Su Yuntao: What a Pity, Another Useless Martial Soul

Early morning, Holy Soul Village.

The rising morning sun shed its light upon the dilapidated Spirit Hall of Holy Soul Village, casting a warm glow over the long-neglected building.

Inside the hall, six-year-old Zhao Linchuan was witnessing the entire process of Tang San awakening his martial soul, an irrepressible restlessness surging in his heart.

Half a month ago, he had inexplicably arrived in this world called Douluo Continent.

Arriving as a newcomer, he was penniless, unable to even afford a single bite of hot food, and nearly starved to death by the roadside.

Thanks to the kind-hearted Old Jack, who took him in, he managed to survive until today.

"Next." Su Yuntao's voice came from ahead.

"Hmm?" Seeing no one move, he raised his volume. "Next!"

"Coming!"

Zhao Linchuan snapped back to his senses, took a deep breath, and stepped forward slowly, entering the martial soul awakening array paved with six black stones.

"Stand still."

Su Yuntao casually channeled soul power into the array, and golden fluorescent light instantly rose, enveloping Zhao Linchuan entirely.

Warm light wrapped around his body, and Zhao Linchuan kept hoping in his heart.

Even if he could not awaken a powerful martial soul, he at least needed Innate Soul Power to allow him to embark on the path of cultivation.

"Oh?"

Golden fluorescent light continuously diffused around Zhao Linchuan's body, and an instinctive urge surged from the bottom of his heart. He wanted to spread his hands open, presenting the martial soul in his palms just like all the children who had awakened before him.

No.

I cannot spread them open!

Zhao Linchuan reacted instantly. He clenched his teeth tightly, forcefully suppressing that instinctive urge, gripping his left hand tightly, and then quietly putting it behind his back.

He took another deep breath, pressing down his churning emotions, and only then slowly opened his right hand.

Above his right palm, a pale-cyan phantom slowly emerged.

The phantom looked similar to a long snake, but it possessed four claws, deer horns, golden pupils, a horse's face, and shrimp whiskers, its slender body covered in pale-cyan scales.

A fragrance of vegetation reminiscent of spring returning to the earth drifted from that phantom, refreshing the heart.

What the hell! Zhao Linchuan almost failed to hold back his exclamation. Wood Azure Dragon?!

"What kind of martial soul is this?" Su Yuntao walked closer with a blank expression, frowning as he scrutinized it for a long time. "A nine-in-one? Neither fish, deer, nor snake..."

He had never seen such a martial soul.

A moment later, Su Yuntao shook his head, a hint of regret in his tone.

"What a pity. This kind of 'hybrid' martial soul is usually a useless martial soul."

"And it looks completely devoid of any lethality, making it completely unsuitable for cultivation."

As he spoke, he took the crystal ball used for testing soul power out of his cloth bag, glanced at it, casually shoved it back in, shook his head, and sighed:

"Sigh, another wasted effort."

"It was so hard to finally run into a child with Innate Soul Power, yet it turns out to be just a useless martial soul, Blue Silver Grass."

He collected the six martial soul awakening stones into his cloth bag one by one and walked out of the Spirit Hall without looking back, his footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Meanwhile, in the distant Star Dou Forest, deep within the Lake of Life, a massive figure that had been sleeping for who knows how long slowly opened its eyes!

Night quietly descended.

At Village Chief Old Jack's home.

Tossing and turning and unable to sleep, Zhao Linchuan sneaked into the woodshed.

He sat cross-legged on a pile of hay, closed his eyes, and carefully perceived his two major martial souls.

From the information transmitted by his martial souls, he clearly "saw" that his two major martial souls were none other than the Wood Azure Dragon and the Metal White Tiger, two of the legendary Four Auspicious Beasts.

He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands.

Ever since he awakened his martial souls, an unusually turbulent power had been surging and flowing through his limbs and bones, as if every inch of muscle was filled to the brim with this strength.

Innate Full Soul Power?

That was definitely guaranteed.

