Chapter Four: The Announcement of the First Mission

Miao took Xiao Yu away from the orphanage. His martial soul manifested as a pair of butterfly wings that grew from his back, carrying them at an incredible speed to the secluded cottage in the woods where he usually resided.

“Young master, you should rest here for a few days. After your martial soul awakens, I will accompany you to hunt for a soul ring.”

Xiao Yu nodded. “Thank you for your trouble.”

——

The sun rose, its gentle light spilling over the earth.

Seated cross-legged, Xiao Yu circulated his soul power, condensed from his inner cosmos, when suddenly he sensed something. He opened his eyes abruptly and murmured, “It’s here!”

In the next instant, Xiao Yu’s body seemed to radiate light. He was bathed in a faint golden glow, and the power that had once felt shackled surged forth, washing through every meridian in his body. A sense of indescribable comfort filled his limbs and bones.

First, a pair of black wings appeared on his back, followed by a suit of pitch-black armor that fit him perfectly. His eyes glowed with a faint green light, and a black longsword emanating a terrifying aura materialized in his right hand.

A chime sounded in his mind. “Detection complete: Host’s martial soul has awakened—Apostle of the Netherworld, innately full soul power.”

“Chime. As your soul power has reached level 10, the following missions are now issued:

1. Gold-level mission: Obtain a thousand-year soul ring alone, without outside assistance.
2. Red-level mission: Absorb a thousand-year soul ring with the help of others.
3. Black-level mission: Obtain a hundred-year soul ring alone, without outside assistance.
4. Purple-level mission: Absorb a hundred-year soul ring with the help of others.
5. Yellow-level mission: Obtain a ten-year soul ring alone, without outside assistance.
6. White-level mission: Absorb a ten-year soul ring with the help of others.”

“So it’s a multiple-choice question,” Xiao Yu mused, observing that rather than six distinct tasks, these were really one task divided by difficulty. He considered, “The yellow and white grades I can skip outright. For a transmigrator like myself, gifted with a golden finger and innate full soul power, settling for a mere ten-year soul ring would be an insult.”

“The red and gold grades require absorbing a thousand-year soul ring, which is a leap in challenge. Gold-level is out of the question—even if my martial soul is top-tier, facing a thousand-year soul beast without a single soul ring is tantamount to suicide. As for the red-level mission…”

Xiao Yu frowned in thought. “Though taking on a higher-level soul ring sounds impressive, the risk is enormous. If I can’t withstand a thousand-year soul ring, my body would be destroyed on the spot. Once you die, nothing else matters.”

“In the original work, Tang San managed to absorb higher-level soul rings several times, but it was never easy—especially later, when he had the Eight Spider Lances and immortal herbs to support him. Right now, I have nothing. I really can’t take that gamble.”

“So my real options are between the purple and black missions. The ‘outside assistance’ here must refer to Miao.”

Xiao Yu pondered, “I’ll decide between these two based on the situation. If I can handle a hundred-year soul beast on my own, all the better. If not, and the enemy proves too troublesome, I’ll let Miao intervene. Before that, I should practice and get a feel for my martial soul’s true power.”

After a quick preparation, Xiao Yu set out with Miao. Their destination: the Star Dou Great Forest, the most famous gathering place for soul beasts on the Douluo Continent.

He chose not to go to the Soul Hunting Forest for several reasons. First, the Soul Hunting Forest was managed by the Spirit Hall, and entry required a special token.

Obviously, Xiao Yu was not Yu Xiaogang and had no one like Bibi Dong to rely on for a lifetime access pass to the Spirit Hall.

Of course, Xiao Yu could apply for a single-use pass from the Spirit Hall. As the original story mentioned, the process wasn’t complicated: once you were recognized by the Hall, your strength confirmed as being at a breakthrough point, and vouched for by at least three nobles, you could obtain a pass.

With Miao’s Saint-level strength, finding a few minor nobles for endorsement wouldn’t be hard. What truly concerned Xiao Yu, however, was himself. Once he registered at the Spirit Hall, given his age, even the Blind Douluo Su Yuntao would likely guess he possessed innate full soul power. As things stood, Xiao Yu did not want to expose himself to the Spirit Hall while his powers and influence were still so limited.

Though there was a chance that a remote branch of the Spirit Hall might neglect to report him—in the original story, Tang San and Xiao Wu spent years in Notting City without catching the Hall’s attention, and even Oscar, with his innate full soul power, attended Shrek Academy freely—Xiao Yu, ever cautious, didn’t want to take that risk. What if he happened to run into someone sharp-eyed and by-the-book?

Second, Xiao Yu believed the soul beasts kept in such controlled environments were inferior in both quality and quantity compared to those in the wild, such as the Star Dou Great Forest. His Apostle of the Netherworld martial soul might not yet rival a god-bestowed soul like the Six-Winged Angel, but it was certainly comparable to top-tier souls like the Clear Sky Hammer or Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—the quality of his soul rings needed to match.

With Miao, a Saint-level expert, at his side, their journey was swift. Though the Sylvia Kingdom was over a thousand miles from the Star Dou Great Forest, Miao’s flight brought them to the forest’s edge in just a few days.

The Star Dou Great Forest, one of the three most renowned soul beast habitats on the continent, was a labyrinth of terrain—wetlands, swamps, and more. Its vastness rivaled the entire Balak Kingdom and spanned the borders of both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires.

Though the original novel described the forest’s immensity, Xiao Yu was still awestruck seeing it for the first time, moved by the grandeur of the natural world.

After reaching the forest’s outskirts, Miao turned to Xiao Yu. “Young master, do you have any thoughts about your first soul ring?”

Xiao Yu had been contemplating this throughout their journey. He replied at once, “The Apostle of the Netherworld is an assault-type martial soul, with a leaning toward darkness as its attribute. So the best soul beast would be one that’s also dark-attributed and excels at offense.”

Miao nodded—his thoughts aligned perfectly with Xiao Yu’s.

“Miao, I have a favor to ask,” Xiao Yu continued. “When we find a suitable soul beast, please don’t step in right away. I want to test my control over my martial soul and my soul power first.”