Star Dou Great Forest

[This isn't mindless wish fulfillment, isn't mindless wish fulfillment, isn't mindless wish fulfillment! If you can't accept failure, I'm sorry—perhaps my writing style just doesn't suit your tastes.]

[The protagonist died young from illness and only knows the plot of Douluo 1. I won't go into the specifics. This is pure filler, and there won't be much of a transmigration experience in the story, but Immortal Herbs are a must.]

[In the same class as Ma Xiaotao, in the same class as Ma Xiaotao, in the same class as Ma Xiaotao. Important things have to be said three times.]

[Main text]

"Dad!"

"Mom!"

Deep in the Star Dou Great Forest, Yue Ling ran for his life.

Branches and weeds along the path tore viciously at him, leaving his slender arms and legs covered in countless cuts. Beads of blood kept seeping out.

His orange hair was soaked with sweat and plastered messily to his forehead. His once-gentle eyes had turned bloodshot.

His heart was in turmoil, and deep in his eyes, he forcibly suppressed a bone-chilling hatred.

He couldn't afford to think about anything else. No matter whose Soul Beast territory lay ahead, he could only keep his head down and run.

He couldn't stop. He didn't dare look back.

Behind him lay the chance to escape that his parents had bought with their lives.

"Evil Soul Master... Fifth Elder!"

Yue Ling bit his lower lip until the taste of blood filled his mouth. Only then did the turmoil in his heart finally settle a little.

He had been a villager from Hundred Flowers Village. At six, he had awakened two Martial Souls—the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and Lovesick Heartbreak Red—and possessed Innate Full Soul Power. He was a once-in-decades genius in the village.

After much deliberation, the old village chief gave him a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum passed down in his family, hoping that Yue Ling would repay the village one day.

After consuming it, Yue Ling had even awakened a Domain by chance.

But people's hearts were treacherous. The old village chief's son coveted the Immortal Herb and grew greedy. He secretly colluded with an Evil Soul Master known as the Fifth Elder, betraying the entire Hundred Flowers Village.

His parents had stayed behind to hold off the Five-Ringed Evil Soul Master pursuing them. Their chances of survival were slim.

The sight and sound of his parents in their final moments kept echoing through his mind.

"A-Ling, you're the hope of Hundred Flowers Village. Keep this book safe. It's been passed down in our family!"

"Lingling, live well... Mom and Dad are leaving..."

Yue Ling would never forget the reluctance in his parents' eyes as they left, the smiles they had forced onto their faces, or the Hundred Flowers Record they had pressed into his arms.

"Power... I need power!"

He bit down on his lip again, until beads of blood welled up.

When he was little, his parents and the old village chief had studied the path his Martial Soul should take.

Control, support, defense—he had rejected all of them.

His Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum would follow the pure attack path!

Without power, he could only let others slaughter him! He would turn those once-soft petals into blades that could kill his enemies!

Fierce anger surged in the boy's heart. He wished he could instantly gain overwhelming strength, slaughter every Evil Soul Master, and make that selfish, vicious traitor pay.

But acting on impulse wouldn't help.

Yue Ling forced down the agitation in his heart, reminding himself again and again.

He was too weak right now.

His first priority was to survive. Only if he lived would he have a chance to take revenge!

He had to escape the Star Dou Great Forest first. For now, he could only use his last trump card.

After confirming that the Hundred Flowers Record in his arms was undamaged, Yue Ling took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and pressed his palm firmly against the ground.

"Heavenly Chrysanthemum Domain!"

One tiny chrysanthemum after another pushed up through the earth, swaying gently in the breeze.

Originally, only his Lovesick Heartbreak Red had come with a Domain, one geared toward large-scale control. But after he consumed the ten-thousand-year Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, his First Martial Soul had awakened a Domain of its own.

The Domain had one crucial ability—Ten Thousand Chrysanthemums Shared Vision.

The entire sea of flowers shared a single field of vision. It could see through all invisibility and illusions, and petals marked the Soul Power fluctuations of every enemy, leaving nowhere to hide. Its detection capabilities were formidable.

This was his only support right now, and his only chance to escape the forest and obtain his Second Soul Ring.

He was only at level twenty in Soul Power. Being alone in the Star Dou Great Forest was already a near-certain death sentence, and a Soul King Evil Soul Master was hot on his heels. His situation couldn't have been more perilous.

As for his parents, most likely... they were already gone.

Suddenly, the sharp rush of wind came from the woods in the distance.

Yue Ling's heart clenched. He shook his head hard, trying to suppress the grief surging inside him. But the more he tried to hold it back, the stronger the heartache and panic became. Tears slipped down his cheeks uncontrollably.

He scanned his surroundings with the Domain, while quickly wiping the tears from his face.

As the Domain spread, a patch of iron brambles on his left came into view.

The brambles had thick branches and black thorns. They were a thousand-year Soul Beast.

Thanks to the ten-thousand-year chrysanthemum that had transformed his body, his constitution far surpassed that of an ordinary Soul Grandmaster. He could just barely withstand absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring beyond his level.

