Luan Shi Valley, before a cave.
A faint smell of blood lingered in the air. The severed corpse of the Three-Eyed Demon Wolf lay quietly to one side.
Liu Yuan sat cross-legged before the corpse, his eyes shut and his breathing steady and deep.
Above his head, the deep yellow hundred-year Soul Ring pulsed, transforming into strands of pure energy that continuously flowed into his body through his pores and meridians.
During the absorption process, the Three-Eyed Demon Wolf's lingering resentment condensed into one final Mental Shock, attempting to wreak havoc within Liu Yuan's Spirit Sea of Consciousness.
It was a miniature Ghost Wolf, baring its fangs and claws as it tried to tear Liu Yuan's consciousness apart.
"Hmph. I could kill you with a single glare when you were alive, and you still want to turn the world upside down after death?"
Within his Spirit Sea of Consciousness, Liu Yuan's consciousness snorted coldly.
In the void, a pair of enormous Double Pupils slowly opened, carrying supreme majesty and indifference. With nothing more than a single glance, the arrogant Wraith Wolf Soul melted away like snow beneath boiling water, vanishing without a trace.
"Refine...!"
With the resentment suppressed, absorbing the remaining Soul Power became effortless.
Who knew how much time passed.
"Phew—"
Liu Yuan exhaled a breath of stale air. It actually formed a white streak in the air that lingered for a long while.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Within his originally profound Double Pupils, a faint ghostly glow now flowed, making them seem even more mysterious and unfathomable.
"Success."
Liu Yuan rose to his feet, feeling the surging Soul Power within him. A satisfied smile curved his lips.
The sensation of being filled with power was intoxicating.
"My Soul Power Level has broken through level twenty and reached level twenty-one!"
"Next, it's time to see what this Soul Skill can do."
With a thought, Liu Yuan calmed himself and began sensing the new yellow imprint that had appeared in his mind.
"First soul skill... Spirit Ray?"
According to the feedback in his mind, activating this Soul Skill was extremely simple:
He compressed and fused his Spirit Power and Soul Power within his eyes, then released them in the form of rays through the unique structure of his Double Pupils.
It was a form of mixed damage.
It possessed both the physical destructive force of Soul Power and the penetrating, intimidating qualities of Spirit Power.
"Isn't this... just Laser Eye?"
Liu Yuan could not help muttering to himself.
"Whether it is or not, I'll test its power first."
Liu Yuan turned around and locked his gaze on a solid slab of granite at least half a person tall.
He drew a deep breath, mobilizing the newly advanced level twenty-one Soul Power in his body while focusing his mind.
"First soul skill, Spirit Ray!"
Buzz!
With a faint hum, Liu Yuan's originally pitch-black pupils suddenly lit up.
The next moment.
Ssh—!!!
Two crimson beams no thicker than fingers, yet condensed to the utmost extreme, instantly burst from his Double Pupils!
The beams struck the granite in an instant.
There was no explosion, nor were there flying fragments of stone.
The crimson beams sank into the rock without resistance, like a hot knife slicing through butter.
As Liu Yuan turned his head, his gaze swept sideways.
Ssh, ssh, ssh...
A smooth, mirror-like cut instantly appeared across the hard granite.
"Sever!"
The light in Liu Yuan's eyes receded.
Crack.
The upper half of the half-person-tall granite slowly slid down, crashing onto the ground with a boom. Its cross-section was so smooth that it could even reflect light!
"Hiss..."
Even Liu Yuan could not help drawing a sharp breath as he looked at his handiwork.
"What terrifying power!"
"This isn't merely physical cutting. The instant the rays made contact, I could feel the material structure in that small area being destroyed. If this hit a person..."
Liu Yuan narrowed his eyes.
No matter how high their physical defense was, it likely could not withstand this penetrating attack infused with spiritual attributes.
Furthermore, the intimidating effect carried by Spirit Power would cause an enemy to stiffen the moment they were hit, leaving them unable to make any follow-up response.
Most importantly—
Liu Yuan closed his eyes and sensed the consumption within his body.
"The consumption is tiny!"
That roughly two-second burst of fire had consumed only a minuscule amount of Soul Power and Spirit Power!
What did that mean?
It meant that this move, Spirit Ray, could be used entirely as his standard basic attack!
By comparison, the Double Pupils' innate Distortion and Insight consumed an astonishing amount.
Distortion in particular could drain more than half his reserves with a full-force strike, and it had a considerable casting windup.
Spirit Ray, on the other hand, was instant, dealt sustained damage, had low consumption, and possessed long range.
