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Seeing the Artificial Soul Ring enter a stable state, Ye Lan's eyes lit up.
This signified that the future of the 'Artificial Soul Ring' was far more terrifying than he had imagined. After all, a 'Natural Soul Ring'—one stripped from a beast—could only exist for three days before dissipating.
If his hypothesis was correct, then the 'Artificial Soul Ring' could be rolled out on a comprehensive scale, massively increasing production efficiency.
To verify the conjecture in his heart, he immediately began the experiment again.
This time, Ye Lan once again condensed a five-hundred-year 'Soul Power Particle Cluster.' However, unlike the previous attempt, he did not bother to control the 'Elemental Attribute Intensity.'
He didn't even use the 'Soul Core Condensation Method.' Instead, he simply used a Spirit Master's natural ability to gather soul power, condensing a 'Five-Hundred-Year Quality Soul Power Particle Cluster' with roughly the correct proportions.
Subsequently, Ye Lan fused this cluster of inconsistent 'Elemental Attribute Intensity' into the 'Stable Phase Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring.'
To Ye Lan's excitement, the 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Ring' did not produce any 'Intrusive Fluctuation Reaction' typically caused by the inconsistency between the 'Elemental Attribute Intensity' and the soul power particles within the 'Bloodline Factor Structure.'
These 'Soul Power Particles' with inconsistent attribute intensities successfully invaded the 'Bloodline Factor Structure.'
After filling the 'Vacuum Space' within the structure, the 'Soul Power Particle Attribute Mutual Generation Reaction' began once more.
This time, the reaction took approximately ten minutes to complete.
Ye Lan discovered that while the elemental attribute intensity of the soul power particles inside the 'Vacuum Space' had harmonized with that of the 'Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline Factors,' the space was now less than half full. This was because the external soul power particles had a lower attribute intensity than the Blue Silver Emperor's main element, causing them to compress significantly during harmonization.
Taking advantage of the fact that the 'Window Period' had not yet ended, Ye Lan transmitted another 'Five-Hundred-Year Soul Power Particle Cluster' into the 'Vacuum Space.'
As Ye Lan transmitted the energy, the 'Vacuum Space' simultaneously began the 'Soul Power Particle Attribute Mutual Generation Reaction.'
Approximately ten minutes later, the 'Vacuum Space' was completely stuffed with soul power particles that matched the five-hundred-year intensity and the main elemental attributes of the 'Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline Factor Structure.'
Through his 'Golden Dragon Pupils,' Ye Lan carefully observed the bloodline factors within the 'Five-Hundred-Year Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring.'
He finally let out a sigh of relief.
A Five-Hundred-Year Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring had been successfully condensed!
What excited Ye Lan the most was that for the subsequent fusion of soul power particles into a 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Ring,' one did not need to micromanage the 'Elemental Attribute Intensity.' As long as the 'Elemental Proportions' were not largely erroneous, it would work.
Although the 'Soul Power Particle Attribute Mutual Generation Reaction' time for an Artificial Soul Ring condensed this way increased by about two times, its advantages were unparalleled!
After all, not everyone could perceive the attribute intensity of soul power particles, nor could everyone condense a 'Soul Power Particle Cluster' perfectly consistent with the attribute intensity within the 'Bloodline Factor Structure.'
According to his teacher, Bibi Dong, a Spirit Master could only perceive soul power particles and their specific attribute intensities after advancing to become a Titled Douluo and reaching the Spirit Abyss Realm in mental strength.
The mental strength of a normal Spirit Master was divided into five realms: Spirit Origin, Spirit Connection, Spirit Sea, Spirit Abyss, and Spirit Domain.
Spirit Origin Realm: From birth, a human's mental strength is at the 'Spirit Origin Realm.' As the saying goes, one origin begins, and ten thousand phenomena are renewed.
Spirit Connection Realm: The mind connects with the spirit; intention arrives as thought arises. After a Spirit Master reaches the Spirit Grandmaster rank, their mental strength typically reaches this level.
Spirit Sea Realm: The mind is like the sea, vast and boundless. After a Spirit Master advances to Spirit King, their mental strength reaches this grade.
