From Beginner to Burial

Whoever it was, if they obtained an offensive Soul Tool comparable to a "divine artifact," would they be willing to hand it over to other powerful figures?

The old man was unwilling to accept that. Naturally, he had no desire to trade this Hand Cannon for glory, wealth, fine clothes, and rich food.

That was why he had taken it into hiding, moving from place to place, until he finally secluded himself in Holy Soul Village and died in depression!

With it, a Soul Saint could possess attack power comparable to a Title Douluo, even if only for a single strike!

Yet precisely because it was so powerful, he had not dared to use it recklessly!

Once it was used, unless no one discovered it, the consequences would be unimaginable. Who would not covet such a treasure?

The scene returned to the village chief's home.

Zhu Rong carefully examined the Hand Cannon lying quietly in the box.

After observing it for a while, Zhu Rong realized that this Hand Cannon was anything but ordinary!

Its colors were simple, a blend of gold and earthy yellow. Its entire body was sleek and flawless, leaving no room for criticism.

There was not a single unnecessary decoration...

"Wait, a Soul Tool..."

As Zhu Rong looked at the gilded Hand Cannon, his mind raced. He felt that something was wrong, but he could not recall what it was.

As time passed, Zhu Rong's eyes suddenly lit up.

Zhu Rong grabbed the small box before him and opened it under Old Jack's puzzled gaze.

"If I'm not mistaken, the small box should contain detailed blueprints for crafting Soul Tools from ranks one through nine!"

Zhu Rong had just thought of a possibility—a truly terrifying possibility!

He had no Martial Soul!

But as a transmigrator, he should have some sort of cheat ability, more or less!

If he had not obtained the Bond System, and as a transmigrator he had no Martial Soul, then wouldn't these two boxes be his cheat ability?

Old Jack's grandfather had passed them down to Old Jack. Since Old Jack had no children and Zhu Rong was his only adopted grandson, the final owner of these two boxes would still be Zhu Rong.

When Zhu Rong underwent Martial Soul Awakening, he had not awakened a Martial Soul of his own. Excluding the copied Clear Sky Hammer, all three Martial Souls had been system compensation rewards for "taking beatings."

Then where was his own Martial Soul?

Zhu Rong had no Martial Soul, but as Old Jack's adopted grandson, he would certainly inherit relics from his Gao Zu.

So the question was, as a transmigrator, how could Zhu Rong possibly resist opening them to take a look...

Having obtained an offensive Soul Tool and its blueprints, someone with a transmigrator's mindset would surely shout:

"Flesh is weak, machines shall ascend!"

Zhu Rong: Did I get the protagonist script of some tragic victim while running the Bond System cheat? That's assuming there really are blueprints inside!

When Zhu Rong opened the small box, a book lay inside.

Soul Tools, From Beginner to Burial

"???"

Looking at the title, Zhu Rong rubbed his eyes, then widened them and looked again carefully...

"Gasp..."

Zhu Rong could not help drawing in a sharp breath. Damn it, it really was Soul Tools, From Beginner to Burial!

Who the hell came up with that name?

Taking the book from the small box, Zhu Rong prepared to inspect its contents and see exactly how one got buried!

After turning past the cover, the first page prominently displayed the words: Table of Contents.

"Detailed Tutorial on Rank One Soul Tools."

"Detailed Tutorial on Rank Two Soul Tools."

"Detailed Tutorial on Rank Three Soul Tools."

"Detailed Tutorial on Rank Nine Soul Tools."

"Compiled by: Li Thousand."

The book could not be finished anytime soon. As Zhu Rong immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge, he completely lost track of time—and of the anxious Old Jack beside him.

Old Jack was somewhat bewildered. He did not understand what had happened to Zhu Rong.

He hurriedly called out:

"Grandson, grandson..."

"Hmm?"

Only after Old Jack called several times did Zhu Rong snap back to his senses.

"Grandpa, what is it?"

Seeing Old Jack's anxious expression, Zhu Rong asked in confusion.

Though the title was rather bizarre, it truly recorded the detailed crafting methods for Soul Tools from ranks one through nine.

There were not many varieties, however, unlike ten thousand years later, when they had many different categories.

The book contained only the crafting methods for Hand Cannons, armor, and charging Soul Tools. It recorded no methods for other types of Soul Tools, not even flying Soul Tools.

If the book was genuine, identical Soul Tools could be crafted according to the methods written inside.

And with charging Soul Tools, even an ordinary person could unleash the power a Soul Tool was meant to have.

Heh, just as I thought. If I didn't have the system, I really would have embarked on the path of flesh being weak and machines ascending.

At that time, I would still have stood against Tang San and the others—against his hidden weapons, and the god behind him who destroyed Soul Tool Civilization...

A civilization that had invented rank-nine Soul Tools ten thousand years before Tang San's era, as well as charging Soul Tools that even ordinary people could use...

How could such a civilization have perished in such a short time?

Other than gods, there could be no other reason.

The destruction of Soul Tool Civilization was not merely because they invented Soul Tools that ordinary people could use. More importantly, they had invented divine artifacts capable of threatening gods!

"Grandson, are you all right? Grandpa saw you staring at those strange symbols like you were entranced. No matter how I called you, you wouldn't wake up..."

Old Jack spoke with lingering fear. Zhu Rong had looked as if his mind had been bewitched just now, and it had truly frightened him!

This explanation would have been fine if he had not given it, but after hearing it, Zhu Rong became even more confused.

"Strange symbols?"

They were all words in this book. How had they become strange symbols?

As the village chief, Old Jack knew at least some words. Otherwise, when registering records or passing along messages, he would have been completely helpless...

Zhu Rong looked once more at the book in his hands, then at Old Jack.

"Grandpa, how do you read this character?"

Zhu Rong pointed at the first character on the cover, soul, and showed it to Old Jack.

Soul Masters, Martial Souls, Spirit Hall...

As a native of Douluo Continent, Old Jack might not recognize other characters, but there was no way he would not recognize the character for soul.

Old Jack carefully examined the character Zhu Rong had pointed to, but after looking at it for a long time, he truly could not make out what it was.

Only then did he say:

"I don't recognize it. It's all twisty and strange..."

Boom—

Zhu Rong felt as though his mind had suddenly exploded!

This character was not a Chinese character from his previous life. It truly was the writing of Douluo Continent—the character for soul.

Yet Old Jack did not recognize it!

Then there was only one truth: ordinary people could not read this book!

That was probably why Gao Zu had not crafted any Soul Tools.

He simply could not understand the book. If it had not been discovered together with that Hand Cannon, he might have thrown it away...

I really did get the wrong script...

Then that means this Hand Cannon must be suitable for me to use?

At this thought, Zhu Rong no longer hesitated...