Chapter 5: Preparing to Hunt Soul Ring
Lin Beiya had no intention of wasting even a drop of his precious blood. He hurriedly summoned his Martial Soul to catch the blood before it could hit the ground, then quickly fetched a medical kit, bandaged the wound, and sat cross-legged to wait—hoping to see his Martial Soul undergo some kind of change.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds…
As time slipped away, Lin Beiya's heart gradually sank. His blood showed no reaction — it didn't seem to possess even a trace of Athena's divine nature.
"So… I can't activate it as Athena's God Cloth after all? Then what's the point of this Martial Soul?"
He sighed in disappointment but quickly forced himself to think rationally. Then it struck him—this was Douluo Dalu.
Soul Rings were the foundation of all power here.
"Right… Maybe I'll figure it out once I get my first soul ring. I was born with full innate soul power; there's no way my Martial Soul is just useless trash."
Having thought it through, Lin Beiya decided not to dwell on it anymore.
He'd head to the archives tomorrow and study the Soul Beast Encyclopedia before deciding what kind of soul ring to hunt.
The orphanage had a few illustrated books on soul beasts, but compared to the Spirit Hall's grand library—the sacred land of all Soul Masters—those simple illustrations were child's play.
(And yet, someone once became a titled Master of Martial Soul Theory just by copying that kind of secondhand knowledge…)
The thought made Lin Beiya smirk.
Youth truly was a blessing. After lying down, he quickly fell asleep and didn't stir until the first rays of dawn.
When he finally opened his eyes, panic struck him like lightning.
"Crap! I promised that little golden-haired girl I'd meet her at the library—did I oversleep?!"
He jumped out of bed, washed up in record time, and rushed to change into the neatly folded clothes a servant had prepared. Then he sprinted toward the central garden.
Sure enough, when he arrived, Qian Renxue was already waiting in the pavilion, arms crossed and face puffed in irritation.
Before Lin Beiya could even greet her, the little princess's scolding hit him with full force.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?"
"We agreed to meet this morning, and I was supposed to take you to the library! Do you even realize it's almost noon now?"
Lin Beiya scratched his head awkwardly, scrambling for an excuse. His mind spun rapidly—and soon, a reasonable one came to him.
"Ah, sorry about that. It's my first day living here, and I wasn't used to the place. I couldn't sleep at first, then finally dozed off and… well, I overslept."
As expected, Qian Renxue's expression softened immediately after hearing that.
"Hmph, fine. I'll forgive you this time. Come on—let's go. We still need to be back before lunch, so you don't have much time to read."
"Got it. Thanks."
Lin Beiya thanked her sincerely and hurried to follow.
He couldn't help but notice that after absorbing her soul ring, Qian Renxue had grown quite a bit taller than him — even though they were the same age. That tiny difference stung his pride a little.
After leaving the Douluo Hall, Qian Renxue led him toward an ancient-looking building not far from the Pope's Palace.
After showing her token to the guards, they were allowed to enter the library's grand hall.
"What do you want to look up? Martial Soul Compendium? History of the Continent?"
Lin Beiya rolled his eyes. His Martial Soul was one of a kind—no compendium could tell him anything about it.
As for the continent's history? He couldn't care less. Let the world develop however it wanted; it had nothing to do with him.
"I want to check the Soul Beast Encyclopedia—to see which soul rings would best suit my Martial Soul."
"Alright, follow me."
Qian Renxue didn't question him further. After all, for any Soul Master, soul rings were the top priority once they reached a bottleneck.
She guided Lin Beiya into a side hall lined with bookshelves, then left for a moment.
When she returned, her delicate hands were holding two thick tomes. She set them down on the desk with a small puff of dust and clapped her hands clean.
"Here—these should cover everything. There's a lot, so just read as much as you can for today."
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome," she said with a sweet smile. "Didn't I say I'd look after you while you're in the Spirit Hall?"
Her tone was light, but the warmth behind it made Lin Beiya pause for a moment.
For the first time, he realized—having a friend like Qian Renxue might not be such a bad thing after all.
