Rise in Douluo Continent with the help of bean buns

The morning mist drifted in through the cave entrance the next day, carrying the fresh, damp scent of the forest plants.

Lin Chen stood in the center of the cave, and the three soul rings—yellow, purple, and dark purple—slowly retracted into his body. The surging soul power around him gradually calmed down and finally receded into the depths of his dantian, leaving only a very faint layer of grass and tree vitality lingering around him.

A long time has passed since the soul ring of the five-thousand-year-old Heavenly Star Vine was fully absorbed.

The reason he didn't set off immediately was that he needed to stabilize his realm inside the cave, gradually refining and condensing the surging soul power, and completely integrating it into his foundation, so that his realm wouldn't be even slightly unstable.

By focusing one's inner energy on the dantian, one can clearly see the qualitative change in the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

The originally expansive dark green grass leaves have now become even thicker, with a faint silver-blue halo around the edges. The veins between the leaves are several times more intricate than before, like natural soul-guiding array patterns, slowly flowing with a warm and gentle life force.

At the very core of the root, a dazzling silver-blue light point floats quietly, and with each pulsation, pure primordial power overflows, nourishing the meridians and dantian barrier throughout the body.

[Martial Soul Origin Status: Third-stage evolution completed, second stage of the fifth-stage evolution path perfected.]

Purity of origin: 99.1%.

Evolutionary direction: Formal transition to the Blue Silver King level, with both life and crowd control attributes awakening simultaneously.

Doubao's prompting echoed in his mind, and Lin Chen's eyes flickered slightly before quickly returning to calm.

From the ordinary Blue Silver Grass at the beginning of his transmigration to the present day, through gradual purification and evolution, he has walked this path for four years, moving closer to the legendary Blue Silver King.

Every step was taken with utmost care and determination, without a trace of luck. The absorption of the third spirit ring was a crucial turning point on this path of evolution—the essence of the martial spirit had undergone a complete transformation.

He stepped out of the cave, the morning breeze ruffling his clothes and carrying the scent of wildflowers from the forest.

Below the cliff lies a wide valley, thick with decaying leaves and fertile soil, perfect for testing new soul skills.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, Lin Chen had a thought, and his third soul ring quietly lit up beneath his feet.

A deep purple halo spread out from underfoot, cascading down the cliff face and silently seeping into the soil.

The next second, an astonishing scene unfolded.

In the valley soil that was originally only covered with scattered weeds, countless tender green shoots of blue silver grass broke through the soil and grew and spread wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just a few breaths, the tender green turned into dark green, and the buds grew into supple vines, layer upon layer, intertwining into a net that covered most of the valley.

At first glance, he was surrounded by vibrant greenery. The vines swayed gently with his thoughts, each one closely connected to his spiritual power, like outstretched limbs.

This is the third soul skill – Distributed Blue Silver Forest.

It's not a simple vine binding, nor a localized shield defense, but rather using his own soul power as a guide to cultivate countless controllable blue silver grasses within a designated area, forming a "forest" truly under his control.

  

The coverage area expands with the output of soul power, and theoretically, it can extend indefinitely as long as there is enough soul power.

With a slight thought, Lin Chen caused the vines at the edge of the valley to spread out to both sides, extending several more feet until they reached the hard rock wall.

"The current coverage radius is about thirty feet, and the soul power consumption is less than one-tenth." He silently estimated in his mind.

If activated at full power, the coverage area can be increased several times over.

Moreover, each Blue Silver Grass is independently controllable, and can be separated or combined, gathered or dispersed, making it far more flexible than ordinary ranged soul skills.

This is the true meaning of "distributed" – there is no single core weakness; the entire forest is both his weapon and his shield.

He slightly raised his fingertips, and the vines in the center of the valley suddenly contracted, piled up, and intertwined.

Countless vines coiled and rose from the ground, quickly coalescing into an oval fortress about ten feet high.

The vines are arranged closely together, with the outer layer being calcified and tough old vines, the middle layer being elastic tender branches, and the inner layer being a fine buffer vine net, stacked in seven layers, without even a single gap visible.

Blue Silver Fortress.

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. He separated a wisp of his soul power, condensed it into a sharp spike, and shot it fiercely towards the outer wall of the fortress.

With a soft "plop," the sharp thorn pierced three inches into the outer vines before its force was neutralized by the layers of structure, eventually dissipating into the second layer of vine netting without even touching the core of the fortress.

"Its defensive power far surpasses that of defensive-type soul skills of the same rank."

He knew the situation. A full-force attack from an ordinary three-ring Soul Master would probably not even be able to break through the outer layer. Even a Soul King would have to expend considerable effort to penetrate these seven layers of fortress.

