Douluo: I am the True Master

Amidst the monotonous search, Ye Wen recalled the novel that had first introduced him to the world of Douluo in his previous life.

That so-called "master," Yu Xiaogang, preached to Tang San about not recklessly killing spirit beasts and leaving a path for future generations. Yet, during Tang San's first soul ring hunt, Yu Xiaogang slaughtered dozens of wolf-type spirit beasts in the Spirit Hunting Forest just to give Tang San a lecture. Such hypocrisy was laughable.

As for Tang Buddha, things got even more absurd. Any spirit beast he killed was branded as "evil." But what good or evil existed among spirit beasts? It was all about survival of the fittest. Applying human laws to wild beasts was akin to Qing dynasty officials using Ming dynasty laws to govern people—utterly ridiculous.

"What the heck! Are we supposed to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, defying heaven itself?" 

"Ho ho~" Ye Wen chuckled to himself, amused by his own musings.

Suddenly, Ye Wen spotted another hollow in the snow. He quickly chiseled it open, revealing a pure white, meter-long Ice Silkworm sleeping inside. However, it awoke abruptly upon sensing Ye Wen's intrusion.

The silkworm bore two silver-white stripes on its back, with the third stripe yet to form. This indicated it was around 1,200 years old. Though Ye Wen's original plan was to find one just over a thousand years old, his current strength of 1,300 jin made absorbing this soul ring entirely feasible.

Even spirit-type spirit beasts didn't possess soul-shaking abilities before reaching ten thousand years. As long as one could withstand the energy of the soul ring and meet the physical requirements, direct absorption was possible.

After weighing the pros and cons, Ye Wen fired an arrow without hesitation.

"Thousand-Year Ice Silkworm—meet your end!"

Without any suspense, this thousand-year-old Ice Silkworm fell dead at Ye Wen's hands.

Ye Wen couldn't help but marvel at how this world's cultivation system favored humans. In the novels of his past life, a 1,200-year-old spirit beast would at least be considered a great demon—"tsk."

Carefully covering the small opening with ice and snow, Ye Wen entered the cavern. Watching the slowly rising purple millennium soul ring, he took a deep breath. Though he knew theoretically he should be able to absorb this soul ring, it was still his first time attempting such a feat, leaving him slightly nervous.

But practice makes perfect, and with his knowledge of the original story, Ye Wen soon calmed down. He guided the purple soul ring toward his martial soul. Just like during the absorption of his first soul ring, the energy that seemed to stretch every cell in his body returned. Ye Wen furrowed his brow slightly—it was uncomfortable, but still within tolerable limits.

At the same time, his soul power began circulating spontaneously, helping alleviate the pressure. Clearly, for ordinary soul masters, soul power acted as a buffer during soul ring absorption.

Traditional soul masters rarely focused on physical conditioning, save for some noble families who emphasized it. But their methods—like running or blacksmithing—were outdated and far from optimal.

Ye Wen silently refined the incoming energy. His body, already capable of exerting 1,300 jin of force, experienced another leap in strength: 1,500 jin, 1,800 jin, 2,000 jin. By the end, the rate of improvement slowed, and Ye Wen estimated his current physical strength had reached around 2,500 jin.

After hours of effort, Ye Wen successfully absorbed the second soul ring—a millennium soul ring that would leave the world in awe.

"Still within my calculations. The lingering sense of satisfaction tells me I could have absorbed an even older soul ring. But the additional benefits would've been negligible. My theory on *Physical Strength and Soul Ring Absorption* seems sound.

Soul power plays a role in soul ring absorption, but it's closely tied to the quality of one's martial soul. Beast-type and weapon-type soul masters' soul power cannot be compared directly.

However, since I focus on physical enhancement, my soul power cultivation lags behind my physical prowess. Physical limits align with the maximum age of soul rings I can absorb, while soul power stagnates unless I obtain the next realm's soul ring. Thus, in my theory, soul power isn't as crucial.

But this millennium soul ring has enhanced more than just my physical strength. Thanks to the Ice Silkworm's spiritual attribute, my five senses are now extraordinarily sharp—I can detect even the faintest movements of cold air.

And my second soul skill…

Is it mimicry? Compared to Huo Yuhao's ability to merely alter his aura, my skill seems capable of creating simulated training environments. It can also conceal the color of my soul rings—truly my dream skill!

Now I won't need to hide my soul rings intentionally."

Ye Wen's face lit up with satisfaction. He summoned his martial soul, Black Cloth. It appeared as a pitch-black cloth, but now it emitted two yellow soul rings.

"Perfect mimicry, no visible flaws. Unless faced with a high-level spirit-type soul master or a Title Douluo, no one will see through my disguise."

Next, Ye Wen pulled out a soul power crystal ball to check his current soul power level. After being stuck at Level 20 for so long, he wasn't sure where he stood now.

"Level 29!? How is that possible?"

Just half a year ago, he had barely broken through Level 20. Even with rapid progress, reaching Level 29 in a year seemed impossible. Could the bonus from absorbing a millennium soul ring really be this significant?

Ye Wen was baffled. In the original story, Tang San's over-limit absorption of a two-thousand-year Man-Faced Spider's soul ring hadn't granted such a dramatic increase. Based on his own estimates, reaching Level 26 would've been impressive enough.

While Ye Wen pondered, his gaze shifted to the long-dead Ice Silkworm. Something beneath its corpse caught his eye. Moving the body aside, he discovered a blue-white object resembling jade.

"What's this?" Ye Wen examined the jade-like object and picked it up. Suddenly, his brows furrowed as a surge of intense cold rushed out from it.

Realization dawned on him. With a flash of insight, he exclaimed, "This is Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Ice!"

Though it might seem insignificant to casually mention this piece of jade, in the world of Douluo II, such treasures were both frequent and crucial. Whether it was the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow consumed by Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm or the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Ice Jade Bed stored in the Clear Sky Sect, these items greatly accelerated cultivation speed and power without side effects.

The Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Ice in Ye Wen's hand bore a nearly imperceptible crack. Its hollow center suggested it had once been Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Ice Marrow. The cause of the crack was unclear, but the essence it released likely merged with Ye Wen during his soul ring absorption. Otherwise, his cultivation wouldn't have skyrocketed so dramatically. The extreme cold had dulled his senses, and his focus during absorption had masked the abnormal surge in power.

Overjoyed, Ye Wen wanted to shout, "Destiny favors me!" But glancing at the thin layer of ice above, he decided against it to avoid being buried alive.

With his soul power now at Level 29, Ye Wen temporarily abandoned thoughts of returning home. He had a new plan: break through to Level 30 here and obtain his third soul ring.

His target for the third soul ring? Still the Ice Silkworm.

Why? Because Ye Wen discovered he could now summon multiple instances of Black Cloth and even summon them remotely. But that wasn't enough—he needed finer control. Thus, his third soul ring had to come from a spirit-type spirit beast. And what better spirit-type spirit beast to hunt than the Ice Silkworm?

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