Douluo: AFK to Become a God

Early the next morning.

When the first rays of sunlight dispelled the darkness, Xiao Wu, beneath the Azure Tree, finally finished condensing her sixth spirit ring.

As soon as the ring fully formed, her aura surged dramatically — her soul power shot straight to rank 62, officially a Spirit Emperor.

"Only two levels of soul power increase?"

Seeing that her new sixth spirit ring had an age well over 50,000 years, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help clicking his tongue in surprise.

As expected, the higher your level, the more energy it takes to gain even one rank of soul power.That's why high-level soul masters advance so slowly — not because their training efficiency drops, but because the amount needed for each level-up grows much faster than the gains in efficiency.

For example, an ordinary rank-60 soul master adding a nearly 20,000-year sixth spirit ring would hit rank 61, but Xiao Wu's sixth ring was more than twice that age, yet she only reached rank 62.

Of course, this also had to do with her training the red-grade Nine-Breath Meditation technique. Even if she didn't deliberately focus on soul power quality, its quality still surpassed that of ordinary soul masters at her rank — and since energy is conserved, higher quality means less quantity.

"Xiao Wu, what's your sixth spirit skill?"

Chu Chengzhou asked.

In the original story, Xiao Wu's sixth ring was special — not self-condensed, and it was a ten-thousand-year spirit ring. This time was totally different, so he really wasn't sure what to expect.

"It's a skill called Phantomize. When activated, it makes me immune to all physical attacks and reduces incoming energy attacks by 50%."

As she spoke, Xiao Wu puffed out her chest, waiting for praise.

"Phantomize?"

Chu Chengzhou raised his eyebrows. If he remembered right, that Phantomize skill had the same name and effect as her ten-thousand-year ring skill in the original…

Come to think of it, Xiao Wu really was a special case.In the original, she basically had two versions of her Invincible Golden Body — a soul skill version (thousand-year) that made her invincible for three seconds, and a soul bone version (ten-thousand-year) that did the exact same thing.

It was the same with her teleportation — the thousand-year soul skill version let her teleport five meters, but the soul bone version let her teleport a hundred meters.

So here's the question: if the range for teleport changed so drastically, why did the Invincible Golden Body stay exactly the same?A ten-thousand-year soul bone skill, yet it was just the same as a thousand-year soul skill — how did that make sense?

By that logic, her fifty-thousand-year Phantomize skill having the same effect as the ten-thousand-year version didn't seem that odd…

"By the way, Xiao Wu, how are you going to handle your seventh, eighth, and ninth spirit rings?"

Chu Chengzhou asked after thinking for a moment.

In the original, Xiao Wu had sacrificed herself once and, after resurrecting, got her ten-thousand-year sixth spirit ring and soul bone back — the rest she had to hunt beasts for.

But without that twist, how would a shape-shifted spirit beast get those last three rings? Would she just keep self-condensing them like the first six?

"They're gone~"

"Gone? What do you mean?"

Chu Chengzhou was stunned and quickly pressed her for an answer.

"Brother, once I started cultivating again in human form, I could only self-condense the first six rings. After my soul power reaches rank 70, I'll be like any other soul master — I'll have to hunt spirit beasts for my seventh, eighth, and ninth rings."

Xiao Wu explained.

"And your ten-thousand-year spirit ring and soul bone?"

Chu Chengzhou's eyes widened.

He'd thought Xiao Wu could self-condense a ten-thousand-year seventh spirit ring — after all, her sixth was already over fifty thousand years, so surely a ten-thousand-year seventh should've been fine. But they were just gone?

"I dunno~. Mama said shape-shifted spirit beasts can only condense the first six rings. I don't know where my spirit ring and soul bone went."

Xiao Wu blinked innocently.

Chu Chengzhou: "…"

What a huge loss!Comparing this to the original, Xiao Wu had basically lost a ten-thousand-year spirit ring and a ten-thousand-year soul bone.Painful! Absolutely heartbreaking!

If he himself lost that, it wouldn't matter much — with his 'cheat,' ten-thousand-year rings and soul bones weren't a big deal.

But Xiao Wu didn't have cheats, and his own 'plug-in' didn't work for her — so this loss was very real.

Plus, with her martial spirit being the Soft-Boned Rabbit, finding a suitable ten-thousand-year spirit ring later wouldn't be easy at all.

Maybe ten-thousand-year spirit beasts and shape-shifters naturally don't have spirit rings or bones inside them — the Douluo world's rules just transform the residual energy after death into a ring and a bone for soul masters to harvest?

