Douluo: I Can Choose My Own Soul Skills

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"Oh? He awakened with innate full soul power?" Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.

"No, Your Holiness. He's already fifteen years old, but his soul power has grown over the past three and a half years at a speed comparable to someone born with innate full soul power. What's even more noteworthy is that his second soul ring has reached the millennium level," Ghost Douluo explained.

"A thousand years? As far as I know, a second soul ring has never reached that level. Hand me his Spirit Master Identification Token," Bibi Dong recalled Yu Xiaogang's martial soul theory and became very interested in this prodigy whose second soul ring had surpassed the thousand-year mark.

Ghost Douluo handed over a copy of Ye Lan's Spirit Master Token. Bibi Dong carefully examined its contents:

Name: Ye Lan

Registration Location: Martial Soul Sub-Hall, Nuoding City, Heaven Dou Empire.

Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass

Innate Soul Power: Level 3

At age 11: Level 11 Spirit Master, Yellow Soul Ring, soul skill unknown.

At age 15: Level 23 Grandmaster, Purple Soul Ring, soul skill: Blue Silver Grass enlarges to twice its original size.

Notes: The Blue Silver Grass has undergone a dramatic transformation, changing into a Gold-veined Emerald Blue Star Vine, approximately 25 centimeters in diameter.

(Image Attached)

"This is Blue Silver Grass? With innate level-three soul power, reaching the Spirit Master rank in five years is normal enough."

"But to go from level 11 to level 23 in just four years?"

Bibi Dong was shocked by how rapidly this supposedly trash martial soul had progressed. She began speculating on the reason behind such growth. According to Yu Xiaogang's theory, this phenomenon couldn't be explained.

Unable to reach a conclusion, Bibi Dong asked Ghost Douluo, "What is his background? Does he have ties to the Heaven Dou Empire or any of the upper three sects?"

"Reporting to Your Holiness the Pope, Ye Lan is the orphan of a deacon from the Martial Soul Sub-Hall. He belongs to the Martial Soul Hall. Due to his recent rapid advancement, he was noticed by Platinum Bishop Salas and reported to the Pope's Hall."

Bibi Dong drummed her fingers thoughtfully on the Holy Throne's armrest, deep in contemplation. Twelve levels in four years—his cultivation speed rivaled someone with innate full soul power. Even Na'er's own cultivation speed was only about the same back then.

"In that case, classify Ye Lan as a key observation subject of the Martial Soul Hall. Once he reaches the Soul Elder rank, bring him before me."

"Your Holiness, may I ask why?"

"This is the test I'm setting for him—an opportunity to become my disciple. With only level-three innate soul power, reaching the rank of Soul Elder is a major threshold. If he can overcome it, it proves he's worthy of being my disciple."

"Pass down my orders: increase the budget for the Nuoding City Martial Soul Sub-Hall."

"Yes, Your Holiness," Ghost Douluo replied before vanishing instantly.

"Xiao Gang… is he your disciple?" Bibi Dong thought of Yu Xiaogang, who served at Nuoding Academy. Perhaps only Yu Xiaogang could cultivate a Blue Silver Grass martial soul to such a degree.

The Star Dou Great Forest—located between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire—was the largest habitat for soul beasts. Its outer perimeter housed lower-level beasts, while those in the inner regions were much older, with some even reaching the ten-thousand-year level or beyond.

In the northern outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, near the Heaven Dou Empire's side, the landscape was lush and vibrant, with rivers winding through dense vegetation. Towering ancient trees filled the area, and thickets of shrubs blanketed the forest floor.

Among the greenery, a streak of gold zipped by at high speed, scattering grass and brush into fragmented shadows.

"This place is far more majestic than the Soul Hunting Forest," Ye Lan sighed as he looked at the verdant mountains in the distance. The fresh air he breathed in brought a rare sense of relaxation to both body and mind.

With soul power channeled into his legs, Ye Lan had already moved from the outer edges, where ten-year soul beasts roamed, into the zone where hundred-year and thousand-year soul beasts overlapped.

