I've also recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Douluo: Seven Kill Shock the World
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Time passed quickly, and more than three months had already gone by.
Early one morning, in the simulated training field of Lan Ba Academy's forest, Chu Chengzhou, who was meditating, experienced a sudden surge of soul power that quickly returned to calmness.
"Not bad, I've reached Level 40!"
Feeling the further increase in his soul power, Chu Chengzhou nodded inwardly with satisfaction.
After consuming the two immortal-grade herbs, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, his cultivation speed had greatly increased.
In just over three months, he had advanced nearly one level per month, rocketing to Level 40. Now, all he needed was a fourth soul ring to advance to a Soul Ancestor.
Of course, relying solely on the talent boost from the ice and fire herbs wouldn't have been enough to reach this speed. Advancing nearly one level per month was terrifying—even evil soul masters cultivating nefarious techniques couldn't achieve such rapid progress.
However, with the two-and-a-half times cultivation speed boost from the Nine Breaths Qi Absorption Technique, this made sense.
Nearly one level per month? Excluding the boost from the Nine Breaths Qi Absorption Technique, it was roughly one level every three months.
Subsequently, Chu Chengzhou opened his attribute panel.
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Attribute Panel
Host: Chu Chengzhou
Soul Power: Level 40
Martial Soul: True Spirit Flag
Soul Rings: Purple (6800 years), Black (10,000 years), Black (10,000 years)
First Soul Skill: Summon - Azure Tree
Second Soul Skill: Summon - Light Lion
Third Soul Skill: Summon - Fire Phoenix
Skills: Nine Breaths Qi Absorption Technique (Red), Indestructible Golden Body (Red), Eternal Thought (Red), Archery (Black), Movement (Black), Control (Black), Defense (Black), Forging (Black), Illusion (Black)
AFK Slots: 1. Archery (Black), 2. Movement (Black), 3. Nine Breaths Qi Absorption Technique (Red), 4. First Soul Ring (Purple)
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One month ago, the first AFK slot originally occupied by the black-rated body tempering technique advanced to Red-Tier. Drawing inspiration from the previous upgrade of the Nine Breaths Qi Absorption Technique, Chu Chengzhou named it the Indestructible Golden Body, then removed it from the AFK slots, replacing it with the archery technique.
A week ago, the second AFK slot, originally occupied by the black-Tier spirit refinement technique, also advanced to Red-Tier. Chu Chengzhou named it Eternal Thought and replaced it with the Movement Technique.
Aside from these advancements, the other gains were minimal. The age of his first soul ring had increased to 6,800 years, while the proficiency required for the Nine Breaths Qi Absorption Technique to advance to the next Gold-Tier stage had significantly increased—though it was still far from advancing.
The three elements of essence, energy, and spirit were being cultivated. With advancements in the Red-Tier body tempering and spirit refinement techniques, the effects of body strengthening and spirit enhancement had significantly improved once again.
If this trend continued, even without soul bones boosting his physical attributes, Chu Chengzhou was confident he could handle a six-black-one-red or even five-black-two-red soul ring configuration upon reaching the seventh ring Soul Master stage.
However, while his upper limit for bearing soul rings was high, whether he could actually obtain ten-thousand-year soul rings remained uncertain.
"Next: Search for a Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear!"
Closing the attribute panel, Chu Chengzhou thought to himself.
For his fourth soul ring, Chu Chengzhou absolutely wanted a Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear.
It wasn't just for the upcoming Spirit Master Competition but to prepare for potential future assassination attempts.
During this time, he continued guiding Zhu Zhuqing daily, much like when he was at Shrek Academy, conducting combat training.
And every time he guided her, he couldn't help but engage in some subtle flirting. Whether Zhu Zhuqing didn't notice his actions or simply didn't mind, she never showed any signs of displeasure.
Since they were from the same academy, running into each other was inevitable. Whenever Chu Chengzhou trained Zhu Zhuqing, Dai Mubai inevitably saw them.
Dai Mubai wasn't blind or stupid—he surely noticed Chu Chengzhou's intentions toward Zhu Zhuqing.
