This wasn't going to be easy.
The Soul Beast Yan needed was genuinely difficult to find.
In the Star Dou Great Forest, Fire-attribute Soul Beasts were exceedingly rare. So they had chosen to look for an Earth-attribute Soul Beast instead. After all, Yan's Martial Soul, the Flame Lord, possessed both Earth and Fire attributes.
Of course, there was another crucial reason they hadn't found a suitable target despite all their searching.
A few years ago, Tang San had swept through the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
If the Holy Golden Beetle hadn't been unsuitable for his Martial Soul's attributes, it might never have fallen to Qian Yu. Then again, perhaps Tang San had simply missed it.
"Perhaps we should look somewhere else. I know of a place with more than a dozen volcanic craters. We might find a suitable Soul Ring there."
After they had searched for ages without finding a suitable target, Porcupinefish Douluo suggested they change course.
No one objected.
The group changed their target and headed for the place Porcupinefish Douluo had mentioned.
"What's that...?"
They hadn't gone far after changing their hunting destination when, on their way to the next location, they came across a group of people chasing a man.
"Seriously? We run into trouble even while hunting Soul Beasts? Does this kind of thing happen that often?"
Qian Yu muttered helplessly.
With the two Titled Douluo concealing them, the group hid from view.
Soon, they could see the situation clearly.
Three men were chasing one man—or, more precisely, chasing a walking lump of muscle.
"Huyan Li!"
When Xie Yue recognized the man being pursued, he called out his name.
The young master of the Elephant Armor Sect, and an ally of Spirit Hall.
Huyan Li was now around thirty. He was no longer a boy.
With decent talent and the resources of his sect, he had reached the Soul Saint realm.
But right now, he was in a wretched state.
Of the three men chasing him, one was a Soul Douluo, and the other two were Soul Saints.
Judging by their Martial Souls, they were probably from the Star Luo Empire.
"Huyan Li, why are you running? We only want your Spirit Bone. We're not after your life!"
The Soul Douluo with the Diamond Tiger Martial Soul watched Huyan Li flee in a panic and laughed.
In his eyes, Huyan Li was already a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
The reason was simple. Not only was Huyan Li weaker than him, but his Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul was also ill-suited to speed.
Just where did he think he could run?
"Damn it, I've only got one Spirit Bone, and it's a head bone! You want my Spirit Bone—might as well take my life!"
"You Star Luo Empire bastards are shameless!"
Huyan Li sprinted as he cursed.
After the Spirit Hall Empire lost the war, the Elephant Armor Sect, which had joined its side, suffered unprecedented blows.
His grandfather had died in battle. As the heir to the Elephant Armor Sect, Huyan Li should have taken up the burden of leading the sect. But the various powers were ruthlessly suppressing them, and his Head Soul Bone had made him a target for pursuit.
There was no way he could face enemies so powerful. The only way Huyan Li could think of to save himself was to enter the Star Dou Great Forest. Perhaps a powerful Soul Beast would hold his pursuers off for a moment and give him a chance to survive.
But things weren't going well.
So far, he hadn't encountered a single powerful Soul Beast.
"Should we save him?"
Seeing that the man being chased had once been on their side, everyone immediately looked to Qian Yu.
They were clearly waiting for his decision.
Without anyone noticing, Qian Yu had become the one they turned to for decisions.
"Save him!"
"But don't reveal that I'm here yet. Let's test him first, then decide what to do."
Qian Yu thought it over briefly before making his choice.
The safest option was not to save him.
But that might dampen the spirits of the people around him.
Right now, he still needed them, didn't he?
If he treated even his own allies with such coldness, what would they think of him?
So he had to save Huyan Li!
He didn't really remember much about Huyan Li.
He only remembered that during the Soul Master Tournament, Huyan Li had crushed Dai Mubai, then lost to Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
In terms of Martial Soul quality and talent, Huyan Li was pretty good for this era.
But without a major stroke of fortune, reaching the Titled Douluo realm would be difficult.
The circumstances were plain to see.
What Qian Yu was more curious about was how old Huyan Li's Head Soul Bone was.
Based on the story, it should have been eight or nine thousand years old.
But as the direct grandson of the Elephant Armor Sect's leader, and since the bone he'd absorbed was the sect's inherited Soul Bone, Qian Yu felt it ought to be a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.
If it was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, killing him might strengthen their side.
In the end, however, Qian Yu didn't choose to do that.
It all came down to the same thing: people's hearts.
These people had gathered around him because they saw hope in him.
If he lost their trust, it would be very difficult to gather them together again.
As for Soul Bones, that wasn't really a problem.
Even Soul Beasts rarely dropped Soul Bones. Killing people for Soul Bones was the real way to go.
And he actually had a few good targets in mind.
Meanwhile, the others had already sprung into action.
Only Hu Liena stayed behind to protect Qian Yu.
Snake Lance and Porcupinefish were both Titled Douluo. Even if they couldn't fight at full strength, they were still Titled Douluo—not the sort of opponents a Soul Douluo could match.
The more Qian Yu learned about them, the more he understood just how impressive the Titled Douluo of this era were.
Every one of them was a one-in-ten-thousand genius.
To put it bluntly, among the Shrek Seven Devils, if not for the Immortal Herbs and the God Trial, most of them would never have had a chance to become Titled Douluo in their lifetimes.
Tang San, who had every advantage imaginable, and Xiao Wu, who was a transformed Soul Beast, were exceptions. Of the other four, only Oscar had any chance of becoming a Titled Douluo.
The other three—whether Dai Mubai or Ma Hongjun—had no chance of reaching that realm. Soul Douluo was the best they could hope for.
As for Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, they were even more hopeless.
One was held back by her Martial Soul; the other had mediocre Innate Soul Power and a mediocre Martial Soul.
Even Oscar, who had Innate Full Soul Power, probably wouldn't reach the Titled Douluo realm until he was in his sixties or seventies.
That showed just how impressive Titled Douluo were in this era.
Of course, the Clear Sky Sect was an exception.
They were beyond the bounds of common sense.
Even after their prestige had been swept into the dirt and they had lost their spirit, they had somehow produced five or six more Titled Douluo after sealing off the sect. It was truly ridiculous.
Now that Qian Yu was really living in this world, he'd reminded himself more than once that when something seemed off, there was always something fishy going on.
Some shameless trick or hidden boost had to be behind it.
While Qian Yu's thoughts wandered, the fight had already ended.
The three pursuers had been ambushed by Snake Lance and Porcupinefish, and died with ease.
Before you continue