Apocalypse Gachapon

Lin Moyu began transferring skills once again.

This time, everything went much more smoothly. He no longer needed to waste time or effort searching for the skill space.

The gate to the skill space had already been opened and firmly locked onto by his soul.

Now, all he had to do was move the skill star cores from within it into his soul.

At this moment, Lin Moyu resembled a laborer moving bricks, from one spot to another.

With the current strength of his soul, he could only bear two skill star cores.

His soul was already as powerful as that of a level 90 God-level powerhouse, marking his current limit.

As his level rose, his soul would continue to strengthen, allowing him to transfer more and more skill star cores until he eventually emptied the skill space entirely.

Antares watched Lin Moyu busily moving bricks, his eyes filled with confusion.

“Strange… why would the Shenzhou Cauldron choose this brat?”

“Does he possess something I’ve failed to notice?”

“What’s so special about him? Is there truly something in this world beyond my understanding?”

Antares stared at Lin Moyu, utterly perplexed.

There were, in truth, many things he didn’t understand. But he would never admit it.

He could no longer remember how many years he had stayed in this place. Although he spent most of his time asleep, few major events in the world escaped his notice.

He had countless avatars scattered across the world, so many that even he could no longer keep track.

Yet Lin Moyu’s appearance had still managed to surprise him.

After all these years, Lin Moyu was the only one who had done so.

Unable to make sense of it, Antares decided not to dwell on the matter. He closed his eyes once more, feigning sleep.

Still, a fragment of his consciousness remained fixed on Lin Moyu. The more he observed, the more he felt that this guy was strange, an inexplicable kind of strange.

…

In recent days, the entire Human World was in turmoil.

The Soul Devouring Beast disaster had erupted across the entire world.

The different powers scoured ancient records, finally uncovering sparse information about the Soul Devouring Beasts.

Though only a few fragmented pieces of information remained, they were enough to instill panic.

At last, they understood what the Shenxia Empire had been doing all along.

The disaster had nothing to do with them at first. But ironically, they had brought it out of the Shenxia Empire and unleashed upon themselves.

Now, the Shenxia Empire had sealed its borders. No one could enter.

Only a single channel of communication remained open.

They sought aid from the Shenxia Empire, but every request was flatly rejected.

No matter what diplomatic gestures or flattery they offered, it was in vain.

In desperation, the different powers joined forces, attempting to pressure the Shenxia Empire.

But they had forgotten who the true sovereign was.

When had the Shenxia Empire ever bowed to threats?

When the attempts at pressure failed, they joined forces in a desperate bid to save themselves.

Yet whether through potions or formations, they had neither the skill nor the foundation.

They had only learned the name Soul Devouring Beast.

Only now did they truly grasp the vast gulf that separated them from that Shenxia Empire.

At last, the different powers yielded, humbly pleading for help.

After more than ten days of dragging their feet, the Shenxia Empire finally revealed its trump card—the Soul Fusion Potion.

The Shenxia Empire agreed to sell the potion formula, but the price was steep.

They wanted no gold coins, only rare materials and precious treasures in exchange.

Moreover, the Shenxia Empire controlled the main material, Redstone, and they were willing to supply it, at an equally high cost.

Furthermore, the Redstone was subject to quotas: only those powers that purchased the Soul Fusion Potion formula were eligible to buy a limited quantity.

This restriction was meant to prevent the potion formula’s resale.

The Shenxia Empire also made it clear that the longer they delayed, the harder it would be to contain the Soul Devouring Beasts.

With each passing day, the number of people parasitized by the Soul Devouring Beasts grew larger.

Faced with no other choice, the different nations and powers were forced to yield to the Shenxia Empire’s demands.

To eradicate the Soul Devouring Beasts, they poured nearly their entire national reserves into acquiring the potion formula and its materials.

Some factions lacked high-level Concocters, so the Shenxia Empire conveniently sold them ready-made Soul Fusion Potions, at an even higher price, of course.

Having suffered significant losses themselves, the Shenxia Empire showed no mercy this time.

They intended to reclaim their costs by heavily exploiting the desperate powers.

It was, after all, their own curiosity that had brought this upon them.

