In the rundown Spirit Hall Branch in Holy Soul Village, the air was so stifling it was hard to breathe.
Su Yuntao yawned and rubbed his aching lower back. This year's errand had been a wasted trip again—the first five children had awakened nothing but sickles and hoes, and every one of them had zero Soul Power. He glanced at the last name on the list, not even able to muster the energy to test the child.
"Tang San, Trash Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass, Innate Soul Power... zero."
His voice was dry and lifeless, like he was reading out a sentence.
Old Jack stood by the door, his old face drooping like a sun-dried tangerine peel. The village had no hope again this year. He glanced at the quiet child in the corner, and the last little spark in his heart went out.
"Lin Mo, step forward."
The boy in black emerged from the shadows.
Su Yuntao gave him a glance. The six-year-old was fairly tall, with a calm expression that seemed a little too composed for his age. His skin was dark, as if he spent all his time outdoors. His knuckles were thicker than those of other children his age, and there was a thin callus between his thumb and forefinger.
Strange.
But even a strange child was still from this poor village.
"Put out your hands." Su Yuntao arranged the six black stones by rote. "Relax."
Lin Mo placed his hands on them.
Golden light flared from the stones.
At first, it was gentle, no different from what the previous five children had produced. Su Yuntao was already wondering what he'd have for dinner back in Nuoding City. Old Jack sighed and turned to leave.
Then, in the very next instant, everything changed.
The golden barrier began to tremble violently!
"Hm?" Su Yuntao froze.
Cracks like a spiderweb spread across the barrier's surface. The sound of them snapping apart was like ice breaking. The candle flames in the hall shuddered wildly, and the shadows on the walls writhed like monsters.
"What's going on?!" Su Yuntao's expression changed.
Lin Mo kept his eyes closed.
He felt something inside him awaken—not a gentle awakening, but a savage, primeval roar! It was as if a beast had been locked in a cage for too long and was now about to tear through everything to break free!
Boom—!
The barrier exploded into fragments!
Amid the scattering golden light, a phantom surged skyward from behind Lin Mo!
It was a monster unlike anything anyone had ever seen.
Nearly three meters long, with a frame as powerful as a lion's, it was covered in dark blue-green scales. Its mane wasn't made of hair, but of burning dark-gold flames that spread from its neck down its spine. Its four paws were thicker than a bear's, planted in midair, their claws gleaming with a chilling light.
The most terrifying thing was its face—a lion's maw, dragon whiskers, and a pair of just-emerging horns on its head. Molten gold-red light flickered in its eye sockets.
It threw back its head and roared.
There was no sound, yet everyone felt as if a hammer had slammed into their brains! Several villagers collapsed on the spot. Old Jack's legs gave way, and he fell to his knees, muttering, "Ancestors, protect us."
Dust sifted down from the ceiling.
The crystal ball nearly slipped from Su Yuntao's hands. Eyes wide, he stared at the phantom, his throat dry. "Th-this is... a Beast Martial Soul?! What kind of beast is it?!"
He had worked at Spirit Hall for eight years and tested no fewer than eight hundred children. He had seen wolves, tigers, bears, leopards, even rare flying types.
But he had never even heard of the creature before him.
The phantom remained for a full ten breaths before slowly fading and sinking into Lin Mo's body.
Lin Mo opened his eyes.
He raised his right hand. Fine blue-green scales had appeared across its back, and half-inch claws extended from his fingertips, shining with a metallic glint. A primitive, savage hunting instinct surged through him—he wanted to tear something apart, to hear the sound of flesh splitting.
He took a deep breath and suppressed the urge.
"Quick! Test his Soul Power!" Su Yuntao's voice trembled as he held out the blue crystal ball.
Lin Mo took it.
The instant the crystal ball touched his palm, light erupted from it!
It wasn't the faint glow from before, but a blinding radiance that filled the entire sphere like the blazing sun! Blue light spilled between his fingers, illuminating half the hall. The shadows on the walls stretched long and twisted.
"Innate Full Soul Power?!" Su Yuntao's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. "A Beast Martial Soul with Innate Full Soul Power?! Boy, wh-what's your name?!"
"Lin Mo."
"Lin Mo... Good! Good! Good!" Su Yuntao repeated the word three times, his face flushed with excitement. "Come with me to Spirit Hall! I'll get you into Nuoding Academy directly! No, you're good enough for Heaven Dou Royal Academy! I'll write you a recommendation letter right now!"
Old Jack finally came to his senses.
The old man scrambled to his feet, tears streaming down his face. "Holy Soul Village... has produced a true dragon! A true dragon! Old Village Chief, can you see this from heaven?!"
The villagers crowded around, but none dared approach too closely. They looked at Lin Mo as if he were an idol in a temple.
In a corner of the crowd, Tang San stood in silence.
His right hand instinctively brushed his left wrist—it was empty. The moment the phantom appeared, the Mysterious Heaven Skill in his body had begun circulating at full speed. Only then had he managed to stay on his feet. It was the first time anything had ever made him feel... threatened.
Lin Mo, however, furrowed his brows.
A cold mechanical voice rang out abruptly in his mind:
[Host detected awakening Martial Soul 'Chaos Dragon Mastiff' (incomplete form); conditions met for system binding] [Ultimate Martial Soul Evolution System binding...10%...50%...100%] [Binding successful] [Host: Lin Mo] [Martial Soul: Chaos Dragon Mastiff (juvenile stage)] [Quality: Top-tier (evolvable)] [Innate Soul Power: Level 10] [Current evolution progress: 0%] [Evolution Points: 0] [Newbie mission issued: Obtain the First Soul Ring to unlock the evolution path] [Mission reward: Exclusive Soul Skill 'Wrath of the Dragon Mastiff' + 50 Evolution Points]
System?
