My Martial Soul Is Useless, Not Me

"Two three-hundred-year Spirit Beasts."

"Six ten-year Spirit Beasts."

"Twenty-five Gold Soul Coins in total. That should be enough."

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, beside a campfire, Zhou Qiubai stared at the longsword resting across his knees and muttered to himself.

It had been sixteen years since he had transmigrated to Douluo Continent.

In his previous life, Zhou Qiubai had been the last disciple of a master of traditional martial arts. His skills were formidable; he could be called a walking library of martial arts. But in that peaceful era, those skills had been of little use. He spent his days practicing and putting on demonstrations, living a life as bland as water.

But ever since transmigrating to Douluo Continent, Zhou Qiubai had finally felt that life held some promise.

Tang San had merely been an outer disciple of the Tang Sect, yet the inner sect techniques he had secretly learned allowed him to defeat and severely wound a Title Douluo in this world. With the techniques passed down from the future, combined with a Martial Soul, wouldn't Zhou Qiubai be able to slay gods with ease?

Unfortunately, according to Spirit Hall, the Martial Soul he had awakened was a useless one, incapable of cultivation.

After all, it was a sword that looked as though it had never been sharpened. No matter how one looked at it, it did not seem capable of harming anyone.

So, at the beginning, he had been as weak as any native of Douluo Continent.

But Zhou Qiubai refused to believe it. How could years spent tempering his body and studying martial arts be negated by a few words? So he plunged headlong into the Star Dou Forest, fighting Spirit Beasts every day. By now, he could easily defeat some thousand-year Spirit Beasts.

By the standards of the original story, he should have strength comparable to a Soul Elder.

But that was nowhere near enough. From what he had learned, Tang San was already studying at Notting Academy. In a few years, he would likely enter Shrek Academy. Wouldn't Zhou Qiubai's advantage of foresight be wasted by then?

With that thought, Zhou Qiubai shifted his gaze away from the sword blade.

He raised his head slightly and looked ahead into the distance.

Ahead was a rudimentary camp that had just been set up. People slept inside three or four tents, while another three or four figures sat around the campfire, talking amid their swaying shadows.

These people were lavishly dressed in matching uniforms. They were all girls, students of Skywater Academy and Zhou Qiubai's employers for this expedition. They had entered the Star Dou Forest to hunt suitable soul rings for their students.

Zhou Qiubai's duty was to guide them and ensure their safety as best he could.

"Hey! Our target this time is at least a thousand-year Spirit Beast. About when will we get there?" a girl by the campfire asked impatiently.

Zhou Qiubai rose in the direction of the voice, frowning.

"Yue'er! Don't be rude!" the slightly older blue-haired girl beside her scolded.

"What? I just want Sister to get her third soul skill sooner!" Shui Yue'er puffed out her cheeks, looking somewhat sullen.

"Spirit Beasts over a thousand years old are at least in the middle region of the forest. If you want water-element Spirit Beasts, you'll need to get close to a lake. There may be ones far older than a thousand years there, so both the distance and the danger will be harsher. On top of that, I need to spare attention to protect some of you. At your pace, it will take at least another two days."

Every living creature needed a water source. Even humans lived by water. If you entered a Soul Beast Forest and did not know where to find Spirit Beasts, you only needed to look for water.

Plant-type Spirit Beasts were the exception, of course.

Ignoring Shui Yue'er's complaints, Zhou Qiubai took a map from behind him and pointed out their current location and destination to Shui Bing'er.

"Can we go a little faster? Quite a few people need soul rings this time," Shui Bing'er asked with a furrowed brow.

Zhou Qiubai glanced at Shui Yue'er beside him and shook his head bluntly. "That'll be difficult. If it were only you, we could make the round trip in two days."

"You...!!!"

Just as Shui Yue'er was about to speak, Shui Bing'er stopped her. "In that case, we'll handle the younger students' soul rings first. When the time comes, please accompany me into the middle region of the forest."

"Well... that might still be difficult..."

"I can pay double." The moment Shui Bing'er said that, Zhou Qiubai's attitude made a complete one-eighty. He agreed at once.

Damn! A rich lady!

Zhou Qiubai knew that Skywater Academy, an academy entirely for women, was wealthy, but he had not expected them to be this wealthy.

Not to mention, Shui Bing'er was offering double the payment. As long as he secured this deal, he would have enough money.

Based on Tang San's methods in the original story and his own verification over the years, Zhou Qiubai had discovered that some herbs on Douluo Continent were much the same as those from his previous life. Even if a particular herb was unavailable, one with similar medicinal properties could be used as a substitute.

Although he currently could not enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to obtain herbs, improving his medicinal baths was essential.

That was all hard cash. One treatment required him to kill at least several hundred ten-year Spirit Beasts. By now, he had killed quite a few Spirit Beasts near the Star Dou Forest, and in recent years the supply simply could not keep up with demand.

That was why he had started working as a guide and escort.

Zhou Qiubai's escort fees were among the highest in the area. After all, capable Soul Masters usually had their own factions backing them. Most of those who hired him in the past were minor Soul Masters.

There was hardly any profit to be made from them.

Skywater Academy was at least a prestigious academy. He had no idea why they had not found someone else to lead them in obtaining soul rings.

And they were not even going to the Frost Forest.

But who cared? As long as he made money, that was enough.

"It's getting late. Why don't you all head into the tents and rest? I'll keep watch tonight," Zhou Qiubai said, rubbing his hands together with a smile.

Shui Yue'er and Shui Bing'er both trusted Zhou Qiubai and crawled into their tent to rest.

"Sister, are we really trusting him just like that?" Shui Yue'er grumbled inside the tent, evidently still displeased by Zhou Qiubai's earlier disdain. "I asked around. He has a useless Martial Soul, yet he charges such high prices. That makes no sense!"

"His prices have been so high for all these years, so naturally he must have his reasons." Shui Bing'er sat cross-legged, resting with her eyes closed. "Besides, haven't we encountered any major danger along the way?"

"Hmph! I think you're just too kind, Big Sis. What strength could someone with a useless Martial Soul possibly have? I bet he has simply been lucky."

"Seems like you're actually the older sister."

Outside the tent, the surroundings were eerily quiet. Only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the crackling of the fire echoed in Zhou Qiubai's ears.

Zhou Qiubai sat beside the campfire, constantly wiping the longsword in his hands. The next moment, he knew that tonight would not be peaceful—at least, not as peaceful as it was now.

Because a hundred meters away, three or four figures emerged from the underbrush. Soul rings of white and yellow bloomed around them one after another.

On closer count, there were around a dozen rings. There were quite a few people.

Zhou Qiubai grinned. "Yo, robbing business now means coming right to the campsite? That's a little unethical, isn't it?"

A middle-aged man at the front stepped forward and cupped his hands slightly. "We're only thinking of the clients. The Star Dou Forest is fraught with danger, so naturally they should choose more reliable escorts, rather than trash with a useless Martial Soul."

"I think you've misunderstood something." Zhou Qiubai slowly rose to his feet, holding his sword in one hand. "My Martial Soul may be useless, but that doesn't mean I am."