Douluo: Starting with an Engagement to Zhu Zhuqing

Chapter 9: The Royal Beast Garden

"In a few days, you will have to duel with the third prince. You must win this fight." Dai Hengyu sighed, saying,

"I understand, this is quite an unfair challenge. After all, your competitive edge is too small, and no one is willing to invest in you. But if you want to survive, you must prove your potential. This duel is a great opportunity."

Dai Yao nodded solemnly. "I understand."

"Elder Wu values your talent. He was the one who secured this duel for you, and you must thank him properly in the future. If you fail, you will disappoint Elder Wu, and perhaps next time, such an opportunity won't come again," Dai Hengyu revealed the true stakes of the duel.

If it weren't for Elder Wu intervening, Zhu Zhuqing would have already been promised to Dai Mubai, who is the Queen's legitimate son. Without Elder Wu standing behind him, who would care about someone with no background?

In this world, one needs power and influence.

Every investment requires a return. Dai Yao must win this duel; if he fails, Elder Wu might abandon him, and at that point, Dai Yao couldn't even imagine who would support him. His third uncle is strong, but not a powerful soul master, so his support is limited.

After sending Dai Hengyu off, Dai Yao was once again alone in the Cold Palace.

He decided to rest for a few days to recover his body before going to acquire his first soul ring. After all, he had been malnourished for so long that even a small amount of exercise might cause him to faint.

In the following days, the Cold Palace became much livelier.

After Dai Yao's orders, the Cold Palace was gradually restored. What had once been dilapidated was now fresh and renewed.

What Dai Yao cared most about was the food. As the newly appointed Fourth Prince, there was always someone waiting outside his door. He only had to call, and food would be served to him.

Although he hadn't acquired a soul ring and couldn't cultivate his soul power yet, there were many things he could study during this period to nourish his body.

Regarding his martial soul, he discovered two forms.

One was the pure White Tiger form, which lacked wings, but the power of the martial soul was greatly reduced.

The other was the Divine White Tiger form, which had wings. However, the wings currently couldn't fly; they were purely decorative. According to Elder Wu's estimates, once he reached the Soul Emperor rank, he would be able to fly.

As long as he didn't encounter the Qinglian, the Divine White Tiger martial soul was invincible.

Then, there was the Eight Extremities Collapse.

Dai Yao discovered that the amount of energy infused into the technique determined its power. Without being injured, he could infuse up to 10% of his energy. The last time he had been hurt, he had infused 30%, and 40% was the limit of his body.

Therefore, his priority now was to strengthen his body.

The stronger his body, the more energy his meridians could hold, and eventually, he would be able to execute the Eight Extremities Collapse at 50% power without injury, or even higher.

On the fourth day, early in the morning, Dai Yao appeared at the Cold Palace entrance. A carriage was already waiting outside. After a few days of recuperation, Dai Yao looked somewhat more nourished, but he was still thinner than most people, as the missing nutrition would take time to replenish.

Today, he was going to acquire his first soul ring.

Soul rings come from soul beasts, and powerful forces usually raise soul beasts themselves. In the original work, the Poison Douluo Dugu Bo had a Sunset Forest, and the Dai family, which had a history of over ten thousand years, naturally had a place to raise soul beasts as well.

It was called the Star Luo Imperial Royal Beast Garden.

Compared to the rough Sunset Forest, the Star Luo Imperial family was much more scientific.

Over the course of thousands of years, the family's ancestors had long figured out what kind of soul ring suited the White Tiger martial soul. Of the first three soul rings, the most suitable soul skills were the White Tiger Body Shield, White Tiger Fierce Light Wave, and White Tiger Diamond Transformation.

These three soul skills corresponded to the Xuan Shui Turtle, Earth Dragon, and Diamond Beast, respectively.

The Royal Beast Garden raised these three types of soul beasts.

After the third soul ring, the choice of soul skills was left up to the White Tiger descendants, as the family was only responsible for laying the foundation, while growth had to depend on the individual.

In the original work, Dai Mubai, despite leaving the Star Luo Empire at over level 20, still chose the Diamond Beast for his third soul ring.

The carriage traveled for a day and night before finally arriving at its destination.

As the door curtain was lifted, the first thing Dai Yao saw was a towering cliff. In the center of the cliff was a narrow crack. The width of the crack was over ten meters—narrow for the cliff but wide enough for several carriages to pass side by side.

After verifying his identity, the guards led the carriage through the crack.

Looking up from within the crack, the cliffs stretched upwards endlessly, towering to the sky, while above, only a narrow white line of the sky was visible.

The eerie environment made the carriage creak, creating a sense of unease.

After an unknown amount of time, the view suddenly opened up.

The towering cliffs dipped down to form a circular pit. Inside the pit, a lush forest thrived, and three stone walls divided the forest into three parts.

Looking from above, one could see a massive emblem in the shape of a running car.

The head guard dismounted and walked to Dai Yao's side, explaining, "Your Highness, this is the Royal Beast Garden. It is divided into three fan-shaped regions. Different soul beasts live in each area. The area we are in now is home to the Xuan Shui Turtle group."

"The Xuan Shui Turtle group here ranges in age from a hundred to a thousand years, with the oldest reaching up to five thousand years."

"The highest age of a soul beast that a soul master can absorb for their first soul ring is about four hundred years, so Your Highness only needs to look for soul beasts in the hundred-year zone."

Dai Yao nodded. Before coming here, he had already studied knowledge about the Xuan Shui Turtle, including how to distinguish the age of a Xuan Shui Turtle, its living habits, weaknesses, and more.

The Xuan Shui Turtle is a gentle soul beast that can form a water barrier when attacked. Though it is gentle, when enraged, it can charge with surprising destructive power, so hunting a Xuan Shui Turtle carries some risks.

Following the cliffside path, Dai Yao descended slowly.

The path along the cliff was extremely dangerous, barely wide enough for one person to walk. One hand was on the cliff, while the other reached out toward the steep drop.

After an unknown amount of time, Dai Yao finally reached the bottom of the pit. What he saw was a natural area filled with lakes and forests.

Following a small forest path, he began his journey to acquire his first soul ring.

Suddenly, one of the guards appeared uneasy. He walked to a secluded spot where a woman in palace servant attire appeared.

She handed him a small porcelain bottle and instructed, "This is Beast Heart Powder. It will make the Xuan Shui Turtle enter a frenzy. Follow Dai Yao and, when he is unprepared, find an older Xuan Shui Turtle and use this powder on it."

"I've already intercepted the soul master who was supposed to assist him in hunting the soul beast. No one can stop you."

"In this forest full of soul beasts, he will certainly die!"

The guard replied, "Understood."

After the woman left, the guard sneaked toward the soul beast forest. However, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Are you really going to do this? If this is exposed, you and your family will be doomed."

The guard turned around and saw the head guard advising him.

But he had no other choice. Agitated, he said, "Boss, I've had enough. Why are we commoners stuck with such inferior martial souls? My ancestors have guarded this forest for generations, living in isolation, while they live in luxury and indulgence. Why are they above us?"

"Aren't we all human? Why do they get to be superior?"

"Now, I finally have a chance. Once this succeeds, my son will be able to marry a woman from the Zhu family. Then my grandson will have a martial soul that can be cultivated!"

The head guard fell silent. He understood the guard's feelings, but those people's martial souls were strong by nature, born superior. He now had the Queen's maid's promise. If successful, he would likely gain the ability to cultivate a martial soul.

If it were him, he might not be able to resist such temptation either.

"I'll only say this once. The decision is yours."

(End of Chapter)

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