│3rd Person POV │
[Douluo Continent, Heavenly Soul Empire, Sunset Forest…]
Ye Chen looked at the field of Golden Sunflowers with equal parts appreciation and apprehension now.
"Alright, Xiao Chen. Can you tell me the method to determine the cultivation age of Golden Sunflowers?"
Throughout the journey, Ye Xuan would point to all types of Soul Beasts and ask his son to identify them, their age, and their other characteristics.
Ye Chen was successful in identifying most Soul Beasts and their cultivation age, having studied quite a number of books on Soul Beasts. For those he couldn't identify or did so incorrectly, Ye Xuan would give a proper explanation about those.
This was done so that Ye Chen could gain experience in this sort of thing, so that he wouldn't make the common mistake of misidentifying a Soul Beast and/or its age, leading to a potentially dangerous situation.
As the saying goes, He Who Sweats More In Training Bleeds Less In Battle.
"The cultivation age of Golden Sunflowers can be determined by the height of its stem. 1 cm of height equals 1 Year of Cultivation Age." Ye Chen answered.
"That's right. That means we need Golden Sunflowers which have stems of about 4.3 meters long. Xiao Chen, you stay here with Elder Yu while I go fetch a suitable one for your First Soul Ring. Stay put and observe carefully, alright?"
Ye Chen nodded seriously.
Ye Xuan then turned toward the Soul Douluo standing a few steps behind. "Elder Yu, I'll leave Xiao Chen in your care."
"Mm." Elder Yu gave a short nod, his hands behind his back, gaze sweeping over the field below with practiced calm.
Without another word, Ye Xuan stepped forward and descended the slope, his figure quickly approaching the tall golden blooms.
Ye Chen stood beside Elder Yu in silence, his gaze fixed on the gently swaying field of golden blooms.
"Golden Sunflowers are plant-type Soul Beasts," Elder Yu began, his voice low, "Ordinarily, low-age plant-type Soul Beasts are seen as weaker than other types. They're rooted in place, after all, immobile. But that doesn't make them any less dangerous."
He paused a moment before continuing.
"Most plant-type Soul Beasts live in clusters, rarely alone. That makes hunting them much more difficult. You can't simply isolate your target, you have to deal with the entire group."
Ye Chen nodded, absorbing every word like a sponge.
"Golden Sunflowers in particular possess exceptional sensory perception," Elder Yu added. "And their method of attack is deceptively fast and powerful. You'll see for yourself shortly."
Just then, a faint ripple of Soul Power pulsed through the valley as Ye Xuan stepped within a hundred meters of the nearest Golden Sunflower.
A moment later, one of the sunflowers in the heart of the field shuddered. Then another. The tremors spread outward like ripples on still water. In mere seconds, the entire field began to stir—though there was no wind, the golden stalks bent and swayed as if alive.
Then it happened.
All at once, the sunflowers twisted in unison, their broad faces turning toward Ye Xuan like a host of sentient eyes. A golden aura began to shimmer around the petals, growing brighter until, in a flash, a volley of petals was unleashed toward Ye Xuan.
Hundreds, no, thousands of razor-sharp golden petals shot toward Ye Xuan like a storm of darts.
In response, Ye Xuan raised both arms, and in a burst of golden light, his Martial Soul manifested: Sacred Sun Gauntlets.
A pair of gleaming gauntlets appeared on his hands, forged of radiant gold and etched with flowing red patterns.
"Third Soul Skill: Sacred Flame Shockwave!"
He bellowed, firmly planting his feet on the ground before punching out with his right hand into the air.
Boom—!
A wave of blazing golden flame erupted from his gauntlet, sweeping forward in a wide arc. The petals that entered the wave were instantly incinerated, burned to ash before they even got close.
Ye Chen stared, wide-eyed, as the golden tide of petals vanished under the brilliance of his father's Soul Skill. The shockwave even reached the front line of flowers, scorching the stalks, causing them to shrivel up.
He couldn't help but feel a tingle of awe run down his spine.
This was the first time he was seeing a Soul Master in action.
The sheer presence his father exuded at the moment left a deep impression on him. The Novels, Manga, or Anime he had seen in his last life couldn't compare to seeing such a sight firsthand.
Ye Chen clenched his fists and thought to himself, 'Soon enough, I will also be capable of doing that.'
Meanwhile, the shower of petals stopped as the Golden Sunflowers had exhausted all their petals. However, the calm was momentary as new petals began to grow, golden lights pulsing around the thick stems of the sunflowers before shifting towards the disks.
Ye Chen looked at his father and saw a dome-shaped golden shield of flame around Ye Xuan. He dashed into the field of Golden Sunflowers before their new petals finished growing and launched the second wave of attack.
Within moments, Ye Xuan reached his target, gripping the stem of one Golden Sunflower with a stem of about 4.1 meters in height. He exerted force and effortlessly uprooted the flower along with all of its roots. Then he turned and rushed toward their direction.
