Douluo: Breathing Makes Me Stronger, Tang San Was Terrified!

He wanted to tell Xiao Wu that he had gone to hunt Spirit Beasts, not deliberately missed the match between the Work-Study Students and the noble students.

However, Xiao Wu simply would not listen. She always kept a cold face toward Tang San.

Tang San was helpless, but out of his infatuation with Xiao Wu, he acted like a hopeless simp, turning himself into a clown again and again in an attempt to win her favor.

Meanwhile, while Tang San was exhausting himself trying to please Xiao Wu,

Lu Chen devoted all his energy to learning.

Lu Chen took his studies very seriously. It could be said that he thirsted for knowledge.

In class, he was always the most attentive one. Literacy, history, geography... Lu Chen progressed remarkably quickly, earning endless praise from every teacher.

Besides these basic subjects, Lu Chen studied Spirit Beast knowledge most diligently. That was what he needed the most.

Spirit Beast species, distribution, innate talents, skills... Lu Chen put the most effort into learning all of it. Every day after class, he would specifically visit the teachers' offices and politely ask them for guidance.

Most of Notting Academy's teachers were conscientious and responsible. Since Lu Chen was willing to take the initiative to ask questions, they taught him everything they knew.

They explained the Spirit Beast knowledge they had mastered to Lu Chen in great detail.

Especially knowledge about Plant Spirit Beasts!

Since Lu Chen's Martial Soul was the plant-type Blue Silver Grass, the knowledge he asked about most was naturally related to Plant Spirit Beasts!

Besides those teachers, Lu Chen had another person he could consult: Xiao Wu!

As a hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit that had taken human form, Xiao Wu could be considered one of the ancestors of the Spirit Beast world. Her understanding of many Spirit Beast habits even surpassed that of the academy's teachers.

Although she had lived for a very long time, Xiao Wu had probably been protected too well. She did not possess any particularly scheming thoughts.

Lu Chen only needed to flatter her a little, and Xiao Wu would become giddy and tell him every Spirit Beast habit she knew, one by one.

Under Lu Chen's eager pursuit of knowledge, his progress was obvious every day.

Time passed quickly like this, and in the blink of an eye, three years had gone by!

After three years of growth, Lu Chen was now nine years old, and his changes were enormous.

First was his height. He had grown from 1.6 meters to 1.8 meters. Aside from the lingering childishness on his face, his build was no different from that of an adult.

Second was his Soul Power. Since he had yet to obtain his first Spirit Ring, his Soul Power had remained stuck at level ten.

However, over the past three years, he had cultivated diligently every day. With his Gold Finger that made him stronger just by breathing, the Meditation Method gave him twice the cultivation speed.

This had allowed his Soul Power accumulation to reach an unimaginable level. Just look at how he was only nine years old, yet already possessed a burly 1.8-meter frame.

From that alone, one could infer that the Soul Power accumulated within his body had to be an utterly terrifying amount.

As for exactly what level his Soul Power had reached?

He would only know after obtaining a Spirit Ring!

Lu Chen had spent three years completing six years' worth of studies. Literacy, history, geography... he had long since mastered all these basic subjects.

As for knowledge related to Spirit Beasts, especially Plant Spirit Beasts, Lu Chen had studied it with the greatest care and had accumulated a terrifying amount of knowledge.

He could not claim to recognize every Spirit Beast on the entire continent, but for the vast majority of them—especially Plant Spirit Beasts—Lu Chen could identify them at a glance and name their attributes, habits, innate talents, skills...

Now, everything was ready. All he lacked was hunting a Spirit Beast!

For this reason, Lu Chen sought out the Dean of Students and applied for leave from school, citing the need to go out and hunt a Spirit Beast.

Star Dou Forest

At the gates of Notting Academy!

The 1.8-meter-tall Lu Chen slung his pack over his back and walked out of the academy.

Behind him stood Xiao Wu, who had come to see him off, as well as Tang San, Xiao Wu's number one simp.

It had to be said, Tang San really was persistent. Even after making a clown of himself again and again, he still shamelessly hovered around Xiao Wu and somehow became her number one simp.

Xiao Wu's scorpion braid swayed behind her. She waved enthusiastically at Lu Chen, her voice crisp and sweet, brimming with youthful energy.

"Boss Lu Chen, come back early after absorbing your first Spirit Ring. We'll be waiting for you at the academy!"

