Douluo: The Chosen Ones Gathered, but the Era Was Misaligned

For ordinary people, this trip was merely to obtain Soul Rings.

But he was different. He had other things to verify.

Sea Soul Beasts

Three hours passed amid peaceful calm.

By then, the soul beast hunting ship had left the safe waters and entered an area where Sea Soul Beast attacks were possible.

Xue E had also returned to Bai Chen and the others. It had been fine for him to leave temporarily while they were in the safe zone, but in a place like this, he had to stay by Bai Chen and Na'er's side at all times.

Bai Chen saw the chart in his hand and asked curiously,

"Uncle Xue, what is that?"

Xue E paused, then smiled and unfolded it, showing Bai Chen its contents.

"This is the soul beast distribution map for the waters we'll be traveling through, issued by the captain just now. Only with this map can the Federation meet the needs of every Soul Master making the trip."

As technology advanced, humanity's development of the ocean had also steadily progressed.

They still could not conquer the entire ocean, but with the Federation's strength, conquering coastal waters was more than possible.

Since the Federation dared to run a business hunting Sea Soul Beasts, it meant they had already thoroughly explored the surrounding waters.

Like land Soul Beasts, Sea Soul Beasts possessed territorial instincts. Their territories were not as stable as those of land Soul Beasts, but their activity zones were generally confined within a certain range.

And this information was precisely the foundation of the Federation's confidence in running such a business.

After all, different Soul Masters required different Soul Rings. Take Bai Chen, for example. What he needed this time was a Soul Ring with either a darkness or spatial attribute.

It was not that he did not want Soul Rings with evil or time attributes, but he knew that one would easily invite controversy while the other was far too rare—something that could only be encountered by chance. So he lowered his expectations and only hoped to obtain a darkness- or spatial-attribute Soul Ring.

If they searched the sea aimlessly for Soul Rings with those two attributes, it would not quite be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but it would certainly be time-consuming and labor-intensive.

That was why the Federation planned its route according to the regions marked on this soul beast distribution map.

"Ah, we've reached the first area."

At that moment, Xue E suddenly folded up the map, straightened, and looked ahead of the soul beast hunting ship.

Just as he had said, the ship had stopped. A middle-aged man in white robes stepped onto the bow, seven Soul Rings—two yellow, three purple, and two black—pulsing around him. An icy blue pearl floated above his hand, releasing waves of cold air that blew across the sea.

Besides the clients' accompanying guards, the Federation had also deployed an ice-attribute Soul Saint for this voyage, specifically so they could better fight Sea Soul Beasts on the ocean.

Provoked by this, streaks of cyan Wind Blades soon shot up from beneath the sea, carving gap after gap through the ice covering the surface.

The white-robed Soul Saint did not panic in the slightest. He remained where he was, continuing to release cold air and deepening the solid ice's encroachment over the sea.

Then, five men suddenly stepped forward behind him and shouted,

"Soul Masters who need wind-attribute Soul Rings, gather here! Prepare to go down onto the ice to hunt Soul Rings!"

At those words, more than a dozen young people hurried forward and followed the five men off the ship.

Without exception, six Soul Rings surrounded each of the five men.

One Soul Saint and five Soul Emperors—this was the security force provided by the Federation.

Considering the distance of this trip, Soul Masters of this level were already more than sufficient.

Soon, perhaps unable to endure the cold any longer, or perhaps seeking revenge, seal-like Sea Soul Beasts crawled onto the ice and began fighting the humans.

The result of the battle went without saying. It was completely one-sided.

In less than ten minutes, the battle on the ice had ended.

Not to mention Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, even Millennium Soul Beasts were rarely seen in coastal waters. Against five Soul Emperors and their powerful attendants, they could not hold out for long.

After using specialized Soul Guide Devices to store the Soul Rings, the Soul Masters who had participated in the battle returned to the ship. The soul beast hunting ship set off again toward the next Soul Beast gathering area, while the wind-attribute clients began absorbing the Soul Rings they had just acquired aboard the ship.

The entire process flowed smoothly, without the slightest delay.

At this pace, they would return to land in no more than a week.

After that, the soul beast hunting ship repeated the process and fulfilled the needs of two more groups of clients.

During that time, Bai Chen took advantage of the lull to continue studying the Soul Spirit Ritual.

After studying for so long, he felt that he was nearly done learning it. At most, another half month would be enough for him to master the Soul Spirit contract ritual.

However, an accident occurred at that moment.

