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At that moment, Ye Lan felt a light pat on the top of his head. It was a strange sensation; although he was the one who had patted Ning Rongrong's head, the feedback was felt on his own.
"I used a bit of force. I'm testing the injury transfer mechanism of 'Life Sharing'," Ye Lan explained.
He then added earnestly, "Rongrong, 'Life Sharing' isn't invincible. In the future, if you're attacked by an enemy, you still need to run toward your teammates. Otherwise, taking constant hits could endanger the entire team!"
Ning Rongrong nodded seriously.
Xiao Xue, however, smiled. "In that case, is there any chance for our Imperial Fighting Team to lose anymore? With 'Life Sharing,' Sister Leng Leng can't be eliminated early. As long as she keeps providing healing, the Imperial Fighting Team is impossible to defeat before our soul power runs out!"
Everyone nodded, instantly understanding her point.
Previously, the Imperial Fighting Team had greatly feared Ye Leng Leng being taken out by a strange soul skill or Martial Soul. But with 'Life Sharing,' the lives of the entire team were now linked. Combined with the healing from the Nine Heart Begonia, the Imperial Fighting Team would be invincible!
There was only one way to defeat them: to completely drain their shared health pool, which was a nearly impossible feat.
A thought struck Ye Lan, and he said, "Xiao Xue, stab me with your sword."
"Huh?" Xiao Xue waved her hands frantically, not understanding why he would ask such a thing.
"I want to test the interaction between the Nine Heart Begonia's healing and 'Life Sharing'," Ye Lan explained.
"No, absolutely not! I can't do it!" Xiao Xue shook her head.
Xiao Xue was certain she couldn't even entertain the thought of harming Ye Lan, let alone stab him with a sword.
(Note: Pinching his soft flesh didn't count.)
"Zhuqing, you do it," Ye Lan said, turning to Zhu Zhuqing.
"Teacher, I can't bring myself to do it either..." Zhu Zhuqing shook her head.
A warmth spread through Ye Lan's heart as he looked at Xiao Xue and Zhuqing gratefully.
Clang!
Ye Lan directly unsheathed 'Dark Night' from Zhu Zhuqing's waist.
Seeing that he was serious, Dugu Yan said, "Idol, be careful!"
"Don't worry, Leng Leng is right beside me!" Ye Lan said. With that, he gripped 'Dark Night' in a reverse hold with both hands and forcefully stabbed himself in the abdomen.
The black blade went in and came out red.
Hiss…
Stabbing himself still hurt quite a bit. Ye Lan gritted his teeth against the pain and immediately pulled the blade out.
As he withdrew 'Dark Night,' a stream of fresh blood gushed from the wound.
Ye Leng Leng was about to hastily use her Nine Heart Begonia to heal him.
Ye Lan quickly stopped her. "Leng Leng, don't use your soul skill on me. Use it on yourself!"
"Okay!" Ye Leng Leng instantly understood his intention.
A moment later, petals from the Nine Heart Begonia drifted into her body.
Astonishingly, Ye Lan's wound immediately began to heal!
Seeing that it was working, Ye Lan instructed, "Leng Leng, use your soul skill on everyone else first. Heal me last."
Because the healing effect of the Nine Heart Begonia was so incredibly potent, Ye Lan stabbed himself in the abdomen several more times. It wasn't that he didn't want to try cutting his wrist; rather, an injury like that would heal very quickly for a Blue Silver Grass user, which would interfere with testing the healing interaction between the Nine Heart Begonia and 'Life Sharing.'
Soon, the results of the test were clear.
Ye Lan announced excitedly, "As long as the Nine Heart Begonia heals any target connected by 'Life Sharing,' it restores the entire shared pool of vitality!"
Hearing this, Serpent Lance marveled, "'Life Sharing' is just too overpowered. Even a 100,000-year soul skill couldn't have an effect this strong, could it? This is the first time I've seen such a monstrously powerful soul skill!"
Ye Lan thought to himself, That's because you've never seen 'I Want To Grow Up', Uncle Porcupinefish!
Dugu Bo chuckled. "That's my grandson-in-law for you! The number one prodigy on the entire continent!"
Porcupinefish Douluo sighed helplessly. "Alright, alright, the whole continent knows Ye Lan is your grandson-in-law!"
As Porcupinefish Douluo grumbled, he began racking his brain, trying to remember if there were any suitably aged girls in his own family. Why couldn't Ye Lan be his grandson-in-law? That old monster Dugu had all the luck.
