Old title: "The Child Who Devours Souls"
A humid breeze rolled through the Soul Beast Forest, rippling the leaves high overhead. Perched on a thick branch, a five-hundred-year Datura serpent watched its prey: a rock-armored boar rooting for sweet shoots beneath the canopy.
The serpent's scales shimmered like wet obsidian. Its pupils contracted.
The boar turned, exposing the softer hide along its neck.
The serpent struck.
A crack of motion cut the air as its fangs sank deep, venom pulsing. The boar thrashed, slamming its bulk into boulders, but each second slowed its limbs. Soon, the beast collapsed, breath fading.
The serpent began its descent to feed—
—only for a small shadow to dart across the forest floor.
Chu Tianxiu, now a year older, small-bodied but sharp-eyed, rushed forward with bare feet barely touching the earth. He seized the serpent at its seven-inch weakness, fingers anchoring with practiced precision.
"Hold still—just a moment!" he shouted, voice clear but firm.
A faint dark glow pulsed along his right palm as he positioned it against the serpent's scales.
"Spirit-Draw Hand!"
The air shivered. A quiet hum ran through the forest floor as a current of restrained force sealed the serpent's body. In seconds, the beast convulsed… then fell limp.
Chu Tianxiu released it with a long exhale.
"That worked better than last time."
He flexed his palm. A faint warmth spiraled through his arm as absorbed energy settled into his body, strengthening muscle and bone.
'Good. A real improvement. I might actually survive this forest one day… hopefully.'
He stretched, satisfied—then froze.
Leaves rustled. Someone was watching.
A man stepped from between the trees, worn travel robes brushing against the undergrowth. His gaze swept over the fallen serpent, then the small boy standing calmly beside it.
"Child," the man managed, his voice caught between awe and disbelief, "did you… subdue that serpent alone?"
Chu Tianxiu blinked up at him.
The man had scholarly features and tired eyes. He carried a faint scent of herbs—someone accustomed to study more than battle.
"Yes," Tianxiu replied, tilting his head. "Is that strange?"
"…Very."The man stepped closer, cautious but intrigued. "My name is Yu Xiaogang. And you—how long have you lived in this forest?"
"All my life, I think."
"That technique you used…" Yu Xiaogang knelt beside the serpent, examining the residual suppression on its scales. "It is not a martial soul ability."
"No," Tianxiu answered honestly.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes widened. "Then… you were born able to draw out a soul beast's energy?"
Tianxiu paused, thinking. Revealing too much felt dangerous, even to someone who seemed harmless enough. So he simply said:
"I just know how to use it. It's natural."
Yu Xiaogang drew a long, steadying breath."Then your martial soul must be extraordinary—so powerful it forces your ability to manifest early. Rare… incredibly rare."
He murmured half to himself, half to the trees.
"Remarkable. Genius-level talent. A completely unprecedented case…"
Tianxiu scratched his cheek."Is… that good?"
"Good?" Yu Xiaogang stood abruptly, looking at him with a spark the boy didn't understand. "Child, with this talent, the world will open before you."
Tianxiu only managed a small shrug.
'World opening sounds nice. But I still need to get out of this forest alive…'
Yu Xiaogang hesitated, then softened."Child, would you like to leave here? You shouldn't grow up alone in a place this dangerous. If you come with me, I will help you awaken your martial soul."
Tianxiu looked back toward the deep woods he had survived in for a year—dense, wild, unpredictable.
Then he looked at Yu Xiaogang, who seemed oddly nervous waiting for his answer.
"…Alright," Tianxiu said quietly. "But you'll have to show me the way out."
Yu Xiaogang let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"Of course."
A thin beam of sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting long shadows toward the forest exit.
Tianxiu stepped toward them.