Giant-Mouthed Snake, First Soul Ring!

Soul Hunting Forest

By the time Huo Si led Chu Youwei and Long Weiguo into Soul Hunting Forest, the sun was already setting, and dusk was close.

But Huo Si wasn't worried that anything would happen to them in Soul Hunting Forest.

With the firepower Chu Youwei and Long Weiguo had in their hands, they might not be able to shoot their way through the entire forest, but they could find the Soul Ring they needed without a scratch.

"So this is Douluo World, the place where people mainly obtain Soul Rings and grow stronger?"

Chu Youwei looked at the enormous trees around them and at the various animals scattering between them at the arrival of the three of them.

"How cute!"

A Four-Legged Spirit Snake darted past.

"According to the Academy of Sciences' research on Soul Beasts, the Four-Legged Spirit Snake should be an ordinary Ten-Year Soul Beast with no real offensive power. When it encounters a person, animal, or Soul Beast larger than itself, it'll move out of the way."

Chu Youwei recalled the Academy of Sciences' materials on snake-type Soul Beasts and gave her conclusion.

Bang!

Without the slightest hesitation, Long Weiguo raised his pistol and precisely hit the Four-Legged Spirit Snake just as it was about to escape into its burrow.

"Soul Beasts in this world should all have something special about them. Even if it's only ten years old, it should still be worth studying."

Watching the Four-Legged Spirit Snake he had shot down, Long Weiguo saw a white Soul Ring rise from it and hurried over.

Huo Si's mouth twitched at the sight.

"Then why didn't you capture it alive?"

Long Weiguo froze. He picked up the palm-sized Four-Legged Spirit Snake and sheepishly rubbed his head.

"Ha ha, I forgot."

Huo Si sighed. If they wanted to capture Soul Beasts, fine. He'd just catch them in the forest later and send back whatever they wanted to study.

"But..."

He looked at the Four-Legged Spirit Snake's corpse in Long Weiguo's hand.

To be honest, ever since he got the Martial Soul Devouring Method, Huo Si had wanted to test it out.

He'd wanted to try it when they killed the group that had followed them, too.

The problem was that his Martial Soul was too small. Forget eating them; it couldn't even swallow a finger.

And this palm-sized Four-Legged Spirit Snake was still a little too big for his Martial Soul.

But if he cut it into several pieces, maybe...

Huo Si reached to the Storage Soul Tool hanging at his waist and took out a dagger.

He promptly cut the Four-Legged Spirit Snake into several pieces.

Without hesitation, he summoned his Martial Soul.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"

As soon as the little snake appeared, it flicked its tongue repeatedly in Huo Si's hand. Its eyes lit up at the pieces of meat, and it lunged at them, clamping its jaws around a large chunk.

"It really works?"

Huo Si couldn't help feeling a little delighted. The Martial Soul Devouring Method was complete, but only in theory. His biggest concern had been that his Martial Soul might refuse to open its mouth.

Now that was settled. It was willing to eat. As long as it was willing, and could manage to swallow, Huo Si could put the Martial Soul Devouring Method into practice.

The little snake gulped the meat down in one go, its eyes gleaming. A moment later, it began coiling up.

Huo Si quickly followed the Martial Soul Devouring Evolution Method and recalled his Martial Soul.

In the next instant, he felt a faint warmth well up inside him. A trace of Soul Power flowed from the center of his body to his limbs.

"This feeling—this is it!"

The Soul Power had successfully been converted. There wasn't much, but he could tell that it worked.

Huo Si quickly summoned his Martial Soul again, excitedly picking up one of the Four-Legged Spirit Snake's tails.

Hiss, hiss!

The little snake looked at Huo Si, then at the tail in front of it.

It understood what he meant, opened its mouth, and began devouring again.

But before long, the drawback became clear. Its body was too small. After eating a large chunk of meat, it couldn't eat any more. The tail still dangled from its mouth, but with its belly full, it couldn't swallow it no matter what.

"It's too small, and digestion is too slow. This conversion rate is far too low. Looks like it's time to hurry up and find a Soul Ring to absorb."

Huo Si's eyes flickered.

"Let's go. Our target is the Giant-Mouthed Snake!"

After dispelling the Four-Legged Spirit Snake's white Ten-Year Soul Ring, Huo Si led Chu Youwei and Long Weiguo deeper into Soul Hunting Forest.

Awooo!

In the center of Soul Hunting Forest,

a clear wolf howl rang out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The next instant, a rapid burst of gunfire echoed through the center.

The wolf's anguished howls cut off at once.

"Hundred-Year Soul Beasts are fast, but against overwhelming firepower, they're just as easy to kill as those Soul Grandmasters."

Long Weiguo wore a specially made helmet. The dual-combat goggles mounted on it were already switched on.

One was a night-vision device, the other a thermal imager.

With technology on their side, these Soul Beasts had only one outcome if they tried to ambush them: having their bodies torn apart by 7.62-caliber bullets.

