A Fateful First Meeting

As dawn broke, a small, thin figure appeared on the official road north of Star Luo City.

Huo Yuhao carried an inconspicuous old backpack and headed north along the road.

The cool morning breeze seeped in through his collar, making his thin body tremble slightly.

But he didn't stop; he just pulled the straps of his backpack up a little and quickened his pace.

His goal was very clear.

He will travel to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain his First Soul Ring.

In the Douluo Continent, once Soul Master reaches level ten, they need to acquire Soul Ring to continue their breakthrough.

For ordinary Soul Master, this was originally just a normal step on the path of cultivation.

But for Huo Yuhao, this step was almost a life-or-death exchange.

His Innate Soul Power is only level one.

Level one is hardly a good talent in the world of Soul Master; in fact, it's practically worthless.

It could even be said that such talent would be hard to be valued in any Soul Master family.

Moreover, his Martial Soul is not a common Beast Martial Soul or Tool Martial Soul, but an extremely rare Martial Soul with both physical and Mental Attribute — the Spirit Eyes.

The Spirit Eyes are more than just a pair of eyes.

It has an inseparable connection with Huo Yuhao's brain, mind, and even his entire body.

It allows Huo Yuhao to see many details that ordinary people overlook, and it also makes his senses exceptionally sharp.

Huo Yuhao himself was unaware of these things.

In his mind, he simply saw things more clearly and reacted faster than others, and occasionally he could even perceive things that others couldn't.

He didn't know what attribute his Martial Soul had, nor how far it could go in the future.

All he knew was that he had to become stronger.

Huo Yuhao was born in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.

His mother was just an insignificant personal maid in the Duke's Mansion. By chance, she was favored by the White Tiger Duke, which led to his birth.

From the day he was born, he has never been truly accepted.

The people in the Duke's Mansion hated him, children his own age bullied him, and even some servants dared to order him around.

Beatings, humiliation, and hunger filled almost his entire childhood.

His mother was his only support.

But now, even that only support is gone.

Huo Yuhao glanced down at his old clothes, a coldness that seemed completely out of place with his age flashing in his eyes.

He didn't turn around.

His backpack contained all his belongings.

A change of old clothes, some dry food to last for several days, and the money her mother had saved up little by little over the years doing manual labor at the Duke's Mansion.

The money was wrapped in layers of old cloth and sewn into the innermost layer of the backpack.

In addition, there was a short knife and a simple map of the mainland.

The short sword is called the White Tiger Dagger; it was a keepsake from my mother.

The map was something he had gone through a lot of trouble to get his hands on.

The lines on the map were very rough, and many places were just simply marked, but Huo Yuhao still looked at it very carefully.

Both the Duke's Mansion and Star Luo City are located in the north-central part of the Star Luo Empire.

To obtain Soul Ring, he must leave Star Luo City and head to the Star Dou Great Forest in the northern part of the Star Luo Empire, which borders the Heavenly Soul Empire.

The Star Dou Great Forest is extremely vast, almost the size of an entire province.

A wide variety of Soul Beast live in the forest.

From ten years, a hundred years, to a thousand years, ten thousand years, there are even terrifying beings that surpass ordinary people's imagination and are powerful enough to make even Titled Douluo change color.

For Soul Master, it is both a sacred place for hunting Soul Ring and a forbidden area where they could lose their lives at any moment.

Huo Yuhao was well aware of this.

But he still came.

Because he had no other choice.

As we headed north, the number of pedestrians on the official road gradually increased.

There were horse-drawn carriages transporting goods, groups of merchants traveling together, and Soul Master dressed in uniform with Soul Tool at their waists.

Huo Yuhao kept his head down, trying his best to make himself less conspicuous.

He dared not get into conflicts with anyone, nor did he dare to reveal his identity casually.

When he was hungry, he would hide by the roadside and eat a few bites of dry food. When he was thirsty, he would scoop up a handful of water from the roadside.

At night, he would find a sheltered corner to curl up and sleep for a while.

This continued for several days.

Huo Yuhao's feet developed blisters, which burst and then formed thick calluses.

His cheeks were cracked from the wind, making his already thin body appear even more frail.

But he never stopped.

Finally, one morning, he saw a vast expanse of deep green stretching as far as the eye could see.

We've arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest.

Towering ancient trees layer upon layer, thick vines hanging from the canopy, and a damp mist permeates the forest.

Sunlight could only filter through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting dappled patterns. From a distance, the entire forest looked like a giant beast crouching on the earth.

Huo Yuhao stood outside the forest and took a deep breath.

The air was filled with the scent of earth, leaves, and some indescribable wild animal.

He did not rush in.

After resting for a while at the edge of the forest, he found a clear stream, activated his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul to catch a few fish, and then used the White Tiger Dagger to process all the fish he had caught. He then gathered some dry branches and started a small fire.

The fish was gutted, simply rubbed with a little salt, and then slowly grilled over a fire.

As the grease dripped into the fire, it made a soft "sizzling" sound.

There weren't many added seasonings, yet it emitted an exceptionally enticing aroma, which quickly spread with the wind.

Huo Yuhao originally just wanted to fill his stomach, but he didn't expect that not long after the aroma wafted out, a light footstep sound came from the woods.

"It smells so good!"

With a crisp sound, a girl peeked out from the woods.

She was dressed in clothes that allowed her to move easily, with Soul Tool hanging from her waist. Her eyes were shining as she stared intently at the roasting fish on the fire, when her stomach growled at an inopportune moment.

"Little brother, are you selling your grilled fish? It smells so good! How did you make it?"

Huo Yuhao was taken aback.

Behind the girl, a neatly dressed, gentle-looking young man followed.

"Xiao Ya, don't scare them." The young man said helplessly, then looked at Huo Yuhao and gave him a friendly smile, "Young man, we are Soul Master passing by. We came here because we smelled the fragrance."

Could you sell us two of these fish?

Huo Yuhao glanced at them, then at the grilled fish.

He did not refuse.

"It's free, it's on me."

The girl's eyes lit up instantly.

"You're so kind! My name is Tang Ya, and this is Bei Bei."

My name is Huo Yuhao.

Without any external interference, Huo Yuhao, just like in the original story, temporarily separated from Tang Ya and the others, shouldered his backpack, gripped the White Tiger Dagger, and turned to head towards the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for his First Soul Ring.

The trees closed in, gradually swallowing his figure.

From deep within the forest, a low, guttural roar could be faintly heard.

Huo Yuhao did not stop.

He knew that from the moment he stepped into this place, there was no turning back.