The Eve Before Setting Off to the Soul Hunting Forest

Inside the Martial Soul Hall training room, Su Yan watched the familiar scene before him and shuddered.

"Tang Chi, don't be afraid—charge straight at the spider's legs!"

Tang Chi gripped the Thunderclap Hammer in his hand, but his legs wouldn't obey, trembling uncontrollably.

Bibi Dong rushed over without any hesitation. Though her killing intent was much more restrained compared to when Su Yan had gone through this, Tang Chi was still a proper six-year-old child. He dropped the hammer and ran, covering his head.

"Tang Chi, be brave, and I'll buy you candy!"

"Saintess Instructor, I don't like candy..."

"Milk! Spicy sticks! A snack gift box!"

"Wah wah wah..."

Su Yan swallowed his saliva, feeling hungry himself.

But the hurdle of courage was something Tang Chi had to overcome on his own.

He silently opened the door and left, leaving behind a "peaceful and harmonious" training room for them.

If he stayed any longer, his stomach would start growling before Tang Chi even passed the test.

Su Yan decided to go out for a stroll, to learn more about this familiar yet unfamiliar world, and also to see if there was a place like an archive room where he could gain some new understanding of his special Martial Soul.

This was the first time in six years he had left Holy Soul Village.

Before he had transmigrated here, the Douluo Continent was just cold text on a page. After transmigrating, everything became real.

Real Martial Souls, real Soul Rings.

Real people, real things.

And the never-before-heard-of Artificial Soul Bones.

Bibi Dong only said it was something unique to the Martial Soul Hall, with effects identical to ordinary Soul Bones. Beyond that, she didn't know either.

And Soul Bones were a scarce commodity on the Douluo Continent, often stirring up bloody storms, all because the power boost and extra skills they provided were utterly captivating.

He walked to the front desk. The chrysanthemum-made counter attracted quite a few Soul Masters passing by, who looked over the table—practically a work of art—in twos and threes.

Su Yan ambled over to the chrysanthemum desk. "Sister Si Si, why haven't I seen Master Yun Tao?"

"Xiao Yan, you're asking about Yun Tao?" Si Si's face was full of happiness. "Thanks to you and Xiao Chi, he went to the Main Martial Soul Hall to receive his reward. Maybe when he comes back, he'll become a deacon of Notting City."

"Really? Congratulations!" Su Yan smiled. "Sister Si Si, where are the Martial Soul records kept in the Martial Soul Hall? Can I go in and take a look?"

"Of course you can. I'll take you there." Si Si said, starting to get up.

From outside the door, an old man and a young child rushed in hurriedly. "Young lady, young lady, you have to get justice for us!"

"Xiao Yan, wait a moment." Si Si turned around and asked, "Elder, what happened?"

"Young lady, a month ago, a man wearing your Martial Soul Hall clothes came to our village, do you know about that?" The old man was red-faced with anxiety. "He told us that the Martial Soul Hall's Strength Pills—one pill clears the mind, two pills banish fatigue forever, and three pills guarantee a hundred percent awakening of soul power. But look, my grandson still has no soul power at all! What do we do?"

"Elder, elder, please don't panic."

"How can I not panic? One pill costs one Silver Soul Coin, and three pills cost three coins—that was our entire family's life savings!" The old man's tears streamed down instantly.

"Xiao Yan, go find Hall Master Ma Xiunuo and have him take you there." Si Si gave the instruction, then led the old man and child to the Enforcement Hall. The enforcers would know what to do.

Obviously, this was a scam—a trap specifically designed for families hoping to produce a Soul Master.

What Strength Pills? Even the name sounded unreliable.

Su Yan climbed to the second floor and found Hall Master Ma Xiunuo in the Soul Power Testing Room.

Inside, another child was testing his soul power.

Hall Master Ma Xiunuo, one hand covering his nose and mouth, the other holding the Martial Soul testing booklet, said to the child inside, "Xiao Chenyu, Martial Soul: Wolf, Soul Power: Level 12. One level higher than last time."

"Thank you, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo." Xiao Chenyu took the Martial Soul testing booklet with satisfaction and left.

