Ancient Beast's Touch

Over the past few years, Ye Lan had learned quite a bit about Sea Soul Beasts from various Sea Soul Masters.

Among Sea Soul Beasts, the ones with the strongest vitality were Blue Whale Soul Beasts.

However, Blue Whale Soul Beasts were extremely united and usually traveled in groups.

Even a lone Blue Whale Soul Beast was not something Ye Lan could afford to provoke.

Even a hundred-year Blue Whale was dozens of meters long.

Moreover, most Blue Whale Soul Beasts lived in the deep sea. For Ye Lan as he was now, dreaming of obtaining a Soul Ring from one of them was absolutely courting death.

Aside from Blue Whale Soul Beasts, there was another type of Soul Beast with exceptionally vigorous vitality.

That was the Octopus Soul Beast. Octopuses possessed three hearts, and the heart was the Life Core.

Therefore, Ye Lan ultimately chose the ocean behemoth—Ancient Beast's Touch—for his Second Soul Skill. Ancient Beast's Touch was the king among Octopus Soul Beasts.

Ye Lan believed that with Skill Selection, he could obtain a powerful life-based Soul Skill from Ancient Beast's Touch.

"Old man, give me a cheaper price. Renting a boat from you is way too expensive!" Ye Lan was startled when he heard the fisherman's quote.

The Old Fisherman said helplessly, "Young man, it's not like I'm naming prices at random. You said you're going to that Black Sea—wouldn't that mean my boat is going out and never coming back? That place is dangerous. Plenty of my fellow fishermen went there and never returned. You call it renting a boat, but I'm afraid I'll never see this boat again!"

"Is it really that dangerous, sir? How about this? I'll add another thirty Gold Soul Coins, making it eighty Gold Soul Coins in total. You take me there directly, alright? I'm not very familiar with these waters." Understanding the fisherman's concerns, Ye Lan offered more money.

"What are you going to the Black Sea for, young man?" Tempted by Ye Lan's increased offer, the fisherman asked about his purpose.

"I heard there's a type of Soul Beast in the Black Sea called Ancient Beast's Touch. My Soul Power has reached level twenty, and I urgently need to obtain my second Soul Ring. This Soul Beast's Soul Ring is extremely suitable for me," Ye Lan explained.

"What? You're already a level-twenty Soul Master at such a young age?" The Old Fisherman stared in shock at the blond youth standing before him, who was over six feet tall.

The blond youth's face was still somewhat immature. Though he was tall, the Old Fisherman could tell that he had not yet come of age.

The Old Fisherman was astonished that Ye Lan had already become a Soul Grandmaster at such a young age. He could hardly believe it.

Hearing this, Ye Lan decisively summoned Blue Silver Grass and a yellow Soul Ring from his palm.

The Blue Silver Grass was covered in golden patterns, looking exceptionally noble.

The current Blue Silver Grass had not changed much, yet it had changed greatly.

Its color was not much different from when he was level ten, but its form had undergone an enormous transformation.

Its leaves were no longer just a few scattered blades. Large leaves now grew from branches extending out from the main stem.

What emerged from Ye Lan's hand was no longer a tiny Blue Silver Grass, but something resembling a small tree.

The Old Fisherman looked at the noble Blue Silver Grass and the conspicuous yellow Soul Ring.

Fishermen who lived near Vast Sea City were fairly knowledgeable. A first Soul Ring at the hundred-year level meant that this martial soul was clearly no ordinary one.

The fisherman was certain that the youth before him was extraordinary—an absolute genius! He trusted Ye Lan a little more now.

"Lord Soul Master, I accept your request. Though my boat isn't huge, it's no small vessel either. A mere few-hundred-year Ancient Beast's Touch won't be enough to shake it!"

"Sir, you know about Ancient Beast's Touch too?" Ye Lan asked curiously.

