Three hundred miles west of Nuoding City, in the Qinglan Soul Hunting Forest.
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting dappled shadows. A party of seven cautiously made their way through the woods.
Xiao Chenyu walked at the front of the group.
Right behind him was a stern-looking middle-aged man: his cheap dad, Xiao Chengkun.
Behind them came five members of the Soul Hunting Group: three Soul Elders and two Soul Ancestors.
That was a luxurious lineup by the standards of a small city!
Of course, the commission was luxurious enough to make Xiao Chengkun cry out in pain.
"Chenyu."
Xiao Chengkun leaned over and lowered his voice, looking as if someone had carved a piece of flesh from him.
"Are you sure there's a perfect Soul Ring for you here? Your dad's even dug into his coffin money to hire these people. What if we come up empty..."
"Dad, that's the eighth time you've asked." Xiao Chenyu rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"I'm just nervous!"
Xiao Chengkun rubbed his hands together. They were rough and strong, but right now he looked as tense as if he were shuffling mahjong tiles.
"The proudest moment of your dad's life was becoming the City Lord of Nuoding City."
"Now you're telling me my son has the potential to become a Titled Douluo. My heart's thumping like I've got a whole nest of rabbits tucked inside it."
Xiao Chenyu had already told his cheap dad about some of the changes he'd undergone.
Martial Soul Mutation.
Awakening of a Second Martial Soul.
After seeing his two Martial Souls with his own eyes, Xiao Chengkun had gotten so excited he'd turned into an idiot.
He'd spent the whole night at home hollering, "My son, Xiao Chenyu, has the potential to become a Titled Douluo!" His shouting had nearly made the neighbors call the authorities to report that the City Lord Mansion was haunted.
[Will of Douluo Planet]: Aww, your dad's kind of cute~ He's way better than Tang San's dad. [Will of Douluo Planet]: Tang Hao was such a terrible dad, raising his kid to be useless. Your dad's the normal kind of dad!(◕ᴗ◕✿) [Xiao Chenyu]: Tang Hao's fatherly love is like a mountain sliding downhill. My dad's is like a mountain... a normal mountain. [Man Faced Demon Spider]: Tang Hao! Die! Tang Hao! Die! Die together! [Xiao Chenyu]: All right, all right, stop repeating yourself. Tang Hao hasn't even shown up yet. Save your breath until he does.
"Chenyu, what are you spacing out for?"
Xiao Chengkun eyed his son suspiciously. The kid had been spacing out a lot lately. Could he have gone mad cultivating?
"Nothing. I'm praying the Soul Hunting goes smoothly."
Xiao Chenyu kept his face calm as he closed the Chat Screen.
The group continued onward.
Most of the Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest had only ten or a hundred years of cultivation. They sensed the Soul King's presence and stayed well away.
They hadn't come across a single top-tier Soul Beast along the way—not even many decent ones.
At most, a few ten-year Soft Bone Rabbits had bounded out of the bushes.
Watching the rabbits, Xiao Chengkun muttered, "I really don't get how something as weak as a Soft Bone Rabbit can be a Soul Beast. The meat rabbits I raise at home are sturdier than these."
"Dad, if Soft Bone Rabbits could grow that big, our family would've struck it rich long ago."
"True."
Before long, they reached a stone wall covered in green vines.
Xiao Chenyu pushed the vines aside, revealing a cave entrance.
It was pitch-black, with chilly air spilling out, like the gaping maw of a monster.
Xiao Chenyu quietly sent a message in the Chat Group.
