Soul Beast Paradise

The scent of blood mixed with the smell of damp earth, drilling into his nostrils.

The open space at the village entrance had already turned into a slaughterhouse.

Li Hao forcibly suppressed the churning nausea in his stomach.

He grabbed Cailin with one hand and scooped up Xiao Wu, who was still clinging to his leg, with the other, rushing back to the dilapidated wooden shack as if fleeing for his life.

Bang.

The wooden door was slammed shut, cutting off the gruesome sight outside, but failing to block the sense of crisis that had already seeped into his marrow.

Inside the room, three individuals—or rather, one human and two Soul Beast Girl—fell into an eerie silence.

An urgent, life-or-death family meeting commenced in this oppressive atmosphere.

"No, we have to leave immediately!"

Li Hao was the first to break the silence, his voice cracking from the urgency.

He paced back and forth restlessly in the cramped room, the floorboards creaking under his feet.

"Martial Soul Hall! That's Martial Soul Hall! We've gotten ourselves into huge trouble!"

Xiao Wu was frightened by the tense atmosphere; her small hands gripped the corner of Li Hao's clothes tightly, her large eyes filled with worry.

Cailin stood quietly in place, her purple robes still appearing noble and aloof in the dim room.

She watched Li Hao, who was on the verge of losing his mind, and spoke calmly.

"Master, where are we running to?"

A single sentence brought Li Hao's pacing to a halt.

He froze in place, the anxiety on his face instantly replaced by bewilderment.

That's right.

Where could they run?

Heaven Dou Empire? Star Luo Empire?

The influence of Martial Soul Hall spanned the entire continent; their eyes and ears were everywhere.

A six-year-old child traveling with two stunning beauties, one of whom was a delicate little girl—where could such a combination go without being the most conspicuous target?

They would likely barely step into a city before the pursuit orders from Martial Soul Hall were plastered all over the city walls.

A deep sense of powerlessness gripped Li Hao's heart once again.

"Star Dou Forest."

Cailin offered her suggestion.

"Return to the core area. It is the territory of soul beasts, filled with powerful creatures; even a Title Douluo would not dare to step foot there easily. It is the safest place on the entire continent for us."

The proposal sounded reasonable.

Before Li Hao could think it over, he felt a small tug on his leg.

He looked down to see Xiao Wu tilting her small face up, shaking her head vigorously.

"No, Papa."

The little one's voice carried a hint of tears.

"The core area is very scary. There are many, many powerful soul beasts there, and they... they don't like outsiders, they will bully us."

She paused, adding in a small voice.

"Besides, there is nothing there; it's too lonely."

Li Hao's heart was wrenched by those words.

He looked into Xiao Wu's clear, pleading eyes and could no longer bring himself to say yes.

He could not take Xiao Wu to a place that made her feel terrified and lonely just to escape danger.

That was not a home.

That was a cage.

What was he to do?

Running was not an option, and hiding was not an option.

Was he really to sit here and wait for death, waiting for a Title Douluo from Martial Soul Hall to show up and turn his whole family into soul rings and soul bones?

A feeling of despair flooded over him like a tide.

Just then, a nameless rage surged in Li Hao's mind.

This fire burned straight toward the culprit!

"System!"

"Are you still there, damn it!"

"You Soul Beast Girl Raising System, you're just going to start the mess and leave me to die, aren't you?"

"You just dump two ancestors on me, and then expect me to lead them around the world while being hunted?"

"Are you a cultivation system or an extinction system!"

"Give me an explanation! Otherwise, I can't go on living like this!"

Li Hao roared frantically in his mind, using every ounce of his lifelong talent for snark.

However, this time, the system did not maintain its usual silence.

A cold, yet strangely rhythmic notification tone echoed in his mind.

[Detected that the host has successfully protected the Soul Beast Girl and repelled the invasion of external enemies.]

[Detected that the host has developed a strong desire to protect and establish a home.]

[Homestead Module, activation conditions met.]

The series of prompts brought Li Hao's internal roaring to an abrupt halt.

He was stunned.

Homestead Module?

What is that?

Before he could react, the system interface before his eyes underwent a world-shaking transformation.

On the interface, which previously only had two crude options for Character and Inventory, a brand-new icon emitting a soft green light slowly emerged.

It was a cute pattern of a small wooden cabin and a hot spring.

Beneath the icon were four large, flourishing characters.

[Soul Beast Paradise]

Li Hao's breathing stalled at that moment.

Trembling, he focused his consciousness on the new icon.

A detailed introduction unfolded.

[Soul Beast Paradise: An independent dimensional space that can be carried with you.]

[The internal environment of the space can be modified and upgraded according to the host's will and strength.]

[From the initial small wooden cabin and hot spring to the mountains, rivers, seas, sun, moon, and stars of the future.]

[This space is the most perfect habitat for soul beasts, capable of isolating all external detection and karma.]

[It is a true paradise on earth.]

A paradise on earth.

Li Hao chewed on these words repeatedly, his eyes widening until they shone with a terrifying intensity.

This...

Isn't this the ultimate cheat for a portable base... no, wait!

Isn't this the ultimate cheat for a portable base genre!

An independent world that belongs entirely to him, where no one can find him!

With this, why the hell would I keep running!

What is Martial Soul Hall? What is a Title Douluo?

If you have the guts, come through the dimensional wall and hit me!

A surge of immense ecstasy, like a volcanic eruption, instantly swept away all the gloom and despair in his heart.

He almost laughed out loud like a pig.

But he held it in.

As an extreme introvert, he couldn't bring himself to make such an uninhibited display.

He forcibly suppressed his excitement, took a deep breath, and tried his best to maintain a calm exterior.

Then, he turned around to look at the two beautiful figures—one large, one small—who were watching him with worried and curious eyes.

Xiao Wu was still struggling with whether or not to go to the Star Dou Forest.

Cailin was thinking about the next possible hiding spot.

They both viewed him as their only reliance, unaware that this reliance had almost collapsed just moments ago.

A sense of unprecedented pride and responsibility welled up in Li Hao's heart.

He cleared his throat and spoke slowly in a deliberately deep tone.

"No need to run anymore."

"I have a way to give us a home that no one can ever find."

Xiao Wu blinked her eyes in curiosity.

A flicker of imperceptible doubt flashed within Cailin's golden slit pupils.

Seeing the gazes they cast his way, Li Hao no longer hesitated.

His consciousness pressed heavily upon that brand-new option on the system interface.

[Activate Soul Beast Paradise (Initial Space)]

In an instant.

The world before his eyes began to distort.

That dilapidated wooden door, that crude wooden bed, those mottled earthen walls...

Everything seemed like ink dropped into water, beginning to blur and dissipate in a bizarre fashion.

Replacing it was an endless, pure, and warm light.