First Soul Skill: Gate of Babylon (Orange-Flavored Chocolate Patron Bonus Chapter!)

According to Master Yu Xiaogang's research, the absorption limit for a Soul Master's first soul ring was around four hundred and twenty years. Beyond that age, a Soul Master might not be able to endure it.

Of course, that was only the usual case.

Just look at Tang San, who absorbed a ten-thousand-year Earth Cave Demon Spider as his fourth soul ring despite exceeding the limit. Then there was Huo Yuhao... whose very first soul ring came from the million-year Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. One cheat was more outrageous than the next.

Su Yuntian stared at the purple yew, thinking that while he could not compare to Huo Yuhao's absurd cheat, he should still be stronger than an ordinary Soul Master.

For his first soul ring, why not absorb this tree?

Before setting out, Su Yuntian had discussed soul ring choices with Qian Renxue. The species of a soul beast determined the type of Soul Skill, while the increase in Soul Power mainly came from the soul ring's age.

Su Yuntian was confident that if he could open the Gate of Babylon, he would not need to rely on flashy Soul Skills. After all, every Noble Phantasm in Hero King Gilgamesh's treasury possessed considerable power.

Ordinary Servants possessed only a handful of Noble Phantasms, but Hero King Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm was the Gate of Babylon itself. It contained the original forms of all treasures in the world. It could practically be called a cheat.

Therefore, both Su Yuntian and Qian Renxue believed that maximizing his Soul Power was the most suitable choice for his first soul ring.

The increase in Soul Power depended on the soul beast's age.

Although plant-type soul beasts like purple yews lacked offensive power and all those flashy attributes, successfully absorbing one would presumably grant Su Yuntian deeper Soul Power than others his age.

Good. You it was, then!

The purple yew seemed to sense Su Yuntian's malice. Its branches and leaves began to tremble, while the dense roots beneath the ground slowly shifted. It looked like it wanted to run.

Pointing at the purple yew, Su Yuntian called to the two Soul Elders beside Xue Qinghe, "Masters, give me a hand! Keep it here. This tree is mine!"

The two Soul Elders might not have been particularly powerful, but stopping a tree—or rather, a plant-type soul beast—was effortless.

Though unwilling to be ordered around by Su Yuntian, after First Prince Xue Qinghe gave a slight nod to state his position, the two Soul Elders leaped up and attacked the purple yew from opposite directions.

One threw a punch, while the other kicked. Two heavy blows landed on the purple yew, making the massive tree shudder.

"Die!"

Holding a longsword borrowed from Xue Qinghe, Su Yuntian poured Soul Power into it and shouted as he cut the purple yew cleanly in half at the trunk.

The towering canopy slowly toppled over. From the cut surface of the stump, a bright yellow ring floated out. It was the purple yew's soul ring.

There was no need for words. Su Yuntian walked straight over, sat against the stump, and used his Soul Power to guide the soul ring onto himself, beginning the absorption process.

Although the theoretical absorption limit for a Soul Master's first soul ring was a little over four hundred years, the purple yew was mild-tempered and possessed virtually no aggression. Su Yuntian was not worried about the soul ring exceeding the limit. If he could not absorb it, he would simply give up.

Still, Su Yuntian could not figure something out... Were plant-type soul beasts plants or animals?

If they were plants, why were they called "soul beasts"?

Why not call them Soul Plants?

Why did the protagonists' soul rings mostly come from soul beasts, while so few came from "Soul Plants"?

Don't ask... Zhang Wei was just a webnovel author. What the hell did he know about Douluo?

Those random thoughts flashed past in an instant. Su Yuntian calmed himself and carefully absorbed the soul ring.

The purple yew bore deep resentment toward him, but it was useless. It was merely a tree. Compared to Su Yuntian's powerful spiritual strength from living two lives, the purple yew's resentment was utterly insignificant.

Half an hour later, Su Yuntian slowly opened his eyes.

The soul ring absorption had gone even more smoothly than he expected. The purple yew had indeed delivered, raising Su Yuntian's Soul Power by two full levels in one go. He was now level 12.

