A Rou the Soft Bone Rabbit

Three months later.

Tang Ling stood atop a small hill, looking down at the little village below, where cooking smoke curled into the air. His face was expressionless.

Over the past three months, he had traveled through many parts of Soul Land.

Fasnuo Province, the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire. With the speed of a Nascent Soul cultivator, the distance he had covered in three months exceeded what most people in this world would travel in a lifetime.

From what he had learned, this world's power system was simply appalling compared to the one he came from. Those so-called soul masters, even when they developed their martial souls to the limit, were merely practicing an alternative cultivation method in Tang Ling's eyes—one so crude it was pitiful.

Even the Soul Sage-level experts he had encountered might not be able to defeat a Golden Core disciple from the Tang Sect Secret Realm in terms of combat strength.

As for Titled Douluo, at most they were on the level of Nascent Soul cultivators.

And he was at the great completion of the Nascent Soul realm, only one step away from the Spirit Transformation realm.

"No wonder Master said whether I kill Tang San or not is entirely up to my mood." The corner of Tang Ling's mouth curled into a faint smile. "There truly aren't many beings in this world capable of threatening me. Not to mention the trump card Master gave me before I left."

With that thought, Tang Ling checked the system again.

[Main Quest: Before Tang San awakens his martial soul, make contact with his first fated woman—Xiao Wu. Time Limit: Six years.]

[Quest Reward: Break through to the early Spirit Transformation realm.]

Seeing the quest reward, Tang Ling's eyes grew faintly heated.

The leap from Nascent Soul to Spirit Transformation was the crossing of an entire major realm.

In the cultivation world, countless geniuses could exhaust their whole lives without crossing this threshold. Though his bloodline had returned to its ancestral origins and his physique was exceptional, under normal cultivation, he would still need at least three to five years to break through.

But now, all he had to do was find a little girl and "make contact" with her.

"System," Tang Ling asked in his mind, "where is Xiao Wu right now?"

[System Prompt: The hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the Soft Bone Rabbit, has taken human form and has not yet entered the human world. It is estimated that she will meet Tang San at Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy in six years.]

Six years. Tang Ling narrowed his eyes. According to the system prompt, he only needed to complete it within six years, but Tang Ling could not wait that long. In this cultivation world, no one could resist such temptation.

Although he did not completely trust the system, this simple task was the best way to test it.

"Interesting," Tang Ling murmured. "A soul beast that has taken human form, with a hundred thousand years of cultivation. In the cultivation world, a demon beast that had lived for a hundred thousand years would have long become a great demon capable of reaching the heavens and spanning the earth. This world is rather peculiar—after a hundred-thousand-year soul beast takes human form, it actually loses most of its power and has to cultivate from the beginning."

But that worked out perfectly.

If Xiao Wu retained all the strength of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, then with Tang Ling's current cultivation, "making contact" with her would probably require some effort. But now...

Tang Ling withdrew his gaze from Holy Soul Village and looked toward the distant Star Dou Forest in the south.

That was the kingdom of soul beasts. It was also Xiao Wu's homeland.

Tang Ling turned and took a step, already appearing a hundred meters away.

"Before that, I'll go take a look at what the soul beasts of this world are truly made of. And while I'm at it... I'll prepare some gifts for a certain someone who's still nursing."

His figure vanished into the morning mist, leaving behind only a murmured sentence that scattered in the wind.

"Tang San, grow up well. The stronger you become, the more interesting it will be when I take everything from you. Your fortuitous encounters, your beauties, your destiny... I will take them all from your hands, bit by bit."

Deep within the Star Dou Forest.

Tang Ling sat cross-legged on the branch of a thousand-year-old tree, his eyes slightly closed, his aura completely concealed.

He had been sitting here quietly for three days.

During this time, his footsteps had covered most of the Star Dou Forest. From the ten-year soul beasts on the outskirts to the ten-thousand-year soul beasts at the edge of the core region, he had observed them one by one.

He did not kill or disturb them. He merely watched. Like a traveler turning pages, he read through this forest's secrets page by page.

The conclusion was simple.