After all, they had been roommates and companions for three years. At this moment of parting, Lu Chen turned to Xiao Wu and said gently,

"Hunting Spirit Beasts is extremely dangerous. I don't know how long this trip will take, but as long as fate allows it, we will definitely meet again someday."

Xiao Wu truly had an innocent and cheerful nature. She was not nervous in the slightest and even said expectantly,

"We'll definitely meet again. Look at Little San—he's already absorbed two Spirit Rings and become a Soul Grandmaster, yet he hasn't lost an arm or a leg."

Little San was Tang San. As Xiao Wu's simp, Tang San had already lost his own name in front of her.

Even when Xiao Wu called him Little San, Tang San gritted his teeth and accepted it with a broad smile.

It had to be said, simps were truly terrifying creatures.

At that moment, Tang the Simp's eyes held a mixture of delight and malice.

He was delighted because once Lu Chen left, he would become the person closest to Xiao Wu.

Even if he was just a simp, as long as he stayed by Xiao Wu's side every day, perhaps there would come a day when he entered her heart.

With malice in his heart, he thought that Lu Chen had better die out there while hunting Spirit Beasts. That way, he would no longer have a rival.

Tang San thought of his two Spirit Beast hunts. The first had been the Datura Snake, and the second the Ghost Vine. Even with thorough preparations, he had narrowly escaped death each time.

Lu Chen was alone. If he went to a Spirit Beast Forest to hunt Spirit Beasts, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance he would die in the forest.

This was Tang San's darkest thought!

The way he looked at Lu Chen was as though he were looking at a dead man!

Lu Chen was not blind. Tang San radiated hostility toward him from head to toe. How could he possibly fail to sense it?

It just was not yet time to fall out with him!

This trip was like a bird soaring through boundless skies or a fish swimming through vast seas!

Once his wings had fully grown, it would be time for him to lay everything bare with Tang Hao and Tang San.

Lu Chen had never forgotten the harm and humiliation Tang Hao and Tang San had brought upon him and his parents back then.

What he thought about every day was becoming strong as soon as possible, then taking revenge on Tang Hao and Tang San. He had to make that father and son regret ever coming into this world.

This was one of Lu Chen's greatest motivations for seeking strength!

With that thought, Lu Chen turned and strode away. His resounding voice drifted back behind him.

"Goodbye. I'm leaving first!"

After bidding Xiao Wu farewell, Lu Chen left Notting City. He did not immediately head out to hunt Spirit Beasts, but instead returned to Holy Soul Village.

Once he left this time, he might be gone for several years. It would not be like studying at Notting Academy, where he could at least return once a year.

Since he would be gone for a long time, Lu Chen returned to Holy Soul Village and properly said farewell to his parents, Lu An and Rose, as well as Old Jack, the village chief who cared for him.

Three days later, Lu Chen no longer had any lingering concerns. He shouldered his pack once more and resolutely set out on his journey to hunt Spirit Beasts.

Lu Chen held a worn map in his hand. He had bought it in Notting City, and it roughly marked the major cities of the Two Great Empires, as well as several famous Spirit Beast Forests.

Such as Sunset Great Forest and Star Dou Forest!

This time, Lu Chen was heading for Star Dou Forest, located in the center of Douluo Continent and wedged between the Two Great Empires.

Star Dou Forest was currently the most vast Spirit Beast Forest on the continent. It was divided into the Outer Zone, Mixed Zone, and Core Zone. It contained inexhaustible Spirit Beast resources, but it was also exceptionally dangerous.

The Outer Zone contained large numbers of hundred-year and thousand-year Spirit Beasts.

The Mixed Zone contained many powerful Spirit Beasts between ten thousand and fifty thousand years old.

The Core Zone was filled entirely with terrifying Spirit Beasts over fifty thousand years old. There were even top-tier Spirit Beasts over a hundred thousand years old within it.

Star Dou Forest was the place Lu Chen had chosen to hunt Spirit Beasts. With Star Dou Forest's abundant Spirit Beast resources, he believed he would definitely rise to prominence in a short time.

As for how his two Martial Souls, Blue Silver Grass and the Black Iron Sickle, should develop in the future?

Over the past three years, Lu Chen had considered it countless times!

First, he definitely could not imitate Tang San. The most important thing about Twin Martial Souls was allowing them to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had initially taken the control route, then later gained powerful attack skills, becoming a control-and-attack route.