"Woooo—"

"Attention! Attention! An unrecorded Sea Soul Beast attack has been encountered! All Soul Masters, prepare for battle!"

A blaring alarm sounded, and every Soul Master aboard the ship immediately became alert.

So-called unrecorded Sea Soul Beasts were Soul Beasts that had not been listed on the soul beast distribution map.

They generally did not belong to this region and had merely passed through by chance, clashing with Soul Masters unexpectedly.

No one could predict what kind of Soul Beasts they would encounter, but generally speaking, such Soul Beasts were quite powerful. For Soul Masters whose attributes matched them, they were also excellent choices.

Large numbers of Soul Rings lit up across the ship. The soul beast hunting ship came to an emergency stop, and the white-robed Soul Saint appeared again. This time, however, he did not stand at the bow. Instead, he flew above the sea.

He raised the pearl resting in his palm over his head, and his pitch-black seventh Soul Ring suddenly lit up.

Boom—

The air erupted with a thunderous blast as terrifying cold spread instantly, freezing the seawater into ice at a rapid pace.

How terrifying was the cold unleashed at full power by a Soul Saint in Martial Soul True Body state? Although he had done his utmost to direct the cold toward the sea, a tiny portion still drifted toward the soul beast hunting ship. Feeling that chill, quite a few people with lower cultivation could not stop themselves from shivering.

Under the effects of that overwhelming cold, dozens of Sea Soul Beasts were instantly frozen within the solid ice.

Yet just as the white-robed Soul Saint breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze hardened again.

Circles of black-red light rose one after another, rapidly corroding the ice that had frozen the sea. Amid repeated cracking sounds, those Sea Soul Beasts actually broke free at high speed.

As a knowledgeable Soul Saint, he quickly made his judgment and informed every Soul Master aboard the ship of his discovery.

"At least ten Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Around three have cultivation beyond thirty thousand years, while the leader has around fifty thousand years of cultivation. Those Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts are the troublesome ones. The rest are merely making up the numbers."

"The enemy we face this time is... Evil Tiger Sharks!"

Evil Tiger Shark Pack

"Evil Tiger Sharks?"

Xue E repeated under his breath. Rather than looking afraid, he appeared excited as he said to Bai Chen,

"Young Master, they may be perfect for your Soul Rings!"

Xu Xiaoyan asked curiously,

"Uncle Xue, what kind of Sea Soul Beasts are Evil Tiger Sharks?"

Xue E explained with a smile,

"Evil Tiger Sharks are said to be Soul Beasts born from the crossbreeding of the ocean overlord Evil Demon Orcas and Demon Spirit Great White Sharks. Although those two Soul Beast races are sworn enemies, for some unknown reason, humanity discovered this new kind of Sea Soul Beast roughly three thousand years ago. They possess the strengths of both Evil Demon Orcas and Demon Spirit Great White Sharks. Even among all Sea Soul Beasts, they unquestionably rank among the strongest. Yet contrary to their powerful racial talents, they actually do not live very well in the ocean."

Xu Xiaoyu asked curiously,

"Why is that?"

"There are mainly two reasons."

Xue E explained patiently,

"The first is that neither the Evil Demon Orcas nor the Demon Spirit Great White Sharks, the races they originated from, accept them."

"To those two enemy races, the Evil Tiger Shark race is simply a disgrace beyond disgrace—a stain that must be erased. Therefore, whenever Evil Demon Orcas or Demon Spirit Great White Sharks discover traces of Evil Tiger Sharks, they act to slaughter the discovered Evil Tiger Shark pack to the last."

"As for the second reason, it has to do with their innate abilities."

At that point, Xue E paused and gave Bai Chen a meaningful look.

"The Evil Tiger Shark race's primary attribute is evil. They can accelerate their cultivation by devouring other Sea Soul Beasts, which is why nearly every Sea Soul Beast in the ocean is hostile toward them."

"So that's how it is." Xu Xiaoyu suddenly understood. "No wonder that Soul Saint said the leading Evil Tiger Shark had fifty thousand years of cultivation. I was wondering how a race that had only existed for three thousand years at most could have so many Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts."

Xue E nodded lightly.

"That's right. And because the Evil Tiger Shark race is almost universally hated by Sea Soul Beasts, they have no fixed territory and their movements are extremely unpredictable. I didn't expect us to run into them this time."

Hearing that, Bai Chen looked at the Evil Tiger Sharks fighting the Soul Masters, and his expression became somewhat strange.