After several tests, Ye Lan had a complete understanding of 'Life Sharing's' mechanics.
The most important point was that, with the exception of 'Blue Silver Sacrifice', linking to any other living being required their conscious consent. Otherwise, 'Life Sharing' could not connect to their life force. Furthermore, the moment they wished to disconnect, the link would be severed.
If 'Life Sharing' could link to anyone it pleased, it would be beyond broken—even more powerful than a divine skill. For instance, if Ye Lan encountered a Title Douluo, he could forcibly link with them. With their life forces bound together, if the Title Douluo wanted to kill him, they would have to pay the price of dying themselves. Meanwhile, Ye Lan could use his 'Domain of Nature' to resurrect.
It was a pity the link required consent.
While Ye Lan was lamenting this, Silver Wolf asked curiously, "Xiao Lan, what's your soul power level now?"
"Uncle Lang, after absorbing the 'Eris Symbiote' soul ring, my soul power has reached level 33."
"The immortal herbs raised my soul power by about five levels, getting me to level 30," Ye Lan explained. "And this soul ring raised it by another three levels, bringing my total to 33."
Serpent Lance Douluo nodded. "Truly the effect of absorbing a soul ring far beyond one's limit! You know, most people only gain a single level after absorbing a soul ring. Gaining two is already terrifying."
"But Xiao Lan, you gained three levels at once!"
"At this rate, you'll be a level 33 Soul Elder at just fifteen years old! That's already catching up to geniuses born with innate soul power of eight or nine!"
"And to think you started your cultivation with an innate soul power of only level three! This is truly incredible!"
"Even more frightening is your combat strength. I can already picture you winning the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament two years from now!"
Ye Lan scratched his head and smiled. "It's hard to say what the future holds."
Porcupinefish Douluo smiled without a word. He didn't think the Imperial Fighting Team could possibly lose. Even if Ye Lan didn't compete, their Young Master had already joined the team. He couldn't imagine Spirit Hall's 'Golden Generation' having any chance of defeating their Young Master.
Ye Lan looked at the group and said, "I need to make a trip to Nuoding City. Do you all want to come along?"
"Of course!" the girls all nodded in unison.
Their main reason for coming to the Star Dou Great Forest was to hunt soul beasts with him. There was no way they would let him go to Nuoding City alone.
Dugu Bo asked curiously, "Xiao Lan, why are you going to Nuoding City?"
"To see Uncle Tao and my grandpa, of course. They're the two people I'm closest to!" Ye Lan said without hesitation.
After he stated his purpose, the girls all blushed. They hadn't expected to be meeting his elders so soon. How nerve-wracking!
Thinking about leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, Ye Lan reluctantly rubbed the heads of Xiong Er and Da Ju a few more times. After leaving this time, he didn't know when he would see them again.
"Xiong Er, Da Ju, if you smell humans, run toward the core region immediately!" Ye Lan commanded.
For some reason, the soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest hadn't been fighting amongst themselves lately. So, Ye Lan wasn't worried about other soul beasts killing the two simpletons, but rather about them being hunted by soul masters.
The two beasts nodded eagerly. They hadn't had their fill of Blue Silver Grass and Nine Heart Begonia yet! Following such a promising master, their good fortune had only just begun.
Star Dou Great Forest, Core Region, Lake of Life.
Beneath the lake's calm surface lay another world. In a hidden corner of this underwater realm rested a crystal dragon throne.
A silver-haired girl lay upon the throne, her long, curled eyelashes trembling slightly. The moment she opened her eyes, a powerful pulse of life force radiated outwards, making the already dense life aura of the Lake of Life even richer.
Sadness filled the silver-haired girl's purple eyes. She had dreamt again of fragmented memories from the future.
In that future, the 'Spirit Soul System,' which was originally created to ease tensions between humans and soul beasts, had instead become a death sentence hanging over them. Twenty thousand years later, countless soul beasts had been hunted by humans to the verge of extinction. The Star Dou Great Forest was reduced to nothing but the core area around the Lake of Life, and even that was completely surrounded by human soul guidance weaponry.
"My Lord? Another nightmare?" A tall, middle-aged man with black hair and golden eyes knelt on one knee before her.
The silver-haired girl looked at the man with a complicated expression. She had also dreamt of Di Tian's death, his divine sense shattered. And no matter how many years passed in her dreams, he never managed to become the Beast God. This meant the Divine Realm had completely severed the path for soul beasts to achieve godhood. With humanity's rapid technological advancement, if soul beasts could not become gods, their extinction was inevitable.
