Chapter 578: Stunning Head‑First Grab, the Cauldron in Your Hands

Since the skill core left the skill space, it seemed to shed a heavy burden, becoming extremely light, moving as smoothly as flowing clouds and water.

In the passage Jiang Chen meticulously built with his soul, the skill core, like a wanderer who has found a home, steadily advanced toward his soul world.

At this moment, the form displayed by the skill core was like a crystal‑clear little bead.

From a distance it shone with dazzling light, like the brightest star in the night sky.

Jiang Chen approached for a close look; when all the light faded, he was surprised to find that this tiny bead bore a striking resemblance to the Dragon Pearl Antares had been searching for.

This discovery sparked a conjecture in Jiang Chen's mind: could the Dragon Pearl that Antares had been tirelessly pursuing actually be linked to one of his skills?

This speculation made him even more curious and eager about what would happen next.

Though the idea seemed somewhat unbelievable, Jiang Chen still tried to untangle its logic.

Skills, by common sense, should reside in the skill space or within the soul, and cannot drift into the outside world.

They are more like entities of the Spirit layer rather than tangible matter.

Yet the skill core before him left him perplexed. It seemed to possess a materialized quality, able to be moved, even regarded as an "item."

Jiang Chen strained to recall everything he had learned, seeking a reasonable explanation, but to no avail.

He shook his head, decided to set the thought aside for now, and continue focusing on the task at hand.

After another arduous forty‑plus days of effort, on the thirty‑eighth day the bead containing the "Damage Transfer" skill finally succeeded in merging into Jiang Chen's soul.

Boom!

Jiang Chen's soul world suddenly quaked violently, and his whole body began to tremble involuntarily.

A massive tide of Soul Energy surged toward the skill bead, and the bead, like a bottomless pit, frantically Devoured the energy.

Jiang Chen understood that this was the necessary process for the skill bead to fuse with his soul.

He felt no panic, only a hint of anticipation, because he knew that once the skill bead had absorbed enough Soul Energy, it would merge completely with his soul, and the whole relocation would truly finish.

"Absorb, absorb, the more the better," Jiang Chen whispered in his mind, continuously feeding Soul Energy to the skill bead.

As time passed, the bead's radiance grew ever brighter, and its connection with Jiang Chen tightened.

Finally, after reaching a limit, the bead emitted a faint chime and ceased further Absorb of Soul Energy.

Immediately after, the bead exploded with a booming blast, a massive surge of energy erupted as if to illuminate the entire soul world.

"Gained Soul Energy, Experience Value +1000000"

"Gained Soul Energy, Experience Value +1000000"

In an instant, a flood of information poured into Jiang Chen's mind, and his soul world expanded and grew stronger from this fusion.

Jiang Chen seemed to be bathed in the baptism of a soul‑merging array, instantly gaining a sea of Experience Value.

This was the feedback the skill core gave him; after absorption, refinement, and purification, it ultimately transformed into his soul power.

In a very short span, Jiang Chen's Experience Value jumped from 69 level 1% to 50%, a surge that even surpassed the reward from killing a Divine Level Demon King Clone.

Jiang Chen carefully observed the skill core after the Explosion, noting that its form had changed markedly.

Compared with before, it had grown slightly larger, and the light it emitted now carried a flash of dazzling gold, as if deeply imprinted by Jiang Chen's Soul Breath.

Half of the core was now covered by golden light; Jiang Chen rejoiced, for this meant the skill's fusion rate had reached 50%.

Generally, when a skill core is first integrated into the soul, its fusion rate rarely exceeds 20%, requiring long cultivation to gradually improve.

However, Jiang Chen, by supplying abundant Soul Energy, pushed the fusion rate past 50% in an instant.

Impatiently, Jiang Chen checked his skill status. A fusion rate over 50% meant the skill would undergo significant changes.

Sure enough, the description of the "Damage Transfer" skill had altered:

"Damage Transfer (Fusion Rate 50%): All damage taken by oneself is reduced by half, then borne by the Summoned Entity."

Seeing this description, Jiang Chen smiled with satisfaction. The original skill transferred all damage to the Summoned Entity, whereas now it first halves the damage he receives before passing it on.

This effectively grants Jiang Chen a powerful damage‑reduction layer, greatly boosting his survivability.

Jiang Chen knows that improving passive skills is extremely difficult. Since acquiring these skills, his passive abilities have never changed. Even with diligent practice, he cannot raise their levels.

