Douluo: Starting Out by Snapping at the Grandmaster

It still couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food and lowered its head, munching away.

Yet even while enjoying the meal, it didn't let down its guard. After every bite, it would raise its head and warily check its surroundings.

Up in the tree, Lu Yu and Lu Fei held their breaths.

They were still waiting, waiting for the Phantom Beast to lower its guard so they could kill it in a single strike.

The cleaner its death, the less it would resist.

After all, if it died before even seeing its enemy, there was nothing it could do no matter how unwilling it felt. It could only mean that its enemy was too powerful, and a token struggle would be enough.

They waited and waited.

This wait lasted nearly three minutes.

Finally, the Phantom Beast gradually relaxed its vigilance.

After all, it was the overlord of this area. Surely no one would be foolish enough to come looking for trouble.

Lu Yu narrowed his eyes and immediately gave Lu Fei a look.

Lu Fei understood and made his move.

His right hand formed a sword gesture, Soul Power faintly surging around his index and middle fingers as he suddenly pointed at the Phantom Beast.

With that point, a dagger-like sword aura shot forth instantly.

It headed straight for the Phantom Beast.

This was a soul skill granted to him by his External Soul Bone—the Sword Finger.

One Finger Sets the Universe!

It wasn't particularly powerful, but it made little noise and was perfect for sneak attacks.

Even so, the instant he attacked, he alerted the Phantom Beast.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Phantom Beast decisively used Shadow Clone, splitting from one into three as it prepared to flee in different directions.

But how could Lu Yu allow it to get its way?

The moment Lu Fei attacked, Lu Yu had already used Lingbo Microsteps to reach the foot of the tree. The instant the Phantom Beast tried to escape, he reacted.

His First Soul Ring lit up.

First soul skill, Absolute Armor Piercing.

Nine Absolutes Sword Technique—Flash Shadow Triple Kill.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Yu unleashed his strongest move.

This was the advantage brought by the Basic Sword Technique.

Instant soul skill casting!

Three dazzling sword auras illuminated the entire forest, instantly brightening the already dim surroundings.

The sword auras flew like the wind, so fast that they were impossible to see with the naked eye.

At this point, the Phantom Beast had only just finished casting Shadow Clone. Before it could even flee, the sword auras had already arrived before it.

"Pfft..."

The three sword auras flashed past. Empowered by the First Soul Skill, there was no such thing as defense. They cleanly pierced through the Phantom Beast's body.

Moreover, because Lu Yu had reacted quickly enough, the Phantom Beast had not had time to escape. Whether it was the true body or the Shadow Clones, all of them were within the attack range.

As a result...

All three Phantom Beasts were split in two by the unstoppable sword auras.

With a bang.

The Shadow Clones vanished, and the Phantom Beast's body crashed heavily onto the ground.

A purple Soul Ring rose from the Phantom Beast's corpse.

"Holy shit... it's over already?" Lu Fei leaped down from the tree, his face full of disbelief.

Wasn't that a little too fast?

He hadn't even gotten to exert himself yet.

Over the past two years, he had not only successfully entered the beginner stage of Lingbo Microsteps, but had also cultivated the Basic Sword Technique to perfection and learned Flash Shadow Triple Kill.

Now...

Even Tang San was no match for him.

"What else did you expect?" Lu Yu rolled his eyes at him irritably.

"Hehe..."

Lu Fei smiled awkwardly.

"Stand guard for me." After saying that, Lu Yu walked solemnly to the Phantom Beast's corpse, his gaze landing on the purple Soul Ring.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Yu sat down cross-legged and slowly guided the Soul Ring onto the Eight-Faced Han Sword. As a powerful surge of Soul Power poured into his body—

The absorption of the Soul Ring officially began.

"Hiss..."

The instant the Soul Power entered his body, veins bulged all over Lu Yu.

The Berserk Soul Power rampaged through his body. His meridians and internal organs were struck by waves of tearing pain. Even his bones crackled under the impact, as though they were about to collapse under the strain.

This was a sensation he had never experienced while absorbing Soul Rings before.

It felt as though his body were about to be torn apart alive, as though his bones were about to fall apart, leaving him in unbearable agony.

Second Soul Ring (2)

However, this was only the beginning.

If Lu Yu was already on the verge of collapse, then the soul tremors that followed nearly shattered his defenses completely.

Fortunately, he held on at the crucial moment.