"It's nothing. How are things progressing with the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm?" the silver-haired girl asked.
"Everything is handled. Apart from its core origin, the vast majority of its cultivation will be used to enhance the strength of the children," the man replied.
"Good. The more 100,000-year soul beasts we can nurture, the better. Also, any beast that disobeys my commands is to be killed without mercy," she said coldly.
"Yes, My Lord!" Di Tian nodded.
Then, an uncertain expression crossed his face. "My Lord, can we truly succeed on this path?"
"If we don't change, extinction is the only future awaiting us soul beasts," worry flickered in the Silver Dragon King's purple eyes.
In the future, as the ruler of all soul beasts, she had spent her time healing, completely failing to fulfill her duties. Therefore, she had to bear full responsibility for their demise.
For some unknown reason, she had suddenly lost consciousness fifteen years ago. After an indeterminate amount of time, she had begun to dream of these future memories. As the fragmented scenes became clearer, she gradually began to awaken, and in recent months, she had finally regained full consciousness. The moment she awoke, she saw countless loyal soul beasts standing guard around her. Seeing her faithful subordinates moved her deeply. For their sake, she knew she had to make a change. Nurturing 100,000-year soul beasts was the first step.
Di Tian asked, confused, "My Lord, why is your origin still not completely sealed? Has your injury worsened?"
The Silver Dragon King shook her head. "I can seal my origin completely the moment I take human form, but I first need to study the principles behind the seal."
"Why do you need to study it, My Lord?"
"To prepare for the transformation of Xiong Jun, the Crimson King, and Bi Ji. Their cultivation levels are all over 200,000 years. If they don't seal their origins, they cannot transform into humans."
Di Tian's pupils shrank. He hadn't expected his Lord was doing this for them.
"My Lord, do I need to transform as well?" he asked.
"No. We need you as the final safeguard for all soul beasts. Exceptionally brilliant geniuses will always emerge among the humans, geniuses who can become Limit Douluo in just a hundred years. To ensure the safety of our transformed kin, I need you as our final trump card to deal with those Limit Douluo."
"My Lord is wise," Di Tian nodded.
The Silver Dragon King then added, "But having only you as a trump card isn't safe enough. After you've dealt with the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's origin, travel to the western edge of the continent. Once you reach the western ocean, continue flying west. In the far west lies a continent named Sun Moon. On that continent is a place called the Demonic Forest."
"Within the Demonic Forest resides an Evil Eye Tyrant Overlord with a cultivation of over 700,000 years. Defeat it and bring it back to the Star Dou Great Forest."
After giving her command, a silver dragon scale materialized in her palm. As the patriarch of the Black Dragon Clan, Di Tian felt an instinctual awe the moment he saw it.
"Take this scale with you. If the Tyrant is unruly, show it this. It will submit."
Di Tian accepted the silver scale respectfully. "Yes, My Lord."
The Silver Dragon King was confident the Evil Eye Tyrant Overlord would submit because all native soul beasts of the Douluo Planet were, in essence, her children. The moment she descended upon the world, her overflowing life force had evolved the native wildlife into the soul beast race. Because of this, no soul beast could muster the will to resist the sight of her scale.
Fasinuo Province, outside Nuoding City.
Before the city walls, which were much shorter than Heaven Dou City's, stood two luxurious six-horse carriages. The villagers and soul masters on the road gasped in astonishment at the sight.
"Who is this? Such a grand procession!"
"I don't know! It's far more luxurious than Master Mathew's carriage!"
The city guards, who had been questioning travelers, saw the magnificent carriages and immediately signaled to the soldiers on the walls. A moment later, a troop of guards poured from the city gates. Half of them rushed to open the main gates wide, while the other half began directing the crowd of onlookers.
Once the gates of Nuoding City were fully opened, the six-horse carriages could pass through with ease.
Upon seeing Silver Wolf in the driver's seat, clad in full silver armor, the city guards immediately bowed. "My Lords, please enter!"
Silver Wolf gave a slight nod and drove the carriages into the city under the worshipful gazes of the crowd.
Ye Lan watched the scene with a helpless smile. This was the change that status, position, and power brought. He still remembered coming to Nuoding City for the first time at age six. Back then, he had to hitch a ride on an ox-cart from Harvest Village and could only enter after being questioned by the guards.
Now, there was no questioning. These city guards had acted on their own initiative, throwing the gates open to welcome them with the utmost respect.
(End of Chapter)