In the dimly lit room floating in the night sky, Lin Qian's soul power surged wildly within him.
His imperial yellow soul power, crimson-gold lightning soul power, and white-blue icy soul power, all infused with spiritual energy, collided forcefully within his body, attempting to awaken his martial spirits.
The three different types of soul power, like waterfalls of varying colors, relentlessly crashed onto his Thunder Night Sword and Cloud Sword martial spirits. The soul power, carrying immense strength, sought to unleash the potential of his martial spirits and fully awaken them.
After half an hour of this relentless assault, Lin Qian finally gave up on using soul power to force the breakthrough. His martial spirits remained unresponsive, signaling a failed attempt to reach the Awakening Realm.
Even if he could continue for days, the Engineering Department had already concluded that such efforts would be futile.
Under normal circumstances, Lin Qian's breakthrough to the Awakening Realm shouldn't have been difficult. He had already reached the peak of the Life and Death Realm with the Heart Realm, and with his ancestral-level martial spirits, entering the Awakening Realm should have been a simple task.
For most human soul martial artists, breaking through to the Awakening Realm involved enhancing the inherent characteristics of their martial spirits. The martial spirits would evolve based on the martial artist's unique style, transforming into their most suitable forms.
This process applied even to those with ancestral-level martial spirits. However, ancestral-level martial spirits wouldn't completely change form; only certain details, such as length, width, or thickness, would adjust to better suit the user.
Upon reaching the Awakening Realm, the blessings granted by the ancestors would come to an end. Allowing descendants with ancestral martial spirits to smoothly reach the Awakening Realm was already the greatest gift.
Thus, after reaching the Awakening Realm, possessing an ancestral martial spirit didn't necessarily guarantee greater strength. Some martial artists, upon awakening their martial spirits, would experience significant power surges.
This phenomenon occurred frequently.
However, this didn't mean that those with ancestral martial spirits would lose their advantage after reaching the Awakening Realm. On the contrary, while ordinary martial artists would have to forge their own paths, those with ancestral martial spirits could still rely on the experiences of their ancestors as a guide.
Moreover, those who awakened ancestral martial spirits were already highly talented, far surpassing ordinary martial artists.
Having finished his unsuccessful attempt to break through to the Awakening Realm, Lin Qian couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated.
Breaking through to the Awakening Realm involved stimulating the martial spirits to awaken. Although his martial spirits were ancestral-level, they were simply too powerful!
According to Zhuge Ming's hypothesis, Lin Qian's martial spirits had likely surpassed those of his ancestors. Additionally, his dual martial spirits made his breakthrough to the Awakening Realm exceptionally difficult.
Lin Qian's two martial spirits had already reached an extraordinary level. Once they fully awakened, they would ascend to an entirely new height.
Today, Lin Qian hadn't expected to achieve the breakthrough but had merely been testing the waters.
However, in this ancient forest world, breaking through to the Awakening Realm was imperative!
If Lin Qian wanted to leave this underground world and return to Linhai Province, he needed to thoroughly investigate the entire ancient forest world and the formation that enveloped it.
To uncover the truth behind the depletion of spiritual energy in the southern regions of the South Nine Provinces, he would have to enter the Black Horn Kingdom's palace and see for himself what was happening.
In the ancient forest world, the Transformation Fruit was abundant, unlike on the surface world, where it was rare. Here, it grew like any ordinary wild fruit, with varying effects based on its quality.
For Lin Qian's plan to elevate the entire Huaxia Empire, he needed a large supply of Transformation Fruits as raw materials. The Fantasy Star had no suitable areas for cultivating this fruit.
Therefore, the ancient forest world was the ideal breeding ground.
For all these reasons, Lin Qian had to conquer the ancient forest world and turn it into Huaxia Empire's Ancient Forest Province.
The Black Horn Kingdom was far more powerful than the Qin Dynasty. The Black Horn tribe's soul weapons and overall strength were superior to the Qin Dynasty's forces.
While it might be possible to overwhelm them with sheer numbers, Lin Qian preferred not to take such a crude approach.
Firstly, it would draw too much attention. A moderate number of Huaxia troops could be explained as coming from the surface world, but an endless stream of reinforcements would raise suspicions.
Secondly, although Lin Qian could summon an inexhaustible number of soldiers, they were not pure life forms. Sending them into battle indiscriminately would be a waste.
Thirdly, Lin Qian was on the verge of breaking through to the Awakening Realm. Once successful, he could summon even stronger forces from the Fantasy Star's Huaxia Empire, and even the lowest-ranking generals could emerge to lead the troops, drastically boosting combat power.
Moreover, while the ancient forest world was vast, the battlefields would still be limited in size. Too many troops would hinder rather than help.
If a better solution existed, there was no need to resort to brute force.
"With nothing else to do, I might as well continue cultivating." After contemplating his options, Lin Qian stretched his shoulders and returned to his meditation.
In his cultivation state, Lin Qian's soul, which had lived two lifetimes, allowed him to sustain long periods of intense focus.
Within his dantian, the pure white whirlpool of his Sky Mark spun, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy. The whirlpool seemed to be the center of the world, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged upon Lin Qian's body, transforming into soul power and merging with his being.
Cultivation was the foundation of everything for a soul martial artist, and Lin Qian never wasted a moment, always striving to advance his strength.
Three days later, deep in the forest to the east of Lin Qian's gathering point, the landscape suddenly opened up, revealing a massive city comparable in size to the capital of the Qin Dynasty.
While the city lacked the grandeur and imposing presence of the Qin Dynasty's capital, it exuded a sense of security and unshakable stability.
This city, built from giant stones and wood, was the largest gathering point of the four tribes: the Central Gathering Point.
The city was divided into four large districts and a smaller central area. The four major districts were home to the Human, Red Horn, Dwarf, and Spirit Hoof tribes.
At the very center was the Central District, where the strongest protectors and the elders of the four tribes resided and managed affairs.
Within the Central District, in a courtyard, an elderly human elder with white hair and a youthful face sat in his courtyard, engrossed in a book on formations. Occasionally, he would frown in thought or smile with joy, completely absorbed in the content.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, the elder stood up and walked into his house. "My grandson actually sent a message? That's rare... He usually avoids contacting this old man."
Entering his home, the elder retrieved a wooden plaque, which glowed faintly. "This brat always says he doesn't want people to know he's my grandson. Let's see what could have prompted him to reach out to his grandfather this time."