The heavy wooden doors of the Pope Palace's Main Hall slowly closed behind him.
Su Chen stood alone atop the tall white jade steps.
The morning sunlight fell across his black brocade robes.
It glinted with a dark golden, dignified sheen.
Just as he was about to step down,
the mechanical voice that had been silent for two days rang out on time in his mind.
"Ding. The host is about to head to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain his First Soul Ring." "Main quest updated." "Quest name: First Step of the God-Level Start."
A pale blue, translucent screen appeared before his eyes, visible only to Su Chen.
The text on it quickly rearranged itself.
"Quest requirements: The host must independently hunt, or assist in hunting, a top-bloodline Soul Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest with a cultivation of no less than fifteen hundred years, then successfully absorb it as his First Soul Ring. The Soul Beast's attributes must be highly compatible with Ultimate Light or Ultimate Darkness." "Time limit: Fifteen days." "Quest rewards: Dark attribute affinity increased to one hundred percent. First Soul Skill automatically evolves into an unrestricted, evolvable divine skill. Soul Power Level increased directly by two levels." "Special assistance item issued: One High-Rank Soul Beast Precision Radar for the Star Dou Great Forest. Valid for thirty days."
After reading the information on the screen,
Su Chen's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
The system's quest requirements aligned perfectly with his own plans.
He had already intended to shatter the useless theory that a Soul Ring could not exceed four hundred and twenty-three years.
Now, with the system's rewards to bolster him,
his First Soul Skill would become a terrifying killing move that could continuously evolve with his strength.
It would never become dead weight later on because its age was too low.
"Claim the Precision Radar."
Su Chen issued the command in his mind.
A faint ripple spread across his Sea of Consciousness.
A detailed three-dimensional map instantly appeared in his mind.
The map was currently inactive.
As soon as he entered the Star Dou Great Forest,
he would be able to start a scan at any time.
Su Chen composed himself.
He walked down the ninety-nine white jade steps to Pope Plaza.
At the edge of the plaza,
a luxurious carriage of the highest specifications had been waiting for some time.
Four horses covered head to hoof in black scales were harnessed to it.
These dragon horses possessed a trace of thin dragon blood in their veins.
They could travel a thousand li in a day and had astonishing endurance.
They were the highest-grade mounts reserved exclusively for Spirit Hall.
Beside the carriage,
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei had changed into black outfits suited for action.
They had brought no attendants.
For two Peak Douluo of level ninety-five,
bringing ordinary Soul Masters to the Star Dou Great Forest would only hold them back.
When they saw Su Chen approaching,
the two Titled Douluo stepped forward in unison.
They bowed slightly,
their attitude exceedingly respectful.
"Your Highness the Holy Son, the carriage is ready. We can depart at any time."
Yue Guan spoke.
This was not only because of Bibi Dong's orders.
Su Chen's terrifying display of strength in the Martial Arts Arena had also won them over completely.
On the Douluo Continent, the strong were revered.
Su Chen's talent meant he was destined to become an existence above everyone else.
Su Chen nodded slightly.
"Thank you for your efforts, Elders. Let's go."
He stepped onto the carriage.
The cabin was extremely spacious.
Thick pelts from arctic snow ferrets covered the floor.
A small rosewood table sat in the center.
Fresh spirit fruits and potions to restore stamina were laid out on it.
Su Chen went to the innermost seat,
then sat cross-legged.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei climbed into the driver's seat themselves,
taking on the role of coachmen.
If people outside heard that
the Elders of Spirit Hall, two Titled Douluo renowned throughout the continent,
were driving a carriage for a six-year-old child,
they would be utterly flabbergasted.
"Hyah!"
Gui Mei flicked the reins.
The four Black Scaled Dragon Horses let out a low whinny.
The carriage rolled smoothly out of Spirit City.
It sped down the wide main road,
heading toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
Inside the carriage,
Su Chen did not waste time admiring the scenery along the way.
He closed his eyes
and entered Deep Meditation at once.
The Chaos God-Demon Art quietly circulated through his body.
The black-and-white vortex in his dantian began to turn slowly.
The ambient Soul Power in the air was drawn toward him,
surging into the carriage through its cracks.
It then transformed into tiny streams of air that burrowed through Su Chen's pores.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei, seated outside, immediately sensed the movement in the carriage.
The two exchanged a glance,
their eyes filled with shock.
"That rate of plundering Soul Power is absurd."
Yue Guan lowered his voice.