Spirit Abyss Realm: Like an abyss, like a prison; from the highest heavens to the netherworld. Wherever the mind goes, all things return to the heart. After a Spirit Master advances to become a Titled Douluo, they reach the 'Spirit Abyss Realm.' At this stage, they can perceive soul power particles and their elemental attribute intensities.
Spirit Domain Realm: Spiritual consciousness forms a domain, becoming a world of its own. With the soul as the origin and consciousness defining the region, one creates a heaven and earth within the mind. Only after a Titled Douluo reaches Rank 98 can their mental strength reach the 'Spirit Domain Realm.' Within the range of their perception, they can maximally utilize the soul power particles in the air to enhance skill intensity and recovery speed. They can also infuse mental strength into soul skills, vastly increasing combat power.
If the condensation of an 'Artificial Soul Ring' required ensuring the 'Elemental Intensity of Soul Power Particles' at all times, then within Spirit Hall, aside from his teacher Bibi Dong and his grandfather Qian Daoliu, the other Titled Douluos would have to rely on luck. For Spirit Masters below the Titled Douluo rank, the probability of successfully condensing an 'Artificial Soul Ring' would be abysmally low.
To increase the success rate for Spirit Hall's Titled Douluos, Ye Lan would have had to contribute his 'Extreme Spirit Power Attachment Method.' Only extremely precise soul power control combined with the perception of particle intensity could condense a perfect 'Soul Power Particle Cluster.'
But the 'Extreme Spirit Power Attachment Method' was, after all, a competitive advantage for those close to him. Ye Lan did not want to spread it widely for the time being. Of course, if the 'Artificial Soul Ring' absolutely required it, he would have no choice but to contribute it.
Moreover, even if he did contribute the method, only the Titled Douluos of Spirit Hall would be able to condense the rings.
Considering the demand for hundreds of thousands of 'Artificial Soul Rings' across the Douluo Continent, the dozen or so Titled Douluos in Spirit Hall were far from enough. Even if they worked day and night, they could never satisfy the continent's massive hunger for soul rings.
However, the fact that the 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Ring' no longer relied on strict 'Elemental Attribute Intensity' perfectly solved the pain point of insufficient manpower.
For Artificial Soul Rings under one thousand years: Spirit Hall only needed to distribute the 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Rings' to its Spirit Elders and Spirit Ancestors to fill.
Thousand-Year Artificial Soul Rings: Distributed to Spirit Kings and Spirit Emperors.
Twenty-Thousand to Forty-Thousand-Year Rings: Distributed to Spirit Sages.
Sixty-Thousand to Eighty-Thousand-Year Rings: Handled by Spirit Douluos.
Ninety-Thousand, Ten-Thousand, and Super-Ten-Thousand-Year Rings: These would be the responsibility of the Spirit Hall Elders.
In this way, Spirit Hall's massive army of Spirit Masters could be fully utilized, absolutely satisfying the entire continent's demand.
If the 'Soul Power Particle Cluster' did not require managing 'Elemental Attribute Intensity,' then relying on a Spirit Master's natural attraction to soul power would be enough to condense the cluster. The efficiency would be lower than a Spirit Master using the 'Extreme Spirit Power Attachment Method,' and the elemental ratio tuning wouldn't be perfect, but it would work.
Regarding this, as long as Ye Lan informed them of the required elemental ratios for the specific Soul Beast Bloodline Factors they were condensing—and ensured the main element did not exceed fifty percent—the issue would be resolved.
As long as the rough proportions weren't wrong, the rest could be left to the 'Soul Power Particle Attribute Mutual Generation Reaction.' It would just take a bit longer.
Following this, Ye Lan attempted to condense a 'Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring.'
This time, the 'Vacuum Space' cultivation for the 'Gestation Phase Artificial Soul Ring' was the same as the one used for the five-hundred-year ring. Ye Lan did not upgrade the 'Vacuum Space' but allowed its bloodline factor structure to stabilize, transforming into a 'Stable Phase Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring.'
During the transformation period, Ye Lan began condensing a 'Soul Power Particle Cluster' with thousand-year intensity.
Subsequently, he injected the thousand-year cluster into the stable ring structure.
The 'Intrusive Fluctuation Reaction' was mild, and the 'Mutual Generation Reaction' proceeded normally.
A 'Two-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring' was born smoothly.
Ye Lan observed this thousand-year artificial ring through his 'Golden Dragon Pupils' again.
Looking past the shining purple soul light, Ye Lan frowned, but then his expression relaxed, turning into one of joy.
The reason for the frown was that the quantity of soul power within this 'One-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring' was insufficient to support a Martial Soul advancing to the Spirit Elder rank.
This meant that even if a 'Vacuum Space' designed for a hundred-year ring was stuffed with thousand-year soul power particles, it could not satisfy the advancement requirements of a Spirit Elder.
On the surface, this seemed to greatly increase the difficulty of creating Artificial Soul Rings. After all, the larger the 'Vacuum Space,' the more 'Soul Power Particle Clusters' needed to be condensed during the Gestation Phase.
The 'Vacuum Space' for Thousand-Year, Ten-Thousand-Year, Fifty-Thousand-Year, and Ten-Hundred-Year rings would absolutely need to be progressively larger. As the Martial Soul's realm increased, its minimum soul power requirement would also rise.
Cultivating a larger 'Vacuum Space' meant more particles required and a longer condensation time.
But one could not just look at the surface. Although the 'Vacuum Space' had to be cultivated to a minimum size to satisfy advancement requirements as the years increased, this introduced a crucial feature: Grading of the Stable Phase Artificial Soul Ring.
This point would greatly solve the problem of potential market chaos in the future.
Because the market for 'Artificial Soul Rings' was vast, Ye Lan had to distribute the 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Rings' to Spirit Masters of various ranks to complete the injection of the 'Growth Phase Soul Power Particle Clusters.'
But doing so carried a huge risk.
After some time, someone would inevitably deduce the relationship between the soul power quality of the 'Soul Power Particle Cluster' and the 'Artificial Soul Ring Age.'
Ye Lan never treated the hundreds of thousands of Spirit Masters on the Douluo Continent as fools. Once they discovered this, spies from various factions within Spirit Hall would absolutely use underhanded means to smuggle 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Rings' back to their own organizations.
In this way, they could take what was originally a 'Five-Hundred-Year Artificial Soul Ring' and, using high-ranking Spirit Masters within their faction, condense it into a Ten-Thousand or even Ten-Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
Ye Lan could absolutely not accept this.
In Ye Lan's plan, for 'Artificial Soul Rings' under ten thousand years, he would adopt a strategy of selling them half-price or even giving them away, striving to satisfy the needs of low-level Spirit Masters across the continent. Spirit Hall would only earn a meager processing fee.
However, rings above ten thousand years were to be the absolute main force for Spirit Hall's resource acquisition. Once the Artificial Soul Rings were rolled out, Spirit Masters could customize whatever Soul Beast and whatever age of ring they wanted.
After all, only Spirit Masters above Level 50 needed Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings. These mid-to-high-level Spirit Masters were the class that truly influenced the Douluo Continent.
They were the great nobles, the thousand-year families, the ten-thousand-year sects, the civilian geniuses, the royal factions, and so on.
For Spirit Hall to control the 'Ten-Thousand-Year Artificial Soul Rings' meant that Spirit Hall effectively controlled the entire Douluo Continent!
You want a 'Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring'?
When you criticize Spirit Hall, you better weigh your words carefully.
When paying the tithe to Spirit Hall, you better consider whether to pay in full or attempt tax evasion. (Patch Note: Spirit Hall's funding sources: 10% tax revenue from controlled areas, industries and investments across various trades, and angel investments in startups by Spirit Masters or families originating from Spirit Hall.)
When Spirit Hall implements policies, they will have to weigh whether to execute them faithfully or sabotage them in secret.
In short, the advent of the 'Artificial Soul Ring' would elevate Spirit Hall's influence to an unprecedented level.
If you wanted your family to inherit power rather than decline, and your talented descendants to obtain 'Ten-Thousand-Year Rings' instead of 'Thousand-Year Rings,' you would be forced to reconsider your stance toward Spirit Hall.
As for 'Ten-Hundred-Year Artificial Soul Rings,' Ye Lan decided to temporarily allow only Spirit Hall and factions close to him to absorb them.
In this era, the value of a 'Ten-Hundred-Year Artificial Soul Ring' was beyond imagination. Currently, in Spirit Hall, aside from a few Consecrators and Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong, no one possessed a hundred-thousand-year ring.
Even the Clear Sky School's genius, Tang Hao, had to rack his brains and borrow the hand of Spirit Hall to kill the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor just to obtain one such ring.
Therefore, if Spirit Hall could supply 'Ten-Hundred-Year Artificial Soul Rings' indefinitely in the future, their momentum toward unification would be unstoppable. Any faction attempting to block them would be nothing more than a stumbling block in the torrent of history.
And all of this was built on the foundation that the 'Artificial Soul Rings' could be successfully controlled by Spirit Hall and Ye Lan.
The grading of the 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Rings' solved this perfectly by binding the 'Vacuum Space' to the ring's age limit.
If the 'Vacuum Space' was too small, even if other factions cultivated it into a hundred-thousand-year ring, a Spirit Douluo who absorbed it would absolutely suffer an accident.
As for what kind of accident, Ye Lan didn't know, and he certainly didn't dare to try.
If the 'Vacuum Space' wasn't bound to the ring age, Ye Lan might have even needed to research an 'Artificial Soul Ring Locking Technology.'
Subsequently, Ye Lan once again condensed a 'Two-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring.'
This time, he expanded the 'Vacuum Space' of the 'Gestation Phase Ring' by an additional thirty percent on top of the norm.
The process continued normally.
Approximately twenty minutes later, the 'Two-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring' was born smoothly!
After carefully observing this ring through his 'Golden Dragon Pupils,' Ye Lan sighed in relief.
Through this condensation, he reached a conclusion.
To transform a 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Ring' into a 'Mature Phase Artificial Soul Ring,' the 'Soul Power Particle Attribute Mutual Generation Reaction' took approximately one minute for every hundred years of age.
This was under the condition that the 'Soul Power Particle Cluster' ratio was perfect.
For a 'Soul Power Particle Cluster' condensed by ordinary soul power, the reaction time would likely be 2 to 5 minutes per hundred years.
Even so, it was terrifyingly fast.
After all, one only needed to inject the 'Soul Power Particle Cluster' into the 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Ring' and then leave it alone; the reaction would proceed automatically.
Next, Ye Lan tested the effect of non-attributed soul power particles on the 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Ring.' The result surprised him: non-attributed soul power was still effective, but the 'Mutual Generation Reaction' took one hundred minutes per hundred years—extremely slow.
Despite this, Ye Lan remained very excited.
This meant that without revealing the 'Bloodline Factor' proportions, 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Rings' could be sold directly to civilian Spirit Masters and family clans. They wouldn't need to worry about particle attribute ratios; they just needed to inject non-attributed soul power particle clusters of the corresponding intensity.
Although the speed was slower, the 'Stable Phase Artificial Soul Ring' could absorb non-attributed particles and grow into a finished product.
Ah Yin watched the 'Two-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Ring' hovering before Ye Lan with immense excitement. She hadn't expected her Lord to actually achieve it!
Although Ah Yin couldn't understand why the Lord kept changing her blood around, she had been thrilled since the appearance of the 'Infant Version Artificial Soul Ring.'
She hadn't dared to make a sound, fearing she would disturb the Lord's research.
She never anticipated that the Lord would forcibly create a 'Two-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Ring' just like that!
If the Lord wasn't the God of Blue Silver, who was qualified to be?
"Lord!! You are too amazing!!"
"Th-this... is this really a thousand-year soul ring?" Ah Yin shook her body in extreme agitation.
"Correct. This ring is a 'Two-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Artificial Soul Ring,' capable of allowing a Spirit Grandmaster to successfully advance to Spirit Elder. Furthermore, as long as a Spirit Master follows my 'Artificial Soul Ring Absorption Method,' they can obtain a soul ring that matches the absolute limit of their physical constitution."
"Lord! You really are a God!!! Does the appearance of this ring mean that Soul Beasts will no longer face slaughter by humans, and that Soul Beasts and humans can coexist better?!" Ah Yin murmured.
Ye Lan's orange-red pupils rippled. He hadn't expected to fully develop the 'Artificial Soul Ring' so quickly.
The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings had asked him to help the Soul Beast race in the future; surprisingly, he had aided them within just a few months.