After thanking Qian Renxue, Lin Beiya didn't waste a moment. He skimmed through the table of contents of several books, then chose to start with the one detailing suitable soul rings for weapon-type Martial Souls.
As he flipped through the pages, Lin Beiya's expression gradually turned strange. Once again, he confirmed that a certain "Grandmaster's" so-called theories were nothing but repackaged common knowledge.
The book clearly stated that weapon-type Martial Souls could absorb rings from plant-type soul beasts—something that "the great theorist" later claimed to have discovered himself.
By that logic, it meant plant-type Martial Souls could also absorb beast-type soul rings, didn't it?
And yet that same "Grandmaster" would one day proudly tell Tang San that this was his original hypothesis.
Lin Beiya couldn't help but glance at Qian Renxue, who was propping her chin with both hands, bored out of her mind. He sighed and shook his head, clearing his thoughts before focusing on his search again.
"Bladed Mantis — suitable for sword-type Martial Souls. Grants a slashing-type skill."
"Earthshell Turtle — suitable for shield-type Martial Souls. Grants a defensive skill..."
He kept flipping through entry after entry, yet none of the listed soul beasts matched his peculiar Martial Soul.
The only remotely similar case he found was about a man who had awakened a Stone Martial Soul.
That man absorbed the ring of a Radiant Tiger and obtained a skill called Holy Light Throw.
Lin Beiya stared blankly at the description.
Holy Light Throw? What is he supposed to do—hurl Athena's God Cloth at people like a brick?
He sighed helplessly and kept searching, completely losing track of time—even skipping lunch without realizing it.
After a while, a familiar voice broke his concentration.
"Hey, how long are you going to keep reading? It's been three whole hours already!"
"Huh…? That long?"
Lin Beiya rubbed his sore neck, finally closing the book. Qian Renxue immediately beamed with relief.
"So, Lin Beiya—did you find any soul beast that suits your Martial Soul?"
He shook his head with a wry smile.
"No luck. My Martial Soul's too unique. There's no record of anything similar in these books."
"I see…" Qian Renxue frowned slightly, then asked softly, "So what will you do? With full innate soul power, you should be ready to hunt your first soul ring soon, right?"
"Yeah," Lin Beiya nodded, "I'll just have to rely on instinct when the time comes and see what fate throws at me."
Qian Renxue smiled again, her golden eyes shining with quiet confidence.
"Don't worry—I believe you'll find the right soul ring. Come on, let's eat first. I'm starving!"
"Haha, alright. And… Thanks for keeping me company all this time."
After sharing a belated lunch, Qian Renxue was called away for swordsmanship practice. Lin Beiya, on the other hand, was about to return to his quarters when an aged, powerful voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Lin Beiya."
He turned and immediately bowed.
"Greetings, Grand Worship."
Qian Daoliu regarded him calmly.
"Have you decided which kind of soul beast you'll hunt for your first ring?"
Lin Beiya shook his head.
"No, Grand Worship. None of the records mentioned a Martial Soul like mine. I can only rely on intuition when choosing."
Qian Daoliu frowned slightly, then slowly relaxed, a faint smile touching his lips.
"I see. That can't be helped. After all, your Martial Soul's development path is still unclear. We'll have to wait until you obtain your first soul skill to determine your future direction."
Lin Beiya nodded in agreement.
"Yes, that's what I was thinking too. If the first skill turns out to be a support-type ability, I'll follow the path of an auxiliary Soul Master. If it's offensive, I'll train as a power-type."
"Good," Qian Daoliu said approvingly. "Since you already have a plan, tomorrow I'll send someone to escort you to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain your first soul ring."
"The Star Dou Great Forest?" Lin Beiya blinked in surprise.
Spirit City wasn't far from the nearby Hunting Forest, which was where most people went to obtain their first soul rings. Why go out of the way to the Star Dou Forest instead?
Noticing his confusion, Qian Daoliu chuckled softly.
"The Hunting Forest's beasts are too ordinary. The chance of finding something compatible with your Martial Soul is low. For your future growth, the Star Dou Great Forest is a far better choice."
Lin Beiya bowed deeply.
"Understood, Grand Worship. Thank you for your guidance!"
—
End of Chapter