Test of Abilities

Ru Jen's eyes sparkled with joy upon hearing such an offer. Who wouldn't feel thrilled upon receiving such an opportunity? Even 6,000 years in the future, such offers could only come from major powers like Spirit Hall.

In comparison to the offer that would be given 6,000 years later, the offer made to Ru Jen seemed meager. At that time, the world had seen a significant increase in power, with around 300 Title Douluo and every major force having at least one Title Douluo to support them. Even the Auxiliary System's Seven Treasured Glazed Tile Clan had two Title Douluo to bolster their ranks. However, in this era, the amount of heaven and earth energy was significantly lower, leading to the scarcity of powerful soul masters. As a result, there may not even be 50 total Title Douluo. Therefore, receiving an offer like the one made to Ru Jen was a surprise in itself.

After pondering the offer for a while, Ru Jen began to understand the true motives of the Second Elder, Yu Tao. He realized that in this barren era, finding anyone with a level 8 soul power was an incredibly rare occurrence. Despite the tens of thousands of people who had their martial souls awakened by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan during the Awakening Day, only four people possessed level 8 innate soul power.

It was clear that Second Elder Yu Tao was hoping to poach Ru Jen before any other faction within the clan could. The other two children with level 8 innate soul power were either directly or indirectly associated with Sect Master Yu Xia's faction, while the last one with level 8 innate soul power remained enigmatic, and nobody knew which faction he had joined. Therefore, Second Elder Yu Tao recognized the potential that Ru Jen possessed and was eager to bring him into his own faction.

As Yu Quan spoke, Yu Yi's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Please take care of Xiao Shen," he said, his voice full of anticipation.

Yu Quan smiled at Yu Yi's eagerness and turned to Ru Jen. "Xiao Shen, would you like to train with us?" He asked, extending an invitation that he knew would be hard to resist.

Yu Yi, not one to wait for an answer, interjected, "Of course, Xiao Shen agrees. Don't you?" He nudged his son, hoping to encourage him to accept.

Ru Jen was surprised and taken aback, but he pretended to be humbled. "How can I deny you, Uncle Quan?" and replied with a deep bow of gratitude. "Where will you train me?"

Yu Quan grinned, pleased with the young man's humility. "You'll move into the second elder's palace, and all your future training will be conducted there," he said, making it clear that he had big plans for Ru Jen.

"When will we move there, Uncle Quan?" Ru Jen inquired, pretending to be eager to begin.

"In one week's time," Yu Quan said. "I'll let you know the exact date." Yu Quan replied, glad to see the young man's enthusiasm.

Yu Yi raised his eyebrows and looked at Ru Jen, saying, "Xiao Shen, why don't you go to your room and rest for a while? Uncle Quan and I will talk." But as Ru Jen was about to respond, Yu Xuzi quickly came and carried him in her arms, taking him away to the second floor.

As Ru Jen was being carried, he realized that Yu Yi probably wanted to gain some benefits for himself too. After all, the second elder had made such an expensive offer to poach Ru Jen, and he would probably be willing to give some benefits to Yu Yi too, considering that Yu Yi himself had been stuck in the Spirit Grand Master's realm for way too long.

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-2 days later-

In middle of night,

The tranquil forest was disrupted by the sudden arrival of a panting figure. It was the small, agile figure of Ru Jen, who had arrived at his usual hiding spot. As he caught his breath, he took a moment to survey his surroundings, taking in the vibrant hues of the foliage and the soothing sounds of the forest. Finally, he sat down and folded his legs, preparing to cultivate. His true reason for coming here was to put his first soul ring and darkness soul core to the test, as well as to hone his skills as a soul master.

In fact, the information he gave to Yu Qi was very vague. Even Ru Jen was taken aback when Yu Qi acknowledged that his first ability was just a as mental type soul ring. But it made sense; in this era, the knowledge about soul master cultivation wasn't very complete, and people thought that 700 years was the limit of the first soul ring. So, Ru Jen absorbing a 500-year-old Silver Moon Dragon wasn't very strange in Yu Qi's eyes.

Yu Qi's assumption was somewhat disappointing, but Ru Jen couldn't help but feel proud of himself for outsmarting a Soul King at just the age of 7, although it would be another case of his 700 years old mental age was counted.

The reason he kept so much of his first soul ring ability hidden was simple.If his enemies knew too much about his soul ring, they could easily find his weaknesses and defeat him. Although the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan wasn't his enemy now, who knew about the future.

By carefully concealing his skills, he could maintain the element of surprise and remain one step ahead. Ru Jen was no longer the naive child he had once been centuries ago, and he knew that in the world of soul masters, trust was a rare commodity. He was determined to keep his secrets close to his chest and stay one step ahead of his enemies.

After recovering from his cultivation session, Ru Jen rose to his feet and began his journey to the soul beast forest, located 20 kilometers away from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. His objective was clear—to test his newfound abilities on the soul beasts that resided within the forest.

After an hour of travel, he arrived at the entrance of the forest, shrouded in a veil of quiet. The soul beast forest was where sect members with low-level innate soul power obtained their first soul ring, and the soul beasts within it were typically no more than 300 years old, as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan maintained the forest on a regular basis to keep the soul beasts' ages low.

As he entered the forest, Ru Jen noticed a few guards patrolling the area as he entered the forest. Because he had been planning this operation for two days, he easily yet carefully avoided detection, slipping past the guards unnoticed.

Ru Jen gracefully made his way into the forest and strode confidently in a certain direction, as if he had a specific target in mind. As he delved deeper into the forest, he suddenly heard a loud roar that echoed through the trees: "ARRRR...".

Without missing a beat, Ru Jen's expression turned cold and he murmured, "Target found." He continued onward until he reached a massive tree, which he quickly scaled. In front of him stood a colossal gorilla with two shimmering silver tails - his target for the day: the Silverback Gorilla. This particular species was renowned for their immense physical strength but low mental strength, making them ideal for Ru Jen's purpose.

As Ru Jen hid in the tree, the Silverback Gorilla beat its chest and roared ferociously. This particular specimen was over 200 years old, as evidenced by its two silver tails. Ru Jen had chosen the Silverback Gorilla as a test subject to gauge the strength of his first soul ring and to experiment with the new abilities granted by the Darkness Soul Core. He was confident that his mental skill, the "Grand Illusion," would be particularly effective against this beast due to its low mental strength. With the Silverback Gorilla fulfilling his target requirements, Ru Jen was ready to put his skills to the test.

\As the Silverback Gorilla continued to beat its chest in front of him, Ru Jen leaped down from the tree and met its gaze directly. The gorilla grew angry and prepared to attack, but before it could make a move, Ru Jen's eye pupils turned silver, and a yellow ring appeared behind him. He spoke calmly but firmly: "Grand Illusion, activate."

The Silverback Gorilla's pupils grew dim, and it knelt before Ru Jen. Ru Jen smirked as he realized the grand illusion not only put his opponent in an illusion but also allowed him to control them.

"It seems that I was right. The Grand Illusion isn't only effective in putting the opponent in an illusion, but it also enables me to control them," he said.

Ru Jen then increased the output of his soul power, causing the gorilla to calm down when it attempted to move.

"It seems that the Grand Illusion isn't as powerful as it could be. Perhaps it's due to my current level of strength. But I am confident that I can control anyone who is under my current level, although it may be a bit more difficult for soul masters who are 5 ranks above me. I'm not sure if I can control those who are 10 ranks above me, but the original ability of putting them in an illusion would work on anyone up to a soul master who is 15 ranks above me, Of course the time of control depended upon my strength and my opponents mental strength, it might range from few seconds to even few hours," Ru Jen concluded.

Ru Jen marveled at the boost given to him by the Darkness Soul Core. He had noticed that all his abilities had been enhanced by 20%, even his innate ability of Moon's Protection. After testing all his abilities, he concluded that the boost was not only significant but would also make a substantial difference in his future battles.

The original all-around amplification of all skills by 1.5% has been recently strengthened to 1.8%. In addition, physical abilities such as the Dragon Claw attack have also increased. However, what stood out the most was the increase in darkness affinity. Being the original mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, he now emanated a luster of dark, giving off a strange yet mysterious aura. Ru Jen could feel that as he grew stronger, the affinity between him and darkness would increase, perhaps even to the ultimate level.

As the tests came to a close, the once-mighty silverback gorilla lay writhing in agony. Its once powerful frame was now riddled with wounds, its fur matted with blood. Ru Jen looked on with a cold detachment, barely batting an eye at the creature's pain. Suddenly, he spoke a single word: "End."

The gorilla's eyes widened with fear and confusion, but before it could even contemplate what was happening, its body began to move as if possessed. With mechanical precision, its massive hands moved towards its own neck, gripping tightly until the bones snapped. As the lifeless body slumped to the ground, a small yellow ring floated up and into Ru Jen's outstretched hand.

Without a second glance, he left the scene, disappearing into the darkness of the forest. The death of the silverback gorilla was just another footnote in the endless cycle of life and death in the forest, and to Ru Jen, it was merely a means to an end.