Plant-type Soul Beasts have basically the same characteristics as plants. Simply being uprooted won't result in their death in the short term.
"Your luck is quite good, Ye Chen," Elder Yu commented softly, his eyes narrowed.
Behind Ye Xuan, the other Golden Sunflowers were finally ready to launch the second wave of petals.
At this moment, Elder Yu finally made a move, releasing a burst of Soul Douluo-level pressure in a controlled manner. Even while standing right next to him, Ye Chen didn't feel anything.
However, the same couldn't be said about the field of Golden Sunflowers. Instead of launching their petals to attack, every Golden Sunflower closed its petals to protect the disk of seeds at the center while also shrinking its stem as much as possible to appear small, in hopes of avoiding the danger represented by the pressure exuded by Elder Yu.
"Quickly, Xiao Chen, kill it and absorb its Soul Ring."
Ye Xuan threw the Golden Sunflower near his son and instructed it. He wasn't the least bit worried about the Soul Beast trying to make a last stand. A 10 or 100-Years-Old plant-type Soul Beast gets severely weakened after being uprooted, leaving them without any strength to attack.
Ye Chen summoned his second Martial Soul, Poison Spirit Scythe, and swung it, severing the roots of the Golden Sunflower. For low-age plant-type Soul Beast, chopping their roots was the most effective method to end their life.
However, after chopping the roots off, Ye Chen waited for a few moments for the Soul Ring to appear, but the Soul Ring didn't appear.
Watching his son's puzzled expression, Ye Xuan said, "Xiao Chen, take a closer look at the petals. This Golden Sunflower is different from others of its type."
Ye Chen followed his father's instructions and looked closely at the petals. He immediately saw what made this Golden Sunflower different from others. There were thin red colored vein-like patterns on its petals, which ordinary Golden Sunflowers didn't have.
He looked at his father, hoping for an explanation.
"This Golden Sunflower possesses the bloodline of the King of its type. This bloodline is dormant now, and it would've awakened only after this Golden Sunflower became 10,000 Years Old. Because of possessing the bloodline of a King, this Golden Sunflower's vitality is much higher than other normal Golden Sunflowers. That's why, in addition to severing its roots, you also need to chop off its stem and bisect its disc into two."
Ye Chen followed his father's instructions quickly, succeeding in ending the life of the Golden Sunflower. A Yellow Soul Ring appeared above the now dead plant-type Soul Beast.
"Well done, Xiao Chen. Now, meditate for a moment to adjust your condition and then absorb the Soul Ring. Be Careful, as this Golden Sunflower had the bloodline of a king, it won't be easy to absorb the Soul Ring."
Ye Chen nodded seriously, accepting his father's advice. He sat down and meditated for a few moments before he started the process of absorbing the Soul Ring.
Some time passed as Ye Chen was absorbing the Soul Ring. As Plant-Type Soul Beasts typically develop intelligence after reaching Ten-Thousand-Years-Old, just centuries old Plant-Type Soul Beasts were incapable of leaving behind any lingering resentment or thoughts in their Soul Rings. Even if the Soul Beast in question happened to possess the bloodline of a King.
Ye Chen just had to withstand the pressure brought by the energy of the Soul Ring, which was of higher quality than normal Hundred-Years-Old Soul Rings. However, being a Twin Martial Soul Master with two top-tier Martial Souls, Ye Chen's body was capable of withstanding this pressure.
As such, within an hour, Ye Chen completed the process of gaining his First Soul Ring, becoming a 13th Rank Soul Master. He gained two levels from the Soul Ring and one level from the Diary System's Reward that he received on the first day.
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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter and not publishing for the last week or so.
My paternal grandfather died recently, and it's been hard to focus on writing. Furthermore, I need to go back to my home village on the 18th, so I won't be able to write anything for the following week.
Therefore, I will try my hardest to publish one chapter daily for the next 5-6 days.
Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter and it would be much appreciated if your share your thoughts about the fic so far.
If you guys see any mistakes, please don't hesitate to point them out.
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As of now, this is how far along each story is.
First Tier:-Five Advanced Chapters for the following stories:
>>One Piece: As Portgas D. Ace.
>>One Piece: Copying The Phoenix Fruit At The Beginning.
>>DxD | A Devil with Three Essences.
>>Chaos' Chaotic Snippets.
>>Douluo Dalu (Soul Land): Diary System in Unrivaled Tang Sect.
Second Tier:- Seven Advanced Chapters for the following stories:
>>One Piece: As Portgas D. Ace.
>>DxD | A Devil with Three Essences.
>>Chaos' Chaotic Snippet.
>>Douluo Dalu (Soul Land): Diary System in Unrivaled Tang Sect.
So this is how it is. If you are joining my Patreon for my One Piece TL fic, don't purchase the Second Tier as I haven't yet posted any chapters for that fic in this Tier yet.
Also, while your support would be appreciated, don't feel pressured to join. I'll upload stuff outside it and not keeping it behind a paywall forever.
Anyway, Good day. See ya guys later.