That overlapped to a certain extent with his Second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, preventing him from fully displaying the advantages of Twin Martial Souls.

In Lu Chen's plan, his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul needed to continuously improve its life attribute and take the support path—healing health and Soul Power, granting shields and buffs, and eventually even bringing the dead back to life.

With the life attribute of his First Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, his Second Martial Soul, the Black Iron Sickle, could gain attributes such as destruction, darkness, and devastation.

The more brutal, the better. The more domineering, the better!

As long as its power was strong enough, he would not hesitate even if it meant perishing together with his enemy!

Only this way could he fully unleash the advantages of Twin Martial Souls. The First Martial Soul would embody ultimate life, while the Second Martial Soul would embody ultimate destruction. The two Martial Souls would complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, enough to turn him into a killing machine.

Once the Twin Martial Soul paths he envisioned each reached their ultimate peak, he believed he would be invincible across Douluo Continent.

After traveling for half a month, the dust-covered Lu Chen finally arrived outside Star Dou Forest.

Thinking about his experiences over the past half month, Lu Chen could not help but sigh. Traveling far from home really was not easy.

When traveling outside, there were too many things to guard against: bandits, wild beasts, crooked inns... A single careless moment could cost not only money, but even one's life.

Lu Chen had been very fortunate. Thanks to his Gold Finger that made him stronger just by breathing, he had possessed a 1.8-meter frame and immense strength despite being only nine years old. That was how he had passed through crisis after crisis.

With plenty of blood already staining his hands, Lu Chen's gaze had become cold and his expression more mature. Anyone who experienced life-and-death danger could be reborn and grow rapidly.

At that moment, Lu Chen looked at the endless, shadowy forest before him and spoke in an excited tone.

"Star Dou Forest, I, Lu Chen, have finally arrived..."

A Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass

At the edge of Star Dou Forest's Outer Zone!

With his pack on his back, Lu Chen walked through the forest with vigilant eyes, always on guard against danger that might emerge from his surroundings.

In his right hand, he gripped a black iron sickle—his Second Martial Soul, the Black Iron Sickle.

The handle was about two feet long and roughly two fingers thick. At its tip was a crescent-shaped sickle blade, about one foot long and three fingers wide, sharpened on one side and currently gleaming with a cold light.

Compared to his First Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, his Second Martial Soul, the Black Iron Sickle, was merely a farming tool, but it still possessed some offensive ability.

Especially since this was Lu Chen's Martial Soul, it could bear his immense Soul Power. Infused with that tremendous Soul Power, the Black Iron Sickle's sharpness far surpassed weapons forged from refined iron or steel.

Within Star Dou Forest, the Black Iron Sickle had even more uses. It could serve not only as a weapon for self-defense, but also as a tool for clearing a path.

In this kind of primeval forest, the most common things were grass and vines blocking the way. Snakes, insects, rats, and ants could also hide within that grass and those vines, making them all the more dangerous.

Lu Chen's Black Iron Sickle had originally been used to cut wheat and rice, but it could naturally cut through grass and vines without any problem.

Just then, a rustling sound rang out. From a nearby tree, a shadowy figure shot forth and pounced directly at Lu Chen.

Before Lu Chen could clearly see what kind of creature it was, his body reacted on instinct. He swiftly swung the Black Iron Sickle and slashed at it.

A sharp, cold gleam flashed through the air, and the leaping shadow was instantly cut in two.

Thud! Thud!

The creature Lu Chen had split apart fell to the ground, its head and body landing separately. Blood quickly flowed out and stained the ground red.

Only then did Lu Chen clearly see the creature's true form. It was a Brocade-Bellied Snake, a highly venomous snake-type Spirit Beast.

If it had bitten him, he likely would not have been able to leave Star Dou Forest alive.

Lu Chen could not help but sigh.

"Star Dou Forest really is full of dangers. Even at the edge of the Outer Zone, there are Spirit Beasts like Brocade-Bellied Snakes."

The next moment, yellow light began radiating from the Brocade-Bellied Snake's corpse. After shifting several times, it gradually condensed into a yellow Spirit Ring.

This Brocade-Bellied Snake was actually a hundred-year Spirit Beast.

Lu Chen glanced at the yellow Spirit Ring, but quickly looked away. He had no intention of absorbing it.

He raised his foot and stepped on the Brocade-Bellied Snake's head, then bent down and collected its body, planning to roast it later and eat it with his dry rations for lunch.