Time flew by, and the holiday came to an end in the blink of an eye.
During the break, Xiao Wu also successfully broke through to the twentieth rank. Having learned from Qi Lin's peculiar "dream breakthrough," she decided to follow suit—finding a moment alone, she quietly condensed her second spirit ring.
Afterward, she cheerfully told Qi Lin the same excuse he had used: "I just took a nap, and poof—my spirit ring appeared on its own!"
Of course, her second ring wasn't nearly as dazzling or mysterious as Qi Lin's. But the attempt at imitation amused the Skydream Iceworm so much that it laughed uncontrollably within Qi Lin's spiritual sea, calling her a "silly little rabbit".
In fact, Skydream had long since seen through Xiao Wu's identity. As a million-year spiritual-type soul beast, how could he not recognize another soul beast in human form?
After returning to Shrek Academy, life settled back into a peaceful routine for Qi Lin and Xiao Wu.
Qi Lin spent most of his time either studying soul tools or playing video games with Xiao Wu. But something began to bother him — he'd hit a wall with his research into soul tool crafting.
Building soul tools required more than just mountains of rare metals. The process demanded high precision — each component had to be forged to perfection.
It was complicated. Very complicated.
What made it worse was the lack of advanced soul tool blueprints or reference books. Without proper guidance, he could only fumble his way through trial and error — and it was painfully inefficient.
Ironically, soul cultivation was the one area Qi Lin didn't stress over. After all, he was already far ahead of both Xiao Wu and Tang San.
Right after condensing his second soul ring, his soul power had surged to Rank 25.
Even after deliberately cutting back on cultivation time to give the others a chance to catch up, neither of them could close the gap.
Time flowed quietly like a stream.
When Qi Lin finally broke through to Rank 30, something unexpected happened again — he had another dream.
But this time, it wasn't the same hazy world from before.
He found himself standing in a magnificent palace, shrouded in immortal mist and filled with an overwhelming, divine presence.
At first glance, it looked like any other grand hall. But when he looked again, Qi Lin felt as though the palace itself extended into infinity — vast and boundless, more a realm than a structure.
In the palace's center stood a massive Eight Trigram Furnace. It was carved with intricate, ancient runes, its body solid and wide, the shifting Eight Trigrams glowing faintly. Crimson flames roared within, and above the furnace, auspicious clouds coiled while purple energy rose into the air.
Before the furnace stood a stately old man dressed in Daoist robes. His face was kind yet dignified, holding a fan adorned with sun and moon patterns, gently fanning the flames.
Suddenly, the old man tilted his head slightly, as if sensing something.
In the next moment, a pair of deep, all-seeing eyes landed on Qi Lin. They were filled with wisdom and power, as if they could pierce the veil of the world itself.
Qi Lin froze. Had he been noticed?
Though he didn't know much about ancient mythology, the old man's presence gave him a vague idea.
The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord — Taishang Laojun?
Before he could bow in reverence, the old man simply smiled and waved his hand.
In an instant, that familiar sensation of weightlessness returned.
The world spun.
"Haah!"
Qi Lin sat up in bed with a gasp, panting heavily.
But this time — he remembered everything from the dream.
Even more shocking — he had a new soul ring.
It hovered silently around him — dark crimson in color, exactly like the flames inside that Eight Trigram Furnace.
Although it was red, it was a world apart from the bloody red glow of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring like Bibi Dong's.
Qi Lin could feel waves of heat radiating from the ring, faint but real.
Third Soul Skill — Liuding Creation!
The skill allowed him to summon a crimson flame. As long as he provided materials, the fire could forge anything he could imagine.
Naturally, the more complex the item, the greater the soul power consumption.
But still — this was practically a divine skill for a soul engineer!
Qi Lin couldn't help but shout in excitement.
Though he always felt a little guilty about how "cheaty" his progress was, the joy was undeniable.
His shouting startled Xiao Wu, who was nearby.
She poked her head in, curiosity written all over her face. "What's going on, Brother Qi Lin? Why are you so happy?"
Qi Lin beamed and gave her soft cheek a playful pinch. "Guess what? I had another dream last night."
"You got another soul ring in your sleep, didn't you?" Xiao Wu said instantly, eyes narrowing in disbelief.
Qi Lin chuckled. She was spot-on.
"Brother Qi Lin! You just became a Soul Master last year! I'm only Rank 23, and you're already a Soul Elder?!"
She pouted, stomping her foot. "You barely even cultivate compared to me, and yet your soul power grows like it's cheating. You really are a hacker!"
The word "hacker" was something she'd picked up from Qi Lin during one of their game sessions — and she found it very fitting for him.
Thank goodness Tang San's cultivation was even slower. He had just reached Rank 20.
Otherwise, Xiao Wu's confidence would've taken a real hit.
How could the gap between her and another innate full soul power user — not to mention a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast — be this big?
"Show me, show me!" she said eagerly, "What color is your new soul ring? Is it purple?"
Normally, the optimal configuration for a Soul Elder's rings would be yellow, yellow, purple.
Since Qi Lin's rings were self-condensed through dreams, she wasn't sure if it had reached the thousand-year level.
If he'd only gotten a hundred-year ring, that would've been a serious waste.
Qi Lin glanced around and whispered, "Let's go somewhere more private."
He led her into the grove behind the academy.
"Soul ring — appear!"
With a thought, Qi Lin summoned his rings.
A soft white glow… a dazzling gold… and then a deep, rich crimson!
The three soul rings rose slowly at his feet.
"R-red… red?!"
Xiao Wu's mouth hung open in shock, her voice faltering.
As a ten-thousand-year soul beast herself, no one knew better than she did what a red soul ring meant.
She had already found Qi Lin's ability to form soul rings in dreams utterly bizarre.
But this?
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring… from a dream?!
This was simply monstrous!
If Skydream hadn't still been asleep in Qi Lin's spiritual sea, the ancient Iceworm would've gone mad on the spot.
Sure enough, ten days later, Skydream finally stirred from his slumber.
The moment he learned what had happened, he erupted in Qi Lin's mind.
Laughing maniacally, he rolled and flailed, shouting incoherently and letting out bursts of creepy giggling.
He was increasingly convinced he had backed the right person.
His life was practically scripted like a cheat story.
From being hunted by his natural predators, to falling into a glacial rift and discovering ten-thousand-year Ice Marrow — Skydream had steadily grown to over 900,000 years.
Although he'd been imprisoned for a time in Star Dou Forest, he'd narrowly escaped through a space storm and eventually found Qi Lin.
After wandering alone for nearly a million years… at last, he had found his destined partner!