All rights reserved to the respective authors.
"Dialogue": Represented in double quotes for conversations between characters.
'Thoughts': Represented in single quotation marks, indicating the characters' internal reflections.
[Diary]: Represented in square brackets, used for messages intended for the heroines or entries written by Tenshin.
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It took Tenshin two days to reach the Hunting Soul Forest using a carriage from the Douluo Continent.
On the morning of the third day, he entered the forest with the certificate issued by the branch hall of the Spirit Hall.
Since it was his first time entering a soul beast forest, Tenshin didn't venture deep inside immediately. Instead, he began searching for soul beasts on the outskirts.
Holding his spear tightly, he proceeded cautiously.
Swish, swish, swish—
Even though the spear was forged to be his primary weapon, crafted with the best materials and techniques he could obtain, it still lacked the sensation and quality he desired.
There was a reason why most weapon-type soul masters preferred not to use weapons other than their own martial souls.
Shaking off his thoughts, he resumed his search for a soul beast. As time passed, he spotted traces of various creatures.
However, most were ordinary animals. Without soul power, they were no different from non-soul master humans. Beasts without soul power were merely beasts.
It was similar to Blue Silver Grass—countless Blue Silver Grass plants covered the Douluo Continent, but only a rare few contained soul power and could evolve into true soul beasts.
Upon spotting a plant-type soul beast, Tenshin felt no interest in hunting it.
Soon, he encountered a gray-coated monkey. The darker its fur, the older the monkey. Judging by its coat, this one had likely cultivated for around fifty years.
He was only able to determine this because, over the past few months, he had learned a significant portion of what Yu Xiaogang knew about soul beasts—probably even more than Tang San had after six years in the original story.
Tenshin turned his attention back to the grey-coat monkey and slowly approached it.
As he moved closer, he picked up a stone and carefully aimed at a nearby brush close to the monkey.
Even though he had the brush in his sights, Tenshin continued his silent approach.
After all, the closer he was, the more accurate his shot would be.
When he was about ten meters away, he finally stopped.
This was the optimal distance—close enough for accuracy but far enough to avoid alarming the soul beast.
Taking a deep breath, he threw the stone.
The stone sliced through the air, turning into a black streak as it shot toward its target.
The grey-coat monkey, which had been climbing a tree, suddenly heard a rustling sound in the brush beside it.
The moment it registered the noise, it cautiously approached the brush, and then...
"V~~"
Struck by a spear in the shoulder, the grey-coat monkey let out a sharp cry, frantically jumping back about two meters as it tried to stop the bleeding with its hands. Its eyes darted around until they finally landed on Tenshin.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
What greeted it next was another wave of attacks.
Puff puff—
Tenshin's attacks landed precisely on the grey-coat monkey, but none struck a vital spot. The strikes only reached the beast's fur, leaving shallow wounds and slashes.
Even so, after struggling for a while, the grey-coat monkey collapsed to the ground.
Tenshin's first strike had already inflicted a fatal wound!
The spear had penetrated so deeply that the monkey was bleeding profusely. The fact that it had been able to struggle for even a moment was impressive in itself.
Buzz—
A moment later, a white ten-year-quality spirit ring emerged from the body of the fifty-year-old grey-coat monkey.
Tenshin walked toward the corpse.
Looking at the white soul ring floating above the body, his eyes lit up with curiosity.
"So this is a soul ring? It really feels like looting dropped items…"
He admired the sight for a moment but had no intention of absorbing this ten-year soul ring.
He had hunted the grey-coat monkey merely to test whether soul beasts were difficult to deal with.
And from what he had just seen, they weren't.
He hadn't even been struck!
"I will try to probe with my sensory skill," murmured Tenshin to himself. Then, he closed his eyes and began focusing on his ability.
A few minutes later, Tenshin opened his eyes, a strange light flashing in them—a mix of curiosity, disappointment, surprise, and clarity. 'So that's how it is…'
After that, Tenshin summoned his Celestial Book, using it as a diary, and began recording the recent events and his discoveries.
[Today, I finally explored the Hunting Soul Forest. Since this forest is under the control of the Spirit Hall, most of the spirit beasts here are only a few dozen years old. There are a minority of century-old beasts and only around two to four thousand-year-old beasts.]
[To get a general idea of their combat strength—by that, I mean strength, speed, intelligence, etc.—I decided to fight a soul beast that was a few dozen years old. I ended up finding a grey-coat monkey that had cultivated for around fifty years. The battle was quick and surprisingly easy. Despite the grey-coat monkey's natural strength, its lack of intelligence was evident.]
[It relied entirely on instinct to fight and fell easily when I threw a stone at a bush nearby. However, perhaps the ease of victory was due to my first attack catching it off guard. That strike seriously injured it, causing heavy bleeding.]
[After that, my spear attacks only caused superficial wounds and cuts.]
The veteran heroines approved of Tenshin's cautious approach, though they still found it reckless for him to confront a soul beast—even one merely a few decades old—while he remained a soul master without a soul ring and on his own. In contrast, the younger heroines were both inspired and astonished by his battle account, marveling at how effortlessly he secured victory.
[After finishing the battle, I used my sensory ability to examine the soul ring left behind by the grey-coat monkey. Unfortunately, I couldn't discover much. However, what I did find was valuable and helped me verify much of the knowledge I had gathered from books or theories from my past life.]
[In my previous life, many fanfictions and theories speculated on how a soul beast's ability is extracted and engraved onto its soul ring. From what I could perceive, beneath the radiant glow of the soul ring, an energy—whose exact nature I still do not understand—flows in intricate patterns that form symbols.]
