Douluo Continent: The Ruler of Time, Reigning Supreme

Chapter 110: This Moment
Within the fourth spirit ring that was forming in the Silver Dust Martial Soul, Istaru carefully peeled away the nascent future tributary that represented the "original fourth spirit skill." At the same time, her thoughts transcended the distance of time, exploring further downstream.

The resistance is enormous.

It was as if she were moving through viscous amber, each step consuming her primal energy.

The world is rejecting her "overstepping" behavior and trying to bring the future back "on track".

Countless chaotic fragments of time assaulted her senses: scenes of ice fields cracking, eerie figures, the roars of powerful soul beasts, and the figure of Yin Chen fighting amidst various possibilities...

"Humph……"

Istaru let out a suppressed groan, her figure swaying slightly and becoming somewhat fainter.

This was more difficult than she had anticipated.

If Yin Chen hadn't been bound to her soul, and if she hadn't represented a part of the authority over time, this operation would have been impossible.

Finally, amidst countless chaotic illusions of the future, she caught sight of the soul skill that should have been activated and acquired when Yin Chen had his sixth soul ring—the future that represented the sixth soul skill.

"You are the one."

Istaru concentrated her last strength, like a skilled fisherman, using an invisible fishing line to precisely hook that still weak but inherently powerful tributary of the future. Then, she forcefully pulled it up from the node of the "sixth spirit ring" and forcibly placed it into the empty "skill slot" of the "fourth spirit ring" that was being filled by the rules of the world.

This seemed to have triggered some core mechanism of the world.

An even greater repulsive force suddenly descended, attempting to expel this "unruly" existence and steer the future back onto the "right track."

Istaru gritted her teeth and pushed her own time authority to its limit, forming a thin but tough "time amber" that temporarily wrapped and fixed the forcibly transplanted future tributary, forcibly merging and adapting it with Yin Chen's fourth soul ring.

"The rest... is up to you..."

After doing all this, Ishtar's figure became almost transparent, clearly indicating that she had expended a great deal of energy.

She took a deep look at Yin Chen, who was absorbing the energy of the spirit ring outside, and then slowly sank into the depths of her spiritual sea, falling into a deep sleep to recover her strength.

She had done all she could, changing Yin Chen's future and allowing the soul skill that was originally only obtainable on the sixth soul ring to appear on the fourth soul ring.

Outside, Yin Chen, who was suffering agonizing pain, suddenly felt that the impact of the remnant soul of the Ice Prison Ape Crocodile in his sea of ​​consciousness seemed to have weakened, and a surge of information, accompanied by the immense energy of the soul ring, rushed into the depths of his soul.

Countless fragments of the future and branches of possibilities flashed through his consciousness, then quickly converged into four words containing endless mysteries—this moment and that moment.

At the same time, under the infusion of the energy of the ten-thousand-year soul ring, the soul power within his body surged like a flood breaking through a dam, breaking through the barrier of level forty-one with unstoppable momentum, and finally stabilized at level forty-two, about to break through level forty-three.

The frost melted away, and the trembling in his body stopped.

Yin Chen slowly opened his eyes. For a moment, countless intertwined and flowing illusions of time seemed to be reflected in his eyes, which then quickly disappeared and returned to normal. However, there seemed to be something more in the depths of his eyes.

Zhang Lexuan, who had been watching him intently, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him successfully absorb the energy and break through two levels. She then immediately noticed that Yin Chen's expression was not one of joy, but rather one of deep surprise, confusion, and even a hint of strangeness.

Her heart tightened, and she quickly stepped forward, asking with concern:

"Yin Chen, what's wrong? Is it a soul skill... that you don't like? Or did something go wrong?"

Her biggest worry is that attribute conflicts will greatly reduce the effectiveness of her soul skills, or cause some unknown mutations.

After all, the time attribute is extremely rare, and absorbing an ice attribute soul ring carries unpredictable risks. Upon hearing this, Yin Chen raised his head and looked at Zhang Lexuan, the strange expression on his face still lingering.

He shook his head, his tone filled with disbelief and感慨:

"It's not that it's bad, Senior Sister, it's just... too good, almost too good."

"Too much?"

Zhang Lexuan frowned in confusion.

Having powerful soul skills is naturally a good thing, so why say it's excessive?
"Ah."

Yin Chen took a deep breath and said:
"It's a very powerful soul skill. I like it very much. Senior Sister, you will have the chance to see it."

"Keep me in suspense."

Zhang Lexuan rolled her eyes, but didn't ask any further questions. After all, it's best to keep the effects of one's own soul skill a secret if possible.

"No, but this soul skill is a bit complicated, and I'm still figuring it out myself."

Yin Chen smiled. Once a soul skill is used, its effect will be revealed, but he didn't want to reveal the effect of his fourth soul skill too quickly.

Moreover, unless he says it himself, it is difficult for others to discern the specific effects of his soul skills from his actions.

The fourth soul skill, "At This Moment," has an effect that prioritizes the result over the cause.

Yin Chen can first anchor a 'future outcome' that he hopes will occur. Then, the rules of this world will automatically correct and guide, allowing a series of 'causes' to occur naturally, and ultimately... the result he anchored will be achieved.

This is not the kind of ability a fourth soul skill should have.

Of course, there are also many limitations.

Firstly, due to Yin Chen's cultivation level, the 'future' he can observe and pinpoint will not be too far in terms of time span.

He has no way of observing things a few years from now, let alone a hundred or a thousand years from now.

At present, at most... it's within a few months.

Secondly, the future he can observe must be a branch of the future that actually appears among countless possibilities.

He cannot observe, much less anchor, those futures that are simply impossible.

For example, he projected a future where "Yin Chen will personally kill the Sea God Tang San in a month."

However, in reality, he has absolutely no chance of possessing the power to kill gods a month from now. Therefore, this future simply does not exist among countless possibilities; it is absolutely 'impossible,' and his soul skill cannot take effect.

Instead, he hopes to meet a specific person or find a specific thing in this vast far north tomorrow.

So, the future of 'meeting someone tomorrow' or 'finding something' exists among countless possible branches, but the probability may be extremely low.

At this moment, he can use the "Now and Then" technique to forcibly anchor this "result." Then the rules of the world will operate on their own. Perhaps it will be an unexpected snowstorm that changes the course, or perhaps it will be the disturbance and guidance of a soul beast. In the end, he will achieve this goal in a seemingly "coincidental" way.

(End of this chapter)