Star Luo Royal Beast Garden

Star Luo Royal Beast Garden

"In a few days, you'll be dueling the Third Prince. You have to win this one," Dai Hengyu said with a sigh. "I know this is asking too much. After all, you're barely competitive, and no one will invest in you. But if you want to survive, you must prove your potential. This duel is a very good opportunity."

Dai Yao nodded gravely. "I understand."

"The Fifth Elder values your talent. He was the one who fought for this chance at a duel. You'll have to thank him properly in the future. If you lose, you'll disappoint the Fifth Elder as well. Perhaps next time, there won't be such a good opportunity." Dai Hengyu revealed the truth behind this duel.

If the Fifth Elder hadn't interfered, Zhu Zhuqing would have been betrothed to Dai Mubai long ago. After all, Dai Mubai was also the Empress's legitimate son. If the Fifth Elder hadn't stood behind Dai Yao, who would have cared about someone with no backing?

If you were going to make it in the world, you needed power and you needed a background.

Every investment needed to show returns. Dai Yao had to win this duel. Once he failed, he might be abandoned by the Fifth Elder. When that time came, Dai Yao couldn't think of anyone else who would support him. Third Uncle wasn't a powerful Soul Master, after all, so the support he could offer was limited.

After seeing Dai Hengyu off, Dai Yao was the only one left in the Cold Palace again.

He decided he would rest and recover for a few days, then go obtain his First Spirit Ring.

After all, he had been malnourished for a long time. For all he knew, he might faint after a little exercise.

Over the next few days, the Cold Palace became much livelier.

After Dai Yao gave his orders, the Cold Palace was gradually repaired, and all the places that had once been utterly dilapidated were made brand new.

What he cared about most was the food. After he was named the Fourth Prince, there were always people waiting outside the door. All he had to do was call, and food would be brought in.

Although he had not obtained a spirit ring and could not cultivate his Soul Power, there were still many things he could study while recuperating.

Regarding his spirit, he discovered two forms.

One was the pure White Tiger form, without wings, but the strength of the spirit was also weakened considerably.

The other was the Sacred White Tiger form, with its wings spread. However, its current wings still could not fly and were only decorative. According to the Fifth Elder's estimation, once he became a Soul Ancestor, he would be able to fly.

As long as he didn't encounter the Green Lotus, then in terms of spirits alone, the Sacred White Tiger feared no one.

Then there was Eight Extremes Collapse.

Dai Yao discovered that the amount of Qi he poured in determined the power of Eight Extremes Collapse. Without injuring himself, he could infuse at most ten percent of his Qi. The last time he had been injured, it was because he had infused thirty percent of his Qi. Forty percent of his Qi was the limit of his body.

So right now, he needed to focus on training his physical strength.

The stronger his body became, the more Qi his meridians could contain. When the time came, he would be able to use Eight Extremes Collapse with fifty percent of his Qi, or even more, without getting hurt.

Early morning on the fourth day.

Dai Yao appeared before the gates of the Cold Palace, where a carriage was already waiting outside. After several days of recuperation, Dai Yao looked a little fuller, but he was still thinner than a normal person. The nutrition he lacked would take some time to replenish.

Today, he was going to obtain his First Spirit Ring.

Spirit rings came from spirit beasts, and powerful factions generally raised spirit beasts themselves. In the original work, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo had a portion of Sunset Forest. The Dai Family, which had been passed down for ten thousand years, naturally also had a place where they raised spirit beasts.

It was called the Star Luo Royal Beast Garden.

Compared to the loosely managed Sunset Forest, the Star Luo royal family, passed down for ten thousand years, was far more scientific.

Over the span of ten thousand years, the family's predecessors had long since researched what spirit rings were best paired with the White Tiger Spirit. Among the first three spirit rings, the most suitable spirit skills were White Tiger Body Barrier, White Tiger Light Wave, and White Tiger Vajra Transformation.

These three spirit skills corresponded respectively to the Mystic Water Turtle, the Earth Walking Dragon, and the Vajra Beast.

These three kinds of spirit beasts were raised in the Royal Beast Garden.

After the Third Spirit Ring, the choice of spirit skills was left to the White Tiger disciples themselves. After all, the family was only responsible for laying the foundation. Growth ultimately depended on oneself.