Thousand-year soul beasts were commonly sighted here. Going deeper into the Star Dou Forest would increase their number—but it would also raise the odds of encountering ten-thousand-year beasts.

Ye Lan wasn't willing to gamble his life on luck. There were already plenty of strong thousand-year soul beasts in this region.

He came to the Star Dou Forest to strengthen himself. At present, his combat ability lagged far behind the potential of his Blue Silver Grass martial soul.

Fighting soul beasts was not like fighting humans—their physical bodies were far stronger.

By engaging with thousand-year soul beasts, Ye Lan could improve his close-combat experience, physical toughness, and the proficiency of his self-created soul skills.

Currently, Ye Lan had four self-created skills: Golden Eye, Blood Armor, Instant Step, and Echo Shift. Categorized by function, they were support-type, defense-type, and speed/movement-type.

He was still missing an attack-type soul skill, and Ye Lan planned to develop one through close combat with thousand-year soul beasts.

He already had a plan—it was simple: apply the same principles he used to create Instant Step and Echo Shift. Previously, he had developed his soul skills by focusing on the meridians in his legs. This time, he would use the meridians in his arms to develop an offensive skill.

Once he understood the mechanics, creating his own soul skills became as easy as drinking water.

Upon reaching the dense heart of the forest, Ye Lan concealed his soul power fluctuations and began searching for physically powerful thousand-year soul beasts. He pulled out a map from his backpack and, using the shape of the mountains and rivers, roughly estimated his location before beginning a systematic search within the marked area.

Suddenly, his path was blocked by a yellow boulder. Feeling a bit tired, Ye Lan sat on it without a second thought.

Crack! Crack!

The "boulder" suddenly shifted, and Ye Lan toppled off. It turned out to be a 500-year-old Lion Turtle. Its shell was covered in thick, earthen armor, which had fooled Ye Lan into thinking it was a stone.

The Lion Turtle, irritated by Ye Lan's interruption of its nap, let out a disgruntled growl and stomped off without looking back. Clearly annoyed, Ye Lan scratched his head in embarrassment.

As he watched the Lion Turtle's retreating form, he noticed something else—a towering ancient tree nearby. It was so massive that it would take several adults linking arms to encircle it.

While such massive trees were common in the Star Dou Forest, what drew Ye Lan's attention was a large, dark hole at its base—an entrance carved into its roots.

Clearly, there was a soul beast inside. Ye Lan's interest was instantly piqued.

He picked up a large stone from the grass, gauged its weight, and hurled it forcefully into the tree hole.

The rock shot into the darkness, clanging against wood with several sharp bangs. Before the echo of impact could fade, it was drowned out by a thunderous roar.

"ROAR! ROOOAR!"

Ye Lan immediately became alert, activating his Golden Eye to observe the tree hole.

If a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear appeared, he would instantly retreat using Instant Step and Echo Shift. Even a hundred-year-old Terrorclaw Bear could contend with ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beasts. If he had to fight one, he'd be forced to rely on his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, defeating the purpose of his melee training—and he likely wouldn't win anyway.

Before long, a bear with blood-red eyes and jet-black fur charged out of the hollow.

Ye Lan narrowed his eyes. It was a thousand-year Bloodthirsty Demon Bear. The bear measured seven meters in length, and its thick black fur couldn't hide the explosive muscles beneath. Its two black paws were armed with ten sharp claws, each several dozen centimeters long and entirely silver, gleaming with menace.

After emerging from the tree, the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear locked eyes on the golden-haired human not far ahead. It immediately realized this human had disturbed its peace and let out a furious roar.

Then, roaring all the while, it began tearing up the earth with its claws as it charged at Ye Lan.

Seeing the beast's overflowing fighting spirit, Ye Lan smiled. He was quite pleased with the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear's strength. Its thick hide and powerful body made it an excellent opponent for developing new soul skills.

(End of Chapter)