Luo Chen stood on the rock, refusing to give up on himself because of their mockery.
He knew these people would not believe him easily. After all, a masked boy of eight or nine had opened his mouth and claimed he could help hunt Hundred-Year Soul Beasts. In their place, he would not have believed it either.
So, to make them believe him, Luo Chen immediately activated his Netherworld Scorpion Emperor Martial Soul Possession.
In an instant, two Soul Rings, one yellow and one purple, appeared behind him. A powerful presence erupted from his body, pressing down on everyone there until they could barely breathe.
Luo Chen looked around, a confident smile on his lips as his gaze swept over the crowd. "Everyone, do you believe me now?"
"A Hundred-Year Soul Beast, sixty Gold Soul Coins," he said again, his voice steady and strong. "Honest prices for young and old alike. First come, first served."
No one answered. Instead, they looked at Luo Chen as though he were an idiot.
One man could not help speaking up. "Brother, I may not like studying much, but I still know some basic Martial Soul Theory."
"Ten-year rings are white, hundred-year rings are yellow, and thousand-year rings are purple. Everyone knows that. The reason the first Soul Ring and second Soul Ring can only be Hundred-Year Soul Rings is to prevent your body from exploding and killing you."
At this point, the man could not help sneering. "Your second Soul Ring is purple-a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. By all rights, your body should have exploded long ago. There's no way you could be standing here unharmed, so your Soul Rings must be fake."
"Frogs at the bottom of a well," Luo Chen said dismissively. "Even gods exist on the Douluo Continent. A thousand-year second Soul Ring is nothing strange."
At these words, everyone immediately shut their mouths, though they remained unconvinced.
How could a child who looked eight or nine possibly have a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his second Soul Ring? He must have used some trick they did not know about.
Seeing that no one responded, Luo Chen sighed inwardly. Forget it. The phoenix alights on none but the parasol tree, eats nothing but bamboo seeds, and drinks nothing but sweet spring water. It seems this is not the place my heart seeks.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, a booming voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.
"Wait!"
Hearing it, Luo Chen looked toward the voice and saw a burly middle-aged man step out of the crowd.
He wore gray leather armor, with a large saber hanging at his waist. A scar marked his face, making him look extremely fierce.
"My name's Wang Gang!" The middle-aged man scratched his head with a guileless air. "I'm a longtime member of the Yama Plain Mercenary Corps, with level thirty Soul Power. I want a thousand-year Ironclad Rhinoceros for my third Soul Ring. Can you hunt one?"
"Of course," Luo Chen said, looking into Wang Gang's eyes. "However, the Ironclad Rhinoceros is a Soul Ring with extremely powerful defenses, and a thousand-year one at that. The price will have to go up."
Hearing this, Wang Gang excitedly took out 160 Gold Soul Coins at once. "This is everything I own. If it isn't enough, I'll borrow some more."
"However," Wang Gang said, changing tack and growing serious, "to make sure you don't cheat me, we'll need to sign a contract."
Everyone around them thought Wang Gang had gone mad.
Wang Gang was one of the few experts in the Exploding Wolf Beast-Hunting Mercenary Corps. His Rhinoceros Shield had saved people from fire and flood, making him the defensive mainstay of their Soul Hunting team.
Moreover, Wang Gang was no mere brute. He loved reading books on Martial Soul Theory and was a Martial Soul Theory scholar himself. Yet now he had actually chosen this swindler to help him hunt a Soul Beast.
"Old Wang, don't get muddleheaded!" The people around him began trying to dissuade him. "It's just a thousand-year Ironclad Rhinoceros. At worst, we can pool our money and hire a Soul Ancestor for you."
Wang Gang waved his hand, indicating there was no need.
He understood their good intentions, but he understood what he needed even better.
He had been stuck at level thirty for several months. As he watched the days pass, he grew increasingly anxious.