More importantly, the fortress is not an isolated entity.

Lin Chen's thoughts stirred again, and the fortress's roots were completely connected to the veins of the entire Blue Silver Forest. He once again activated his soul power, simulating an even stronger impact, precisely striking the same point on the fortress.

This time, the powerful force struck the fortress, but it did not cause the expected damage. The enormous impact traveled along the vines and instantly dispersed among the hundreds of Blue Silver Grass plants throughout the valley.

A blow that would have been enough to pierce a single-layered fortress was spread across the entire forest, ultimately only shaking off a few broken leaves, while the fortress itself remained completely unmoved.

Damage is shared among the branches.

This is the most troublesome part of the Blue Silver Forest.

To breach the core fortress, all the Blue Silver Grass in the entire area must be destroyed simultaneously; otherwise, the attack will be infinitely spread, making it impossible to break through the center. Unless the attack power far exceeds the forest's carrying capacity, it will only lead to endless attrition.

"It combines offense and defense, and has an extremely high margin for error." Lin Chen nodded slightly.

With this technique, even when facing an attack from several Soul Masters of the same level, they can remain undefeated. Even when encountering high-level Soul Beasts, they can use the Blue Silver Forest to buy enough time to retreat.

This is precisely the core reason why he was willing to venture deep into the edge of the Star Core to take down the Heavenly Star Ancient Vine—compared to fierce attacks, stable defense and control of the field are the greatest source of confidence for venturing into dangerous territory and planning for the future.

He raised his hand and waved it, and the Blue Silver Grass in the valley immediately changed its formation.

The outermost layer consists of thorny vines, serving as both a perimeter defense and a ranged attack point; the middle layer is a highly elastic vine net, responsible for dissipating force, binding, and cushioning; the innermost layer is a thick vine wall, bearing the main defensive burden. These three layers of defense are interlocked and progressively reinforce each other, forming a multi-layered defensive network that covers the entire area.

At the same time, each vine is a sensory antenna for him.

Within a radius of thirty feet, the wind rustling the grass and the insects crawling—all the subtle movements were transmitted back to his mind through the vines, more concealed and precise than a direct scan with mental power.

Attack, defense, and reconnaissance are all combined into one.

It can advance with a barrage of vines, binding and strangling; it can retreat with layers of defense, as solid as a rock; it can remain still, concealing its presence and monitoring the entire area.

This is the complete third soul skill – Distributed Blue Silver Forest.

It's not just a single defense, nor a single control of the field, but a small domain truly under his command.

Lin Chen withdrew his soul skill, and the Blue Silver Grass in the valley slowly withered and merged into the soil, leaving no trace.

The soul power consumption was lower than expected, and the control was smoother than expected.

The life affinity brought about by the transition of his martial soul to the Blue Silver King has reduced the soul power consumption of cultivating Blue Silver Grass to an extremely low level. As long as it is not a continuous high-intensity battle, he can sustain himself in the wild for several days with just this one soul skill.

"The ability to protect oneself is sufficient."

He murmured to himself, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

A three-ring Soul Master, a five-thousand-year Soul Ring, plus the combined offense and defense of the Blue Silver Forest.

Now, even when he's alone on the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest's core, he has enough confidence.

"Master."

Shi Feng's voice came from behind them. After the four woke up, they all came to greet Lin Chen.

But as soon as they got closer, all four of them paused slightly, their steps unconsciously slowing down by half a beat.

The boy in front of me seems different from before.

At the age of eleven, he had grown taller and was beginning to show the handsome features of a young man.

His facial features have matured, his eyebrows are relaxed and gentle, his eyes have a warm curve at the corners, his nose is straight, and his lips are clean-lined. Together, they create a very pleasing and handsome appearance.

It's not the kind of stunning beauty that's overbearing, but rather like a clear mountain stream or a spring breeze. At first glance, it feels clean and refreshing, and the more you look at it, the more pleasing it becomes. The gentle charm between its brows and eyes seems to be engraved in its very bones.

What's most special about her is her temperament.

The Lin Chen of the past was also gentle, but always carried a certain youthful aloofness and calmness, like water in a deep pool, calm yet unfathomable in depth.

But now, he is surrounded by a faint sense of vitality from the plants, and his temperament has become more gentle and peaceful, like a spring breeze that is not cold. Just standing there makes people feel at ease and unconsciously lower their guard.

Su Wanqing was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses and sighed inwardly.

She had lived for over fifty years and had seen countless noble children and genius soul masters, but she had never seen anyone with such an aura.

