Three Years Later

Three years later.

In the Back Mountain of Notting Academy, a black-haired youth sat quietly in meditation.

Buzz—

Suddenly, a wave of Soul Power surged from the youth's body, and he opened his bright black eyes.

"Level 10. After three years, I've finally reached Level 10!"

Su Mo's expression was filled with excitement as he opened his eyes.

After three years of hard cultivation, Su Mo had finally raised his Soul Power from Level 2 to Level 10.

Whenever Su Mo thought about how he had endured these past three years, he could not help but sigh.

Although raising his Soul Power by eight levels in three years seemed impressive, and he had nearly caught up to Tang San and Xiao Wu's rate of progress, only Su Mo himself knew the hardships behind it.

Su Mo was either cultivating or on his way to cultivate.

His eight-level increase over three years had not come at such a rapid pace every year. Rather, his progress had gradually accelerated.

That was because Su Mo's self-created New Cultivation Technique had become increasingly refined. Combined with his daily physical training, his improved physique had also strengthened the New Cultivation Technique.

Over these three years, Su Mo had rarely even gone to class.

He had learned on his own through the library!

Spending an hour in the library each day studying knowledge was practically relaxation for Su Mo.

Thinking about how he had needed several times more effort just to barely match the progress of geniuses like Tang San and Xiao Wu, Su Mo felt a pang of bitterness.

That was only because he had created the New Cultivation Technique himself. Other students with ordinary talent like his would have had no way to catch up at all.

And all Su Mo had caught up to was Tang San's rate of improvement.

Three years had passed, and Su Mo had only just broken through to Level 10, while Tang San had already become a Level 21 Soul Grandmaster.

Not only had the gap between Su Mo and Tang San not narrowed, it had widened instead.

However, after all these years, Su Mo had long grown accustomed to the unfairness brought about by differences in talent. He felt bitter, but he did not blame heaven or resent others.

Because Su Mo believed that man could conquer heaven.

Since he had been able to create the New Cultivation Technique, he would surely be able to catch up in the future.

"Tomorrow, it'll be time for me to hunt my First Soul Ring too!"

Su Mo smiled, then returned to the academy to prepare for a good night's sleep.

The next day, Su Mo did not head straight for the Soul Hunting Forest nearest to Notting City. Instead, he first went to a blacksmith shop in the city.

"Boss, are the things I ordered ready?"

As soon as Su Mo entered the blacksmith shop, he asked the owner, who was forging something inside.

"It's you! The things you ordered are ready. I'll get them for you right away!"

When the owner looked up and saw Su Mo, he immediately broke into a cheerful smile.

A few days ago, Su Mo had ordered some things from him. The owner had worried that Su Mo would not come back, so seeing him now finally put his mind at ease.

Then, the owner took out a bag and placed it before Su Mo. "These were custom-made according to your requirements. Open it and take a look!"

Su Mo opened it and inspected the contents. Seeing that the owner had made everything he wanted, he nodded in satisfaction.

"What about my weapons?"

Su Mo continued.

"They're finished too!"

"Here are the bow and spear you wanted!"

At Su Mo's words, the owner quickly retrieved two items from beneath the counter.

One was a bow, and the other was a long spear.

The bow had been forged according to Su Mo's requirements. It was a Compound Pulley Bow with pulleys mounted at both ends, looking completely unlike a traditional bow—strange and oddly shaped.

The spear had been made based on Su Mo's Soul Hunting Spear, and it was practically identical to his Martial Soul, the Soul Hunting Spear.

After handling them for a while, Su Mo was satisfied with both.

So, Su Mo paid the remaining balance, and the owner generously threw in a quiver of arrows.

Then, carrying his things, Su Mo rented a carriage and set off for the Soul Hunting Forest four hundred li away.

As for the Spirit Hall certificate required to enter the Soul Hunting Forest, Su Mo had already taken care of it.

Hunting Soul Rings was just that troublesome.

Especially when hunting low-level soul beasts. The low-level Soul Beast Forests were all enclosed and maintained by Spirit Hall, making them relatively safe, with no excessively powerful soul beasts inside.

Of course, Soul Masters could also venture into wild Soul Beast Forests on their own, but their safety could not be guaranteed there.

Su Mo was only Level 10 and did not even have a soul skill yet, so naturally, he did not dare enter a wild Soul Beast Forest.

Su Mo was not afraid of ten-year or hundred-year soul beasts, but if he encountered one with over a thousand years of cultivation, he could not guarantee his own safety.

Yes, Su Mo was not even afraid of hundred-year soul beasts.

That was because this time, he was aiming for a hundred-year soul beast.

For this, Su Mo had made thorough preparations.

He had mastered every bit of knowledge he could about soul beasts with less than a thousand years of cultivation, so that he could strike with purpose.

The Compound Pulley Bow and long spear were also part of Su Mo's preparations.

A bow at long range, a spear at close range!

Logically speaking, Su Mo's own Martial Soul was already a long spear, so there should have been no need for him to forge another one.

But Su Mo did not see it that way, because at present, his Martial Soul, the Soul Hunting Spear, was not as sturdy as one forged in reality.

When Su Mo watched anime in his previous life, he had never understood why agility-type Soul Masters with a speed advantage, like those from the Speed Clan, did not carry weapons to convert that advantage into attack power.

That way, even if they only carried a small knife, as long as they were fast enough, they would possess terrifying destructive power.

Now that Su Mo had been reborn in Douluo Continent for so many years, he finally understood.

It was because Soul Masters who possessed Soul Power and could use Martial Souls looked down on weapons to an extreme degree.

Almost all Soul Masters believed that weapons were only used by ordinary people and soldiers who could not summon Martial Souls.

It was only after Tang San later brought out Hidden Weapons that they saw weapons different from ordinary weapons. They thought those were not something ordinary people used, that they were more impressive, and only then did they begin to take them seriously.

Su Mo did not agree with that. The reason humans were stronger than beasts was that they had learned to use tools. When a Martial Soul's destructive power was insufficient in the early stages, there was nothing shameful about using weapons.

Other than during the Soul Master Competition, where all external items were prohibited, they were not forbidden at any other time, so why not use them?

Yu Xiaogang was quite wise in this regard.

The first soul beast Tang San had hunted, the Mandala Snake, had been killed with the short sword Yu Xiaogang gave him.

As a Level 29 Soul Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang had been completely unable to deal with that Mandala Snake using soul skills, yet a short sword had killed it. This showed that the weapons used by people in this world were not weak in destructive power either.

At the very least, they were very helpful to weak Soul Masters.

"With this bow and spear, I refuse to believe I can't hunt a hundred-year soul beast!"

Looking at the bow and spear he had prepared, Su Mo was brimming with confidence.

Of course, confidence did not mean Su Mo would be reckless. After reaching the Soul Hunting Forest, he would definitely find some weaker soul beasts to practice on first.