Originally, he had dismissed Luo Chen's sales pitch. But when he saw that Luo Chen's second Soul Ring was a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, giving off an immensely powerful presence, he knew the boy before him was anything but ordinary. Perhaps he really could help him hunt a thousand-year Ironclad Rhinoceros.
Wang Gang walked up to Luo Chen and looked him up and down. "Kid, what's your name?"
"Luo Feng." Luo Chen gave his false name.
"When are we going to sign the agreement?" There was a trace of suspicion in Wang Gang's eyes. "Or are you scared?"
"When do we sign?" Luo Chen spoke as though discussing something trivial. "Once we've signed, we can head to Yama Plain as soon as possible."
"Now," Wang Gang said. "The agreement's inside. Wait a moment while I fetch it."
Luo Chen considered it, then nodded. "I'll wait for you up ahead. Remember to bring a tent and the other supplies."
With that, Luo Chen jumped off the rock and headed toward Yama Plain.
The wind howled past, stirring waves through the grass. Everyone watched in shock as Luo Chen and Wang Gang walked side by side toward Yama Plain.
Once they had gone far, the surrounding mercenaries exchanged glances, and the discussions began again.
"Wang Gang actually believed him?"
"Just watch. They'll probably come slinking back in a bit."
"..."
The outer reaches of Yama Plain.
Wang Gang looked at Luo Chen's straight-backed figure, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"If you have something to say, say it." Luo Chen, walking ahead, seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. "You're so brawny. I never expected you to be so awkward and coy."
"I..."
For a moment, Wang Gang did not know how to answer. Was he supposed to say, "I'm very interested in you and want to study you"?
But he believed that if he said that aloud, the boy before him would beat him up.
Left with no choice, Wang Gang shifted the subject to the thousand-year Ironclad Rhinoceros.
"A thousand-year Ironclad Rhinoceros has very strong defenses. Can the two of us really kill one?" Wang Gang said. "My Martial Soul is the Iron Armored Rhinoceros King, so I can exert a certain degree of intimidation over an Ironclad Rhinoceros. If we can't beat it, hide behind me."
"No need. No matter how strong its physical defenses are, it still fears deadly poison," Luo Chen said with a smile. "When the time comes, I'll inject the Nine Poison Scorpion's deadly poison into its body. Once it's about to die, you can go up and kill it."
"Understood."
"Then do you know where Ironclad Rhinoceroses live?"
"Yes." Wang Gang raised his hand and pointed west. "A hundred kilometers west, we'll find a stretch of riverside grassland. That's where the Ironclad Rhinoceroses live."
Three days later, Wang Gang and Luo Chen reached the riverside grassland.
As soon as they approached, Wang Gang pulled Luo Chen down to lie flat. Lowering his voice, he said, "Ironclad Rhinoceroses have fiery tempers. Their territory is just ahead. We need to be careful."
"Oh, right, one more thing," Wang Gang continued. "Ironclad Rhinoceroses are herd Soul Beasts. If we want to find a lone thousand-year Ironclad Rhinoceros, we may need to stay here for a few days. I hope you don't mind."
Luo Chen nodded at his words, his gaze sweeping ahead. At the same time, he fully extended his spiritual perception, taking in every sight within a radius of fifty li.
Soon, Luo Chen found a lone Ironclad Rhinoceros.
"To the southeast, roughly four thousand meters away, there's a lone Ironclad Rhinoceros," Luo Chen said. "But I'm not quite sure how to distinguish their ages. Wang Gang, tell me what traits an Ironclad Rhinoceros just over a thousand years old has."
Wang Gang froze at his words. Only after a long while did he come back to his senses and look at Luo Chen in shock. "How do you know?"
"That's a secret. Just tell me what traits an Ironclad Rhinoceros over a thousand years old has."
"Let me think." A moment later, Wang Gang said, "A thousand-year Ironclad Rhinoceros has a layer of gray calluses on its skin. The thicker the calluses, the older it is."
"Mm, looks like we're in luck. The Ironclad Rhinoceros I found is just over a thousand years old. Let's hunt it now, while it's still light, and try to get back as soon as possible."