Xiao Lin jumped out from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. The moment a cold wind hit him, he sensed something was off and instantly wrapped himself in a black robe.
"That's great! Brother Lin! I knew you'd be fine!"
Seeing Xiao Lin completely unscathed, Tang San spoke with joy all over his face.
"Of course. Who do you think I am?"
Xiao Lin heard Tang San's voice, tilted his head, and instantly turned smug.
"Now I've mastered the body of Extreme Ice and Fire. I'm immune to both elements. My strength has increased at least tenfold."
Feeling the changes in his body, Xiao Lin raised his right hand and knocked on his muscles. The metallic clang that rang out made him even more satisfied.
"Although my soul power level only broke through to level 40, I think it's just right."
Worried that Tang San wouldn't understand, Xiao Lin explained that extreme elemental attributes cause slower soul power growth but allow for better soul power condensation inside the body.
This made Tang San even more envious.
Still, Tang San had his own immortal herbs. He soon asked Xiao Lin to protect him while he absorbed Lovesick Heartbroken Red and Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone.
While Tang San was absorbing the herbs, Xiao Lin decided to take a good look at his own improvements.
First, there was the Extreme Ice and Fire attribute, increased physical strength, and soul power breakthrough.
Nothing surprising there.
Xiao Lin knew his martial soul—the Coiled Dragon Staff—had high compatibility with soul power, so the benefits he gained were greater than what Tang San would have received in the original timeline.
Secondly, the three soul beasts in his consciousness space had grown stronger. It was possible that they might truly grow alongside him in the future.
Although there were still no signs of spirit souls, they didn't seem any weaker than them either.
Their current state was closer to a fusion of external soul bones and soul rings. Xiao Lin suspected these rings might eventually be capable of advancing in years.
Not through the power of the Sea God, either.
For now, Xiao Lin called them External Soul Rings or Self-Congealed Soul Rings—soul rings that could be condensed on one's own, and later enhanced in age by other powerful forces.
Of course, this was only a hunch for now. He would have to observe over time.
Then, there was the enhancement of his spiritual power and the changes to his consciousness space.
After enduring the trials of extreme cold and heat, Xiao Lin's spiritual strength had clearly improved.
The transformed consciousness space also allowed his spiritual cultivation speed to accelerate.
It was like acquiring a stronger visualization method—very satisfying.
Xiao Lin had originally thought that his spiritual power would lag far behind Tang San's. Now, even without Tang San's Purple Demon Eye that could see through soul beasts' true forms, he wasn't doing too badly.
Speaking of spiritual power, the three siblings had already fully adapted to the mental control and soul scream of the Demonic Eyed Devil Tree in the back mountain of Saint Soul Village during the past five years.
When they left, Xiao Lin and Tang San even gifted their low-grade external soul bone to the mutated Demonic Eyed Devil Tree, hoping it would grow stronger for future training.
Of course, to prevent it from harming the villagers, they had also set up an offensive formation around it—regular people couldn't get close.
Finally, Xiao Lin noticed that his Strength Bull Demon Horns seemed to have evolved.
The horns had more than doubled in size and now bore golden-red and ice-blue patterns on their surface.
They now looked more like antlers—no, more like dragon horns.
The soul power they stored had nearly doubled, and their strength-enhancing attributes had also increased twofold.
The energy needed to fire lasers from the horns had been reduced. The fire beam had become an Extreme Fire High-Temperature Ray, reaching one trillion degrees, and the ice beam had become an Absolute Zero Extreme Ice Ray.
Fusing these two beams together multiplied their power several times over.
This was the real reason Xiao Lin said he'd only gone up one level, but his actual strength had increased more than tenfold.
If he absorbed a fourth soul ring and became a Soul Ancestor, Xiao Lin believed he could easily crush some Soul Emperors.
Xiao Lin's Martial Soul Data Panel:
Martial Soul: Coiled Dragon Staff
Destructive Power: SS+ (Exact damage unknown, but once the fourth soul ring is added, this rating should be justified)
Speed: S− (Not a major improvement, but strength stats have indirectly enhanced it)
Attack Range: B (Depends on what soul ring he chooses. Without considering energy laser attacks, his third soul skill already gives a mid-range attack capability)
Endurance: SS
Movement Precision: A (Significant boost in spiritual power, and will improve faster in the future)
Growth Potential: SS (After absorbing two immortal herbs, he now has the prototype of a god-level martial soul)
Special Energy: SS (Truly invincible now—Extreme Ice and Fire, ultimate destructive power)
After completing this makeshift stat sheet, Xiao Lin nodded in satisfaction.
And that's without factoring in the fourth soul ring or Fiery Chrysanthemum yet.
Once Xiao Lin absorbed Fiery Chrysanthemum, his data panel would definitely improve further.
Moreover, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in his secondary dantian was starting to feel like a second martial soul. Or at least trending in that direction.
He shook his head, pushing away the strange thoughts arising in his body, and began selecting a suitable fourth soul ring for his Coiled Dragon Staff.
Originally, Xiao Lin had intended to choose a soul ring that would enhance speed and lightning attributes.
He had already picked out the soul beast: the Thunderwing Sky Dragon from Thunder Canyon.
This was a flying dragon with wings made of lightning—actually, it had no physical wings. The "Thunder Wings" were electromagnetic energy generated by its immense lightning control.
It floated and moved at high speed using electromagnetic force.
So Xiao Lin's original idea was that if he got this soul ring, not only would it boost his speed, it might even give him wings. Maybe even flight.
Since the flying mechanism didn't depend on wings but rather electromagnetic force, Xiao Lin thought it made sense scientifically.
He also had the amusing idea of evolving the Coiled Dragon Staff into a Dragon Imprisoning Staff.
However, with his body now transformed by Extreme Ice and Fire, Xiao Lin realized he already had soul rings with lightning and fire attributes. His next soul ring should ideally be ice-type to avoid disrupting the balance.
Even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of imbalance wasn't worth the risk. Better to be cautious.
So the plan was:
4th ring: Ice
5th: Lightning
6th: Fire
7th: Ice
8th: Fire
9th: Lightning
The seventh soul ring wouldn't grant an ice-type soul skill, but it would still provide ice energy, which Xiao Lin was fine with.
So now, the challenge was finding a speed-type ice-attribute soul beast.
If he could find one with Extreme Ice, that would be even better.
But this was a blind spot for Xiao Lin.
Even though he had read up on many types of soul beasts, he didn't know much about sea or ice-type soul beasts.
That couldn't be helped.
From the beginning, he had no intention of choosing an ice-type soul beast soul ring—there simply weren't many that were speed specialists.
Cheese Snow Leopard?
No thanks.
What about something like the Ice Phoenix?
The Ice Phoenix might have some speed, but it was the kind of soul beast that could fight ten-thousand-year beasts even as a hundred-year-old.
If such a beast existed, there's no way it wouldn't be listed among the top ten ferocious beasts after ten thousand years.
If he were looking for strength, he had a few in mind.
He also considered the Ice Silkworm from the Extreme North, which boosted both strength and spiritual attributes. But only the Skydream Iceworm really met Xiao Lin's current criteria.
After careful thought, Xiao Lin concluded that if he couldn't find a speed-oriented ice soul beast in the Heaven Dou Empire's archives, he'd have to settle for one that excelled in strength.
(End of Chapter)