Chapter 2: Obtaining the Spirit Ring, Skydream Iceworm Shows Up
Lin Qinghan was indeed exhausted yesterday. It felt like he closed his eyes and opened them again only to hear his mother, Jiang Wan, calling him.
With the help of the servants, Lin Qinghan quickly got dressed. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Jiang Wan waiting outside, holding a dark red jade box—clearly prepared for him.
"Qinghan, skip breakfast today. This is a body-tempering medicinal material prepared by the family. The main ingredient was obtained by your grandfather when he acquired his eighth spirit ring at sea. I've just heated it up for you—eat it while it's warm."
As she spoke, Jiang Wan handed the jade box to Lin Qinghan. Since he wasn't knowledgeable about medicinal ingredients, she didn't explain further—only that it was for body strengthening.
Lin Qinghan opened the box and found a semi-transparent gelatinous substance inside. It looked similar to the whale glue from the original novel, though this one was green—likely due to added herbs to neutralize side effects.
"Okay, I just eat it directly, right?" Lin Qinghan didn't hesitate. Seeing the material wasn't too big or small, he swallowed it in one gulp.
As soon as it entered his stomach, a surge of heat spread from his dantian to his limbs. His bioelectric martial soul activated uncontrollably, sending a wave of tingling sensation through him, accelerating the absorption of the medicine.
Despite being refined with rare herbs, the medicine—derived from the whale glue obtained by Lin Wu during his eighth spirit ring hunt—still took 45 minutes to fully digest.
Lin Qinghan now felt incredibly hot. Fortunately, the adjusted formula made it a pure heat with little sweating.
"You absorbed it so fast? Qinghan, how does your body feel now?" Jiang Wan was surprised but remembered her son had twin martial souls and innate full soul power, so she let it go.
"I feel stronger. My soul power has also increased a lot." Lin Qinghan clenched his fists and estimated he had gained about 40–50% more strength.
"Very good. Now you'll have no problem absorbing a thousand-year soul ring for your first ring." With that, Jiang Wan took his hand and led him outside.
There, they saw Lin Tian adjusting a flying soul device.
"You're here. The device is ready. Qinghan's thunder-element martial soul's spirit ring can only be found in the Star Dou Forest. We must depart immediately and aim to return within three days."
Lin Tian was very invested in Lin Qinghan's first spirit ring. He and Jiang Wan, both Spirit Douluo, planned to accompany Lin Qinghan to hunt in the forest.
"No time to lose—let's go."
Jiang Wan took the device, and Lin Tian carried Lin Qinghan into the air.
To accommodate Lin Qinghan, they flew slower than usual. Half a day later, they arrived at the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest.
As soon as they entered the forest, Lin Qinghan felt a mysterious sense of anticipation—similar to moments of great fortune in his past life. But with both his parents present, he set the feeling aside.
After purposeful searching for about an hour, they found a light-blue forest.
"Finally! This is where Thunder Vines live. Using one as your first spirit ring is perfect. Not only will it give you offensive capability, but for a thunder-element martial soul, it will also compress soul power and make it more refined."
As Lin Tian spoke, his eyes locked onto a dark-blue vine. His martial soul manifested—a light-blue sword crackling with electricity.
"This Thunder Vine has twelve lightning patterns. That's 1,200 years. The medicine you took earlier lets you handle up to 800 extra years—perfect match." As he spoke, Lin Tian charged up his attack.
Jiang Wan stood guard beside Lin Qinghan. For a just-over-a-thousand-year beast, her intervention wasn't needed.
"First Soul Skill: Charged Thunder Slash!"
Six bolts of lightning flashed simultaneously, slicing the Thunder Vine into seven segments.
To make it quick and clean, Lin Tian, even as a Spirit Douluo, used a soul skill rather than a normal strike.
He leapt forward, grabbed the vine's main root—still crackling with electricity—and said, "Done." He handed Lin Qinghan a dagger. "You must cut the main root to finish it off."
Lin Qinghan took the dagger without hesitation and slashed at the root. Purple light emerged and condensed into a purple spirit ring.
"Focus, clear your mind, guide with your soul power," Jiang Wan instructed.
Lin Qinghan sat cross-legged, exhaled deeply, and released his bioelectric martial soul. With a flick of his hand, the thunder light drew in the spirit ring, beginning the absorption process.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wan and Lin Tian remained alert. They were in a transition zone between the forest edge and its mixed core—thousand-year beasts were common, and ten-thousand-year ones could appear.
Three hours passed. As Lin Qinghan neared the end of his spirit ring absorption, just as he was about to open his eyes, a voice echoed in his mind. His brainwave martial soul activated on its own.
"I finally found someone with spiritual attributes—and such strong spirit fluctuations too! What talent! I'm in tears."
"It's the Skydream Iceworm? Why is he here? Isn't this six years earlier than the original timeline?"
Lin Qinghan was puzzled. Before he could think further, a flash of light engulfed him, and he found himself in a vast blue-glowing space.
"Hello there, human! I'm the Skydream Iceworm, but you can call me Brother Skydream." A massive blue silkworm appeared, wiggling its body.
"You're a 100,000-year soul beast, right? What do you want with me?" Lin Qinghan pretended not to recognize him, noting the worm didn't seem to have read his memories.
"Not scared? Has my mighty presence faded completely?" The worm wiggled listlessly.
"I'll have you know, I'm a million-year soul beast!" Skydream started babbling excitedly about his past, acting like the chosen one, his body shaking with pride.
Lin Qinghan listened with a blank expression. "So, Skydream Iceworm, I'm Lin Qinghan. Based on what you're saying, you want to become my spirit ring?"
"That's right! I want to be the first intelligent spirit ring in history. After you become a god, revive me—then I'll live forever!" Skydream, still rather naive, revealed his goal without hesitation.
"Then you'll need to be a ring for my spiritual martial soul. Can you hide yourself?" Lin Qinghan thought for a moment—this was a free opportunity, and he wasn't about to miss out.
"Relax! I'm a million-year soul beast! I can do anything. Not only can I give you four spirit skills, I can also give you another martial soul. You'll have three in total—unprecedented! Wahaha! I can see a glorious future already!"
As he finished, Skydream Iceworm turned into a golden stream of light. Ten golden orbs appeared in Lin Qinghan's sea of consciousness—yet no change could be seen from the outside.
(End of Chapter)
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