Six Years and Soul Hunting

Six years later, beneath the angel statue within the Worship Hall.

A youth sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, clad in a purple-gold robe embroidered with a ferocious golden Kirin. His features were handsome, his skin fair, and his long, purple-gold hair was pulled high into a bun secured by a white cloud-patterned hairpin. He slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of electric arc flashing across them; his light blue pupils held a sense of indifference and coldness. This person was none other than Su Zhen.

"Finally broken through to level forty. I wonder if Teacher has found the spirit ring I requested."

If anyone else had heard Su Zhen's whisper, they would likely have collapsed on the spot. A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor had never appeared in the entire spirit master world; such aptitude belonged to a peerless monster.

In truth, there was no need for Qian Daoliu to personally search for a fourth spirit ring for a Soul Ancestor; it was truly a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. However, the spirit beast Su Zhen required was extremely unique, non-existent even in the Star Dou Forest. When he obtained information about that type of spirit beast from Di Tian, Qian Daoliu had personally traveled across the continent to search for it. Only he, with the strength of a Limit Douluo, could find that spirit beast in the shortest possible time. As for mobilizing the forces of Martial Soul Hall, that would have let Bibi Dong discover Su Zhen's background, so the Great Elder had no choice but to go himself.

"Brother Zhen, when are we going to hunt for spirit rings? It's been half a month since I broke through to Soul Grand Master."

An eight-year-old boy with gray-white hair walked in and asked. This was Oscar. After being brought to Martial Soul Hall by Su Zhen when he was young, he had lived in the Martial Soul City orphanage. Because of Su Zhen, his quality of life in the orphanage was quite good; he could eat special meals made from spirit beast meat every few days. Su Zhen would also take Oscar around Martial Soul City during his spare time, which led to Oscar being particularly close to him since childhood.

Su Zhen looked at Oscar's charming golden peach-blossom eyes in a daze. The little baby who used to drink wild vegetable porridge in his arms was now a Soul Grand Master. When Oscar was six, Su Zhen had specifically run to the Martial Soul City orphanage to personally awaken his spirit. As expected, it was a Sausage spirit with Innate Full Soul Power. The moment the continent's first food-system spirit master with Innate Full Soul Power appeared, Pope Bibi Dong learned of it. She even came personally, wanting to take Oscar away, but Su Zhen was well-prepared and had brought Guang Ling with him during the awakening. Facing the hardline stance of the Worship Hall, Bibi Dong could only return empty-handed.

After being brought to the Worship Hall, Oscar immediately took the Fifth Elder, Guang Ling, as his master. Guang Ling was very happy and even went to the Star Dou Forest himself to hunt the first spirit ring for Oscar. Because of the Whale Rubber, Oscar's first spirit ring came from a Fragrant Bone Pig over six hundred years old, capable of accelerating the recovery of injuries, spirit power, and physical strength for fifteen minutes. He was now the second most precious treasure of the Worship Hall, right after Su Zhen.

"Don't be impatient, Little Ao. I reckon it should be here soon."

"Little Zhen, Little Ao, I've returned. Pack up; it's time to hunt for your spirit rings."

"Teacher/Great Grandfather."

Qian Daoliu walked in from outside the Worship Hall. He came before the two and looked them over with satisfaction. A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor and an eight-year-old Soul Grand Master—both were rare, peerless geniuses, and now they were all gathered in their Worship Hall.

"Teacher, we are ready. Let's set off."

"Good."

In the Northwest Province of the Heaven Dou Empire, a simple carriage traveled along a mountain path. Inside the carriage, Su Zhen, Oscar, and Qian Daoliu sat in a circle.

"Little Zhen, the spirit beast you need is in the deepest part of the Thunder Canyon. This hunt must be swift to avoid being discovered by the people of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect."

"Thunder Canyon? The one behind the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect?"

"Yes. In the entire continent, only there is the lightning attribute the most concentrated. It is only logical that the spirit beast you want was born there."

"It's just the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. They only have one level-95 Thunder Douluo. With Great Grandfather's strength, you could just flatten them directly. Why be so cautious?"

This time, it was Oscar who spoke.

