A Small Knife Pulls the Buttocks

Douluo Continent, Holy Soul Village.

The afternoon sun was somewhat blinding.

Li Hao lay on a large bluestone by the river, a foxtail grass dangling from his mouth, his fishing rod motionless in his hand.

His eyes stared listlessly at the sky.

The sun was far too dazzling at this moment; he dared not look at it too intently.

"It's been over two weeks since I transmigrated to Douluo Continent. Other transmigrators are either the older brother of Tang San, the older brother of Qian Xunji, or at the very least, possess Innate Full Soul Power."

"But when it comes to me, I just became a fisherman."

This really wasn't him wallowing in self-pity; he had been young once, and he too had experienced moments of hot-blooded impulsiveness.

Just two weeks ago, having just turned six, he was in the prime of his youth.

At the highly anticipated Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony, he made his move with casual confidence.

A flash of golden light erupted, blinding everyone present.

What was even more blinding than that radiance was...

A plain, somewhat paint-chipped fishing rod appeared in his hand.

Judging by its appearance alone, this rod was even more pathetic than the sickle trash martial soul that had just been awakened.

Master Su Yuntao had comforted him at the time, saying that tool martial souls might hold miracles, as the most powerful martial souls in this world were, after all, tool martial souls.

Li Hao had believed him back then.

Just like how he had believed the person claiming to be Qin Shi Huang back on Blue Star, pouring all his savings into a 50-yuan transfer.

Then, during the exciting soul power test...

The crystal ball lit up for a split second, so faintly it was almost negligible.

"Soul power, half a level!"

This result was earth-shattering, leaving the entire room stunned.

As everyone knows, soul masters are an extremely rare group; the vast majority of people are ordinary folks without soul power, resulting in a test score of level 0.

Over ninety percent of soul masters test between levels 1-3; while they possess the qualifications to cultivate, their talent is ordinary and their potential ceiling is extremely low.

Li Hao, however, was a freak of nature.

If you say he isn't a soul master, he has 0.5 levels.

If you say he is a soul master, he is 0.5 levels lower than the lowest-ranked soul master.

It was precisely this result that earned Li Hao the glorious title of the first soul master in a century at Holy Soul Village.

Whether there would be anyone after him was unknown, but there certainly hadn't been anyone before him.

This result alone was enough to make Su Yuntao's eyes pop out in disbelief.

Fine, he endured it.

Having one soul master awaken out of ten children was already a decent outcome.

After all, official statistics stated that only one soul master is born among every thousand ordinary people.

Being able to bring back one with even 0.5 levels meant the trip wasn't in vain.

Unsurprisingly, the subsequent children were very "cooperative," becoming part of the general statistics.

Until that blacksmith's child...

That six-year-old brat awakened Blue Silver Grass with Innate Full Soul Power.

The crowd was filled with both envy and sighs.

Su Yuntao, however, could neither laugh nor cry.

Li Hao remained calm.

Tang San was simply performing steadily within his own timeline; there was nothing to say about it.

He glanced at his fishing rod.

What the hell is the point of playing this game?

The key was that he didn't even have a hammer to play with...

Afterward, Li Hao decisively chose to lie flat, bumming meals at the Soul Master Academy.

As a result, he was politely dismissed by the Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy on the grounds that he was "unworthy of instruction" and "rotten wood that cannot be carved."

The reason was simple.

Two weeks after enrollment, his soul power had remained stuck at level 1.

The academy saw through his nature of freeloading and made him end his two-and-a-half-year junior soul master career early.

Forced, Li Hao had no choice but to return to Holy Soul Village early, living the life of a fisherman.

"Brother Li Hao, fishing again?"

A few village children, seven or eight years old, ran over. The leader still had a streak of un-wiped snot on his face.

"You've been fishing all afternoon and haven't caught a single thing! You'd be better off coming to catch grasshoppers with us!"

"The weather is nice today."

Li Hao gave a nonsensical reply, then turned his head away, looking as if he couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind.

This carefree attitude immediately stoked the anger of the little brats.

