The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's Disregard; A Possibly Awakened Gene Lock

"A Soul Master from Spirit Hall."

Ning Fengzhi took the information from the waitress and dismissed her. He had barely turned a few pages when his brows drew together.

Gu Rong, seated beside him, looked surprised. "Fengzhi, is that Lone Wolf Soul Master from Spirit Hall?"

Ning Fengzhi nodded and continued reading. Before long, his frown eased. "His name is Su Yuntao. He's the son of the head of Spirit Hall in Nuoding City. He and his father are only passing through Star City. The three of them are headed to Spirit Hall in Heaven Dou City."

"Who's the third?" Gu Rong asked casually.

"A child the hall master adopted, apparently. Nothing special."

Gu Rong lost interest in the adopted child. A cold glint entered his eyes. "What do we do about Su Yuntao? He looks like another genius. Should we..." He drew a finger across his throat.

But the more Ning Fengzhi read, the less he cared about Su Yuntao. At last, he set the information aside. "It doesn't matter. He has a Thousand-Year Second Ring, that's all. How far he can go still depends on his Innate Soul Power. I checked—it's only level three. Even with that second ring, the best Soul Ring Configuration he could hope for is one yellow and three purple. Absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as his fourth is out of the question. He'll reach Soul King at most, perhaps Soul Emperor. Either way, he won't affect the balance between the Upper Three Sects and Spirit Hall. There's no need to provoke a former Spirit Hall master. Even if the man is only a Soul Ancestor, he still represents part of Spirit Hall's foundation and reputation."

The Soul Masters of Douluo Continent might have lacked theoretical research, but they were not fools. If someone could absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as their second ring, could they try a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as their fourth?

In theory, a Soul Master needed to be at least a Quasi-Soul King to absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. Their standard configuration by then would be two yellow and two purple. Someone with a Thousand-Year Second Ring would already have one yellow and two purple as a Soul Elder, just one Yellow Soul Ring short of an ordinary Soul Ancestor's standard configuration. Perhaps they could attempt a ten-thousand-year fourth ring.

But Soul Masters' cultivation speed was limited, and Tang Shan's theory had only recently appeared. Forcing an attempt at a ten-thousand-year fourth ring would also consume vast resources. Any faction investing that much in a genius would choose someone with exceptional talent. For now, no one had actually tried to cross that threshold.

Besides, a Thousand-Year Second Ring was a prerequisite for the attempt. With the effects of Whale Rubber still undiscovered, every Soul Master who achieved one had necessarily received enormous resources. No one would use pills or methods that damaged their potential to try it.

"True. One little Soul Emperor won't make waves. With level-three Innate Soul Power, he'd be a Soul Grandmaster at best without his father's support. He'd spend his life awakening Martial Souls for other people. Hardly a threat. What, is he going to awaken talent comparable to the Angel Clan's? Even if chance let him achieve a Thousand-Year Second Ring, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has no shortage of geniuses like that."

Gu Rong promptly lost interest. Then something occurred to him. "By the way, Fengzhi, your son absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone a few years ago and took all sorts of treasures to strengthen his body. Didn't he get a Thousand-Year Second Ring too? How did it turn out? Did his boosts change? I was in seclusion then and never got around to asking."

Ning Fengzhi looked pleased. "The strength of his Soul Skill's boost hasn't changed. It's still the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's usual ten-percent increase per level. But it consumes noticeably less Soul Power, so he can maintain the boost longer."

"That's good. Better endurance means he can play a steadier role on a team."

"Exactly. That's why I intend to send him to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. It's a good place to make connections. Qinghe can lend him a hand, and I'll owe him a favor. Qinghe is modest and courteous, and he's already a strong contender for crown prince—and eventually the throne." Ning Fengzhi spoke gently, but every word was part of his plans for the Heaven Dou Empire. What expression would he wear if he learned that "future crown prince's" true identity?

"Su Yuntao's about to win."

Gu Rong paid no attention to Ning Fengzhi's plans for the Heaven Dou Empire. As a Titled Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he had only two duties: protect those who needed protecting and kill those who needed killing. He looked back down at the Soul Fighting Arena and predicted the outcome with ease.

In the spacious arena, sharp sword energy whistled toward Su Yuntao. From the other side, countless strands of Blade Qi wove into a net around him. Caught in a coordinated pincer attack, Su Yuntao remained calm. His two Soul Rings had already lit up, strengthening his power, speed, and every other physical attribute.

In his mind, the attack patterns and evasive movements of wolf Soul Beasts played over and over. Their forms seemed to merge with his body, while his consciousness became part of the pack. Instinctively, he refined his responses. Soul Power coursed through him along a mysterious path, and his body quietly underwent a change he could not describe.