These days, Dongfang Yi was in excellent spirits.

The national treasury, which had been severely depleted, was now overflowing, surpassing even its previous state.

Not only had the Shenxia Empire regained its wealth, but its overall strength was also rising rapidly.

Their souls grew stronger, skill fusion rates improved, and their power naturally increased.

This was especially true for Bai Yiyuan, Meng Anwen, and others.

Meng Anwen had long been stuck just one step away from level 96.

Beyond that threshold, one not only had to move skill star cores but also comprehend laws and integrate them into their skills.

He had already grasped the law of formations, but lacked the final push.

After his soul was strengthened through this time, he finally made that final step.

Now, his comprehension of the law deepened each day, bringing him steadily closer to level 96.

The same applied to Bai Yiyuan. Though his progress was slightly slower, reaching level 96 was now only a matter of time.

For the Shenxia Empire, the Soul Devouring Beast crisis was a tremendous opportunity.

If they could nurture a few high-tier God-level experts, their position as the world’s leading superpower would be unshakable.

Small nations like the Sakura Kingdom, even if they exhausted every hidden card and awakened the Will God, it would still be meaningless.

The Will God could unleash temporary combat power equivalent to level 98, but even that wasn’t enough.

However, level 96 God-level powerhouses grasped laws; in truth, they stood on the same level.

They might not be able to win, but they could certainly hold out for a while.

And once that short time passed, the Sakura Kingdom would be doomed

All the more so since the Shenxia Empire wouldn’t produce just one level 96 high-tier God-level powerhouse.

Furthermore, Jiang Yi’s resurrection was imminent.

By then, any force that dared step out of line would be swiftly disciplined.

It was foreseeable that, before long, every nation would kneel beneath the Shenxia Empire’s feet.

…

Lin Moyu poured every ounce of his soul force in, relying on Divinity Force to recover rapidly as he moved the skill star core again and again.

The second skill star core proved far more difficult to move than the first; not because the skill itself was stronger, but because the skill space exerted a greater binding force upon it.

With each skill star core removed, the skill space’s grip on the remaining ones grew stronger. The further he progressed, the greater the resistance.

Despite the escalating difficulty, Lin Moyu remained confident. He believed that sooner or later, he would completely clear the skill space, fusing every skill star core into his soul.

Beyond that lay an even greater challenge, talent bricks waiting to be moved.

If he couldn’t even clear out the skill space, how could he hope to tackle that?

After more than ten days of relentless effort, the second skill star core finally broke free from the skill space.

At the moment of its release, Lin Moyu felt his entire body grow light.

Freed from the skill space’s constraints, the skill star core seemed to lose all weight.

This time, the skill wasn’t passive. It was active.

It was Lin Moyu’s former trump card: Corpse Explosion.

Ever since the Elemental Liches had appeared, its use had declined sharply.

Though devastatingly powerful, the skill had too many limitations.

It required fresh corpses—strong ones—for its true potential to unfold.

Against powerful enemies, there often weren’t any corpses around to use.

Corpse Explosion excelled in mass slaughter, not single combat.

But now that he commanded the Skeletal King, whose two area-of-effect skills could easily replace it, the once-godlike skill had been left to gather dust.

Even so, Lin Moyu couldn’t help feeling a quiet anticipation.

He wondered what transformation the skill would undergo once fused with his soul.

After all, it was only level 7, barely higher than Lightning Deathwings.

It was notoriously difficult to grind.

When the second skill star core finally merged with his soul, Lin Moyu’s entire body convulsed violently, the tremors lasting half a day.

During that time, the Corpse Explosion star skill core devoured his soul force with terrifying hunger, far more fiercely than the Damage Transfer skill star core before it.

Clenching his teeth, Lin Moyu let it consume freely.

His Divinity Force once again proved invaluable—its 6,900% recovery rate allowing his soul to recover at astonishing speed.

The surging aura around Lin Moyu startled Antares awake.

He muttered in a low tone, “This skill… seems strong.”

For some reason, he could sense a faint danger from the aura, as though the skill being fused could actually harm him.

He knew that should be impossible, yet the feeling refused to fade.