"Brother Li Hao, wasting your talent like this isn't right. Among us kids, only you and Tang San have soul power; you need to pull yourself together!"

Another child chimed in, "Exactly! Look at Brother Tang San—he goes to the back mountain to train before dawn every day. You, on the other hand, just know how to lie around all day. You're a real slacker!"

Li Hao couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids.

Here we go again.

These annoying little brats.

Tang San is a try-hard, and I'm a couch potato. We stay in our own lanes, so what's the point of comparing him to me every single day?

Training? What's the use of grinding? Can it put food on the table?

With innate half-level soul power, the ceiling is terrifyingly low—even more pathetic than the Grandmaster. With my secret grilled fish recipe, I'm living quite well in the village. Isn't that better than Tang San's alcoholic, abusive father?

Of course, he only said these things in his heart.

He couldn't be bothered to argue with this group of children.

Seeing that Li Hao ignored them, the children felt bored and ran off, shouting "Slacker Li Hao" as they went.

The world was finally quiet.

Li Hao let out a long sigh, rolled over, and prepared to continue his great career as a couch potato.

Just then.

The fishing rod in his hand suddenly sank!

A massive force came from the end of the fishing line, nearly yanking the rod right out of his grip!

Hm?

Something's biting?

Li Hao instantly perked up and bolted upright from the bluestone.

With this kind of force, it's definitely a big one!

Tonight's dinner is sorted!

He gripped the rod tightly with both hands, engaged his core, and executed a textbook hook-set.

"Up!"

However, the expected scene of a large fish breaking the surface did not occur.

As he pulled with all his might, a rustling sound came from the grass by the riverbank.

Immediately after, something pink and furry was dragged out of the grass by the fishing line, rolling twice on the ground.

Li Hao took a closer look and froze.

That wasn't a fish.

It was a rabbit.

A rabbit with a completely pink coat and long ears, looking entirely harmless.

Li Hao couldn't help but remark, "Kid, are you so desperate for food that you've gone into the water?"

At this moment, the rabbit was covered in blood, one of its hind legs tightly bound by his fishing line. Its breathing was extremely weak; it looked like it was on the verge of death.

This is... a ten-year soul beast, a Soft Bone Rabbit?

Li Hao frowned.

Something wasn't right.

There are indeed Soft Bone Rabbits on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, but they are usually very cunning. Why would one run to the riverbank?

And the wounds on its body...

Li Hao leaned in closer to observe carefully.

Those wounds were smooth and deep, with a trace of an imperceptible, sharp aura lingering on the edges.

This definitely wasn't caused by the claws or teeth of a common soul beast.

It looked more like it had been wounded by some kind of extremely sharp blade.

A terrifying thought surfaced in Li Hao's mind.

A soul master.

This rabbit was being hunted by a soul master, which is why it fled here!

Trouble.

A massive problem!

Save it?

With my negligible soul power, what if I wake it up only for it to kick me away?

There's also the possibility: what if the soul master hunting it tracks it down here?

What could I possibly fight them with?

This broken fishing rod?

Better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Throw it back—yes, hurry up and toss it back into the grass, pretend I never saw a thing.

"Life and death are fated; wealth and honor are in the hands of heaven."

"Bunny, it's not that I don't want to save you, it's that I'm truly powerless."

Li Hao muttered to himself as he reached out to untangle the fishing line wrapped around the rabbit's leg, intending to toss it into the nearby grass.

However, just as his fingertips were about to touch that warm, soft fur...

He couldn't help but stroke it twice.

Then twice more.

And kept on stroking.

Hmm, I'll throw it away once I'm bored of this.

Suddenly!

A cold, emotionless, mechanical synthesized voice, as if originating from the depths of the nine netherworlds, exploded in his mind without warning!

It scared him so badly he nearly hurled the rabbit back into the river!

[Pure soul unit on the verge of death detected.]
[Target: 100,000-year Soft Bone Rabbit (re-cultivation phase).]
[System activation criteria met...]
[Soul Beast Girl Raising System, activating!]