First Soul Ring

The burly man's pupils contracted slightly. He sized up the plainly dressed boy before him anew, his manner growing more respectful.

Such was the status of Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent.

Even a One-Ring Soul Master stood high above ordinary people in their eyes.

What was more, Jiang Che was still very young. Even at Nuoding Academy, he would have stood out from the crowd.

The burly man dared not delay. He turned and retrieved a short blade from behind the counter. "This short blade was forged from superior refined iron and tempered by the finest smith in our shop."

As Jiang Che spoke, he took the short blade and weighed it in his hand. With a casual swing, its edge sliced through the air with a faint hiss.

"What a fine blade!" Jiang Che secretly rejoiced.

"For anyone else, this fine blade would cost at least fifteen Silver Soul Coins. Today, I'll charge you just ten. Consider it a gesture of friendship."

Jiang Che nodded in agreement. The quality of this short blade far exceeded his expectations.

Jiang Che gazed toward the gates of Nuoding City, a wealth of emotions stirring within him.

Once he hunted down his first soul ring, he would have officially set foot on the path of a Soul Master.

And his path as a Soul Master was destined to be stained with the blood of countless Soul Masters and Soul Beasts!

After two days of travel, Jiang Che finally reached the Star Dou Great Forest.

Rustle-!

The sound of footsteps on fallen leaves rang out.

Even here on the outskirts, the trees blotted out the sky and sun.

Though it was daytime, the light was dim. Unchecked vegetation filled his sight, and the scents of grass, leaves, and decay mingled in the air.

Jiang Che scanned the dense bushes around him and headed deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.

As he ventured farther into the Star Dou Great Forest, he discovered many Soul Beasts, but most were small creatures only a few decades old, such as Lone Bamboo, Mottled Cats, and Burrowing Mice.

Jiang Che remained extremely vigilant throughout the journey, keeping as far from these Soul Beasts as possible.

"Finally found it."

Jiang Che looked at the bamboo before him, as white as jade, and delight appeared on his face.

White Jade Bamboo was flawlessly white throughout and usually grew near lakes and rivers. It possessed tenacious vitality, and the Soul Skills it yielded were highly likely to involve healing, with a small chance of granting a defensive Soul Skill.

Looking at the White Jade Bamboo, which stood no more than four meters tall, Jiang Che roughly determined its age.

Each segment of White Jade Bamboo represented a hundred years, and its fourth segment looked to be about ninety centimeters long.

"Between 390 and 400 years?"

Jiang Che felt his current physique was more than capable of absorbing a four-hundred-year soul ring. Over the past two years, he had trained like mad to strengthen his body.

As for the so-called maximum limit a Soul Master could withstand, Jiang Che did not believe that bullshit theory at all. Soul ring absorption varied from person to person.

Besides, this was Jiang Che's first time facing such uncertainty. He would not gamble his life on that so-called soul ring limit.

Just as Jiang Che checked whether his surroundings were safe, he heard the barely perceptible snap of a branch and immediately retreated.

Sure enough, something crashed into the spot where Jiang Che had just stood with a bang.

A three-meter-long python, emerald green all over, appeared where he had been standing.

"An Emerald Poison Snake! It looks about three hundred years old!" Jiang Che recognized the Soul Beast that had tried to ambush him at a glance.

Faced with this situation, Jiang Che dared not hesitate and decisively used the [Soul Ancestor Trial Card].

In an instant, Jiang Che felt a tremendous power that did not belong to him surge into his body.

Four soul rings-yellow, yellow, purple, purple-appeared beneath his feet.

Information about the four Soul Skills flooded his mind.

"First Soul Skill: Blue Silver Vines!"

This Soul Skill was actually much like Blue Silver Entanglement. Both used Blue Silver Grass to rapidly coil around an opponent, rendering them immobile.

Several dozen breaths later.

The Emerald Poison Snake could no longer hold out and collapsed to the ground.

The system, silent for two years, finally responded.

[Ding-!]

[Killed a 322-year-old Emerald Poison Snake. Gained 5 skill points.]

[Current skill points: 55]

Jiang Che glanced at the yellow soul ring floating up from the Emerald Poison Snake's corpse, then checked the time remaining on the Soul Ancestor Trial Card.

[Soul Ancestor Trial Card time remaining: 00:25:12]

It had taken him only five minutes to deal with this Emerald Poison Snake.

"I can use this time while I have Soul Ancestor cultivation to earn as many skill points as possible!"

[Ding! Killed a 65-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit. Gained 1 skill point.]

[Killed a 100-year-old Gale Wolf. Gained 5 skill points.]

[Killed a 150-year-old Demon Leopard. Gained 5 skill points.]

With his Soul Ancestor cultivation, Jiang Che was like a demon god, slaughtering at will along the fringes of the Star Dou Great Forest.

[Current skill points: 244]

"That feels great-!"

[Soul Ancestor Trial Card time remaining: 00:04:25]

Jiang Che dared not delay and hurried toward the White Jade Bamboo.

He had to save these final four minutes to deal with the White Jade Bamboo.

Though White Jade Bamboo had no offensive power, he reckoned that once his Soul Ancestor cultivation faded, he would not even be able to break through its defenses.

When he returned to where the White Jade Bamboo stood, Jiang Che discovered that the soul ring above the Emerald Poison Snake's corpse had already dissipated.

Jiang Che drew his short blade and hacked relentlessly at the White Jade Bamboo.

Before long, a yellow soul ring floated above one of the White Jade Bamboo's segments.

[Ding-!]

[Killed a 395-year-old White Jade Bamboo. Gained 5 skill points.]

[Current skill points: 249]

Although he had cleared out nearly all the nearby Soul Beasts, Jiang Che still found a relatively safe place before daring to absorb it with peace of mind, just to be safe.

Time passed, second by second and minute by minute. There was no sign of discomfort on Jiang Che's face, and the absorption seemed to be going smoothly.

Jiang Che slowly opened his eyes after absorbing the soul ring, wild joy filling his heart.

Jiang Che stood and let out a long breath. At the same time, a yellow soul ring slowly emerged around him.

[First Soul Skill: Profusion (Single-target healing skill. Rapidly stimulates Blue Silver Grass to grow and coil around the target, continuously healing injuries over a short period. Also restores 10% soul power.)]

"This Soul Skill is practically an enhanced version of Tang San's First Soul Skill!"

It offered not only healing, but control as well!

After absorbing the soul ring, Jiang Che did not rush to leave. Instead, he returned to the place where the White Jade Bamboo had grown.

There was one thing Jiang Che had never figured out. By rights, only precious natural treasures would normally have Soul Beasts guarding them.

There was only a single stalk of White Jade Bamboo here. Where were the other precious natural treasures? Calling the White Jade Bamboo an edible medicinal herb did not seem quite right, either.

Jiang Che looked around. Apart from this stalk of White Jade Bamboo, there were only ordinary weeds and trees nearby.

"Could there be something underneath this White Jade Bamboo?"

Jiang Che acted as soon as the thought struck him. He took out his short blade and began digging near the White Jade Bamboo's remaining roots!

Soon, Jiang Che discovered many small stones beneath the roots.

As the pit grew deeper, Jiang Che began to suspect his guess had been wrong.

Jiang Che pried aside a rock. In a palm-sized hollow, dozens of dark blue fruits were clustered together, their surfaces gleaming like agate.

Their flesh was so thin it was translucent, and he seemed able to see pale golden juice slowly moving inside.

"What is this?"