Huo Si quietly watched it all from behind.

He reached into his Storage Soul Tool, took out a dagger, and tossed it to Chu Youwei.

"Go take care of those three Hundred-Year Gale Wolves. Roast them."

"Hundred-Year Soul Beast meat can provide plenty of Soul Power, too. It'll give you a solid foundation."

Chu Youwei caught the dagger. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the small pouch at Huo Si's waist.

"Yes, sir."

Before long, a fire was burning. Three Hundred-Year Gale Wolves had been skinned and set to roast over it.

Barbecue seasoning, black pepper, chili, salt, and a coating of oil—the distinctive aroma of roasting meat drifted far away.

"That smells amazing. Is this Soul Beast meat? It's different from the meat in our world."

Long Weiguo carved off a hind leg and gave it to Huo Si, then served Chu Youwei and cut one for himself.

"Mmm, it really is better than the meat back on the grasslands. And once you eat it, you can feel a warmth in your belly."

As Chu Youwei ate, her gaze still kept drifting toward the pouch at Huo Si's waist.

Huo Si took a bite of wolf meat. He'd noticed Chu Youwei looking at it several times already.

With a helpless sigh, he tossed the pouch to her.

"It's a Storage Soul Tool, like the storage pouches in novels. There's about a meter of space inside."

"Strangely enough, something this far beyond the technology of this era shouldn't exist."

"My guess is, either this world once had a glorious technological civilization in the previous era, but a great war destroyed it and only some Soul Tools survived..."

"Or this Soul Tool came from... another continent across the sea."

According to the history of Douluo I, Soul Tools and Soul Engineers should only have appeared and flourished during the peerless era, ten thousand years later. Yet they already existed during Douluo I.

There were only two possibilities: either Soul Engineers had existed in Douluo I's history but later disappeared, or someone had already discovered another continent and started smuggling goods from it.

"An independent space!"

Chu Youwei took the pouch and tried to open it, but no matter what she did, it wouldn't budge.

"Is it because I don't have Soul Power yet?"

"Pioneer, what I want to know right now is whether our Dragon Kingdom can make these independently—and produce them in batches."

An independent space! It was even more impressive than some nanotechnology. Why did people work on miniaturizing things to the nanoscale? Because there wasn't enough room.

With an item that possessed the supernatural power of independent space, why bother shrinking things to the nanoscale? Taking this back to the Dragon Kingdom could raise its technology to an entirely new level.

"In theory, yes. It would just take Soul Power to operate, and taking apart the Soul Tool's core and figuring out the Soul Patterns and Soul Lines that power it would be a hassle."

In theory, Soul Tools were technology; they simply needed Soul Power to activate them.

Rustle, rustle!

While Huo Si was considering whether to have the Dragon Kingdom find a way to cross the sea, make contact with the Sun Moon Empire, and obtain the methods for making Soul Tools and training Soul Engineers,

the bushes began to shake.

Long Weiguo, who had been gnawing on a wolf leg, abruptly set it down. He slapped the two specially made goggles on his head with his left hand, activating the night-vision and thermal imaging modes. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his pistol and pulled the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three bullets instantly flew into the bushes, followed by three crisp clangs.

"It's a big one, sir! Watch out!"

Hiss!

The big creature in the bushes seemed enraged. It let out a hiss and charged out, heading straight for the pile of wolf carcasses.

The moment the creature appeared, Huo Si's eyes lit up.

"Finally... You didn't disappoint me after all that hunting. I knew you'd come out!"

"This... is a Giant-Mouthed Snake!"

The instant Long Weiguo saw the target, his pupils shrank uncontrollably.

Chu Youwei immediately pulled out the materials from the Academy of Sciences.

"Target confirmed. Species confirmed. Determining age... Estimated length: three and a half meters. Estimated age: five hundred years... More detailed measurements are needed to determine its precise age."

The Giant-Mouthed Snake's size differed from that of other snakes. Most snakes reached a hundred years of age at just over a meter long.

But the Giant-Mouthed Snake grew by eating, and it was an extremely gluttonous snake. It digested quickly, converted Soul Power quickly, and grew quickly. At the same age, it was about three times the size of other snakes.

"Attack!"

Huo Si decisively gave the order.

At his words, Long Weiguo immediately raised his pistol again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots, all aimed precisely at its head.

The Giant-Mouthed Snake hissed. Its scales gleamed like cold iron, and in the next instant, right before Long Weiguo's astonished eyes, they deflected the pistol bullets.

Hiss!

The pain drove the Giant-Mouthed Snake into a furious hiss. It shifted its enormous body and rushed toward Long Weiguo.

"Switch to the assault rifle! The pistol's caliber is too small!"

Huo Si hurriedly called out.

It was obvious that this Giant-Mouthed Snake had already lived for more than five hundred years. Forget a pistol—even a Soul Grandmaster couldn't handle it easily.