Lu Yu gritted his teeth and endured with all his strength, unable to mount any effective resistance at all.

He could only grit his teeth and persist.

The soul attack was manageable.

He only needed to endure it.

The real problem was the soul tremors.

Lu Yu's spiritual power was too weak. He simply couldn't mobilize it to fight back and could only rely on sheer willpower to resist the Phantom Beast's lingering will.

One small mistake, and he would completely collapse.

If he failed, he might not necessarily die, but becoming an idiot was inevitable.

Meanwhile, outside.

Looking at Lu Yu's constantly trembling body and the bulging veins across it, Lu Yu seemed to be suffering some kind of brutal torture.

At that moment, Lu Fei finally realized the severity of the situation.

What was going on?

Why was this happening?

Could he fail?

Lu Fei was truly terrified. The color drained from his face in an instant, leaving him frighteningly pale.

All this time, Lu Fei's greatest support had been Lu Yu. No matter what happened, Lu Yu was always there in front of him, taking the burden, or behind him, supporting him.

He didn't dare imagine what he would do if Lu Yu failed to absorb the ring, or how he would explain it to their parents and grandfather.

Lu Fei clenched his fists tightly and stared at Lu Yu without blinking.

"Brother Yu, you have to hold on."

At this moment, he couldn't do anything at all. He could only silently pray for Lu Yu in his heart, praying that he would pull through.

Otherwise, his whole world would collapse.

And so.

Time slowly passed amid his anxious wait.

This wait lasted the entire night.

It wasn't until the following morning that Lu Fei finally noticed Lu Yu's trembling body gradually calming down, while his expression slowly returned to normal.

"Phew..."

Seeing this, Lu Fei couldn't help letting out a long breath.

His entire body relaxed considerably.

"You scared me to death." Lu Fei patted his chest. "I knew it. How could Brother Yu possibly fail? It looks like it was just a normal reaction."

He waited another half a day.

It wasn't until noon, with the blazing sun overhead, that Lu Yu finally finished absorbing the Soul Ring.

"Ding! Mission completed. Rewards have been distributed to the inventory. Please check them."

"Ding! A new mission has been issued. Please check it."

Hearing the system notifications ring in his mind, Lu Yu couldn't help but sigh in relief. He felt as though he had survived a disaster.

Damn it, gamblers deserve to die. I'll never gamble again.

He wasn't in a hurry to check the mission rewards. Instead, he opened the mission panel and looked at the new mission.

[Mission: Soul Fighting Journey]

[Mission Details: Go to any city's Great Soul Arena to participate in soul fighting and obtain a Silver Soul Badge]

[Mission Reward: Mysterious Heaven Pill Scripture]

Lu Yu did not feel much after reading the mission description, but when he saw the reward, he became excited instantly.

It was here. It had finally arrived.

Sure enough, the system was reliable.

But when he looked back at the mission details, Lu Yu couldn't help frowning.

A Silver Soul Badge was not so easy to obtain.

At the Great Soul Arena, badge ranks were divided into Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond.

An Iron Fighting Badge was easy enough. Anyone with hands could get one.

But advancing to a Copper Fighting Badge depended on points.

So-called points were simply wins.

Every victory earned one point, and likewise, every loss deducted one point. After five consecutive victories, each win earned ten points, while after ten consecutive victories, each win earned one hundred points.

Advancing from Iron Soul to Bronze Soul required one hundred points.

That might not seem difficult. Eleven consecutive wins would guarantee a Copper Fighting Badge.

But opponents grew stronger according to your number of wins. How could a ten-win streak be so easy to achieve?

Still, a Copper Fighting Badge should not be much of a problem for Lu Yu and Lu Fei.

The real difficulty lay in the Silver Soul Badge.

Advancing from Bronze Soul to Silver Soul required one thousand points. Each victory earned ten points, while each loss deducted the same amount. The consecutive-win point multipliers were the same as for Iron Soul.

Likewise, eleven consecutive wins would be enough.

However, those who could obtain a Copper Fighting Badge were all outstanding among those of the same realm. To advance to a Silver Soul Badge, one might even have to fight opponents of a higher major rank.

If it was only against Soul Elders, Lu Yu was not afraid. What he feared was encountering Soul Ancestors. After all, at the high-score ranks, Copper Fighting Badge holders could be anyone.

A Silver Soul Badge was not so easy to obtain.