Chapter 188: Casually Broke a Record…

“The soul energy intensity wasn’t high, and the illusion’s impact wasn’t strong.”

Wang Che smiled.

After all, it was an elementary Soul Illusion Realm, the first stage.

In less than a minute, Magnetic Sword also woke up.

He had a very displeased expression.

Wang Che asked him about it.

Wow, Magnetic Sword’s illusion was even more ridiculous.

He saw himself being held by a peerless expert, wreaking havoc everywhere, sword aura stretching for millions of miles, turning into a supreme divine sword.

But, that peerless expert couldn’t overlap with Wang Che at all.

They were completely different people.

He couldn’t stand that.

He realized it immediately.

And broke the illusion right away.

Wang Che guessed it might have something to do with Magnetic Sword’s own red energy.

Soul Pets like Magnetic Sword were originally born from the Martial Soul Power of ancient human experts, which lingered and slowly fused with Ancient Soul-Guiding Artifacts over time, gaining Spiritual Intelligence.

So, the residual red energy was probably unmerged Martial Soul Power.

It was the leftover Martial Soul Power from ancient human experts after they died.

The soul energy was influenced by it, creating similar illusions.

But this Martial Soul Power had no connection to Wang Che, so Magnetic Sword broke through it.

“Alright, let’s move forward in one minute!”

Wang Che led Green Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword, walking forward unhurriedly.

After about fifty meters, a strand of soul energy would fly up from the abyss.

But with previous experience, Green Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword handled it more easily.

They basically broke the illusions within a minute, absorbed the strand of soul energy, and their Spiritual Power rapidly improved.

They crossed the over two-hundred-meter Soul Bridge in less than five minutes.

Wang Che absorbed four strands of soul energy, greatly increasing his Divine Sense, almost reaching the threshold of the second level of the Soul Nurturing Chapter.

“It seems I’ll definitely break through to the second level of the Soul Nurturing Chapter in this trial!”

Green Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword’s Spiritual Power also improved significantly.

If measured by how long they could withstand Wang Che’s Spiritual Pressure, they could only last forty minutes before.

After absorbing the soul energy and improving their Spiritual Power, they could now last fifty minutes.

Such a big improvement in just a few minutes.

“This is a great place. If only we could challenge it repeatedly.”

Wang Che felt a bit regretful.

He had tried repeating the challenge but found it ineffective.

If he walked back now, no soul energy would fly out.

“Ding!”

The Communicator made a clear sound, displaying a few large words:

“Your record is six minutes and twenty-eight seconds… you broke the record for this first stage.”

Wang Che glanced at it casually, feeling nothing.

He never cared about breaking records.

So he didn’t even bother looking at the previous record time.

“Let’s go to the next stage. The next stage is called Bliss Terrace. The name sounds nice… much more pleasant than a gloomy name like Soul Bridge.”

Wang Che said.

The nicer the name sounded, the more troublesome it probably was without a doubt.

Looking back, Wang Che didn’t see any figures at the bridge’s opposite end.

It meant the classmates behind hadn’t reached the first stage’s entrance yet.

“They need to work harder.” Wang Che mentally encouraged these classmates.

Meanwhile.

Not long after, the classmates arrived one after another.

“Where’s Wang Che?”

Lei Yunfeng said excitedly, “He’s already started the challenge, right? Are we about to catch up? Burst Thunder Fang, you did well this time!”

The other classmates looked around, gazing at the Soul Bridge ahead, and realized they hadn’t caught up.

“He’s probably ahead on the bridge, but the fog is too thick to see clearly. Maybe he’s almost through.”

Yang Xiaoshan patted his Mountain-Hugging Bamboo Bear, looking pleased.

Having Green Caterpillar as a role model was very motivating.

They all gradually reached the first stage’s entrance.

“Stop talking nonsense, Wang Che might have almost passed by now!”

One classmate, without another word, led his Soul Pet onto the bridge.

Then… after just a few meters, he seemed to lose his senses, standing still.

In less than a minute, he let out a sharp cry.

He looked completely drained, his body weak and hunched over as he walked back.

His eyes were somewhat vacant, and his Soul Pet was in even worse condition.

“Whoa, that exaggerated?”

“He didn’t even walk a few meters and couldn’t last a minute?”

“Bro, are you okay? Is your Spiritual Power that weak?”

“Let me try…”

Soon, one classmate after another bravely stepped forward… then crawled back at lightning speed.

A few took over ten minutes to barely regain their senses.

Then they moved forward again, taking another ten-plus minutes… the time gradually shortened.

The fastest was the female student with the Psychic-Type Spirit Pet, Wisdom Pea Ding.

Each pause lasted less than five minutes, and she even got faster, passing the first stage relatively smoothly.

“I probably broke the record, right?”

Mu Yao couldn’t help but think.

But when she thought about the student she had seen earlier, Mu Yao felt a bit less confident.

Her goal was to cultivate a top-tier Psychic-Type Heavenly King Soul Pet. She came from a leading club in North River Continent that specialized in raising Psychic-type Soul Pets.

With a good family background, connections, and talent, her goal before entering university was simple: to take part in the Soul Illusion Realm.

Pass the first three levels.

And maybe just break a record along the way.

After all, with her Psychic-type Soul Pet, she had an advantage in the trials of the Soul Illusion Realm.

Mm.

That’s what she thought before entering the Soul Illusion Realm…

But after coming in… everything changed.

Thinking of this, Mu Yao shook her head, clenched her fist, and cheered herself on:

“It’s not the same, it’s not the same. Adapting to the environment is one thing; passing the previous stage is another… I should be able to break the record.”

Mu Yao looked at the Communicator in her hand, which showed the recorded time:

Twenty-two minutes and thirty-eight seconds!

Seeing this result, Mu Yao was delighted inside.

She really did break the record!

She had seen the record before entering the first stage.

The top record was left three months ago by a university student: twenty-five minutes and forty seconds!

She was a full three minutes faster than a university student’s record!

Mu Yao was so happy.

“Yay!”

Mu Yao patted the Wisdom Pea Ding beside her. “Pea Ding, look, we broke the record! We broke the record in the first stage. Next are the two remaining stages.”

“Doo-ding~” Wisdom Pea Ding removed its hat and scarf; its body was round and plump like a soybean.

It also happily responded to Mu Yao.

“It’s just a bit strange. According to what the seniors at the club said, there should be a notification when you break a record. Is my Communicator broken?”

Mu Yao was a little puzzled but didn’t think too much about it. “I wonder how long it took that student ahead of me? With my speed, I should catch up to him soon, right? He started more than twenty minutes before me.”

Mu Yao took Wisdom Pea Ding with her, intending to catch up to the student ahead.

——

“Sir, the record has been refreshed.”

Outside, the soldier who had been monitoring the students suddenly swallowed hard.

“Oh? How fast? Did they break twenty minutes?”

The middle-aged officer asked, “Was it that student Mu Yao?”

“No. The record is a number I really can’t believe…”

The soldier’s eyes widened as he stared at the transmitted record number…

“What is it?”

“Six minutes and twenty-eight seconds.”

“…”

——

Wang Che was currently taking Green Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword through the second stage.

Bliss Terrace.

This was a very interesting stage.

After crossing the Bridge of Forgotten Souls, there was another open battlefield-like plain. They walked for about half an hour.

This half hour was for the Soul Pact Master and Soul Pet to recover and relax.

Then they reached Bliss Terrace.

It was an arched high platform.

You went up from one side and came down the other.

At its highest point, Wang Che estimated it was three hundred meters tall—like a small hill.

They climbed up from one side and then walked down.

Each step was carved with strange patterns, some resembling distorted Soul Pets.

When you stepped on a stair, the pattern on it would light up, and a trace of special Soul Energy would merge into your body.

This Soul Energy was very unique. Compared to the one strand of Soul Energy from the earlier Bridge of Forgotten Souls, it was far less potent.

It didn’t make the Soul Pet hallucinate, either.

Instead, it made the Soul Pet feel very comfortable, a true pleasure from the soul.

When Wang Che stepped onto the stairs, these strands of Spiritual Power merged into his soul.

It made him feel a hint of pleasure from deep within his soul.

“This Soul Energy has been purified… it’s very pure. The pleasure is real.”

“It looks like a bonus stage…”

But Wang Che saw right through the nature of this stage.

A three-hundred-meter-high platform—as you slowly climbed, each step gave you a strand of Soul Energy.

It made the Soul Pet feel spiritually happy, and then you kept going up and up.

This level of pleasure would slowly increase…

Later, you’d keep climbing without feeling tired, even ignoring the Soul Pact Master’s commands, and slowly lose your senses.

When you reached the top, the feeling would explode.

You’d lose consciousness, maybe even go wild, then fall into a weakened state and fail the stage.

The same went for the Soul Pact Master.

That was the challenge of this stage.

Just by going up, these strands of Soul Energy would put the Soul Pet in a happy state.

Not too much—just a little bit of pleasure.

If you maintained a steady speed, moved slowly, waited for the Soul Pet to calm down, and then continued upward,

even if you reached the top, the Soul Pet could still stay in control and not be affected by the pleasure.

But the further you went, the more the Soul Pet would become addicted, making it very hard to keep the climbing speed steady.

Even the Soul Pact Master would struggle.

The faster you climbed, the higher the chance of failing the stage.

This stage tested the Soul Pet’s and Soul Pact Master’s control over their Spiritual Power.

Most could see the problem with this stage.

Yet Bliss Terrace eliminated the most students.

Few students could control their own and their Soul Pet’s pace under such gradual, tempting conditions.

Wang Che himself wasn’t affected. He could go up and down in one go—maybe just ten minutes for the round trip.

But Green Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword weren’t like him. Facing this kind of test was still a bit challenging for them.

If Wang Che wanted to pass this stage quickly, it was actually very simple.

He could take out the Nine-Shard Root. Even a small piece of this Natural Treasure could keep the Soul Pet and Soul Pact Master clear-headed, allowing very rapid progress.

Of course, using a Natural Treasure would be like cheating.

This stage was testing the Soul Pet’s self-control.

It was also a form of training, so Wang Che didn’t use the Nine-Shard Root.

Every ten meters up, he made Green Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword stop and rest, controlling their desire to climb higher.

Then they went upward again. It took about twenty minutes to reach the top of the platform.

Coming down, because they had adapted quite a bit, Green Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword could control themselves steadily.

They moved much faster this time, not even pausing, and descended in under ten minutes, though their souls were a bit excited.

They didn’t lose consciousness.

After all, under Wang Che’s training, their self-control was already pretty good.

“Your record is twenty-eight minutes and twenty-one seconds. You have refreshed the Bliss Terrace record for the second stage.”

Wang Che glanced casually and led Green Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword toward the third stage.

According to the description, the third stage involved combat.

The improvement from the second stage was even greater than from the first.

Each step gave one strand of Soul Energy; one round trip offered more gains than the first stage.

With Green Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword’s current Spiritual Power strength, they could now endure Wang Che’s Spiritual Pressure for over an hour.

A visible improvement!

Too bad you couldn’t challenge these stages repeatedly—returning had no effect.

“Let’s go, let’s go. On to the third stage.”

Wang Che enthusiastically led Green Caterpillar and continued forward…