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--- Chapter 339 ---
[Ding!]
[You have fought using Divine Arts]
[Divine Arts Proficiency +100]
Han Yuan glanced at the floating system notifications that appeared and smiled faintly, 'My new cheat is finally here!'
'Proficiency Meters, huh?'
'Too bad I can't study it right away...'
Both sides reached a temporary peace. Han Yuan cancelled the swarm of blue silver grass and the Blue Silver Domain back, changing it to passive mode and giving the suppressed spirit beasts a way out.
Even then, Han Yuan's attack had dealt a heavy blow to the spirit beasts, as countless black and purple spirit rings floated above the ground. '
At least thousands, if not more, spirit beasts instantly perished under the Silver Cannon Lance. Such a grim sight was saddening for anyone who witnessed it.
Xiao Rou and Xiao Wu couldn't help but wear dejected expressions. They regretted not having convinced the spirit beasts more decisively. Perhaps, they could have avoided this tragedy.
Yet, they didn't blame Han Yuan for being heavy-handed, knowing just how "destructive" his Divine Arts could be—and this particular attack was relatively tame.
Ah Yin gently shook Han Yuan's sleeve and called out, "Xiao Yuan..."
"Alright, alright, don't make such a face. You're making me feel bad," Han Yuan responded helplessly at Ah Yin's sad look.
He grasped the thin air and summoned a long white staff that began to draw the surrounding souls toward him.
"W-What is he doing?" the ferocious turtle spirit beast asked Ah Yin cautiously.
Ah Yin smiled proudly and replied, "He's paving the way for survival—a new path for these fallen spirit beasts to thrive in this world!"
"And this will change the fate of our spirit beast races forever!"
"Death is not just the end, and life is not merely the beginning... Holy ghost, astral spirit, hear my call."
Han Yuan recited a mantra to purify, strengthen, and condense the souls of the perished spirit beasts into their complete state.
He consumed a small amount of spiritual power and merged the scattered spirit rings with their original owners, bringing the spirit beasts back to the living world as Spirit Souls.
Under the bewildered gazes of the living spirit beasts, the dead actually came back to life, albeit in a spiritual energy form!
"Ghosts! They've become ghosts!" a timid-looking ape exclaimed in fear.
Han Yuan ignored the fear he had caused and extended his other hand, saying, "As Master of Souls, I welcome you to your new life as Spirit Souls."
"Your current state is unstable and won't last long in the real world, so I'm temporarily binding you to my Immortal Spirit Domain."
"As long as you remain within my Immortal Spirit Domain, which extends about 600 meters from me as the center, you will essentially gain immortality."
"Of course, if you choose to leave, I won't restrict you. You can step outside the domain and truly embrace death."
"Immortality!" A collective gasp echoed through the area at Han Yuan's bold claim.
Even though spirit beasts under the 100,000-year-old realm couldn't talk unless they had a specific ability, they had already developed a level of intelligence. Thus, they understood what Han Yuan was saying.
"Um, Sir God's Inheritor, what exactly are Spirit Souls?" a bold-looking, ferocious eagle asked, raising its feathered wing.
"I heard the turtle speaking with a transformed spirit beast, and she said that these 'Spirit Souls' can change the fate of our race."
Han Yuan retracted the white staff and replied calmly, "Spirit Souls are, in a way, an alternative state of lifeform. If you're half a foot into the grave, you can still live on as a Spirit Soul."
"So magical..." the ferocious eagle murmured, contemplating that if dying spirit beasts had such a choice, becoming Spirit Souls didn't sound bad at all.
"But that's not the only benefit of becoming Spirit Souls, right?" the turtle chimed in once more, appearing more curious.
Han Yuan nodded. "Indeed. If it were just about extending life, changing the fate of the spirit beast race would be challenging."
"Let me ask you this: What is the relationship between humans and spirit beasts?"
"Humans hunt spirit beasts for their spirit rings and spirit bones," the turtle replied awkwardly.
"Yes, that's how this world operates. In my eyes, this way of cultivation is flawed because it is unbalanced," Han Yuan commented.
"Even if this world were really to follow the rules of survival of the fittest, it shouldn't be this way. Humans killing spirit beasts to progress in their cultivation creates a disparity. Only on rare occasions can a spirit beast benefit from killing and consuming humans."
"One word, unbalanced."
Han Yuan then added casually, "I won't comment on spirit beasts devouring other spirit beasts; that's your issue."
Several spirit beasts twitched at this remark.
"Now, back to the Spirit Souls." Han Yuan snapped his fingers, creating a projection with his spiritual power.
Everyone watched the translucent screen, which displayed two figures: a black-haired little girl and an 800-year-old Lightning Cat on the verge of death due to a hideous claw scar on its abdomen, standing side by side.
"I can't fix the Spirit Master cultivation system on a whim," Han Yuan said while sighing. "The rules left behind by a 'certain' idiot bound your spirit beast race to suffer for a while."
"So, I did my best to fix, no, alter it."
The projection started playing, showing the girl summoning her martial soul, an ordinary-looking iron blade. Two magic circles enveloped them, shimmering with mystical white light.
Slowly but surely, the 800-year-old Lightning Cat transformed into Spirit Soul and completed a Soul Contract pact with the girl.
The ritual not only causes the little girl's martial soul to evolve into a more slender, sharper, stronger form with faint electricity by attaching the first spirit ring to it, but also improves her appearance; her hair gains orange fringes.
"By performing 'Soul Contract' with a spirit master, a Spirit Soul may enjoy mutual cultivation speed with its contractor; the higher their contractor reaches in their path of cultivation, the faster their growth is."
"Interestingly, the Spirit Soul also wouldn't undergo Lightning Tribulation once reaching the 100,000-year-old stage and more."
"But more importantly, a Spirit Soul can provide a spirit master with more than one spirit ring, which means less meaningless killing."
"A 10-year-old Spirit Soul may provide one spirit ring."
"A 100-year-old Spirit Soul may provide two."
"A 1,000-year-old Spirit Soul may provide three."
"A 10,000-year-old Spirit Soul may provide four."
"And a 100,000-year-old Spirit Soul may provide five."
"I knew it! This human is up to no good! What's the difference between this and slavery?" the black wolf shouted angrily.
Ah Yin, Xiao Rou, and Xiao Wu exchanged looks of disbelief. "Is this guy for real?"
Han Yuan glanced at the black wolf, causing the spirit beast to shrink back in fear under the sheer power of his spiritual energy, before continuing with his explanation.
"The Soul Contract I made works on a principle of mutual understanding and a bond of hearts, which means if one side ever breaks the agreement they made, the contract may break unconditionally."
"No, if both sides weren't compatible in the first place, the contract wouldn't succeed."
"Of course, in return, the more bond the spirit master has with the Spirit Soul, the stronger they can be together."
"This also reflects their cultivation speed."
"Bond..." The spirit beasts fell into silence as they comprehended Han Yuan's words.
Han Yuan sighed inwardly before glancing deep into the woods, "What do you think, Senior?"
"One of my goals is coming to the Star Dou Forest exactly to push this proposal."
"I dare to swear on my martial soul that if my Soul Contract ever fails you guys, may my martial soul be broken forever."
"Wait, young man, don't be so hasty!" A solemn sigh came out.
"This Spirit Soul and your Soul Contract will definitely make history today."