Su Yuntao hadn't lied. One or two Soul Grandmasters really couldn't take on a Giant-Mouthed Snake.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At Huo Si's reminder, Long Weiguo didn't hesitate for a second and switched to his assault rifle.

The rat-a-tat of gunfire came with a tongue of flame. The 7.62 bullets tore through the Giant-Mouthed Snake's scales, ripping away a mass of flesh, though its speed slowed drastically as a result.

By the time the magazine was empty, the Giant-Mouthed Snake had been shot to pieces and could no longer move.

Long Weiguo panted heavily. As he watched the Giant-Mouthed Snake still glaring at him with vicious eyes, his scalp tingled.

"It's too tough. Its vitality is way too strong."

"This thing isn't even in the same league as those pack-hunting Hundred-Year Gale Wolves."

Long Weiguo swiftly changed magazines and kept watch on their surroundings.

"What a thoroughly satisfying fight."

Huo Si grinned and hurried forward, then thought better of it and retreated to Long Weiguo's side.

"Let me borrow that."

With that, Huo Si snatched the assault rifle from Long Weiguo's hands.

Bang, bang, bang!

"Still not dead?"

Looking at the Giant-Mouthed Snake lying completely motionless, Huo Si held down the trigger.

Only after the magazine was empty and the Giant-Mouthed Snake's three-and-a-half-meter body had been blown into several sections did a dark yellow Soul Ring slowly rise.

Huo Si tossed the rifle back to Long Weiguo.

"My First Soul Ring. Once I absorb it, I wonder if my Martial Soul can inherit the Giant-Mouthed Snake's monstrous vitality."

Seeing Huo Si about to act on the Yellow Soul Ring, Chu Youwei couldn't hold back.

"Wait!"

Chu Youwei took a measuring tape from her backpack. As she looked at the Giant-Mouthed Snake's corpse, cut into several pieces, the corner of her mouth twitched wildly.

Elder Ke from the Academy of Sciences had said that the Pioneer could only absorb a Soul Ring of about five hundred years. It absolutely couldn't exceed that limit, or else...

Huo Si shoved Chu Youwei aside.

"What would you know? It looks only three and a half meters long to me—just over five hundred years old."

Huo Si wasn't about to admit that he'd deliberately shot its body to pieces. Besides, he had no intention of getting himself killed.

He'd observed the snake closely. It really was five hundred years old. He just didn't know exactly how many years over. Five hundred and ninety-nine was still five hundred years old, wasn't it?

He really hadn't exceeded the age limit the Academy of Sciences had given him.

"Uh..."

Chu Youwei hesitated. The corpse had been shot to pieces, so there really was no way to examine it.

She looked at the dark yellow Soul Ring. She could tell for certain that this Giant-Mouthed Snake wasn't just over five hundred years old, like Huo Si claimed.

But Huo Si was the highest-ranking person present. Even if she wanted to cite the Academy of Sciences, the evidence had already been destroyed.

"Enough. I know how important I am."

"I'm going to absorb the Soul Ring now. Your job is to keep watch and make sure no Soul Beasts attack or interrupt me while I absorb it."

At that, Long Weiguo immediately raised his gun and scanned the surroundings.

"Yes, sir!"

Huo Si looked at the Giant-Mouthed Snake's massive body and the deep yellow Soul Ring on it.

Huo Si quickly adjusted his body to its best condition, then followed the steps for absorbing a Soul Ring and slowly released his Martial Soul.

When the thumb-sized little snake appeared in his hand, it couldn't help trembling all over at the sight of the Giant-Mouthed Snake's enormous size.

"White Snake, White Snake, don't be afraid. One day, you'll be bigger than it. You'll grow into a great terror and eat it like a spicy strip."

Sitting cross-legged, he used Soul Power to slowly draw the deep yellow Soul Ring above the Giant-Mouthed Snake's head toward him.

The instant the Giant-Mouthed Snake's deep yellow Soul Ring responded to the pull of Soul Power and slowly appeared above Huo Si's head—

Boom!

A powerful surge of Soul Power erupted in an instant.

White Snake glanced at Huo Si absorbing the Soul Ring, then at the motionless Giant-Mouthed Snake. It cast aside all its fear and slowly approached, beginning to devour the Giant-Mouthed Snake's scraps of flesh.

Chu Youwei kept her eyes fixed on Huo Si, afraid something might happen to him.

Long Weiguo also turned to look over from time to time.

The next moment, a sight that shocked them both appeared.

White Snake's body was slowly growing larger. As it devoured the Giant-Mouthed Snake's scraps of flesh while Huo Si absorbed the Soul Ring, its body gradually grew from its original thumb-sized form to two fingers, three fingers, five fingers, fist-sized, and finally the size of an arm.

Its length was also slowly increasing. Just as it was about to surpass one meter, White Snake, which had been eating scraps of flesh, suddenly stiffened. Confusion flashed in its large pupils, and the next instant, dense white cracks appeared all over its body.

"Not good!!!"