Lin Mo's pupils contracted.
Fragments of his past-life memories surged up—fields of gunfire, days spent living by the edge of a blade, and finally, the bullet that had burrowed into his forehead. When he opened his eyes again, he had become an orphan in Holy Soul Village.
Six years had passed. He had lived cautiously, practicing what little combat skill he remembered from his previous life and observing this strange world. This was what he had been waiting for.
But the system... That was unexpected.
A mercenary's instincts made him bury every emotion in an instant, leaving only a "just right" look of delight on his face—the kind a six-year-old should have. He looked at Su Yuntao. "Deacon, can I go get a Soul Ring first?"
"Of course! I'll take you to the Soul Hunting Forest myself!" Su Yuntao thumped his chest. "But before that..."
He turned to Tang San, his tone returning to business. "You, the child with Blue Silver Grass, should test your Soul Power too. Your Martial Soul may be a little useless, but you never know..."
Before he could finish, Tang San silently stepped forward and took the crystal ball.
A faint but unmistakable light glowed within it.
Su Yuntao froze. "Level one Soul Power? Wait, you're not at zero?!"
Old Jack came back to life. He rushed over and grabbed Tang San by the shoulders. "Two! Our village has two Soul Masters! Ancestors, have you finally answered our prayers?!"
Lin Mo watched the crystal ball glowing in Tang San's hands, and the corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
The story... had begun.
But his path would be different.
"Lin Mo, have you decided what kind of Soul Beast you want to hunt for your First Soul Ring?" Su Yuntao asked eagerly. "I suggest starting with a Ten-Year Soul Beast. Safety first. Wind Wolves and Iron-Armored Rhinos are good choices; they're relatively docile..."
Before Lin Mo could answer, another system prompt appeared:
[Recommended target: Dragon-type Soul Beast with more than 400 years of cultivation] [Reason: Can trigger hidden evolution path 'Dragon Blood Devour', greatly enhancing the Martial Soul's base attributes] [Warning: Target is highly dangerous. Please choose carefully]
He raised his head, a glint of dark gold flashing in his eyes.
"I want to hunt a dragon."
Those two words left Su Yuntao dumbstruck.
"A dragon—a dragon-type Soul Beast?" he stammered. "Boy, do you understand what that means? Even the weakest draconic species is at least four hundred years old! They're only found in the middle zone! I'm a Level 26 Soul Grandmaster. You want me to take you dragon-hunting? If we run into a thousand-year Soul Beast, we're both dead!"
"I can go by myself," Lin Mo said.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Su Yuntao panicked. "You're only six! Your Soul Power hasn't even been converted yet! How about this: come with me to the Spirit Hall in Nuoding City first. I'll report this to headquarters and have a Soul Ancestor-level deacon go with you..."
"Can't wait."
Lin Mo turned and headed outside.
He needed to grow stronger as soon as possible. The system, his Martial Soul, the rules of this world—he knew too little. The fastest way to learn was through real combat, through contact with stronger things.
"Wait!" Su Yuntao hurried after him and gritted his teeth. "Fine! I'll go with you! But we'll only look around the edge of the middle zone. If we don't find anything suitable, we'll leave at once and hunt an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Beast instead. Understood?"
Lin Mo nodded.
The two set off. Tang San followed them. "Grandmaster Su Yuntao, I need a Soul Ring too."
"You..." Su Yuntao glanced at Tang San's Blue Silver Grass. "A Ten-Year Mandala Snake or Lone Bamboo. You can find those in the outer zone. Come along, then. It's on the way."
Old Jack saw them off at the village entrance, holding the two children back with one last round of advice. At last, he pressed a small cloth bundle into Lin Mo's hands. Inside were three hard, black flatbreads.
"Eat them on the way. Come back alive."
Lin Mo took the flatbreads and nodded.
The three of them set out.
Three li beyond the village, Su Yuntao summoned his Lone Wolf Martial Soul. The phantom of a massive gray wolf appeared, and two white Soul Rings and one yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet. His expression turned serious. "From now on, Soul Beasts could attack at any moment. Lin Mo, stay close to me. Tang San, stay behind us and watch both sides."
The forest grew denser.
The light dimmed, and the air carried the smell of decaying leaves and wild beasts. Even the birds had fallen quiet. The silence was unsettling.
Lin Mo didn't walk quickly, but every step was steady. His eyes swept over their surroundings—the bushes to the left had been brushed against recently; there were deep claw marks on a tree trunk ahead to the right; a branch overhead had snapped, its end torn rather than naturally broken.
A mercenary's instincts were coming back to life.
Suddenly, he stopped.
A system map unfolded in his mind—a red dot blinked three li to the northeast, with a label beside it: [Dragon Blood concentration: 37% · Single-Horned Fire Lizard (draconic species) · 450 years]
"Let's go that way," Lin Mo said.
"Are you sure?" Su Yuntao frowned. "The aura over there is restless. There might be a big one."
"Sure."
Su Yuntao gritted his teeth. "Fine! But the moment anything feels wrong, we retreat!"
After another li, the stench grew so strong it caught in their throats.
Tang San suddenly called out, "Look out!"
The bushes to their left exploded apart!
A black shadow lunged out, bringing with it a wave of heat and a gust of rank wind!
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