"Little Ao, how have I taught you? The way of a gentleman is to cherish benevolence, uphold etiquette, and harbor compassion. This spirit hunt is already being conducted without their knowledge, which is already unjust. To go further and exterminate the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect would be the act of a villain."

Qian Daoliu sternly criticized Oscar.

The moving carriage came to a stop.

"Get out of the carriage. I will carry you both in for the rest of the way."

Su Zhen stepped out of the carriage and saw nine towering mountain ranges connected together not far away, with a complex of ancient buildings nestled at their base.

This Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect is built against the mountains and is easy to defend but hard to attack. It will take some effort in the future.

Qian Daoliu enveloped Su Zhen and Oscar, charging into the clouds and flying toward the Thunder Canyon behind the nine mountain ranges.

The Thunder Canyon was shrouded in thunderclouds all year round, causing the lightning elements within to be exceptionally active. Most lightning-attribute spirit beasts on the continent could be found here, which was why the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect had established their family here, cordoning off the Thunder Canyon as their private territory.

As soon as they entered the range of the Thunder Canyon, a large amount of lightning descended from the clouds, striking toward the three of them. Qian Daoliu casually condensed a layer of spirit power shield, blocking all the lightning.

After flying for nearly an hour, Qian Daoliu slowly descended with the two.

Su Zhen stepped onto a patch of scorched earth and looked around. The moment he landed, he felt the dense lightning elements of this place; even taking a breath made him feel a tingling sensation in his body.

Large numbers of lightning-struck trees grew here, and the scorched black earth was covered in pits left behind by lightning strikes. There was no sign of life in the valley; under the cover of the black clouds, it felt like a dead zone.

"Why is it so desolate? Is the spirit beast Brother Zhen wants really here?"

"It is desolate because this is the deepest part of the Thunder Canyon, where lightning strikes are most frequent. Not every spirit beast or plant can survive here. If you walk a distance toward the outside of the valley, you can still see spirit beasts."

"Then where do we find the spirit beast Brother Zhen wants?"

"We don't need to look. That spirit beast has an extremely strong sense of territory. It already sensed our presence just now and is already on its way."

"Hiss~"

A beast roar echoed, extremely loud and slightly ethereal. Hearing it felt like a clap of thunder, causing a sharp pain in the brain.

"It's here. The 15,000-year-old lightning-attribute overlord—Thunder Spirit."

Thunder Spirit: Born from the condensation of heaven and earth lightning elements, appearing only in places where lightning elements are most concentrated. It has no fixed species or appearance; it could be a snake, a dragon, a tiger, or a lion. A hundred Thunder Spirits would have a hundred different appearances. The Thunder Spirit that Su Zhen and the others encountered was a purple snake-like creature. It had two horns on its head, no nose or eyes, and a large mouth that occupied its entire face. It was fifteen meters long, and its body surface was covered in countless roaming lightning bolts instead of hard snake scales. Speed like a lightning flash and a voice like thunder were the greatest characteristics of the Thunder Spirit.

"Little Zhen, you practice a few moves with it first. If you can't hold on, I will step in."

Su Zhen had long been eager to try. He completed his Martial Soul Possession, and three purple spirit rings appeared beneath his feet. The third one was already purple with a hint of black, extremely close to a ten-thousand-year spirit ring.

"Thunderstorm Shocking God Transformation!"

"Startling Thunder Flash!"

The first and second spirit rings beneath Su Zhen's feet lit up in succession, and his figure turned into lightning, charging toward the Thunder Spirit.

Su Zhen's second spirit ring was obtained from a 4,000-year-old Instant Thunder Bright Bird, granting him a 200% speed boost that could be maintained for twenty minutes, as well as a 50% increase in the power of lightning-attribute spirit skills.

Just as his lightning-arcing claws were about to strike the Thunder Spirit's body, a flash of white light occurred. The Thunder Spirit instantly vanished from its spot and appeared behind Su Zhen, opening its massive mouth to bite him. Seeing this, Su Zhen hurriedly performed a roundhouse kick to block the Thunder Spirit's attack, then, with a boom of thunder beneath his feet, he retreated.

"The Thunder Spirit is the darling of heaven and earth, the embodiment of lightning. It possesses speed comparable to lightning itself. You must be fully focused during the battle."

Qian Daoliu explained the characteristics of the Thunder Spirit to Su Zhen from not far away.