Douluo Dalu: Lucky Star

At the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Han Li arrived alone this time, leaving even Ye Lingling behind. Ah Yin still hadn't reached the necessary age. Despite his accelerated efforts, while the Blue Silver Emperor had regained consciousness, she was far from comfortable; energy was being forced into her at a relentless pace, making it difficult just to maintain her current state.

Neither the Blue Silver King nor Skydream could approach her without Han Li's permission; they could only speak to her from a distance.

"What did you do to them?"

As Han Li approached, a faint silhouette appeared over the massive form of the Blue Silver Emperor—it was Ah Yin, her expression complex. The events Han Li had projected from Wuhun City had clearly impacted her.

"I killed them," Han Li answered flatly as he stepped into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Ah Yin's ethereal form trembled slightly. Before he fully submerged himself, she asked the question that had weighed on her mind.

"Why did you bring me here and help me recover? What is your true purpose?"

"For your soul ring, of course. What else would it be for?"

Han Li looked at her, noticing Skydream sneaking away nearby.

"And as promised, I'll also protect your clan. I just wonder if the Blue Silver King has accepted it yet. Once you're gone, it will become the new Blue Silver Emperor, and I'll ensure their safety," Han Li added, glancing at the silent Blue Silver King.

"You can resist or fulfill your duty as the emperor," he said, before fully submerging himself in the pool.

Compared to these minor matters, his advancement was far more pressing.

After mastering the Ice and Fire source, he no longer needed to hunt for soul beasts to achieve his eighth and ninth soul rings. While soul bones would still improve his power, now wasn't the best time for that.

The energy within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was the ideal choice for him. Even though he had absorbed the soul bones of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, the remaining energy here was still invaluable.

Furthermore, with his body undergoing a transformation toward a divine form, energy corrosion was no longer an issue.

Now that the Divine Realm's focus had shifted, he held the coordinates to several divine inheritance sites as compensation. This allowed him to increase his power without hesitation.

At the moment, however, he needed one more thing—a soul ring. Even though he had grasped some divine rules, he remained, in Douluo terms, an 80-level quasi-Soul Douluo, needing a soul ring to advance.

Fortunately, he excelled at exploiting loopholes. Over the years, he had been carefully analyzing the rules.

Now, he planned to exploit a loophole.

A soul ring is essentially a combination of rules and energy. With part of the Ice and Fire source in hand, and the nearby Yin Yang Well as his energy reserve, he lacked neither energy nor rules. Thus, crafting a man-made god-given soul ring was within reach.

Using his faith power as a filter, Han Li began to absorb the Well's energy in a powerful surge. The rules he had inscribed with his spiritual power started voraciously consuming the energy, forming a soul ring that quickly shifted from deep black to vibrant red.

Gradually, the blood-red glow softened to a paler red that matched Han Li's soul power, layered with a golden hue from his faith.

One hundred thousand years, two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand—the soul ring's age continued increasing.

Within the Yin Yang Well, a powerful energy vortex formed due to Han Li's absorption. While the two rooted beasts remained steady, Skydream clung desperately to the Blue Silver King to avoid being swept away.

At the Well's depths, the soul ring finally stabilized at eight hundred thousand years.

Han Li pursed his lips, uncertain whether to feel satisfied. This was the limit his body could bear for now, as he still lacked a soul bone and his physical transformation was still progressing.

Fortunately, since he had crafted this self-made soul ring, its age would continue to grow as his power increased, preventing it from becoming a limitation.

He had already planned the rule-based skills this ring would grant. At this point, skill specifics were nearly irrelevant to him; in terms of power and versatility, he could replicate any ability others had, and even add variety.

Still, he decided to tailor the skill to resemble the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings he had seen during the soul bone absorption.

The eighth soul ring would grant him Ice and Fire Clone.

When activated, this skill created two clones, each holding 70% of Han Li's power. They would take the forms of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, complete with Dragon Might.

Though the clones had no intelligence and required Han Li's control, if left unchecked, they would act on instinct, functioning as two massive elemental dragons.

This soul ring also increased his attack power by 30% and reduced his soul power consumption by the same margin, though these were minor boosts for him.

Since it was custom-made, Han Li added a few personalized tweaks.

Every arrow or blade he wielded could now selectively manifest the phantom effects of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, a signature that was uniquely his.

With the soul ring successfully condensed, Han Li rose from the depths of the pool. His aura had shifted from level 80 to level 90, and three full days had passed. Not bothering to conceal his aura, Han Li took a moment to sense the changes within himself. Aside from the regular age boost to his soul rings and soul bones, the transformation wasn't overly dramatic. The main improvement was in his soul power, which had finally filled a previous gap in his strength.

For the three beasts in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, however, the transformation looked far more extraordinary. In just three days, they had witnessed a dramatic display of power, watching as Han Li broke through by ten levels. The most astonishing aspect was the new soul ring above his head. Its aura was immensely powerful, and the overwhelming Dragon Might nearly suffocated them. If not for Han Li's familiar energy—along with their knowledge of his ties to Spirit Hall—the beasts would have doubted he was even human.

"How do you like my god-bestowed soul ring?"

Han Li asked, grinning at the Blue Silver King and Skydream, aware of their shock. After all, if no one appreciated it, he thought, it would be like wearing fine clothes in the dark.

At his mention of god bestowed soul ring, both the Blue Silver King and Skydream lowered themselves, unable to respond, but their trust in Han Li's earlier promises deepened.

"Boring."

Han Li dismissed A Yin's conflicted expression as he vanished from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Before he left, he subtly increased the energy infusion to A Yin. As she continued her recovery, it seemed she had grown a bit stronger—so he accelerated the process even more. Her ultimate decision didn't concern him; whatever choice she made, the outcome would remain the same. It was just a matter of her peace of mind.

On his return to Heaven Dou City, Han Li slowed his pace, pondering over the issues he had faced while creating the soul ring. His original plan had been to condense both the eighth and ninth soul rings simultaneously, but he had ultimately discarded that idea.

Although his eighth ring had been made through a self-crafted god-bestowed soul ring method, the energy sources differed, and much of his foundational rules were derived from the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings. The growth potential and variety were still too limited. Unlike true god-given soul rings, his rule control wasn't yet on par with the gods, and his attention was largely focused on the Ice and Fire elements. Adding more energy would likely result in a similar soul ring with minimal gains.

In some ways, his god-bestowed soul ring was only a pseudo-version—effective, but with clear limitations. Replicating others' soul ring rules was also challenging without the assistance of his obedient son.

Additionally, a real problem emerged: simpler soul rings wouldn't serve his purpose, but complex ones were beyond his reach for now. For that reason, traditional methods of obtaining soul rings seemed more practical.

Although he was still missing a soul ring, it didn't greatly impact his combat power. If he could defeat an opponent, he'd do it regardless; if not, another soul ring wouldn't tip the scales.

This was also why he had sought out Qian Daoliu.

Heading to the Star Dou Forest core, Han Li's main priority wasn't alliance-building. His goal was to stabilize the situation, offering the other side some hope in exchange for a short-term surge in faith power. Now that he'd achieved this goal, he needed time to digest his gains and awaken his obedient son.

Since Tang San's death, the dimensional will has remained dormant. Despite the influx of faith power, it still hadn't awakened, which left Han Li with a sense of unease.

Given his current standing and the plan ahead, contacting the soul beasts had become inevitable. Han Li was realistic—after just a decade of cultivation, he knew he couldn't match or surpass those with thousands of years of experience.

The only answer was his advantage, or cheat.

With this realization, Han Li picked up his pace on the return journey.