Wind and snow raged.
Bone-chilling cold battered him relentlessly, but fortunately, Qian Renxue's life-bound Soul Ring turned into threads of warmth that protected his entire body, keeping the cold at bay.
As far as the eye could see, plains stretched for a hundred li in every direction. A flock of azure luan birds swept across the sky, their enormous bodies blotting out heaven and earth. Xiao Zi's heart instinctively tightened, and he wanted to take cover.
Then something astonishing happened. The flock skimmed straight over the ground and flew toward the distant horizon, as though they could not see the person below.
Another herd of cattle and sheep approached from one side, likewise all but ignoring him. Only when they were practically face-to-face did the Soul Beasts notice someone was there, then go around him and continue on their way?
Xiao Zi was utterly bewildered.
He continued forward. Every Soul Beast he encountered along the way ignored him or skirted around him, regardless of its nature, whether vicious or docile. There were no exceptions.
After encountering who knew how many more groups of Soul Beasts, Xiao Zi could not even be bothered to count. They simply came and went, circling around him.
Even Qian Renxue, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, was unsettled by this supernatural phenomenon. She spoke from within his Sea of Consciousness. "How strange. Your presence is far fainter than an ordinary person's. If your heart weren't beating, I would almost think you were a living corpse. What exactly is going on?"
A moment later, she added, "I almost forgot the important part. You absorbed my power, so in Douluo terms, you have innate full Soul Power at rank twenty. You can obtain two Soul Rings straight away. Have you decided on the Soul Beast species and ages?"
Drawing on the memories Luo Feng had implanted, Xiao Zi opened his palm, and his first Martial Soul, the Golden Horned Beast, manifested. "According to the feedback from my Martial Soul, I don't seem to need to stick to any particular Soul Beast species. As long as its age meets the requirement, it should be fine."
Qian Renxue grew even more astonished. "You mean you can just find any one of them?"
"That's right."
Xiao Zi stealthily made his way onward. After questioning Qian Renxue about the basic workings of the Douluo World, he added two Soul Rings that were not particularly remarkable-
Purple, purple!
His first ring came from a thousand-year-old ice silkworm. Just as Xiao Zi had said, it granted a Soul Skill that had about as much to do with the Ice Silkworm Clan as the wind did with horses and cattle... Devour.
As the name suggested, it allowed him to devour vast quantities of metal into his body-that is, the Golden Horned Beast's internal world. It also had some area-of-effect capability, allowing him to directly devour weaker living beings to death.
The Ice Silkworm Clan was lazy. As long as they had food, they could remain motionless indefinitely. Since the species did not matter anyway, Xiao Zi simply chose whatever was nearest and found another ice silkworm, this one three thousand years old, for his second ring. Its Soul Skill was Enhancement.
Its initial boost was 50%, and it would keep increasing as his physique improved, with no upper limit.
Having once lived in the Swallowed Star World, Xiao Zi knew that both skills were among the Golden Horned Beast's Innate Secret Techniques. Based on Luo Feng's choices, he even knew what his next Soul Skill would be.
After hearing Xiao Zi's answer, Qian Renxue grew thoughtful. "Does this Devour Soul Skill mean you don't need to meditate and cultivate like ordinary Soul Masters, and can level up just by devouring metal?"
She automatically disregarded his second Soul Skill. It was not as though she had never seen skills capable of growing stronger. Compared to everything she had just witnessed, Qian Renxue, whose expectations had been raised sky-high, felt this was nothing special anymore~
"You could say that, but if I cultivate through devouring... it seems I'll need quite a lot of metal..."
By the end, Xiao Zi sounded distinctly uncertain. After all, the Golden Horned Beast needed staggering quantities of metal to advance. Even if that requirement had been slashed again and again in the Douluo World, it was still far beyond what a penniless fellow like him could afford.
What should I do?
While Xiao Zi fretted, Qian Renxue was brimming with excitement, as though she could see boundless hope through him. This (former) God King, with his complicated origins and simple name, possessed extraordinary potential. Sacrificing herself to him had made this life worthwhile, even if she had been coaxed into it by (Luo Feng).
With his Soul Skills clarified and no Soul Beasts blocking his path, Xiao Zi's journey was exceptionally peaceful. He soon crossed the wilderness and reached an area inhabited by humans.
The town was small enough that he could see its far end at a glance from a distance. Only after listening to other people's conversations did he learn that this was Star Luo Empire territory, somewhere near its southernmost edge.
Remembering his earlier experiences, Xiao Zi had a sudden idea as he watched the line of people waiting to enter. He walked straight to the front, cut past the checkpoint collecting entry fees, and entered the town.
Nothing stopped him.
The guards stood ramrod straight, watching everyone who entered. Only those who paid could pass; everyone else was driven away. Where had these filthy beggars come from!
Looking at the people who had been shoved to the ground, Xiao Zi's gaze flickered. In the end, he did nothing and merged into the crowd on the street.
Compared to Soul Beast populations, humans, as social animals, gathered far more densely. Yet that did nothing to affect a certain person's lack of presence. People ignored him as though he were air.
Xiao Zi was certain he had not learned any invisibility technique, because a Soul Beast had noticed him earlier when they came face-to-face.
Following the intuition of a (former) God King, Xiao Zi descended upon a stall like a ghost and shouted at the vendor, "Hey!"
The vendor jolted in fright, dropping the tool in his hand. Still shaken, he stared at the boy before him and began cursing. "Whose kid are you? Are you trying to scare me to death?"
With his theory confirmed, Xiao Zi did not linger. He vanished in a flash.
The vendor was left utterly baffled. Muttering a few words to himself, he returned to his work and put the boy out of his mind.
Walking down the street, Xiao Zi seemed to grasp something.
He was a genuine, living, breathing person, not a wandering ghost or some resentful spirit unable to rest in death. That much was beyond question.
Unless he actively engaged with someone, no one would notice his existence. Every person and beast subconsciously ignored him. Was that any different from being some ghostly monster roaming the wilds?
To sum it up in four words-no one noticed him.
Xiao Zi had his pride, too, and did not want to describe himself in overly miserable terms. Once he understood the situation, rather than feeling sad, he actually revealed a faint smile.
Their minds connected, Qian Renxue also realized what was happening. Caught between laughter and tears, she said, "So that's it. People don't notice you because you have no presence at all, like some... thing by the roadside. Based on my experience, this plane must have deliberately veiled you, leaving you outside its rules."
In that case, if Luo Feng had not delivered him right before her, even Qian Renxue might not have noticed him. He could be mere inches away, yet as distant as the ends of the earth.
"Thank you," Xiao Zi whispered softly into empty space, realizing that this, too, was Luo Feng's handiwork.
Unlike Douluo I ten thousand years earlier, Douluo II was practically hell mode. With Tang Divine King watching at every moment, no genius could escape his Purple Demon Eye.
Luo Feng had done this so Xiao Zi would not have to live under surveillance.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, Qian Renxue remained silent, tactfully refraining from asking questions. Everyone had their own secrets. If even she, whose very life was bound to his, could learn nothing, it was easy to imagine how terrifying the being behind him must be.
"What should we do next?" she asked softly in her clear, mature feminine voice.