thefictionvixens Chapter 56: The embryonic form of judgment, and the "judgment" of taste.
Chapter 56: The embryonic form of judgment, and the "judgment" of taste.
The soul bone, which was originally as hard as metal and deep in color, gradually became transparent, revealing a dark golden crystal-like texture.
As Yu Chen's soul power continued to be injected, its texture seemed to soften, slightly wriggling and deforming, approaching a peculiar paste-like consistency.
At the same time, on the surface of Yu Chen's left hand, black dragon scales appeared on their own, slightly opening as if they were breathing.
The originally dark black soul power gained a faint, sharp golden luster due to the influence of the dragon scales and the infiltration of soul bone energy.
The dark golden paste suddenly trembled slightly, emanating an unruly and violent aura, seemingly unwilling to be easily merged, instinctively resisting the external force.
During the energy fusion process, Yu Chen clearly felt this domineering aura, as if a ferocious beast was roaring at the soul level, impacting his will.
Just then, something unexpected happened!
A layer of black and white light and shadow, like a yin-yang symbol, flowed naturally from between Yu Chen's eyebrows.
This is a kind of harmonizing mark left deep in his bloodline after he formed a soul contract with Gu Yue.
The black and white light gently wrapped around the struggling, dark gold paste.
Like boiling water meeting ice, or like a raging beast being subdued by a higher majesty.
Under the combined effect of the power of the contract and Yu Chen's own powerful bloodline, the violent aura quickly became gentle and peaceful.
The trembling stopped.
"Whoosh—!"
The next instant, the dark golden paste-like energy, like rivers flowing into the sea, was suddenly pulled into Yu Chen's left palm and disappeared completely.
Instantly, a layer of flowing, ever-changing dark golden luster appeared on the black scales on Yu Chen's left hand, as if the energy of the soul bone was still making final, subtle adjustments and adaptations.
Yu Chen's aura fluctuated, but eventually, everything returned to calm.
The scales on his hands returned to a pure black color, and the dark golden luster that appeared during the fusion was completely concealed, as if it had never existed.
At least from the outside, Yu Chen's left hand did not become particularly thick, and the shape of the scales did not change significantly.
"That's it? Is it that simple?"
Yu Chen looked at his left hand, which was no different from before, and frowned slightly, even having a slight doubt about the authenticity of this soul bone.
He had heard about the dangers of absorbing powerful soul bones, especially external soul bones.
With a thought, his left hand instantly transformed into a dragon. His five fingers became sharp claws gleaming with cold light, covered with dense and tough black dragon scales.
"It doesn't have any of the obvious dark gold characteristics of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's claws... Rather than fusing with its form, it's more accurate to say that it completely absorbed its essence and used it to enhance the essence of my own dragon claws."
Yu Chen pondered for a moment before walking toward the soul power testing target on one side of the training room.
He wanted to test its power.
Concentrate and calm your mind, and simultaneously channel your inner soul power and surging blood energy into your left palm.
Instantly, the jet-black dragon scales on the surface of his left hand became even darker and more obscure, as if they could absorb light.
At the same time, a faint, unsettling black-gold light began to flicker between his fingers, and a subtle hissing sound, as if space itself were being torn apart, could be faintly heard in the air.
An unprecedented sense of sharpness and power, as if capable of tearing apart all obstacles, filled my palm.
A golden light flashed in Yu Chen's eyes. Without further hesitation, he faced the solid alloy test target in front of him, his left hand forming a knife-like shape with his five fingers together, and swung it through the air!
There was no deafening explosion, only five tiny, almost silent, black-gold thread-like lights that flashed by.
The path of the light as it streaked across the air created a slight sense of distortion in space, as if it had been "erased" by an invisible force.
The moment the claw shadow swept past, an invisible "domain" about half a meter in diameter suddenly unfolded on the surface of the target!
Any matter within this tiny realm—whether it be a solid alloy or invisible dust—is simultaneously dissected and cut apart from its most minute structural level by countless unseen, extremely sharp forces!
Then, an even more domineering force descended, further crushing and annihilating these beings that had been cut into the finest particles, turning them into nothingness!
"laugh….."
A soft sound.
The heavy alloy target, which was strong enough to withstand the attack of a Soul Master, seemed to have been hit by the most advanced annihilation attribute soul guide ray, or as if it had been bitten off by an invisible behemoth.
A terrifying hole, with smooth, mirror-like edges and half a foot deep, appeared starkly in the center of the target!
The inner wall of the cavity has a strange, glassy appearance, as if it were instantly vaporized by extreme force and then cooled.
Nearly half of Yu Chen's soul power was instantly drained from his body by this attack! His blood and qi also churned slightly. But an astonishing brilliance burst forth in his eyes.
"This is... the prototype of 'judgment'?! No, the true 'judgment' covers a much larger scope, and its annihilation rules are far more thorough and domineering..."
Yu Chen muttered to himself, then became excited again. Although the power was slightly weaker now, it was definitely the same type of power!
Besides, how old am I now? What level is my soul power? Given time, as my strength increases, the annihilation power brought by this left palm bone may well reproduce or even surpass the power of 'Judgment'!
Yu Chen was filled with boundless anticipation for the abilities that this soul bone would bring.
Just now, when Yu Chen mobilized his blood and soul bone power, a trace of the high-level dragon might belonging to the origin of Yu Chen's bloodline, which was not completely concealed, inevitably leaked out.
Almost simultaneously, in several other quiet rooms deep within the castle, the four powerful beast warriors, Di Tian, Zi Ji, Xiong Jun, and Bi Ji, all shuddered and abruptly opened their eyes!
"Such majesty... even more ancient and supreme than the dragon's might of Emperor Tian! There's no mistake, this must be the aura of the newly born Dragon God Sovereign!"
Xiong Jun roared in a deep, rumbling voice, his enormous, bell-like eyes filled with fervor and excitement, but then confusion surfaced.
"But why doesn't our lord allow us to directly reveal our identities and pledge allegiance to the Venerable Lord? With the Venerable Lord leading us, wouldn't the revival of our soul beasts be just around the corner?"
"Mr. Bear, be quiet!"
Di Tian shouted in a deep voice, his golden eyes flashing with complex light.
"The Lord must have had a deeper meaning in doing this, and besides, the Lord grew up in the human world and has different ideas from ours."
If we rashly reveal ourselves as spirit beasts and try to establish a connection, will the Lord believe us 'strangers,' or will he believe his own understanding of human society accumulated over the years?
He paused, his tone carrying a calm composure honed by the passage of time, tinged with a hint of helplessness:
"Our Lord has chosen to approach His Majesty as someone of the same age, deepening our bond and subtly influencing him. This is the safest and most likely way to gain His Majesty's genuine approval. We have waited tens of thousands of years; can't we wait a few decades more? Impatience will only lead to trouble."
Di Tian's gaze seemed to pierce through the walls, looking towards Yu Chen's room, his voice low and firm:
"Remember, if we act too hastily and incur the disdain of the newborn Lord, causing our Soul Beast race to truly become an outcast, then we will be the true sinners of the Soul Beast race."
Now, it is a great blessing to have the Lord by His side. Our task is to assist the Lord and wait for the opportune moment.
Xiong Jun opened his mouth, but finally let out a muffled groan and fell silent.
Zi Ji and Bi Ji exchanged a glance and nodded silently. They longed to fight under their lord's command, but what Di Tian said was indeed a mature and wise way of governing a country.
Inside the cultivation room, Yu Chen was unaware of the discussion that his casual attempt had sparked.
He calmed his turbulent emotions and turned his gaze to the second, smaller wooden box.
Upon opening the box, ten fist-sized, deep blue spheres covered with sharp spikes lay neatly inside—these were the Lingyun sea urchins.
They exude a cool, soul-stirring, and strange vibration.
Yu Chen picked one up, recalling Gu Yue's simple introduction: a wondrous item that enhances spiritual power, increases comprehension, and unlocks intelligence.
Yu Chen extended his left hand, which had just been fused with the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear paw bone. With a gentle swipe of his claw, the hard, thorny outer shell cracked open.
However, at the very moment the outer shell cracked—
"Ugh!!"
An indescribable, terrifying stench, straight to the top of one's head, like rotten salted fish mixed with swamp silt fermenting and exploding in the sweltering cabin for thousands of years, suddenly assaulted the senses!
Yu Chen's face instantly turned from red to white, then from white to green, and his stomach churned violently.
He forced himself to look inside the broken shell. Inside was a thick, slightly wriggling mass of dark green gelatinous substance, its viscosity and color remarkably similar to a magnified, aged, living... thick green snot!
The double blow to his senses—sight and smell—made Yu Chen's vision go black, causing him to stagger backward and slam his back heavily against the wall of the training room.
"Guagua!! Are we really going to eat this raw?! Help!!"
Yu Chen let out a desperate wail in his heart, his hand holding the Spirit Sea Urchin trembling.
However, his determination to become stronger and the sense of urgency about facing formidable future enemies ultimately overwhelmed his extreme physical discomfort. He thought of Gu Yue, with whom he would fight side by side, and of the distant yet unattainable enemy he had to confront.
"For strength! For the future! Let's fight!"
Yu Chen gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, held his breath, and shoved the slippery, wriggling, dark green gelatinous substance that exuded an aura of hell into his mouth!
"Ugh--!!"
The moment it entered his mouth, Yu Chen felt as if his taste buds, nerves, and even soul had been dealt a devastating blow!
It was an "ultimate evil" that could not be described in any language, that transcended all the flavors of life, reaching the very depths of the soul!
The sticky, gelatinous substance slid in my mouth, trying to resist the instinct to swallow.
A strong, strange smell instantly swept over my entire body, every pore seemed to scream, my body trembled violently involuntarily, and cold sweat instantly soaked through my clothes.
"I can't throw up! If I do, all my efforts will be wasted!" That was the only thought in Yu Chen's mind. He covered his mouth tightly, supported his chin with his other hand, and pushed it upwards forcefully!
"Gulp."
With a difficult swallowing sound, the "hellish taste" finally slid down his throat and into his stomach.
Yu Chen released his grip, panting heavily, his face as pale as paper, and even his eyes welled up with tears from the extreme stimulation.
He felt as if his very soul had been pickled by that smell.
He didn't even have time to carefully perceive whether his mental strength had improved; he only felt that his whole being had been "sublimated" (or "marinated").
He trembled as he looked at the nine remaining spirit sea urchins in the wooden box. Their deep blue, spiky shells now appeared to him as nothing less than nine menacing abyssal demons.
final…….
A resolute, almost manic glint flashed in Yu Chen's eyes.
He grabbed the wooden box and, with lightning speed, used his sharp claws to crack open nine sea urchins. Then, before the aroma could fully fill the air, he took a deep breath (and immediately regretted it, as he had inhaled even more of the prelude's scent).
As if performing some tragic ritual, they grabbed those dark green gelatinous substances, one after another, and shoved them into their mouths with lightning speed, forcing them to swallow!
"Uh... um... gulp... gulp..."
A series of suppressed voices, mixed with pain and determination, rang out in the training room.
After he "eliminated" the last spirit sea urchin, Yu Chen leaned against the wall and slowly slid down.
His eyes rolled back, and his face bore an incredibly complex expression—a mixture of relief, despair, and a bewilderment of "what have I done?"
boom.
He completely lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground. Beside him lay ten empty shells of the Spirit Sea Urchin.