The Spirit Master Competition was a stage for talented soul masters to showcase themselves, as well as a platform for the two empires and the Spirit Hall to display their future strength. Any team achieving good results would catch the attention of the high-level leaders of the three factions, especially the champion team.
Chu Chengzhou could foresee that after the competition, he would undoubtedly be noticed by the Star Luo Imperial Family.
If he were obedient, the Star Luo Imperial Family might not bother him. However, the problem was that he wasn't the type to stay low-key. Even if he didn't fully win Zhu Zhuqing over, the Star Luo Imperial Family would likely take preemptive action to prevent her from being taken away by outsiders.
Thus, having an extraordinarily powerful summon creature became essential.
Though the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect could serve as an initial support, relying on others and having personal strength were two different things. He couldn't just hide within the sect forever.
If Ning Rongrong were his only girlfriend, relying on her wouldn't be an issue. But with other girlfriends, it would feel inappropriate.
Taking another girlfriend to his future father-in-law's house for refuge would make him uncomfortable, let alone Ning Fengzhi's objections.
Exiting the simulated training field, Chu Chengzhou headed toward the teaching building, intending to ask Principal Flender to accompany him to the Great Star Dou Forest.
However, halfway there, Chu Chengzhou began pondering a question.
His fourth soul ring targeted a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, but could Flender and the others actually defeat it?
He knew the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear was strong, but how strong exactly? He wasn't sure.
If Flender, Liu Erlong, and Zhao Wuji teamed up, they probably stood a chance.
But what if they failed?
Moreover, as the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes.
Chu Chengzhou was certain that even in the Great Star Dou Forest, Dark Gold Terror Claw Bears were rare.
If luck wasn't on their side, hunting for one might require spending a significant amount of time searching in the Great Star Dou Forest. What if they encountered trouble during that time?
For instance, last time, hadn't he run into a high-level expert from the Star Luo Imperial Family?
Every year, many soul masters lost their lives in the Great Star Dou Forest. Among them, only a small portion were killed by their intended prey; most were eliminated by other powerful soul beasts or soul masters.
Soul masters or hunting teams with basic common sense wouldn't target soul beasts stronger than themselves.
"Should I go to my future father-in-law?"
Chu Chengzhou thought to himself.
Although his first meeting with his future father-in-law wasn't entirely pleasant, helping to hunt a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear shouldn't be refused by Ning Fengzhi.
At this moment, a somewhat familiar voice came from his left: "Chu brat, what are you thinking about?"
Turning his head, Chu Chengzhou saw Dugu Bo and his granddaughter Dugu Yan approaching.
"Senior, Dugu Sister."
Seeing Dugu Bo, Chu Chengzhou brightened and greeted them with a smile.
Just when he was worrying about finding a powerful guide for spirit hunting, here comes the expert!
"Senior, your complexion looks much better. It seems my method worked?"
Noticing that Dugu Bo's formerly greenish-gray hair and beard had mostly turned back to normal gray, Chu Chengzhou asked.
"It's fine, no major issues!"
Dugu Bo smiled and nodded.
The method Chu Chengzhou provided for transferring and storing toxins using soul bones was indeed effective. After several months, he had transferred most of the toxins accumulated in his body to a newly acquired ten-thousand-year left-arm soul bone.
He estimated that in a few more months, he would resolve the issue of toxin backlash.
However, while his own problems were resolved, his granddaughter Dugu Yan lacked the ability to do the same.
Her soul power control was inadequate, and with toxins accumulating in her body, even providing her with a limb soul bone wouldn't allow her to transfer the toxins.
So, when her old ailment flared up again, he brought her to Lan Ba Academy.
It wasn't that Dugu Bo couldn't hire other soul masters to detoxify Dugu Yan—it was more about maintaining a relationship with Chu Chengzhou. Who knows when he might need his help in the future?
Even if he didn't need it, he had to consider future generations. Befriending a genius soul master was always worthwhile.
