It had taken Lin Yun half a year—just to challenge four hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. That was something he had never anticipated.
During those six months, he discovered new shortcomings in himself almost daily. Each day, he fought soul beasts from dawn till dusk, and at night, he would meditate to recover his state and reflect on the flaws and mistakes he made during the battles.
For over four long months, Lin Yun didn't fall—but the Ghost Tiger and the Gale Skyhawk finally did.
Speed-type soul beasts had weak endurance to begin with. Even though Lin Yun alternated between the two in battle, in the end, he still wore both of them out completely. They refused to fight again—no matter what Bi Ji said.
Well… Lin Yun could only suggest that they take a trip to the ocean and try some oysters to recover.
That said, Lin Yun truly learned a lot from those two. Unlike the brute-force berserkers—the Great Strength Vajra Bear and the Terrorclaw Bear—the speed-type soul beasts relied heavily on technique.
Even though they didn't consciously understand what "technique" was, their natural instincts—honed through endless killing and survival—had been etched deep into their muscles and bones. That battle instinct was exactly what Lin Yun sought most.
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast already possessed intelligence on par with humans. Their ability to communicate with Lin Yun freely was the main reason he could so rapidly absorb and refine so many combat skills.
After half a year, Lin Yun almost felt like he himself had become a soul beast.
Although the idea of inventing a martial art like "Xingyi Fist" was still too abstract, he did manage to refine his Solar God Fist technique.
Its release was now smoother, and its soul power consumption lower.
And his final gain was…
Lin Yun had reached level 70.
Just one soul ring away from advancing to the rank of Soul Saint, the late stage of a soul master's path—where he would be able to fly freely without relying on wings.
However, Lin Yun wasn't in a rush to acquire a new ring. He had bigger ambitions—to use this chance, when absorbing his seventh soul ring, to forge a second soul core.
Back at the Soul King stage, he had already shattered the limits set by the original story's Huo Yuhao. With his terrifying Golden Dragon King bloodline, he had defied the heavens by condensing a Blood and Qi Soul Core. Having broken a record once, how could someone with the strongest physical body in history not try to forge a Yin–Yang Dual Soul Core—something that even Huo Yuhao only achieved at the Titled Douluo level?
The biggest obstacle to forging such a core was insufficient physical strength.
Before Huo Yuhao, only Di Tian and the Evil Emperor had ever succeeded. Di Tian relied on the unparalleled body of the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, while the Evil Emperor relied on his world-shaking spiritual power.
By comparison, Snow Empress didn't have such advantages. Though her control over ice and snow was absolute, her physical and mental strength were far weaker. As a result, she failed to condense her second soul core—her first even cracked, forcing her to seal her essence and take human form to survive.
But Lin Yun—did he have that concern?
Absolutely not.
Perhaps his body wasn't yet strong enough to bear the fusion of Yin and Yang now, but after absorbing his seventh ring, it would be.
After all—
Lin Yun lowered his head and glanced at his storage soul tool. Through the translucent crystal, he could almost see the white jade box resting quietly inside.
"You," Lin Yun smiled faintly, "are my true trump card."
With that, he and Bi Ji once again set off to challenge more hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
The previous four beasts had taken six months. Over the next six months, Lin Yun fought six more—each with different attributes and strengths:
Long-range artillery-type attacker
Close-range physical attacker
Physical defense type
Energy defense type
Dark-attribute agile type
Wind-attribute flying type
To gather such a sparring lineup for Lin Yun, Bi Ji had truly worked tirelessly. Many times, the soul beasts she found were either too strong or too weak. And those at the right level often didn't specialize in the aspects Lin Yun needed to train.
It made Lin Yun deeply aware of how difficult it truly was for soul masters to hunt appropriate beasts for rings. Finding the right match was a matter of fate—and even with Bi Ji's help, it was exhausting. For ordinary soul masters, venturing blindly into the Star Dou Forest was practically gambling with their lives.
After another half-year of nearly sleepless fighting, Lin Yun finally returned to the Lake of Life.
The once-gentle gleam in his golden eyes had turned cold and detached, and a chilling murderous aura constantly emanated from his body.
"Old Jin, you need to rest," came a voice from within Lin Yun's spiritual sea.
A red and a blue figure appeared above the golden ocean of his consciousness—the Fire Dragon King and the Ice Dragon King.
