Chapter 957 - Arriving at the White Soul Civilization
After agreeing to the Death God King’s task, Han Wu received a pass to the White Soul Civilization. One of the four figures standing beside the Death God King was to accompany him on the journey.
Han Wu asked about it and learned that this person was one of the Death God King’s Four Dharma Manifestations, Desolation. The Death God King had cultivated the Desolation Manifestation by combining the Desolation Jurisdiction with his own abilities.
Along the way, the Desolation Manifestation shared some knowledge of Divine Jurisdiction advancement with Han Wu.
Upon advancing to Major God, one comprehended a Divine Jurisdiction embryo. This was merely the initial form of a Divine Jurisdiction. It needed development to grow and eventually reach 100%.
The Divine Jurisdiction’s initial effect would gradually strengthen as it grew, and this initial effect was only considered complete once the Jurisdiction reached 100%. At that point, the Major God could choose whether they wanted to advance to God King. If one advanced, the Divine Jurisdiction could continue being developed, unlocking a second effect, a third effect, and even more beyond that.
If one chose not to advance, however, the Divine Jurisdiction would lose the possibility of further development. The owner would need to fuse with other Divine Jurisdictions and repeat the development process until they found one that suited them better.
This was the progression path of Divine Jurisdictions.
The Death God King’s own journey hadn’t been smooth sailing either. It had taken him multiple fusions with other Divine Jurisdictions before he finally discovered the Death Jurisdiction. He then had to go through the long development process before advancing to Death God King.
Han Wu nodded at the Desolation Manifestation’s words. Plenty of powerful individuals remained stuck at the peak of the Major God rank, refusing to advance to God King because they sought a more suitable and powerful Divine Jurisdiction, aiming to become far stronger when they eventually ascended.
Han Wu himself walked that same path now.
Beyond that, the Desolation Manifestation also told Han Wu about the White Soul Civilization.
The White Soul Civilization was an ancient civilization, and its Will was known as the Golden Will. At its peak, the White Soul Civilization was said to rival the current Divine Civilization.
Unfortunately, no civilization could last forever.
After the fall of its final king, Lingray, no one had been able to ascend to the Golden Will Throne, and the White Soul Civilization had declined ever since.
Before entering the White Soul Civilization, Han Wu asked the Desolation Manifestation about its laws.
According to the Desolation Manifestation, the White Soul Civilization’s laws only accepted free souls. Units were not allowed to enter, which immediately eliminated Han Wu’s idea of sending his units in to steamroll everything.
The White Soul Civilization would also seal all of his powers, skills, and other abilities. This wasn’t a complete seal, though, and he could follow the Golden Will’s guidance to recover their abilities by obtaining the Power of Forms.
The Golden Will also gave every living being a fair chance to become king, regardless of whether they were natives or outsiders. As long as they passed its trials, they could ascend to the Golden Will Throne and become the king of the White Soul Civilization.
With this newfound knowledge under his belt, Han Wu tore the pass apart and entered the White Soul Civilization.
As the Desolation Manifestation had said, all of his powers, skills, Divine Jurisdictions, and everything else had been sealed. Fortunately, the seal wasn’t absolute. Han Wu simply needed certain mediums to give his powers something to attach to.
The Desolation Manifestation followed him into the White Soul Civilization. As it was technically a part of the Death God King’s soul, it counted as a free soul. However, due to its nature, it didn’t have a physical form like Han Wu. It could only transform into a consciousness and serve as Han Wu’s guide.
Before Han Wu could even adjust to his sealed state, the Desolation Manifestation was already transmitting information to him. In the short time they had been in the White Soul Civilization, it had communicated with the Golden Will and created a status panel for Han Wu by combining the Golden Law with the Power of Forms.
Opening the panel, Han Wu could see that he was in the Initial State, meaning he had nothing at all. The panel displayed only six empty slots.
Han Wu needed to gather six materials or pieces of equipment to move past the Initial State and activate the Power of Forms. He quickly accepted this rule.
The Desolation Manifestation then explained related information about the White Soul Civilization. The first step for Han Wu to leave the Initial State was to hunt living beings.
Under the Golden Will’s law, when any living being died, its life essence would condense into some manner of material, equipment, or the local currency, White Soul Coins.
Han Wu commenced his hunt and soon spotted several weak Slimes. They looked soft like jelly and were as easy a target as they came. As Han Wu was still in the Initial State and had nothing, he figured these Slimes were a good place to start.
Gathering his strength, he charged forward and threw a punch at a Slime. The combined force of his punch and the momentum of his sprint exploded the Slime in one hit. Transparent, sticky fluid splattered all over him.
He didn’t bother wiping himself off, continuing to attack the remaining Slimes. A minute later, he had obliterated all eight Slimes in the area.
Their bodies dissolved into light and left behind materials condensed from their life essence. Han Wu gathered everything up, obtaining three White Soul Coins, a Rank 0 wooden club, a Rank 0 tattered cotton shirt, and three thumb-sized Rank 0 Ice Stones.
The Rank 0 wooden club could be equipped into an empty slot to serve as a weapon, granting stat increases of Strength +1 and Attack +1. The Rank 0 cotton coat could go into a slot to provide some warmth and a stat bonus of Defense +1.
Besides that, Rank 0 Ice Stones were used to inscribe ice-attribute skills, though the skill’s power couldn’t be too strong or they would shatter. The source of the skills was Han Wu’s temporarily sealed powers.
Han Wu needed to spend some White Soul Coins to inscribe an ice-attribute skill onto a Rank 0 Ice Stone, then place it into an empty slot. This would allow him to use the skill as normal.
Being new to the White Soul Civilization, he couldn’t be too picky. He equipped the Rank 0 wooden club and the Rank 0 tattered cotton coat, then spent the three White Soul Coins to inscribe a technique onto an Ice Stone. It was a skill he had comprehended but never used before, called Frost Aura. Its only effect was to coat his weapon with ice, giving it Attack +1 and Ice +1. Still, with his options as limited as they were, Han Wu had no room to complain.
After finishing his upgrades, he continued his hunt. He needed to find living beings stronger than Slimes if he wanted to increase his strength as quickly as possible.