Ten-year soul beasts had yet to develop intelligence and acted entirely on instinct, posing no threat to him whatsoever. Hundred-year soul beasts were somewhat stronger and already understood how to seek benefits and avoid harm, actively retreating when they sensed danger. Thousand-year soul beasts possessed a certain degree of intelligence and had a strong awareness of territory, but in Tang Ling's eyes, they were merely beasts with slightly more brains.

As for ten-thousand-year soul beasts, he had secretly observed a ten-thousand-year Netherworld Wolf King.

That beast had some skill. Its speed, strength, and combat instincts had all reached a fairly impressive level. In the cultivation world, it would probably be equivalent to a demon beast between the late Foundation Establishment realm and the early Golden Core realm.

To this world's so-called Soul Emperors and Soul Sages, it might pose no small threat.

But to Tang Ling, it would merely take one extra move.

"I've more or less figured out the power system of the soul beast world as well." Tang Ling opened his eyes, his gaze calm and still as an ancient well. "The only thing I have yet to determine is the strength of soul beasts with a hundred thousand years of cultivation or more."

He had seen two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts: the Sky Blue Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape. His divine sense had swept over them, and the energy within those two colossal beasts was exceedingly vast. In terms of raw power alone, they likely did not lose to ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.

But that had only been a distant observation through divine sense.

What the result would be in a real confrontation was something no one could conclude without personally testing it.

Tang Ling rose to his feet, his robes fluttering gently in the night wind.

His gaze turned toward the deepest part of the Star Dou Forest, that forbidden land which even ten-thousand-year soul beasts dared not enter lightly.

"It's time to take a look at the core region." His tone was indifferent, as though he were discussing something utterly trivial. "And while I'm at it, find that hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit."

He took a step, and his figure vanished into the depths of the dense forest like a ghost.

At the same time.

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest's core region, the territory of the Soft Bone Rabbits.

Beneath a towering ancient tree, a woman in a plain white dress sat cross-legged, regulating her breath.

She was extraordinarily beautiful, her brows and eyes carrying a gentle yet resilient air. Her long black hair was loosely gathered behind her head, with a few stray strands hanging by her ears, making her already delicate features seem even more ethereal.

Yet at this moment, her face was abnormally pale.

A trace of blood still stained the corner of her lips. A savage wound on her chest slowly seeped dark-red blood, dyeing a large portion of her white dress crimson.

She was Xiao Wu's mother, A Rou. A hundred-thousand-year Soft-Boned Rabbit who had taken human form.

Three days ago, while searching for her husband, who had been missing for many years, in the deepest reaches of the Star Dou Forest, she encountered a Dark Devilgod Tiger with a hundred thousand years of cultivation.

That beast had lain in ambush for a long time, and the moment it attacked, it went straight for the kill.

Although A Rou was also a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the Soft-Boned Rabbit clan had never been known for its combat strength. Moreover, she had only recently taken human form, causing her strength to decline rather than improve.

In a one-on-one fight, she was no match for the Dark Devilgod Tiger at all.

That battle lasted less than half an hour.

A Rou had exhausted all her strength just to escape the Dark Devilgod Tiger's pursuit, but she was already gravely injured. She had intended to return to her territory, tell her daughter Xiao Wu and her two younger brothers what had happened, and then recover in peace.

However, the Dark Devilgod Tiger's poison had already invaded her internal organs. With every step she took, the pain of her injuries worsened.

She gritted her teeth and endured all the way, but just as she was about to enter the boundaries of her territory, she could no longer hold on and collapsed beneath this ancient tree.

"Cough, cough—"

A Rou coughed violently. With every cough, dark-red bloody foam spilled from the corner of her mouth. She clutched her chest, feeling the cold poison within her continuously eroding her soul power and life force.

"No... I can't die here..."

A Rou gritted her teeth and tried to stand, but her legs felt as heavy as if they had been filled with lead. "Xiao Wu is still waiting for me... She's still so young..."

She thought of her daughter.

That child had only recently taken human form. If she died, what would happen to Xiao Wu?

Although Er Ming and Da Ming could take care of her, how could those two careless brutes possibly look after a little girl who had only just taken human form?

A Rou's eyes grew moist.

She was unwilling. Truly unwilling.