Looking down at the once-golden waters, now tinged faintly with red, the Fire Dragon King frowned. "Your temperament has always been hard to control—violent by nature. You've managed it well until now, but after all these months of battle, I can feel your sanity slipping. If this continues…"
The Ice Dragon King furrowed her brow. She reached toward the distant sky, grabbing a wisp of the Life Gold's energy. Drawing upon that immense vitality, she released an overwhelming cold aura.
A freezing light of pale blue spread across her body, and the intense chill gradually cleared Lin Yun's bloodlust-clouded mind.
"It was careless of me," Lin Yun sighed softly. Manifesting a spiritual projection of himself before the two dragon kings, he said, "Time waits for no one. I once thought my power was enough, but it was that arrogance that led to centuries of sealing."
"Now, our time is running out. I must regain my peak—and surpass it—as fast as possible. Only then can I face the entire God Realm again, alone if I must."
As the Second Continental Soul Master Tournament approached, a sense of pressure tightened within Lin Yun's heart.
According to the original story, the plot would accelerate after this tournament, and Huo Yuhao would begin his rapid ascent toward godhood.
Even though Lin Yun's interference had delayed Huo Yuhao's progress, as long as Douluo Star's destiny remained centered on him, Tang San would do everything to ensure his divine ascension.
Once Huo Yuhao became a god, Tang San would regain control over Douluo Star's destiny. With Tang Hao and A Yin, they could replace the planet's consciousness and life source entirely. By then, the suppression preventing others from becoming gods would grow exponentially—and Lin Yun's own path to godhood would become nearly impossible.
As the Soul Beast Lord carrying the blood of the Golden Dragon King, Lin Yun was inherently incapable of inheriting any existing god's position. His only choice was to forge his own divinity—to become a god on his own.
But right now, that path still stretched far—so far even Lin Yun found it daunting.
The Ice Dragon King looked at the silent Lin Yun, a faint smile curling her icy lips. "You fool. Not everything has to rest on your shoulders. Old Fire and I may have fallen, but we're not entirely gone. Since you're fighting for the soul beast race, we'll help you however we can."
"I… acknowledge you."
The Fire Dragon King nodded with a calm smile.
Though their divine thrones were shattered long ago, their divine consciousness had recovered significantly after years of rest. When Lin Yun eventually reached the level of godhood, their souls would heal even further.
They had already died once—dying again meant nothing.
To witness hope for the soul beasts' revival was enough. If they had to sacrifice themselves again, so be it. It would only be a longer sleep this time, with no regrets left behind.
At this moment, the proud Ice Dragon King finally truly accepted Lin Yun—no longer viewing him as the Dragon God's shadow, but as someone independent, someone who had chosen to shoulder the revival of both the dragon race and the soul beasts.
She and the Fire Dragon King were already relics of a bygone era. It was time they used what remained of themselves to help the next.
Lin Yun looked at the smiling dragon kings and slowly shook his head. His spiritual projection dissolved, and his consciousness returned to the physical world.
Anyone unfamiliar with the original story might not understand the weight behind the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' words—but Lin Yun did.
He knew that in the original timeline, when Snow Empress's embryo was about to explode, Electrolux had burned the last of his divine consciousness to help Huo Yuhao sign the first soul spirit contract in Douluo history.
The power generated by igniting divine consciousness was enormous. The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, both once god-level beings, possessed spiritual strength that was beyond question.
If the two of them sacrificed themselves together—burning their consciousness—they could forcibly pry open Douluo's laws and let Lin Yun bypass the godhood restriction and ascend illegally.
But they would truly die—forever gone, without any chance of return.
And that—Lin Yun could not accept.
Why should they be the ones to die?
If someone had to make a sacrifice, he'd rather have that "airheaded" Gu Yuena do it instead!
"Those two idiots," Lin Yun grumbled, shaking his head. "Finally wake up after all this time, and instead of helping me relax, they pile on more emotional damage."
Tch!
"I'm the main character of a power fantasy, damn it! How could I ever let someone sacrifice themselves for me just to succeed?"
"Damn it—enough talk! Time to prepare. I'm going to condense my seventh soul ring—and lay the foundation for the Yin–Yang Dual Soul Core!"
A fierce light flashed in Lin Yun's eyes as he pulled out the white jade box from his storage soul tool without hesitation.
Inside his spiritual sea, the Ice Dragon King smacked her forehead again and repeated her earlier motion—unleashing a wave of cold energy to calm Lin Yun's heated emotions before he did something impulsive.
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you want early access to nearly 60+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"