[Xiao Chenyu]: @Will of Douluo Planet, is this the place? [Will of Douluo Planet]: That's right, it's inside! A super-suitable top-tier thousand-year Soul Beast for you~(๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ [Xiao Chenyu]: A top-tier thousand-year Soul Beast? Wouldn't that make it about the same level as a Titan Giant Ape? [Xiao Chenyu]: The strongest person here is only a Soul King. Can we handle it? Don't set me up. [Will of Douluo Planet]: Hehe, you'll find out when you go in~ I swear on my planetary pride that I absolutely won't harm an Avenger!|･ω･｀) [Goddess of Life]: Chenyu, you can trust the Will of Douluo Planet. [Goddess of Life]: She understands all living things on Douluo Planet. If she recommended you go there, she should be completely confident. [Man Faced Demon Spider]: Douluo Planet! Good planet! Trust! [God of Destruction]: There's no harm in being cautious, but opportunity and risk often go hand in hand. [God of Destruction]: If you don't even have this much courage, you don't deserve to be the son of me and Xiao Lu. [Xiao Chenyu]: Godfather, that's way too obvious a provocation. [God of Destruction]: So, are you going or not? [Xiao Chenyu]: I'm going, I'm going! Of course I am!
Xiao Chenyu took a deep breath and waved to the others behind him. "Come on, we're going inside."
The leader of the Soul Hunting Group immediately had his men light torches.
The firelight illuminated the depths of the cave as the group picked their way over the broken stones.
The air was damp and cold, and thick moss covered the stone walls. Bats occasionally flapped overhead, startling Xiao Chengkun so badly he nearly blasted them with a Soul Skill.
"This cave's pretty deep," Xiao Chengkun muttered.
"Doesn't it look like the scene right before a monster shows up in a horror movie?" Xiao Chenyu blurted out.
"What's a horror movie?"
"Uh... a kind of folk stage performance. It doesn't matter."
After walking for about the time it took to burn half an incense stick, the path opened up.
A gigantic cavern lay before them.
Countless stalactites hung from the ceiling.
The torchlight glinted off them in strange colors, like upside-down crystal swords.
The ground was damp, and their footsteps echoed faintly as they walked.
A faint smell of blood hung in the air.
At the very back of the cavern, a giant bear more than three meters long lay sprawled on the ground.
Its entire body was covered in dark golden fur that gleamed like metal in the firelight.
Eight half-meter-long claws jutted from the ends of its enormous paws.
Each one was like a crystal forged from dark gold, glittering with a chilling gleam.
Even though it lay there motionless, its ferocious aura made everyone present suck in a sharp breath.
[Will of Douluo Planet]: Ta-da! The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear makes its grand entrance!(ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ Surprised? Shocked?
"Huh?!"
Xiao Chenyu froze in place, his eyes wide as a pair of thousand-watt light bulbs switched on.
[Xiao Chenyu]: ... [Xiao Chenyu]: You call this a surprise? [Xiao Chenyu]: This is a goddamn shock!!!
The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!
A top-tier Soul Beast known in the Soul Master World as the "Destroyer of the Forest."
It possessed part of the bloodline of the Behemoth, the Ultimate Gold attribute, and represented the pinnacle of Gold-type Soul Beasts. It was also, without question, the king of all bear-type Soul Beasts!
Soul Beasts with top-tier bloodlines were specialists in fighting above their level.
A thousand-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was powerful enough to rival an ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
Xiao Chenyu quickly swept his gaze over the lineup: his Soul Hunting Group, plus his dad—three Soul Elders, two Soul Ancestors, and one Soul King.
His dad's Soul King-level Soul Rings weren't very good, either.
All five of them together would probably amount to five walking lunch boxes in front of this bear.
"Chenyu, is this the Soul Beast you had your eye on?"
"Gulp!"
Xiao Chengkun's voice trembled, and his face was greener than the moss on the cave walls.
Xiao Chenyu: "..."
[Will of Douluo Planet]: Aww, don't panic~ Take a closer look at its condition~
Xiao Chenyu steadied himself, suppressing the urge to turn and run, and carefully examined the giant bear.
The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's breathing was extremely ragged and feeble. Dark red blood hung from the corner of its mouth, mixed with charred black patches as if it had been burned.
The ground beneath it was scorched over a wide area, and several nearby rocks had been baked until they cracked.