Unassuming and unsharp, yet like a tree sprouting in spring, it naturally exudes a gentle vitality, making people feel comfortable and reliable from the bottom of their hearts.

Shi Feng also suppressed his surprise and bowed, saying, "Master, has your cultivation level stabilized?"

He was utterly shocked. It wasn't just the change in appearance and demeanor, but also the fact that he could no longer sense the depth of Lin Chen's soul power.

Despite being only a three-ring Soul Master, he gave him an unfathomable feeling.

"Yes, it's stable now." Lin Chen nodded calmly, his tone unchanged. "How is Elder Shi's injury?"

"Much better!" Shi Feng said quickly. "With the treatment from Master Su and the healing medicine you brought, I'm almost fully recovered, and the return journey will be no problem at all."

"That's good."

The four followed behind Lin Chen, each with their own thoughts and feelings.

Who would have thought that this eleven-year-old young master not only possessed astonishing business acumen but also such monstrous talent in cultivation?

An eleven-year-old Soul Master with three Soul Rings, possessing the third Soul Ring in five thousand years—if word got out, the entire Douluo Continent would likely be shaken.

What's even more precious is their character.

Despite his young age and immense talent, he remains calm and low-key, without the slightest hint of arrogance.

They would never know that this gentle and peaceful temperament was never something they deliberately put on.

As the Blue Silver Grass martial soul continues to evolve, its life attributes have long been deeply ingrained.

With each breath, with each movement of his soul power, he was subtly nourishing his soul and body. That peacefulness and vitality, like that of plants and trees, had long since become one with him, naturally flowing out of his being.

It's not a disguise, it's the essence.

After a day of rest, the group set off on their return journey early the next morning.

On the way back, Lin Chen didn't rush. Instead, he used the mountains and forests along the way to hone his third soul skill again and again.

From the initial stable coverage of thirty feet, to the later fifty feet and eighty feet; from only being able to condense one Blue Silver Fortress, to simultaneously controlling three mutually supporting fortresses; from simple defensive restraints, to complex multi-layered traps and vine-linked strangulation attacks.

The micro-management limit steadily increased from 1200 at the beginning of absorbing the spirit rings. By the time the return journey was halfway through, it was able to stably control 1500 vines, with the precision still maintained at the 0.01 mm level.

He gradually uncovered the power of the Blue Silver Forest.

The more he practiced with it, the more Lin Chen felt that this soul skill had enormous potential.

Currently, it's only at the third ring level, covering a range of only a hundred feet. However, once one reaches the Soul Master or Soul King level, the coverage area will expand exponentially, and the defensive capabilities will also increase accordingly.

When the martial soul truly evolves into the Blue Silver King, perhaps it will truly be able to see enemies in every bush and tree with a single thought.

Ten days later, the group returned to Tiandou City.

The carriage entered the southern part of the city, where the streets remained bustling with activity, a constant flow of traffic, and a lively atmosphere.

Lin Chen sat in the car, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked at the familiar scenery on the street.

More than a month after he left, Qinghetang continued to operate as usual. Old Chen had already received the news and was waiting at the gate of the courtyard.

"Boss, you're back!"

Upon seeing Lin Chen get out of the car, Old Chen hurriedly came to greet him, his face beaming with joy.

When he saw Lin Chen's appearance clearly, he was stunned for a moment, and then quickly lowered his head. He sighed inwardly that his master's temperament was becoming more and more outstanding. He would probably attract the attention of passers-by when he walked on the street.

"Yes, thank you for your hard work these past few days," Lin Chen said casually, stepping into the courtyard.

"Not at all, not at all!" Old Chen followed behind, quickly reporting on the business situation during this period. "All three major businesses are steadily increasing. We've signed contracts with three more large workshops for Soul Guiding Materials. This month's profits are expected to rise even further."

Lin Chen listened and nodded slightly.

He returned to the quiet room in the backyard, changed out of his travel-worn clothes, and sat on a futon by the window.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on his handsome profile and creating a soft halo.

The three rings are complete, and the soul skills are in hand.

As its strength increased significantly, Qinghetang's business also steadily progressed.

Next, we will expand our industry step by step, accumulate resources, and make final preparations for the trip to Xingdou three months later.

He tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, his eyes calm and undisturbed.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, Electrolux, Shrek Academy.

All the plans are gradually coming together.

Now he has enough confidence to seize that tremendous opportunity.

The spring breeze from outside the courtyard blew in, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, and fluttered the hem of his clothes.

The boy's gentle figure was cast in the light and shadow, quiet and resolute.

His era in the Third Ring Road has only just begun.