bookbashuk Chapter 4 The Royal Hunting Grounds
Chapter 4 The Royal Hunting Grounds
Chapter 4 The Royal Hunting Grounds
Early the next morning, they were led by several old men from the Royal Soul Master Academy to the Royal Soul Beast Hunting Grounds to hunt for soul rings.
Whether it's the royal family of the Heaven Dou Empire or the various sects of the empire, they all have their own specially maintained areas for breeding soul beasts, which are provided for their direct descendants or those who have made contributions to hunt and obtain soul rings.
Of course, the soul beasts in these man-made soul beast hunting grounds are basically captured from outside; in terms of level, the highest level is only about 10,000 years old, and the legendary 100,000-year soul beasts are out of the question.
"Roar!"
Upon entering the Soul Beast Hunting Grounds, a series of deep roars from beasts reached Zhong Li's ears. Zhong Li couldn't help but frown slightly.
Having read "Douluo Continent," he naturally knew that the spirit beasts in this world also possessed intelligence and emotions. He could also discern the sorrow and anger contained within those beast roars.
He couldn't help but think of his world, his people; the so-called immortals of Liyue were actually various immortal beasts, and in a sense, they were similar to the soul beasts on Douluo Continent. And he, the Rock King Emperor, was not only an emperor worshipped by humans, but also the master of all immortals; all the immortal beasts on the land of Liyue were considered his subjects.
In this world, humans and spirit beasts are sworn enemies. He could sense the deep-seated hatred that the spirit beasts imprisoned here, awaiting death, harbored for humans.
Zhongli didn't blame the humans of this world. But in his heart, a chill had begun to creep in towards the "god" who set the rules of this world.
The rules of this world force humans and spirit beasts to kill each other; humans must hunt spirit beasts and acquire spirit rings to improve and become stronger. Otherwise, they will never be able to break through their bottlenecks. If spirit beasts were to disappear one day, the profession of spirit master would also disappear—it's that extreme.
In Zhong Li's view, the soul beasts in this world are like a cursed species of immortality; their lifespans are as long as the pure-blooded immortal beasts of Liyue, but they lack the immense power of immortal beasts. The speed at which a soul beast's power grows is astonishingly slow; after cultivating for hundreds or thousands of years, they can only possess strength equivalent to a few dozen levels of a soul master.
Or, to put it another way, humans only need a short period of cultivation to rival the power accumulated by soul beasts over countless years. Keep in mind, even the Rock King Emperor's lifetime was shorter than that of some soul beasts in this world. And what's even more terrifying is that the birth of a human Title Douluo requires, at the very least, the lives of nine soul beasts as a price.
This world is twisted. Sooner or later, the spirit beast race will face extinction. And can the human world withstand their counterattack on the brink of extinction?
Along the way, an elderly royal attendant explained various aspects of soul beasts to the young princes and princesses. He covered everything from the types of soul beasts, their lifespans and attributes, to what kinds of soul rings a soul master could absorb.
"For Soul Masters and Quasi-Soul Masters like you, who are at the bottleneck of Level 10, the limit is to fuse with Soul Rings with an age between four hundred and six hundred years. Your physical development is relatively good, and your Martial Soul is also very powerful, so challenging Soul Rings with an age slightly higher than six hundred years is also something you can consider."
The old man explained with a kind smile on his face.
Zhong Li nodded inwardly. This royal tutor's explanation was actually far more scientific and reasonable than the teachings given to "Young Master Tang" by the master in the original *Douluo Continent*. That master had even claimed to have measured the upper limit of spirit rings a spirit master could withstand at each stage, even specifying the single digit of the year.
I mean, is it possible that, from a generally rational perspective, each individual Soul Master differs in terms of their physical endurance and the strength of their Martial Soul?
"Your martial souls are all weapon martial souls; when choosing spirit rings, you also need to consider the various characteristics of your martial souls. For example, A-Ying's martial soul has the characteristics of sharpness, cutting, and strength, as well as the elemental attribute of lightning; while A-Li's martial soul has characteristics that are more focused on armor penetration, shield breaking, and counterattack, and the elemental attributes are also different."
The old man didn't understand Zhongli's "Divine Martial Soul" either, so he naturally wouldn't speak carelessly. For the sake of academic rigor, a fundamental principle is to admit what you know and what you don't know.
Of course, they didn't know that Shadow actually possessed another martial soul.
"Ah Ying, in my opinion, this Lightning Silver Wolf would be more suitable for you. It's around five hundred years old; if you'd like to give it a try, I'll help you subdue it."
The old man pointed to a wolfhound with shiny silver fur not far away, which was staring at them warily, and said with a smile.
Ying thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.
The group traveled a while longer and then heard a deep roar. This time, the old man's expression became slightly more serious.
"This kind of spirit beast is called the Blue Lightning Thunder Dragon, and there are only two of them in the entire Royal Forest. You should have heard of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan; this spirit beast and their spirit, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, are closely related. Don't be fooled by its age of only about five hundred years, similar to the silver wolf we just saw; you probably can't absorb its spirit ring yet. Back then, three Spirit Masters sacrificed themselves to capture this hundred-year-old spirit beast."
Dragon-type spirit beasts are extremely powerful on this continent, just like on the Teyvat continent.
Generally speaking, a Soul Master's strength is sufficient to handle a thousand-year-old Soul Beast on their own. However, to subdue this Blue Lightning Dragon, three Soul Masters were sacrificed, demonstrating its ferocity. Naturally, the Soul Rings of such a beast are much more difficult to absorb than those of other Soul Beasts of the same age.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, Ying's figure shot out like an arrow, and the old man's expression changed drastically.
"Ah Ying!"
"Sizzle!"
"roar!"
Before the old man's incredulous gaze, a purple blade flashed; silvery-purple blood splattered, mixed with shattered dragon scales and the angry roar of a wounded soul beast!
"boom!"
The old man, who arrived just in time, caught the lightning ball spewed by the injured soul beast with one hand. However, the old man's back was already covered in cold sweat.
This child, without saying a word, just rushed out.
Eight spirit rings pulsed around the old man's body, and the other two royal experts who accompanied him also joined the attack, one with a seven-ring spirit ring and the other with an eight-ring spirit ring, surrounding the hundred-year-old spirit beast. A look of despair flashed in the Thunder Dragon's silver-purple eyes.
"You don't need to do it. Let me handle it."
Suddenly, Ying spoke, her voice cold and clear. She carried the naginata, much taller than herself, on her back as she walked step by step towards the powerful, hundred-year-old soul beast.
The three royal experts hesitated for a moment, not immediately taking action to completely subdue the soul beast and render it incapable of fighting. Normally, for the princess's safety, capturing the soul beast immediately would have been their duty. However, at this moment, they felt an unwillingness to disobey the princess's orders.
Even though she was just a little girl, for a fleeting moment, a sense of awe arose in their hearts.
Under their tense gazes, the young princess began to fight and battle with the powerful blue lightning dragon. If the situation became even slightly amiss, they would immediately intervene to end this unfair fight.
However, they didn't have a chance to participate in the battle. They merely witnessed a battle they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
"roar"
The Blue Lightning Dragon's body slowly collapsed. Its surface was covered in wounds left by the naginata. However, in the dragon's silver-purple eyes, there was no longer the resentment it had shown before; instead, there was a sense of admiration and relief.
Ying stood silently before the corpse of the Blue Lightning Dragon, sword in hand. Then, she sat down cross-legged and began to absorb and fuse the yellow hundred-year soul ring produced by the Blue Lightning Dragon.
(End of this chapter)