Now, through the increased fusion rate of the skill core, his passive "Damage Transfer" finally received an upgrade.

Jiang Chen realizes that not only he, but other practitioners also face the problem of stagnant passive skills.

Passive skills are often the hardest to upgrade; many practitioners spend their whole lives without ever enhancing theirs.

Some passive skills can be boosted via equipment attributes, but a skill like "Damage Transfer" originally has no level, and even high‑grade gear such as BOSS Jewelry cannot add levels to it.

Now, Jiang Chen's "Damage Transfer" skill, strengthened by the higher fusion rate, is undeniably great news for him.

The skill's transformation is indeed exhilarating.

Jiang Chen's thoughts drifted to his talents. Previously the "Damage Transfer" skill was a simple function with no concrete data.

Now it has gained a property that reduces damage by half, prompting Jiang Chen to wonder whether his talents could also interact with it.

However, he knows that talent effects do not apply to all skills. He decided to test personally whether his talent could grant extra Buff to this enhanced "Damage Transfer" skill.

"How does it feel?" Antares' voice suddenly rang, interrupting Jiang Chen's contemplation.

Jiang Chen opened his eyes, saw Antares' huge eyes, and smiled, replying, "Quite good, one of my passive skills has received a notable boost."

Antares seemed unsatisfied with the answer, snorted and said, "Answer does not address the question."

Yet Jiang Chen was in high spirits and paid no mind to Antares' reaction.

Forty days of effort yielded such a gratifying result; he felt it was all worth it.

Jiang Chen explained the changes to his passive skill to Antares in detail.

Antares, after listening, fell into thought, a glint of contemplation in his eyes.

"I feel I've heard of this skill somewhere," Antares suddenly said.

Jiang Chen was slightly taken aback; he is a new practitioner, and his profession is unique, with many skills being one‑of‑a‑kind.

How could Antares have heard of this skill?

Nonetheless, Antares did not linger on the question, quickly shifting the topic: "I ask you, what level is your Divine Power?"

Jiang Chen answered without hesitation: "Level 69."

Antares, upon hearing that, slammed his huge head onto the ground; the whole earth seemed to tremble, and a rumbling sound kept echoing.

Many places even developed deep cracks.

Jiang Chen was startled by Antares's reaction and asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem?"

Antares stared at Jiang Chen with wide eyes: "Impossible, how could you have Divine Power at Level 69? The Shenzhou Cauldron has its rules; it cannot let Divine Power exceed Level 10."

After Antares's reminder, Jiang Chen recalled the Shenzhou Cauldron.

Since obtaining it in the Divine Secret Realm, the Shenzhou Cauldron has been quiet, releasing some Divine Energy only each time it upgrades, allowing his Divine Power to increase.

Jiang Chen looked toward a corner of the spiritual world and saw the Shenzhou Cauldron lying there peacefully. It seemed like a sleeping giant that awakens only at crucial moments.

Jiang Chen calmly stated, "The Shenzhou Cauldron is in my hands."

Boom!

Antares again slammed his head into the ground, his shock evident, "What did you say? You really possess the Shenzhou Cauldron?"

Jiang Chen nodded affirmatively, "Yes, but I cannot take it out."

Antares lay helplessly on the ground, as if the news had crushed him completely, "It's already a miracle you can have it; how could you extract it easily?"

Jiang Chen shrugged, indicating he also didn't understand the reason. He only knows that since that fateful encounter, the Shenzhou Cauldron has been shadowing him, yet never truly revealed its real power.

He asked curiously, "What exactly is special about the Shenzhou Cauldron?"

Antares pondered for a moment, then simply said lightly, "When you truly reach the Divine Level, you'll understand naturally." Clearly, he didn't intend to explain further.

Jiang Chen made no further demand; he knew that once Antares decided not to speak, asking again would be futile.

Antares shifted tone and said, "Alright, let's continue. With your current soul power, extracting another Skill Star Core shouldn't be a problem."

A hint of expectation flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes, "If I can extract two Skill Star Cores, does that mean I will become a Divine-level Strongman?"

Antares chuckled lightly, shattering Jiang Chen's illusion, "Your path differs from theirs. Others only begin attempting to extract Skill Star Cores at Level 89, while you started at Level 69. So, to become a true Divine-level Strongman, you still have a long way to go."

"However, even so, you can still possess a sliver of the skill power that only Divine-level beings have. For you, that's already a considerable gain."

Antares urged, "Alright, stop hesitating, continue quickly. After extracting the Skill Star Core, go find what I need."