Seeing the person leave, Su Yan immediately stepped forward. Almost instantly, he rushed back out, grabbed the railing, and greedily gasped for fresh air.

The entire Soul Power Testing Room was filled with a foul stench, as pungent as the accumulated waste of half a month's worth of grain and excrement.

Su Yan waited until Hall Master Ma Xiunuo had aired out the Soul Power Testing Room before knocking and entering.

"Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, who was that just now?" Su Yan asked, determined to avoid that walking poison gas tank.

"Lord Xiao's own son, Xiao Chenyu." Hall Master Ma Xiunuo also wore a pained expression. "I don't know what Lord Xiao fed his precious son, but not only is he constipated, he also lets out stinky farts."

Su Yan silently noted this person—someone he absolutely had to avoid.

"Xiao Yan, did you come to test your soul power?"

"No, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo. I want to look at the Martial Soul Hall's records on Martial Souls."

"There's probably only stuff related to Notting City here. It's all upstairs. I'll take you."

Hall Master Ma Xiunuo led Su Yan up to the third floor, the top floor of the Notting City Martial Soul Hall.

The top floor had only one locked door, already covered in thick dust—clearly, almost no one had been here.

Hall Master Ma Xiunuo opened the door, and a cloud of dust rushed toward them.

"The materials in here are probably all from over a decade ago," Hall Master Ma Xiunuo said, raising his hand to point at each section. "Over there are some of the earliest hall history records. Over there are some records on Martial Souls."

"Thank you, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo. I'll just look around on my own."

"Alright, then just lock the door when you're done." Hall Master Ma Xiunuo reached the doorway, then turned his head and said, "Xiao Yan, actually, you'd be better off asking the Holy Maiden about martial soul matters. Main Martial Soul Hall has the most complete records."

"I understand."

Hall Master Ma Xiunuo went downstairs.

Su Yan was left alone, and he began flipping through the registers of martial souls.

In the earliest days, martial souls were only divided into beast martial souls and tool martial souls, and the registers were recorded accordingly.

Opening a register of tool martial souls, from the first plant martial souls that appeared to the sudden awakening of a Soul Master with a hammer martial soul, each entry was merely a few brief lines glossed over.

But the Soul Master with the hammer martial soul did leave behind a legacy. The renowned Clear Sky Sect was founded by his descendants.

For an entire day, Su Yan stayed inside there, eating dust while roughly scanning through the catalog of martial souls.

Not a single martial soul was close to his own.

That mysterious altar-like martial soul.

Clearly, this was a martial soul enhanced by Blind Douluo, so it being a bit special was understandable.

Only when the sun set did Su Yan leave.

The sheer variety of martial souls on the Douluo Continent left him in awe.

The same martial soul, under the enhancement of different Soul Masters and different soul rings, could produce entirely different effects.

When Su Yan returned to the training room, Bibi Dong was sitting cross-legged on the ground, while Tang Chi had long since collapsed from exhaustion, unable to move.

"Master, has Tang Chi passed?"

"Barely passed." Bibi Dong let out a sigh of relief. "I'm not good at teaching tool martial soul Soul Masters. Wielding a weapon and being the weapon yourself are quite different."

She had practically lowered her requirements to the minimum.

Under extreme physical and mental limits, Su Yan had taken a brave step forward amid the aura of death.

In contrast, Tang Chi, facing the spider legs, had only managed to block one strike with his hammer, and nothing more.

But Tang Chi's training wasn't over yet. Bibi Dong then taught him the universal method for cultivating soul power.

The exhausted Tang Chi showed remarkable resilience.

He didn't sleep all night, meditating through the entire evening.

After another full day, Tang Chi finally entered the ranks of the 10th rank.

That night, Bibi Dong announced to the two children, "Tomorrow, we set out for the Soul Hunting Forest. I'll pick a suitable first soul ring for both of you."

"Yeah!"

"But remember, no matter what happens, you must stay by my side. Don't run off." Bibi Dong's expression was grave as she gave a stern warning. "Soul Beasts will seize any opportunity to land a fatal blow. Remember, don't run off."