He ducked and darted forward. In that moment, Su Yuntao seemed to become a lone wolf, slipping through a gap in the attacks. Once clear of the pincer, he drove forward with explosive strides, as swift as a wolf on the hunt. Claws sprang from his fingertips. He twisted past Dao Long's descending blade and raked a hand across his chest, leaving five gashes deep enough to expose bone. With the same momentum, he struck Dao Long off the platform, then leaped away without looking back to avoid the sword energy pursuing him.

A white and a yellow Soul Ring pulsed beneath the feet of the contestant called "Sword Qi." Su Yuntao had easily evaded his first Soul Skill, and his teammate had fallen. He knew the fight was lost, but he refused to give up. His Second Soul Ring flared. "Charged Slash!"

As the Yellow Soul Ring flashed, every last bit of Soul Power in Sword Qi's body surged into his Martial Soul. He swung his sword down with all his strength. Whoosh! A wave of sword energy half a zhang wide poured forth, bearing down on Su Yuntao with terrifying sharpness and speed.

The attack drained the Sword Martial Soul user completely. He could no longer even maintain his Martial Soul. All he could do was hope that the strike would turn the fight around.

It did not. Faced with that formidable attack, Su Yuntao relied on the frightening instincts of his strange state. The instant the sword energy left the blade, he twisted aside. It swept past his face by a hair's breadth. Had he been a fraction slower, it would have struck him full-on.

"I surrender!" His opponent raised a hand and gave up.

Su Yuntao stopped and withdrew his Martial Soul. A moment later, he staggered and nearly fell. Aches surged through every limb; his Soul Power was spent, and waves of exhaustion washed through his mind.

"The winner of this Soul Fighting match is Lone Wolf!" After announcing the result, the host hurried over to support Su Yuntao. Lone Wolf was the Great Soul Arena's cash cow. They could not afford anything happening to him. If he stopped competing, how would they keep making money hand over fist?

As for the other contestant, he had only run out of Soul Power. His legs weren't broken. If he couldn't walk off on his own, his teammate could come up and help him.

"Let's go back to the sect." Ning Fengzhi stood after watching the match.

"Sure!"

Space fractured before Gu Rong. He wrapped Ning Fengzhi in Soul Power, transformed into a bone dragon, and carried him into the spatial rift.

"Uncle Gu, why did that Soul Master's fighting strength suddenly soar at the end?"

"I couldn't tell for certain. Probably something to do with his Martial Soul. You saw how he fought afterward—he was practically a wolf."

Their voices vanished as the spatial passage closed.

Su Yuntao cultivated for nearly half an hour before slowly emerging from meditation. His Soul Power had recovered to seventy or eighty percent, though his physical strength had not fully returned. The moment he opened his eyes, he found Tang Shan studying him with a look he had never seen before.

"What are you looking at, Tang Shan?" Startled, Su Yuntao sprang back two or three meters.

"N-nothing. Big Brother, what was that state you entered just now? Tell me about it." Tang Shan could barely contain the fervor in his eyes.

"Oh, that." Su Yuntao sighed in relief. "I'll tell you when we get back. First, let's collect the Gold Soul Coins for winning."

"Sure, sure." Tang Shan was unusually agreeable. All he could think about was the state his elder brother had displayed in the fight.

His senses had sharpened. His ability to anticipate danger had been frightening. And his combat experience had not merely grown—it had surged at a staggering rate.

If his elder brother's eyes had looked different, or if the fight had left him suffering some bodily backlash rather than mere exhaustion and depleted Soul Power, Tang Shan might have suspected he had unlocked his Gene Lock. But the combat experience he had gained had made him fight like a wolf.

Gene Lock was a cultivation system from the novel Terror Infinity. Anyone who identified as human could unlock it, even if their body was mechanical.

Gene Lock had five stages. The first awakened the combat instincts hidden in a person's genes. Even an untrained ordinary person—or a shut-in—could gain practical combat experience comparable to an elite soldier.

Unlocking it also granted keen insight and perception, along with the ability to sense danger.

Looking back on Su Yuntao's fight, Tang Shan found that it broadly matched the traits of a first-stage Gene Lock.

Gene Lock was closely tied to the body's potential. How could Tang Shan not be excited? More troubling was another question: if Su Yuntao really had unlocked his Gene Lock, had Tang Shan transmigrated into Douluo Continent, or into an infinite universe that included it? If it was the former, fine. If it was the latter, he could only smile bitterly. He had read little of the relevant story and had no idea where its plot would go.

Tang Shan pulled himself out of his thoughts. Remembering the two people they had encountered at the restaurant that day, he braced himself.

Fortunately, what he feared never happened. He and Su Yuntao collected the Gold Soul Coins without trouble, then returned safely to the inn.

No refined middle-aged man staged a chance encounter. No gaunt old man invited them to tea. The entire trip was uneventful.

P.S. It isn't Gene Lock; this is still Douluo Continent. There'll be a reasonable explanation later. You can think of it as a Self-Created Soul Skill combining Soul Skills, Martial Soul, and bodily instinct. Finally, please bookmark, keep reading, and leave monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and comments—anything you can spare.