Douluo: I am the True Master

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The Thousand-Pound Ant King, which had been leisurely wandering, hadn't even realized what was happening before it lost all sensation.

A flicker of confusion passed through its six eyes, then they slowly dimmed as a pitch-black soul ring began to coalesce.

The ten finely forged iron swords were now twisted and deformed.

Ye Wen walked over from a distance. Looking around, the Thousand-Pound Ant King's body had been dismembered into dozens of pieces. Green blood covered the ground, emitting a pungent stench.

Since people in this world weren't particularly interested in insect-type spirit beasts, the corpses of such creatures held little value. And with the body now so mutilated, Ye Wen didn't bother collecting it. Grabbing the head of the Thousand-Pound Ant King, he left the area.

Returning to a secluded spot on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, Ye Wen took a deep breath to calm his excitement as he watched the black soul ring trailing after the ant king's head. Acquiring a thousand-year soul ring and a ten-thousand-year soul ring were worlds apart.

Soul masters possessing ten-thousand-year soul rings could earn noble titles in the two empires—but only if they were willing to serve the royal family.

To be cautious, Ye Wen scattered some powder around to repel nearby spirit beasts.

He glanced at the black soul ring again. A regular thousand- or ten-thousand-year soul ring would have long since dissipated by now, but this one remained stubbornly floating in place.

"Come!" Ye Wen commanded sternly, summoning his marital Soul, Void Cloth, and beginning to channel the black soul ring.

Unlike the pressure of a thousand-year soul ring, the oppressive force of a ten-thousand-year soul ring was far greater. However, Ye Wen's physical prowess was unmatched by ordinary soul masters.

The familiar surge of unique energy infused his body, and within moments, he had fully adapted. His mind cleared, and for the first time, he distinctly sensed the existence of a spiritual realm.

Six emotionless eyes appeared, and the residual soul of the Thousand-Pound Ant King manifested in this spiritual space.

Blocking its attack meant survival; failing to do so meant death.

"Hmph! Bring it on—who's afraid of whom? I killed you while you were alive. Now, in my domain, what can your mere residual soul do to me?" Ye Wen sneered coldly, fully in control of his mental state.

His own spiritual power was overwhelmingly strong and refined—far beyond the level of this illusory remnant of the Thousand-Pound Ant King. Though neither side could use soul skills, the disparity was clear.

The Thousand-Pound Ant King launched the first attack, lunging toward Ye Wen with a biting motion. But Ye Wen didn't hold back, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick.

To his surprise, the ant king's residual soul shattered instantly under the blow, dispersing into fragments of spiritual energy that merged into Ye Wen's spiritual realm.

Ye Wen felt his spiritual world being nourished, further strengthened and expanded.

It was no wonder that, in this era without methods for cultivating spiritual power, soul masters could absorb soul rings imbued with the grudges of spirit beasts. Each time they absorbed a soul ring, the residual spiritual energy within it passively nourished their own souls, serving as a stepping stone to the next stage of cultivation.

Slowly opening his eyes, Ye Wen exhaled deeply. Losing all soul skills and relying solely on spiritual combat was indeed perilous. If not for his solid foundation and careful cultivation, he might have fallen victim to the dangers.

No wonder those Soul Kings who lacked optimal soul ring configurations hesitated to absorb ten-thousand-year soul rings for their fifth ring. Spiritual combat was far more dangerous than physical combat. Without proper methods for cultivating spiritual power, attempting to absorb a fifth ten-thousand-year soul ring was akin to courting death.

Ye Wen then carefully examined his fifth soul skill:

Fifth Soul Skill – Void Barrier.

Transforms the martial soul into a spatial barrier, blocking enemy attacks. The defense strength can be controlled based on the user's soul power.

At its current maximum strength, it should be able to withstand a single attack from an ordinary Soul Emperor.

Moreover, this soul skill could be deployed in various ways. Placing it mid-air could serve as a stepping stone, providing aerial combat capabilities for someone currently unable to fly. Paired with his self-created soul skill, Gravity Slash, it was practically perfect—a youth edition of the "God's Rod."

Additionally, Void Cloth's spatial capacity had surged to 100 cubic meters. Not bad, not bad at all~

"Huh?"

Ye Wen suddenly sensed a strange feeling emanating from his Nabu martial soul. Instinctively, he activated his second soul skill, Void Mimicry.

"What is this?!" Ye Wen's eyes widened in shock at his newfound perception.

What had once been a soul skill limited to mimicking surrounding objects now allowed him to perceive the fundamental attributes of things. By focusing on an object, he could even observe molecular movements—it was like having a humanoid molecular scanner.

"Isn't this too exaggerated? Is this the amplification granted by a ten-thousand-year soul ring?"

Ye Wen fell silent for a moment. Though the sudden mutation of his second soul skill caught him off guard, he was more delighted than anything. He began contemplating its potential future applications. Then, his eyes lit up as he retrieved a ginseng root from his martial soul space, placing it within the range of *Void Mimicry*. Using his spiritual power, he began to examine it closely.

Every detail of the ginseng's internal structure was laid bare before him. Ye Wen replicated its structure.

Next, he simulated a human body within *Void Mimicry* and made the simulated body consume the ginseng.

The simulated body's skin flushed red uncontrollably, and soon, a trickle of blood dripped from its nose.

"Divine technique! My second soul skill has truly evolved into a god-tier ability. With this, no herb will hold any secrets from me when it comes to their effects on the human body!" Ye Wen exclaimed excitedly.

In the field of medicine, it wasn't enough to simply create drugs based on theory—the most troublesome part was clinical testing.

Medical students from his previous life would have killed for a legendary ability like the Crystal Stomach of Shen Nong, one of the Three Sovereigns, which allowed one to discern the toxicity and medicinal properties of herbs simply by consuming them.

And now, this mutated Void Mimicry was akin to the Crystal Stomach, except Ye Wen didn't even need to consume the herbs himself. By replicating the parameters of the materials, he could simulate their effects directly, without worrying about poisoning like Shen Nong did.

Moreover, this martial soul wasn't limited to medical applications—it could simulate other scenarios as well, essentially functioning as a soul-powered quantum computer.

Though Ye Wen was thrilled, he hadn't forgotten his purpose for coming to the Star Dou Great Forest. After tidying up the scene, he headed back toward Bait City.

Seeing their teacher ascend to the rank of Soul King, the seven disciples felt immense pride and offered their heartfelt congratulations.

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