"I can't believe it, Brother Lin—you actually made something like that? You're amazing!"
Inside a carriage heading toward Thunder Canyon, Xiao Wu exclaimed in pure admiration.
"But Third Brother's incredible too!" she added, wrapping her arms around Tang San's arm, her eyes shining with adoration.
Inside the carriage, Tang Ni silently gazed at Xiao Lin.
To gather spiritual energy for the entire world—what kind of person could even think of such a thing?
If Xiao Lin really managed to accomplish that, then becoming a god would be a trivial matter in comparison.
Among the four of them, Tang Ni was the one who understood divine power the best, and Xiao Lin's ideas had completely shaken her.
Even Di Tian's power was described as "half-god level," bordering on divine strength.
That meant his offensive power already reached a god's threshold—but to gather all the world's spiritual energy and make the entire continent ascend?
Even Di Tian couldn't achieve something like that.
Because she knew just how impossible that kind of feat was, Tang Ni's view of Xiao Lin had changed completely.
No wonder he could influence the luck and destiny of soul beasts.
If the Douluo Continent itself ascended, wouldn't that speed up the evolution of soul beasts as well?
And with self-condensed spirit rings, future soul masters wouldn't need to rely on killing ten-year or hundred-year-old soul beasts.
That would allow many soul beasts to survive, and their numbers would keep increasing.
Wasn't that the reason the soul beasts' fate had started improving?
Xiao Lin must never die.I have to find a way to protect him.
That thought burned in Tang Ni's mind, and she was already considering sneaking into Di Tian's treasure vault to steal something that could help Xiao Lin grow stronger faster.
Meanwhile, Tang San smiled awkwardly.
This idea wasn't even completed yet—was it really something to boast about?
How could something unfinished be considered amazing?
Xiao Lin, however, was quietly watching the Spirit-Gathering Soul Device mounted on the carriage, lost in thought.
If he really wanted to make Douluo Star ascend, he'd probably need to use other planets as array anchors.
That was… an almost impossible task.
He chuckled to himself, remembering Tang San's old joke about "breaking through the city gates of the gods."
Whether it was a joke or a prophecy, it just showed how hard their road ahead truly was.
"By the way, Brother Lin," Tang San asked curiously, "what kind of soul beast are you planning to get a ring from this time?"
Xiao Lin's soul ring choices had always served as a benchmark for the others.
He and Xiao Wu had always aimed for soul rings at least half the age of Xiao Lin's.
Knowing what Xiao Lin was aiming for would help them set their goals.
"A hundred-thousand-year Thunder Emperor Dragon, if one that old even exists."
Xiao Lin didn't hide it—he just said it outright.
"What—a hundred thousand years!?"
Tang San and Xiao Wu both cried out in shock.
If not for the soundproofing formation on the carriage, their shouts could've been heard all the way to the heavens.
"Brother Lin, a hundred-thousand-year ring exceeds the original theoretical limit by nearly ninety thousand years of cultivation!"
Tang San looked utterly dumbfounded. Even now, he wanted to persuade Xiao Lin not to take such a dangerous risk.
No matter how talented you were, you still needed to be alive to enjoy your talent.
"You still believe in that trash theory of Yu Xiaogang's?" Xiao Lin sneered.
"Of course not, Brother Lin. I just think you should reconsider—that's a gap of ninety thousand years!"
"Even if Yu Xiaogang's useless, he can't be that wrong—"
"Exactly," Xiao Lin interrupted sharply. "He is useless."
Then, he patted Tang San on the shoulder reassuringly."Don't worry. I've got this under control."
"Although a hundred-thousand-year soul beast that's survived heavenly tribulation gains insight into destiny and becomes vastly stronger than a ten-thousand-year one, my Jiao Dragon Staff isn't made of dough."
"My staff can absorb over half of the spirit power impact for me—so it's like I'm only facing the equivalent of a fifty-thousand-year ring."
At that, the others finally relaxed a bit.
They had been so worried that they'd forgotten about Xiao Lin's biggest cheat ability.
"Of course," Xiao Lin continued, "even the mental impact of this 'fifty-thousand-year ring' won't be weak—but I have a plan."
"I'll just… convince the soul beast."
Tang San and Xiao Wu looked at each other, confused."Convince it? What does that even mean?"
Tang Ni, however, kept her calm expression. She instantly understood—he meant tricking the beast into sacrificing itself.
Soon after, Xiao Lin explained his reasoning.
"Not every hundred-thousand-year soul beast can overcome heavenly tribulation. Even if it survives this one, the two-hundred-thousand-year tribulation is far from certain."
"Compared to dying and being erased from existence, wouldn't following me be better? I'm destined for godhood."
He said it calmly and confidently, without a hint of shame.
And honestly, he had the right—after all, both the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King resided in his consciousness.
"But Brother Lin," Tang San pointed out quickly, "we can't even beat a hundred-thousand-year soul beast!"
He was right—Tang San could barely fight a fifty- or sixty-thousand-year beast on his own.
Xiao Wu, being an agility-type, lacked the overwhelming force to defeat high-level soul beasts—she could maybe handle one around thirty or forty thousand years old.
Tang Ni was strong too, but she could only go toe-to-toe with sixty- or seventy-thousand-year beasts at most.
Even if Xiao Lin could fight a ninety-thousand-year beast—Even if all four of them joined forces—They still couldn't win against something on the level of a Titled Douluo in power.
"I know," Xiao Lin sighed. "I can't beat a hundred-thousand-year soul beast either. Honestly, even a ninety-thousand-year one would be tough."
"So if I can't convince the Thunder Emperor Dragon to sacrifice itself, I'll settle for something around eighty to ninety thousand years."
In truth, there wasn't much difference—he planned to leech power from the Sea God later anyway, which could push it up to a hundred thousand years.
He was fully prepared to "farm" his way up—that was his last resort.
Right now, Xiao Lin's combat power was enough to challenge a Soul Sage head-on.
With Tang San's support, even a Soul Douluo might not be unbeatable.
Plus, with the trickster Xiao Wu and the versatile Tang Ni backing him up, their odds weren't bad.
But even then, it all depended on whether the target soul beast had a spirit core or not—Because having one or not meant an entirely different level of power.
Xiao Lin wasn't arrogant enough to underestimate that.
"Brother Lin, do you have any other targets?" Tang San asked seriously.
If their opponent was too powerful, he was ready to use the Death God's Token—but that would mean Xiao Lin couldn't get the spirit ring or any potential spirit bone.
"I do," Xiao Lin replied after thinking for a few seconds.
"Thunder Prison Vine—a plant-type soul beast with the Thunder God's bloodline. It can't move easily, so it's a good candidate."
"Lightning Tiger—with storm and thunder wings. Might drop a pair of external spirit bone wings."
"Thunder Lion King—powerful and uses sonic attacks, hard to defend against."
"Thunder Mammoth, Thunderquake Bear, Electro Ape…"
"That's about it."
As Xiao Lin finished listing them, Tang San's face went blank.
Alright, fine—just hearing those names made them sound terrifying enough.
And two of them even had "Thunder God" in their titles!
"Can we… even win against any of those, Brother Lin?"
"Guaranteed victory," Xiao Lin said confidently.
In truth, lightning-type soul beasts had one fatal weakness—Their own energy was too volatile.
If they absorbed more lightning than they could handle, they risked self-detonation.
So rather than saying Xiao Lin would win, it was more like…
Both sides would win.
(End of Chapter)