For an individual to reach the fifty-thousand-year level in only three thousand years, the speed of advancement offered by devouring as a cultivation method was clear.

Thinking of how both Dark Blood Demon and the Nether Emperor within the Holy Spirit Cult had become Title Douluo before the age of twenty, Bai Chen felt that he could understand why they were so obsessed with cultivating through slaughter.

But the more he understood, the less he dared imitate them.

Bai Chen knew himself well. He was not someone with particularly strong self-control. If he ever tasted the benefits of rapid cultivation, he could not guarantee that he would not become an Evil Soul Master.

The best way to prevent becoming a gambling addict was never to gamble. Likewise, the best way to prevent becoming an Evil Soul Master was never to cultivate by killing.

That said, if everything Xue E had said was true, then Evil Tiger Sharks truly were very suitable as Soul Rings for his Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Martial Soul.

Bai Chen and Xue E exchanged a glance. Both understood what the other was thinking.

Xue E said to Bai Chen and the others,

"You three wait here for a moment. I'll go talk to the person in charge of this operation."

With that, he quickly headed toward the bow to negotiate with the powerful Soul Masters fighting the Evil Tiger Shark pack.

Before long, he ran back and said to Bai Chen,

"Young Master, they agreed. Be ready to absorb a Soul Ring at any time!"

Xu Xiaoyan curiously interrupted,

"Why are you telling Brother Bai Chen to prepare to absorb a Soul Ring right now? Shouldn't he first hunt one down?"

A Soul Master could only absorb a Soul Ring obtained by personally killing the Soul Beast. That had been made very clear in the previous Soul Beast gathering areas.

Skipping the hunt and going directly to absorbing a Soul Ring did not seem right at all.

Bai Chen and Xue E exchanged glances at the question, then could not help laughing.

Bai Chen said to Xu Xiaoyan,

"Xiaoyan, I suggest you cover your ears. Na'er, you too."

"Hm?"

The two little girls tilted their heads in confusion.

Boom—

Before Xu Xiaoyan could ask another question, a violent explosion rang out and startled her.

Everyone looked toward the source of the blast. A Ten-Thousand-Year Evil Tiger Shark had been charred black all over and lay motionless, while a black Soul Ring slowly rose above it, announcing the loss of its life.

And that was only the beginning.

As explosions rang out one after another, countless bursts of artillery fire swept toward the Sea Soul Beasts, instantly turning the previously dangerous situation around.

Of course. How could the Federation possibly fail to equip its ship with Soul Guide Shells for an operation that could endanger lives?

Wasn't the emergence of Soul Guide Devices the most important reason humanity had been able to suppress Soul Beasts so thoroughly?

They had not used those Soul Guide Shells when hunting Soul Beasts earlier simply because there had been no need. Work that could be handled manually did not need to be handled by artillery shells.

But things were different now. The Evil Tiger Shark race had genuinely posed a threat to the people aboard the ship. In that case, it was time for these high-tech weapons to take the field.

Countless flashes of fire exploded, and Soul Rings rose one after another. The Evil Tiger Shark pack, which had faintly held the advantage moments earlier, instantly collapsed. In the end, it seemed that the leading Evil Tiger Shark issued some command, and the remaining Evil Tiger Sharks all dove into the water and fled into the distance.

Seeing them retreat, the white-robed Soul Saint hurriedly ordered the artillery fire to stop.

Do not pursue a desperate foe. He did not think his side would lose in a fight to the death, but casualties would be unavoidable in such a battle. For people responsible for security work like them, that was something they had to avoid at all costs.

Only three clients on this trip needed Evil Tiger Shark Soul Rings, and the ones floating on the sea now were already enough.

Under his command, the Soul Emperors disembarked one after another and collected the Evil Tiger Shark corpses and Soul Rings.

As top-tier Sea Soul Beasts, Evil Tiger Shark corpses had many uses as well. If they sold the corpses and Soul Rings on land, they could recover a considerable portion of the cost of the shells just used.

Soon, the Soul Ring Bai Chen wanted was brought before him by Xue E.

Watching Bai Chen take the Soul Guide Device storing the Soul Rings, Xue E could not help asking,

"Young Master, why did you buy two Soul Rings?"

The only ones who needed to absorb Soul Rings this time were Bai Chen and Xu Xiaoyan, and Xu Xiaoyan did not need an Evil Tiger Shark Soul Ring. Bai Chen was simply wasting one.