Chapter 112: Soul Hunt and the Haotian Brothers' Beating (Part 1)
This time, Dugu Bo did not venture alone into Sunset Forest to obtain his soul ring, as he did in the original story. Their team had a far more ambitious destination the largest soul beast forest on the Douluo Continent, the Star Dou Forest.
With two near Douluo and two Soul Saints in their party, they could navigate Star Dou Forest confidently, as long as they avoided any 100,000 year old beasts. As for Ye Wen's cultivation, only Ah Yin knew the full truth. The others speculated that his power far exceeded the four ring Soul Ancestor he appeared to be. With the "Tianxing Douluo" identity as his fallback, no one doubted that Ye Wen was hiding even greater strength, especially considering his generosity with rare treasures, such as the spirit grass he had given to Director Lu Feng to evolve his martial soul. Anyone who thought Ye Wen was just a four ring Soul Ancestor was foolish.
"Awen, what type of soul beast do you think I should hunt for my eighth soul ring?" Dugu Bo asked casually.
Their group sat comfortably atop Ye Wen's spatial shield, flying effortlessly through the air. Ye Wen, as usual, kept his soul rings concealed, finding it a rather naive tactic for a soul master to reveal their rings during combat. For assassins or agile type soul masters, displaying soul rings would give away their presence or direction during an escape. During his research, Ye Wen discovered that if he did not fully exert his soul power, he could avoid activating his rings entirely, which allowed him to mask his strength.
This habit was familiar to his companions by now, who accepted it as just another of Ye Wen's quirks. After all, if he was concealing a Title Douluo identity, then hiding his rings was nothing remarkable.
Ye Wen pondered for a moment before responding to Dugu Bo. "An ideal choice would be a draconic soul beast. It would enhance your physical resilience, and draconic soul abilities are powerful enough to match the significance of an eighth ring. A secondary choice would be a serpent type beast with unique skills, like a Medusa. With its petrification skill, you'd gain an advantage equal to your poison abilities."
Dugu Bo nodded in agreement, having come to understand from Ye Wen's teachings that further increasing his poison risked strengthening the toxins within him. While he now had the Fragrant Velvet Immortal's essence to prevent poisoning himself, he preferred not to rely on it unnecessarily. The microscopic analysis Ye Wen had shown him revealed the complexity of his venom, and Dugu Bo had barely scratched the surface in creating an antidote.
Ye Wen then turned to Director Lu Feng. "Director Lu, I suggest a similar approach for your soul beast. Aim for an earth element draconic beast or a serpent with earth aligned abilities."
Director Lu agreed, nodding thoughtfully. He had read The Theory of Essence, and while his first seven rings had not followed it perfectly, a sufficiently high level eighth ring could help compensate. Besides, his martial soul had now evolved from the Taipan Rock Python to the draconic Taipan Dragon Python.
Considering Iron Man, a teacher with the Iron Armored Rhinoceros martial soul, Ye Wen paused to think. As a top tier beast type martial soul, though not the strongest, it boasted formidable defensive capabilities. Its natural talents made it versatile for both offense and defense.
"Teacher Iron Man, do you have any specific requirements for your seventh ring?"
Though the seventh ring always grants the Martial Soul Avatar, its effects vary by the soul ring attached. For example, Dugu Bo's evolution into the Jade Scaled Snake Emperor added extra poison to his avatar. As a teacher at Tianxing Academy, Iron Man was familiar with Ye Wen's research and had already given some thought to the qualities he wanted for his seventh ring.
Ye Wen continued, "You're not planning on specializing solely in one attribute, are you?"
Iron Man hesitated briefly before shaking his head. In the current era, soul master cultivation followed two main paths: the extreme and the balanced. As the name suggests, extreme type soul masters focused intensely on a single trait.
The Haotian Sect's four single attribute clans were prime examples of the extreme approach. Each family's soul master, though typically Soul Douluo level, had a specific attribute strong enough to challenge Title Douluo. However, such power came with severe weaknesses; unless working together, they could be defeated individually.