[These symbols bear a striking resemblance to the ones used in the matrices of soul tools. I could only recognize one small symbol/pattern, which is similar to the ones present in storage tools. I have a theory about what it represents, but I still can't fully understand its meaning and effects.]
[I am almost certain that this symbol represents "storing" or "keeping." The symbols surrounding it likely define its specifications and restrictions. Since this particular symbol appears multiple times on the ring, I suspect that some of these matrices store the essence of the soul ability, while others preserve the soul beast's energy. And if my theory is correct… resentment is also stored within one of these matrices.]
[I will leave this topic for now. When I grow stronger and develop my sensory ability further, I will investigate again. Additionally, the matrices of this world remind me of various systems from my past life: the Primordial Runes from Fate, the Fūinjutsu from Naruto—particularly the fanfictions that explore and expand upon this concept—and even the principles of programming.]
All the heroines were stunned by this revelation. They had long pondered how soul rings bestowed abilities, yet never anticipated such an answer. Now, their curiosity was ignited like never before.
Tenshin immediately set out to hunt for a suitable soul beast. Before coming here, he had calculated that he could support a soul ring between 500 and approximately 650 years old.
Of course, finding a soul beast of that age that was both compatible and available—while also meeting his criteria and specifications—was a matter of luck.
Two Weeks Later
Over the past two weeks, he had battled several soul beasts, each only a few decades old. These encounters honed his combat skills, providing him with valuable experience. It seemed that fortune had smiled upon Tenshin. At last, he encountered the soul beast he had long sought—a Fire Tiger with just over 600 years of cultivation.
The moment their eyes met, Tenshin knew this was no ordinary creature. Normally, a Fire Tiger around 600 years old would stand at about ten meters tall, but the one before him was a towering colossus, standing at fifteen meters. It exuded an aura of pure devastation.
Its crimson fur gleamed like molten lava, marred by deep black stripes that resembled scars from a battlefield long consumed by fire. Living flames surged along its spine, culminating in a mane and a tail tipped with an inferno. A walking catastrophe, this beast of fire and fury embodied the raw power and relentless force Tenshin had been pursuing.
Tenshin clenched his fists and steadied his breath. Then, upon closer observation, he noticed another inconsistency.
'That fire… if someone didn't pay close attention, they wouldn't perceive it, but at the center of the flames, there's a faint purple hue.'
'It's probably a mutated soul beast. Its fire must have an additional attribute or evolved in a way different from the usual flames of Douluo Dalu. This isn't just ordinary fire—it's even hotter than common flames.'
With that thought, Tenshin began circling the area around the mutant Fire Tiger, searching for the best position to start the battle.
After some moments, he climbed into a tree, concentrating his soul power in his feet and moving silently to a branch above the tiger.
Tenshin made his first move. With a swift thrust of his spear, he managed to wound the mutant Fire Tiger. The beast leaped backward, creating distance between itself and Tenshin, its gaze locked onto him.
Then—silence.
The Fire Tiger's muscles tensed. A deep, rumbling growl escaped its throat, and the ground itself trembled. Its flames flared violently, sending waves of scorching heat into the air.
Then, it roared.
A shockwave erupted toward Tenshin, shattering trees and igniting the earth in an inferno of destruction. He shielded his face as the heat licked at his skin. The sheer power of the beast's cry made his bones vibrate.
'This… is the strength of a centuries-old beast.'
Then, it took a step forward—and wavered slightly.
Tenshin saw it. The slight tremor in the tiger's limbs. The blood. His attack had worked.
Its body was betraying it, yet its golden eyes still burned with hatred. Even with the injury, it refused to kneel.
A warrior's pride.
Tenshin stepped forward from the burning brush, his spear held firmly in both hands.
The tiger's head snapped toward him, its fangs bared in defiance, flames still raging around its body. Even weakened, it remained a monster.
He exhaled, adjusting his stance. "Let's not pretend I could have won fairly—without a surprise attack."
The beast tensed—its muscles coiling for a lunge.
But it was too slow.
With a swift motion of his spear, Tenshin's soul power surged, gathering along his arm and flowing toward the blade. Then, in an instant, he turned and slashed diagonally.
"Soulburst Slash!"
Through months of training and study, he had developed this technique. By compressing his soul power to an extreme degree, he could wield an absolutely domineering energy—a pure burst of raw power.
The world blurred.
A pressured blade of soul power streaked forward like a shooting star tearing through the battlefield.
The Fire Tiger's charge halted mid-motion. A deep crimson line appeared along its chest, and a heartbeat later—its flesh split apart.
Blood erupted, scorching droplets hissing against the burning ground.
But Tenshin wasn't finished.
Pivoting sharply, he adjusted his stance. In a burst of speed, he appeared in front of the mutant Fire Tiger.
His spear became a silver blur—a single, precise thrust aimed directly at the tiger's golden eye.
The Fire Tiger convulsed—then collapsed.
A deafening crash shook the battlefield as its massive body slammed into the earth, sending waves of heat in all directions.
Silence.
Tenshin exhaled slowly, wiping sweat from his brow. The flames around the beast's corpse still flickered—a testament to the power it once held. Then, a yellow soul ring quickly floated out from the mutant Fire Tiger's body.
Tenshin walked to the side of the fallen beast and sat cross-legged in a space free of fire.
As he concentrated with his eyes closed, an extremely small, book-shaped martial spirit appeared out of thin air at his side.
A moment later, as if drawn by an invisible force, the yellow soul ring hovering in the air floated swiftly toward him.