More importantly, it wasn't reacting to the intruders at all!
Or rather, it had noticed them, but no longer had the strength to even lift its head!
Xiao Chenyu even saw its eyelids twitch, then give up on opening.
The paws said to be capable of smashing mountain peaks lay limp on the ground. It couldn't even draw in its claws.
"!!!"
"How strange!"
[Xiao Chenyu]: It looks like... it's almost done for? [God of Destruction]: This Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear is about three meters long and has just broken through to a thousand years of cultivation. [God of Destruction]: Under normal circumstances, your group really wouldn't be able to take it down. [God of Destruction]: But there's a force of extreme yang and scorching medicinal energy rampaging inside it, and it has already thoroughly damaged its foundation. [Goddess of Life]: Mm, it's probably been in this state for several days. Its life force is steadily fading. [Goddess of Life]: Right now, I'm afraid it can't even bring out one percent of its usual strength. [Will of Douluo Planet]: Hehe, let me tell you~ This fellow wandered off on its own during its juvenile stage and grew up alone in this Soul Hunting Forest. [Will of Douluo Planet]: The key is, not long ago, it accidentally ate an Immortal Herb. [Will of Douluo Planet]: The herb's medicinal power was incredibly potent, and it had the Ultimate Fire attribute. When it clashed with the Ultimate Gold attribute inside the bear, everything went out of control! [Will of Douluo Planet]: In short—don't just eat random things, even if they're Immortal Herbs. See? It ate one and got itself into trouble!(＞ｙ＜) [Xiao Chenyu]: Wait, wait, wait— [Xiao Chenyu]: You're saying it's on its last legs because it accidentally ate an Immortal Herb? [Xiao Chenyu]: An Immortal Herb? The kind of legendary herb that can completely transform a person?
Xiao Chenyu realized he'd hit upon something important!
Immortal Herbs had appeared in the original story!
[Will of Douluo Planet]: That's right~ And the one it accidentally ate was quite high-quality, too. [Will of Douluo Planet]: Now's the perfect time for you to take it down! Strike while it's sick and finish it off—charge, charge, charge!✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧ [Man Faced Demon Spider]: Beat it! Kick it! Kill! [Will of Douluo Planet]: Little Spider, calm down. We're Soul Hunting, not taking revenge(;ﾟдﾟ) Killing is one thing, but don't torture it!
Xiao Chenyu slowly let out a breath, the corners of his mouth curling up.
An Immortal Herb.
And a top-tier thousand-year Soul Beast on its last legs.
His luck was so good it seemed unreal.
Sure enough, sticking with the big shots came with a luck bonus.
He turned to look at the people behind him.
His dad, Xiao Chengkun, was looking at him as if to ask, "Son, are you sure you're not sending me to my death?"
The leader of the Soul Hunting Group was trying to stay calm, but the hand gripping his knife was trembling slightly.
The leader still had some fight left in him, but his expression practically screamed, "This job's going to cost extra."
Xiao Chenyu cleared his throat. "Get ready to move."
"Move?!"
Xiao Chengkun nearly jumped, pointing at the giant bear, which was two heads taller than him even lying down.
"Chenyu, this is the Soul Beast you had your eye on?"
"Are you sure we came here to hunt a Soul Beast, not to deliver takeout to one?"
"Dad, didn't you notice it's almost done for?"
"Hm?"
Xiao Chengkun froze for a moment, then took a closer look.
Sure enough, there was blood beneath the giant bear, scorched ground, and ragged breathing.
All of it pointed to one thing.
This was a critically wounded Soul Beast on the brink of death!
"This..."
Xiao Chengkun's expression shifted from fear to surprise, then from surprise to wild delight.
"This is a lucky break?"
"That's right."
Xiao Chenyu nodded, planted his hands on his hips, and broke into a radiant smile.
He swept his hand through the air.
"Move in!"
"This Soul Ring belongs to me, Xiao Chenyu. Don't let it get away!"