A First Battle and Views on Hunting Soul Beasts

There was knowledge in every practiced habit, and everyday life lay hidden in every punch and kick.

Even the simple, labor-saving movements a cart puller used every day revealed bone-chilling killing intent when Tang Shan performed them.

He bent naturally at the waist, like an old farmer tilling a field, and the sharp claws flashed just over his head.

His expression unchanged, Tang Shan rose with the motion, like an old farmer raising his hoe high. Both fists swung down naturally, striking precisely where the hyena's neck met its shoulders.

Crack! Crack!

A string of sharp cracks rang out as the hyena's shoulder bones and ribs shattered one after another. It exhaled more than it inhaled, its life hanging by a thread.

He swept both hands sideways, moving like an ordinary villager shouldering a water pole, and flipped the hyena attacking from the side onto the ground. His fist then fell like a heavy hammer, as though he were a blacksmith forging metal, crisp and ruthless.

To Su Haichao and Su Yuan, watching from the sidelines, Tang Shan's moves had neither a sense of power nor any beauty. They were plainly the everyday actions of ordinary people, yet these seemingly simple, unremarkable movements brought utter devastation upon the ten-year soul beasts.

A solid blow meant death; a glancing hit meant injury. Flesh and shattered bone flew together, and brain matter splashed across the sky.

On the other side, Su Yuntao's movements were nowhere near as composed as Tang Shan's. Instead, they carried the savagery of a vicious wolf.

His sole hundred-year soul ring lit up, activating his first soul skill, Rampage, which increased his speed by 50% and his strength by 25%.

With those percentage boosts combined with the increasingly powerful physique he had built through prolonged training, Su Yuntao's charge into the hyena pack became a one-sided slaughter.

His sharp wolf claws plunged down, ripping open a belly in an instant and crushing his prey's hot heart. As his other hand knocked another hyena flying, it tore through its throat in the same motion—a clean, decisive killing blow.

Slaughter, slaughter, and more slaughter. The results of their long training were finally on full display.

Su Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly. "Hall Master Su, these two boys of yours really are impressive, especially the one with the body martial soul. The master certainly lives up to his reputation, cultivating such remarkable combat ability in an aspiring soul master with a body martial soul. And that seemingly plain, clumsy fighting style must be a self-created soul skill passed down by the master."

Faced with that praise, Su Haichao needed to say nothing. He merely smiled brightly and nodded.

"However..." Su Yuan paused, a note of hesitation entering his voice.

"Old Su, just say what's on your mind." Su Haichao frowned slightly, unsure what was troubling him.

Su Yuan sighed deeply and spoke frankly. "All right, Hall Master Su. We've known each other for years, so I won't beat around the bush. Aren't these boys being a little too brutal? It would be better if they could hold back a little and leave these soul beasts alive. Otherwise, what will we do if soul masters have no soul rings left to absorb in the future?"

Su Haichao's brow relaxed, and curiosity crossed his face. "What gave you that idea? That doesn't sound like your usual decisive self, Su Yuan."

Su Yuan pushed up the glasses on his nose with a wry smile. "It's an idea advocated by Yu Xiaogang, who's staying at my academy. His so-called ten core competencies of martial soul may be contradictory nonsense, but I do rather agree with his position on protecting soul beasts."

An odd smile appeared on Su Haichao's face. "As for that question, let the master... 's disciple explain it to you."

Holding it in was truly uncomfortable, and he had nearly let the truth slip. Fortunately, he paused in time and did not arouse Su Yuan's suspicions.

Amid successive explosive cracks in the air, soul beasts died one after another. By the time Tang Shan stopped again, not a single hyena remained standing around him.

White motes drifted out of the carcasses, gathered, and finally formed individual ten-year soul rings.

At that moment, if Tang Shan wished, a mere thought would draw a soul ring over for him to absorb, allowing him to break through to the next rank. But he would never do that.

In Tang Shan's eyes, every breakthrough was a qualitative transformation of his martial soul. He would never waste such a heaven-sent opportunity.

He took some water from the Storage Soul Tool his father had given him and washed the blood from his body before slowly breathing out.

Looking at the blood covering the ground, Tang Shan felt unexpectedly calm, without the slightest trace of the nausea he had anticipated. He did not know whether that was due to his adaptability or the resilience of his mind.

"Little brother, you really are better. This time, I admit defeat without any complaints." Su Yuntao ended his Martial Soul Possession, tidied himself up, and patted Tang Shan's shoulder. The brothers walked back with their arms around each other.

"Shanzi, your Uncle Su has a few questions. Explain things to him properly." Smiling, Su Haichao lifted his chin, urging Su Yuan to ask.

Su Yuan gave Su Haichao a helpless look and repeated his earlier question, deliberately phrasing it much more gently.

After all, Tang Shan was still just a child. If there really was a problem, they could correct it gradually later. There was no need to be overly harsh.

After hearing the question, Su Yuntao also wore a rather peculiar expression, but he did not interrupt.

Once Tang Shan heard the question and learned what that "Grandmaster" advocated, the corner of his mouth twitched, and his eyes shifted.

After organizing his thoughts, he raised one finger, his expression serious. "Headmaster Su, I once asked my teacher this very question. At the time, he only asked me two questions in return. Now, I'd like to ask you those same questions."

Upon hearing that these were the master's questions, Su Yuan immediately grew solemn. "Please go ahead, Tang Shan."

To him, this was hardly Tang Shan asking questions. It was clearly a wise elder speaking to him indirectly through the boy.

"First, these soul beasts took the initiative to try to kill us. Is there anything wrong with us killing them all?"

