Balak Kingdom.
Border Mountains.
Guchui Forest.
This region lay within the sphere of influence of Spirit Hall and was classified as a Spirit Beast reserve. In simple terms, it was an isolated buffer zone established to keep Spirit Beasts contained within the forest, reducing the chances of them wandering out and attacking nearby villages or cities.
Taichu and Master Ma entered Guchui Forest without incident.
Ancient trees towered skyward, their dense canopies lush and verdant, as though they could pierce the clouds themselves. Thick undergrowth carpeted the forest floor, making it impossible to tell what dangers lurked within—perhaps a Spirit Beast hiding in the shadows, waiting for them to lower their guard before striking to take their lives.
"In the Spirit Beast Forest, the most dangerous thing isn't Spirit Beasts," Master Ma said gravely. "It's people."
"You can never see what's in someone's heart. You never know whether the person you meet is good or evil. Someone might look kind on the surface, but stab you in the back when you're not looking. Remember this well—never trust anyone easily in the Spirit Beast Forest."
As he spoke, Master Ma recounted stories from his many years of experience. It was obvious he was a man who had lived through countless trials.
"I understand, Grandpa Ma!"
Taichu nodded solemnly.
He knew all too well how complex human nature could be. People killing over a small amount of money was already common enough—let alone in the Spirit Beast Forest, where dying at the jaws of a Spirit Beast was considered normal. In a place like this, murder for profit happened frequently. Once someone died, no one would ever know who did it, and the case would be buried forever.
Half a day passed after they entered the forest.
"Up ahead is the activity zone of the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox," Master Ma said, stopping in his tracks. "Let's rest here for a bit, recover our condition, and refresh our minds."
Taichu agreed immediately. Hunting Spirit Beasts wasn't like buying groceries or cooking a meal. Even a slightly weaker Spirit Beast could kill someone if they let their guard down. Proper preparation was essential.
He took out dry rations and water from his spirit tool, handed some to Master Ma, and the two sat down to eat.
…
After resting and recovering their strength, they continued deeper into the forest, officially entering the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox's territory.
Before long, they witnessed a hundred-year Lightning Giant Snake attacking a ten-year Gale Wolf. Lightning crackled violently across the snake's body, instantly paralyzing the wolf and rendering it unconscious. The snake then wrapped its massive body around the wolf, strangling it to death before swallowing it whole.
Survival of the fittest played out in brutal clarity.
Taichu and Master Ma quietly detoured around the scene. There was no need to waste energy here.
After searching for some time, they finally found the true target of this trip.
"Purple eyes, a purple ring at the tail, and a second purple ring that's only partially formed… That means this Phantom Domain Spirit Fox is around a thousand years old—roughly eleven hundred years," Master Ma analyzed calmly. "Its age is just right for you."
"Let's take this one, Grandpa Ma," Taichu said.
He knew very well that finding the perfect Spirit Beast in the forest was no different from winning the lottery. Most of the time, as long as the Spirit Beast's age and attributes were suitable, one had to make do. Encountering one that fit him so well was pure luck.
"I'll handle it first," Master Ma said.
He summoned his spirit—an iron rod. Two spirit rings appeared around him, one white and one yellow.
"Wait for your chance. Kill it in a single strike, understand?" he warned.
Only the one who dealt the final blow could absorb the spirit ring. If Taichu didn't kill it himself, the spirit ring would be wasted.
"I understand."
The moment his words fell, Master Ma charged forward, rushing straight toward the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox.
"First Spirit Ability — Giant Elephant Strength!"
His ten-year spirit ring lit up, and his arms visibly thickened, swelling with power.
"Second Spirit Ability — Star-Shattering Strike!"
The hundred-year spirit ring followed immediately.
Master Ma closed the distance in an instant, bringing his iron rod crashing down with terrifying force, like the weight of a thousand jun. However, the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox was incredibly agile and dodged at the last second. The ground where the rod struck shattered and split apart.