"I've been going out to sea for decades. I've also caught plenty of sea beasts that were several decades old with my companions. I know a fair amount about Sea Soul Beasts. When I was young, my friends and I caught Ancient Beast's Touches that were over ten years old. Those Soul Beasts sold for quite a bit of money to Soul Masters."

"Of course, those were only Ancient Beast's Touches that were a little over ten years old. Ancient Beast's Touch grows extremely quickly. When it's young, it's only a few inches long. As it ages, its size doubles and doubles. After a dozen years or so, it can grow to around a meter long. After several hundred years, it can grow into a giant seven or eight meters long! When the time comes, I'll lure the Ancient Beast's Touch to the surface, but the battle will be up to you!" the fisherman explained.

"Sir, what if it's a Thousand-Year Ancient Beast's Touch?" Ye Lan asked.

"What? Why would you provoke a thousand-year ancient beast? A Thousand-Year Ancient Beast's Touch is also called a King's Touch, and its total length can exceed twenty meters. Don't think I'm ignorant—the maximum age for a Soul Master's second Soul Ring is only a hundred years, isn't it?" The fisherman began to hesitate.

"Don't worry, sir. Leave the fighting to me. If things really go wrong, we'll just run. My martial soul is a little special; even if I explained it, you wouldn't understand. I'll give you another hundred Gold Soul Coins," Ye Lan reassured him.

Thinking of his orphaned granddaughter at home and the better life she could have in the future, the fisherman gritted his teeth and said, "Then I'll risk it! Wait here for me. I'll go buy a secret weapon for dealing with Ancient Beast's Touch."

"What secret weapon?" Ye Lan asked curiously. Could ordinary people really deal with a Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

"You'll find out when the time comes." Without looking back, the fisherman headed into Vast Sea City, while Ye Lan stayed behind to watch over the fisherman's vessel.

The ship was made of wood, around seventy meters long and fifteen meters high.

As long as they did not encounter a gigantic sea beast over a hundred meters long, escaping would not be a problem.

Before long, the Old Fisherman returned to Ye Lan with a cart.

Ye Lan saw two large, bulging sacks on the cart but had no idea what they contained.

"Sir, what did you buy? Can it deal with Ancient Beast's Touch?"

"Hehe, although ordinary people like us don't have much fighting power, we have our own methods for dealing with Soul Beasts." The fisherman slowly stroked his beard.

"These are two large sacks of sea salt. If you can't defeat Ancient Beast's Touch, scatter the sea salt all over the sea beast's body. It'll become dehydrated and rush back into the sea to wash itself off. That'll give us time to escape." The fisherman proudly introduced his secret weapon.

Ye Lan thought it made perfect sense. As expected of a fisherman who had lived by the sea for decades.

Taking advantage of the daylight, the fisherman did not delay. Carrying Ye Lan and several crates of fishing goods, he sailed toward the Black Sea.

In the dark sea region, the sea breeze was not particularly fierce.

Unlike other waters, this sea's most distinctive feature was its black color.

Like the black eyes of an abyss staring at the little boat, Ye Lan stared back into the depths of the Black Sea, wondering what unknown things lurked beneath.

These waters were exceptionally quiet. No other fishing boats could be seen around them, and the small boat drifted alone across the Black Sea.

No wonder the fisherman had hesitated upon hearing the name Black Sea. The environment here truly was strange.

"Sir, where can I find Ancient Beast's Touch? I heard people in the city mention this Octopus Soul Beast before. It's a giant octopus Soul Beast, the largest among all octopus Soul Beasts," Ye Lan asked the fisherman.

"See the catch on the deck? At night, it'll crawl aboard on its own to steal some food. This part of the Black Sea is deep water, so there are more thousand-year King's Touch here, while small Ancient Beast's Touch are rare. Let me make this clear beforehand: you won't have many chances. If the Sea Salt runs out, I'll head straight back. So whatever grade of Ancient Beast's Touch you encounter will depend entirely on your luck," the fisherman warned.