Either way, rings and bones were lost — but if getting them back required Xiao Wu to die again, Chu Chengzhou would rather go without.As for soul bones, well… with enough strength, the vast oceans were full of ten-thousand-year beasts — grab a few and you'd have more than enough.

As for the spirit ring, didn't Poseidon give out god-bestowed rings? If you reached the required test level, you'd get a free ring when you hit a major bottleneck.As long as your body could take it, a god-bestowed ring would perfectly match your martial spirit — and might even exceed ten thousand years.In the original, the Shrek Seven Devils all got ten-thousand-year god-bestowed rings, but that was probably their limit, not the ring's.

Of course, taking the Sea God Trial required joining Sea God Island, and once you joined, you couldn't leave — but if you could beat the demi-god Bo Saixi, who could stop you from 'borrowing' a ring and walking away?Surely a first-class deity wouldn't be so stingy…Hmm… And if the Little Witch's test level was high enough, with better training, she might even snag a first-class god seat?

A week later.As dusk fell, two figures, led by a fiery-red shadow in the sky, arrived at a small lake.

This time there was no expert leading the hunt, so Chu Chengzhou didn't get cocky — he didn't flaunt his position by riding on Little Red's back searching for spirit beasts, just in case some powerful soul beast in the core region got annoyed and knocked them out of the sky.

"Let's set up camp here for the night and look again tomorrow."

Seeing the sky grow darker, he turned to Xiao Wu.

He had pretty strict requirements for his fifth spirit ring:First, the beast's bloodline couldn't be too weak.Second, it had to be a defense-type spirit beast to act as his shield later.Third, its age couldn't be too low or too high — at least 20,000 years, up to about 40,000 years.

Even with the Ice and Fire Body-Refining Herbs and his Indestructible Golden Body, his physique far surpassed other soul masters at his rank, but with three ten-thousand-year rings and one twenty-thousand-year ring already, a fifth ring over forty thousand years might be pushing it.

So, despite having a flying scout like Little Red, after a full week searching in the Star Dou Forest's inner region near the core, he still hadn't found the right one.

"Camp here? Brother, if we camp near water, we'll run into spirit beasts coming to drink."

Xiao Wu looked surprised. Hunting spirit beasts and setting up camp by a water source wasn't exactly smart.

"Silly! We're here to find a spirit ring — what's the problem if beasts come for water?"

Chu Chengzhou flicked her forehead.

"Ah—, right~!" Xiao Wu giggled, suddenly understanding.

They found a clearing and summoned the Azure Tree spirit, Little Green, then set up the tent together.

When night fell, after dinner, he left Little Green to keep watch while he and Xiao Wu went to sleep.With Little Green being a ten-thousand-year summon and reasonably smart, if a strong beast showed up, it would naturally alert him — no need to stay awake all night.

Next morning, just before dawn, Chu Chengzhou felt a bit grumpy.As expected, several waves of spirit beasts had come to the lake to drink overnight — but none were what he needed.And not only had he wasted his time, he hadn't slept well either — this was the Star Dou Forest's inner zone, where powerful beasts roamed freely, so he'd had to personally drive off a few that were stronger than Little Green.

Retracting Little Green, he stepped out of the tent to wash up — only to see a herd of wild bull spirit beasts by the lake again.Definitely not what he wanted for his fifth ring — but they'd do fine to fill his stomach.

A week in the forest had nearly emptied his storage soul tool of dry rations. Time for something fresh.

Just as he was eyeing the herd and picking which tender calf to take out first, his expression suddenly turned cold — he turned to look at the lake's calm surface.

In his spiritual sense, beneath that calm surface, an uninvited guest with an impressive aura was silently approaching.

Half a minute later…SPLASH—!

Suddenly, near the shore, the water exploded upward. A blue beam of light infused with powerful water-attribute spirit energy shot out diagonally, piercing straight through a drinking bull's head.

BOOM—!

In an instant, the beam blew the bull's head apart — blood, flesh, and bone fragments mixed with water droplets. Its body, crowned with a deep-purple spirit ring, collapsed onto the bank.

The sudden attack startled the entire herd. The surviving bulls immediately turned tail and fled in panic.

Revenge?Not a chance!

The Star Dou Great Forest's law of survival was simple: the weak are prey for the strong.If every time a companion died, a whole tribe had to avenge them with all their might, then unless that tribe was the overlord of the forest, sooner or later they'd all be wiped out.

