In truth, Soul Beasts and humans were simply in a relationship of survival-based competition. There was no real right or wrong between them.
Just as Soul Beasts in ancient times had not considered themselves wrong when slaughtering defenseless humans, now that humans possessed the strength to kill Soul Beasts in return, anything they did for their own benefit was beyond reproach.
Not to mention the conflict between humans and Soul Beasts—even within human society and among Soul Beasts themselves, all kinds of contradictions existed.
The Douluo I Era, Douluo II Era, and Douluo III Era were all thick with the scent of war. Spirit Hall, the Sun-Moon Empire, and the Sun Moon Federation would all attempt to provoke wars for their own interests, regardless of the countless casualties they might cause.
At the same time, serious infighting existed among Soul Beasts as well. The Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, liked to eat the brains of Light Attribute Soul Beasts. Whenever Ferocious Beasts discovered a hundred-thousand-year lion- or tiger-type Soul Beast, they would execute it to prevent it from threatening their status. Bear Lord constantly coveted Di Tian's position as Beast God. If Soul Beasts were truly viewed as a unified whole like humanity, then their internal conflicts were even fiercer and crueler than those of humans.
If even humans and Soul Beasts were like that internally, then conflict between these two races, which differed completely in every respect, was even more unavoidable.
That said, while it sounded ridiculous that the Ferocious Beasts were wary of lion- and tiger-type Soul Beasts, looking at Bai Chen's three Martial Souls made their concerns seem rather justified.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was a top-tier tiger-type Soul Beast. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was an exceptionally powerful Soul Beast with the appearance of a lion. The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff was the ancestor of lion-type Soul Beasts. Even the Blue Butterfly from the Douluo IV Era was a tiger-type Soul Beast.
Seen that way, the chances of absurdly overpowered beings appearing among lion- and tiger-type Soul Beasts were exceptionally high...
After listening to Bai Chen's explanation, Na'er nodded gently and said nothing more.
However, judging from her expression, she had clearly understood.
"Good girl."
Bai Chen gently patted Na'er's little head, then turned to Xue E and said,
"Uncle Xue, I'll take Na'er back to the ship first. Keep it up."
He had come down this time to curb his desire to kill. Since his physical needs had already been dealt with, it was time to return to the ship.
No matter how many powerful people like Xue E were guarding below, the ship was still safer. What Bai Chen had just experienced had already proven that.
After all, human strength had its limits. No matter what, Xue E would inevitably have moments when he could not watch over everything. And Na'er, an ordinary person without even a trace of Soul Power, was simply too vulnerable in this environment.
After saying that, he led Na'er back to the Soul-Hunting Ship.
Bai Chen waited on the ship for a short while, and Xue E and the others soon followed.
Xu Xiaoyan walked behind her brother with her head lowered, tightly gripping the bloodstained dagger in her hand. Her complexion looked absolutely terrible.
In the original story, Xu Xiaoyan had not killed a Soul Beast even by the age of nine. After entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, Xu Xiaoyu had gone through considerable effort to mentally prepare his little sister before getting her to kill a Soul Beast herself.
Yet under Bai Chen's influence, she had acted so early this time.
Bai Chen narrowed his eyes and asked Xue E,
"Is Xiaoyan all right?"
"I'm fine."
To his surprise, it was Xu Xiaoyan herself who answered him.
At some point, she had raised her head. Although her face still bore traces of fear and disgust toward killing, her eyes were filled with a resolute light.
"I don't want to be a bystander anymore. I want to become stronger. Next time, I'll be the one protecting Brother Bai Chen!"
Second Profession
The events of that day had had an immensely profound impact on Xu Xiaoyan.
It could be said that this was the first time she had truly understood what killing and being killed meant.
When Bai Chen had killed Soul Beasts, she had even felt some sympathy for them, believing it was pitiful that those Soul Beasts were being killed without any ability to resist.
