Douluo: I am the True Master

"Boss, I…" Xiao Lie hesitated, his voice trailing off.

Ye Wen, now more handsome than ever after a year of growth, gave him an indifferent glance and said:

"Drop the act. There's no feast in this world that doesn't end. I've already written everything you need to know in that little booklet. As long as you follow it step by step, reaching the rank of Soul Ancestor is within your grasp.

As for your father's main wife, there's no need to worry about her. Her family's noble status isn't even as high as your father's, and she herself is just a mediocre soul master with a white ring. 

If your father hasn't gone blind, even if you can't inherit the title, he'll never let that venomous woman harm you. On the contrary, if your older brother unfortunately fails on the path of soul master cultivation, you're the most likely candidate to inherit the title. After all, your talent surpasses your father's by a wide margin.

In this world of Douluo, soul master cultivation is everything."

Tears welled up in Xiao Lie's eyes. Aside from his mother, he never expected Ye Wen to care so much about him—let alone investigate his enemies so thoroughly.

"Thank you, Boss. I'll take my leave now, but I'll always remember that you're my boss. If you ever face any difficulties in the future, don't hesitate to come to me—I won't refuse."

With that, Xiao Lie turned and walked away.

The surrounding work-study students silently watched the scene unfold. After nearly a year of training together, they had come to accept Xiao Lie as one of their own.

"Get back to what you were doing. Instead of wasting time here, focus on cultivating your soul power. Also, for the next while, you'll have to rely on yourselves—I'm going on a trip."

"Understood, Boss!" the students replied respectfully.

Though Ye Wen hadn't done anything extraordinary, his presence as their leader had grown increasingly commanding.

At this moment, Ah Yin approached. Though only nine years old, she had already blossomed into a graceful and elegant young girl whose beauty captivated all who saw her.

Leaning close to Ye Wen's ear, she whispered in her sweet, clear voice tinged with a hint of playful charm, "So you're finally planning to get your soul ring? Where are you going, and what kind of soul ring are you hunting?"

Hearing her voice, Ye Wen shivered slightly.

"Stick close," he muttered softly. "I'll be heading out on a journey soon. Take care of yourself, and when school's over, make sure to look after Grandpa for me."

"Alright~_~."

Thanks to the added firepower of the compound crossbow, Ah Yin had full confidence in Ye Wen's combat abilities.

It was clear that Ye Wen didn't want to reveal what kind of soul ring he was hunting, likely to avoid worrying her. Being the considerate and gentle girl she was, Ah Yin decided not to press further.

---

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

This time, Ye Wen didn't bother asking the principal for a hunting permit. Instead, he set off alone toward the farthest northern reaches of the Tian Dou Empire—the largely unexplored Great Northern Tundra known in Douluo II as the Extreme North.

Even hundreds of miles away from the tundra, the biting cold winds had already made Ye Wen shiver inside the carriage.

His target in the Great Northern Tundra was a spirit beast with pitiful combat abilities but immense fame in Douluo II: the million-year-old spirit beast, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, or rather, its original form—the Ice Silkworm.

Just hearing that it was a silkworm confirmed that the Ice Silkworm had almost no close-combat capabilities. In Douluo II, the four soul skills granted by Heavenly Dream to Huo Gua included only one offensive skill—a mental shockwave.

Thus, Ye Wen's second soul skill still wouldn't be an offensive one. With the compound crossbow at his disposal, he didn't need to worry about attack power before reaching the fifth ring.

What Ye Wen coveted was the control abilities brought by the Ice Silkworm's spiritual attribute. Despite his diligent cultivation, Ye Wen's control over his martial soul, Black Cloth, remained limited—he couldn't yet achieve complete mastery over it. To advance further, the amplification provided by a spirit-type spirit beast was essential.

However, spirit-type spirit beasts were exceedingly rare. From the information Ye Wen had gathered, the only place where such beasts existed was the Star Dou Great Forest.

But given Ye Wen's current status and strength, venturing into the Star Dou Great Forest would be like sending a lamb to the slaughter.

Thus, Ye Wen turned his attention to the Ice Silkworm from Douluo II—a spirit beast with only two known skills before ten thousand years: Spiritual Detection and Mimicry. Moreover, its combat abilities were weak, making it easy prey.

The only downside was its harsh environment and the lack of detailed information about the Ice Silkworm in the library.

Fortunately, fate favored the diligent. Since Ice Silkworms were relatively easy to hunt, Ye Wen managed to find relevant information in this remote northern city.

According to the data, a ten-centimeter-long Ice Silkworm was equivalent to a ten-year-old spirit beast, while a one-meter-long Ice Silkworm corresponded to a hundred-year-old spirit beast.

At this length, the Ice Silkworm stopped growing. For every additional hundred years of cultivation, a blue-white stripe appeared on its back. Once it broke through to a thousand years, these stripes gradually turned silver-white. As for ten-thousand-year Ice Silkworms, there was no recorded information.

(P.S.: After researching the description of the Ice Silkworm in Douluo II, the only concrete detail found was that Huo Gua hunted a three-thousand-year-old Ice Silkworm, gaining the skill Mimicry. That Ice Silkworm was about a meter long. Beyond that, Huo Gua fabricated the rest to mislead others. Thus, this is a reimagining of the Ice Silkworm.)

After all, Ice Silkworms were among the lowest-tier spirit beasts in the Great Northern Tundra. Once their Mimicry skill was broken, dealing with them was as simple as feeding a hyena chips.

Additionally, the book kindly provided tips on how to locate Ice Silkworms, saving Ye Wen a great deal of effort.

Based on the information he'd gathered, Ye Wen set a strict rule for himself: he wouldn't venture more than five kilometers into the Great Northern Tundra. He would only search around the periphery. One reason was the unbearable cold; another was that the true data about the Great Northern Tundra was held by a few powerful families. Even though Ye Wen could ambush and kill a Soul King, he dared not act rashly and instead proceeded cautiously.

Storing dry rations and water in his martial soul space to avoid starvation, Ye Wen finally began his hunt for his second soul ring.

However, unbeknownst to him, atop a distant mountain, a stunning woman dressed in white with snow-white hair silently watched him.

Amidst the endless expanse of white, Ye Wen ventured deeper and deeper.

From the moment he entered the Great Northern Tundra, it felt as though an invisible force was guiding him forward. Armed with a specially crafted chisel, he poked at the snow-covered ground as he trudged onward, resembling an ancient ascetic monk seeking enlightenment.

"Crack—"

"Crack—"

"…"

The process of searching for a suitable spirit beast was always this monotonous.

Because of their inherent weakness, Ice Silkworms typically hid in underground snow caves. Unless their food supply ran out, they rarely ventured outside.

Over the past few days, Ye Wen had discovered several Ice Silkworm nests. However, the oldest Ice Silkworm he found was only two hundred years old, and the youngest had barely crossed the threshold into becoming a spirit beast.

For harmless spirit beasts like the Ice Silkworm, Ye Wen, despite not considering himself a good person, wouldn't indiscriminately kill the innocent. After taking a quick glance, he simply left.

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