Lightning Piercing Kill Spear!

He heard the indistinct discussions and the gazes of several complex eyes behind him, but his steps were firm as he walked towards the route he had long planned, heading for the public carriage in the west of the city.

He paid to hire a long-distance carriage heading for the western border.

The destination: Heaven Dou Empire, Nuoding City.

Since he couldn't solve the Soul Ring problem himself for the time being, perhaps he could find clues or ideas by relying on the theories of this world.

Yu Xiaogang, this Master who was known as invincible in theory, although the forum reviews before his transmigration were polarized, his foundational research on Martial Souls, especially his discourse on mutated Martial Souls and Soul Ring matching, was currently the person Chen Li could think of who was most likely to provide valuable information.

Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy was a place he knew Yu Xiaogang might stay for a long time.

The carriage rumbled, traveling west.

Inside the carriage, Chen Li closed his eyes to rest, but his consciousness was immersed in repeatedly inventorying the items in his bracelet Soul Tool and deducing future plans.

He had to be cautious; a child of only six years old, carrying a large sum of money and secrets, traveling alone, danger was everywhere.

Several months later, the carriage arrived at the last small town on the western border of the Star Luo Empire.

Beyond this lay the continuous, rolling Horag Mountain Range, inhabited by Soul Beasts, which separated the two empires.

By agreement between the two countries, official carriages were not allowed to cross the border. Travelers had to pass through border checkpoints and some mountain paths on their own before reaching the border towns of the Heaven Dou Empire on the other side to transfer to other means of transportation.

After paying the fare, Chen Li rested briefly in the small town, replenishing his fresh food and water.

He changed into a more durable leather jacket and checked the bracelet for several self-defense short crossbows suitable for children, along with short blades coated with paralyzing agents.

Then, he shouldered his backpack and walked alone towards the majestic mountains that marked the border.

Passing through the busy but laxly inspected border checkpoint, the real challenge began.

The common mountain path leading to the Heaven Dou Empire was rugged and winding, not a smooth road. The forest was dense, and the air was filled with the scent of soil and plants. Occasionally, the calls of unknown birds and beasts could be heard, making it seem even more secluded.

Chen Li's steps were unhurried, his mental power highly concentrated. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit had granted him sharper senses than ordinary people.

He tried to walk along obvious paths, avoiding areas that looked too gloomy or had dense Soul Beast tracks.

As dusk fell, the light in the forest dimmed.

Chen Li found a rocky recess that was sheltered from the wind and had a relatively open view, preparing to spend the night there. He cleared the ground, sprinkled insect repellent powder, took out dry rations and water, and ate simply.

"System..." he murmured in his heart.

Where was the next sign-in point? What would it bring him? Could it solve the predicament of the Soul Rings?

He knew that crossing this mountain, reaching the Heaven Dou Empire, and finding Nuoding City to meet Yu Xiaogang might just be the beginning of another journey, not the end of his problems.

His path was destined to be different from all other Soul Masters.

The night wind rustled through the treetops, making a whistling sound, like the whisper of the wilderness.

Chen Li's footsteps made a faint rustling sound on the accumulated fallen leaves.

The deeper he went into the Horag Mountain Range, the fainter the traces of the artificially cleared paths became. The surrounding trees grew taller and denser, blocking out the sky, making the light in the forest dim and dappled.

The air was filled with the strong scent of grass and wood and a faint smell of humus. Occasionally, strange screeches not belonging to ordinary birds and beasts or distant roars could be heard, clearly reminding him that this was an area where Soul Beasts were active, even if only the periphery.

He dared not be careless in the slightest.

With a slight shift of his mind, the lightning within his body pulsed gently. Extremely subtle, almost invisible blue-white electric ions, like invisible tentacles, quietly emanated from his body's surface, silently merging into the surrounding air, trees, and even the earth. This was his exploration and application of the basic abilities of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, drawing on a concept from his past life's memories.

Although it was far from the miraculous realm of "Heart Net" that could hear the thoughts of all things, it could construct a sensory field with a radius of about thirty meters through the interaction and disturbance of electric ions with charged particles in the environment.

Within this range, any larger moving object, especially one with a life magnetic field, could hardly completely escape his vigilance.

About fifteen minutes after he cautiously moved forward, at the edge of his sensory field, by a small stream in the forest, there was an unusual bio-electric fluctuation, carrying a distinct aura of active lightning attribute.

Chen Li immediately stopped, his figure hidden behind an ancient tree, his gaze sharply cast in that direction. He saw a tiger, comparable in size to an adult Mighty Lion, with blue-gray fur and dark gold stripes, its mouth extending two long saber teeth, lowering its head to drink at the stream.

Small electric sparks jumped around its body. It was a Thunder Saber-toothed Tiger, a relatively fierce type among ten-year Soul Beasts. Judging by its aura and the intensity of its electric light, its cultivation was around fifty years.

The Thunder Saber-toothed Tiger seemed to have sensed something. Its drinking paused, and its massive head suddenly lifted. Its nostrils twitched rapidly. The next moment, its beastly eyes, flashing with ferocious electric light, accurately locked onto the direction where Chen Li was hiding!

Discovered?

Chen Li frowned slightly. In his electric ion perception, there were several weak ten-year Soul Beasts nearby, but they didn't seem to have noticed him. Only this Thunder Saber-toothed Tiger, sensitive to lightning...

ROAR!!!

A deafening roar suddenly exploded, breaking the silence of the forest!

The Thunder Saber-toothed Tiger clearly regarded Chen Li as an intruder or a tasty prey. The ferocious nature of lightning-attribute Soul Beasts was completely ignited.

Its four limbs exerted force, sending soil flying. Its massive body, enveloped in suddenly bright, dazzling electric light, charged straight towards the ancient tree where Chen Li was hiding like a blue-gold lightning bolt!

During its charge, the lightning around its body intensely gathered at its head and saber teeth, forming a constantly expanding, crackling cone of lightning light – its innate attack method, Lightning Charge!

It was extremely fast and imposing, far exceeding ordinary beasts!

Facing this attack, which was enough to make ordinary Soul Masters take it seriously, Chen Li's eyes showed no panic. He stepped out from behind the tree, facing the charging ferocious beast directly.

"I haven't obtained a Soul Ring, but that doesn't mean I'm a lamb to be slaughtered."

Chen Li muttered softly, raising his right hand, fingers spread, and aimed at the ferocious lightning tiger. "Coincidentally, I'll use you to test the most basic form change of lightning."

"Lightning · Piercing Spear!"

The surging lightning Soul Power within his body poured out, not in a chaotic burst, but under his exquisite control, rapidly condensing and shaping in front of his palm!

The dazzling blue-white lightning light compressed and stretched wildly. In an instant, a lightning spear more than two meters long, entirely composed of highly condensed lightning, with an extremely sharp tip and surrounded by fine electric arcs, was formed!