My Talent Skill Mutated

"Boss, I have a bad feeling about this castle…"

In the Abyss, amidst a ruined city, several figures gathered outside an ancient castle. Staring at the structure before them, one young man couldn't help but speak up.

"Oh? What did you find?" Xu Dongfeng turned, looking at the young man in surprise.

The young man said, "Nothing specific. It's just a creepy feeling. Call it intuition."

"…"

"And has your intuition ever been right?" Xu Dongfeng glared at the young man.

The young man gave a sheepish laugh, scratching his head in embarrassment. "Boss, that's all water under the bridge. Those were just minor mistakes in the past."

"I'd be a fool to believe you," Xu Dongfeng said, rolling his eyes.

"Boss, that Chen Yu went into the castle. Should we go in and take a look?" another young man in black asked, his gaze shifting from the castle to Xu Dongfeng.

Xu Dongfeng fell into thought, his eyes fixed on the ancient castle. "We're not going in for now. We'll wait for him to leave. Let's go check out some other places first."

"Alright."

The men nodded. Then, with a flicker, their figures vanished from outside the castle.

...

"Heheheh… Human, I will devour your soul and feast on your flesh! Become my slave!"

A sinister cackle echoed as a purple phantom shot toward Chen Yu like a bolt of lightning.

HUM—!

It burrowed into his body, and a faint, ghostly light shimmered.

Chen Yu's expression remained calm as his Spirit Flame ignited.

"AAAAAHHH!!!"

"Dammit, what the hell is this stuff!"

"No… Don't! Let me out!"

A terrified voice screamed from within Chen Yu's body, but it quickly fell silent.

"Phew—!"

"Ah, that's refreshing."

Chen Yu let out a long sigh, his face flushed with a healthy glow.

The growth of his Spiritual Power sent a refreshing sensation through the depths of his soul. It was an incredible feeling.

This was the fifth purple phantom he had destroyed.

The Spirit Flame blazed. His Spiritual Power was so strong, he could even manipulate objects with telekinesis.

He had progressed from merely using the Spirit Flame to being on the verge of Spiritual Projection.

Unlike a Spiritual Element Superpower, this type of Spiritual Projection could only be achieved when one's Spiritual Power reached an extremely high level.

The Spiritual Power of a True God Venerable could shake entire planets.

At the moment, however, his Spiritual Power hadn't yet reached the point of Spiritual Projection.

He was merely close.

The difference might seem small, but the gap was actually significant.

The difference of a single step was a world apart.

Glancing around, Chen Yu scanned the top-floor room.

The room was covered in dust and thick with cobwebs.

This place had clearly been abandoned for a long time.

Chen Yu walked over to a desk and saw a thick notebook lying on it.

Blowing the dust from the notebook, Chen Yu could clearly see the words on the cover.

Soul Pearl Plan, Version 3.0!

"Hm?"

Chen Yu's expression turned curious as he read the words on the cover.

'Soul Pearl Plan, Version 3.0?'

'Don't tell me there are multiple versions of the Soul Pearl?'

Surprised, Chen Yu immediately opened the notebook.

Page after page of densely packed text met his eyes.

"Soul Pearl modification. Unable to remove the evil power within. This may be related to the Great Emperor…"

"I have tried countless times. I succeeded at first, cleansing the evil power, but I underestimated the Soul Pearl. The cleansed evil can be revived; the nature of the Soul Pearl cannot be changed…"

—

Reading the notebook's contents, Chen Yu's mind reeled.

The notebook detailed attempts to modify the Soul Pearls.

But every attempt at modification had failed.

Once someone consumed a Soul Pearl, they would pass a point of no return.

Moreover, it also mentioned a testing program involving beasts consuming the Soul Pearls.

A Soul Pearl could unleash infinite dark evil. When consumed by a human, they would be controlled by that evil, reduced to a mindless, killing puppet.

But for beasts, it was a perfect match.

Beasts that consumed a Soul Pearl became more bloodthirsty and frenzied. It also enhanced their potential. Even an ordinary beast could have its potential unlocked after consuming one, boosting its abilities and making it far more formidable.

And most importantly, these beasts that had consumed the Soul Pearls could seemingly be controlled.

And the one controlling them from behind the scenes was the Great Emperor!

'Manipulating beasts to form an entire army… The very thought is terrifying.'

'This Great Emperor is absurdly powerful!'

After reading the entire notebook, Chen Yu sensed that the Great Emperor had created the Soul Pearls as part of some larger scheme.

Beyond just exterminating humanity, there seemed to be other motives at play.

Chen Yu didn't dwell on it. He pulverized the notebook, scanned his surroundings one last time, and left.

...

Soon, Chen Yu arrived at the castle's second building.

A sinister chill permeated the gloomy building.

WHOOSH—!

A purple phantom shot out like a bolt of lightning, rushing toward Chen Yu.

It was incredibly fast, reaching Chen Yu in an instant.

HUM—!

The purple phantom pulsed with light and submerged itself into his body. However, the outcome was the same as before. It was instantly incinerated by his Spirit Flame, becoming fuel to enhance his Spiritual Power.

After destroying the purple phantom, Chen Yu continued to explore the building.

—

An hour later, Chen Yu's figure appeared in a building deep within the castle.

He had finished exploring all the other areas.

Having destroyed dozens of purple phantoms, his Spiritual Power had risen dramatically.

His Spirit Flame blazed like a raging inferno, and a faint aura of Mental Suppression began to emanate from him.

After destroying dozens of purple phantoms in a row, Chen Yu's Spiritual Power had finally reached the level of Spiritual Projection.