Soul Land—Chapter 86: Soul Power Compression and the Prototype of Attracting Stars
It was night, filled with countless dazzling stars. Ling Qianyao sat cross-legged on the roof, gazing upward.
The Star-Breaking Sword floated in front of him, and dots of starlight fell onto the sword.
The existence of the Star-Tempering skill allowed Ling Qianyao's martial soul to continue growing. Every time he was baptized by the starlight, he sensed subtle changes in soul power within his body. This method of growth was completely different from that of other martial souls.
Other martial souls often rely solely on absorbing soul rings to improve their strength, continuously evolving and developing the potential of their martial souls.
If the quality and attributes of the soul rings are not suitable, it can even cause the martial soul's evolution to deviate from its proper path.
However, the Star-Breaking Sword can directly absorb the power of the stars and continually strengthen itself. It is essentially a supercharged version of a self-contained simulated training environment.
This ability became even stronger after Ling Qianyao absorbed the Star-Luo Holy Pearl, which had now transformed into a liquid star vortex.
Currently, the strength of the Star-Breaking Sword is far from what Ling Qianyao should have achieved after simply obtaining the soul ring and many opportunities. Still, it is significantly higher than before.
The power of the stars flowed within his body. Under the nourishment of star power, his martial soul granted him an inexplicable understanding of the profound laws represented by the seven stars, the four symbols, the three celestial bodies, and numerous other stars.
"Both my martial soul strength and body have reached the required standard. The illusion-breaking eyes allow me to precisely control my soul power. It's time," Ling Qianyao whispered.
He gathered all his spiritual energy into his dantian—the liquid star vortex transformed by the Star Luo Holy Pearl.
With the infusion of spiritual power, the liquid star vortex began to rotate slowly, emitting an increasingly dazzling light, with star power boiling within it.
He took a deep breath and began to attempt to compress the soul power within his body. This was an extremely delicate and dangerous operation. If he was careless, the soul power could run amok, causing irreversible damage to his body.
But Ling Qianyao appeared unnaturally calm, and everything seemed to be under his control.
Since Qian Renxue and he had practiced martial soul fusion skills, allowing their soul powers to integrate and be cultivated together, he started to consider compressing his soul power.
The absorption of the Star Luo Holy Pearl further strengthened his resolve.
After compression, although the total amount of soul power remained unchanged, its quality would be significantly improved. This would enable the soul master to store more soul power in their body.
This not only meant the potential for leapfrog advancements in strength but also allowed for more powerful use of soul skills and reduced soul power consumption.
Additionally, soul power compression is key to condensing a soul core.
While Title Douluo in the Douluo Dalu I era did not need to condense a soul core, Ling Qianyao was not content to merely follow the old practices.
He longed for a breakthrough—to go further on the path of a soul master.
You should know that a Title Douluo with a soul core is essentially two levels above one without. The difference in combat power is akin to a world of difference.
The liquid star vortex spun faster, and the soul power within Ling Qianyao's body seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, gradually gathering toward the center of his dantian. Every bit of soul power was refined and compressed during this process, and fine cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Ling Qianyao had already opened his illusion-breaking eyes and had his spiritual power attached to the soul power in his body.
The process proved more challenging than he had anticipated. Initially, when his spiritual power contacted the liquid star vortex, it was repelled. The invisible force field surged around the vortex as if an unseen barrier was rejecting any external intrusion.
At this point, Ling Qianyao's spiritual strength was formidable. As the vortex began to accelerate, he synchronized his spiritual power once more, attempting to communicate with the invisible barrier with an indescribable delicacy.
His spiritual power transformed into countless filaments, penetrating the barrier and forming a close connection with the soul power within the vortex.
"Very good!"
A sharp glint appeared in Ling Qianyao's eyes, and he felt a perfect fit.
"Next, it's time to compress."
Suddenly, a terrifying suction force surged, rapidly consuming his spiritual energy. At the same time, starting from his dantian, the pressure from compressing the soul power spread throughout his entire body.
The pale white soul power in his body gradually turned to a milky white, with a hint of liquidity.
What surprised Ling Qianyao, even more, was that the liquid star vortex within his dantian seemed to look down on his soul power, existing only as a catalyst.
Only when the star power in the star cave gathered would it actively swallow and contain the soul power?
His soul power circulated throughout his body, then merged into the liquid star vortex for compression, before flowing out of the vortex and returning to his meridians—a continuous cycle.
The pain from the pressure at the start had disappeared, and Ling Qianyao immersed himself in the process, losing track of time.
By the next morning, Ling Qianyao finally opened his eyes, which sparkled with stars. A slight smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
After a night of effort, his soul power had condensed by more than 40%. The previously pale white gaseous soul power in his body had begun to turn liquid.
If his soul power before was like a gurgling stream, now it resembled a rushing river—vast and profound.
Ling Qianyao raised his hand and clenched it, feeling the tremendous power coursing through his body, leaving him momentarily stunned.
With such rapid progress, it's no wonder that a Title Douluo with a soul core is so formidable.
He looked sideways and saw Zhu Zhuqing quietly sitting cross-legged beside him, meditating. As if sensing his gaze, she opened her eyes, a gentle smile on her beautiful face, and softly said:
"Good morning?"
Ling Qianyao smiled and reached out to pinch her cheek. "Good morning. Didn't you say you could rest? Why did you come up again?"
Zhu Zhuqing held his hand in her palm, blinked, and said softly, "Of course, I'm worried you'll be lonely. Plus, you've improved so fast—I don't want to fall behind you too much. If I don't work hard at practice, how can I fight side by side with you in the future? You told me that I am your support, but I am not just your simple vassal."
Ling Qianyao pulled her into his arms, and gently stroked her back, and they exchanged warm smiles.
"There's still some time. Hold me for a while. I want to take a nap," Zhu Zhuqing said, raising her head to kiss Ling Qianyao on the cheek before resting her head on his chest.
Ling Qianyao didn't make a sound to disturb her but adjusted his posture gently, making her more comfortable, then closed his eyes to enjoy this rare moment of tranquility.
His mind sank into his dantian. The liquid star vortex was still spinning, but Ling Qianyao was surprised to notice strands of star power as thin as a hair, drawn from the star points in his body.
With a slight spiritual shift, he sensed an inexplicable response from the outside world—weak star power, as if drawn by invisible lines, slowly gathering toward his star points.
(End of this chapter)