"No, get away from me!" Shi Nian screamed in horror, his voice filled with terror and anguish.
However, his painful wails gradually diminished, transforming from a powerful, robust sound to a weak and frail one, as if it came from an old man.
Shi Nian aged rapidly, his body withered and lost its luster, his face covered in wrinkles. His breath was weak, and in an instant, he turned into an elderly man with white hair.
Seeing this, Chen Xuan was astonished. It was his first time using this technique, and even he didn't know it would be so extreme.
To put it in perspective, he was currently at level 41 as a little Soul Master, while Shi Nian was a genuine Soul Sage, with a difference of three major realms. Chen Xuan had severely injured him.
Suddenly, Chen Xuan's face turned pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His body felt weak, making him nearly fall.
Soon, a sharp pain surged through his eyes, as if being stabbed by a thousand needles, causing him unbearable agony and twisting his expression.
Chen Xuan knew this was the side effect of using the Kaleidoscope Technique, which not only caused mental and physical pain but also drained his vision.
His right eye's Kaleidoscope had automatically closed, regressing to the three-tomoe state. When he looked into the distance, he realized things were worse than expected.
"This... is more severe than I anticipated," Chen Xuan said with a grim expression.
Originally, he could see the patterns on the leaves from 120 meters away. After using the technique once, his vision had dropped severely, and he could only see clearly up to 90 meters.
At this rate of consumption, he might only have enough for about three uses before his left eye would be completely blind.
"Maybe it's not as bad as I think," Chen Xuan said slowly, standing up and pulling out a kunai. He walked towards the elderly Shi Nian.
This guy had aged terribly, his blood and energy drained, his skin dull and wrinkled, and he was on the brink of death, but still not completely gone; his life force was tenacious.
Chen Xuan thought that the consumption was likely due to killing someone three major realms higher. If used on an opponent of the same level, the consumption of the technique might not be so great; using it ten times would be feasible.
The real issue was whether he would be forced to use the Reincarnation Domain against an opponent of the same level, which was unlikely. At most, he would use the time-stop ability of his left eye.
Despite the significant side effects, Chen Xuan wasn't disheartened or dissatisfied. The Kaleidoscope Technique was still a powerful trump card, capable of turning the tide in a battle against a Soul Sage or even a Soul Douluo in the future.
"Who are you really?" Shi Nian, weak and powerless, asked.
He leaned against a large tree, his aged body no longer possessing vitality, making each movement difficult.
"A hunter," Chen Xuan replied briefly, making it clear who the prey was.
Shi Nian's murky, aged eyes lost their luster. Weak and struggling, he asked, "What did you do to me? I am no longer a Soul Sage."
Chen Xuan was taken aback by these words. What did he mean?
He immediately checked his condition and was astonished by the discovery.
Knowing the answer made his mind reel; this was a bit terrifying.
Chen Xuan was stunned to find his soul power had surged to level 45.
This result was astonishing, even to him.
Moreover, Chen Xuan immediately summoned his martial soul, revealing a dark spatial entity above his head and several soul rings beneath his feet—yellow, yellow, purple, and black.
Outwardly, he still had the same four soul rings, but only he knew that his fourth soul ring had increased from twelve thousand years to thirty-three thousand years.
Chen Xuan found this hard to believe, but it was the truth. According to the theory of a level 29 Master, a normal Soul Master's sixth ring would only reach two to three thousand years. Now, his fourth ring had reached, and even exceeded, that amount.
"Is it really due to the Kaleidoscope Technique?" He wondered if the Reincarnation Domain had such an effect.
The Kaleidoscope Technique was originally an offensive method, and now it seemed to have divine-like power, capable of increasing the age of soul rings—something extremely difficult to achieve.
Chen Xuan thought that absorbing others' soul power was already astonishing enough; if it could also plunder soul ring years, that would be unrealistic.
This was the cultivation system of the continent, and he wasn't so deluded by excitement to think he was above the Kaleidoscope Technique.
He considered many possibilities but couldn't find a reasonable explanation. He had only consumed two types of plants brought by the system.
One was a plant with nine cherry-like fruits, and the other was a strange fruit resembling red agate.
Chen Xuan didn't think the cause lay in these two things.
"Forget it, I'll have to study it slowly later." If he couldn't figure it out now, he would deal with it later.
He shook his head; there were still things to be done.
"Regardless, Shi Nian, I have to thank you. You've helped me so much," Chen Xuan said with a hint of sarcasm.
Earlier, Shi Nian had been jealous of him because of his ten-thousand-year soul ring, attempting to kill him, tormenting him, and treating him as prey.
Unbeknownst to him, from the beginning, Shi Nian was the real prey.
"Who are you really?" Shi Nian asked with a mix of curiosity and unwillingness.
Chen Xuan replied expressionlessly, "I've said it before. I am a hunter, and you are the prey."
Shi Nian, with his white hair and nearing the end of his life, felt his vitality and soul power drained by 90%. Even his blood was reduced to just a few drops.
On the continent, such an evil and terrifying ability was only possessed by a certain group of people.
"You're... an Evil Soul Master!" Shi Nian guessed the answer in his final moments, accepting his fate.
But he was truly unwilling. To think that someone of his age, with his deep cultivation and status as a top expert, would die at the hands of a mere child—he couldn't accept it.
"Damn Evil Soul Master, why don't you say I'm the Sea God," Chen Xuan said, speechless.
"Ah, I refuse to accept it!" Shi Nian roared at the sky, using his last bit of strength.
He was genuinely unwilling. Just moments ago, he was a ruler, and now he had become prey.
Shi Nian was on the verge of collapsing and death. After learning the truth, he finally breathed his last, his eyes wide open in death.
Chen Xuan was almost speechless. He had really been mistaken for an Evil Soul Master.
What Evil Soul Master? It was sheer persistence and effort that allowed him to reverse a dire situation.
Before leaving, he remembered something and immediately made several hand seals.
With a whoosh, a sea of flames erupted in the forest, engulfing Shi Nian's corpse and burning fiercely.
This fire spread to the surrounding trees and burned away most of the traces of the battle.
"Thanks to you, choosing to fight outside Heaven Dou City made it hard for Title Douluo to find any clues."
After the fire extinguished, a colorful light emerged from the scorched earth, shimmering with a beautiful, multi-colored glow.
Chen Xuan did not leave but waited for this moment. He approached and picked it up.
The soul bone was about a foot long, shining with rainbow colors.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the Illusion-type soul bone that went missing from the recent auction," Chen Xuan felt lucky today, finding that there was no real loss.
Instead, he had picked up a 30,000-year-old soul bone for free, and his soul power had surged to level 45.
"Fortunately, it wasn't in Heaven Dou City," Chen Xuan thought with relief. The royal family had sent many troops to search for this soul bone, and if it had been found in his possession, he couldn't have explained it even with ten mouths.
He had no intention of returning it because that was not the kind of person he was. Strength was what mattered; why return something won through a life-and-death struggle?
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