Fierce Blade: Defying the Heavens!

"Now, it was time to complete the final Destiny Artifact Infusion." Lin Manshan held the Firewood Chopper horizontally in his right hand, closed his eyes, and sensed the Martial Soul in his grasp. On Douluo Continent, a Martial Soul was part of a Spirit Master's body. It shared the Spirit Master's life, and it also shared the Spirit Master's soul.

So, from a certain perspective, this Firewood Chopper Martial Soul was his Life Weapon. All it lacked now was enough fuel to ignite it, allowing it to burn, grow, and become stronger like a true living being.

And Soul Power was that fuel.

"Come forth! A blade named Defying the Heavens—my Life Weapon, reveal the form you were meant to have."

"Destiny Artifact Infusion!"

At Lin Manshan's command, a continuous stream of glow-green light emerged from the surface of his body. Like smoke, like mist, like strands of silk, it flowed down his right arm and into the Firewood Chopper in his hand.

"Thump. Thump." The blade trembled faintly, as though a heart had suddenly begun beating inside it.

Its rhythm perfectly matched his own heartbeat, like a newborn life awakening and reviving.

The light continued to gather. The originally mottled Firewood Chopper was soon saturated with green Soul Power. Its outline remained that of the original chopper, but its material and luster became like a translucent emerald, or a piece of Exotic Iron that had been carefully forged, utterly pure and flawless. The next instant, a sudden change occurred. The carefully forged Exotic Iron seemed to have been heated by blazing flames to its melting point, turning into a pool of still molten metal that swiftly flowed, spread, and stretched to either side.

In only a few breaths, it had become a long, broad Great Blade, glow-green from end to end.

Opening his eyes, Lin Manshan lowered his head and looked down. As the light faded, a Great Blade with a black blade body came into view. It was as wide as an adult's palm, more than a finger thick, and its double-edged Blade Edges gleamed silver. Its handle was long—visibly over thirty centimeters—and could easily be gripped with both hands.

Most peculiar of all were the twisted, strange patterns covering the blade and handle. They resembled Demonic Runes, yet also seemed like emerald gemstones embedded within. Looking at it as a whole, one could not help but feel that the gemstones were the true body, while the outer material merely served to secure and protect them.

Nearly one meter and sixty-five centimeters long, its appearance alone made it clear that this was a Great Blade brimming with power.

"Fierce Blade: Defying the Heavens. That is your name." Feeling the heavy weight in his hand, Lin Manshan smiled. If he had not still been sitting inside the carriage, he would have wanted to swing around this Great Blade, which was taller than he was, on the spot. I wonder if it can shrink a little.

"This Destiny Artifact Infusion into my Martial Soul has nearly drained all the Soul Power in my body. I need to replenish it quickly." Feeling the obvious weakness in his body, Lin Manshan promptly recalled his Life Weapon. There was no delay at all; the Life Weapon still retained the characteristics of a Martial Soul and could be freely withdrawn into his body. Would this count as Martial Soul Evolution? His gaze flickered, and he immediately closed his eyes.

He began cultivating Soul Power.

After all, this was a world where Spirit Beasts existed. On Douluo Continent, nearly every living creature carried some trace of Spirit Beast bloodline. Four hundred li was neither particularly far nor particularly close. By noon on the second day, the carriage finally arrived at its destination.

Stepping down from the carriage, what met his eyes was not a deep, tranquil primeval forest, but towering walls, spiked gates forged from refined iron, and rows of buildings on either side. The surroundings bustled with people and constant shouts, as lively as a marketplace.

"Got an Order Token! Hunting a Hundred-year Agile Spirit Beast, need three more!"

"Hunting a Defense Type Spirit Beast! Seven people waiting on an Order Token!"

"There are actually groups short on Order Tokens?" Lin Manshan turned to look. The seven members of this team were generally around seventeen years old, all male. Judging solely from their builds, two of them should be Defense-type Soul Masters. From their faces, they were at least relatives—they looked far too alike.

The seven wore standardized uniforms in matching colors. Embroidered on their right sleeves were a tree-shaped emblem and the words Evergreen.

Maybe I won't have to go in alone after all. After a brief moment of thought, Lin Manshan walked straight over.

As he walked, he took out his Order Token. He soon arrived behind the sturdy youth at the head of the group. "Big brother, I have a Primary Order Token."

"Oh?" The youth quickly turned around and glanced at the token, then looked him over from side to side. "Little brother, why are you alone?"

