From the outside, the windows glowed with a dazzling crimson light.
After over an hour of Lin Fan's relentless efforts, the system's reward—a growth-type soul ring—had finally reached its maximum potential, becoming a terrifying 100,000-year soul ring.
"This is the limit. It's time to fully absorb this 100,000-year soul ring."
"After 47 years of cultivation, I can finally have my 100,000-year soul ring."
Gazing at the brilliant scarlet soul ring coiled around the Slaughter Sword, Lin Fan's face lit up with excitement. However, his expression soon turned serious as he immediately began absorbing it.
In an instant, the soul ring merged into his Slaughter Sword martial soul, followed by an overwhelming surge of soul power rushing into Lin Fan's body.
The explosive surge of soul power from the ring would have been enough to shatter the bodies of ordinary Soul Sages. Fortunately, Lin Fan was already a Title Douluo, and with the tempering effects of immortal herbs like the Ice and Fire Refinement, he easily withstood it.
Another half-hour passed as Lin Fan focused on fully absorbing the soul ring.
Typically, absorbing a soul ring beyond 10,000 years would cause severe spiritual backlash from the lingering resentment of the soul beast. Lin Fan himself had experienced this before when absorbing high-level soul rings with his Azure Shadow Sword.
He remembered vividly the mental torment he endured when absorbing the 90,000-year Saber-Toothed Tiger soul ring back then.
However, this 100,000-year soul ring was different. It had no elemental attribute and wasn't derived from any soul beast. It was akin to a God-bestowed soul ring, free from any beastly resentment.
Thus, absorbing it was easier than the Saber-Toothed Tiger's ring.
Once Lin Fan finished absorbing it, an explosive wave of soul power radiated from his body, shaking the room and knocking over furniture.
Without a doubt, Lin Fan had broken through to Rank 95 Title Douluo after successfully absorbing the 100,000-year soul ring.
But the soul power boost was just part of it—the enhancement to his physical body and overall attributes was far more dramatic.
"It's no wonder that 100,000-year soul rings and soul beasts are considered the ultimate treasures in the Douluo Continent's soul master world."
"Such a direct and overwhelming boost to strength… there's nothing else that can match this."
"Now I finally understand how Tang Hao, after gaining the Blue Silver Emperor's sacrifice and absorbing a 100,000-year soul ring, was able to single-handedly defeat Qian Xunji, Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, and several Soul Douluos."
Feeling the massive improvements from the 100,000-year soul ring, Lin Fan sighed in awe. He realized he had greatly underestimated the power of a 100,000-year soul ring.
After marveling at the changes, Lin Fan summoned his Slaughter Sword. It now gleamed alongside a crimson 100,000-year soul ring.
Although his two martial souls had separate soul rings and skills, the soul power was still unified within Lin Fan's body.
In fact, due to his twin martial souls, his soul power was denser and more refined than ordinary soul masters of the same rank.
As he activated his martial soul and the new soul ring, Lin Fan immediately sensed the soul skills bestowed by the 100,000-year ring.
"Oh? Two soul skills? That's far better than the typical God-bestowed rings that usually grant just one skill. As expected from the system—quality guaranteed."
He read aloud the names of the two skills:
"Annihilation Strike" and "Sword Soul Immortal Halo."
Annihilation Strike: Condenses all soul power into the sword's tip, unleashing a slash imbued with extreme killing intent and slaughter aura. This strike ignores most defenses, and upon impact, leaves severe injuries—either death or permanent harm.
Lin Fan's expression turned solemn.
Though it sounded simple, any skill capable of ignoring most defenses was terrifying by nature. Moreover, the infused slaughter aura would continue to corrode the enemy's wounds afterward.
Sword Soul Immortal Halo: The Slaughter Sword's murderous aura condenses into a protective halo, forming an indestructible shield around the wielder. It blocks enemy attacks and even reflects a portion of the damage back onto attackers.
Lin Fan immediately understood—this was a defensive skill similar to Tang Hao's Haotian Bodyguard technique.
Thus, this time, the system had granted him two soul skills—both offensive and defensive—forming a perfectly balanced combination.
Lin Fan couldn't help but smile with deep satisfaction,
"Tch, this system may act unreliable at times, but it delivers when it counts."
Honestly, without the Reversal System, Lin Fan would still be stuck as a Rank 91 Title Douluo, stagnating like Ning Fengzhi had at Rank 79 for years.
But since the system's arrival, in less than a year, his strength had skyrocketed—something that would've taken him a decade through regular cultivation.
"Still, if this system had shown up 40 years earlier, I'd probably already be a god by now… This damn system made me waste decades of hard work!" Lin Fan muttered, putting away his Slaughter Sword and lying comfortably on his bed while grumbling at the system.
Just as he was relaxing, the system's cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
[New Task Issued: The host's strength has increased dramatically with the help of the Reversal System. As a student of Shrek Academy, you are to participate in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament as part of the Shrek team and overturn the odds by defeating the Spirit Hall team to win the championship.]
[This task is optional.]
[Task Reward: One unassigned soul ring that can grow up to 100,000 years, the final fragment of the mysterious secret realm map, and advancement to Spirit Emperor rank within the secret realm.]
Lin Fan's expression darkened,
"Oh, here we go again… I just finished cursing you, and now you're messing with me again. You think I can participate in the Continental Elite Tournament?"
"Forget everything else—just the age restriction alone disqualifies me!"
The tournament was originally designed for nurturing young talents within the two empires, but after Spirit Hall's interference, the competition became even more intense.
The rules were strict: all participants must be under 25 years old—those who had just turned 25 were already ineligible.
Lin Fan wasn't foolish enough to believe this would be as simple as his casual enrollment at Shrek Academy.
He wanted to reject the task right away, but when he looked at the rewards, his resolve wavered.
Another 100,000-year growth-type soul ring, the last fragment of the secret realm map…
After tasting the immense power of the 100,000-year ring and holding two pieces of the map already, giving up now felt impossible.
Moreover, Lin Fan suspected that the so-called "mysterious secret realm" was indeed the entrance to Slaughter City. While he could technically go there now, he knew full well that the system's arrangement to enter the secret realm would be tied to a larger task.
Perhaps that task would even relate to attaining godhood.
And besides, another growth-type soul ring was too tempting to pass up. These rings were far more compatible with his Slaughter Sword than ordinary 100,000-year beast rings.
Lin Fan frowned deeply,
"Don't tell me… To ensure Shrek Academy wins, I'll have to feed them immortal herbs like in the original story?"
The thought made him instantly dismiss the idea.
"What a joke! There's no way I'm wasting immortal herbs—rarer than even 100,000-year soul rings—just to win some tournament."
Yet without those herbs, the Shrek Seven Devils wouldn't even make it past the Five Element Academy teams from Heaven Dou Empire, let alone face the Spirit Hall team.
Lin Fan's eyes narrowed as he muttered,
"System… Can I still transfer to another academy at this point?"
Silence.
The system didn't respond, and Lin Fan knew he had no chance.