Douluo Dalu 1: The Tang Family Rebel

At the Rose Hotel.

As the largest hotel in Suotuo City, Yun Chuan naturally set his sights on this establishment when looking for accommodation. At this point, it seemed Tang San and the others had yet to arrive, but he didn't mind. He casually booked a room at the front desk and, after receiving the key, made his way to his assigned room.

Gently opening the door, he found the interior luxurious and elegant—a suite.

After glancing around and finding nothing amiss, Yun Chuan pulled all the curtains closed. Then, he retrieved a crystal about the size of a human head from his soul guide device and placed it on the table. As he gently stroked the uneven surface of the crystal, he felt a faint tremor from the rune at the center of his brow. His mind began recalling the description of this crystal from the original story.

This crystal was an exceptionally rare type of quartz known as Rutile Quartz. Rutile Quartz forms when external conditions influence natural quartz over time, causing golden thread-like structures to develop inside the crystal. These golden threads, called rutile or golden hairs, resemble strands of hair within the quartz. Regardless of the color of the quartz, the presence of even a single rutile thread makes it more valuable than the finest natural quartz. Quartz containing these threads is called Rutile Quartz.

The crystal before him was the finest kind of Rutile Quartz: Plate Quartz. This type is extremely rare because, while rutile in quartz is often sparse and disordered, only ancient specimens develop significant quantities of rutile. When the rutile accumulates in such large amounts that they gather into plate-like formations within the crystal, it is termed Plate Quartz.

Due to its abundant and orderly rutile structures, Plate Quartz is considered the pinnacle of Rutile Quartz.

As Yun Chuan examined the crystal on the table, he noticed that although its surface appeared murky, closer inspection revealed faint glimmers of gold within. These golden plates were simply obscured by the crystal's outer impurities. He recalled that the original story mentioned the crystal contained tens of thousands of rutile threads! Such a phenomenon could only occur in Plate Quartz that had existed for over 100,000 years. Treasures like this were priceless. For some people, even two million gold coins would not seem excessive to acquire it.

"This might be a decent concealed weapon, but I'm not into these flashy tricks. Why is the rune at my brow reacting to this thing?" Yun Chuan wondered, puzzled as he stroked the crystal's uneven surface.

"Forget it. Let's extract the rutile threads first and see what happens." Yun Chuan placed both hands on the crystal, and his soul power surged, enveloping the entire crystal. Then, he pressed down forcefully.

Bang!

A muffled explosion echoed.

The seemingly ordinary crystal shattered, and a strange scene unfolded. Countless golden specks burst forth from the Plate Quartz. Fortunately, Yun Chuan had preemptively wrapped the area with a layer of soul power, preventing the golden specks from escaping. They were all contained within the barrier.

Moments later, when the crystal's remnants settled, Yun Chuan withdrew the soul power barrier. On the table where the crystal had been, there was now a pile of golden sand—or more accurately, golden particles.

Each golden particle was uniform in size, about the size of a grain of rice. They were perfectly round and emitted a faint golden glow. Yun Chuan picked one up for closer examination and instinctively pinched it, discovering that the golden particles were slightly soft yet incredibly elastic, making it impossible to flatten them with ease.

"What's so special about this stuff?" Yun Chuan wondered, but he noticed that the rune at his brow was vibrating even more intensely. It began emitting subtle waves, and he immediately sensed something unusual.

As he looked at the golden particles on the table, a wave of hunger surged within him!

These things were edible!

The strange waves emitted by the rune communicated this instinct to his body. Yet this realization left him conflicted.

After all, these weren't candy—they were needles coiled into tiny spheres! If infused with soul power, these golden particles would transform into Dragon Beard Needles, a weapon capable of piercing through anything. Eating them seemed like an extremely risky proposition. If he accidentally activated the Dragon Beard Needles with his soul power while they were inside his body, he could end up punctured from the inside out!

"To hell with it!"

After hesitating for a moment, Yun Chuan decided to trust the rune at his brow. It had never harmed him before, and eating these particles didn't guarantee death. As long as he refrained from infusing them with soul power, they posed no danger inside his body.

Having made up his mind, he picked up one golden particle, swallowed nervously, and tossed it into his mouth. After closing his mouth and swallowing, he felt the particle travel down his throat.

"Eh?!"

At that moment, Yun Chuan closed his eyes to focus. He immediately sensed a change. Looking inward, he observed that the golden particle, after entering his body, caused the rune at his brow to pulse with energy. The particle then melted into a faint, warm stream that traveled along his meridians and ultimately merged into his lungs.

