Chapter 816: 3rd Grade Soul; First Nourishment |
The talent world gradually receded into the distance.
It wasn't shrinking or vanishing—it was simply moving farther away.
The gate to the talent world remained open, and the tear Lin Moyu had ripped open still lingered.
The Necromancer manifested by the system remained silent from beginning to end. It only looked at Lin Moyu for a few brief moments, though even that look was only a feeling.
Carrying the talent world behind it, the system continued deeper into the silent expanse.
Lin Moyu wanted to pursue it, but ultimately stayed where he was.
He knew the deeper regions were far beyond his current reach.
This place already marked the absolute limit of what he could achieve.
If he ventured farther, his soul would lose its bearings, severing its connection with his physical body. Should that happen, not even the Comprehensive Rebirth talent could bring him back.
The system wanted him to find it.
Not now, but someday in the future.
"The system is showing me the way." Lin Moyu murmured.
By carrying away the talent world, it was pointing him toward a direction.
In the future, he could use his talents to locate that destination.
Talents would always retain a faint connection to their birthplace, and that connection would serve as the ultimate beacon.
Once again, Lin Moyu felt the system's goodwill.
Not a single word had been exchanged, yet the intent was unmistakable.
Deep within his soul, he knew one thing with absolute certainty: the system had never intended to harm him. It had been helping him all along.
By now, the talent world had completely disappeared.
Without hesitation, Lin Moyu turned and flew toward his soul world.
The closer he drew to it, the stronger the connection between his soul and body became.
His soul quickly gained a clear sense of direction, ensuring he would not lose his way.
A purple radiance illuminated his path as the third talent seed was thrown into his soul world.
The moment it landed, the entire soul world shook violently and then transformed into a sea of fire.
The soul world’s outer shell grew thicker and more resilient, while more impurities within Lin Moyu's soul were burned away.
At the same time, the golden light enveloping his soul suddenly contracted.
The iron armor vanished, replaced by a dazzling layer of pure gold. On his soul, a stream of glazed golden radiance flowed slowly.
Golden glaze—the hallmark of a 3rd grade soul.
Antares watched with immense satisfaction.
"Little monster, do you even realize what this means?"
"A 2nd grade soul is the minimum requirement to become a True God. Every Transcendent God strives to raise their soul to that grade."
"But a 3rd grade soul is the prerequisite for surpassing the True God realm and becoming a God King."
"Only when your soul reaches 3rd grade do you have any hope of reaching the God King realm."
This wasn't the first time Lin Moyu had heard Antares mention the God King realm.
Beyond True Gods stood God Kings.
He carefully examined the changes brought about by his 3rd grade soul.
A soul consisted of three aspects: grade, rank, and force.
Each complemented the others, and none could be done without.
An increase in grade naturally promoted growth in both rank and force to a certain extent.
The advancement to 3rd grade soul pushed Lin Moyu's soul rank another step forward, while his soul force became even purer.
Opening his eyes, he surveyed his soul world.
"So, does that mean I already possess the qualification to become a God King?"
"It would be more accurate to say you've fulfilled one of the requirements."
Lin Moyu asked curiously, "Then what are the others?"
A mysterious smile appeared on Antares's face.
"Do you really want to know?"
"I do."
"Too bad. I still can't tell you."
"We've already come this far. What's the point of being so secretive now?"
Antares chuckled and said, "What the hell do you know? The method I know is the advancement path of the Dragon Race. It's completely different from the path the human race follows."
"If you use our method and something goes wrong later, who's going to take responsibility?"
"Besides, once you leave this small world, someone will naturally explain everything."
"That woman who delivered the jade pendant before—didn't she say she'd come pick you up?"
"When the time comes, you'll learn everything you need to know. Why the hell are you in such a hurry?"
"For now, focus on strengthening your foundation. As long as your foundation is solid, no matter how you toss and turn in the future, your path will be much smoother."
Understanding dawned on Lin Moyu.
Antares wasn't being secretive for the sake of it, nor was he deliberately withholding information. He was concerned that giving the wrong guidance might derail Lin Moyu's future path.
"My mistake," Lin Moyu said apologetically, realizing he had misunderstood.
Antares waved it off, "No worries. While I don't understand the cultivation methods of the humans, I can tell you this: regardless of the method, everything ultimately revolves around soul and law. Those are the foundations of all races, so the differences shouldn’t be that great."
"The human race also has several cultivation paths. When the time comes, keep your eyes open and choose carefully. Don't pick the wrong one."
"Though all roads lead to the same destination, taking fewer detours is always better."
"Thank you."
Lin Moyu etched Antares's words into his memory.
Inside his soul world, the violent tremors finally subsided.
The third talent flame stabilized, and the three talents settled into place in the soul world, once again forming a triangular arrangement.
Each talent existed independently, yet remained connected to the others.
Their radiance cascaded over every law art star, forging a special connection with them.
From body to soul to talents, the bond deepened and strengthened.
The change was incredibly subtle. Had his soul grade not already reached 3rd grade, he would have been unable to detect it at all.
With the relocation of talents complete, the next step was nourishment.
Antares muttered, "Using a 3rd grade soul for the talents' first nourishment... that's unheard of."
Talent relocation had to be completed before level 90. But how powerful could the soul of someone below level 90 really be?
At that stage, most people's souls were still 1st grade, and even reaching peak 1st grade was uncommon.
Occasionally, an exceptional genius would achieve 2nd grade.
Anyone below level 90 who possessed a 2nd grade soul was already considered an absolute genius.
Even in the greater world, such individuals were exceedingly rare.
As for someone like Lin Moyu, who had attained a 3rd grade soul before level 90, it was unprecedented.
At least, Antares had never heard of such a case.
Not to mention that Lin Moyu had successfully moved all three of his talents, and every one of them was top-tier.
Antares couldn't even begin to imagine what heights those talents might eventually reach.
Soul nourishment did not consume soul force. Instead, it required the soul main body itself.
Activating his Soul-Splitting Art, Lin Moyu split off a thread of his soul and directed it into one of the talent seeds.
Now that the relocation was complete, the talents belonged entirely to him, branded with his mark.
They would no longer harm him in any way.
The soul thread entered the talent seed smoothly and was quickly absorbed.
Lin Moyu continued, splitting off thread after thread and feeding them into the talent seed.
First nourishment was not something that could be completed overnight.
Under normal circumstances, it required an immense amount of time.
The amount of soul a person could safely split off each day was limited.
Were that limit exceeded, they risked damaging the soul main body.
Once they reached their limit, they had to stop and wait for the soul to recover before continuing.
The duration of the first nourishment depended on both the soul grade and the strength of the talent seed.
The higher the talent's tier, the longer the nourishment required.
The higher the soul grade, the shorter the process became.
For most people, nourishing a single talent seed took anywhere from several months to a full year.
Some even required two or three years to complete the first nourishment.
But Lin Moyu was different. None of those limitations applied to him.
His Comprehensive Rebirth talent was no mere decoration. It had already demonstrated its terrifying power during the conversion of his law art stars.
And so, Lin Moyu once again began performing the kind of absurd feats that had long become his trademark.
Antares, who had been waiting for this exact moment, began sharpening his claws once more.