Angel's First Display of Power

The outer region is the second layer of the Star Dou Great Forest, situated just beyond the fringe zone.

It is dominated by hundred-year and thousand-year soul beasts; unless one is exceptionally unlucky, one will generally not encounter ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

At sunset on the first day, Luo Chen successfully arrived in this area and found a clearing to set up camp, intending to survive this first night.

What a pity, I've gained nothing today.

As he ate his dry rations, Luo Chen recalled the day's journey.

Aside from the ten-year and few-decade soul beasts that fled the moment they saw a human, he had only encountered a handful of hundred-year soul beasts throughout the entire day.

Most were between one hundred and two hundred years old, easily defeated or driven off by him; they were simply no match for him.

Beyond providing Luo Chen with more combat experience against soul beasts, today's battles also gave him a clearer understanding of his own strength.

His current power is indeed on par with the level of a thousand-year soul beast.

This is a good omen, perfectly aligning with the level of the soul ring Luo Chen currently requires. It is safe to say that as long as he isn't incredibly unlucky, he won't need to worry about his soul ring.

With a long sigh in his heart, the corners of Luo Chen's mouth curled upward, and he couldn't help but start fantasizing about which soul beast would provide his soul ring.

However, this state did not last long before Luo Chen's eating motion suddenly stopped.

The Death Spider Emperor is a natural jungle hunter, and as the possessor of this martial soul, Luo Chen naturally inherited many of its traits, including the keen perception of his surroundings hidden deep within his heart.

It really doesn't let one have any peace.

Looking at the pitch-black night all around, Luo Chen slowly set down his rations and stood up.

At the same time, he activated his Martial Soul Possession in the form of the Death Spider Emperor.

This form grants him some night vision capabilities. Although it is not yet enough to push night vision to its limit, he can still see through the dim, flickering campfire to make out the darkness before him.

Through the night vision function of the Death Spider Emperor, Luo Chen saw something in his surroundings.

He did not know when it had started, but around his small campsite, crystalline, thin spider threads—almost invisible to the naked eye—had appeared.

If not for the Martial Soul Possession, Luo Chen truly would not have discovered them.

Have I fallen into the trap of some great Buddha?

While his vigilance was pushed to the limit, Luo Chen also felt a sense of relief; at least he had noticed it.

Being able to detect it proved that the opponent was not that powerful—at most a hundred-year or thousand-year soul beast—otherwise, he would not have had the chance to be alert at all.

Undoubtedly, this was already excellent news for Luo Chen at this moment.

However, for some reason, after Luo Chen activated his Martial Soul Possession, he could clearly feel that the cold, bone-chilling killing intent had faded significantly.

Could it be...

Luo Chen raised his eyebrows slightly. He lowered his head to scan his body, then glanced at the phantom of the Spider Emperor behind him.

The Death Spider Emperor is the undisputed royal family among spider-type soul beasts. Could it be that even after becoming a martial soul, this racial sense of oppression does not disappear?

But the killing intent had not completely retreated, proving that the creature had not left and certainly still wanted to devour him.

Luo Chen guessed that it was likely this instinctive sense of oppression that kept it from attacking directly.

With his intuition growing stronger, Luo Chen finally locked his gaze onto his side. It was a large bush, and even with his night vision, he could not use his eyes alone to pierce through it and see everything behind it.

Undoubtedly, this was a perfect hiding spot.

Without a moment's hesitation, Luo Chen raised his hand, and the Spider Emperor phantom behind him moved in unison.

The spider legs swept across like sharp blades, the sound of tearing air following close behind, instantly shredding the bushes into pieces.

At the same time, a black shadow was forced out of hiding by Luo Chen's pressure.

As expected, it was a spider-type soul beast, but to Luo Chen's surprise, its appearance was quite similar to his own martial soul.

It just lacked many key features.

A Death Demon Spider, is it?

Luo Chen whispered softly. He had been wondering why it was acting so hesitant and cowardly; it turned out that not only were they of the same species, but it was a direct relative.

After being forced out by Luo Chen, the Death Demon Spider hissed incessantly, as if wanting to tear Luo Chen to pieces and devour him.

But hindered by the Spider Emperor phantom behind Luo Chen, it dared not approach.

Luo Chen smiled. He had just been fantasizing about what his soul ring would be, and he hadn't expected one to deliver itself so quickly.

Judging by the length of its legs, he could estimate that this Death Demon Spider's cultivation was around nine hundred to one thousand years.

Although this age exceeded the goal he had set for himself, because his first martial soul was the Death Spider Emperor, he would possess a natural suppression over the Death Demon Spider when absorbing the soul ring, making it not difficult to absorb a ring beyond his level.

The next moment, Luo Chen's figure vanished; he intended to challenge this Death Demon Spider.

In the blink of an eye, the Death Demon Spider's reaction was exceptionally swift, far beyond what Yu Xiaogang could have compared to two days ago.

The moment Luo Chen approached, it raised its claws to defend.

But as a superior entity, the front claws of Luo Chen's Spider Emperor martial soul easily parried the spider legs the Death Demon Spider used for defense, leaving a deep wound upon them.

The venom spread, causing the Death Demon Spider to shriek repeatedly.

Although they were of the same origin, as a higher-level Spider Emperor, Luo Chen's venom still inflicted significant damage upon the Death Demon Spider.

It just wouldn't take effect that quickly.

"Tsk."

Looking at the damage caused by his first attack, Luo Chen was still slightly dissatisfied.

Suppression was one thing, but it seemed he couldn't end this fight quickly.

This was the Star Dou Great Forest at night; dragging things out might not be a good thing. If his luck was bad, he might attract another nocturnal predator.

"A Death Demon Spider, huh."

Watching the Death Demon Spider reset its offensive stance, unwilling to give up, Luo Chen hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering his hand.

He then deactivated his Martial Soul Possession.

This action left the Death Demon Spider opposite him stunned.

It had just prepared itself for a fight to the death; what was this human doing?

But before the Death Demon Spider's small brain could react, Luo Chen raised his hand once more.

Only this time, his aura was completely different.

The dark, cold, and deathly negative energies vanished entirely, replaced by a presence that caused the Death Demon Spider intense discomfort.

Divine, holy, purifying.

Accompanied by a golden light with immense penetrating power, the Death Demon Spider felt a fear born from the very instincts of life...