul Power level of 50 or 60 who are agile attack-type Soul Masters. As for how they determine that the selected Soul Master is indeed an agile attack-type, they just look at their speed. Most solo Soul Masters coming to the Star Dou Great Forest, except for the reckless, are Battle Soul Masters (if they are Soul Guidance Masters, they will have Soul Guidance Devices). Among Battle Soul Masters, those who are significantly faster are over 90% agile attack-type Soul Masters.
Having understood this, we can then discuss the question of whether or not there is an enemy. Considering that the Star Dou Great Forest is located in the center of the original Douluo Continent's Three Kingdoms, it is unlikely that a Soul Master from the Sun Moon Empire would be able to cross mountains and valleys. Furthermore, excluding those carrying a full set of Soul Master equipment, we can basically confirm that there is no possibility of an enemy.
Alright, let's get back to the main topic. The "destined soul master" who was captured by Xiong Jun has woken up in a daze after being subjected to various methods. Under the watchful eyes of the big shots in the room, Long You, the little soul emperor who has started the gears of destiny, consciously began to explain to the "destined nameless soul master" and even acted as a model himself, demonstrating the effects of soul spirits.
The "Nameless Soul Master in Destiny" was still in a daze, but he was now certain that he wouldn't die. All he needed to do now was to obey orders. If his luck wasn't too bad, a good thing should be waiting for him.
That was enough; the long-awaited Soul Transformation Ceremony could finally begin. On the already inscribed Soul Transformation Array, countless emerald-green crystals, brimming with life energy, were now inlaid. The "Nameless Soul Master of Destiny" and the "Chosen Cloud-Stepping Black Panther" were both in place. Di Tian, the King of Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest, personally activated the Soul Transformation Array.
Long You, having retreated back into his soul-guided power mech, stared intently at the feedback screen of the soul-guided detection device in front of him. Having detected sufficiently clear fluctuations in the laws of nature multiple times, Long You had already upgraded the soul-guided detection device specifically designed for such fluctuations. This time, detecting such a significant fluctuation in the law of wood at such close range, the detection device's feedback to Long You directly presented the pattern of a law rune diagram.
This was a golden opportunity to comprehend the laws of nature. Even knowing the location wasn't ideal, Long You still proactively released his Water Law domain. Long You understood the principles of elemental interactions and their mutual restraints. Water nourishes wood, and in the foreseeable future, there was no more suitable situation than this for comprehending the Wood Law domain.
The soul transformation process was uneventful and without any major incidents. However, the Star Dou Great Forest wanted to test whether using soul beasts to transform soul spirits could also improve the quality of soul spirits by condensing more energy. Therefore, the entire soul transformation process was relatively long.
For Long You, this was undoubtedly a good thing. As time passed, Long You could already feel the mysterious power surrounding him, but it was still a little short, just a little short. That power always felt like something he could see but couldn't touch, which was incredibly alluring. The energy fluctuations in the arena had begun to weaken, and just when Long You felt that his destiny with the Wood Law domain hadn't arrived yet, a turning point appeared.
The life energy crystals embedded around the soul transformation array began to take effect. At that moment, the water law that Long You had already grasped was gently touched, and a sense of life's gestation quietly rose in his heart.
"So that's it, the point where water and wood meet—the birth of life."
The moment he grasped this truth, green energy spots began to appear in the pale blue area that had been undulating around Long You. The spots gathered more and more, forming lines and then surfaces. The vibrant life force within the gentle water energy was undergoing its final gestation.
"Roar—" After becoming a spirit, the old and frail Black Panther felt the life force returning to its body and let out a joyful roar. At this moment, Long You's lips also curled into a beautiful smile.
"Spring's budding, summer's flourishing, come forth, my domain of the Laws of Wood."
A hazy, harmonious, mysterious, and powerful energy fluctuation flashed by around Long You. Although Long You's understanding of the laws of water and wood was still very vague, or even just a superficial understanding, the fact that the two law domains had been established meant that Long You truly possessed the key to explore the magnificent path of the laws.
After reclaiming his domain, Long You didn't spend time savoring his gains, but instead quickly surveyed his surroundings. The situation was better than Long You had imagined; this time, comprehending the power of a domain of laws hadn't put him into a deep sleep, and the overall time spent wasn't particularly long. Those present were all powerful figures. Although it was surprising that a Soul Emperor of only sixty-something could possess a domain, the experts' perspectives were clear; the immediate priority was the transformation of his soul spirit.
Of course, Long You had indeed caused some commotion, so it wasn't fair to completely ignore him. If Jade Swan's gaze towards Long You was one of curiosity, then Elder Mu's gaze was absolutely meaningful. There was no other way; Elder Mu was still hoping to revive his crippled body after comprehending the Law of Wood!
