Douluo: Fiery Chains of the Soul, Sealing All Gods — Chapter 23

Hearing this, Su Han laughed and scolded him as he punched Li Jie. "What do you take me for?"

"We're brothers who've been through life and death together. How can you joke about something like that?"

Zhao Gang's eyes gleamed with endless hope as he said emotionally, "Little Han, you're the future hope of our team!"

"One day, we'll become the strongest soul-hunting squad on the entire continent!"

The corner of Su Han's mouth twitched slightly as he smiled. "Old Zhao, can't you aim a little higher?"

"Can't you have a better vision for the future?"

"Don't you ever get tired of living every day with your life on the edge of a blade?"

Zhao Gang spread his hands helplessly. "A guy like Old Zhao only knows how to hunt spirit beasts. I can't do anything else!"

Su Han laughed. "Since you like hunting spirit beasts so much, when I open an academy someday, I'll make sure you're assigned to hunt spirit beasts specifically for the students."

Hao Te burst into hearty laughter. "Little Han, congratulations on becoming the youngest Soul King on the continent!"

Su Han waved his hand with a smile. "You flatter me, Brother Hao Te."

"But what Space-type spirit beasts are there in the Frozen Forest?"

Hao Te's expression turned solemn. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "As far as I know, there are three types: the Space Peacock, the Void Beast, and the Time-Space Illusion Snake."

"They are all exceedingly rare spirit beasts. And what you need is one at the thirty-thousand-year level, which makes things even harder."

"Even if we find one, with our current strength, it would be difficult to kill it."

"Thirty thousand years?!" Zhao Gang and Li Jie both sucked in a cold breath.

Su Han also fell into thought. He had seen these spirit beasts in Yu Xiaogang's spirit beast encyclopedia. They were all special existences born from mutations and were incredibly scarce.

The most troublesome part was that, with their current strength, they simply could not kill one.

At the very least, three Soul Saints would need to act together before they could be confident of killing a Space-type spirit beast.

Li Jie furrowed his brow and said in a low voice, "Little Han, facing a thirty-thousand-year spirit beast is no easy challenge."

Hao Te stepped up to Su Han and gently patted his shoulder. "Little Han, don't worry."

"I have a fairly close relationship with the captain of the Nether Soul Hunting Group. He's also a Soul Saint, and under him are a Soul Emperor and three Soul Kings."

"I'll contact him right away and see whether he can lend you a hand."

When it came to the cost, Hao Te changed his tone. "Though the price is halved between fellow hunters, Little Han, you'll still need to be prepared. A considerable sum of Gold Soul Coins will likely be unavoidable."

Su Han nodded lightly, his expression calm. "Any problem that can be solved with money is like drifting clouds to me. What I lack least is gold and silver."

With that, he took out a card worth twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins from his Soul Tool and respectfully handed it to Hao Te. "Brother Hao Te, this is everything I've saved over the years. Please help me contact the Nether Soul Hunting Group."

The three of them were all slightly stunned. None of them had expected Su Han to be so wealthy.

Hao Te accepted the Gold Soul Coin card and patted his chest in assurance. "Don't worry. Leave this matter to me. You three can wait here in peace."

A glint flashed through Li Jie's eyes as he teased, "Little Han, I never expected you to be hiding so much from us. You kept us in the dark!"

Zhao Gang rolled his eyes and grinned. "Little Han, you really are too dishonest."

"But if you treat us to a song at a pleasure house, we'll let this matter slide."

Su Han smiled bitterly and spread his hands. "I've already handed over all my savings. I'll have to rely on you two brothers to look after me from now on."

The moment Zhao Gang heard that, he hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no. We're not that close."

"I still need to marry a wife."

Li Jie teased from the side, "Old Zhao, you're being too stingy."

"With Little Han following us from now on, at least we won't have a problem drinking porridge."

Su Han was sometimes left torn between laughter and tears by the pair's jokes, but after more than two years together, he had come to know that they were both true men of temperament.

Night fell, and Hao Te returned.

Su Han brewed him a steaming cup of tea and asked with concern, "Brother Hao Te, how did things go?"

"Is the Nether team willing to help?"

Hao Te took a light sip of tea, a smile blooming across his face. "Little Han, the captain of the Nether team, Wu Tian, has agreed."

"But they have one condition. If a spirit bone appears, it must belong to them."

Su Han's heart trembled slightly at those words.

How could spirit bones be easy to obtain?

But when he thought of a thirty-thousand-year spirit bone, and of the immense power created when spirit bones and soul skills complemented each other—enough to let a thirty-thousand-year spirit beast display the strength of a sixty-thousand-year one—Su Han could not help but grow solemn.

