Chapter 32: Advancement to Soul Elder (Bonus 3)

p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chp

A deep purple soul ring emerged from the corpse of the Eyeless Snake. The soul ring's color was extremely deep, so purple it was almost black.

Amon's face broke into a smile as he turned and whispered, "Yan Jin, protect me."

Yan Jin was still reeling from the shock of the "Magma Giant." She glanced at the massive crater created by the punch, then at her own fist, looking somewhat dazed.

It wasn't until Amon called out again that she snapped back to reality. "Oh, oh, okay. But that move was so cool!"

She was in excellent condition. Normally, a martial soul fusion skill would be a huge burden on both users, essentially leaving them exhausted after a single use, but this time, Amon's clone had shouldered the burden.

Yan Jin had also discovered a little secret about Amon: his soul power was abnormally high!

Although it had been somewhat evident before when he assisted her and Lei Yin in their sparring by providing soul power, it wasn't as obvious or shocking as it was today.

"Say, in that state, could we take on a Soul Emperor?" Yan Jin asked.

Amon shook his head. "We couldn't kill one. Although the attack is at the Soul Emperor level, it's too slow. A normal Soul Emperor could easily avoid it. Of course, in special terrains or under special rules, a Soul Emperor wouldn't fare well either…"

"Like on the Soul Master Competition stage!" Yan Jin said with a grin. In her mind, she already pictured herself and Amon fusing into a Magma Giant on the stage, occupying most of the space, and then punching seven opponents away with one blow.

"Ehehe… hahaha… Hehehehe…"

The championship would be in the bag!

"Alright, stop cackling and protect me," Amon repeated, sounding helpless.

Amon raised his hand, revealing his martial soul: a semi-transparent worm with twelve rings and starry colors wriggling in his palm.

Guided by his soul power, the soul ring flew towards Amon, attaching itself to the worm and merging with one of its rings.

A force like a surging tide flowed from the martial soul, filling Amon's entire body. Tearing pain tormented his nerves, and layers upon layers of whispers echoed in his mind.

Dozens of time clones helped him share this surging energy, constantly keeping the energy transmitted from the martial soul at the critical point of his body's absorption limit, allowing him to fully enjoy the benefits of the added soul ring without getting injured.

After a long period of absorption, the energy coming from the martial soul gradually subsided. Amon opened his eyes, feeling the increased power in his body, and a hint of joy appeared on his face.

Level thirty-four!

Amon had already been at level thirty for some time, and although he hadn't leveled up, his soul power had continued to accumulate. Coupled with absorbing a soul ring far beyond the limit of ordinary people, he had directly risen four levels!

With each level increase, the control over soul power provided by his first soul ring also improved. Amon quickly mastered his rapidly growing soul power, and the surrounding soul power dissipated. He returned to his previous unassuming state.

"Tsk… your soul power control is truly monstrous." Even though it wasn't the first time she'd seen it, Yan Jin was still amazed. "Speaking of which, you have way too much soul power… Never mind, you don't have to answer. You never do anyway."

"My martial soul has the ability to store soul power. I can store my usual soul power and use it at critical moments," Amon replied.

Yan Jin rolled her eyes. Her intuition told her it was far more complicated than that. She couldn't completely trust Amon's words, especially when it came to his own abilities. Even if she saw it with her own eyes, she had to wonder if it was a deliberate illusion.

"Alright, let's go back… The commotion here is too great. It might attract stronger soul beasts from the depths of the mountains," Amon said, patting Yan Jin's head.

Just then, a vast, immeasurable soul power suddenly descended. A terrifying aura permeated the air, and Amon, Yan Jin, and even Lei Yin and Bi Da'er, who were further away, felt a terrifying pressure that could almost stop their hearts.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The long-dormant volcano suddenly became active, spewing lava from its crater.

Lava flowed like a tide from the summit, and volcanic ash blotted out the sky, making it seem like the end of the world.

"Run!" Vega shouted.

"Damn it, wasn't it said that the volcanoes of Ironheart Mountain hadn't erupted in centuries?" Norbert looked in horror at the volcanic bombs that were constantly falling nearby, igniting tree after tree, his expression panicked.

Lei Yin looked back with concern, muttering, "Sister…"

"Don't worry, just run. Don't forget, her martial soul is magma. This kind of disaster… maybe, probably, uh… she can't handle it."

Bi Da'er originally wanted to advise Lei Yin to focus on escaping, but looking at the cataclysmic scene, he felt that saying "a magma martial soul isn't afraid of volcanic eruptions" wasn't very convincing.

However, when his attention shifted from the distant volcano, he found that Lei Yin had already shot off quite a distance.

Lightning wrapped around his legs, increasing his speed to a very high level, leaving sparks and flashes in his wake.

"Hey…" Bi Da'er's mouth twitched, and he activated his martial soul and caught up.

...

Yan Jin looked at the erupting volcano and gained a more direct understanding of the path Amon had planned for her development.

This was the destructive power of magma, the destructive power of a volcanic eruption, the destructive power of a natural disaster!

But more than that, she was more concerned about the fleeting pressure she had just felt.

"Amon, did you feel it? Just now, that…" Even Yan Jin, who was usually fearless, had a look of horror on her face.

"Yes… it should be some kind of powerful soul beast." Amon's expression was also solemn, but there wasn't much worry in his eyes, because the big guy in the depths of the mountain range was still far away from them.

Yan Jin suddenly pointed to the top of a volcano that was erupting and shouted, "Look there, a snake, a huge snake!"

Following the direction of her finger, Amon saw a giant snake coiled around the crater.

Its huge body was faintly visible in the volcanic ash, and lava flowed down its scales without causing it any harm.

It had a pair of curved horns on its head, and its red scales looked like twisted worms. It looked very similar to the Eyeless Snake they had just hunted, except that it had eyes.

Because the distance was too far, it didn't take up much area in their field of vision, but both Yan Jin and Amon knew that it was definitely an unimaginably huge creature. Ordinary snakes that were a dozen or twenty meters long would never be visible in that position!

"What kind of soul beast is that?" Yan Jin asked.

"I don't know," Amon replied, shaking his head.

Yan Jin glanced at him with surprise. "There's actually something you don't know."

Amon chuckled. "I'm not omniscient. How could I know everything? Although I've read many books introducing soul beasts, they only record some common ones. This world is very big, with too many unknowns waiting for us to explore and discover."

"I do have some guesses," Yan Jin said with a smug smile.

They weren't nervous about the volcanic eruption. As long as they weren't sitting directly in front of the crater to withstand the huge impact, the scattered lava on the periphery posed no threat to them at all.

"Oh?" Amon asked, surprised.

"The dragon-slaying warrior came to Ironheart Mountain, where he saw the Iron Mountain Lord living in the depths of the sea of fire. He defeated the Crimson Lotus Serpent and used its scales to forge the never-extinguishing Sword of Fire," Yan Jin said in a chanting tone.

"That's… a travelogue or legend you heard in a tavern, right?" For a moment, Amon really thought that Yan Jin occasionally read a few obscure books.

Yan Jin shrugged. "But it fits, doesn't it?"

Amon adjusted his monocle. "Indeed… sometimes, legends come from life… But this is a pleasant surprise."

He looked at the giant snake on top of the volcano, his eyes deep.