Having successfully integrated the Enhanced Meditation ability and the infinitely growing soul spirit, Yao Xuan felt a profound sense of completion settling over him. After a five-minute respite to fully acclimate to the refined state of his meridians and mind, he once again turned his consciousness inward, towards the silent, waiting interface of the Super God System. With a thought, he selected the next dormant ability.
A thrill of anticipation ran through him. This was a convenience and strategic advantage most Soul Masters could only dream of.
'Activate.'
As he confirmed, he felt a subtle shift in the space around him. Streams of invisible, arcane power—the fundamental threads of spatial law—coalesced and wove themselves together under the system's guidance. They folded and knitted, stabilizing into a perfect, intangible pocket dimension that anchored itself not to a physical object, but directly to the core of his consciousness.
Five minutes later, the process was complete. In his sea of consciousness, amidst the shimmering data of the system, a new, silver sigil now floated—a complex, beautiful mark that pulsed with a faint, spatial hum. Focusing on it, his mind's eye was suddenly looking into a clean, void-like space, exactly five meters to a side.
"Truly amazing," he whispered aloud.
His eyes fell upon the small wooden desk in his room. With a simple mental command—*store*—the desk vanished without a sound, without a ripple in the air. In the silver space within his mind, the desk now sat perfectly. A reverse thought—*retrieve*—and it reappeared in the physical world, precisely where it had been. The process was instantaneous and cost him a negligible wisp of mental energy.
A brilliant, triumphant smile spread across his face. "Fantastic! This is infinitely superior to any soul tool!"
He knew the value of spatial storage on Douluo Continent. A soul tool with a mere tenth of a cubic meter of space could cost hundreds of thousands of Federal Coins. One with five cubic meters was a treasure worth tens of millions, a luxury for Soul Sages and Douluos. His system-given space was not only larger to start but would grow with him, was utterly unloseable, and was completely undetectable. It was the perfect vault for secrets and treasures alike.
"Now," he murmured, his expression turning solemn, "for the most crucial step."
With another thought, he retrieved the system's ultimate reward for his breakthrough. It materialized in his hands—a basketball-sized crystal, but unlike any gem on this world. It was not a solid object but a containment field for swirling, nebulous light, shimmering with all nine colors of the Ancestral Dragon. This was the source—the Infinite Growth Soul Spirit, a blank slate of primordial potential.
Placing the crystalline sphere on the floor before him, Yao Xuan took a deep, centering breath. He channeled his soul power, letting it flow from his hands to envelop the sphere. The moment his energy made contact, the nine-colored light within flared brilliantly, reacting to his familiar aura. The sphere hummed, lifted from the ground, and began to spin slowly in mid-air, a miniature galaxy of potential.
"Ancestral Dragon Martial Soul," he commanded, his voice firm. "Manifest!"
A flash of nine-colored light erupted from his right palm, and the magnificent form of the Ancestral Dragon Martial Soul materialized. It was more defined now than ever before. Its scales carried a clearer, multi-hued sheen, its claws looked capable of rending space itself, and its eyes held the weight of epochs. The very air in the room grew heavy with its suppressed might.
Following the system's guidance, Yao Xuan willed the martial soul forward. It lunged from his palm, not as an attack, but as a sovereign returning to its throne. It did not strike the crystal; it *merged* with it.
The moment the ethereal dragon touched the swirling lights, a sound like shattering stained glass filled the room, though nothing physical broke. The outer shell of the crystal dissolved into a breathtaking shower of nine-colored sparks that winked out of existence like dying stars.
At the heart of the fading light, a new form coalesced. It was a smaller, denser echo of the Ancestral Dragon—a soul spirit version, perfect in every detail, woven from the same cosmic thread. It let out a silent, joyous cry only Yao Xuan could hear, circled him once in a display of innate kinship, and then shot like a comet into his brow, settling deep within his sea of consciousness.
There was no struggle, no resistance. It was a homecoming.
The integration was seamless. This "Ancestral Dragon (Echo)" was not a separate entity he had to subdue; it was a direct offshoot of his own martial soul, birthed from the system's primordial source and imprinted with his unique aura. A common soul spirit would have been instantly obliterated by the majesty of his true martial soul, while a spirit of equal rank would never submit. This was the only perfect solution.
As the soul spirit settled, the dormant Ancestral Dragon power within his bloodline stirred once more in approval. A fresh wave of enhancement washed through him. He felt his muscles knit themselves tighter, his bones hum with increased density, and his senses sharpen another degree. His mental power, too, received a boost, solidifying at 94 points—tantalizingly close to the next realm.
He opened his eyes, and they glinted with a light that had not been there before. He was now a true Soul Master, in every sense of the word. He had a soul spirit that could grow alongside him for all eternity, a cultivation technique that led to godhood, and abilities that defied common sense.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the new soul skill—[Ancestral Dragon Sky-Splitting Strike]—waiting within him, a contained storm of destructive power. A slow, confident smile touched his lips. It was time to test his new limits.