"That's good! Dugu Sister, your complexion looks pale. Are you feeling unwell?"
Noticing Dugu Yan's pale face, Chu Chengzhou asked.
"Yes, I'll trouble Junior Brother again this time."
Dugu Yan nodded.
"No problem at all!"
Instantly, Chu Chengzhou manifested his True Spirit Flag martial soul, his soul rings shining as he summoned the Light Lion, Little White.
White light surged forth, and in moments, the toxins accumulated in Dugu Yan's body vanished like snow under the scorching sun.
"Ah~ I feel full of vitality again!"
After the toxins were removed, it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and Dugu Yan couldn't help but sigh in relief.
"Chu kid, I see your soul power has reached Level 40?"
At this moment, Dugu Bo said somewhat suspiciously.
If he remembered correctly, a few months ago, Chu Chengzhou was still a 36th-level Soul Master, right?
Chu Chengzhou wasn't concealing his aura or soul power now, so his soul power level was easily detected by Dugu Bo.
"Level 40?"
Instantly, Dugu Yan widened her eyes, looking incredulously at Chu Chengzhou.
When they first met at Shrek Academy, she was Level 38, and Chu Chengzhou was Level 36. A month ago, she broke through to Level 39 Soul Master, yet Chu Chengzhou surpassed her?
"I stumbled upon a lucky opportunity~"
Waving his hand dismissively, Chu Chengzhou replied nonchalantly.
To be honest, he felt a bit guilty since his rapid soul power advancement was largely due to those two immortal-grade herbs.
"Opportunity?"
Dugu Bo raised his eyebrows. He didn't think of the herbs in his medicinal garden but guessed that Chu Chengzhou likely obtained a high-quality soul bone.
After all, consuming those two ice and fire toxin herbs, Chu Chengzhou's soul power level hadn't shown any immediate increase.
Moreover, in his impression, methods that allowed soul masters to rapidly increase their soul power levels in a short time were either adding soul rings or refining soul bones.
Other methods were considered dubious, and any self-respecting genius soul master wouldn't use such foundation-damaging techniques to boost soul power.
However, though soul bones were valuable, they weren't particularly attractive to a Titled Douluo unless they were very high-level soul bones.
Furthermore, Chu Chengzhou had done him a favor, so Dugu Bo wouldn't commit the act of killing someone to steal their soul bone.
"Chu brat, since you're level 40, how about I take you to get your fourth soul ring?"
Stroking his chin, Dugu Bo smiled.
The Sunset Forest was just outside Tian Dou City, so it wouldn't take long.
"Really? Thank you, Senior!"
Hearing Dugu Bo offer to help him acquire his fourth soul ring, Chu Chengzhou immediately agreed since he had already planned this.
"Haha, it's nothing! Since I've been free recently, just arrange a time, and we can leave anytime."
Waving his hand indifferently, Dugu Bo said.
"Alright! Since Senior is taking me spirit hunting, I'll give you and Dugu Sister a gift."
"A gift?"
Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo raised his eyebrows, and Dugu Yan also looked curious.
"You'll know later, but it'll take a few hours."
Dugu Bo had been so courteous, and Chu Chengzhou had benefited greatly from him. He couldn't show no gratitude, so he decided to gift each of them a set of Spirit-Refined armor to express his appreciation.
Besides, this spirit hunting trip would likely take considerable time, so it was like giving Dugu Bo compensation in advance.
The defensive capabilities of Spirit-Refined armor were excellent. For Dugu Yan, who hadn't yet reached the four-ring level, it was a great life-saving tool.
As for Dugu Bo, the Spirit-Refined metal infused with Titled Douluo-level soul power would have superior defensive capabilities compared to mere protective soul power, effectively enhancing the defense of this Titled Douluo.
Later, Chu Chengzhou informed Xiao Wu and the others, took leave from Liu Erlong, and left Lan Ba Academy with Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan.
The forging tools, aside from the Spirit-Refined Heavy Silver Hammer, were left at Shrek Academy and hadn't been brought to Lan Ba Academy.