"An ordinary Soul Grandmaster can only absorb Soul Power within two or three meters while meditating. He's practically creating an energy vortex. The Soul Power within ten meters of the carriage has been drained dry."
Gui Mei's voice was hoarse.
"His cultivation technique is unusual. It's definitely not any meditation method currently used by Spirit Hall. His Holiness the Pope has truly taken in a remarkable little monster."
Out of concern for Su Chen's safety,
Yue Guan sent out a faint wisp of Soul Power,
trying to pass it through the carriage and check Su Chen's condition.
He wanted to make sure that absorbing Soul Power so quickly hadn't damaged his meridians.
But the moment his Soul Power touched Su Chen's skin,
a powerful, tangible wave of spiritual power instantly rebounded,
crushing Yue Guan's wisp of Soul Power to pieces.
Yue Guan's body jolted.
He pulled his hand back,
his face somewhat pale.
"What a domineering spiritual defense. It's like an iron wall. I couldn't even get a wisp of my probing power through."
Yue Guan exclaimed.
"Don't test him. His spiritual power is tangible by nature. He understands the limits of his body better than we do."
Gui Mei reminded him.
Two days passed swiftly as they raced along.
The Black Scaled Dragon Horses ran without tiring.
At noon on the third day,
the carriage finally slowed.
They had reached Soul Hunting Town on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
It was the last supply station for Soul Masters before entering the forest.
Stalls lined both sides of the streets,
selling antidotes, provisions, and shoddy protective gear.
Mercenaries reeking of liquor and blood were everywhere.
The air was thick with the smell of sweat and roasted meat.
When the Black Scaled Dragon Horses pulled Spirit Hall's luxurious carriage into the town,
the noisy streets fell silent at once.
The mercenaries, hardened by life at the edge of a blade, saw the carriage's symbol of supreme authority
and scattered to either side of the street like mice fleeing a cat.
They cleared a wide path.
Everyone lowered their heads,
daring not to look at the carriage,
afraid of angering the important people inside.
The carriage did not stop in town at all.
It passed straight through the long street
and entered the boundless green sea of trees ahead.
As they crossed the town's boundary,
the temperature dropped abruptly.
Towering trees blotted out the sky and sun.
Their lush branches and leaves shut out the sunlight completely.
Only a few scattered beams managed to reach the moss-covered ground.
The air grew damp and heavy.
Low roars drifted faintly from the depths of the forest.
The carriage could go no farther through the dense forest.
Yue Guan stopped it
and walked to the cabin, speaking respectfully.
"Your Highness the Holy Son, we've entered the Star Dou Great Forest. There's no path ahead, so we'll have to continue on foot."
The carriage door swung open.
Su Chen stepped out.
He breathed in the forest air, tinged with the scent of rotting leaves.
The blood in his body began to boil faintly.
He unharnessed the four Black Scaled Dragon Horses,
leaving them to wait where they were.
The horses possessed a trace of dragon blood.
Ordinary low-rank Soul Beasts on the outskirts would never dare approach them.
Su Chen stepped onto the forest floor, carpeted with fallen leaves.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei followed half a step behind him, one on either side.
The three kept their auras restrained,
but their invisible pressure still sent the surrounding snakes, insects, rats, and ants fleeing in a panic.
"Your Highness the Holy Son."
Yue Guan took out a parchment scroll.
The map was covered in all kinds of complicated markings.
"This is the outermost area of the Star Dou Great Forest. It's mainly home to ten-year Soul Beasts and a small number of Hundred-Year Soul Beasts."
"According to reports from Spirit Hall scouts, ten li farther east there's a sunlit stretch of woodland. A group of Light Shadow Leopards lives there."
"One of them has just broken through to eight hundred years."
Yue Guan pointed to a red circle on the map.
"Light Shadow Leopards have a pure light attribute and relatively mild temperaments. The energy impact they generate is fairly small. For a First Soul Ring, eight hundred years already breaks the limit, so it's also the safest choice."
"Would you like us to take this Light Shadow Leopard first?"
Yue Guan offered a cautious suggestion.
He still didn't dare let Su Chen try to absorb a Soul Beast over fifteen hundred years old.
If anything went wrong,
the Pope would skin them alive.
Su Chen stopped walking.
He turned to look at Yue Guan.
His eyes were calm, yet filled with unshakable resolve.
"Elder Ju, eight hundred years isn't even enough to get stuck in my teeth."
Su Chen extended his right hand.
