The ten golden rings on Tianmeng's body began to pulse rhythmically, as if coming alive. It leaned its head forward, gently pressing it against Ji Lin's forehead.
In an instant, the ten golden rings enveloped Ji Lin's body, and Tianmeng itself transformed into streams of white radiance, flowing ceaselessly into Ji Lin's body.
"So strong—his spiritual power is incredible. His physical constitution too. Twelve years old? And already Spirit Power Level 39? This human is a once-in-a-century prodigy. This… this soul power aura! It's an Ultimate Fire martial soul! Hahaha! I hit the jackpot! With me as his million-year intelligent soul ring, he's destined to become a god! My plan is going to succeed!"
Tianmeng was absolutely ecstatic and sped up the fusion with Ji Lin.
As Tianmeng's power poured into Ji Lin, an invisible wave of spiritual energy rippled outward. In a flash, Tianmeng's terrifying spiritual force spread across the entire area, covering nearly a hundred kilometers in all directions.
At that moment, the southern part of the Star Dou Forest fell into an eerie, deathly silence.
And just then—while the sky had been perfectly clear a moment ago—it suddenly darkened. A thunderous boom exploded overhead. In that instant, the sunlight was completely swallowed by darkness. A suffocating, terrifying pressure descended from the sky.
Tianmeng's massive body shuddered violently at the sound of that thunderous roar. Its two golden eyes rolled upward, staring into the sky with visible shock. There was confusion too—it was clear the oppressive force in the sky had nothing to do with it and was far beyond its comprehension.
A stream of gray energy descended from the heavens, as if drawn by a powerful suction force. In a flash, it entered the back of Ji Lin's head silently.
"Who dares steal my chosen one?!" Tianmeng roared in fury, its immense spiritual power surging, trying to force the gray stream out of Ji Lin's body.
A vague, blurry figure emerged behind Ji Lin. An aged voice echoed, filled with awe-inspiring authority:
"Hand grasping the sun and moon, plucking stars from the sky—none in this world can match me. I never thought even a fragment of my soul would survive."
Faced with Tianmeng's overwhelming mental assault, the shadowy figure remained completely unaffected. With a swoosh, it vanished into Ji Lin's head without resistance.
Tianmeng stopped trying to force the intruder out, because it realized that the gray energy had condensed into a tiny gray bead, no larger than a soybean, resting quietly inside Ji Lin's spiritual sea. It neither clashed with nor responded to Tianmeng's power.
"Seriously? After finally finding a human with such overwhelming spiritual power and talent, I still have to deal with some random bastard trying to steal him? Is this the heavens being jealous of genius? Poor me..."
Despite its complaints, Tianmeng didn't hesitate. The thick white glow pouring from it became denser and more substantial, steadily injecting itself into Ji Lin. Tianmeng's body grew increasingly transparent and rapidly shrank in size. From the moment it began transmitting its power, there was no turning back.
Ji Lin's body had now turned a flawless jade-white, identical to Tianmeng's former appearance.
"Wahaha! No matter what happens, I'm finally free! All those bastards who wanted to eat me—no chance now! Wahahaha!"
Tianmeng's voice gradually faded, and the massive spiritual pressure that had blanketed a hundred kilometers rapidly receded until it vanished completely.
In the depths of the Star Dou Forest, several terrifying auras stirred violently, sensing something… but ultimately, they found nothing.
As Tianmeng's vast spiritual essence merged into Ji Lin's mind, his spiritual sea underwent an astonishing transformation. Countless points of light appeared, stretching beyond the eye's reach—yet Ji Lin's perception could simultaneously touch every corner of the space.
Those golden lights coalesced into ten enormous golden rings, floating in midair. Their presence caused all the light points around them to grow brighter and larger.
The ten golden rings began to rotate slowly. Inside each ring, a milky white radiance emerged, gradually becoming ten enormous glowing orbs suspended in the air. As they formed, the size and height of the entire space expanded exponentially.
The scattered light points in the air drifted downward, forming a soft golden sea beneath the orbs—serving as their foundation.
Just then, beside one of the glowing orbs, a tiny gray sphere appeared—far smaller than the others. The ten golden orbs emitted intense golden light, seemingly trying to repel it. Yet the gray orb remained still and unaffected, completely impervious to their attempts.
Eventually, the golden orbs ceased their resistance and stabilized in place, each shimmering with a soft glow.
Ji Lin looked at his transformed spiritual sea in awe. The depth of Tianmeng's spiritual essence left him speechless.
It was clear that Ji Lin had gained immensely. His current spiritual sea was something even a Spirit Douluo powerhouse couldn't match.
During the fusion, Ji Lin had not lost consciousness. He remained fully aware of the changes happening within him, including the appearance of the gray orb.
"So your name is Ji Lin," a sudden voice rang out.
A translucent baby Ice Silk Worm appeared beside Ji Lin's spiritual form, its expression smug and triumphant. It had clearly already scanned and copied the fabricated memories Ji Lin had created using Feathered Dust, learning his name.
"See those ten glowing spheres? That's the most refined essence of my million years of cultivation—pure origin energy and spiritual power. With it, you can raise all ten of your soul rings to the hundred-thousand-year level. Your spiritual power will also become the strongest in the world! And that's not all. I can give you a second martial soul—an ice attribute one—making you a peerless twin martial soul genius!"
Tianmeng puffed up with pride, "Aren't you amazed? Aren't you excited?"
"Of course, you haven't hit a bottleneck yet. But once you reach Level 40, you'll really see my power. As a million-year soul ring, I can give you four whole soul skills—FOUR!"
"Really?" Ji Lin asked. "Brother Tianmeng, since you're so powerful, could you wait until I reach Level 70 to fully attach your million-year soul ring? I remember that the higher the soul ring age at the seventh ring, the stronger the Martial Soul True Body becomes."
Tianmeng's golden eyes lit up,
"You're right! If you attach me at the seventh ring, you'll definitely get the strongest Martial Soul True Body. No one will be able to match you then! Why didn't I think of that before?"
Tianmeng grew even more excited at the idea.