Early the next morning, Luo Chen plunged straight into the library.
He went through every book on Soul Beasts, reading them one by one, from the most basic "Illustrated Guide to Soul Beasts" to "Records of Soul Beast Distribution on the Outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest."
The Netherworld Scorpion Emperor's first Soul Ring was crucial.
A Soul Ring's attributes determined the direction of its Soul Skill, and the first Soul Skill was the foundation of all foundations.
If he chose wrong, any later attempt to make up for it would be useless.
He had to find the Soul Beast best suited to him.
By day, Luo Chen immersed himself in research at the library; at night, he returned to his dormitory to cultivate the "Twin Emperor Soul Guidance."
Through his cultivation, he clearly felt his spiritual power condensing a little faster.
On the third night, Luo Chen sank his consciousness into his mind and turned his attention to another secret manual.
Previously, he had only skimmed the introduction to the "Scorpion Emperor Body Tempering Technique" and learned that it was a body-refining method, but he had yet to read the details.
Now, when he actually opened it,
he froze.
The "Scorpion Emperor Body Tempering Technique" was no ordinary body-tempering manual. Ordinary body-tempering methods were nothing more than hammering the muscles and bones, strengthening the body step by step.
But the "Scorpion Emperor Body Tempering Technique" was completely different.
Its core involved tempering the body with the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor's own origin scorpion venom, strengthening the flesh until one ultimately reached a state of unity between human and beast.
The Netherworld Scorpion Emperor's lethal venom far surpassed any poison known on the Douluo Continent.
Even the Death Spider Emperor's venom, unrivaled across the continent, amounted to little before the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor, which showed just how formidable its venom was.
Yet the "Scorpion Emperor Body Tempering Technique" required Luo Chen to strengthen his body with the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor's venom, showing just how perilous this tempering manual was.
Endure it, and he would ascend to heaven in a single step; fail, and his soul would return to its homeland.
At this point, Luo Chen hesitated. He did not want to take too great a risk.
As the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor's master, he naturally knew how formidable its venom was.
But a resonance existed between Martial Soul and host, and that resonance gave Luo Chen another idea.
Through that resonance, perhaps he could guide the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor to seep its lethal venom out of the Martial Soul, letting an extremely minute amount turn back upon his own body.
From small doses to large ones, step by step, until the venom penetrated his skin, his muscles, his sinews and bones... until his entire body was imbued with lethal venom.
In fact, at the later stages of cultivation, his entire body would become... a living vessel of lethal poison, killing at a touch!
Temper my body with poison, kill at a touch... Luo Chen remained undecided. Once I cultivate this method, I might never be able to shake hands casually again.
But this is also a path that combines offense and defense. With just a light touch, my enemy would die from the poison.
Is it worth it?
Luo Chen asked himself inwardly.
The answer from within was simple:
It is!
In this world where Martial Souls decided everything, if you had neither background nor influence and wanted to reach the very top, you had to walk a path others dared not tread.
Moreover, the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor's venom was hundreds of times stronger than the lethal poisons known to the world, meaning your body-tempering ceiling lay far beyond ordinary imagination.
Others don't have these advantages and dare not temper their bodies with poison. Since you were born with twin scorpions and have the secret manual in hand, why not cultivate it?
Then cultivate it!!!
With that thought, Luo Chen immediately activated Martial Soul Possession, guiding the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor to release an extremely minute amount of venom into its tail before stabbing himself with it.
At the same time, Luo Chen closed his eyes and began circulating according to the introductory mental method of the "Scorpion Emperor Body Tempering Technique."
As the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor's venom slowly flowed along his channels into every limb and bone, an icy, stabbing pain spread from his spine.
Luo Chen felt as though he stood in a land of extreme cold. His body had no sensation at all; only pain spread through it.
Even an extremely minute amount of Netherworld Scorpion Emperor venom could instantly poison an ordinary person to death.
Luo Chen could withstand it only because the bloodline resonance between Martial Soul and host protected his core meridians, preventing the venom from taking his life outright.
But his outer skin and muscles received no such treatment.
Luo Chen clenched his teeth without making a sound.
He firmly believed that today's body tempering could win him a thread of survival in the future!
As time passed, pitch-black sweat seeped from Luo Chen's pores, tinged with a faint ink-green hue.
At the same time, a barely perceptible inky sheen gradually appeared on his skin.
Drenched from head to toe, Luo Chen lay sprawled on his bed, gasping for breath, yet his eyes shone ever brighter.
"Luo Chen, you did it! You really did it!"
"Sure enough, you're the best!"
He raised his hand and examined his palm.
Now, an extremely minute amount of scorpion venom had fused into his body. Anyone who touched his skin might pick up a trace of the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor's lethal venom.
Although it could only cause paralysis, this was just the beginning.
As he progressed further in the "Scorpion Emperor Body Tempering Technique," he would be able to guide more and more venom, and the poison tempered into his body would grow stronger and stronger.
Until a touch meant death.
Over the next few days, Luo Chen spent his days in the library and alternated between the "Twin Emperor Soul Guidance" and the "Scorpion Emperor Body Tempering Technique" at night.
