The System Arrived Late

Douluo Continent, Heaven Dou Empire.

Within a quiet, ancient courtyard, Ling Feng sat cross-legged like a statue, wholly immersed in cultivation.

As time slowly passed, a faint, barely noticeable disappointment quietly surfaced in Ling Feng's eyes. Fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he lightly clenched his teeth.

Unfortunately, his soul power still had not increased.

A moment later, Ling Feng slowly opened his eyes and gently exhaled a breath of stale air, followed by a helpless sigh.

"Ah, my Martial Soul's grade is still too low. I wasted several precious months without raising my soul power by even one level."

His voice echoed through the silent courtyard, carrying a trace of helplessness.

After speaking, Ling Feng slowly rose to his feet and brushed the dust from his clothes. His gaze drifted toward the distant sky, his eyes filled with loneliness.

He was not originally a native of this magical land known as Douluo Continent. An accident had brought him here through transmigration.

Before transmigrating, he had read the Douluo Continent novel and watched its anime. He had fully believed that he, too, would awaken a powerful Martial Soul.

If not ascending to godhood in one stroke, then at the very least, he should have become a Titled Douluo admired by all across Douluo Continent.

Yet, at the moment of his Martial Soul awakening at age six, he realized just how childish his earlier thoughts had been.

In the magical yet cruel world of Douluo Continent, a person's fate was largely set the instant their Martial Soul awakened.

He had already figured out the current timeline of Douluo Continent. If nothing unexpected happened, Tang San should be six years old this year, and the story of Douluo Continent was more or less beginning.

Ling Feng had awakened nothing more than an inconspicuous, low-grade Martial Soul. His Innate Soul Power was pitifully weak as well, only level two.

He was now an adult, having just turned eighteen. Yet after years of relentless cultivation, his Soul Power Level still remained at level twenty-five.

He had challenged himself countless times and trained his body in an attempt to break through the bottleneck of his soul power, but he had failed time and time again.

"Forget it. In any case, with the special nature of my Martial Soul, I can still live without worrying about food or clothes on Douluo Continent."

Ling Feng shook his head slightly. Though his Martial Soul was ordinary and possessed neither powerful offensive nor defensive capabilities, it had a magical and unique ability.

"Buzz!"

With a thought from Ling Feng, he slowly opened his right hand, and a faint cyan glow rose from his palm.

The light then suddenly blossomed, and an ancient Bronze Mirror appeared out of thin air, quietly floating above his right hand.

Delicate green patterns were carved around the Bronze Mirror, their designs ancient and mysterious. It was Ling Feng's Martial Soul: the Bronze Mirror.

Through years of exploration, he had discovered that while the Bronze Mirror Martial Soul could not provide him with powerful support in battle, it possessed an exceptionally strange ability—the Bronze Mark.

The Bronze Mark was a medium.

When he placed a Bronze Mark upon a soul beast, he could extract soul power from the beast and condense it into a soul ring.

However, extracting soul rings was not without limits. Restricted by his strength, he could currently only barely extract Hundred-Year Soul Rings from soul beasts, and only Hundred-Year Soul Rings with relatively low ages.

The extracted soul rings were no different from those obtained by hunting soul beasts, and the soul skills they produced were likewise closely related to the soul beasts.

If he forcibly attempted to extract a soul ring with a higher age, not only would he fail, but he would also suffer backlash. The loss would outweigh the gain.

Ling Feng guessed that one reason for his failures was his low Soul Power Level, while another might be the limitations of his Martial Soul's grade.

Relying on this special ability of his Martial Soul, Ling Feng had found a unique way to survive on Douluo Continent.

He often moved through the Soul Beast Forest, where the occasional roars of soul beasts sent chills down one's spine.

Ling Feng cautiously captured some Hundred-Year soul beasts within it, extracting Ten-Year Soul Rings and Hundred-Year Soul Rings from them.

Before every operation, he had to plan carefully in advance, observe the soul beasts' habits and movements, and seek the best opportunity to act.

As for the extracted soul rings, they could remain in the air for a long time, which was related to Ling Feng's Bronze Mirror Martial Soul.

He only needed to attach a Bronze Mark to a soul ring, and the soul ring could remain in the air unless the Bronze Mark disappeared.

He would then sell the extracted soul rings to commoners who wanted soul rings but lacked the strength to enter the Soul Beast Forest and hunt for them.

For these commoners, possessing a Hundred-Year Soul Ring—even one that was only exactly one hundred years old—was a precious opportunity they could only dream of, one that was difficult to encounter.

After all, the Soul Beast Forest was no safe place. It was filled with danger, concealing countless lethal perils and challenges.

With even the slightest carelessness, anyone who entered could lose their life and become food for soul beasts.

For safety's sake, most commoners would rather absorb relatively weaker Ten-Year Soul Rings than dare venture into the Soul Beast Forest.

Because of this, Ling Feng had accumulated considerable wealth over the years by selling soul rings, enough for him to live a comfortable life without worrying about food or clothing on Douluo Continent.

But Ling Feng knew that this was not a long-term solution. He longed for the day when he could break through his own limits and allow his Martial Soul to evolve.

He had actually considered going to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Absorbing any immortal herb there would be enough to bring about Martial Soul Evolution, but the place was occupied by Poison Douluo. Going there would be nothing more than courting death.

He could only give up.

Just as Ling Feng was preparing to head to the place where he raised soul beasts and check on their condition,

a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his mind without warning.

"Could it be...?"

An uncontrollable flash of delight appeared in Ling Feng's eyes. It remained there for only a brief instant before he forcibly suppressed it.

He slowly shook his head, secretly pondering that it might merely be an auditory hallucination.

Ever since transmigrating to Douluo Continent, for eighteen whole years, he had constantly yearned to possess the legendary golden finger.

In the world of Douluo Continent, though he had barely managed to survive with his Bronze Mirror Martial Soul, he knew all too well how weak and limited he was.

Whenever he faced a powerful soul master or a ferocious soul beast, he keenly felt his own powerlessness and helplessness.

Host successfully detected to have arrived in Douluo Continent. Baby God System binding...

Suddenly, that cold voice continued to ring clearly in his mind.

Ling Feng was initially stunned, then an indescribable surge of excitement and nervousness rose within him.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and repeatedly confirmed that this was not an illusion before finally realizing it.

The golden finger he had dreamed of had truly descended upon him at this very moment.