As usual, Tang Feng headed toward the stone chamber where his grandfather Tang Lie lived. Yet he stopped while still some distance from the stone door.
The heavy stone door was tightly shut, but through its seams seeped faint fluctuations of Soul Power, dense and heavy, flowing slowly like mercury.
Clearly, his grandfather was at a critical moment in breaking through the bottleneck to level eighty-seven. He had been stuck at this hurdle for a full year and a half, and only recently had he finally glimpsed the dawn of a breakthrough.
In the Soul Douluo realm, breakthroughs grew increasingly difficult with each level, and every attempt consumed vast amounts of time and mental effort.
Tang Feng knew that by the time this door opened again, over a month would probably have passed, and the next attempt to reach level eighty-eight would likely take even longer.
Tang Feng stood quietly at a distance for a while. Finally, he turned away in silence and headed toward the training grounds without making a sound.
On the training grounds, Tang Jian had just removed the heavy black iron weights from his legs and was rubbing his calf muscles with a grimace. Seeing Tang Feng approach, he grinned and teased, "Did the sun rise in the west today? You actually skipped running laps..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed that the Soul Power around Tang Feng was different from yesterday.
"You... those Soul Power fluctuations... you've reached level ten?!" Tang Jian's voice rose sharply in surprise.
Tang Feng nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, I just broke through."
At this, Tang Jian was delighted and surprised. He slapped Tang Feng hard on the shoulder. "You little rascal! Not bad! You've caught up so quickly! Once you've absorbed your first Soul Ring, we brothers can truly fight side by side! Come on, don't just stand there. Let's hurry and register to hunt for your Soul Ring!"
With that, he pulled Tang Feng along, and the two hurried toward the Black Tortoise Hall.
Inside the Black Tortoise Hall, instructor Tang Lin watched the two come bursting in. Once she heard why Tang Feng had come, she too was exceptionally pleased and surprised. "Well done, little Feng! Three levels in just over a year!"
"Yes, Aunt Tang Lin. I was lucky enough to break through just now." Tang Feng spoke modestly. "My grandfather is in seclusion trying to advance a level, so I shouldn't disturb him. Sorry for the trouble, but could you report this to the sect for me and apply for me to join the next Soul Hunting expedition?"
"Good! Good!" Tang Lin said twice, gratified. "Don't worry, I'll report it immediately. The timing is perfect, too. The sect happens to be organizing a Soul Hunting expedition in seven days. Two disciples who have broken through to level ten need their first Soul Rings, so we'll count you in as well."
She paused, then continued to advise Tang Feng, "Over the next few days, you can think carefully about what kind of Soul Beast you want to hunt for its Soul Ring. Your first Soul Ring is crucial and affects your future development. You mustn't be careless. If you have any questions, you can come ask me anytime."
"Thank you, Aunt Tang Lin."
Warmth stirred in Tang Feng's heart. After thanking her, he returned to his familiar corner, but instead of taking out texts on pharmacology and toxicology and immersing himself in them as usual, he drew another stack of carefully folded, somewhat rough sheets of paper from inside his clothes. These were notes on prospective Soul Beast targets that Tang Feng had copied out by hand, word for word, over the past several months from the thick Soul Beast Encyclopedia in the reading room, taking his own circumstances into account.
For Clear Sky Hammer Soul Masters, Soul Ring selection had always followed one simple, blunt principle: strength, strength, and more... strength!
Every Soul Ring added, especially the first few that established the foundation, meant far more than merely providing a Soul Skill.
It was more like a thorough tempering of the Soul Master's own body. The immense power contained within the Soul Ring tempered muscles and bones like lava, allowing Clear Sky Hammer Soul Masters to unleash their hammer's most overwhelming strength, every blow weighing thousands upon thousands of pounds.
Tang Feng's Clear Sky Hammer also faintly possessed a trace of a unique fire attribute. This meant that while pursuing ultimate strength, if he could also stimulate that fire attribute, perhaps his Clear Sky Hammer could produce even more explosive offensive power.
Tang Feng's fingertips brushed across the paper, his gaze resting on the list of fire-attribute, strength-type Soul Beasts:
Scarlet Flame Pterosaur, Lava Giant Python, Crimson Flame Demon Bear, Blazing Sun Tiger, Fire-Scaled Savage Rhinoceros... every one was a Ferocious Beast that perfectly combined raging flames with terrifying force. The power of their Soul Rings would surely be as scorching and violent as an eruption of subterranean fire.
Tang Feng narrowed his eyes slightly. Ideals were full-fleshed, but reality was bony. The rear mountain region where the Clear Sky Sect's ancestral grounds stood was bitterly cold all year round and blanketed in snow, a typical ice-attribute environment.
