Within the Star Dou Great Forest, Yao Shi was fighting a bear-type Soul Beast with a thousand years of cultivation.
A day earlier, Yao Shi had already parted ways with the merchant caravan traveling alongside him.
Seeing that there was still plenty of time before school started, he was in no hurry to enroll, so he trained in the forest a hundred li outside Shrek City.
He was currently level 24. Before him stood an Armored Bear with cultivation nearing four thousand years. An ordinary two-ringed Soul Grandmaster would never dare face a four-thousand-year Soul Beast alone, especially not a bear-type Soul Beast with formidable attack and defense. Yet Yao Shi dared.
"Roar—"
The Armored Bear was nearly five meters tall, its shoulders covered in bone armor. Seeing this human remain so leisurely, showing not the slightest fear, it flew into a rage and roared at Yao Shi. The powerful sound waves shook up the surrounding dirt and sand.
"Hey, little bear, didn't you eat? Why are you shouting so quietly?"
Yao Shi merely calmly dug at his ears, not forgetting to mock it. That tremendous roar seemed to have done nothing more than make his ears itch, carrying no intimidation whatsoever.
The source of his confidence was a trait he had gained after breaking through to the second ring—Undying.
It was not a soul skill, but something akin to a passive ability. As long as he was not killed in a single blow, his cells could proliferate infinitely, allowing him to rapidly recover from any attack. Even severed limbs could regrow, and he could survive even if his head was cut off.
The four-thousand-year Armored Bear had begun to develop a trace of intelligence. Hearing Yao Shi's mockery, it became completely enraged, repeatedly beating its chest before suddenly charging at him.
The Armored Bear's fist swept toward him. Yao Shi did not dodge. What he wanted to test was just how far the Undying effect could go. He had previously tried cutting a wound into his hand with a knife, only to see with his own eyes that as the knife made the wound, the earlier portion had already healed.
The Armored Bear's enormous fist slammed heavily into Yao Shi's chest. His chest cavity instantly caved in, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before being sent flying dozens of meters. He only stopped after his back crashed into a tree.
The Armored Bear was smug, thinking that a mere two-ringed Soul Master had actually dared swagger before it and mock it. Now that he had taken a direct punch, he had surely died beyond doubt. It turned to leave; it did not enjoy eating human flesh.
Then Yao Shi's laughter came from the distance.
"Hahahaha! Undying... it really is a powerful ability!"
Hearing the sound, the Armored Bear abruptly turned around and saw Yao Shi getting to his feet in the distance.
Yao Shi slowly stood up and dusted himself off. His caved-in chest had already returned to normal, though there was now a large hole in the clothing over his chest, exposing his snow-white skin.
He muttered, "Other than being a little painful, the wound healed almost instantly. Is this the power of Abundance?"
Seeing the human who had taken its punch head-on acting as if nothing had happened, the Armored Bear wondered if it had struck an iron plate. Out of a creature's instinctive fear of the unknown, it decisively chose to flee.
"Hey, Big Bear, don't run! You helped me test my ability. I need to thank you properly!"
Seeing that the Armored Bear had already run off, Yao Shi hurriedly shouted after it. But the Armored Bear paid him no heed and continued fleeing without stopping. Left with no choice, Yao Shi began to use his soul skill and shouted.
Longevity Blessing!
One yellow and one purple soul ring rose up, and the purple soul ring flashed. A pair of antlers formed from Soul Power grew from Yao Shi's head. Dense life energy flowed from his body, gradually condensing into a rice-ear mark that shot directly toward the fleeing Armored Bear at astonishing speed.
The Armored Bear sensed a powerful pressure approaching from behind and immediately picked up its pace. Yet no matter how fast it ran, the mark remained close behind it. In the end, it was still struck by Yao Shi's mark.
The Armored Bear felt as though every bone in its body were cracking inch by inch. Certain that it was about to die, it squeezed its eyes shut in terror.
Several seconds passed, but no pain came from its body. The Armored Bear cautiously cracked open its eyes. That human had long since left, and it was not dead. It began examining its body, but there was not the slightest trace of injury.
It looked utterly bewildered. What's going on? Wasn't I hit by that human's attack? Why am I completely fine? Could that human's attack have only been meant to scare me? Is he really just an ordinary two-ringed Soul Master?
Thinking of this, the Armored Bear felt that it had been toyed with. It let out an angry roar toward the sky, then returned to the forest with a gloomy expression.
Elsewhere, Yao Shi, antlers atop his head, was currently swinging through the forest on vines. He had already left while the mark was chasing the Armored Bear.
Yao Shi himself had no offensive methods. At present, he had only mastered a portion of the authority of life.
Longevity Blessing was his thousand-year second-ring soul skill. Its effect was to improve the target's aptitude, extend their lifespan, forcibly rewrite the laws of life, and subtly assimilate them into the laws of Abundance, eventually turning them into his believers.
Though Yao Shi only had two rings now, he already possessed two soul skills and two traits: the first-ring Conceptual Healing and the Undying trait, as well as the second-ring Longevity Blessing and the Abundant Physique trait.
The Abundant Physique was Yao Shi's current antlered form. Dense life energy coiled around his body, and in this state, he could summon vines and thorns from the void for battle. It could be said that the abilities he possessed in this state were currently his only offensive means.
Before reaching the second ring, Yao Shi had tried using his first soul skill to excessively heal ordinary animals. As a result, those animals had burst apart from the overwhelming life energy. He conducted multiple experiments, but the results remained the same.
Who said healing Soul Masters have no offensive methods? Being a healing Soul Master is amazing. If anyone provokes me in the future, I'll blast them apart with a single soul skill.
With antlers on his head, Yao Shi swung aimlessly through the woods on vines.
Then, he sensed signs of battle nearby. He swiftly rode the vines forward, pushed aside the bushes, and saw a black-haired youth holding a dagger as he faced off against an ape-type Soul Beast.
Yao Shi narrowed his eyes. "A youth holding a dagger... a ten-year Wind Baboon..."
"Could this be the Child of Fortune from Soul Land 2, the protagonist Huo Yuhao?"
The baboon pounded its chest hard with both fists, let out a roar, and fired a pale green wind blade.
Huo Yuhao dodged sideways. His mind was completely blank at the moment; clearly, this was his first time facing a Soul Beast.
Seeing its attack avoided, the Wind Baboon seemed to be enraged. It roared again, opened its blood-filled maw, and pounced at Huo Yuhao, its eyes glinting with savagery.
Huo Yuhao's legs trembled in fright. He raised his dagger to block, only for the Wind Baboon to send it flying with a single swipe of its claw.
Without his weapon, Huo Yuhao knew full well that he was now a lamb awaiting slaughter. He silently closed his eyes, grief filling his heart. Mom, I'm sorry. I might not be able to avenge you.
Yao Shi knew that it was time for him to act.
"Hey, kid, need some help?"
Just as Huo Yuhao fell into despair, a gentle male voice came from nearby.
Before you continue