Fortunately, this was simple. Spending some gold spirit coins to rent a blacksmith shop would suffice.
Two hours later, inside a blacksmith shop in Tian Dou City, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan donned freshly forged Spirit-Refined Cloud Titanium Armor, transforming into silver-armored warriors.
Actually, the most suitable metals for Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan should have been rare metals that amplified soul power and enhanced soul skills, like Blue Coppertite.
However, considering Dugu Yan's weaker physique, Chu Chengzhou used lightweight yet sturdy Cloud Titanium.
As for Dugu Bo, weight wasn't an issue. As a Titled Douluo, even if his abilities were lacking, his physical attributes far surpassed those of lower-level soul masters.
However, since his current forging skill was limited to Spirit-Forging, even if the metal itself had properties to amplify soul power, the effect wouldn't be significant. Thus, he opted for Cloud Titanium to focus purely on defense.
Dugu Yan's armor was similar to Zhu Zhuqing's and Ning Rongrong's, weighing less than thirty catties. However, Dugu Bo's set was heavier, weighing around three hundred catties. Due to the lightness of the rare Cloud Titanium metal, the armor's thickness was astonishing, especially in key protected areas like the chest.
"Senior, Sister Dugu, how does it feel?"
Chu Chengzhou asked with a smile.
"It's very strong. In terms of defense, it's probably not inferior to Shi Mo and Shi Mo!"
Dugu Yan exclaimed.
Chu Chengzhou shook his head: "Dugu Sister, the vast majority of soul masters below Level 60 shouldn't be able to break through this armor."
Currently, even Dugu Yan hadn't advanced to a Soul Ancestor, so the Shi Mo brothers were likely still Soul Elders. The defensive capabilities of a defensive-type Soul Elder were far inferior to Spirit-Refined armor unless it was a defensive-type Soul King's ten-thousand-year defensive soul skill.
"Below level 60? That high?"
Dugu Yan widened her eyes in surprise.
She originally thought it would be equivalent to a same-level defensive-type soul master but didn't expect it to be this strong.
"The armor material itself is a rare metal, plus it's crafted using a special secret method, so the defense naturally can't be weak. Otherwise, this armor would be meaningless."
Resisting attacks from most soul masters below Level 60? This was nothing.
Armors crafted from Heaven-Refined metals, even without the amplification of soul arrays, could probably withstand the ninth soul skill of an ordinary Titled Douluo based on the material's inherent properties.
"By the way, Dugu Sister, if anyone asks about the origin of this armor, just say it's an ancient soul-guidance device!"
Chu Chengzhou reminded her, not wanting people coming to him to buy armor in the future.
"Okay, I won't tell anyone."
Nodding, Dugu Yan promised.
"Chu kid, this armor is indeed impressive. After infusing soul power, its defensive capability surpasses my usual protective soul power by quite a bit."
After testing the defensive capabilities of the Spirit-Refined armor, Dugu Bo also appeared pleased.
Titled Douluos had at least nine soul skills, but Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor martial soul lacked defensive skills. During battles, he relied solely on protective soul power for defense. Now, with this special armor, it slightly compensated for this shortcoming.
Though this improvement wasn't groundbreaking, Dugu Bo was still satisfied.
Moreover, Dugu Bo knew there were special attack soul skills capable of ignoring energy defenses.
Against such unreasonable soul skills, no matter how strong the protective soul power or defensive soul skills were, they wouldn't be able to block them.
However, this armor was different. In addition to enhancing protective soul power, it also possessed decent physical defense capabilities. In the future, facing such special attacks, he might be able to withstand them.
Knowing that Grandpa Dugu Bo and Chu Chengzhou were going spirit hunting, Dugu Yan didn't linger. After expressing her thanks, she returned to Tian Dou Imperial Academy.
"Chu brat, tell me what kind of soul beast you want for your fourth soul ring."
Leaving the blacksmith shop, Dugu Bo asked.
"Senior, my martial soul's soul skill effect is summoning the hunted soul beast. So, I plan to hunt a Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear for my fourth soul ring."
"Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear?"
Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo raised his eyebrows.
Though Dugu Bo wasn't a scholarly expert, he had heard of the famous Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear in the world of soul beasts.
It wasn't surprising that Chu Chengzhou targeted the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear.
Under the same age, the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear was undoubtedly one of the strongest soul beasts in terms of attack power, even surpassing pure-blood dragon-type soul beasts of the same age.
"How many years?"
Dugu Bo asked.
"Anything above five thousand years and below twelve thousand years works."
Chu Chengzhou didn't necessarily need a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear. With his cheat system, a lower-age soul ring was acceptable.
The Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear was rare, making it hard to explain to Dugu Bo, but even below five thousand years would be acceptable.
As for Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear soul rings above twelve thousand years, Chu Chengzhou didn't have full confidence in absorbing them.
First, this age exceeded the limits of an ordinary 50th-level soul master.
Second, the difficulty of absorbing an Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear soul ring was extremely high. An ordinary 50th-level soul master's soul ring absorption limit was around twelve thousand years, but for an Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, even absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring was questionable.
Additionally, his physical attributes were strong, far surpassing ordinary 50th-level soul masters.
However, he already had ten-thousand-year second and third soul rings and a more than six-thousand-year first soul ring. Combined, the total was over twenty-six thousand years. If he were an ordinary three-ring soul master, he would have exploded long ago, so he didn't dare push too hard.
"Such a high age? You trying to get yourself killed?"
Dugu Bo looked at Chu Chengzhou in astonishment.
Soul beasts with strong bloodlines inherently had harder soul rings to absorb, and with such a high age, not to mention possibly absorbing a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear soul ring, how reckless could one be?
Chu Chengzhou confidently said: "Don't worry, Senior. My physical and mental strength are very strong. A ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear soul ring will definitely be no problem."
Frowning slightly, Dugu Bo grabbed Chu Chengzhou's arm.
"Hmm? Didn't expect this! Your skin is delicate, yet your physique is this strong?"
After squeezing it, Dugu Bo couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
With his eyes alone, Dugu Bo couldn't assess Chu Chengzhou's physical condition, but upon touching, he immediately realized Chu Chengzhou's physique was abnormally monstrous, rivaling even ordinary Level 60 soul masters.
"Just a bit tougher than average."
Waving his hand, Chu Chengzhou gestured minimally (the gap between Infinity iykyk).
"This is a bit tougher than average?"
Dugu Bo was speechless. This was comparable to a Level 60 soul master! Can this really be called a little bit? Isn't your "little bit" too big?
"Fine, if you can handle it, then let's go for a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear."
Knowing Chu Chengzhou's physique was extraordinary, Dugu Bo didn't object further.
Though the ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear was strong, it was relative. He was a Titled Douluo. Even if his strength was lacking, he was still a nine-ring Titled Douluo!
"Let's go, I'll take you to the Great Star Dou Forest! Dark Gold Terror Claw Bears are quite rare; the Sunset Forest might not have any, so we must go to the Great Star Dou Forest."
With that, Dugu Bo headed toward his residence.
"Senior, where are we going?"
Seeing the direction was wrong, Chu Chengzhou asked.
"My place!"
"Your home?"
Chu Chengzhou was puzzled. They were heading to the Great Star Dou Forest, so why return home?
"The Great Star Dou Forest is far. We'll take a carriage."
Dugu Bo replied without turning back.
Why take a carriage?
Joking aside, the Great Star Dou Forest was far. Though he could fly, he wasn't a flying-type soul master, and flying consumed significant soul power, let alone carrying Chu Chengzhou—it would be exhausting.
Chu Chengzhou immediately said: "Senior, I have Little Red. She can carry two people without any problem."
The distance between Tian Dou City and the Great Star Dou Forest was thousands of miles! Traveling by carriage would take over ten days, but riding Little Red could get them there before nightfall.
"Little Red?"
Turning around, Dugu Bo looked suspicious.
"The fiery phoenix summon creature from before."
Dugu Bo: "."
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