He clenched it hard toward a thick vine hanging from a nearby tree.
Bang!
The tough vine, thicker than a thigh,
was crushed into a lump of scraps by the sheer strength of his body.
Green sap splattered everywhere.
"My body has been reforged. It's strong enough for me to tear an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Beast apart with one hand. You don't need to measure me by Yu Xiaogang's foolish theories."
Su Chen lowered his hand.
"The Light Shadow Leopard's bloodline is too lowly to be worthy of my Judgment Holy Sword. Don't mention any target under fifteen hundred years again. Otherwise, this trip will have been for nothing."
Yue Guan swallowed.
Looking at the vine that had been crushed to pieces,
the last trace of a thought to persuade him vanished.
"Understood. We'll continue deeper in."
Yue Guan put away the sheepskin map.
"System, activate the High-Rank Soul Beast Precision Radar."
Su Chen gave the command in his mind.
"Ding. Radar activated. Beginning scan of the Star Dou Great Forest."
A translucent circular radar interface appeared at the edge of Su Chen's vision.
Countless densely packed lights lit up across the radar.
Most were white and yellow,
representing low-rank, ten-year and Hundred-Year Soul Beasts.
"Filter out all targets under fifteen hundred years."
"Filter out all targets without Ultimate Light or Ultimate Darkness attributes."
"Filter out targets with ordinary bloodlines."
Su Chen issued three consecutive filtering commands.
Ninety-nine percent of the lights on the radar interface vanished in an instant.
The crowded screen became almost completely empty.
Only a few faint purple lights remained, flickering at the distant edges.
"As expected, there's nothing good to be found in the outer area."
Su Chen wasn't discouraged.
"Let's keep going in. The Soul Beasts here aren't old enough."
Su Chen gave the two behind him their orders.
The three of them quickened their pace.
They wove between towering trees.
The farther in they went,
the taller the trees became,
and the darker the light grew.
The oppressive feeling in the surrounding air grew noticeably stronger.
Now and then, a few reckless Soul Beasts several hundred years old tried to attack them.
Before Su Chen could act,
Gui Mei merely gave them a cold glance.
A trace of the immense pressure of a Titled Douluo escaped him.
The Soul Beasts were crushed until their bodies exploded,
turning into a rain of blood mist.
After half a day,
they had traveled nearly forty li into the forest.
They were now in the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest's outer area,
nearing the mixed zone.
Powerful Soul Beasts of a thousand years or more could appear at any moment.
Just then,
the radar interface at the edge of Su Chen's vision suddenly let out an invisible, shrill alarm.
A purplish-red light,
without warning, entered the radar's scanning range.
It began flashing violently in the upper-right corner of the display.
Su Chen stopped.
He immediately focused his thoughts on the light.
The system's detailed information unfolded.
"Ding. A highly compatible target has been detected."
"Species: Dark Nightmare Demon Tiger."
"Age: Two thousand five hundred years."
"Bloodline: Extremely rare mutation. It possesses a faint trace of the Ancient Evil Dark God Tiger's ancestral bloodline. Its attacks carry powerful soul-shaking and physical-corrosion effects."
"Attribute compatibility: Ultimate Darkness. Compatible with the God-Slaying Magic Spear."
Su Chen's eyes flew open.
A feverish fighting spirit flashed through them.
A rare, mutated bloodline, two thousand five hundred years old.
This Soul Beast's actual combat strength
was definitely no weaker than that of an ordinary Soul Beast three thousand five hundred years old.
If he succeeded in absorbing it,
not only would he be able to fully activate his First Soul Skill,
he might even greatly increase the God-Slaying Magic Spear's innate power.
This was the perfect Soul Ring, made for him.
"Found it."
Su Chen turned to Yue Guan and Gui Mei.
His tone brooked no refusal.
"Southeast. Fifteen li away."
"There's a mutated thousand-year Soul Beast, at least two thousand five hundred years old."
"Full speed ahead. Don't let it get away."
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance.
Both saw a trace of shock in the other's eyes.
As Titled Douluo, their immense spiritual senses hadn't detected a thousand-year Soul Beast fifteen li away.
Yet Su Chen had reported its direction and age with such precision.
They could only attribute it to his monstrous, materialized spiritual power.
"Understood."
The two elders didn't dare delay.
Gui Mei released a cloud of black mist,
which enveloped Su Chen.
The three of them became streaks of light,
racing toward their target at terrifying speed through the dense forest.
Before you continue