In the original work, although Dai Mubai left the Star Luo Empire when he was only in his twenties in rank, he still chose the Vajra Beast for his Third Spirit Ring.

The carriage traveled for a day and a night before finally reaching its destination.

Lifting the curtain, what came into view was a cliff rising straight from the ground. At the center of the cliff was a thin fissure. The fissure was over ten meters wide. To the cliff, it was a crack, but to a person, it was wide enough to allow several carriages to travel side by side.

After their identities were verified, the carriage drove into the fissure under the guidance of the guards.

Looking up from within the fissure, the cliffs on both sides stretched endlessly upward, piercing into the sky, while the sky itself could only be seen as a single white line.

In this strange environment, the carriage creaked and groaned, making people feel faintly uneasy.

After an unknown amount of time, the view before them suddenly opened up.

The towering cliffs sloped downward, forming a circular pit. Inside the pit was a lush forest, and three stone walls divided the forest into three sections.

Looking down from the sky, one would see a giant Mercedes-Benz logo.

The Guard Captain dismounted and came to Dai Yao's side, explaining, "Fourth Highness, this is the Royal Beast Garden. It is divided into three fan-shaped regions. Different regions are home to different spirit beasts. The region before us is inhabited only by the Mystic Water Turtle Clan."

"The Mystic Water Turtle Clan here ranges from hundred-year to thousand-year spirit beasts. The oldest one has reached five thousand years."

"The maximum age of the First Spirit Ring a Soul Master can absorb is roughly over four hundred years, so Your Highness only needs to search around the area where the hundred-year spirit beasts are."

Dai Yao nodded. Before coming here, he had already studied information about Mystic Water Turtles, including how to distinguish their ages, their habits, and their weaknesses.

The Mystic Water Turtle was a gentle-tempered spirit beast. When attacked, it could form a water barrier. Although its nature was mild, once angered, it would rampage wildly with astonishing destructive power. Therefore, hunting a Mystic Water Turtle still carried a certain degree of danger.

Following the path along the sheer cliff, Dai Yao slowly descended.

The path along the cliff was extremely dangerous. It could barely allow one person to walk. On one side was the cliff wall within arm's reach, and on the other was a precipice.

After an unknown amount of time, Dai Yao finally reached the bottom of the pit. Looking up, he saw a natural region where lake water and forest intertwined.

Following the forest path, he began his journey to obtain his First Spirit Ring.

A guard on watch suddenly seemed a little off. He went to a secluded place, and a woman appeared before him.

The woman was dressed as a Palace Maid. She handed a small porcelain vial to the guard and instructed, "This is Beast Heart Powder. It can drive a Mystic Water Turtle into a frenzied state. Follow that boy Dai Yao, and when he's off guard, find a Mystic Water Turtle with a higher cultivation age and use it."

"The soul master who was supposed to help him hunt soul beasts has already been stopped by me. No one can stop you."

"In a place filled with soul beasts, he's dead for sure!"

"Yes," the guard agreed.

After the woman left, just as the guard was sneaking down into the Soul Beast Forest, a voice rang out behind him.

"Are you really going to do this? Once this is exposed, you and your family will all die because of you."

The guard turned his head. It was the Guard Captain warning him.

But he had no choice. Agitated, he said, "Boss, I've had enough. Why can we commoners only awaken such inferior Martial Souls? Generation after generation, my ancestors guarded this forest for the imperial family, day after day, year after year, always keeping loneliness as their only companion. Why do they get to live in luxury, feasting and reveling?"

"Aren't we all human? Why do they get to stand above us?"

"Now I finally have a chance. Once this is done, my son will be able to marry a woman from the Zhu Family. Then my son's son will have a Martial Soul that can be cultivated!"

The Guard Captain fell silent. He could understand the guard's thoughts, but those people's Martial Souls were simply powerful. They were born above others. Now that the guard had the promise of the Empress's Maid, if he succeeded, there was a great chance he would obtain a Martial Soul that could be cultivated.

If it were him, he might not necessarily be able to withstand such temptation either.

"I'm only giving you a word of advice. That's all I have to say. Decide for yourself."