The wild bull herd fled, and the uninvited guest beneath the lake had no intention of chasing them. Fresh prey was always best — and today's meal was already enough. There was no need for more slaughter; otherwise, no soul beast would dare come here to drink in the future.

Very soon, a massive shadow slowly emerged as the lake churned. The stealthy lurker finally revealed its true form.

It was nearly ten meters long, with an oval-shaped body, a sturdy black shell, thick limbs covered in black scales, strong forelimbs with clawed feet glinting with a cold light, a stubby tail poking from beneath its shell, and a fierce turtle head crowned with a black horn.

"A Blackwater Turtle?!"

Immediately, Chu Chengzhou's eyes flashed with surprise.

In that first instant, he recognized exactly what it was.

The Blackwater Turtle — a water-attribute, defense-type soul beast. Its bloodline wasn't quite as noble as the dual-attribute Xuanwu Turtle (Black Tortoise), but it was still enough to qualify as an upper-tier beast.

Of course, soul beasts weren't divided as strictly into types as soul masters were. Though the Blackwater Turtle was a defense-type beast, its attack power wasn't weak either — it just wasn't as outstanding as its defense.

More importantly, this particular Blackwater Turtle was close to thirty thousand years old — perfect for his fifth soul ring!

Moments later, just as the Blackwater Turtle crawled onto shore to enjoy its meal, Chu Chengzhou lightly tapped his foot — activating his movement technique, the Divine Light Across the Land. His figure shot forward like a bolt of light; a few flickers later, he appeared just a few dozen meters from the turtle on the bank.

At the same time, he summoned his great banner. His second and fourth soul rings shone — the Light Lion spirit Little White and the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear spirit Xiong Da materialized beside him.

A moment later, a white stream of light surged from Little White's body into Chu Chengzhou's.Blessed by Little White's innate ability Benediction, all of his attributes — including spiritual power — instantly increased by 50%.

Immediately, he unleashed his illusion arts. His intangible, formless spiritual power reached across the distance, invading the Blackwater Turtle's mind.

In an instant, on the spiritual plane, the nearly thirty-thousand-year-old turtle couldn't match Chu Chengzhou, who was already a quasi-Spirit King at rank 50. Its consciousness was dragged into a pitch-black illusionary realm — with no color, no sound, only endless darkness.

The dreaded Little Black Room Technique — back in action!

(Of course, maybe for a soul beast with a dim mind, the Little Black Room wasn't so terrifying…)

"Xiong Da, finish it!"

Seeing the plan succeed, Chu Chengzhou pointed at the completely helpless Blackwater Turtle and gave Xiong Da the command.

"ROAR—!"

With a deafening roar, Xiong Da's massive paws gleamed with dark-golden light. His innate skill, Dark Gold Terrorclaw, activated — a terrifying, razor-sharp golden claw shot forward, slashing down directly onto the turtle's savage head.

"Squelch—!"

The brutal claw tore through its sturdy black horn, then split its head cleanly in two — red and white matter splattering everywhere.

Moments later, countless golden specks rose from the turtle's body, gathering into a jet-black ten-thousand-year spirit ring.

"Not bad!"

Seeing Xiong Da one-shot a nearly thirty-thousand-year-old turtle, Chu Chengzhou nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, this was to be expected. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was famed for its attack power. Add in the fact that the turtle was trapped in the illusion with no chance to defend itself — if Xiong Da couldn't one-shot it, that would be disgraceful!

"Huh? A Blackwater Turtle?"

At that moment, Xiao Wu's surprised voice came from behind him.

She had sensed the commotion outside while in the tent when the turtle had first shot its water jet at the bull herd, but she'd arrived just a step too late — by the time she got there, the turtle had already been finished off by Xiong Da.

"Yeah, just right for my fifth ring."Chu Chengzhou nodded. Healing? He had Little Green. Support? Little White. Aerial battle? Little Red. Land combat? Xiong Da. And now, a tank to block hits — a perfectly balanced lineup.

"Go for it, Little Chu! It's time to become a true five-ring Spirit King!"

Xiao Wu, her mischievous rabbit side showing, pointed dramatically at the dead turtle.

Chu Chengzhou: "…"

This annoying bunny was asking for it again!He shot her a glare, then began to draw in the turtle's spirit ring.

As soon as he did, the nearly thirty-thousand-year-old Blackwater Turtle's ring rose into the air and slowly descended onto him.

The moment it settled on his body, he felt a sudden crushing pressure — followed by a vast, overwhelming energy surging into him.

