Su Ming's gaze fixed on the sphere of golden light.
Beneath the golden radiance, there was a strong, attractive force.
"What a peculiar attribute. And within this golden light, I can feel the power of the time attribute."
He had listened to Zhang Tianyang's introduction and also heard his warning.
After only a moment's thought, he made his decision.
"Tower Master, I choose this one."
Ten thousand years in the past. (PS: Refers to Soul Land I. These small paragraphs positioning time correspond to: Ten thousand years in the past [SL I], Now [SL II], Ten thousand years in the future [SL III])
The past Su Ming, who had awakened the Body Soul, felt the most pressure.
Three bodies. Two had innate full Spirit Power. The remaining one, him, only had innate fifth-rank Spirit Power.
Of course, there was bad news, but there was also good news: he had gained Su Yuntao's recognition and was defined as having a useless Martial Spirit.
"In this era, I won't join any faction for now."
He had no psychological burden about joining the Spirit Hall.
However, the Spirit Hall's training was too intense. At the very least, from what Su Ming knew, the tasks at the Spirit Hall Spirit Master Academy were extremely heavy, likely leaving him no extra energy to study Battle Armor.
Due to information sharing, he could master Spirit Tool technology in this era where Spirit Tools were virtually extinct. This could be his means of livelihood—occasionally crafting them secretly, selling them to earn enough Gold Spirit Coins for his own use.
The most critical thing for him was still Battle Armor.
Learning and crafting Battle Armor was quite energy-consuming. In the Soul Land III era, even though Spirit Tool technology was quite advanced and Spirit Masters' cultivation talent generally far exceeded that of the Soul Land I and II periods, the graduation standard from Shrek was still five rings plus being a Battle Armor Master.
Graduation from Shrek in Soul Land III involved six grades, with each grade corresponding to three years.
That meant Shrek required to reach Spirit King by age thirty and become a Battle Armor Master.
In the third grade, there were only three Spirit Kings. This cultivation speed was still slower than in the Soul Land II era.
Precisely because of the added cultivation for Battle Armor Masters.
Of course, in terms of strength, it was a massive boost. After all, a same-tier Battle Armor could boost strength by twenty levels—meaning a one-word Battle Armor Master at the Spirit King level possessed strength at the Spirit Sage level.
Therefore, cultivating to be a Battle Armor Master was very draining and would slow the pace in the early stages.
Of course, the rewards were also astonishing—true reaping what you sow.
Su Ming had three bodies. He wasn't too worried about the future Su Ming because he lived in that era, surrounded by elite Spirit Masters all striving to become Battle Armor Masters, all sharing this hardship.
The past Su Ming and the present Su Ming seemed different. The present Su Ming lived in an era with Spirit Tools and could directly obtain various rare metals. But in reality, his era had the harshest environment, the most intense competition for Spirit Power cultivation, and he still had to divert energy to learning and crafting Battle Armor.
Was the Soul Land I era competitive?
Even with only fifth-rank innate Spirit Power, the past Su Ming felt no pressure.
The Spirit Master talent in this era was simply too low on average.
He felt that even if he became a Spirit King by twenty, he wouldn't seem lagging behind.
"Lay low at Nuoding Academy for a few years. After I get my second ring, going on long trips alone will be safer, and my body should be more developed. Then I can head to the Metal City, Gengxin City."
Su Ming was startled.
He felt a summoning force.
This was—
Ten thousand years in the future.
Su Ming opened his eyes, hearing a faint cracking sound echoing within him.
The golden sphere transformed into a light cocoon, constantly expanding and contracting as if breathing.
"It hasn't finished gestating yet, but it seems it's only a matter of time. At least it doesn't count as a inferior spirit soul," Zhang Tianyang said after listening.
He asked Su Ming about his Spirit Skill.
Su Ming pondered for a moment, sensing the effect of his Spirit Skill.
A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, followed by joy.
Noticing his expression, Zhang Tianyang said, "It seems the Spirit Skill you obtained is very powerful."
"More than powerful, it's practically—"
He paused.
It was practically tailor-made for him.
Zhang Tianyang thought Su Ming simply lacked the words to describe his feelings and waited quietly for his emotions to stabilize.
After catching his breath, Su Ming said, "This spirit soul possesses the time attribute. I seem to have aptitude in this area as well, so my Spirit Skill is time-based."
A strange light flashed in Zhang Tianyang's eyes.
Time attribute!
To actually obtain such an attribute... this spirit soul was truly a gain.
"What exactly is the Spirit Skill?"
"First Spirit Skill, Borrowed Strength!"
Hearing Su Ming's words, two question marks seemed to pop up above Zhang Tianyang's head.
Was this a name suitable for a time-attribute Spirit Skill?
Su Ming's Spirit Ring had already lit up, time power swirling around his body.
This was imperceptible to ordinary people.
Only Su Ming could clearly feel the time power circulating outside his body.
A long river appeared before his eyes.
The river flowed, each drop of water seeming like a segment of history.
Upstream in that long river, two figures stood tall.
One was him.
The other was also him.
The three hims stood at three nodes in the river of time.
Su Ming noticed that only the future him was situated in an illusory stretch of water. Starting from the middle node, where the present Su Ming was, the long river became illusory, began to branch, with countless tributaries overlapping. The future Su Ming was merely standing on one of them.
The time power exerted its force.
The two phantom images of Su Ming rapidly crossed the river of time and merged into his body.
From Zhang Tianyang's perspective, Su Ming's Spirit Power inexplicably began to swell.
His body grew a size larger, his Spirit Power increased several times over, and even its quality underwent a qualitative improvement.
"My Spirit Skill is called Borrowed Strength. It allows me to borrow strength from the past within the river of time, drawing power from it to fill myself," Su Ming said in a low voice.
He clenched his fist, feeling unprecedentedly powerful.
Zhang Tianyang's eyes widened in shock.
"It's that outrageous?"
"It's alright. I can only borrow strength if the targets I locate have power to spare. If the located target currently needs their power, then I can't borrow it."
"Uh..." Zhang Tianyang opened his mouth and uttered two words: "Gambler?"
The corner of Su Ming's mouth twitched.
Based on the information he had revealed to Zhang Tianyang, it certainly seemed that way.
However, the targets from whom he borrowed strength were his two past selves, connected heart and mind. It wasn't left to chance at all.
Moreover, even if his two past selves needed their power, he could coordinate with himself, borrowing just a little. Even borrowing just ten percent was enough for a qualitative change.
Because the power he borrowed directly fused.
That's right. After borrowing strength, he entered the state of a Trinity Spirit Fusion Skill!
Even just ten percent of the past and present Su Ming's power was enough to put him into the state of a Trinity Spirit Fusion Skill. It was a perfect enhancement.
"So, I'm not without my cheat after all," Su Ming thought excitedly.
The past and present him could leverage information disparities. Only he seemed to gain no benefits.
Now it was different. He could borrow strength from the past.
...
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(End of Chapter)