The problem was... he had no prominent background, so where on earth was he supposed to acquire a suitable soul ring?

Zhao Linchuan frowned, his index finger tapping lightly on his knee.

If he relied on the teachers of Notting Academy to organize a soul hunt, he would at most obtain a soul ring of two or three hundred years.

What is more, he had not pestered Su Yuntao to write him a martial soul proof, so he did not even have the qualifications to attend Notting Academy as a work-study student.

Besides, even if he went to Notting Academy, he would only be cultivating step by step, squeezed together with children from ordinary families, eating communal meals, and sleeping in shared dormitories... How could he possibly surpass others?

Without a soul ring that surpassed the limits, how was he supposed to stand out in this world of the jungle?

Zhao Linchuan sat in deep thought, and for a moment, the woodshed grew so quiet that only the wailing of the night wind slipping through the gap in the door could be heard.

After a long while, a light suddenly dawned in his eyes.

Ah? I've got it!

He slammed his thigh hard and muttered excitedly to himself,

I remember Ah Yin's original body was hidden by Tang Hao behind a waterfall outside Holy Soul Village!

I can try to absorb her, and when I make a trip to the Blue Silver Ancestral Land in the future, see if I can turn my first spirit ring into a growing spirit ring!

The more he thought about it, the more feasible he felt it was.

And the most crucial point is that, given the current situation, Ah Yin is the most suitable first spirit ring I can possibly seek out.

A reborn hundred thousand year Blue Silver Emperor, top-tier plant-type quality, and an absolute match made in heaven with my Wood Azure Dragon attributes!

Only... His brow furrowed again. What should I do about the soul power barrier that big rat left there?

He pondered for a moment, his gaze slowly shifting to the hoes and shovels leaning against the wall in the corner of the woodshed.

Got it! Zhao Linchuan suddenly had an idea. I can learn from rats and dig a tunnel!

With Tang Hao's IQ, he definitely wouldn't extend the soul power barrier underground.

A dignified Title Douluo like him, how could he ever expect a six-year-old brat to tunnel in from underground?

Smack! He clapped his hands. Right! Just do it like that!

After the surge of excitement passed, he calmed down again and continued pondering a more long-term plan.

Find a way to get Xiao Wu into my hands first... This opportunity must not be lost at all costs. That's a full three hundred thousand year spirit rings and three hundred thousand year spirit bones!

Throughout Douluo Continent, where else can I find a second fat opportunity like this?

He licked his lips, a fiery greed leaking from his eyes.

After taking Ah Yin's spirit ring and spirit bone, I'll leave this place directly, find a place where no one can find me, and steadily fall in love with Xiao Wu.

When I need a spirit ring, I'll just learn from that Clear Sky Douluo, get Xiao Wu pregnant, and when she's about to give birth, deliberately stroll in the direction of Spirit Hall...

With this thought—

Smack—!

Zhao Linchuan suddenly struck his own face with a fierce slap. The burning pain instantly sobered him up. He gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice,

"Damn it, Zhao Linchuan, using a child as 'bait', are you even human?!"

"You're even more of a beast than Tang Hao!"

Calm down... Calm down...

Zhao Linchuan vigorously rubbed his burning cheeks, warning himself over and over again.

I am a human, not a beast, and certainly not a member of the Tang Family.

I cannot walk this path; once walked, I'd cease to be human.

He took a few deep breaths and reorganized his thoughts.

The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well cannot be entered in a short time.

To say nothing of that Poison Douluo, just that layer of poisonous barrier is an insurmountable chasm for me right now.

Let alone breaking in, just approaching that mountain range would probably leave me poisoned until not even bones were left.

He counted on his fingers and found that there weren't actually many things he could do right now.

Forget it, whatever.

Zhao Linchuan stood up and patted the dust and scraps of grass off his backside.

I'll go to sleep first, and early tomorrow morning I'll head into the mountains to gather herbs for some money, and by the way, look for where Tang San's mother is hidden.