However, this is, after all, the Star Dou Great Forest. Even though Elder Mu was very curious about whether Long You had truly comprehended the Law of Wood, and wanted to ask Long You if there were any tricks to comprehending the law, or even to find out what changes comprehending the Law of Wood would bring, Elder Mu also knew very well that he couldn't question Long You in this environment. After all, this is the Star Dou Great Forest, the territory of Di Tian and other soul beasts. When the temptation is great enough, it's hard to say whether Di Tian might want to do something.
After all, judging from the current situation, the Star Dou Great Forest has also mastered the technology of soul transformation. If they really want to promote it, the soul beasts can do it themselves.
Smiling slightly at Elder Mu's gaze, Long You moved closer. Soul-based spiritual beings were a unique skill of the future Spirit Transmission Tower. The method Long You had developed—directly increasing the lifespan of a soul during the transformation process—while not a true soul ascension, was still a foundation. Understanding the entire process would help Long You research a magic array version of the ascension ritual.
The "chosen soul master" was quite well-behaved amidst the observation of a group of powerful figures. Although it cannot be ruled out that the soul master's current behavior was a case of getting an advantage while pretending to be innocent, his obedient cooperation with the experiment did indeed make it easier for everyone to observe.
"The original cultivation of the Cloud-Stepping Black Panther was only about 20,000 years, but judging from its current size and the power of its soul skills, it probably has a cultivation of nearly 50,000 years. Although completing this level of improvement consumed Bi Ji's life crystals accumulated over a whole year, there is no doubt that this method is effective and can be applied continuously. After all, we can use other energy crystals to replace life crystals, and as long as the price is reasonable, the difficulty is not too high."
None of the soul beasts that can become ferocious beasts are stupid. Even someone like Xiong Jun, who isn't particularly inclined to use his brain, can understand the importance of soul spirit technology, especially the spirit enhancement technology that can elevate ordinary wild beasts into soul beasts and ordinary soul beasts into high-age soul spirits. Therefore, after Di Tian confirmed the results of the experiment, Bi Ji immediately began to give Elder Mu a comprehensive treatment.
As for the "chosen soul master," he was asked to continue waiting here. He needed to follow Elder Mu and Long You back to Shrek Academy first.
For Long You, the time allotted for Elder Mu's treatment was free time. Xiao Yan had already begun deduce the next stage of technology related to the soul spirit, while Long You was immersed in comprehending the domain. Although he was unlikely to enter a state of deep meditation, which was rare and unattainable, he could still grasp the lingering effects of the domain's formation. If he could use these lingering effects to further improve his soul power level, then today would be a day of double happiness.
They set out at Chenshi (7-9 AM) and returned at Shenshi (3-5 PM). By the time Long You and his companions returned to Shrek Academy, the setting sun had already disappeared from the horizon, leaving only a sky full of red clouds. All the high-ranking members of Shrek Academy, who knew of their journey, were anxiously waiting in the Sea God Pavilion. Only when they saw the three figures flying safely towards the inner courtyard did everyone in the Sea God Pavilion finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Long You and Elder Mu's trip was of great significance to Shrek Academy, and there are many things to deal with afterward. However, Long You doesn't need to worry about those things. What he needs to do is simple: let everyone experience the Wood Law domain, provide the Wood Law inscriptions, and that's it.
Once Long You feels he has digested what he has learned this time, he can take his friends and senior sister Zhang Lexuan out for the pre-arranged itinerary.
Two days later, at dawn, Long You opened his eyes after a brief period of seclusion. The Law Domain was truly a wondrous power. Although the initial tremor had gradually subsided, even just familiarizing himself with its usage had already greatly benefited Long You. Pressing the Soul Power Testing Soul Guidance Device on the bedside table, he injected a wisp of Soul Power into it. Seeing the "67" pop up on the Soul Guidance Display, the corners of Long You's mouth turned up even wider.
Although theoretically it's impossible to reach the Soul Saint level before the start of the new Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament, reaching level 67 is already sufficient. With Xiao Yan's help, as long as Long You's soul power level meets the minimum requirement to activate a level 7 soul tool (normal activation, not activating it by exhausting all soul power), then Long You can basically use a level 7 soul tool for a long time.
Based on the combat power of a level 7 Soul Master, Long You has already reached the ceiling level of combat power for the next competition, and has a wide variety of options for his actions.
"It's time to retrieve the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow and the Extreme Ice Divine Crystal from the Cold Well of the Earth Dragon Gate. The Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow is of no use to me right now, but we need to buy more Extreme Ice Divine Crystals. I wonder if the Earth Dragon Gate Master can give me a discount since we've taken the initiative to help them find these treasures."
While taking care of his personal hygiene, Long You also sent messages to his friends, his mind racing. Although there might be greater and more lasting gains in the God Ruins Valley later, Long You was more willing to focus on the immediate rewards.
Unfortunately, with its combat strength not at its maximum for this stage, Longyou feels insecure.