After absorbing this trace of warmth, Yun Chuan felt as though his body had gained something new.

"It actually works!"

Yun Chuan opened his eyes, his face filled with astonishment. He glanced at the large pile of golden particles on the table and no longer hesitated. Grabbing a handful, he shoved them directly into his mouth. Hundreds of golden particles were swallowed in one go.

At that moment, the rune at his brow once again emitted its mysterious ripples. The golden particles in his stomach melted into tiny, warm streams, which traveled along his meridians and ultimately gathered in his lungs. With the addition of these hundreds of streams, Yun Chuan immediately noticed a distinct change.

He instinctively clenched his fist and felt that his physical strength, which hadn't improved for a long time, had increased by at least one percent at that moment.

But this wasn't the most important change. He realized that these golden particles, once integrated into his lungs, affected his entire body. After all, organs are part of the body, and any change to one could influence the whole.

"What if I eat them all?"

Feeling the tangible benefits, Yun Chuan didn't hesitate any longer. He began grabbing handfuls of golden particles and stuffing them into his mouth, quickly consuming all the golden particles on the table.

Warm streams continued to flow into his lungs.

Yun Chuan closed his eyes, experiencing the wondrous transformation. He could feel his physical attributes improving rapidly! His defense, resilience, and stamina all saw notable increases.

Most significantly, his lungs seemed to undergo a mysterious change after absorbing the golden threads.

"This feeling..."

Opening his eyes, Yun Chuan raised his hands and examined them carefully. With a thought, he noticed his nails starting to grow and elongate. The new growth was golden, resembling razor-sharp blades made entirely of pure gold. Just by looking at them, one could tell how sharp they were.

Curious about their power, Yun Chuan extended his hand and lightly ran the golden claws over the surface of the table.

It was as if he were cutting through tofu.

The ten-centimeter-thick marble tabletop was instantly sliced through, leaving five deep gashes that penetrated all the way to the carpet underneath.

"So sharp!" Yun Chuan was taken aback. He hadn't even used soul power or exerted any force. With just a gentle swipe, the claws seemed to unleash a mysterious power that effortlessly cut through the marble.

This power didn't belong to his soul force; it felt more like an elemental energy. It was incredibly sharp, and he had the distinct impression that it could cut through anything.

"This energy... it's coming from the lungs. The lungs belong to metal. Could this be the power of Geng Metal?" Yun Chuan speculated boldly. Recalling the cultivation novels he'd read in the past, he thought about how rutile itself is metallic and extraordinarily sharp, designed to penetrate even the toughest defenses. Absorbing the rutile could have infused him with the attributes of Geng Metal.

"It seems this Geng Metal energy grants me an armor-piercing property!" Yun Chuan looked at his elongated golden claws. With a thought, the claws began to retract and shrink, returning to their normal flesh-colored appearance.

At this point, he could feel that his skin's toughness, the density of his muscles and bones, and his overall physical attributes had all been enhanced. Moreover, the power of Geng Metal didn't seem limited to his claws—it could be attached to other objects or even his attacks, granting them armor-piercing capabilities.

Yun Chuan took a writing brush from his soul guide device and focused his mind, attempting to imbue the brush with the Geng Metal energy coursing through him.

Moments later, the entire brush was enveloped in a faint golden glow, clearly infused with the power of Geng Metal.

Examining the seemingly unchanged brush, Yun Chuan used it as if it were a blade, lightly slicing it across the corner of the table.

Bang!

The ten-centimeter-thick marble table corner fell to the ground.

"It works!" Yun Chuan exclaimed, overjoyed. As long as he could imbue an object with the power of Geng Metal, that object's material would become stronger and gain sharpness, effectively turning it into a lethal weapon.

"With the power of Geng Metal, my close-combat capabilities will be much more versatile!" Yun Chuan mused. Since this energy could attach to anything, it could also enhance parts of his body, such as his fists, knees, or any other area. This would greatly increase his destructive power.

"It seems these unique metallic minerals are of immense value to my growth. From now on, I should focus on obtaining more of them," Yun Chuan murmured to himself. He suddenly realized that these metallic minerals were akin to soul bones for soul masters.

As the thought of metallic minerals crossed his mind, a specific place came to mind: Gengxin City, the City of Metal!

That place undoubtedly housed the most precious metals in the world!

It seemed he would have to visit it someday.

(End of Chapter)