When that time came, they might have to fight it out.

Still, Su Han could only agree for now, slowly nodding to show his assent.

Early the next morning, five burly men stood in the courtyard. They were members of the Nether Soul Hunting Group.

Wu Tian looked to be around fifty years old. He was thin and wiry, yet he was a genuine Soul Saint. The other four were roughly in their thirties or forties, and every one of them carried an extraordinary presence.

Wu Tian stared sharply at Su Han and asked in surprise, "Kid, are you the one who wants to hunt a Space-type spirit beast around thirty thousand years old?"

Su Han replied calmly, "That's right, Captain Wu."

"I'll be relying on all of you this time."

The other four could not help looking at one another. One middle-aged man questioned him, "Kid, are you playing us?"

"You look barely more than ten years old. How could you possibly absorb a soul ring around thirty thousand years old?"

Su Han smiled indifferently. "Brothers, just focus on hunting it."

"As for whether I can absorb it, there's no need for you to worry about that."

Seeing this, Wu Tian raised a hand to stop the team member who wanted to continue speaking. His eyes remained fixed on Su Han. "Kid, it seems your Soul Power fluctuations have already reached the Soul King realm. That alone is quite surprising."

"Given your exceptional talent, I'll offer you some advice. It would be better to proceed step by step."

"At your age, becoming a Titled Douluo in the future would not be difficult."

Su Han cupped his fists toward Wu Tian. "Thank you for your kind reminder, Captain Wu Tian."

"But I still want to give it a try. After all, every road is walked by people."

"If one always follows the established path, one's future achievements will surely be limited as well."

"I want to forge a path unlike anyone else's."

Although Wu Tian admired Su Han's words, he still did not believe that Su Han could successfully absorb a thirty-thousand-year spirit beast.

At that moment, Hao Te stepped out to smooth things over. "Since everyone is here, let's set off! The sooner we finish the hunt, the sooner we can wrap this up."

The group of nine resolutely set out for the Frozen Forest. Su Han longed to find his target within that vast snowy land.

However, after two hard days of searching, they found nothing. In the end, they chose an open area to pitch their tents and set up camp for the time being.

At the same time, another team was quietly present not far from them.

Because of the distance, Su Han could only vaguely make out their figures and could not see their faces clearly.

Inside the tent, Wu Tian sat upright with his brows tightly furrowed, carefully analyzing the areas where the three Space-type spirit beasts might appear.

At that moment, one of his subordinates, the Soul Emperor Niu Dali, said gruffly to Wu Tian, "Boss, I really don't understand why you accepted this job."

"A spirit beast around thirty thousand years old wouldn't be easy for our group to kill, but it would still be manageable."

"But a Space-type spirit beast is no ordinary creature. Just finding its tracks could take months. This is practically a losing deal!"

Wu Tian glanced at Niu Dali, his eyes carrying a trace of disdain. "What do you know?"

"My seventh soul ring was only obtained because Hao Te helped me."

"Besides, there are only two Soul Saint soul-hunting squads in the entire Frozen Forest: ours and theirs."

"We may need their help in the future. Helping out this time can be considered repaying Hao Te's favor."

"More importantly, that kid named Su Han is no ordinary person."

Niu Dali curled his lips in disdain. "That kid doesn't know his limits. He wants to absorb a thirty-thousand-year spirit beast? If he explodes and dies when the time comes, don't blame us for not warning him."

Wu Tian fell into thought. He knew Su Han might truly be extraordinary, but he still did not dare guarantee that the boy could successfully absorb such a powerful spirit beast.

Meanwhile, Su Han had just finished cultivating and began carefully scouting the area around the camp.

Space-type spirit beasts came and went unpredictably. Aside from big bugs like the Illusionary Heavenly Silkworm, which preferred fixed habitats, other Space-type spirit beasts could truly only be found by luck.

Just as Su Han was about to return empty-handed, he suddenly caught sight of movement in a pile of dried grass.

Driven by instinctive curiosity, he walked over and cautiously parted the grass. To his surprise, he found a woman with fiery red hair getting up and preparing to pull up her close-fitting pants.

At that moment, the air seemed to freeze. Their eyes met, and Su Han's gaze seemed utterly locked in place.

The woman gritted her teeth and said, "You lecher again!"

Only then did Su Han suddenly come back to his senses. His face instantly flushed red as he explained awkwardly, "Um... I'm sorry, miss. I really didn't know you were in this pile of grass."