...
"How many?!"
"How much did you say?!"
On the outskirts of the Starry Sky Forest, in a supply town.
As night deepens, this small town, built on the site of the most famous gathering place for spirit beasts on the continent, is at its most bustling.
In a corner of a restaurant called "Hunter's House," a greasy square table was piled with empty plates half a meter high.
Sitting behind the plate was a boy who looked no more than six or seven years old. He had a rare head of silver hair, but his clothes were very shabby, typical of commoners in coarse linen, with bits of grass stuck to them that couldn't be washed off.
"Three gold soul coins?!"
Xuan Hao's voice rose several octaves, his youthful voice tinged with disbelief, "I only ate one meal, and you want three gold soul coins from me? This whole meal is worth at most thirty copper soul coins!"
What does three gold soul coins mean?
For those young masters born into wealthy families, it might just be the spare change they toss to a beggar on the street, or a tip they casually give to a beautiful maid.
But for Xuan Hao, this was a huge sum of money.
He was a time traveler and an orphan.
A few days ago, at the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony in Lanyun Village, he stood in the center of the awakening formation full of expectations, thinking that with his superhuman strength since childhood, he would surely awaken a top-level Beast Martial Soul, and from then on, he would soar to the sky, punching the Martial Soul Hall and kicking the two great empires.
And what was the result?
The Spirit Hall deacon in charge of the awakening told him that the awakening had failed.
They had no martial spirit, no soul power, and not even a sickle or a hoe.
At that moment, Xuanhao felt as if the whole world had turned gray.
In the Douluo Continent, where strength reigns supreme, not having a martial spirit means being a mere ant for life, someone even someone like Yu Xiaogang could easily crush.
However, fate, that bitch, slapped him hard again before he could even process this despair, and then shoved a blood-stained candy into his mouth.
That night, Lanyun Village was attacked by wolf bandits.
They were a pack of half-human, half-wolf beasts, utterly inhuman, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.
Xuanhao only remembered that the flames were soaring into the sky and the cries were heart-wrenching.
He was pinned to the ground by a strong wolf bandit, whose foul-smelling mouth was only centimeters away from his throat.
In that instant, extreme fear and anger broke through some kind of shackles.
He awakened.
Golden Dragon and Silver Dragon, ultimate power and ultimate elements, twin martial souls!
Xuanhao didn't have a clear memory of what happened after that.
He lost his mind under the impact of that violent force.
When he woke up again, it was already the next morning.
What came into view was the corpses of wolf bandits scattered all over the ground.
That could no longer be called a corpse; it was just pieces of flesh.
None of the bodies were intact; they looked as if they had been torn apart by some terrifying beast, and blood stained half the village's land.
Less than half of the villagers of Lanyun Village remain.
The survivors no longer looked at him as the mischievous "little tyrant" they once knew, but as if he were a monster, filled with deep fear and alienation.
Xuan Hao knew he couldn't stay any longer.
After helping everyone bury their deceased relatives and friends, he chose to leave.
Before leaving, he found thirteen gold soul coins on the corpses of those wolf bandits, which can be considered as the first kill and equipment drop.
His village was not far from the Star Dou Great Forest, so he thought he would come here to try his luck.
He knew nothing about martial spirit cultivation, didn't know how many years of spirit rings he could absorb, and didn't know how to determine the lifespan of a spirit beast.
Fortunately, there was a small town on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. He spent one gold soul coin to buy a soul beast atlas, which introduced some common soul beasts on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, as well as methods for determining their age.
It was blurry, and the illustrations were abstract. He even suspected that it was a hoax, but it was the most legitimate book he had bought after comparing prices from several vendors.
Now, this meal will cost him three gold soul coins?
"Kid, look carefully."
Seeing Xuan Hao's intense reaction, the waiter's fake smile vanished completely, replaced by a look of disdain and impatience.
"This is Conno Town, a vital passage in and out of the Star Dou Great Forest! All food supplies need to be transported by hired Soul Masters, which naturally increases costs. This price is clearly stated!"
The waiter looked Xuan Hao up and down, his contempt undisguised: "You're dressed like a beggar. Are you trying to dine and dash?
If you don't have money, don't come in and act like a big shot!"
"Pay up and get out of here! Otherwise, don't blame me for stripping you naked and throwing you out to feed the dogs!"
"Who are you calling a beggar?!"
Xuan Hao's eyes narrowed, and an indescribable terrifying aura suddenly erupted from his body!
In an instant, the air in the entire first-floor lobby seemed to become viscous, and the temperature plummeted, only to become unbearably hot and dry in the next second.
Xuan Hao's originally smooth, silver-white short hair was visibly dyed with a dazzling golden color from the roots!
His originally sky-blue eyes instantly transformed into lava-like crimson-gold vertical pupils, filled with an aura of tyranny, majesty, and destruction.
With a soft sound of tearing fabric, fine, hexagonal golden dragon scales faintly emerged from beneath the skin of Xuan Hao's exposed neck and the back of his hands.
Each scale shimmered with a cold, metallic luster, and there seemed to be flowing light moving among them.
Although no spirit rings were displayed, the pure, deep-seated pressure from his bloodline spread out as if it were a tangible force.
"What...what is this?!"
The diners who had been watching the spectacle around them changed their expressions drastically, especially those with beast spirits, who even felt their spirits trembling.
"What...what are you going to do...this is..." The waiter stammered, trying to back away.
"Who are you calling a beggar?!"
Xuan Hao slammed his hand on the solid wood round table in front of him.
This table is made of the finest ironwood, incredibly sturdy, and even an ordinary Great Soul Master might not be able to easily destroy it.
But under Xuan Hao's palm strike, the heavy tabletop crumbled instantly, as if it were made of tofu, turning into countless wood chips that flew everywhere!
"Did I say I wouldn't pay?!"
...
On the second floor, in the most luxurious private room.
The soundproofing here is excellent; you shouldn't be able to hear anything coming from downstairs.
A woman dressed in a magnificent purple robe was elegantly holding a teacup.
Her appearance was stunning, and her noble demeanor was so striking that one dared not look directly at her.
Time seemed to have been exceptionally kind to her, leaving no trace on her face, but instead giving her a unique charm of a mature woman.
Opposite her sat a girl of similarly charming appearance, about eight or nine years old, with a pair of fox-like eyes that exuded a natural allure.
It was Bibi Dong, the Pope of the Spirit Hall, and her disciple, Hu Liena.
"Teacher…" Hu Liena's face paled slightly, and a hint of fear appeared in her eyes.
"What is this aura?
My martial spirit… my martial spirit is afraid."
Bibi Dong put down her teacup, her gaze seemingly piercing through the floor, looking directly downstairs.
"Dragon's might, and not just any ordinary sub-dragon, but the aura of a true, high-ranking dragon with extremely high bloodlines."
"Dragons?"
Hu Liena exclaimed in surprise.
"Could they be from the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family?"
"No, although the aura of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex is domineering, it doesn't have this kind of pure suppressive power."
Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes slightly, and her powerful mental energy instantly enveloped the entire restaurant.
"What's even more interesting is that the little guy emitting this aura, although his soul power is overflowing to the edge of overflow, doesn't even have a single soul ring."
"No spirit rings?"
Hu Liena was even more shocked.
"A spirit master who hasn't acquired spirit rings can suppress my demon fox with just his spirit aura?"
"It's not just you, even my Death Spider King is restless." Bibi Dong frowned slightly.
"This is definitely the king among dragon-type martial souls."