Xiao Lin absorbed the soul power of the nearly 800-year-old Vigorous Vajra Bull. Instantly, his soul power surged like boiling water, making it almost unbearable for him.
Xiao Lin shut his eyes tightly and fully operated the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill.
Even so, the soul power of the Vigorous Vajra Bull still battered his most fragile meridians.
The human body's meridians were too numerous and too delicate. With Xiao Lin's current abilities, he couldn't protect all of them.
Preserving the most important meridians alone had already exhausted too much of his mental focus.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, a portion of Xiao Lin's meridians were forcefully ruptured by the violent soul power.
With an outlet now available, the soul power surged like a bursting dam, directly pressing down on Xiao Lin's body.
Damn it!
Xiao Lin couldn't imagine the consequences of what was coming next, nor was he willing to accept a fate of death by self-destruction.
"Horned Dragon Staff!"
In this critical moment, Xiao Lin immediately summoned the Horned Dragon Staff.
In an instant, as soon as Xiao Lin's Horned Dragon Staff appeared and stood before him, the air around him seemed to freeze.
Not only that, but the soul power within Xiao Lin's body also became heavier and indestructible.
Even the soul ring he was absorbing was forcibly suppressed, making his soul power feel like thick paste. While it remained vast in quantity, it was no longer as dangerous as before.
"Crack! Crack!"
Soon, as faint cracking sounds came from Xiao Lin's bones, the bright yellow soul ring of the Vigorous Vajra Bull swiftly floated above his head. Before he could react, the yellow soul ring began to shrink and directly attached itself to Xiao Lin's Horned Dragon Staff.
A golden ring, matching the thickness of the Horned Dragon Staff, embedded itself in the middle of the staff.
In that instant, Xiao Lin felt a surge of soul power even more violent than before.
It was like a volcanic eruption, rampaging through his meridians.
However, in the next moment, Xiao Lin's consciousness suddenly brightened. It was as if he had immersed himself in a vast ocean, and before him stood a divine pillar that reached the heavens.
Isn't this just a gigantic Horned Dragon Staff?
Xiao Lin was overjoyed. He noticed that no matter how the surrounding soul power raged, it couldn't shake the Horned Dragon Staff in the slightest.
It was like the Needle of the Sea, unmoving and steadfast.
Soon, under Xiao Lin's incredulous gaze, a silver-white soul power floated down from the Horned Dragon Staff.
This soul power directly merged into his body, entering his meridians and dantian.
To Xiao Lin's great surprise, the meridian that had ruptured earlier had already been repaired by the soul power of the Horned Dragon Staff.
Now, his entire network of meridians radiated with a bright silver sheen, their strength significantly enhanced.
Something isn't right.
As Xiao Lin examined his meridians, he noticed something peculiar.
The meridians that had been ruptured weren't actually repaired.
Instead, the Horned Dragon Staff's soul power had simulated a metallic, silver-glowing meridian in place of the broken one.
These weren't meridians formed from flesh and blood; they were meridians constructed purely from soul power.
Xiao Lin frowned, puzzled.
He wasn't sure if this was good or bad.
At the very least, it wasn't harming him for now.
Boom!
In the next instant, countless streams of soul power from the Horned Dragon Staff flooded into Xiao Lin's body. He could feel his dantian brimming with even more power—stronger and more immense.
What had once been a trickling stream had now become a rushing river.
The overwhelming pressure and pain from the soul power vanished, leaving behind only a surge of adrenaline, an intoxicating sense of power.
Success!
Xiao Lin was ecstatic.
Not only had he absorbed his first soul ring beyond normal limits, but its age far exceeded that of a typical second soul ring.
Furthermore, his Indestructible Vajra Soul Power had grown even stronger.
This time, Xiao Lin could clearly sense that his soul power was becoming more and more like that of the Horned Dragon Staff.
Even its hardness was gradually approaching that of the staff.
In addition, Xiao Lin realized that using his first soul ring wouldn't consume much of his energy.
It was like how Spirit Masters with Martial Soul Avatars didn't experience significant energy drain from their first few soul skills, with only the Avatar itself requiring a substantial amount of soul power.
This is his innate talent—
Innate Artifact Soul Avatar Saint Physique.
With almost no soul power consumption, how terrifying would he become?
Lastly, Xiao Lin discovered that he could continue training his Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill again.
Just like Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill,
Xiao Lin's Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill had broken through its original limits.
Even his soul power had risen to level 13.
Although his soul power had only increased slightly, Xiao Lin noticed that it had passively become denser.
It was as if his soul power had been subjected to the weight of the Horned Dragon Staff, like a hammer continuously forging it.
Xiao Lin was confident that, even if his soul power wasn't as endlessly regenerative as Tang San's, he was not lacking in quantity compared to him.
With compressed soul power and near-zero consumption when using his Martial Soul and soul abilities, Xiao Lin wouldn't be inferior even to Tang San, the future Sea God.
Not to mention, Xiao Lin planned to further compress his soul power in the future.
Maybe even condense a soul core.
Feeling extremely satisfied, Xiao Lin smirked slightly and slowly opened his eyes.
"Uncle Hao, I did it!"
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Xiao Lin grinned at Tang Hao.
His success wasn't just about absorbing the soul ring—it proved that the limits on spirit rings set by conventional wisdom were completely wrong.
At this moment, Tang Hao, deeply shocked, remained silent for a while before nodding slightly. He then prepared to take Xiao Lin away from the Spirit Hunting Forest.
Tang Hao stored the body of the Vigorous Vajra Bull in his storage soul tool before speaking.
"Xiao Lin, I'm entrusting Xiao San to you from now on."
"Alright."
Xiao Lin had always known that Tang Hao would eventually leave, so he agreed without hesitation.
But he was a little puzzled—why was Tang Hao saying this so early?
In the original timeline, hadn't Tang Hao only left after Tang San enrolled at the academy and took Yu Xiaogang as his master?
Could Tang Hao have some important business to attend to?
Xiao Lin thought about it but ultimately decided not to dwell on it.
Would a child like him understand the affairs of a Titled Douluo?
As they left the Spirit Hunting Forest, Xiao Lin noticed an immense transformation in his body.
His once chubby face had become sharper, his soft body had started developing noticeable muscles, and he had grown taller—once again surpassing Tang San in height.
Moreover, he realized his body had a faint luster to it.
Every movement felt as light as if he had trained with weights for years and suddenly removed them.
Even without using soul power, Xiao Lin could clearly feel it—
This was pure bodily strength. His physical attributes had been significantly enhanced.
What exactly was his soul skill?
Could it be that instead of boosting attack power, it enhanced his physical strength?
Xiao Lin couldn't help but wonder. He had been mentally guiding himself toward an attack-enhancing soul skill when choosing his soul ring.
If that wasn't the case, then where was this newfound monstrous strength coming from?
Just as Xiao Lin was lost in thought, the Horned Dragon Staff responded.
Heaven and Earth Throw!
"Heaven and Earth Throw! My first soul skill is Heaven and Earth Throw!"
Xiao Lin's mind trembled as he was utterly shocked by his own soul skill.
(End of Chapter)