But the iron brambles were absolutely out of the question.

This Soul Beast focused on defense and reflecting attacks. If he absorbed it, he would most likely only gain a defensive Soul Skill, and it would also push his Martial Soul toward defense, completely at odds with his unwavering attack path.

He couldn't choose it.

He had to keep searching. If he truly had no other choice, he could force himself to absorb it then.

Plant-type Martial Souls were already weak in the early stages. Since he was following the attack path, he absolutely couldn't settle when it came to his Soul Ring.

Yue Ling continued forward, carefully feeling his way through the forest.

Keeping the Domain active consumed enormous amounts of Soul Power and mental energy. He tried shrinking its range to the area around him to conserve a little, but he still couldn't keep it up for long.

Plants were the most tenacious of all. As long as their roots remained, they would thrive without end.

But that tenacity wasn't enough to save him now.

The entire forest lay deathly still, so silent it was frightening, so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

Yue Ling lightened his steps and inched forward, not daring to make the slightest sound for fear of disturbing a high-level Soul Beast.

He silently kept track of the time.

At most, he could hold on for another two minutes before his Soul Power and mental energy ran completely dry.

He had to find somewhere to hide and recover within a minute.

He was drenched in sweat and covered in dirt, a complete mess. He looked nothing like his usual neat and composed self.

Suddenly, the bushes beside him rustled.

Yue Ling's whole body tensed, and he immediately went on high alert.

"Chirp... chirp..."

Two clear bird calls rang out, and a small bird flew from the bushes.

A false alarm.

Yue Ling let out a small sigh of relief, then reached out to part the bushes in front of him. A flicker of delight flashed through his eyes.

A Sun Flower nearly three meters tall stood quietly among the trees, swaying gently in the breeze. It was unmistakably a thousand-year Plant Soul Beast.

He couldn't beat an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast, but Plant Soul Beasts were the least intelligent and easiest to deal with. It was the best choice available to him. Even if its attributes weren't a perfect match, it was still far better than absorbing the iron brambles.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yue Ling sprang into action.

He expanded the Heavenly Chrysanthemum Domain with all his might. The suppressive force of his superior Plant-type Martial Soul spread out in full, enveloping the thousand-year Sun Flower.

Under the Domain's suppression, the Sun Flower instantly wilted, its life force greatly diminished.

Now!

Yue Ling gripped his short blade and charged forward, stabbing hard at the Sun Flower's center.

But a thousand-year Soul Beast had already developed intelligence. Even under the Domain's suppression, its instinct for self-preservation remained formidable.

A thick shield of light sprang up in an instant, firmly protecting its body.

The short blade crashed into the shield. A violent burst of reflected energy exploded, sending the slight Yue Ling flying backward.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of blood sprayed out, staining the corners of his mouth.

Yue Ling wiped away the blood. His heart sank.

He had pushed too far.

Even the weakest thousand-year Plant Soul Beast had an instinctive protective shield that someone at level twenty like him simply couldn't break through.

As he was sent flying, the Domain's suppression collapsed, and the Sun Flower broke free completely. Its petals lit up with blinding golden light as it frantically gathered sunlight, building up an extremely powerful solar beam.

"Not good!"

Yue Ling's heart lurched.

His Soul Power and mental energy were on the verge of running dry. He couldn't withstand an attack like this!

He could only hold out at all costs!

"Heavenly Chrysanthemum Domain!"

Gritting his teeth, he wrung out the last of his Soul Power and forcibly activated the Domain a second time, desperately suppressing the Sun Flower.

Just then, a cold, piercing laugh suddenly rang out from the woods in the distance.

"That power... a Domain?"

"You little brat, you were hiding quite a lot. I've finally found you! Heh heh heh!"

The Evil Soul Master shot through the air, black wings beating rapidly behind him. Moving at incredible speed, he headed straight for the spot, following the fluctuations in Soul Power.

Behind him was the pursuing Soul King Evil Soul Master. Before him was the thousand-year Sun Flower about to unleash a killing blow.

A dead end!

Yue Ling didn't dare look back. He stared fixedly at the light shield before him.

"First Soul Skill: Heavenly Chrysanthemum Body Protection!"

A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring lit up. Layers of luminous chrysanthemum petals wrapped around his body, protecting his vital points and boosting his defense as much as possible.

Gritting his teeth, he charged forward again and again, slashing his short blade against the light shield. Metallic clinks rang out in rapid succession.

The superior attributes of his Martial Soul had weakened the Sun Flower by more than half, but what remained of its self-protective power was still formidable.

The thick shield of light didn't budge. No matter how furiously he struck it, he couldn't break through!

Bone-deep despair engulfed him.

The Soul King behind him was drawing closer, his bone-chilling malice locked firmly onto Yue Ling. The Soul Beast's shield before him was unbreakable, his Soul Power was about to run out completely, and his Domain couldn't hold for much longer.

A deadly trap ahead. Pursuers behind.

Yue Ling's entire body went cold. Only one thought remained in his mind.

Survive!