Blessing, First Meeting with the Protagonist

Within the Star Dou Great Forest, Yao Shi was battling a bear-type soul beast with a thousand years of cultivation.

A day earlier, Yao Shi had parted ways with the merchant caravan traveling alongside him.

Seeing that there was still plenty of time before the school term began, he was in no hurry to enroll, so he trained in the forest a hundred li outside Shrek City.

He was currently level 24. Facing him was an Armored Bear with nearly four thousand years of cultivation. An ordinary two-ring Grand Soul Master would never dare face a four-thousand-year soul beast alone, especially a bear-type soul beast with formidable attack and defense. Yet Yao Shi dared to.

"Roar—"

The Armored Bear stood nearly five meters tall, its shoulders covered in bone armor. Seeing this human before it remain so leisurely, showing not the slightest fear, it flew into a rage and let out a roar at Yao Shi. The powerful soundwave shook up the nearby dirt and sand.

"Hey, little bear, didn't eat enough? Why are you shouting so softly?"

Yao Shi merely calmly picked at his ear, not forgetting to taunt it. That thunderous roar seemed to have done nothing more than make his ears itch, carrying no intimidation whatsoever.

The source of his confidence was the trait he had gained after breaking through to the second ring—immortality.

It was not a soul skill, but rather something akin to a passive ability. So long as he was not killed in a single blow, the cells in his body could proliferate without limit, allowing him to rapidly recover from any attack. Even severed limbs could regenerate, and he could survive even if his head were cut off.

The four-thousand-year Armored Bear had begun to develop a trace of intelligence. Hearing Yao Shi's mockery, it flew into a complete rage, repeatedly pounding its chest before suddenly charging at him.

The Armored Bear's fist came hurtling toward him, but Yao Shi did not dodge. What he wanted to test was just how far the immortality effect could go. He had previously tried cutting his hand with a knife, only to watch the earlier part of the wound heal even as the blade continued to slice through.

The Armored Bear's massive fist struck Yao Shi squarely in the chest. His chest cavity instantly caved in, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before being sent flying dozens of meters. He finally stopped only when his back slammed into a tree.

The Armored Bear was immensely pleased with itself. A mere two-ring soul master actually dared swagger around before me and mock me. After taking one of my punches head-on, he must be dead beyond doubt now. It turned to leave. It did not like eating human flesh.

Then, Yao Shi's laughter came from the distance.

"Hahahaha! Immortality... 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 sunken chest had already returned to normal, though a large hole had been torn through the clothes over his chest, exposing his snow-white skin.

He muttered, "Other than hurting a little, the wound healed almost instantly. Is this the power of Abundance?"

Seeing the human who had taken its punch head-on acting as though nothing had happened, the Armored Bear wondered if it had kicked an iron plate. Driven by 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 the Armored Bear running away, Yao Shi hurriedly shouted after it. But the bear paid him no heed and continued fleeing without slowing down. Left with no choice, Yao Shi began to use his soul skill and shouted aloud.

Longevity Blessing!

One yellow and one purple soul ring rose around him. The purple ring flashed, and a pair of antlers formed from soul power grew from Yao Shi's head. Dense life energy flowed from his body, gradually forming into a rice-ear mark that shot straight toward the already-fleeing Armored Bear at incredible speed.

The Armored Bear sensed a powerful pressure bearing down from behind and immediately sped up. Yet no matter how fast it ran, the mark followed close behind, and it was ultimately struck by Yao Shi's mark.

At that moment, the Armored Bear felt as though every bone in its body were cracking apart inch by inch. Certain that it was about to die, it shut its eyes tightly in terror.

A few seconds passed, but no pain came. The Armored Bear cautiously narrowed its eyes. That human had long since left, and it was not dead. It began examining its body, finding not a single trace of injury.

It wore a bewildered expression. What is going on? Wasn't I hit by that human's attack? Why am I completely fine? Was that human's attack only meant to scare me? Is he really just an ordinary two-ring soul master?

Thinking this, the Armored Bear felt that it had been toyed with. It raised its head and roared before returning 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 pursuing the Armored Bear.

Yao Shi himself possessed no offensive means. 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 blessed target's aptitude and extend its lifespan, forcibly rewriting the laws of life and subtly assimilating the target into the laws of Abundance, eventually turning it into his believer.

Though Yao Shi was only at the second ring, he already possessed two soul skills and two traits: the first ring's Conceptual Healing and the immortality trait, as well as the second ring's Longevity Blessing and the Abundant Physique trait.

The Abundant Physique was Yao Shi's current form with antlers growing from his head. 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. The result was that the animal was burst apart by the dense life energy. He conducted the experiment multiple times, yet the result remained the same.

Who says healing soul masters have no offensive means? Being a healing soul master is amazing. If anyone messes with me in the future, I'll just blow them up by healing them with a single soul skill.

Yao Shi swung aimlessly through the forest on vines, antlers atop his head.

Then, he sensed the aura of battle nearby. He immediately rode the vines forward at high speed. Parting the bushes, he 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 with a dagger... a ten-year Wind Baboon..."

"Could this be the child of destiny from Soul Land 2, the protagonist Huo Yuhao?"

The baboon pounded its chest with both fists, let out a roar, and fired a pale green wind blade.

Huo Yuhao twisted aside to evade it. His mind was completely blank at that moment; clearly, this was his first time facing a soul beast.

Seeing its attack dodged, the Wind Baboon seemed to be enraged. It roared again, opened its bloodthirsty maw, and pounced at Huo Yuhao, its eyes gleaming with ferocity.

Huo Yuhao's legs trembled in terror. He raised his dagger to block, only for the Wind Baboon to swat it away with a single claw.

Without his weapon, Huo Yuhao knew that he was now a lamb awaiting slaughter. He silently closed his eyes, grief welling in his heart. Mom, I'm sorry. I may not be able to avenge you.

Yao Shi knew it was time for him to step in.

"Hey, boy, need some help?"

Just as Huo Yuhao was sinking into despair, a gentle male voice came from nearby.