That left Su Yuan momentarily speechless. From their own perspective, there was nothing wrong with fighting back and killing something that wanted to kill them.

"But killing too many will affect future soul masters' ability to obtain soul rings. That can't be a good thing." Headmaster Su's objection lacked conviction. Clearly, he also felt that this alone was not a sound reason to ask them to spare the soul beasts.

"Then, second, Headmaster Su: which is greater—the number of soul beasts eaten by carnivorous soul beasts every day, or the number hunted by us soul masters?"

That question left Su Yuan utterly stunned. Indeed, no matter how great soul masters' demand for soul beasts might be, it fell far short of what carnivorous soul beasts consumed each day. Moreover, when food was plentiful, many carnivorous soul beasts discarded their leftovers, creating even more waste.

By that reckoning, setting aside differences in appetite, a carnivorous soul beast ate at least three other soul beasts a day on average, amounting to over a thousand a year. With so many carnivorous soul beasts throughout their habitats, how staggering must their total consumption be?

That was Tang Shan's fundamental view on hunting soul beasts.

Later, the depletion of Douluo Star's life core, environmental changes brought about by humanity's advances in soul tools, and the rise of the Spirit Pagoda would lead to the demise of soul beasts. Tang Shan had not experienced any of that firsthand, so he was in no position to pass rash judgment.

But Tang Shan found the claim that human overhunting was one factor in their extinction laughable. Why didn't the soul beasts count how many of their own kind they consumed every day? Surely they couldn't claim that those they ate themselves did not count as losses, while those humans killed counted as overhunting.

Tang Shan certainly would not go out of his way to slaughter soul beasts for soul bones, but if soul beasts came looking for death themselves, he would show no mercy.

Besides, he would have had no issue with leaving these carcasses to rot after he departed. Yet most of the time, once soul masters absorbed their soul rings and left, the remaining carcasses would "mysteriously disappear." Where those bodies went was truly puzzling.

"Old Su, do you understand now? Even the strongest soul beasts don't worry about their population. Why should we humans, who only hunt them for soul rings, fret on their behalf?" Su Haichao patted Su Yuan's shoulder, prompting him to come back to his senses.

Su Yuan rubbed his cheeks with a wry smile and mocked himself. "I really must have lost my head. I knew Yu Xiaogang didn't even qualify as a true master and was unlikely to have any real learning, yet I still let his ideas influence me. Exactly—Soul beasts don't even keep track of how many of their own kind they consume every day. Why should we soul masters fret on their behalf?"

Hearing Su Yuan indirectly praise the master, Tang Shan curled his toes in embarrassment, feeling utterly helpless.

"All right, let's keep moving. While it's still early, we can go farther into the forest." Finally shaking off his self-doubt, Su Yuan took the initiative to scout ahead, while Su Haichao brought up the rear to guard against surprise attacks from soul beasts.

"This is a Green-Eyed Wolf over seven hundred years old. Yuntao, do you want it?" Su Yuan called from up ahead.

Su Yuntao's eyes lit up. "Uncle Su, I won't absorb this soul beast's ring, but I'd like to fight it for practice. Sorry for the trouble, but could you watch my back?"

Seeing that Su Haichao did not object, Su Yuan agreed and stood aside to observe closely.

Tang Shan watched Su Yuntao's fight intently, witnessing every small improvement and growing ever more convinced of his own ideas.

Everyone had their own path of growth, and his elder brother was no exception. Imitating the habits of wolf soul beasts, then honing himself through extensive real combat, might well be the path his brother should take. Titled Douluo might not be his limit.

Awooo!

A pained howl echoed through the trees as Su Yuntao sent the Green-Eyed Wolf flying with a palm strike. He did not pursue it, instead withdrawing his martial soul and rejoining the group.

The four set off again. The sun gradually climbed, then slowly descended. During that time, they encountered quite a few soul beasts suited to Tang Shan's and Su Yuntao's martial souls, but almost none met their age requirements.

The closest matches were a Thousand Jun Ant nearly nine hundred years old and a Storm Wolf a little over eight hundred and seventy years old.

Su Yuntao certainly could not absorb one. His first soul ring was already six hundred years old, and he had trained for a long time since. Absorbing a hundred-year soul ring now and giving up on a thousand-year second soul ring would mean wasting all his previous efforts.

Tang Shan was not particularly satisfied either. If it had been a nine-hundred-year-old Diamond Mammoth, he might have reluctantly accepted it. But the Thousand Jun Ant offered no advantages at all, and it was not old enough either. He would not even consider it.

As the sun sank in the west and the day drew to a close, the four had gained nothing, but none of them grew impatient. After all, it was only their first day searching for soul rings.

Even after reaching the threshold for a breakthrough, many soul masters often remained unable to advance for months because they could not find a suitable soul beast. Going a single day without success was perfectly normal.

They found an open patch of ground. Su Haichao took out two tents and had Tang Shan and Su Yuntao set them up, while he and Su Yuan went in different directions to inspect and clear the surrounding area. They also scattered some Beast-Repelling Powder to keep soul beasts from disturbing them during the night.

They did not know how effective it would be, but it was better than nothing.

Once the tents were up, Tang Shan lit a campfire. This was not the Star Dou Great Forest, merely an ordinary Soul Hunting Forest. Even if they attracted a few soul beasts, two Soul Ancestors could easily deal with them.

P.S. The breakthrough is coming tomorrow! Please bookmark, send recommendation votes and monthly votes, leave comments—anything and everything! This humble author bows in thanks to all my readers.