Black Wolf Soul Hunting Team
After finding a seat in the hall, Su Tianyu called out to the waiter attending to the guests.
"Waiter, bring me your restaurant's signature dishes and some fruit wine."
"Coming right up, sir. Please wait a moment."
The waiter, who was not far away, heard Su Tianyu order the signature dishes. He quickly finished taking another table's order, hurried over to write down Su Tianyu's, then headed toward the kitchen with a beaming smile to have the dishes prepared.
Before long, the waiter brought out several signature dishes and some fruit wine.
"Sir, our signature dishes are famous throughout Star Dou Town for being delicious. Please enjoy them. If you'd like to order anything else, just let me know and I'll write it down. I won't disturb your meal any further." With that, the waiter respectfully withdrew.
Looking at the plates of food on the table, Su Tianyu picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. To his surprise, it had a satisfying chew and a rich beef flavor. His appetite whetted, he ate while listening to the guests chatting in the hall.
As a newcomer, he expected to learn quite a bit about the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest in this place full of food and fine wine.
At that moment, three people not far from Su Tianyu were speaking in hushed voices. A young man with yellow hair was the first to speak. "Our Black Wolf Team lost a teammate the last time we helped a noble get a Soul Ring. Not only did we get no compensation, but those noble Soul Masters humiliated us too. Damn them.
"That makes it even harder for commoner Soul Masters like us, who live by hunting Soul Beasts, to get paid. Those noble Soul Masters don't even want to part with a mere few hundred Gold Soul Coins. They've gone too far!"
A middle-aged man who appeared to be their leader spoke in a hoarse voice. "Who told us to take that Soul Hunting assignment? We knew the other party had their family's Soul Masters with them, yet every one of us thought the hunt would be safe. Of course we got cheated."
"See? We got cheated this time, and it cost a teammate his life. When those noble Soul Masters encounter a powerful Soul Beast, commoner Soul Masters like us are just tools they use to hold it back."
A white-haired old man of about sixty sat beside them and said indignantly, "When I was six, I was lucky enough to awaken with level one Soul Power. I thought becoming a Soul Master would give me plenty to eat and wear, but the nobles oppressed me at the academy. I thought things would get better once I graduated.
"Unfortunately, I was too naive. On the Douluo Continent, nobles and sects still rule the land. As for Spirit Hall, it's not a place Soul Masters with low-quality Martial Souls like us can join.
"In the blink of an eye, I've grown old and frail. All I want is to earn a few Gold Soul Coins to support myself for the rest of my life, but I never expected the nobles would refuse to pay us even for hunting Soul Beasts. It's too hard for commoner Soul Masters like us to get ahead."
Su Tianyu listened silently to their conversation, inwardly astonished. He had not expected commoner Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent to have such a hard time even surviving.
Commoner Soul Masters helped noble Soul Masters hunt Soul Beasts in the Soul Beast Forest, where danger lurked at every turn. They might even have to pay with their lives to capture a Soul Beast, yet once the noble Soul Masters had absorbed the Soul Ring, they brushed off their backsides and walked away, unwilling even to pay a few Gold Soul Coins. How could anyone not be furious? How could they not want to kill them?
Even so, commoner Soul Masters could not easily fight back. At the very first hurdle, the quality of their Martial Souls kept them from matching the noble Soul Masters. They did not even have the basic optimal Soul Ring configuration, so how could they defeat noble Soul Masters who did?
That alone crushed countless commoner Soul Masters. For them to close the gap with noble Soul Masters would be harder than ascending to heaven.
Unless their Martial Souls mutated into high-quality ones and their Innate Soul Power reached level four or above, they would forever be exploited and oppressed, with no chance of getting ahead.
Although Su Tianyu was also a commoner Soul Master, he had never considered standing up for the others. He knew the first bird to stick its head out got shot.
Besides, Su Tianyu had not taken so much as a needle or a thread from the commoner Soul Masters, so why should he stand up for them against the nobles or the sects? As long as they did not come looking for trouble with him, that was enough.
Although Spirit Hall had helped him awaken his Martial Soul, its upper ranks were divided. Bibi Dong controlled the Elder Hall and Pope Hall, ruling with an iron fist and brooking no equal. How could Su Tianyu dare join Spirit Hall? Wouldn't that be like carrying a lantern into a latrine to look for shit to eat? On top of that, Bibi Dong was a love-brained fool, madly infatuated with Yu Xiaogang. He could not get away from her fast enough.
As for the Worship Hall's worshippers and Qian Daoliu, they were Soul Masters who cared nothing for outside affairs and knew only how to cultivate their Soul Power diligently and raise their levels. Unless Spirit Hall faced a life-or-death crisis, getting them to take even one step outside the Worship Hall was impossible. No matter how fiercely people outside fought to the death, it would not shake their determination to cultivate their Soul Power.
After giving it careful thought, Su Tianyu decided to join the three people's Soul Hunting Team and broaden his experience. Following them and training for a year or two would give him a chance to see the many faces of life on the Douluo Continent and the dangers it held.
So Su Tianyu rose and walked straight toward their table with steady steps.
Su Tianyu's arrival interrupted the three before they could continue their conversation. They looked up to find a youth sitting beside their table, though they had not noticed when he sat down. Their expressions froze for a moment, and they stared fixedly at the youth who had suddenly appeared, wondering what business he had with them.
The black-haired middle-aged man who led the three frowned slightly. Looking at the youth who had suddenly sat down, he asked cautiously, "Young friend, what business do you have with our Black Wolf Soul Hunting Team?"
Seeing the tension on their faces, Su Tianyu gave them a sunny smile and said warmly and sincerely, "Brothers, I just heard that your team is short a person. I was wondering if I could join you?"
"I'm a commoner Soul Master too. I just graduated from an intermediate Soul Master Academy, and I haven't received an invitation from any advanced Soul Master Academy yet. So I came to the Star Dou Great Forest to train, planning to apply to an advanced Soul Master Academy once my strength improves. I hope you brothers won't look down on me for being weak."
Hearing this, the yellow-haired youth sized up Su Tianyu's clothes. In his white robes and with his striking looks, he seemed every bit a noble Soul Master. The youth looked at him with suspicion and said warily,
"Kid, judging by your looks and clothes, you're obviously a noble Soul Master. Your skin is even fairer than the nobles I've seen. How are you anything like a commoner Soul Master?
"Have you come to make fun of us? The nobles might have just withheld our pay, but that doesn't mean anyone can push us around as they please."
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