I've Captured My First Soul Beast!

Lu Ran's palm emitted a soft glow, enveloping the Rock Crystal Dragon. Its dying body gradually repaired itself within the gentle radiance, becoming increasingly translucent.

Eventually, it merged into the Small World along with the light.

Lu Ran's soul power began to climb: level ten... level ten and a half... level eleven... His meridians felt warm, and he could clearly sense his soul power growing.

As for the once-void Small World, With the influx of earth-attribute energy, tiny specks of earthy-yellow light began to emerge within the void. These were the most primal and pure earth-attribute elements. The specks gathered, collided, and condensed, eventually transforming into a sky full of dancing earthy-yellow energy currents. Wherever they landed, they coalesced into thick rock and fine gravel, spreading out in layers to form a desert.

Among several low, protruding stone hills, veins of crystal ore were faintly visible—minerals naturally birthed by the earth attribute.

On a flat rock in the center of the desert, the body of the Rock Crystal Dragon slowly solidified. Its wounds had completely healed, and its earthy-yellow scales shimmered with a richer amber luster, making it look healthier than before.

The Small World ultimately expanded by about fifty zhang.

The total area had increased by several times. Although it remained small, the future was promising.

Yan Shaozhe and the others held their breath, watching Lu Ran with eyes full of disbelief. Everyone knew that soul beasts cultivated slowly, that the Star Dou Great Forest had been shrinking for ten thousand years, and that at the current rate, the continent would one day be devoid of powerful soul beasts. Perhaps by then, the highest available would be ten-year or even one-year soul rings... and even reaching the Title Douluo realm would only allow one to absorb ten-year soul rings.

The situation was dire, yet there was no way to change it.

For millions of years, the iron rule for soul masters had been to kill soul beasts and absorb their rings. If you did not kill soul beasts to become stronger, others would come to kill you.

There was no other choice.

But now, Lu Ran had demonstrated an entirely different method.

Contracting a soul beast!

This was something that completely transcended common sense.

The group remained silent until Lu Ran let out a relaxed breath:

"Done."

His soul power finally stabilized at level twelve, and its circulation felt much smoother. Low levels had their own unique experiences; even if the total amount of soul power gained wasn't massive, he felt at least twenty percent stronger than before.

This kind of leap-like exhilaration was something Title Douluos could rarely experience, though they had surely felt it once themselves.

"How does it feel?"

Yan Shaozhe suppressed the shock in his heart and asked impatiently.

"Better than ever."

Lu Ran clenched his fist, feeling the abundant soul power flowing through his body. The Small World was gradually taking shape, and there was more...

A pale yellow soul ring lit up. He pointed a finger, and three rock pillars erupted from the ground. He flipped his palm, and as soul power coursed through his arm, a layer of scales rapidly covered his forearm. The scales were identical to those of the Rock Crystal Dragon, possessing an amber texture that did not hinder his movement in the slightest.

Two soul skills?!

Yan Shaozhe and the others controlled their expressions well this time, showing only slight surprise... or rather, they were already numb.

One soul ring with two soul skills was indeed worth being shocked over... it had never appeared on the continent before.

But when it came to Lu Ran... it was perfectly normal.

It seemed that anything happening to Lu Ran was perfectly normal.

Lu Ran explained: "The Rock Crystal Dragon granted me three soul skills: 'Earth Vein Rock Spike,' 'Rock Crystal Armor,' and a thirty percent increase in strength."

Oh... so it was three soul skills. The three of them nodded in unison.

"Wait..."

Yan Shaozhe keenly noticed something. He looked at Lu Ran, his eyes burning with intensity: "If the soul beast's age can increase, could your soul skills also improve?!"

Lu Ran's tone was indifferent: "Of course. Do you expect a hundred-thousand-year soul beast to provide a hundred-year soul skill?"

Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin'er, and the third person felt a wave of dizziness. The solid ground beneath their feet seemed to heave like ocean waves, making it hard to stand. Their already numb minds were struck once again.

Lu Ran's talent far exceeded their imagination, and they couldn't even determine the origin of his martial soul. Investigations had only revealed that he was adopted.

No other information was known.

With the goal achieved, The group set off on the return journey, moving much faster than when they arrived.

Along the way, Lu Ran looked down at the Star Dou Great Forest from the flying soul tool, occasionally catching glimpses of soul beasts—a herd of iron-horned deer grazing in a forest clearing, or groups of turtles basking on the sandy banks of a lake. If one deliberately ignored the blood and cruelty hidden behind it, it was a scene full of vitality.

Lu Ran felt moved.

Perhaps... he could try to bring some weak soul beasts into his Small World?

Raising soul beasts?

...And... farming!

He suddenly realized, That's right, such a convenient place as the Small World could be used for farming and raising soul beasts.

Once his thoughts opened up, he suddenly realized that this was a simulation game—the farming games he played in his past life!

Opening a farm, planting crops, brewing wine, harvesting honey... and he could even sell them to earn gold soul coins.

Lu Ran grew more excited the more he thought about it, but then he realized a problem:

The Small World currently had no water at all, and nothing could be grown in the desert.

There was no helping it; he couldn't exactly draw water from the outside, could he?

It seemed he would have to wait until his second soul ring contracted a water-attribute soul beast to alter the terrain of the Small World.

Just as he was pondering this, a disturbance in the Small World caught his attention;

the Rock Crystal Dragon had awakened.

"The Rock Crystal Dragon is awake. I'm going into the Small World to take a look."

Before his voice had even faded, Lu Ran's figure vanished instantly, leaving not a trace behind—not even Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er, despite being Super Douluo, could detect a single thing.

The two exchanged another look.

The Rock Crystal Dragon slowly woke up, looking at the unfamiliar environment. A trace of confusion flashed through its amber pupils, immediately replaced by vigilance.

It clearly remembered being injured... no, wait, how were its wounds healed?

Sensing movement behind it, it turned its head and saw Lu Ran's figure.

Memories from after it lost consciousness flooded its mind, letting it know what had happened. It understood immediately and didn't dwell on why it had memories despite having been unconscious.

Seeing Lu Ran walking over across the gravel, the Rock Crystal Dragon's clear eyes were filled with affection as it nuzzled against him.

"You don't need me to explain?"

Lu Ran was puzzled, reaching out to stroke the Rock Crystal Dragon's head. Its scales were smooth, cool, and pleasant to the touch.

The texture was excellent.

"Forget it, come keep me company while I look around the Small World."

The Small World was barely a hundred yards in diameter, so they finished a lap quickly. Lu Ran asked, "Do you want to go out or stay here?"

The Rock Crystal Dragon let out a howl.

Clearly, it wanted to go out.

"Alright then."

Lu Ran snapped his fingers, and the figures of man and soul beast instantly appeared in the outside world.

Yan Shaozhe and the others couldn't help but examine the suddenly appearing Rock Crystal Dragon with curiosity: its wounds were healed, and its eyes seemed even more spirited.

The Rock Crystal Dragon curiously surveyed its surroundings, discovering it was on a large, silver-white flying object. It felt no panic at all; instead, it sat down, opened its mouth to catch the wind, and looked completely relaxed and at ease.

If no one mentioned it, no one would ever guess it had been so bloody and brutal while fighting the Split-Horn Earth Rhino.

As for Lu Ran, he simply lay down on its back, thinking about what he should plant in the Small World later on.