"My name is A'man. I'm a Work-Study Student at Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy. My Soul Power has just reached level ten, and I want to hunt a Hundred-year Spirit Beast. Brothers, it looks like you're students from some Soul Master Academy too, so you should understand the circumstances of Work-Study Students." Lin Manshan gave a simple introduction.

"Hunting a Hundred-Year Spirit Ring!?" The youth was instantly shocked. "Brother A'man, has no one told you the rules here? Those who form teams here are at least First Ring Soul Masters. Without a Soul Ring, to put it bluntly, you're dead weight. No team will take you in, much less help you hunt a Hundred-year Spirit Beast." Having said that, he grinned.

"But you're lucky today. My brothers and I are all students of Evergreen Intermediate Spirit Master Academy. Like you, we're all Commoner Soul Masters."

"For the sake of your Order Token, tell us—what type of Hundred-year Spirit Beast do you want to hunt? As long as it isn't especially powerful, highly aggressive, and dangerous to hunt, we can help you out."

"I want to hunt a Power Type Spirit Beast around four hundred years old." Lin Manshan spoke with complete sincerity.

The expressions of the group changed drastically. The youth's eyes widened, and he was just about to blurt out an expletive.

"Of course, not a ferocious type like a lion or tiger."

The words caught in his throat, and his expression eased somewhat.

"Rather, Golden Horned Beetles, Thousand-pound Ants, Unicorn Beetles—Carapace Insect Spirit Beasts that are small, slow, and less aggressive at the Hundred-year stage. As long as the arrangements are proper, they can be subdued without confronting them head-on. They aren't difficult to hunt."

After pouring the vast majority of the Soul Power he had accumulated into his Martial Soul to complete the Destiny Artifact Infusion, little Soul Power remained in his body. Its enhancement and protective effects on his flesh had been greatly reduced, and his Physical Strength had declined accordingly. Given his current condition, he estimated that he could at most absorb a five-hundred-year Power Type Spirit Beast.

More importantly, he had never absorbed a Soul Ring before, much less absorbed one beyond his level. He had no clear understanding of the process. For the sake of safety, it was better to be cautious.

Besides, because Soul Power existed, once infused into his Martial Soul, it could greatly enhance the Martial Soul's strength and attack power. And since his was a Great Saber Martial Soul, when choosing a Spirit Beast, he only needed to focus on increasing his strength while also accounting for the strength of his body and Martial Soul.

Though Carapace Insect Spirit Beasts were small, slow, and cumbersome, their strength attributes surpassed those of the vast majority of beast-type Spirit Beasts.

Their defenses were also exceptionally high, greatly improving both Physical Strength and Martial Soul hardness.

Given his current circumstances, they were also the Spirit Beasts most likely to be successfully hunted.

After all, I have no backing. If I had a Titled Douluo behind me, and this forest had Hundred-year top-tier Power Type Spirit Beasts such as Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears or Titan Giant Apes, I'd love to kill one and absorb its Soul Ring too.

Lin Manshan sighed inwardly.

"When you put it that way, it doesn't sound too difficult. I once saw a Ten-Year Carapace Insect Spirit Beast. It walked as slowly as a turtle, and when someone threw a stone at it, it froze right there and didn't move at all." The youth smiled, then added, "Brother A'man, you seem to know a lot about Spirit Beasts."

Lin Manshan nodded. "Big brother, although I don't have a Soul Ring, I've studied a great deal of Spirit Beast knowledge at the academy and understand Spirit Beasts very well. I'm especially familiar with the Spirit Beasts raised in Primary Spirit Hunting Forests like this one. I know how to judge their age, what their weaknesses are, what sort of environments they prefer to inhabit, and even how to hunt them more efficiently and safely."

Over the past two years, he could be said to have thoroughly learned all the Spirit Beast knowledge Yu Xiaogang possessed alongside Tang San.

"You're that impressive?" Upon hearing this, not only the leading youth but also the team members behind him lit up.

They needed someone like this right now!

Although they had learned some Spirit Beast knowledge at the academy, what their mentors taught was generally superficial, and the types of Spirit Beasts covered were not numerous.

Using such incomplete knowledge in a forest with a complex environment could get people killed.

After all, no one knew what unknown Spirit Beast might suddenly leap out of a Grass Patch. If they encountered one they did not understand and responded rashly, it would be extremely dangerous.

Knowledge might seem fucking useless most of the time, but when it was needed, it was truly useful.

"Good, good, good. Brother A'man, my name is Xiao Zizai. We can put your Spirit Beast knowledge to use this time." The youth grinned and familiarly slung an arm over Lin Manshan's shoulder, then waved to his teammates behind him. "Come on, let's enter the forest first. We can talk as we go."