The appearance of the 'Artificial Soul Ring' signified the long-term coexistence of human Spirit Masters and Soul Beasts.
This was because an 'Artificial Soul Ring' required a drop of a Soul Beast's blood as a foundation; it could only be created by relying on 'Bloodline Factors.'
Thus, the variety of Soul Beasts had to be diverse.
The more species of Soul Beasts there were, the more types of 'Artificial Soul Rings' there would be, and the more 'Artificial Soul Rings' with different attributes would exist. If humans continued to slaughter Soul Beasts indiscriminately, they might face a future predicament where no Soul Beast blood was available.
And to have a wide variety of Soul Beast species, one had to ensure the integrity of the Soul Beast ecological chain.
It wasn't enough to just keep a few of each kind. The Soul Beast world followed an ecosystem; once the number of species dropped, the overall population would decline rapidly.
Moreover, Soul Beasts were extremely difficult to keep in captivity—they were not wild animals.
If Soul Beasts were kept in captivity for a long time, their bloodlines would degenerate within a few generations.
The soul rings Spirit Masters needed were not from domestic pigs, white-feathered chickens, or yellow dogs; they needed rings from extremely powerful Soul Beasts, like the Vigorous Vajra Bear, Rainbow Dragon, Dread Demon Dragon, and Heaven-Shaking Roar.
These Soul Beasts could not be farmed by humans, and even if they were, they would eventually degenerate.
Therefore, after Ye Lan created the Artificial Soul Ring that matched the limits of a Spirit Master's physique, the protected status of Soul Beasts was established.
In the future, any Spirit Master who slaughtered Soul Beasts would inevitably face the condemnation of countless others.
In this way, Soul Beasts would certainly not go extinct, and Ye Lan would have done right by the five Soul Rings he obtained from Soul Beasts and the Soul Bones gifted by the Ice and Fire Dragon King seniors.
"Indeed. It won't be long before the status of Soul Beasts rises. Humans will coexist with Soul Beasts for the long term; without Soul Beasts, there are no Spirit Masters," Ye Lan affirmed.
"Lord, you are not only the God of the 'Blue Silver Clan'!! You are the Savior of the Soul Beast Race!!" Ah Yin exclaimed, her body radiating a golden light.
At that moment, Ye Lan's fourth ten-hundred-thousand-year soul ring suddenly flashed.
"L... Lord, from now on, I, Er Ming, submit to you." Er Ming's soul form scratched its head inside the soul ring's 'Soul Space.'
"Just call me Ye Lan. If you want to thank someone, thank the Ice and Fire Dragon King seniors." Ye Lan waved his hand.
Er Ming shook his head. "No. Although I don't know many words, I know that a war between Soul Beasts and humans is inevitable. Humans need our soul rings to advance, but their advancement speed is too fast, whereas Soul Beasts need thousands or tens of thousands of years to grow to the corresponding rank."
"Every Titled Douluo represents the lives of several ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts. If this goes on, there will be fewer and fewer Soul Beasts."
"So, Lord, you are the savior who saved the Soul Beasts! And the human I admire the most! I never expected the fate of Soul Beasts to be changed by you!" Er Ming said solemnly.
Er Ming wanted to reveal some intelligence about his former master to Ye Lan, but thinking of the bloodline within him, he sighed and said, "Lord, you must be careful of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect."
"Ten Thousand Beast Sect? I understand," Ye Lan said, feigning confusion.
He knew that as a member of the Soul Beast race, Er Ming would not openly betray his own kind, so he could only try his best to give a reminder.
However, Er Ming did not know that Ye Lan actually knew the Ten Thousand Beast Sect was a faction founded by Soul Beasts.
But he couldn't directly reveal that he knew the sect's background. After all, from Er Ming's perspective, Gu Yuena and Di Tian would not expose their identities as Soul Beasts, so Ye Lan could only pretend to be ignorant.
After chatting with Er Ming and Ah Yin, Ye Lan began the final organization of the 'Artificial Soul Ring' data.
He compiled it into two versions: a Simplified Version and a Comprehensive Version covering all data and experiments.
Both versions would only be accessible to those closest to him; he had to ensure the 'Artificial Soul Ring' technology did not leak out.
(End of Chapter)