Amid this world of ice and snow, fire-attribute Soul Beasts were as incompatible with their surroundings as fire and water, their tracks difficult to find. Those truly powerful fire-attribute strength-type Soul Beasts mostly occupied distant volcanic regions or areas of active geothermal heat. To him, now confined to the ancestral grounds, they were nothing more than alluring yet unattainable legends in ancient books.
Tang Feng's gaze moved down to the list of "pure strength-type" Soul Beasts, where his options were clearly much broader:
Titan Giant Ape: the overlord of the forest, synonymous with strength, an existence at the pinnacle of the Soul Beast pyramid. Its Soul Ring was the ultimate prize countless strength-type Soul Masters dreamed of.
Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear: a top-tier Soul Beast combining offense and defense, its dark gold claws capable of tearing through anything, an embodiment of strength and destructive power.
King Kong Baboon: although its size was not as exaggerated as the Titan Giant Ape's, the strength of its arms was unrivaled in the Soul Beast Realm, mighty enough to uproot mountains and hurl peaks.
Further down were many more options, including the Great Strength Gorilla, Diamond Tiger, and Earth-Shaking Divine Ox. Each was an embodiment of the law of pure strength. The power of their Soul Rings tended to be more direct and forceful, focused on strengthening the physique to the utmost.
Tang Feng's fingertips moved slowly above the paper, his gaze deep, without a child's flightiness, only a planner's calm and deliberation. His heart was as clear as a mirror: selecting a Soul Beast depended thirty percent on meticulous preparation and accumulated knowledge, while the remaining seventy percent had to be left to luck.
Although the sect possessed information on certain sections of the rear mountains, Soul Hunting was not like going to a market to pick out goods. A good Soul Beast could be encountered, but not sought at will.
Tang Feng gently released a long breath of stale air and slowly rolled up the paper covered in Soul Beast names before him, a clear decision forming in his mind:
The first Soul Ring is the first cornerstone of my foundation. I must do everything possible to pursue perfection in strength. Fire-attribute Soul Beasts can only be encountered by chance. If I happen upon a suitable one, it will naturally be my first choice.
But my core targets must be pure strength-type Soul Beasts, and I must pursue those with the greatest strength!
The seven days passed in a flash. Before the ancestral grounds' heavy mountain gate, the morning mist had yet to fully disperse, and several people were already standing in the chilly air.
Leading the group were two solemn-faced uncles: Tang Ding, a level sixty-five Soul Emperor, and Tang Zhong, a level fifty-seven Soul King.
Both were nearing fifty, their bearing revealing the steadiness and competence of men tempered by long experience.
"Everyone's here. Let's go." Tang Ding swept his gaze over the three children before him, his voice calm and his words brief.
The three children followed closely behind him, like three eaglets leaving their nest for the first time, excited yet uneasy.
At the front walked Tang Jin, nine years old, followed by Tang Yong, eight and a half. Both were broad-shouldered and thick-backed, as sturdy as little calves brimming with excess energy. Their eyes could not help darting everywhere, betraying the apprehension they were struggling to suppress.
Tang Feng walked at the rear, his steps exceptionally steady as he calmly observed his surroundings. He drew a deep breath of the air beyond the mountain gate, crisp and slightly cold, mixed with the distinctive scent of rotting vegetation and sprouting buds carried from the distant forest.
Tang Feng's spirits lifted, and he could not help marveling: So this is what the real outside world smells like. Even if it's only for a brief ten-odd days, it's still so enticing.
The five quickly left the main peak behind and plunged into the uninhabited mountain range blanketed in ice and snow year-round.
Before long, they reached the outer edge of the traditional hunting grounds designated by the sect. The scene before them was utterly unlike the orderly ancestral grounds. Ancient trees towered into the sky, thorns grew thick, and they had to push vines aside with every step forward.
Tang Ding led the way. A phantom Clear Sky Hammer flashed in his palm, and he smashed through the massive trees blocking their path as easily as cutting tofu, forcibly opening a narrow trail.
Amid flying wood chips and severed grass, he warned in a low voice without turning his head, "Stay close. Watch your footing, and pay attention to any movement around you."
The three children followed closely behind Tang Ding, while Tang Zhong walked silently at the rear, his gaze periodically sweeping the woods on either side, alert for any possible danger.
Tang Feng, however, did not keep his attention entirely on the "path" beneath his feet. As he worked to keep up with the group, he used the knowledge he had learned from the Complete Compendium of Pharmacology to swiftly identify the plants that occasionally appeared along the way.
Whenever he encountered a valuable medicinal herb he recognized, Tang Feng bent down swiftly and lightly, gathered it, and placed it in the small coarse-cloth pouch he had prepared beforehand.