SoulLand:Ascending to Godhood through Science

With Ignis successfully absorbing her spirit ring, You Chen had essentially accomplished all his objectives for this expedition:

1. Validated the feasibility of the Soul Power Borrowing Technique for absorbing ten-thousand-year spirit rings. 

2. Empowered Ignis with Soul King-level combat strength to aid the Soul-Battle Beasts in their future hunts for ten-thousand-year rings—this goal had been overachieved.

3. Assessed the group's collective strength and experience in navigating the Star Dou Forest.

4. Tested the destructive capabilities of the Blackfire Crossbow.

All four objectives were achieved flawlessly.

However, observing Ignis's absorption process reminded You Chen of his own dilemma:

Should he proceed with acquiring spirit rings for his alternate persona now?

The Problem with Timing

Based on his calculations, his second spirit ring's limit was 30,000 years, and the third could reach 50,000 years.

These levels of spirit beasts, after a year of development, were now within his ability to hunt and safely extract spirit rings from.

The primary obstacle had always been his lack of strength to hunt such powerful creatures alone. But now, with Clarity Concealment Technique fully mastered, he no longer needed overwhelming strength to deal with the potential threats tied to these hunts.

The technique allowed him to vanish unnoticed, even if he provoked a powerful beast's retribution.

Thus, he could now:

Hunt for the second and third rings for his alternate persona.

Hunt for the sixth ring for his main persona, ascending to the Soul Emperor rank.

In fact, absorbing the second ring alone might be enough to push his alternate persona to the level 60 bottleneck.

But You Chen wasn't rushing to absorb the fourth, fifth, and sixth rings for his alternate persona. His seventh ring—critical to reaching Soul Sage—was aimed at a beast with Title Douluo-level strength or a pseudo-ten-thousand-year beast.

At his current strength, taking down such a beast was impossible. However, by advancing to Soul Emperor and further refining God-Elephant Suppression Strength, he could gain Soul Douluo-level combat ability.

With such strength, even Tang Hao in his injured state wouldn't pose a significant threat. The security such power offered was unparalleled.

Ambition Beyond Safety

Stronger capabilities would also streamline the completion of Questline 1, making future rewards easier to claim.

Yet, You Chen's ambitions extended further.

The Soul Power Borrowing Technique was a groundbreaking invention. By bypassing the first-ring restriction, it allowed a 10-level power boost without external resources, pushing the optimal spirit ring age higher.

This achievement broke into a realm previously exclusive to gods.

Unlike divine interference, his technique required no godly power. It was a purely mortal innovation, reshaping the very rules of Douluo Continent.

In some ways, it surpassed the benefits offered by divine tests, as spirit rings absorbed using the technique directly influenced a martial spirit's essence during the spiritual sublimation window of absorption.

He had already tested this through Spirit Ring Age Increase Cards, which enhanced the age of existing rings but did not affect the martial spirit's core traits.

This was due to the World's Rules:

Spirit ring absorption during the sublimation window triggered martial spirit evolution, a blessing from the world itself.

Once fixed, a spirit ring's attributes could increase, but its contribution to martial spirit evolution was immutable.

In short, spirit rings granted during the absorption process held far more value than any enhancements added later.

Could the Limits Be Pushed Further?

Yes.

Currently, the technique borrowed up to 10 levels of soul power to raise the optimal ring age. This limit was determined by the world's constraints on other soul masters, not You Chen's personal ceiling.

For his alternate persona, the theoretical borrowing cap was 37 levels (57 - 20 = 37).

The current 10-level borrowing limit resulted from a year of research and two Epiphanies, but pushing further faced exponential challenges.

Why? There was a lack of experimental data.

Borrowing a few levels was one thing—nobody had ever attempted to hold back 10 levels of advancement for scientific study, let alone anything higher.

Breaking into two-ring borrowing—essentially bypassing a second layer of the world's restrictions—posed a monumental challenge.

Two Paths Forward

You Chen had set a boundary: stop at two-ring borrowing.

Three-ring borrowing was unrealistic. Even with endless Epiphanies, achieving it within a decade would be nearly impossible.

With this limitation in mind, You Chen considered two distinct strategies:

1. Ascend to Soul Emperor Now:

Immediate safety boost.

Greater efficiency in task completion.

Sacrifices some long-term potential.

2. Delay Advancement for Further Innovation:

Develop higher borrowing potential for future rings.

Preserves long-term potential at the cost of short-term efficiency and security.

While the second path appealed to his love for meticulous planning and untapped growth, it contained an inherent contradiction.

The System's Influence on Potential

System rewards had already demonstrated their ability to enhance potential.

The second path relied on traditional methods to optimize growth potential, but was this superior to the system's innate upgrades?

Take the God-Elephant Suppression Strength as an example. This technique thrived on You Chen's physical foundation and life force level, accelerating cultivation as these attributes improved.

In theory, he could disregard martial spirit balance altogether, focus on physical enhancement, and maximize spirit ring absorption to fuel his growth.

Would this surpass the benefits of delaying his advancement?

Hard to say.

You Chen had to decide: prioritize immediate power and system-assisted growth, or gamble on delayed potential through personal innovation.

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