There was no doubt that with yin-yang complementary triple soul cores and the super-god-tier meditation method Nine Breaths Qi Technique, the accumulation Chu Chengzhou needed for each level of soul power would far exceed that of ordinary soul masters at the same rank.
Thus, the hundred-thousand-year Light Holy Dragon soul ring and the hundred-thousand-year Holy Light Dragon Armor external soul bone only raised Chu Chengzhou's soul power to rank 91 Titled Douluo, and not even close to 92. It was around mid-rank 91.
If it were an ordinary level 90 quasi Titled Douluo who added a hundred-thousand-year ninth soul ring and refined a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, they would at least reach rank 92 Titled Douluo, even near rank 93. The gap was obvious.
Of course, the limited increase in his soul power was not only because he needed more accumulation than peers. It might also be related to the Light Holy Dragon having just broken through to a hundred thousand years.
Breaking that threshold and then dying immediately meant the Light Holy Dragon's accumulation could not compare with beast kings that had been at a hundred thousand years for many years. It was normal for the energy contained in the ring to be smaller.
But Chu Chengzhou did not care. With Nine Breaths Qi Technique in hand, whose effects were similar to "man-eating" arts like Beiming Divine Skill, Heaven-swallowing Devil Art, and Great Devouring, the post-advancement level of soul power did not matter much. At worst he would just stay longer in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
As expected, just as he had foreseen, after advancing to nine rings Titled Douluo his auto-run cheat received a major upgrade.
A new tenth auto-run slot appeared, and efficiency increased sharply.
Previously, idling a gold-grade technique to rainbow grade took a full 300 days. Now it would take only 100 days.
For soul rings, one day of idling had raised a ring by 200 years. Now, one day of idling raised a ring by a full 1,000 years.
At the current rate of a thousand years per day, even if a ring started from zero and idled to a million years, it would take only 1,000 days, that is, two years and nine months.
This cheat was getting bigger and bigger.
Moreover, not only did idling efficiency jump, even Elemental Fusion, which had previously shown as dim dark-rainbow on the attribute panel, could now be placed in an auto-run slot to idle-upgrade.
However, perhaps because Elemental Fusion was an incomplete secret art, although it bore a rainbow grade, completing it required 100 days, the same as promoting a gold-grade god-tier technique to rainbow super-god tier.
Chu Chengzhou could not help looking forward to whether, a hundred days later, once Elemental Fusion was completed, he would truly be able to master the power of fusing all elements perfectly.
Of course, what he looked forward to was not only Elemental Fusion completing in a hundred days, but also the True Spirit Banner martial soul evolving in just over half a month, and the Elemental Dominion Skull upgrading into a hundred-thousand-year soul bone in less than a month.
Originally the True Spirit Banner needed about a hundred more days on idle to evolve again. This advance to Titled Douluo boosted idling so much that the remaining hundred days were cut to just over half a month.
As for the Elemental Dominion Skull, although completing Elemental Fusion would inevitably reduce the role of its attached soul bone skill Elemental Dominion, he still did not discard it.
Because Elemental Dominion not only enhances comprehension and control of all elements, it also boosts the effects of all elements. It is not chicken-rib trash.
What is more, the second hundred-thousand-year soul bone skill that would appear once the Elemental Dominion Skull reached a hundred thousand years was very much worth expecting.
As for soul rings, those could wait. They had dragged him down this long already. Dragging a bit longer was fine. Even the lowest-year second ring would take less than two or three years to idle up to a million years. No need to rush.
Of course, all of the above were only appetizers. What excited and delighted Chu Chengzhou the most was the newly added Laws panel on the attribute screen.
He had tested them one by one. The upgraded auto-run cheat was very powerful. The various laws could also be placed into auto-run slots to idle-upgrade.
Grasp the laws, ascend to godhood. Apotheosis was within reach.
Chu Chengzhou: The future is promising.
For the eleven basic elemental laws (metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, light, darkness, time, and space), each already showed 1% progress. To reach 100% and master a law still required 990 auto-run days, identical to the time needed to upgrade a soul ring to a million years.
For the Four Symbols law and the Five Elements law, perhaps because they are fusion laws, idling efficiency was half that of the single-element laws. Counting the existing 0.1% progress, mastering Four Symbols or Five Elements would take 1,998 auto-run days.
Clearly, the 1% progress on the eleven basic elemental laws came from the gold-grade Hammer of Creation.
A god-tier heavenly-forging smith must have some understanding of laws to heavenly-forge metals. He did not achieve that understanding through his own effort, but by cheating.
If a smith lacks understanding of laws, they cannot perform heavenly forging.
But the gold-grade Hammer of Creation is a supreme technique that encompasses heavenly forging across all basic elements. When its grade advanced, Chu Chengzhou leveraged the cheat to master it directly.
Thus, having mastered the gold-grade Hammer of Creation, Chu Chengzhou comprehended 1% progress in the eleven basic elemental laws.
As for the 0.1% in the Four Symbols and Five Elements laws, he figured that came from his experimentation while attempting Elemental Fusion.
If 100% progress equals mastery of a law, then 0.1% progress in the Four Symbols and Five Elements laws corresponds to the perfect fusion of earth, water, fire, wind and of metal, wood, water, fire, earth. That tracks.
In other words, if he idled the basic elemental laws now, in 990 days, two years and eight to nine months, he could ascend to godhood via a single-element law.
If he idled the Four Symbols or Five Elements laws, in 1,998 days, five and a half years, he could ascend to godhood via a fusion law.
Which is stronger?
Though unverified, Chu Chengzhou dared to swear on his dick that apotheosis via a fusion law would definitely be stronger than via a single-element law.
(T/N: I swear that's actually the correct translation, I'm crying of laughter rn, like wut, I didn't even know they were allowed to be that vulgur)
T/N: For 40 chapters ahead on my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle