After leaving the Divine Trial Mystic Realm, Chen Ming distributed the Drunken Dreaming of Life and Death: 40% to Dugu Bo, 20% to Dugu Yan, drank 20% himself, and kept the remaining 20%.
Dugu Bo had been stuck at the comprehension stage of his cultivation, but under the refinement of the divine wine, his spiritual power was further enhanced. This advancement in spiritual power pushed his cultivation level to 97. Dugu Yan, on the other hand, originally at level 55, experienced significant enhancement from the divine wine. After a night of absorption, she advanced to level 58.
Although Drunken Dreaming of Life and Death primarily enhanced spiritual power, it was still divine wine, containing abundant energy. Even just 20% of it carried immense energy for a Soul King. Dugu Yan only absorbed part of it, with roughly half of the energy still being slowly absorbed. Once fully absorbed, her strength would likely reach level 60.
Additionally, due to the refinement of the divine wine, her spiritual power reached 70% of the minimum standard for a Titled Douluo—equivalent to 70% of Dugu Bo's spiritual power when he was at level 91. Once she fully absorbed the medicinal power, she would likely rival Dugu Bo's strength at level 91.
Chen Ming brought the remaining 20% of the wine back to Biluochen City. He shared some with his second uncle and grandfather and gave the rest to his two nephews, who were about to awaken their martial souls, as compensation for their lack of resources.
Chen Shijie and Chen Tianyun, whose soul power was already close to level 60, immediately advanced to the level of quasi-Soul Emperors after drinking the divine wine, making them ready to acquire their sixth soul rings.
Biluochen City had a decent number of low- to mid-level poison-type soul beasts, but high-year poison-type soul beasts were scarce and of poor quality. After some thought, Chen Ming remembered the Phantom Nether Scorpions he had previously considered as backup soul rings in the Sunset Forest. These scorpions were top-tier soul beasts with both spiritual and poisonous attributes, making them exceptionally strong. Chen Ming had not chosen them before due to certain coincidences.
Chen Ming put them into his soul-guiding storage device, capable of holding living beings, and flew straight to the Sunset Forest. He directly entered the Phantom Nether Scorpion nest he had previously scouted.
The scorpion swarm, which had once deterred even the Titled Douluo Dugu Bo from a confrontation, was paralyzed by Chen Ming's poison power. Chen Shijie and Chen Tianyun were free to choose their soul rings. Both ended up absorbing 25,000-year Phantom Nether Scorpions as their sixth soul rings.
For a normal Soul Emperor, the upper limit for a sixth soul ring was 20,000 years. The fact that Chen Shijie and Chen Tianyun could absorb 25,000-year soul rings was already exceptional.
Normally, with their talent, they would not have been able to become Soul Emperors in their lifetime. Now, with Chen Ming's efforts, the 70-year-old Chen Shijie had reached the Soul Emperor level, with the potential to reach Soul Sage or even Soul Douluo. The 50-year-old Chen Tianyun could potentially become a Soul Douluo or even a Titled Douluo.
After the two absorbed their soul rings, Chen Ming brought them to meet Dugu Bo, strengthening their relationship. He then took them to Gengxin City and armed them with a variety of soul tools. Each received two trigger-activated invincible shields, nearly exhausting the stock of golden crystals. To make more, Chen Ming would need to return to the Sun and Moon Continent.
As for level-four, level-five, and level-six fixed-mounted soul-guided cannon shells, Chen Ming gave them as if they were free. He also provided a variety of soul-guided ray guns and auxiliary-type soul tools, regardless of whether they would be immediately useful.
Chen Ming knew that the peaceful days were coming to an end. At most, there was less than a year left before the plans that had been brewing on the continent for centuries, millennia, or even tens of thousands of years would come to fruition.
If it weren't for the fact that staying by his side might be more dangerous, Chen Ming would have preferred to keep his entire family with him to ensure their safety.
When the two asked what was happening, Chen Ming couldn't reveal the full truth. He simply warned them that the continent would not remain peaceful in the coming years and advised them to stay vigilant. Given their current strength, knowing too much would not benefit them, especially when it involved matters concerning Titled Douluos.
After sending the two back to Biluochen City, Chen Ming used a rarely utilized contact method to reach the two Titled Douluos assigned by Qian Daoliu to guard the Chen family in Biluo City.
These two were the Demon Bear Douluo and Ghost Leopard Douluo, who had appeared in the original story. Though not well-known and not members of the Worship Hall, both were genuine level-95 Super Douluos—powerhouses on the continent.
Without Qian Daoliu's arrangement, these two would never have imagined being stationed in a remote place like Biluochen City to protect a small family.
Chen Ming presented each of the guardians with a thousand-year-old soul bone and a rare herb suitable for their attributes as gifts, asking them to take good care of his family.
Having received such lavish gifts, the Demon Bear Douluo and Ghost Leopard Douluo assured Chen Ming with firm commitments.
After resolving his concerns and minimizing risks to his family, Chen Ming focused entirely on his cultivation.
A few days later, he completed the first trials of both the God of Strength and the God of Thunder, doubling the rewards. The initial reward of one rank of soul power and refinement by divine spiritual energy was doubled.
Chen Ming's soul power surged from level 73 to level 77 in one leap. During the refinement process, he took the rare opportunity to absorb divine spiritual energy, further enhancing his foundational attributes and strengthening his godly positions.
The God of Sin's position advanced to the mid-upper tier among third-level gods, and the God of Plague's position also rose to third-level god status. Additionally, Chen Ming began to gain some insight into condensing the God of Elements' divine position.
...
Time passed steadily, and soon, it was one month before the start of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
On a training ground atop Clear Sky Peak, Tang San sat cross-legged, circulating his soul power with a furrowed brow.
Compared to a few months ago, Tang San's physique had grown visibly larger. His muscles were well-defined, though strangely oily in appearance.
Due to the discovery of a pointed shape at the top of his head, Tang San had to style his hair differently. The surrounding hair was shaved off, leaving the central part long. To avoid drawing attention, this section was tied into a high ponytail, attempting to conceal the pointed shape.
However, upon closer inspection, the sharp outline of his head was still faintly visible.
Considering that spiked hairstyles were uncommon even in the Douluo Continent, it was hard to say whether Tang San's efforts to hide it were effective or merely counterproductive.
Regardless, Tang San had undergone a remarkable transformation in the past few months.