Today, Zhu Changhe was taking Zhu Ziyang to hunt for his first soul ring. The trip would take at least seven days, so when Zhu Ziyang returned home, his parents were already busy preparing dry rations and travel supplies.
"Yangyang, you're back. Go eat breakfast. Once you're done, you two can head out," Liang Ying said when she saw him enter.
"Okay, got it." Zhu Ziyang nodded and went to eat.
At 9 a.m., Zhu Ziyang and his father set off under Liang Ying's expectant gaze.
Their destination was the Tianhui Gorge, located west of Anyang City. Though it couldn't compare to the famous great forests and mountain ranges of the continent, it was still one of the top soul beast gathering zones near Anyang. Soul Masters from nearby cities often came to the gorge to hunt soul rings. The reason was simple—Tianhui Gorge had a large number of soul beasts, primarily centennial beasts, with some millennial beasts and almost no ten-thousand-year ones.
Moreover, the gorge housed several species of light-attribute soul beasts, making it a perfect hunting ground for Zhu Ziyang.
The journey to Tianhui Gorge was about two hundred kilometers. At their current pace, it would take three days to get there.
Father and son traveled while talking along the way, slowly closing the distance to their destination.
"Yangyang, have you decided what kind of soul beast you want your first ring from?"
"My first choice is the Blazing Light Mantis. If I can't find a suitable one, then Radiant Wolf, White Shadow Sparrow, or Fiery Steel-Armored Beast are all acceptable alternatives."
"Huh? Why those specifically?" Zhu Changhe asked with surprise.
"Because they all have the light attribute," Zhu Ziyang replied matter-of-factly. "Their soul rings can strengthen the Radiant Scythe's light element, so they're obviously top choices."
"Well, that's true." Zhu Changhe thought it over. He didn't fully understand the reasoning behind it, but deep down, he felt his son was right, so he agreed. Still, he couldn't help but sigh. "Too bad your dad isn't strong enough to find you a truly top-tier light-type soul beast."
"It's alright, Dad." Zhu Ziyang comforted him. "These ones are good enough."
And he meant it.
The essence of absorbing soul rings was refining the bloodline essence of soul beasts to enhance and evolve the Soul Master's own bloodline. Yet only a handful in the Soul Master world truly understood this.
This was the tragedy of knowledge monopoly.
Without the Super Library, Zhu Ziyang might have ended up like most common Soul Masters—choosing soul rings based on combat style rather than Martial Soul evolution. He might eventually realize his mistake, but by then his potential would have been wasted, and his Martial Soul reduced to mediocrity. He himself would become just another ordinary cultivator.
Zhu Ziyang felt grateful.
In today's Soul Master world, commoners were limited by their access to knowledge and power. When choosing soul rings, they typically focused on their combat role: power-attack Soul Masters would look for high-strength, high-attack beasts; agility-types sought fast, nimble ones; defense-types pursued durable beasts with strong defenses.
This approach could provide decent soul skills, but did very little to enhance the Martial Soul itself. Not only would the bloodline remain weak, but absorbing too many mismatched soul rings could even damage it. No matter how talented the Soul Master was, such poor choices could cripple their path.
Zhu Changhe's two soul rings were perfect examples. His first was from a Scythe Bone Demon, and the second from an Iron Thread Mantis—neither had any light element. What a waste of the Dusklight Scythe's faint light affinity.
By contrast, Soul Masters from noble families or powerful sects chose soul rings based on Martial Soul evolution. They understood the nature of their Martial Soul and bloodline deeply, and chose their soul beasts with caution and precision.
Take the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Masters, for instance. When selecting soul rings, they prioritized dragon-type or lightning-type soul beasts—ideally both. This ensured maximum compatibility, further strengthening both Martial Soul and bloodline, pushing them toward elite evolution.
These two approaches produced drastically different outcomes: the strong grew stronger, while the weak stayed weak. This was the terrifying result of knowledge being monopolized.
Zhu Ziyang was truly fortunate.
——
By the time father and son reached Tianhui Gorge, it was already late on the third day. They set up camp just outside the gorge, planning to begin their hunt the next day.
That night, Zhu Changhe sat beside the fire on watch while Zhu Ziyang rested in the tent.
Staring into the flames, Zhu Changhe replayed his son's words in his mind over and over again. Eventually, he smiled with satisfaction.
Truly blessed by their ancestors—his son wasn't just talented but also intelligent and decisive. Zhu Changhe felt as if he could already see a bright future ahead for the Zhu family.
In the second half of the night, Zhu Ziyang exited the tent and came to his father's side, offering to take the night watch so his father could rest. Zhu Changhe hesitated, but gave in when Zhu Ziyang reasoned that he would need his strength for tomorrow.
Sitting in his father's spot, Zhu Ziyang added a few more sticks to the dying fire and soon fell into deep thought.
He had long since planned out his soul ring path.
When had that started?
Probably the day he read On the Influence of Soul Ring Quality on Soul Master Development. The conclusions in that book had fascinated him. After all, his parents both had ordinary Martial Souls, and he had a 90% chance of inheriting the same. But from all the books he'd read, it was clear that nearly every Soul Master remembered in history had a high-quality Martial Soul.
How could he accept mediocrity?
Yet with such a high probability of having a common Martial Soul, it seemed his only path to greatness was through mutation.
And he knew—no ordinary Scythe Lizard could suddenly mutate into a top-tier Death God Scythe Frost Dragon Martial Soul.
So when he came across a book explaining how common Martial Souls could evolve into high-tier or even top-tier forms, he read it eight or nine times. He supplemented it with dozens of related texts and eventually formed a comprehensive evolution plan for his Martial Soul.
He devised two paths—one for the Dusklight Scythe, one for the Snow Dragon Lizard.
According to theories like bloodline evolution and soul ring compatibility, cultivation was essentially the process of life refining and evolving itself—from lower forms toward higher life states.
In detail, a Soul Master cultivated their Martial Soul by absorbing soul rings that refined both the soul and the bloodline, thereby elevating the very essence of their being.
For example, Zhu Ziyang's Radiant Scythe could be gradually upgraded by absorbing rings from light-element soul beasts. With each refinement, the scythe's light affinity would grow stronger, potentially allowing it to evolve into a top-tier Martial Soul or even a super Martial Soul.
Zhu Ziyang's eyes were filled with determination.
A long-handled, pure white scythe appeared in his hand. The handle was slender, the blade razor-sharp, and the whole weapon measured over one and a half meters—perfectly sized for his six-year-old frame. This was the Radiant Scythe, his Martial Soul. It radiated a soft, light aura that felt warm even in the cold of night.
But within that warm light… a faint gray mist coiled.
That gray aura was barely noticeable. It circled the scythe once, then vanished—right into the shallow skull engraved at the top of the blade.
Zhu Ziyang's eyes reflected deep contemplation.
His Radiant Scythe didn't just contain powerful light-element energy—it had also awakened a thin strand of death attribute.
A Martial Soul with both light and death?
This was something he had never encountered before—not even in the vast troves of books he had read.
'I hope this sliver of death attribute doesn't bring me trouble.'
With that thought, Zhu Ziyang put away his Martial Soul.
Excitement and nervous anticipation filled his heart.
(End of Chapter)
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