Even though this ring was within his limits (and still quite a bit below his maximum), he didn't dare get careless. He immediately activated his Nine-Breath Meditation technique to refine the massive influx of energy.

By normal standards, a fifth ring would only be around ten thousand years. But with his talent — and his special "cheat" — even with just fifty ranks of spirit power, and his previous four rings totaling over fifty thousand years already, his fifth ring limit was still far beyond an ordinary soul master's.

Plus, the Blackwater Turtle's ring was much easier to absorb than an equivalent Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear ring. So, nearly thirty thousand years? Piece of cake.

As the meditation technique ran, the huge flow of ring energy rapidly transformed into his own soul power.

And any beast's soul remnant left within the ring?The full turtle couldn't match him mentally, let alone its leftover scraps. His overwhelming spiritual strength erased the remnant consciousness almost instantly.

Time passed. Hours slipped by.

Suddenly, the aura around Chu Chengzhou surged dramatically — his soul power broke past the fifty-level barrier and he officially advanced to a five-ring Spirit King.

[Attribute Panel]

Host: Chu ChengzhouSoul Power: Rank 52 Spirit KingSpirit: True Spirit BannerSpirit Rings: Black (10,000), Black (10,000), Black (10,000), Black (25,400), Black (29,050)1st Skill: Summon: Azure Tree2nd Skill: Summon: Light Lion3rd Skill: Summon: Fire Phoenix4th Skill: Summon: Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear5th Skill: Summon: Blackwater Turtle

Skills: Nine-Breath Meditation (Red), Indestructible Golden Body (Red), Eternal Thought (Red), Solar Arrow (Red), Divine Light Across the Land (Red), Control (Black), Defense (Black), Forging (Black), Illusion (Black)

Auto-Practice Slots: 1. Control (Black), 2. Forging (Black), 3. Nine-Breath Meditation (Red), 4. Illusion (Black), 5. Fourth Spirit Ring (Black), 6. (Empty)

A nearly thirty-thousand-year Blackwater Turtle spirit ring had given him a boost of two levels, landing him at rank 52.

Though he felt a bit regretful — he joked that it was like he wasn't the main character — not even a single ordinary spirit bone dropped, let alone an external one.

But then he laughed it off. Not getting a spirit bone was normal. He'd barely killed any soul beasts in his life; ordinary soul bones had a drop rate of one in a thousand, external ones ten times rarer. How could he expect to get one so easily?

One glance at his "plug-in system" made him forget all about the missing spirit bone. Who needed bones when you had cheats like this?

And this level-up wasn't just a minor upgrade like when he hit Spirit Ancestor. Not only did he gain another auto-practice slot, but the training speed increased significantly.

Before, upgrading a black-grade technique to red required 300 days. Now, it only took 100 days.Upgrading red-grade to gold-grade went from 1,000 days to just 300.

For spirit rings, his "AFK training" now increased their age by 80 years per day instead of 40 — a clean double.

Xiong Da's ring was already over 25,000 years. If nothing else changed, he'd reach a 100,000-year status in just two and a half years.

And when Xiong Da became a 100,000-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear? Hah — even ten Snake Spear Douluo She Longs wouldn't be able to scratch him. On the other hand, Xiong Da could split She Long apart with a single swipe.

Xiong Da: I can fight ten of you!

Looking at his training slots, Chu Chengzhou saw his Illusion Arts would upgrade to red in just over ten days. Nine-Breath Meditation would follow in a couple of months, and so would Control and Forging.

Unlike the others, Nine-Breath Meditation was his core cultivation method. When it upgraded next, it wouldn't just go red — it'd go gold.

In Chu Chengzhou's view, few skills on the whole continent were worthy of a gold grade — perhaps only the Clear Sky Clan's Great Sumeru Hammer could compare.

Thinking it through, he didn't put his new fifth ring into the empty slot. Instead, he added his True Spirit Banner spirit itself to auto-practice.

Author's note(Not Me): Some readers said I made Tang Hao too strong. Let me explain:It's not an exaggeration — Tang Hao really is that strong.Fully healed, rank 96, six soul bones, ten-thousand-year rings, a Slaughter God Domain, the world's best tool spirit, plus detonating all nine rings…Meanwhile, Spirit Hall's thirteen Douluo have only one confirmed soul bone between them, no ten-thousand-year rings, no domains.It's no surprise Tang Hao could fight all thirteen and still escape.Remember — even Zhao Wuji, just a Soul Emperor, could escape a siege of sixteen rank-60 Spirit Hall bishops. You think Tang Hao wouldn't do better?

T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle