Chapter 23 Good News: The third spirit ring is resolved; bad news: I almost died!
The jet-black soul ring was firmly attached to Ye Tianchen's body, while the golden bead pierced directly into Ye Tianchen's brow.
The moment the golden bead pierced Ye Tianchen's brow, his mind went blank, and after a moment of stunned silence, a wave of excruciating pain swept through his entire body.
The golden bead was now quietly suspended in his dantian, emitting golden ripples.
Each ripple spreading out felt like ten thousand red-hot steel needles simultaneously piercing every meridian in his body.
Golden lightning crackled wildly around Ye Tianchen, easily shattering the towering ancient trees beside him, leaving a scorched landscape in its wake.
"Ughhhhh!"
Another violent energy surge struck, and Ye Tianchen suddenly tilted his head back, veins bulging on his neck, and a beast-like growl escaped his throat.
He could clearly feel that the golden bead inside his body was not destroying him, but rather strengthening him.
However, the golden bead's methods were somewhat crude; instead of gentle nourishment, it violently eroded, tore apart, and then reassembled.
This process was so painful that it exceeded the limits of human endurance, but what was even more terrifying than the pain was the "impurities" that were forced out of the body.
Black, viscous, foul-smelling liquid was seeping from his pores; it was all the impurities in his body, the culprits blocking his soul power from improving.
"No wonder I awakened the Luo Sanpao Martial Soul. Is it really because my own aptitude is too poor?"
Ye Tianchen clenched his teeth, and blood seeped from his gums due to the excessive force.
Looking at the filth gushing from his body, he suddenly understood why he had made no progress in six years of cultivation.
It was not a matter of talent, nor a matter of martial soul; it was a problem with him personally.
The intense pain made Ye Tianchen tremble all over, his fingernails digging into his flesh from the force, but his eyes became increasingly clear, because he thought of everything he had experienced in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family.
He recalled the day of the awakening ceremony, when Luo Sanpao appeared at his feet, the entire place was deathly silent, and then burst into uproarious laughter.
He recalled the undisguised contemptuous looks from the elders when he received cultivation resources each month during those six years.
He recalled every family competition where he was arranged to face the strongest opponent, only to be defeated in one move in front of everyone, listening to the chorus of "trash," "disgraceful," and "wouldn't it have been better if he were dead?" from the audience.
"Aaaaaaahh..."
Anger and humiliation transformed into the most intense flames, burning fiercely in his chest.
Ye Tianchen suddenly opened his eyes, and golden lightning was exploding deep in his pupils!
He no longer passively endured the washing of the golden bead, but actively channeled his soul power, like a mad craftsman using lightning as a hammer and pain as fire to fiercely forge his "broken" body!
In this agony, Ye Tianchen's meridians were constantly torn apart and then widened and reorganized, a process that lasted for a full six hours.
When the last wisp of black impurities was expelled from his body, Ye Tianchen collapsed to the ground, too weak to even lift a finger.
He looked like a corpse just dug out of a grave, covered in dried scabs and black grime, with only the faint rise and fall of his chest proving that he was still alive.
But he smiled.
Although his laughter was hoarse and unpleasant, he was indeed laughing.
Because he could feel an unprecedented sense of "transparency" within his body.
Like a house that had been blocked for ten years, it was finally completely cleared, and sunlight and fresh air poured into every corner without any obstruction.
The meridians were more than three times wider, and the soul power surged within them like a river.
Increased bone density resulted in a faint metallic echo when struck.
The muscle fibers were tempered by lightning to become even tougher, and a faint golden luster flowed beneath the skin.
The most amazing thing was that in the dantian area, the golden bead had disappeared and been replaced by a rice-grain-sized, golden "seed".
He didn't know what it was, but he knew that this seed contained extremely terrifying lightning power, even more terrifying than the lightning power on Yu Yuanzhen's body back then!
Just then, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation between his eyebrows. He propped himself up and walked towards the stream not far away. With the help of the babbling water, Ye Tianchen could clearly see that a vertical golden lightning pattern had appeared between his eyebrows at some unknown time.
The lightning pattern was very faint, almost imperceptible without careful observation. Ye Tianchen didn't know what the lightning pattern did, but he had a vague feeling that it was very important.
At the same time, the jet-black soul ring on the golden cocoon finally closed, and with a cracking sound, the reborn Luo Sanpao appeared in front of Ye Tianchen.
Its body, originally two feet long, grew to three feet, and fine golden patterns appeared on its azure scales, like the trails of lightning.
Most notably, on its forehead, the two fleshy buds had completely ruptured, and a pair of golden dragon horns, each about an inch long, had broken through the skin. Although they were still very immature, they already possessed a sense of majesty.
The aura it exuded had completely transcended the category of "python" and had vaguely resembled that of a "dragon," only lacking the dragon claws beneath its body.
"Sanpao, it seems you've had quite a haul too."
Ye Tianchen gently stroked Luo Sanpao's forehead, and the latter affectionately rubbed against his fingers, conveying a sense of joy.
At roughly the same time, after successfully absorbing the soul ring of the 60,000-year-old Earth Dragon Turtle, Ye Tianchen's soul power also began to soar rapidly.
"Buzz—!"
Ye Tianchen's body trembled, and his soul power began to surge wildly like a flood bursting its banks!
Level 31!
Level 32!
Level 33!
...
Ultimately, he settled steadily at level 36.
"Phew, that feels like a breakthrough."
Ye Tianchen let out a soft breath and stretched his limbs.
Every movement he made generated faint arcs of electricity, and the lightning energy permeating the air spontaneously converged towards him, as if paying homage to a king.
With an uncontrollable smile on his lips, Ye Tianchen was not happy about his successful breakthrough to the third-ring Great Soul Master, but rather that his extremely poor-aptitude body could finally cultivate on its own. Compared to before, it was no exaggeration to say that he was making rapid progress!
"Let's go, Sanpao. Go find the Titan brothers, and while you're at it, tell them to stop messing around..."
Before Ye Tianchen could finish speaking, a deep tiger roar came from the distant forest.
That was no ordinary tiger roar; the sound was mixed with the booming of thunder, causing the charred wood around it to tremble.
A fierce, greedy, and violent aura was rapidly approaching, with a clear target—it was him!
"We're being watched..."
Ye Tianchen's eyes narrowed, and he instantly understood the reason.
Although it was unknown what the golden bead was, it carried a pure aura of lightning, an aura that had a fatal attraction for lightning-type soul beasts.
Especially those soul beasts that were stuck at a bottleneck and yearned to evolve...
[end of the chapter]