Version Prodigies Gather, but the Eras Are Misaligned

In truth, the relationship between Soul Beasts and humans was simply one of competition for survival. There was no right or wrong to it.

Just as Soul Beasts in ancient times had never believed themselves wrong when they slaughtered defenseless humans, now that humanity possessed the strength to kill Soul Beasts in return, nothing they did for their own interests could be condemned.

Not to mention humans and Soul Beasts; even within humanity and among Soul Beasts themselves, all manner of conflicts existed.

The Douluo I Era, Douluo II Era, and Douluo III Era were all steeped in the scent of war. Martial Soul 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, severe internal strife existed among Soul Beasts as well. The Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, enjoyed eating the brain marrow of light-attributed Soul Beasts. Whenever the fierce beasts discovered a hundred-thousand-year lion or tiger 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, their internal struggles were even fiercer and crueler than humanity's.

If humans and Soul Beasts were already like this internally, then conflict between these two races, which differed in every possible way, was even more unavoidable.

That said, although it sounded ridiculous for the fierce beasts to fear lion and tiger Soul Beasts, looking at Bai Chen's three Martial Souls made their wariness seem rather justified.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, a top-tier tiger Soul Beast. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion, a super Soul Beast with the appearance of a lion. The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, ancestor of lion Soul Beasts. Even Blue Butterfly from the Douluo IV Era was a tiger Soul Beast.

Seen this way, the probability of overpowered beings appearing among lion and tiger Soul Beasts was extraordinarily high...

After hearing Bai Chen's explanation, Na'er nodded lightly and said nothing more.

Yet from her expression, she had clearly understood.

"Such a 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. Good luck to you all."

He had come down this time to curb his desire for slaughter. Since his physiological needs had already been dealt with, it was time to return to the ship.

No matter how many powerful people like Xue E were protecting them below the ship, it was still less safe than being aboard. What Bai Chen had just experienced was proof enough.

After all, human strength had its limits. No matter what, Xue E would inevitably have moments when he could not attend to everything. And Na'er, an ordinary person without even a trace of soul power, was simply too vulnerable in such an environment.

With that, he brought Na'er back to the soul-hunting ship.

Bai Chen waited briefly aboard the ship before Xue E and the others followed one after another.

Xu Xiaoyan walked behind her brother with her head lowered, tightly clutching a bloodstained dagger in her hand. Her face looked terribly pale.

In the original story, Xu Xiaoyan had not killed a Soul Beast even by the age of nine. After arriving at the Spirit Ascension Platform, Xu Xiaoyu had needed to spend considerable effort preparing his little sister mentally before she could bring herself to kill one.

Yet under Bai Chen's influence, she had actually struck so early this time.

Bai Chen narrowed his eyes and asked Xue E,

"Is Xiaoyan alright?"

"I'm fine."

To his surprise, Xu Xiaoyan herself answered the question.

At some point, she had raised her head. Fear and disgust toward killing still lingered on her face, but her eyes shone with determination.

"I don't want to remain 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 impacted Xu Xiaoyan immensely.

It could be said that this was the first time she had truly understood what killing and being killed meant.

When Bai Chen killed Soul Beasts, she had even felt some sympathy for them. She had thought that it was pitiful for those Soul Beasts to be killed so helplessly, without any ability to resist.

But when the ones about to be killed were people she cared about, she 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 the people she cherished in danger.

At the same time, she had also deeply realized her own helplessness.

Bai Chen could severely injure even Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, while she had been so frightened by a mere ten-year Soul Beast that she could barely hold her knife steady.

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 hiding behind others and trembling as she had this time whenever danger arose, 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 just by looking into her eyes.

He had seen similar eyes in his previous life. Children with such eyes were not the kind one needed to worry about.

For a child like this, all he needed to do was acknowledge her and give her the greatest 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 receded.

With that, the greatest objective of Bai Chen's group on this journey—helping Bai Chen and Xu Xiaoyan obtain Soul Rings—had been successfully accomplished.

Besides obtaining Soul Rings, Bai Chen had also confirmed his hypothesis about innate rank twenty and personally experienced the terrifying nature of Devouring Power.

Overall, they had gained a great deal.

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 the other party spoke with him briefly, he asked him to pass the call to Bai Chen.

"Hello?"

Bai Chen took the soul communication device, 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 rank twenty."

"Oh, rank twenty? That's wonderful... Wait, rank twenty?"

"More precisely, rank twenty-three."

Bai Chen leaned against the railing of the soul-hunting ship and said calmly,

"For some reason, this Martial Soul of mine seems to have granted me innate rank twenty soul power."

"Hiss..."

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 startled upon hearing of innate rank twenty soul power.