In contrast, balanced type soul masters possessed a more adaptable skill set, with capabilities in attack, defense, and control. Zhao Wuji was an example, and his achievements demonstrated that balanced cultivation was no less effective than extreme cultivation. Most Title Douluo preferred the balanced path, whereas extreme type training was ideal for competitions.
In the original story, Yu Xiaogang had developed the Shrek Seven Devils' skills in an extreme type fashion, which helped them win the Soul Master Tournament. Yet, as they progressed, these early skills became obsolete, as the limitations of extreme training left them increasingly vulnerable. Only the highest quality martial souls could afford to follow an extreme path to the end.
"Then I suggest you focus on strengthening the essence of your martial soul. Seek out a rhino type soul beast; with luck, you may even find a draconic rhino variant," Ye Wen suggested playfully.
Teacher Iron Man chuckled and scratched his head, his eyes alight with anticipation.
As a Blue Silver Grass soul beast, Ah Yin was in her element in the Star Dou Forest. She activated her natural awareness, providing the team with a detailed map of their surroundings.
They quickly located a suitable target for Iron Man's martial soul, an Iron Armored Rhinoceros.
"A 40,000 year Iron Armored Rhinoceros King perfect for you, Teacher Iron Man," Ye Wen remarked with a smile.
A 40,000 year old soul beast was powerful, but not compared to this team. The Iron Armored Rhinoceros King was about as strong as a mid level Soul Saint. In the end, Dugu Bo's toxins weakened the beast, and Iron Man quickly finished it off.
Thanks to his rigorous physical conditioning, Iron Man absorbed the 40,000 year soul ring with ease.
"Martial Soul Avatar!"
Iron Man summoned his martial soul once more, a broad smile spreading across his face as he felt the power of his seventh ring. The journey for soul masters only grew harder with time, and for those with average talent, each step became a struggle. Before joining Tianxing Academy, Iron Man had thought it would take until his fifties to reach Soul Saint, yet he'd done it in less than two years. He was grateful for his decision to join the academy early.
Back at Tianxing Academy, student enrollment had surged due to various factors. Ye Wen recruited a new batch of teachers, loosening the previous restrictions on gravity based skills. While later recruits faced strict assessments, veteran teachers enjoyed greater leniency.
"Teacher Iron Man, hold off on celebrating. I have something more for you," Ye Wen said, walking over with a slightly bloodstained soul bone.
Iron Man stared in disbelief at the right leg bone in Ye Wen's hand, a silvery gray treasure. In this era, soul bones were known as "Blood River Treasures" the cause of bloody conflicts and even the downfall of entire soul master families. Iron Man had never dared to hope for such a prize, despite the academy's policy that all soul hunt gains belonged to the soul master in need of the ring. Soul bones were too rare and highly coveted, and as a lower level soul master, Iron Man was well aware of the greed they inspired.
"A Are you really giving me this soul bone, Principal?" Iron Man stammered.
Ye Wen nodded. "A person stands by their word. What I promised before, I would never go back on now."
"Hurry and absorb it. Don't drag it out; it's just a soul bone, nothing to fuss about," Dugu Bo said, growing impatient. Though he had no soul bone himself, he didn't envy Iron Man in the least. A ten thousand year old soul bone provided an additional ability and physical enhancement, but that meant little to Dugu Bo, whose power lay in his poisons rather than physical combat. Besides, he had plenty of self created abilities already.
Director Lu Feng also stepped forward, adding, "Take it and absorb it, Teacher Iron Man. We're not interested in taking your soul bone, but it's best to keep this matter to yourself. Not every soul master is as principled about soul bones as we are. You know why they're called 'Blood River Treasures.'"
Reassured by Ye Wen's promise and his companions' attitudes, Iron Man finally relaxed and began nodding vigorously. He silently vowed to keep the soul bone a secret, knowing that revealing its existence would lead to certain death once he left the academy grounds.
