After absorbing his first thousand-year Soul Ring, Su Chen didn't rest. He immediately went into hunting mode.
With Epitaph's help, he quickly locked onto a tricky target.
A Dark Demon Tiger with roughly six thousand years of cultivation!
The Dark Demon Tiger was a top predator in the Soul Beast Realm, and it possessed the ability to devour.
Though it had only six thousand years of cultivation, in a real fight even an ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would be no match for it.
"Let's use you to test my sword."
Su Chen was eager to try it out. He held out his right hand, and a cross-shaped longsword radiating a deathly aura appeared out of thin air.
First Martial Soul—Pluto Sword!
A dazzling purple Soul Ring rose beneath his feet.
"Innate Domain—Underworld Rebirth!"
Su Chen let out a low shout. The light around him dimmed instantly, and a fierce, chilling wind howled.
Crack! Crack!
The earth split open, and twelve skeleton soldiers clad in bone armor and wielding bone blades crawled out.
Within the domain, their strength was perfectly synchronized with Su Chen's!
This was a one-sided group beating.
The Dark Demon Tiger was fierce, but surrounded by twelve tireless skeleton soldiers who felt no pain—and with Epitaph predicting its movements—it couldn't even touch the hem of Su Chen's clothes.
In the end, the jungle overlord fell in despair, shedding tears as it yielded a deep purple Soul Ring.
An hour later.
Absorption complete. Your Soul Power has soared to Level 25.
Looking at the two purple Soul Rings beneath his feet, Su Chen frowned, dissatisfied.
"Still too weak."
The Pluto Sword craved blood, and he craved power.
And so, Su Chen made a decision.
He headed deeper into Sunset Forest, intending to cosplay as the Ghost Demon Venerable and treat the Soul Beasts there like an all-you-can-eat buffet!
Although Sunset Forest had been slaughtered by Tang San more than ten thousand years ago, time had passed, and the forest's Soul Beasts had only grown more numerous. What's more, Su Chen knew of an excellent spot where they gathered!
The Soul Beasts there were not only old, but not especially strong, making them perfect for his purposes.
Time flew, and the killing never stopped.
Before he knew it, a year had passed.
That year, Su Chen had eaten to his heart's content!
Su Chen had just turned eight. By the time he emerged from the forest, his Soul Power had reached an astonishing Level 33—Soul Elder!
Even more terrifying was his Soul Ring Configuration.
Black! Black! Black!
Three identical ten-thousand-year Soul Rings radiated a suffocating pressure!
This impossible configuration was all thanks to the Holy Spirit Cult.
During his first Simulation, Su Chen had obtained a secret technique from Ye Xishui that could increase the age of Soul Rings.
Combined with the Pluto Sword's ability to devour life and nourish its wielder, Su Chen had fought his way through the forest, forcibly "feeding" his original purple Soul Rings until they had all become ten-thousand-year Soul Rings!
Eight years old, with three ten-thousand-year Soul Rings.
"Tsk, tsk. If those old fossils from Shrek saw my Soul Ring Configuration now, I bet they'd blow their tops on the spot."
Su Chen couldn't help laughing as he looked at his Soul Ring Configuration.
"Given Shrek's 'outsiders can never be trusted' attitude, they'd probably slap the label of 'Evil Soul Master' on me, then claim they were 'upholding justice' as they snuffed me out in the cradle."
Of course, Su Chen had never planned to join Shrek.
From the moment he awakened the Pluto Sword, he was destined to stand against Shrek.
The Pluto Sword was the supreme divine weapon that ruled over death and slaughter!
In the eyes of Shrek, which prided itself on "justice and light," such an extreme darkness was a sin—a filth that had to be purged.
When your paths diverged, there was nothing to discuss.
Besides, Su Chen had a deep-seated fear of Shrek, especially that "Chicken Leg Douluo," Xuan Zi.
Even now, he still grimaced when he thought back to the painful events of his first Simulation.
That old geezer did nothing but gnaw on chicken legs, and always let everyone down when it mattered!
Whenever he led a team, they were wiped out. Whenever he was supposed to protect someone, he disappeared!
If the Pluto Sword hadn't erupted at the last moment to protect him, Xuan Zi would have gotten him killed so thoroughly that not even his ashes would have remained.
"Cherish life. Stay away from Xuan Zi."
Su Chen couldn't help but grumble.
"Following Du Busi is a bit crazy, but at least he really does protect his own, and he's genuinely reliable.
"Following Xuan Zi? Heh. That's like gambling with your life!"
After leaving Sunset Forest, Su Chen returned to the bustling Heaven Dou City.
First things first: make money.
After all, cultivation took resources, and it took money to train well.
Su Chen was already familiar with the process of selling the spoils he'd collected while hunting in Sunset Forest over the past year. He also casually tossed a thousand-year Spirit Bone into an auction house.
In an era when Spirit Bones were scarce, this "useless" piece caused an instant sensation and earned Su Chen an astronomical sum in start-up capital.
Then he booked a presidential suite in Heaven Dou City's most luxurious hotel and settled in for the time being.
He was waiting.
By his calculations, every so often the Body Sect would recruit Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls.
When the time came, Su Chen could go there.
Of course, more often than not, the Body Sect personally sought out Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls.
There were only a handful of people who awakened Body Martial Souls, and naturally awakened Body Martial Soul Soul Masters were an even rarer breed.
Although the Simulation had already made him the young sect master, he still had to go through the motions in real life.
With his current talent for Twin Martial Souls—Body Martial Soul and King Crimson—joining the Body Sect would be a piece of cake!
The next morning.
The sun was shining brightly. As usual, Su Chen went out for a walk, taking the opportunity to learn a little about Heaven Dou City's local customs.
But as he passed through a quiet old alley, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.
A short distance ahead, a graceful figure in white was walking slowly.
Her white dress was as pure as snow, and her presence was as elegant as an orchid.
The eldest sister of Shrek's Inner Court, and the future master of the Sea God Pavilion—Zhang Lexuan?!
Su Chen instinctively concealed his presence.
Zhang Lexuan hadn't noticed him. She walked straight to the end of the alley and stopped in front of an ancient locust tree.
She stood there silently, gazing at the tree. Confusion and sorrow lingered in her beautiful eyes, but she said nothing for a long time.
Su Chen's heart stirred.
That tree... In one of the Simulation's timelines, wasn't this where he had been buried, when he was her younger brother?
By now, Zhang Lexuan's heart was already in turmoil.
More than a year ago, a strange memory had inexplicably appeared in her mind.
In that remembered world, she had a younger brother with whom she had depended on each other since childhood.
He had been obedient and sensible, blessed with exceptional talent, yet he had died at the hands of a Soul Beast while protecting her.
At first, she thought it was merely a hallucination brought on by overtraining, or perhaps the work of inner demons.
Until three months ago...
The scenes from her memory had actually come true!
When she was hunting for her Eighth Soul Ring, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had appeared without warning in the outer area. Xuan Zi, who should have been there to protect her, had happened to be absent because he was "too busy eating"!
It was exactly the same as the scene in her memories when she had been in danger!
Luckily, forewarned by those memories, she had been cautious. She secretly asked Elder Song to follow her, and that was how she escaped disaster.
"If that memory is real..."
Zhang Lexuan stroked the rough trunk, her fingertips trembling slightly.
"Then where is my younger brother...?"
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