Bai Chen did not pause. He went on to tell Bai Jiaming about the effects of both his soul skills, as well as everything he had experienced over the past few days.

After listening, Bai Jiaming let out a long sigh.

"Honestly, I had a feeling you would be a top-tier genius, but I never expected you to be this much of a genius..."

He paused, and his tone became cheerful again.

"So, Little Chen, have you decided which second profession you want to study?"

In the Douluo III Era, every Soul Master had their own second profession.

These professions each handled different areas, but their ultimate purpose was to forge Battle Armor.

Bai Chen answered without hesitation,

"Forging."

What a joke. Forging was the second profession of the Douluo III Era's protagonist. By nature, it stood above all other second professions.

Compared to the other second professions, high-level blacksmiths were clearly far more valuable. The early Douluo III Era setting had even stated that there were three Divine Blacksmiths, but before the later stages, that setup had been retconned until only Zhen Hua remained.

In any era, a blacksmith's ability to refine metals was immensely sought after.

And most importantly, no matter the era, Bai Chen would never lack the strength most needed for forging.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was a branch descendant of the Nine Sons of the Dragon. It directly inherited part of the Dragon God's bloodline. Wang Qiu'er of the Douluo II Era had relied on that bloodline to use Simulation and create the Golden Dragon Martial Soul. Although the Three-Eyed Golden Lion itself did not truly possess ultimate strength, its power was absolutely not weak.

As for the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, there was no need to say more. It was overpowered beyond explanation.

After the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger transformed into Zhou Weiqing's ability, it granted him the strength attribute. When Tang San first encountered it, he had also judged it to be a strength-type Soul Beast. In the end, after Zhou Weiqing inherited the divine position of the God of Destruction, he received the title God of Strength because of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

It could be said that, in terms of the most fundamental aspect of strength, Bai Chen was more than qualified to become a blacksmith.

"Mm... a blacksmith..."

Bai Jiaming pondered for a moment before reminding him,

"Let me make this clear first: the path of a blacksmith is the most difficult one. Not only is it arduous, but you must also endure loneliness. Are you truly sure you want to take this path?"

"I'm sure."

Bai Chen nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"Alright, I understand."

Sensing the determination in Bai Chen's words, Bai Jiaming smiled in 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 needed to fulfill his duty as well.

"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, he might not be able to invite Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua to serve as a teacher, but hiring an eighth-rank Saint Blacksmith would not be a problem.

Naturally, the money spent in this process would not be a small amount, but it was all for his son's future. Everything was worth it.

"Thanks, Dad."

Bai Chen understood Bai Jiaming's devotion perfectly. The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he spoke softly.

Bai Jiaming chuckled.

"This is what I should do as your father. Alright, no more for now. I have a big deal to discuss. I'm hanging up first."

"Alright."

"Beep beep—"

When he heard the call disconnect, Bai Chen handed the soul communication device back to Xue E and turned his gaze toward the sea.

With that, his first two Soul Rings and his second profession in the Douluo III Era had both been settled.

Next, it was time to focus on another matter.

That was research into Soul Spirits.

His study of the Soul Spirit Ritual had now reached its final stage. In roughly another day or two, he would have mastered the ritual completely.

The ritual itself was not particularly helpful to him, but it could bring him many things.

Most importantly, he could teach this technique to the Silver Dragon King and Skydream Iceworm of the Douluo I Era.

Soul Spirit Experiment

Three days later, Douluo I Era, Great Beast Land.

Di Tian, dressed in black, stood before the Lake of Life and once more poured his power into it.

Soon, the earth began to tremble. A silver dragon head emerged from the water again, and the Silver Dragon King appeared from the Lake of Life. Looking at Di Tian and Bai Chen beside him, she tilted her head.

"Judging by this display, have you finished your research?"

"Yes, my lord."

Di Tian nodded respectfully. Then, he suddenly reached into the empty space beside him and pulled a figure directly out of the void.

It was a man who looked around forty. His face was fierce, and the scars across his body spoke of countless walks along the line between life and death. At this moment, Di Tian's dark power covered him, filling his eyes with terror while leaving him completely unable to move.

Di Tian lowered his head to the Silver Dragon King and said respectfully,

"This is a human who has reached the rank sixty 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.

This black tiger looked incomparably old. Even its fur had begun to fade, and it appeared utterly haggard. Most strangely, its tail was a black hook, just like Bai Chen's in the Douluo III Era.

A Scorpion Tiger, a branch descendant of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Its level could not compare with the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger at all, but as a descendant of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, it also possessed the ability to gain power by slaughtering Soul Beasts.

This Scorpion Tiger was fifty thousand years old, and forty thousand of those years had been gained through killing other Soul Beasts.