From the Soul Motion Machine onwards, the Mechanized Douluo

Chapter 20 Better to Stumble Upon the Night Than to Choose the Night (No Day) [Please Read On! Please Vote!]

That night, Chen Hong, nestled in his blankets, was once again holding up his spirit ring with wide, round eyes.

Wow.

The foolish pretty girl has reappeared outside Chen Hong's door.

Chen Hong looked up at the girl outside the door, who had initially been shy and afraid, but had gradually become used to it. She had clear, light purple eyes, and he greeted her familiarly, "I do need your help to nourish my meridians today. Come on, come on."

"Huh?" Ye Lingling, who had thought she was going to be tricked by Chen Hong again and return empty-handed, was taken aback by his words. For some reason, a sense of joy at finally completing the task arose in her heart, but at the same time, a faint sense of loss also appeared.

"Come quick, come quick! I was really screwed over by my stupid old man today. If it weren't for the fact that I still need him for a while, I would have already told Mom to wake him up to his old ways and make him realize his place in the family."

Chen Hong lay on the quilt, turning his back to Ye Lingling, feeling somewhat awkward as their eyes met.

Ye Lingling walked very quietly to Chen Hong's side, knelt on the quilt, and her pink and white begonia tendrils wrapped around her fair wrists, then pressed down on Chen Hong's back along with her small hands, making him feel a warm and soft sensation.

Chen Hong understood the principle of "things shouldn't happen more than three times," and if he continued to deceive Ye Lingling, it would be going too far.

"I might be quite busy for the next few days, but if you'd like, I can teach you how to comprehend the mysteries of the Soul Ring when I have time in the evenings." Lying on the ground with his head buried in the soft pillow, Chen Hong spoke to the girl beside him who was silently nurturing his meridians.

"Who wants to contact you so late at night! I'm exhausted every day, okay? Aunt Ning has already asked me to prescribe medicine for the patients, and I'm too busy to keep up." Ye Lingling said coquettishly, though she found that deep down, she didn't seem to really object.

"Well, thank you for your hard work, Lingling." After being nourished by the life force of the Nine-Heart Begonia, Chen Hong thanked Ye Lingling, whose soul power was completely exhausted after the treatment.

Ye Lingling was about to get up and leave, but because she had been kneeling for too long, her calves went numb, and she lost her balance and fell onto Chen Hong's back.

"oops"

Chen Hong: "."

"Since we're already here, let's start comprehending the Soul Ring together from today. You were asleep yesterday and didn't hear anything." Thinking that there was no better time than to do it now, Chen Hong simply turned over, grabbed Ye Lingling, whose little face was flushed and who looked exceptionally cute, moved a blanket for her, and then took her little hand, using his spirit to let her feel the flow of soul power in the Soul Ring.

Chen Hong's ability to independently sense the flow of soul power within a soul ring is due to his spiritual martial soul. For Ye Lingling to independently sense a soul ring would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible.

Therefore, Ye Lingling needed Chen Hong's mental guidance to slowly sense the fleeting fluctuations of soul power within the soul ring. This process was undoubtedly slow and time-consuming, requiring Chen Hong's mental guidance throughout, and she could only comprehend it independently after fully grasping the basics.

In a sense, Chen Hong's current behavior constitutes the creation of his own soul skill. Once he removes the restrictions of his soul ring, the soul skill within it will truly become his own. However, Chen Hong hasn't realized this yet; he's simply consciously exploring the underlying logic of this world based on his terrifying intuition.

"Feel the flow of soul power. Don't try to memorize it all at once. The soul power flows through the soul ring in one cycle. Remember only one point at a time."

"This is an act that tests your perseverance. Although I can't guarantee anything to you right now, some of my current research tells me that this act will definitely benefit you and me for life."

"If one day you are able to hear the sound of soul power flowing on your own, then it proves you have entered the first stage."

Chen Hong's words seemed to have a hypnotic effect. Ye Lingling listened to him for only a short while before feeling mentally exhausted and inadvertently falling into a deep sleep.

"Hmm," Chen Hong looked at the girl who had fallen asleep again, and then, observing the three-dimensional inscriptions in his mind, noticed a few more black dots had appeared. He pondered for a moment. He suddenly realized that the process of comprehending a soul ring seemed to consume a great deal of mental energy. Ye Lingling, who didn't have a talent for mental energy, couldn't sustain herself for long before drifting off to sleep.

"So, Mom and Dad can't use it for now?" Chen Hong sighed inwardly, looking at the girl's cute profile. Ever since he discovered that soul power could be emitted through a certain operating logic, forming soul skills with different effects, it was like when you were playing a game, you suddenly input the commands up, down, up, down, B, A, B, and a tank appeared out of thin air. The rules of this world were different from the rules of Chen Hong's previous life.

He could foresee that comprehending the soul ring and imprinting the soul imprint or energy runes within it would definitely benefit someone. Having Ye Lingling try comprehending it together was also Chen Hong's way of seeing if this method had universal applicability, and then, depending on the situation, applying the more complete technique to his mother to help her ascend to heaven—I mean, break through to a higher realm as soon as possible.

Then Chen Hong would be able to benefit from it. After all, he was the least talented person in his family when it came to cultivation, while his mother had the best talent, belonging to the level of a commoner genius. If he could give his mother a little extra help, perhaps he could personally create an artificial peerless genius? And give his mother a second spring in her life?

Lost in thought, Chen Hong unknowingly fell asleep nestled against Ye Lingling's little head. He seemed to have a dream in which his mother carried a gigantic, nine-colored gourd as tall as a person, her back to all living beings, dominating all ages, shattering galaxies with her fists, and suppressing the abyss with her feet, all for the sake of finding a billion daughters-in-law in the mortal world?! Holy crap! What the hell is that?!

Startled awake by a nightmare, Chen Hong abruptly opened his eyes, which were filled with panic. The dim light from the window shone on his face, slowly fading the lingering fear from his expression.

He wasn't afraid that his mother in his dream would find him a wife, but rather, why so many? Did they really need to empty the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Realms like that?

Opening his eyes, Chen Hong looked at the foolish girl who was unconsciously clinging to his arm as she slept. A hint of fear flashed in his dark eyes. He instantly shook off the girl's small hand, and then, as she slowly opened her eyes with a dazed expression, he quickly dressed and fled.

It wasn't until evening, after escaping the nightmare's influence through the complex process of resetting and upgrading his soul motives, that Chen Hongcai returned home as usual.

Guiding the girl to understand the Soul Ring and tightening the screws properly, Chen Hong's life passed quickly in a straight line, until the arrival of Bishop Soto.

(End of this chapter)