But when the ones about to be killed were people she cared about, she finally realized that this was a battlefield, not a place where emotions like pity belonged.
Mercy toward enemies was cruelty toward oneself. Ill-timed sympathy would only place those she cherished in danger.
At the same time, she deeply understood her own helplessness.
Bai Chen could severely wound even a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, yet when facing a mere Ten-Year Soul Beast, she had been so terrified that she could not even hold her knife steadily.
Although she liked adding "Brother" after Bai Chen's name, their ages were actually less than two months apart. Compared to Bai Chen, she was simply far too inferior.
The thought of becoming stronger, of no longer being able to do nothing but hide behind others and tremble when danger came again, filled Xu Xiaoyan's heart.
"Is that so..."
After meeting Xu Xiaoyan's gaze for a moment, Bai Chen smiled.
She was fine. He could tell from her eyes alone.
He had seen similar eyes in his previous life. Children with such eyes needed no concern.
For children like her, all he needed to do was acknowledge them and give them the greatest possible encouragement and support.
"I believe in you. You can definitely do it."
"Mm!"
Xu Xiaoyan nodded vigorously. After receiving Bai Chen's approval, the lingering fear on her face visibly faded.
With that, the primary objective of Bai Chen's group on this trip—helping Bai Chen and Xu Xiaoyan obtain their Soul Rings—had been successfully completed.
Besides acquiring Soul Rings, Bai Chen had also confirmed his theory about Innate Level-20 Soul Power and personally experienced the terrifying nature of Devouring Power.
Overall, they had gained quite a lot.
After drifting at sea for another two days, the Soul-Hunting Ship headed back toward the continent.
On the return journey, Xue E received a call from Bai Jiaming. After briefly speaking with him, Bai Jiaming asked him to pass the call to Bai Chen.
"Hello?"
Bai Chen took the Soul Guidance Communicator, and Bai Jiaming's energetic voice immediately came through from the other end.
"Yo, son! Little Xue told me you made quite a haul this time. I deliberately didn't ask him for the details because I wanted to hear it from you."
"I broke through to Level 20."
"Oh, Level 20? That's wonderful... Wait, Level 20?"
"More precisely, Level 23."
Leaning against the rail of the Soul-Hunting Ship, Bai Chen said calmly,
"For some reason, this Martial Soul of mine seems to have Innate Level-20 Soul Power."
"Gasp..."
Bai Chen immediately heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end.
That was hardly surprising. In an era where God-Blessed Martial Souls had already vanished, anyone would be shocked upon hearing of Innate Level-20 Soul Power.
Without pausing, Bai Chen went on to explain the effects of his two Soul Skills to Bai Jiaming. At the same time, he told his father everything that had happened over the past few days.
After listening, Bai Jiaming let out a long sigh.
"Honestly, I had a feeling you'd be an exceptional genius, but I never expected you to be this much of a genius..."
He paused, then his tone became cheerful again.
"So, Xiao Chen, have you decided what second profession you want to study?"
In the Douluo III Era, every Soul Master had their own second profession.
These professions each served different functions, but generally speaking, they were all cultivated for the purpose of forging Battle Armor.
Without hesitation, Bai Chen said,
"Forging."
What a joke. Forging was the second profession of the protagonist of the Douluo III Era. It was naturally a cut above all the other second professions.
Compared with other second professions, high-level blacksmiths were clearly far more valuable. The early setting had even stated that there were three Divine Artisans, but before the later stages even arrived, the setting had changed until only Zhen Hua remained.
In any era, a blacksmith's ability to refine metals was incredibly sought after.
And most importantly, no matter the era, Bai Chen would never lack the strength most needed for forging.
As an offshoot of the Nine Sons of the Dragon, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had directly inherited part of the Dragon God's bloodline. Wang Qiuer of the Douluo II Era had relied on that bloodline to simulate the Golden Dragon Martial Soul. Although the Three-Eyed Golden Lion itself did not possess the Extreme Power Realm, its strength was certainly not weak.