"So this is what they mean by a superior replacement..."
Liu Yuan nodded in satisfaction. "With this move, my combat system has taken its initial shape."
At long range, he could kite opponents with Spirit Ray. If enemies closed in, he could use Insight to evade, then open up the distance again...
Not bad.
After absorbing the Soul Ring and dealing with the traces at the scene, Liu Yuan did not immediately leave the Star Dou Great Forest.
Since he was already here, and had reached level twenty-one, he intended to obtain his Second Soul Skill as well.
"A truly powerful Soul Master cannot have any weaknesses."
Liu Yuan sat on the branch of a large tree, resting while considering his choice for a second Soul Ring.
"Right now, I have offensive methods and scouting methods."
"But what is my greatest weakness?"
"Survivability. In other words, room for error."
In the dangerous Douluo Continent, getting injured was commonplace.
Moreover, with his current setup, if he suffered severe injuries in battle, he would be finished.
Unless he could find a dedicated healing-type Soul Master to team up with him, but that was impossible.
"I remember that in other settings, when Double Pupils were cultivated to the extreme, they could even release life essence and possess the heaven-defying power to 'revive the dead and regrow flesh upon bones.'"
Liu Yuan rubbed his chin. "Although I'm still unimaginably far from that realm, I can simulate the process through a Soul Ring."
"As long as my second Soul Ring can grant me a self-healing skill or some sort of life-force-draining ability, my sustained combat capability will rise exponentially."
If he could not win, he could run. If he could not run, he could wear them down. If he was worn down and injured, he could heal.
That was perfect combat logic.
"Target confirmed: a spiritual-attribute Soul Beast with healing abilities or abundant life force."
"However, the only Soul Beasts I can think of right now are probably things like Spirit Flowers and Soul Butterflies..."
"Those Soul Beasts are incredibly rare..."
"I can only try my luck."
Liu Yuan set out once more.
However.
This time, it seemed that his luck had truly run out.
Over the next half month.
Liu Yuan wandered countless times around the boundary between the outer region and the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Yet he never found his target Soul Beast.
On the evening of the fifteenth day.
Liu Yuan irritably pushed aside the shrubs before him. His level-one Soul Tool dagger was covered in the green blood of some unknown Soul Beast.
"This is way too hard to find."
Just as he was about to find a place to light a fire and cook.
Suddenly.
"Sniff..."
Liu Yuan's nose twitched slightly.
An exceptionally enticing fragrance drifted into his nostrils on the evening breeze.
It was a complex scent blending the rich aroma of seared oil, cumin, perilla, and some special seasoning.
That was...
The smell of grilled fish!
"Grrr."
Liu Yuan's stomach rumbled very uncooperatively.
After eating dry rations and flavorless roasted meat for over a month, this smell was practically a fatal temptation to him.
But in the next second, Liu Yuan's gaze instantly sharpened.
"How could there be such professionally grilled fish in the Star Dou Great Forest?"
"Unless..."
A flash of inspiration struck Liu Yuan, and he instantly thought of a person—or rather, a plot point.
"Grilled fish... Star Dou Great Forest... Huo Yuhao?"
"Could it be Huo Yuhao?"
"Let's take a look."
Without hesitation, he immediately lowered his body and stealthily moved in the direction from which the fragrance drifted.
His Double Pupils opened, and Insight operated at its limit, allowing his entire body to nearly blend into the surroundings without making the slightest sound.
After passing through a dense thicket.
A clear stream appeared ahead.
Dusk had fallen. A bonfire burned beside the stream, its orange-red flames dispersing the darkness around it.
Liu Yuan hid behind a large tree and looked in that direction through gaps in the branches and leaves.
He saw three people seated around the bonfire.
The one on the left was a youth around fifteen or sixteen years old. He was tall and slender, with a face as handsome as jade. His short dark-blue hair looked especially refined beneath the firelight, and he was smiling as he spoke.
The one on the right was a girl dressed in a light-purple fitted outfit. Her ponytail swayed behind her, her skin was fair as snow, and her large eyes were exceptionally lively. At that moment, she was staring at the food over the fire and drooling without the slightest concern for her image.
Between them, responsible for grilling the fish, was a boy who looked only eleven or twelve.
His clothes were plain, even somewhat shabby, and his body was thin and frail. Yet that did not affect the skilled way he turned the fish in his hands.
At that moment, he was focused on sprinkling seasonings over the grilled fish. That enticing fragrance came from precisely there.
Upon seeing that iconic trio.
The corners of Liu Yuan's lips rose slightly as he silently formed three names:
"So it really is them..."
Before you continue