Xue Qinghe had waited patiently beside him the entire time. Seeing Su Yuntian awaken, he asked with a smile, "How does it feel?"

"It feels... amazing!"

Before his words had faded, a pale golden Aether Gate suddenly opened beside Su Yuntian.

In Fate World's setting, magical energy was made up of spirit particles that existed within the spatial element aether. Its specific manifestation was the "gates" of the glittering treasury. When the gates opened, they were accompanied by golden ripples like water, all of which were fluctuations of magical energy.

It was called magical energy in Fate World, while in the Douluo World, it was called Soul Power. They were more or less the same thing.

The "gate" Su Yuntian opened was an Aether Gate powered by the Soul Power within his body. It was similarly pale gold, with rippling waves like water. It looked cool as hell.

Then Su Yuntian pulled a sword from the pale golden Aether Gate, followed by a kitchen knife, then pastries made by the maid Da Xue, then an apple, and finally a gray coat.

Su Yuntian did not notice the expressions of the three people opposite him. Still filled with delight, he said, "This is my first Soul Skill, the Gate of Babylon!"

A polite yet awkward smile appeared on Xue Qinghe's face.

The two Soul Elders beside him did not possess such refined manners. They both glared at Su Yuntian with suspicious looks.

That was it?

That was it?!

And you called that a damn treasury? Why not just say you opened a general store?

Facing everyone's doubts, Su Yuntian snorted and lifted his proud little chin. "Only weak people are accustomed to mockery and denial. Those with strong hearts never begrudge praise and encouragement."

Xue Qinghe smiled when he heard that. "Xiaotian, you managed to absorb a soul ring beyond the four-hundred-year limit. Your strength should be quite impressive among Soul Masters."

The two Soul Elders merely stared at each other, wide-eyed, unable to understand what he meant.

Only then did Su Yuntian say smugly, "I'm afraid you'd die of fright if I told you. Now that I have the first Soul Skill, Gate of Babylon, this Key of Royal Law of mine can open the treasury."

Being able to open the treasury meant that Su Yuntian would be able to use Hero King's Noble Phantasms in the future.

Xue Qinghe maintained his smile. "And then?"

Then Su Yuntian deflated. "But my Soul Power is still too weak right now. I can't take out many high-grade treasures at all. I can only retrieve some low-grade things."

The iron sword, kitchen knife, pastries, apple, and clothes were all low-grade items in Su Yuntian's eyes. Storing and retrieving such things from the Gate of Babylon required very little Soul Power, so there was no obstacle. But high-grade Noble Phantasms, such as the EA Sword of Ruin or the Chains of Heaven, were impossible. Su Yuntian's Soul Power was not even sufficient to take those high-grade Noble Phantasms out.

As an outside observer, Xue Qinghe saw things more clearly and encouraged him, "Based on your description, this Soul Skill should grow along with the increase in your Soul Power. Don't be discouraged. I have great confidence in your future!"

Su Yuntian nodded wildly.

He knew perfectly well about the growth potential of his first Soul Skill, the Gate of Babylon. But the problem was, what level did he need to reach before he could use the powerful items in the treasury?

Su Yuntian let out a long sigh, then opened an Aether Gate in front of himself and stepped into it.

The youth's slender figure instantly vanished, teleporting three meters away and landing behind Xue Qinghe and the two guards.

Xue Qinghe froze slightly... Teleportation?

The two Soul Elder guards were already too stunned to speak.

Note 0: Thanks to Orange-Flavored Chocolate for the donation! He wrote a Fate fanfiction called Survival Manual for the Holy Grail War, and it was excellent!

Note 1: Was the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin a soul beast or a Soul Plant? Why had no other high-level Soul Plants appeared?

Note 2: Only weak people are accustomed to mockery and denial. Those with strong hearts never begrudge praise and encouragement. Are you the "younger generation" they talk about? Anyway, I'm not the younger generation Bilibili talks about. I can't ride the waves.

Note 3: I saw a claim that 436 years was the absolute limit for a first soul ring, but I don't know if it is true. Here, I arranged for Su Yuntian's first soul ring to be this six-hundred-year-old tree. If it does not fully conform to Douluo's setting, please do not take it too seriously.