Meanwhile, he also went through all the library's books on Soul Beasts and Martial Soul Theory.
He also formed a clear plan for the Soul Ring paths of the Netherworld Scorpion Emperor and the Karmic Fire Scorpion Emperor.
The Netherworld Scorpion Emperor was the sovereign of demonic scorpions, born with the ancient Nether God's bloodline. It possessed three powerful attributes-lethal poison, netherworld, and water-and its venom was stronger than both Death Spider Emperor venom and Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor venom.
Thus, Luo Chen decided that his Netherworld Scorpion Emperor Martial Soul would focus on lethal poison, netherworld, and water from then on.
Lethal poison for attrition, netherworld to regulate speed, and water for support: he would take the path of prolonged battle, slowly grinding his opponents to death.
The Karmic Fire Scorpion Emperor, meanwhile, was a spirit of heaven and earth, born with four ultimate attributes: heavenly fire, earthly soil, strength, and fate. It could follow the paths of power assault and defense.
This way, Luo Chen would have a formidable path combining attack, defense, speed, lethal poison, and support.
That afternoon, Luo Chen was browsing an illustrated Soul Beast guide in the library as usual, absorbing knowledge about Martial Souls.
Several students from different years sat nearby, chatting intermittently.
"Say, how do you get into the Soul Hunting Forest?"
"Pay, or use our academy's warrant. But you're only a rank-four Soul Scholar. Isn't it a bit early to think about that?"
"You don't understand. This is called mending the roof before it rains."
Luo Chen stopped turning the pages and asked, "Do you know the way to the Soul Hunting Forest?"
The two students who had been chatting turned to Luo Chen in astonishment. "You're going to hunt for your first Soul Ring?"
"Yes." Luo Chen smiled and nodded. "I've learned enough. It's time to put it into practice."
His voice was not loud, but the library was quiet to begin with, and his words carried clearly into every corner.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bookshelves, a vicious glint flashed through the eyes of a middle-aged man with a crew cut when he heard this.
This man was none other than Yu Xiaogang.
He sneered inwardly. Want to hunt for your first Soul Ring? Without someone powerful leading you, let's see how you obtain a hundred-year Soul Ring.
At that thought, he immediately left the library in excitement and headed for the headmaster's office.
Who knew what fine words Yu Xiaogang used, but in the end, the headmaster agreed to his request.
After leaving the headmaster's office, Yu Xiaogang immediately sought out Tang San.
"Teacher, what brings you here?" Tang San asked in puzzlement.
Yu Xiaogang smiled. "Xiao San, your Soul Power has reached rank ten. It's time to hunt for your first Soul Ring."
"But didn't you say just yesterday that we couldn't rush my first Soul Ring? Why have you changed your mind today?"
"Things are different now." Yu Xiaogang put on the air of a strategist directing everything from his command tent. "I persuaded the headmaster. He'll personally accompany us to the Soul Hunting Forest."
"With my theories and the headmaster's strength, we can definitely hunt down the most suitable Soul Beast for you."
"When the time comes, I'll make sure everyone at the academy sees just how outstanding my disciple is." Of course, the unspoken meaning behind those words was also that he wanted Tang San to crush that arrogant Luo Chen.
Tang San simply failed to hear it.
To that end, Yu Xiaogang even deliberately spread the news that the headmaster would hunt for Tang San's first Soul Ring.
"Have you heard? Yu Xiaogang and the headmaster are taking Tang San to the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring!"
"You mean that Tang San with innate full Soul Power but a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul?"
"My heavens, innate full Soul Power and the headmaster personally safeguarding him? Isn't that treatment a little too good?"
Inside the library, Luo Chen was also deeply astonished when he heard the news.
But...
Luo Chen rubbed his chin. In the original story, Yu Xiaogang didn't take Tang San to the Soul Hunting Forest so publicly, much less bring the headmaster along. Will Tang San's first Soul Ring still come from a Mandala Snake, then?
Forget it. That has nothing to do with me. Better to slip in first under cover of night and get my Soul Ring sooner.
The night was dark, and the wind was high.
Outside Nuoding City, at the entrance to the Soul Hunting Forest.
Two guards stood at the entrance, checking the Soul Master certificates of those coming and going.
Without Gold Soul Coins or an academy warrant, ordinary people were not permitted to enter the Soul Hunting Forest.
Standing in the shadow of a distant tree, Luo Chen watched the guards at the entrance, then turned away. He did not intend to use the main gate.
As the spiritual perception of the "Twin Emperor Soul Guidance" spread out, everything within forty meters came into view.
Soon, Luo Chen sensed that there might be a way in at a certain stretch of wall.
He hurried over to that not particularly high section of wall, then instantly activated Netherworld Scorpion Emperor Martial Soul Possession. A scorpion tail gleaming with a dim, cold light slowly extended behind him and curved toward the sky.
Luo Chen leaped, his scorpion tail lashing out like a whip and hooking precisely onto one of the ancient tree's highest branches.
Whoosh!
Pulled by his scorpion tail, Luo Chen soared into the air, easily cleared the wall, and landed soundlessly on the ground of the Soul Hunting Forest, his entire figure melting into the night.