As for the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, there was no need to say more. It was absurdly overpowered, no explanation needed.
After the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger transformed into Zhou Weiqing's ability, it had granted him a strength attribute. Tang San had also judged at their first meeting that it was a power-type Soul Beast. In the end, after Zhou Weiqing attained the Divine Position of the God of Destruction, he earned the title God of Strength thanks to the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
It could be said that in terms of basic physical strength, Bai Chen was absolutely qualified to become a blacksmith.
"Hmm... a blacksmith..."
Bai Jiaming pondered for a moment before reminding him,
"I'll say this first: the path of training as a blacksmith is the most difficult. Not only is it exhausting, but you also have to endure loneliness. Are you truly sure you want to take this path?"
"I'm sure."
Bai Chen nodded without hesitation.
"All right, I understand."
Sensing the determination in Bai Chen's words, Bai Jiaming smiled with satisfaction from the other end of the call.
His precious son had never disappointed him.
Since that was the case, then as his father, he naturally had to fulfill his responsibilities.
"I'll start looking for a suitable teacher for you over the next couple of days. By the time you return to shore, I should be able to find someone appropriate."
With his connections, while he could not invite Divine Artisan Zhen Hua to be a teacher, hiring an eighth-rank Saint Artisan would not be a problem.
Naturally, the process would cost quite a bit of money, but it was all for his son's future. Everything was worth it.
"Thanks, Dad."
Bai Chen understood Bai Jiaming's efforts perfectly well. The corners of his lips rose slightly as he spoke softly.
Bai Jiaming chuckled.
"This is what I should do as your father. All right, I won't say more. I have a big business deal to discuss. I'm hanging up first."
"Mm."
"Dudu—"
Hearing the sound of the call disconnecting, Bai Chen handed the Soul Guidance Communicator back to Xue E and turned his gaze toward the sea.
With that, his first two Soul Rings and second profession in the Douluo III Era had both been settled.
Next, it was time to turn his attention to another matter.
The study of Soul Spirits.
His study of the Soul Spirit Ritual was already nearing its end. In another day or two, he would be able to fully master the ritual.
The ritual itself was not especially helpful to him, but it could bring him many things.
Most importantly, he could teach this technique to the Silver Dragon King and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm of the Douluo I Era.
Soul Spirit Experiment
Three days later, Douluo I Era, Great Beast Land.
Dressed in black, Di Tian stood before the Lake of Life and once again poured his power into it.
Soon, the earth began to tremble. A silver dragon head emerged from the water once more as the Silver Dragon King appeared from the Lake of Life. She looked at Di Tian and Bai Chen beside him, then tilted her head.
"Looking at this setup, have you completed the research?"
"Yes, Lord."
Di Tian nodded respectfully. Then, he suddenly reached toward the empty space beside him and directly pulled a figure out of the void.
It was a man who looked to be around forty. His vicious features and the scars across his body spoke of countless brushes with death. At this moment, Di Tian's dark power covered his body. His eyes were filled with fear, yet he could not move at all.
Di Tian lowered his head toward the Silver Dragon King and respectfully said,
"This is a human who has reached the Level 60 bottleneck. After discussing it with Bai Chen, we decided to use him to test the effects of the Soul Spirit Ritual."
"Good. Begin."
The Silver Dragon King spoke lazily, her gaze fixed intently on Bai Chen.
Bai Chen stepped forward, accompanied by a black tiger.
The black tiger looked incomparably old. Even its fur had begun to fade, and it appeared extremely haggard. Most strangely, its tail was a black hook, just like Bai Chen's in the Douluo III Era.
A Scorpion Tiger was an offshoot of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Its level was nowhere near comparable to that of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, but as a descendant of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, it also possessed the ability to gain power by killing Soul Beasts.
This Scorpion Tiger was fifty thousand years old, and forty thousand of those years had been gained by slaughtering other Soul Beasts.
Before you continue