Chapter 120 (Part 2): The Fifth SSS-Level Talent: Immortal Perception and Divine Soul

Driven by sheer stubbornness, Lin Qiye poured all his spiritual power and focus into the remaining immortal runes.

However, the amount of information contained within the immortal runes was terrifying.

Especially when attempting to engrave them into one's body and reshape this immortal art—the difficulty was ten thousand times higher than directly transplanting bone into oneself.

Direct transplantation was akin to buying a refrigerator.

Yet, to comprehend the underlying principles and replicate it within the body was equivalent to manufacturing a refrigerator from scratch.

The difficulty... can be easily imagined.

Nonetheless, Lin Qiye refused to settle.

Even as his head felt as though it were about to split open, he still pushed himself to the absolute limit.

To understand the immortal runes.

Time flowed on.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. The immortal skull grew increasingly dim, while the surrounding ocean of spiritual power became denser and the pressure intensified.

That was a sign that the immortal runes within the skull were beginning to collapse.

Lin Qiye felt a trace of exhaustion.

He had not closed his eyes for ten days and ten nights straight.

Yet, at the thought that if the immortal runes completely disintegrated, he would fail to secure the SSS-grade rating, Lin Qiye cast all caution to the wind.

When a person pushes themselves to the ultimate limit,

Perhaps they will break down.

Or perhaps they will experience a sudden flash of enlightenment, entering a state of perfection.

Lin Qiye did not know whether what awaited him was a breakdown or something else.

He simply did not want to leave himself with any regrets.

His spirit focused onto a single point, and even though exhaustion had reached its extreme, he continued to persist.

Suddenly,

Lin Qiye's mind trembled violently.

As if some hidden aperture had been unlocked.

Immediately afterwards,

A cool, refreshing breeze surged into his mind.

The next moment,

One immortal rune after another was sucked into Lin Qiye's consciousness, followed by a torrent of majestic spiritual energy.

The surrounding "ocean of spiritual power" completely transformed into a "flowing stream," pouring directly into his mind.

"Hoo—"

Lin Qiye snapped his eyes open.

A gaze condensed into tangible substance shot toward a distant boulder.

The boulder shattered instantly.

Lin Qiye could not help but burst into laughter.

"It succeeded... Comprehended to perfection!"

His facial features glowed brightly, as if radiating light.

At this moment,

The space between Lin Qiye's eyebrows shimmered with brilliant flowing light.

A brand-new SSS-grade talent had taken form. The process had been immensely arduous,

Yet at this very moment of success,

Lin Qiye felt refreshed, relaxed, and invigorated, as if he had transcended mortality.

Abundant spiritual power flowed through his spiritual platform, heightening his sensory perception to an unprecedented degree.

So much so that

Lin Qiye had a lingering illusion that he could even interfere with the flow of time.

Curious,

He quickly checked his brand-new innate talent.

"【Immortal Soul and Spirit】? A mental-type talent, yet not entirely. This power shares the same origin as spiritual power, but it is a tier higher, stepping into the immortal realm!"

As he muttered to himself,

Lin Qiye's expression gradually turned astonished.

"Due to the constraints of the rules of time and space, 【Immortal Soul and Spirit】 is restricted within the category of a talent, but in terms of sheer intensity, it vastly surpasses anything ordinary people awaken... Its quality is fundamentally different from standard spiritual power. Compared to ordinary spiritual power, it deserves to be called an immortal soul and spirit."

Lin Qiye did not entirely understand,

Yet he grasped some of it.

All in all,

The immortal soul and spirit was a super-enhanced version of spiritual power!

"I've hit the jackpot this time!"

Lin Qiye was pleasantly surprised.

"Its specific applications still require development and exploration, but right now, I already possess five top-tier talents—【Annihilation Divine Thunder】, 【Thunder God Avatar】, 【Thunderlight Transition】, 【Thunder God Domain】, and 【Immortal Soul and Spirit】.

The first four talents are fused within the immortal bones, complementing one another.

The immortal soul and spirit stands apart, existing within the spiritual realm, capable of comprehensively amplifying all four talents...

If the development rate of 【Immortal Soul and Spirit】 reaches 100% flawless, it can increase the control precision of all four talents by about 50%.

In other words, it is equivalent to raising the upper limit of four SSS-grade talents!"

This was terrifying!

Even Lin Qiye felt his scalp tingle.

If the development rate of 【Thunder God Domain】 reached 150%, that silent and invisible killing ability would likely become even more freakish.

Lin Qiye let out a long breath.

Slowly standing up,

He approached the five individuals.

As the sound of footsteps rang out,

The five top-tier spiritual power experts also keenly opened their eyes.

The moment the five of them looked at Lin Qiye,

Their expressions shifted drastically.

Each of them stared at Lin Qiye with lingering fear in their eyes.

"Master Gu... You... You..."

"Is the fluctuation emanating from your body a spiritual power talent?"

At this moment,

The five of them gasped in unison.

Their faces pale with lingering terror and absolute astonishment.

As if they were looking at some catastrophic monster, the dread in their hearts was ten or a hundred times stronger than when they had faced the Destroyer earlier!

"This oppressive spiritual power is of such a high tier that it's choking us, making it hard to breathe..."

"Yes, it feels as though our own talents are completely suppressed..."

The few of them were utterly panicked.

You must know,

Although their spiritual power talents were not SSS-grade, they were SS, S, or even SS+ in the case of the mature woman. Yet, in front of Lin Qiye, they were suppressed to the point where they could not even circulate their power.

Even the SSS-grade spiritual prodigy from before

Had never exerted such a terrifying sense of oppression!

Master Gu's development rate for his spiritual talent shouldn't have exceeded 10%, right?

Yet at under 10%, it was enough to leave them breathless.

What kind of tier was this quality?

The five of them felt their scalps tingle.

The mature woman could not help asking,

"Master... Master Gu, have you awakened a spiritual innate talent?"

"Is that tier... terrifying to the absolute extreme?"

Hearing this,

Lin Qiye glanced at them.

"You're feeling an immense amount of pressure?"

"Yes!"

The five of them answered in unison.

"Could Master Gu please rein it in a bit? We really feel like we're about to get injured again."

Lin Qiye quickly reined in his aura.

"My apologies. I didn't control it well. My development rate is only 1%, I thought it would be fine."

Lin Qiye offered an apologetic smile.

Yet those words,

Falling upon the ears of the five,

Struck them like a thunderbolt from a clear blue sky.

What supreme flex was this?!

Damn it!

With a development rate of only 1%, he could suppress SS-grade geniuses with a 100% development rate to the point of panic, terror, and breathlessness?

The real clowns were actually themselves!

The five of them felt supremely awkward.

Looking at one another,

The corners of their mouths twitched with bitter smiles.

"We finally know what a super monster truly is. It's simply hair-raising..."

Facing their flattery,

Lin Qiye felt somewhat helpless.

"Alright, this incident comes to an end here. I owe you all a favor this time. If you ever need help in the future, I will definitely step in to resolve your problems. Let me grab your contact information."

Lin Qiye took out his exclusive phone.

The few of them were so startled they didn't know where to put their hands.

"No, no, Master Gu is too polite."

"Being able to help Master Gu is our honor!"

"For country and people, ready to face death without hesitation!"

Lin Qiye smiled.

"Come on, leave your contacts."

They looked at each other, and ultimately, with glowing faces, exchanged contact information with Lin Qiye.

Looking at the contact details on their phones,

All five of them felt somewhat unsettled.

A favor from a super master!

This was immensely prestigious!

"By the way, are you in a rush to head back?"

Lin Qiye suddenly asked.

"No, no rush. We've explored this island and found a massive crystal vein capable of tempering the spirit and training willpower. This is the largest discovered mineral vein of its kind in the entire world!"

"It can be utilized as a super-tier strategic resource!"

"We want to establish a mining operation here. If we can continuously mine large quantities of spiritual-tempering crystal minerals, the combat effectiveness of human awakened ones and the military can be elevated by about 10%."

Everyone was extremely excited.

"Moreover, this mineral vein is quite peculiar; cultivating within it even enhances the quality of our spiritual power!"

"We could even build a military academy here! Who knows, it might even induce super-talented individuals to awaken a second talent."

"This place will definitely become a super-city for humanity in the future!"

Their faces were flushed with excitement.

"Master Gu, you truly are the savior of China!"

Lin Qiye nodded slightly.

"Flattery aside, I also plan to stay on this island for a while. However, I'll have the giant ship leave first and pick us up later. We're going to lie low in the caves..."

"Is Master Gu going to cultivate as well?"

"Cultivation is one aspect. On the other hand, I'm waiting for a fiend. If it appears, I'll eliminate it; if it's too cunning to show up, we'll just have to look for another opportunity in the future."

Lin Qiye's gaze burned brightly.

"Then we shall stay and face the enemy alongside Master Gu!"

Thus,

The six of them remained behind.

Only after waiting for half a month,

With all their supplies completely exhausted,

There was still no sign of the Painted-Skin Fiend.

Lin Qiye frowned.

"It seems it won't show up. It must have learned of the changes here through some special means."

"Just what is its ability? What is its power really? Controlling rats and bats within a space? Devouring? Mind control? Body-snatching? Or perhaps, all of the above?"

Lin Qiye's brows furrowed deeply.

Intuition told him that this ambush was destined to yield nothing.

Lin Qiye shook his head.

"As expected of the Painted-Skin Fiend, truly unfathomably secretive!"

He sighed.

Waiting two more days

Without any results,

Lin Qiye shook his head.

"Let's go, we're heading back. This fellow is far too cautious... We can't catch it."

With that,

Lin Qiye immediately led the group back in triumph.

Returning to Jiangcheng,

The five bid farewell to Lin Qiye outside the city.

"Master Gu, thank you this time for granting us such a grand fortune and bringing such a massive mineral vein to the human race!" The five bowed deeply to Lin Qiye.

Lin Qiye shook his head.

"Merely a matter of convenience, no need to make such a big deal out of it."

The five: "No, no, no! This mineral vein is simply too important! It wouldn't be out of line for our top brass to kowtow to you."

"Alright. Spare me the kowtowing."

Lin Qiye waved his hand.

"Hurry back and report the good news."

The five nodded, and carrying the triumphant news,

They sped off toward Yanjing.

...

By the shores of Emerald Lake,

The Gu family villa.

Lin Qiye returned home,

Only to find that his parents had gone to work.

Zhu Yuheng, Jiang Lianyi, and Gu He were all bitterly cultivating.

Lin Qiye did not disturb the three women.

Quietly returning to his bedroom,

He fell fast asleep.

When he woke up,

It was already the evening of the next day.

Opening his eyes,

Lin Qiye lay on the bed, taking stock of the harvest from this operation.

Not only had he disrupted the Painted-Skin Fiend's plans,

He had also acquired an immortal-tier talent like 【Immortal Soul and Spirit】, making up for his shortcomings in the spiritual department.

His overall strength had undergone a massive, all-encompassing amplification!

At the same time,

There were quite a few unexpected gains!

For instance—the Destroyer Guo Huai's 【Body-Snatching Technique】 and mind-control methods had both been seized by Lin Qiye.

Bringing them back to the main world,

They were definitely minor immortal arts, or even full-fledged immortal art levels!

All in all, the outcome of this operation was a massive, overflowing profit!

After summarizing everything,

Lin Qiye drifted off into a deep sleep once more.

After all,

He truly had expended a great deal of energy on that island...

He needed a day or two to recover.

...

On the other side,

On Sea Demon Island.

Night had fallen deep, dark clouds completely masking the stars and moon. Not a single thread of starlight pierced through, and the seawater was as pitch-black as ink.

A jet-black seabird

Land on Sea Demon Island.

Swirling black mist

Transformed into a plume of black smoke, drifting down into the ocean trench.

"As expected, someone beat me to it... That person's aura... It destroyed the trigger I left inside the Empress's body! Ruining my efforts at the very last step!"

The black smoke condensed into a ferocious visage.

"Dammit! Why is it that this accursed dog is everywhere!"

"I thought I still had some time to gather special means for a sneak attack..."

"Who would have thought this human dog would arrive so quickly, and moreover, without both of them tearing each other to mutual destruction!"

"I was careless. Never did I imagine this person could actually slay a spiritual power expert."

The Painted-Skin Fiend was both shocked and enraged.

"How many times has this ruined my plans?!"

"I must kill you! And devour every single one of your abilities!"

Resentment filled the fiend's face. Deep within the cave, it impotently raged and roared in fury.

It hated, yet carried a trace of dread.

The Destroyer's formidable strength was something it knew better than anyone.

Yet that fellow had actually taken care of the Destroyer.

What was even more exaggerated—judging by the traces left on the island, there hadn't even been a fierce, prolonged battle.

"If it were me, I would have had to launch a sneak attack. My ambush methods would never be discovered by a spiritual power expert..."

"Yet that dog, how on earth did he do it?!"

The Painted-Skin Fiend was utterly perplexed.

It knew Lin Qiye's capabilities.

Those abilities should logically have fallen victim to a spiritual power expert.

Yet the reality was

The spiritual power expert was eliminated before they could even unleash their power.

This indicated that

The human had either employed brilliant strategy, or possessed some terrifying combat prowess.

At this thought,

The Painted-Skin Fiend felt a chill run through it.

"It seems he is a formidable enemy!"

"Still, this fellow is only five years old; why has he been able to grow so fast?!"

"So fast that it catches one off guard and leaves no room to respond!"

The fiend felt its scalp tingle.

"No, I must find a way to eliminate him! If this child is not eradicated, he will surely become a grave menace!"

"If I let him continue to grow, the targets I wish to devour will all be slaughtered by him. My future, my grand schemes, will all be ruined by him!"

Cold light flickered in the Painted-Skin Fiend's eyes.

"The crux of the matter is, that fellow's current combat strength is so high that even I dare not face him head-on. Moreover, his talent is extremely bizarre and exerts a certain restraint over me!"

"Coupled with the fact that he has now obtained a spiritual-tier talent, he will only be even harder to deal with!"

The Painted-Skin Fiend's scalp prickled wave after wave.

"What method can I use to deal with him?"

It fell into deep contemplation.

A short while later,

The Painted-Skin Fiend's eyes lit up.

"I know! Hehehe."

...

Translator's Note: Updating twenty thousand words a day broke my back, which is why I'm late today! Apologies~

Lewen