Their soul hunt continued smoothly, with Director Lu Feng successfully obtaining an 85,000 year old soul ring from an Earth Viper King. Fortunately, their team's strength made the battle manageable; without their support, Director Lu Feng would have struggled. Despite lacking the "dragon" designation, the Earth Viper King was indeed a draconic type beast, and from this ring, Director Lu Feng acquired a powerful earth element ability.
The closer a soul beast was to the 100,000 year threshold, the greater the chance of it producing a soul bone, and the Earth Viper King provided Director Lu Feng with a torso bone. He was overjoyed; as an earth type beast, the bone would grant a significant defense boost, perfectly suited to enhance his durability.
Dugu Bo was the last to acquire his ring, which proved the most difficult to find. They spent ten days searching the Star Dou Forest's mixed region for a suitable soul beast before finding it.
Ye Wen watched Dugu Bo absorb his ring with a bemused expression. "Of all things, it had to be a Medusa. That old poison master truly has a fate entwined with his eighth ring Medusa."
Unsurprisingly, the Medusa yielded a vibrant green soul bone for Dugu Bo as well.
"Go on, absorb it, Old Poison. Your luck is remarkable it's a head soul bone," Ye Wen remarked, amazed. He was supposedly the "Son of the World," yet he hadn't received such fortuitous rewards early on. During this hunt alone, they had obtained three soul bones.
Dugu Bo laughed joyfully, marveling at his luck in being part of such a fortunate team, with each soul beast dropping a soul bone. Having achieved their goals, with Ye Wen and Ah Yin having no personal need for soul rings, they prepared for the journey home.
However, Ye Wen didn't leave empty handed. Venturing deeper into the Star Dou Forest Douluo Planet's lifeforce core he found no immortal herbs but managed to gather several other rare plants, which he planned to transplant into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Still, Ye Wen couldn't help but muse at Silver Dragon King's hiding spot. She had chosen the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Forest, one of the most obvious places. She could have hidden in the depths of the ocean or some remote nook, but instead chose the heart of Douluo's life essence, a location sure to attract divine attention. Perhaps she was banking on the gods overlooking her in the obvious place, or the gods might not prioritize her capture. Although the Silver Dragon King was a God King, the other God Kings were unlikely to be deceived for long.
Half a year passed.
The semi isolation of the Haotian Sect finally came to an end, but rumors about the sect spread across the continent, with many dismissing it as a cowardly "turtle sect," only capable of bullying the weak. People whispered that the sect hadn't even avenged its young masters' defeat.
After six months of recovery, the Haotian brothers, Tang Xiao and Tang Hao, set out on a journey to reclaim their names. The smaller sects suffered greatly, with many of their members left seriously injured by the brothers' brutal challenges.
"Hah, a mere Soul Saint from Tianhe Sect dares slander Haotian Sect? You don't know your place. Consider this a warning. If you defame us again, your entire sect will be wiped out," Tang Hao sneered.
Tang Hao thought nothing of pummeling Soul Saints while being a Soul Douluo himself; he intended to send a clear message. Even if Haotian Sect didn't dare confront Tianxing Academy, these lowly sects needed to know their place.
"It's time to go, Hao," Tang Xiao said coldly. The constant rumors had transformed him from a kind older brother into a man with a steely edge.
Tang Hao grinned, understanding his brother's intent. "What do you suggest, then, Brother?"
"We're going to challenge the other top tier sects. Well, only Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Protector Douluo is close to death. Attacking them would only taint Haotian Sect's reputation."
Tang Hao's eyes glinted with excitement. The influence of the Slaughter City had lessened, but he still seemed eager for chaos. "Sounds good! So we're starting with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect?"
"Exactly," Tang Xiao replied with a nod. The two brothers had set their course, prepared to reestablish Haotian Sect's reputation among the upper ranks.
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