Douluo: Legend of the Holy Land

Chapter 4: The Issuance of the First Mission

Miao took Xiao Yu away from the orphanage. With his martial spirit attached, a pair of butterfly wings grew from his back, and he quickly arrived at the cabin in the woods where he usually lived in seclusion.

"Young Master, let's rest here for the next few days. Once your Martial Soul awakens, I will accompany you to hunt for Soul Rings."

Xiao Yu nodded: "Thank you for your hard work!"

. . . . . . . . . .

The sun rises in the east, and its warm rays shine on the earth.

Sitting cross-legged, circulating the soul power formed from his inner universe, Xiao Yu sensed something, abruptly opened his eyes, and murmured, "It's here!"

The next moment, Xiao Yu's body seemed to glow, bathed in a pale golden light. The power that had seemed to be restricted by shackles burst forth, cleansing every meridian in his body, and bringing an indescribable sense of comfort to his limbs and bones.

A pair of black wings appeared first on Xiao Yu's back, followed by a suit of jet-black armor that perfectly covered his body. His eyes emitted a pale green light, and a black longsword exuding a terrifying aura appeared in Xiao Yu's right hand.

"Ding, it has been detected that the host's martial soul has been awakened. The martial soul is Netherworld Apostle, with innate full soul power."

"Ding! Since the host's soul power has reached level 10, the following task is hereby issued:"

"1. Gold-level mission: Obtain a millennium soul ring on your own without the help of external forces."

"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 on your own without the help of external forces."

"4. Purple-level mission: Absorb a hundred-year soul ring if you can get help from others."

"5. Yellow-level mission: Obtain a ten-year soul ring on your own without the help of external forces."

"6. White-level mission: Absorb a ten-year soul ring if you can get help from others."

"This is still a multiple-choice question!"

Looking at the tasks before him, which were more like one task categorized by difficulty than six, Xiao Yu pondered to himself, "The yellow and white levels can be skipped directly. As a transmigrator with a golden finger and innate full soul power, I feel ashamed to even try to get a ten-year soul ring."

Red-level and Gold-level missions require absorbing a thousand-year-old soul ring from a higher-level beast. Gold-level missions are unnecessary; although one's martial soul is undoubtedly top-tier, challenging a thousand-year-old soul beast without even a single soul ring is tantamount to suicide. As for Red-level missions…

Xiao Yu frowned and pondered, "Although absorbing a soul ring beyond one's level seems cool, the risks involved are extremely high. If one cannot withstand the power of a thousand-year soul ring, one will explode and die. Once a person dies, they have nothing left."

Although Tang San absorbed spirit rings beyond his level many times in the original story, it was by no means an easy task, especially with the support of the Eight Spider Lances and immortal herbs in the later stages. However, Xiao Yu is currently penniless and would not dare to take such a risk.

"So the choice is actually between purple and black levels, and the outsider mentioned here should refer to Miao."

Xiao Yu pondered for a moment and said, "The choice between these two tasks depends on the situation at the time. If I can handle the hundred-year-old soul beast on my own, that would be the best. If the opponent is too troublesome, I will let Miao subdue it. Before that, let me practice in a real battle and also see the power of my martial soul."

After a quick packing, Xiao Yu and Miao set off. Their destination was the Star Dou Great Forest, a famous gathering place for soul beasts on the Douluo Continent.

Xiao Yu had his own reasons for not going to the Soul Hunting Forest. The first reason was that the Soul Hunting Forest was mostly under the control of the Spirit Hall, and one needed a token from the Spirit Hall to enter.

Obviously, Xiao Yu is not Yu Xiaogang, and he doesn't have Bibi Dong to rely on, so he naturally doesn't possess any Spirit Hall token, let alone the kind that can be used for life.

Of course, Xiao Yu could also apply for a one-time warrant from the Spirit Hall. I remember the original novel said that the process of obtaining a warrant was not complicated. You need to get the Spirit Hall's approval, confirm that you have indeed reached the peak of a certain stage of strength, need a spirit ring to advance, and then have the guarantee of at least three nobles.

With his strength at the level of a Soul Saint, it wouldn't be difficult for Xiao Yu to find nobles from a few small towns to vouch for him. What Xiao Yu was really worried about was himself. Once he went to register at the Spirit Hall, given his age, even the blind Douluo Su Yuntao should be able to guess that he had innate full soul power. As I said before, Xiao Yu, who was not yet fully developed and lacked strength, did not want to expose himself to the Spirit Hall.

While it's possible that these remote Spirit Hall branches might have missed reporting it—after all, Tang San and Xiao Wu hadn't received much attention from the Spirit Hall during their years in Notting City, and Oscar, the giant sausage with innate full spirit power, was also studying freely at Shrek Academy—the ever-cautious Xiao Yu still didn't want to take the risk. What if he encountered someone knowledgeable and meticulous?

Secondly, Xiao Yu believes that these domesticated soul beasts are far inferior to the original soul beast forests like the Star Dou Great Forest in both quality and quantity. Xiao Yu's Netherworld Apostle Martial Soul may not be as good as a divinely bestowed Martial Soul like the Six-Winged Angel at present, but it is definitely a top-level Martial Soul comparable to the Clear Sky Hammer and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. The quality requirements of the soul rings corresponding to the soul beasts are still quite high.

With Miao, a Soul Saint-level expert, leading the way, the two traveled at a remarkably fast pace. The Kingdom of Sylvia was thousands of miles away from the Star Dou Great Forest, but under Miao's guidance, they arrived at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest in just a few days.

The Star Dou Great Forest is one of the three most famous gathering places for soul beasts on the Douluo Continent. The forest has a complex terrain, including wetlands and swamps. Its area is so vast that it is almost equal to the entire territory of the Barak Kingdom, spanning the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

Although the original novel had already described the vastness and expansiveness of the Star Dou Great Forest, Xiao Yu couldn't help but marvel at the sheer size of this primeval forest and sincerely admire the greatness of nature when he first arrived.

Upon arriving at the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, Miao asked Xiao Yu, "Young Master, what are your thoughts on the first spirit ring?"

Xiao Yu had been pondering this question all the way, and immediately replied: "The Apostle of the Underworld is a powerful offensive martial soul, and its attributes are biased towards darkness, so the soul beasts it needs should also be in this direction. Soul beasts with strong attack power and dark attributes are the best choice."

Miao nodded; this idea coincided with his own.

"Miao, I need to ask you for a favor."

Xiao Yu said, "Once you find a suitable soul beast, don't make a move yet. Let me test my current control over my martial soul and the use of my soul power."

(End of this chapter)