Even so, Master Ma didn't stop. He swung the rod again and again, forcing the fox to dodge repeatedly. His attacks flowed without pause. Over decades of combat, he had long developed his own refined rod techniques.
Finally—
Bang!
The Phantom Domain Spirit Fox was struck.
Enraged, the fox's eyes erupted with a brilliant purple glow.
Suddenly, Master Ma's attack veered off course, slamming into empty ground nearby. A strange, almost human-like smile appeared on the fox's face.
"This is… an illusion?!"
"Not good!"
Taichu instantly realized what had happened. The Phantom Domain Spirit Fox had cast an illusion. Anyone with insufficient mental strength would fall into it immediately—even a brief lapse could be fatal.
He hadn't expected Master Ma to be caught so easily.
As expected, the fox prepared to launch a killing blow.
Even Spirit-type Spirit Beasts were terrifying. As long as a creature possessed spirit power, it could kill an adult human— even something as weak as a ten-year Soft Bone Rabbit. That was the true danger of Spirit Beasts.
Swish!
An arrow shot through the air, forcing the fox to halt.
It snapped its head around.
What it saw was a pair of scarlet eyes.
Its vision blurred.
Before it could even blink—
Swish!
Puchi!
Another arrow flew straight through the air and pierced its skull.
The Phantom Domain Spirit Fox felt a flash of pain. Then the world went dark.
Silence.
Off to the side—
"No—wait, uh… this…"
Taichu lowered his bow slowly.
He had fired the first arrow to stop the fox from attacking Master Ma. When it turned to look at him, he instinctively activated the Mangekyō Sharingan. He hadn't expected a thousand-year Spirit-type Spirit Beast to fall directly into his illusion. The moment he realized what had happened, he fired again and ended its life.
"Beast, you—!"
Master Ma roared in fury, just breaking free from the illusion—but the sight before him made his words die in his throat.
Taichu stood there holding a bow.
The thousand-year Phantom Domain Spirit Fox lay dead.
A spirit ring floated above its corpse.
"So… this…"
Master Ma fell silent, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
"It accidentally fell into the illusion released by my spirit," Taichu explained simply. "I seized the chance and killed it with one arrow."
Master Ma stared at him in disbelief.
Outrageous. Completely outrageous.
He had fought the Phantom Domain Spirit Fox with everything he had, yet Taichu's Mangekyō Sharingan spirit had been even more effective. For the first time, Master Ma truly felt old.
"Hurry up and absorb the spirit ring!" he urged.
Taichu immediately stepped forward.
"Use your spirit to guide the ring," Master Ma instructed quietly. "Once it attaches, circulate your meditation technique and refine it completely. The age of this ring is high, so the process will be extremely painful. You must endure it."
Taichu nodded, sat cross-legged, and followed the instructions. The thousand-year spirit ring was drawn toward him and slowly settled onto his body.
Instantly, chaotic energy surged through his meridians.
The pain felt like an IV being forced through his veins at full speed—only far worse. Every inch of his body screamed in agony, twisting his expression into something almost unrecognizable.
Master Ma watched nervously from the side.
A thousand-year first spirit ring.
If successful, it would be nothing short of a miracle—enough to shake the entire Spirit Master world.
When Taichu had first mentioned wanting a thousand-year first ring, Master Ma had thought he was joking. Only after repeated confirmation did he realize the boy was completely serious—and fully prepared.
But a thousand-year spirit ring was never easy to absorb.
Master Ma clenched his fists. He didn't want his old friend's grandson to die here. He was ready to forcibly interrupt the absorption if necessary.
Yet… he also wanted to witness a miracle.
So he could only watch, silently praying in his heart.
Taichu endured the pain and continued circulating his meditation technique. Fortunately, though excruciating, it remained within his tolerance.
Time passed like drifting clouds.
Gradually, Master Ma noticed Taichu's expression begin to relax.
He let out a long breath.
The most dangerous stage was over.
At least seventy to eighty percent of the absorption was complete.
Another hour passed.
"Huu—!"
Taichu exhaled deeply and slowly opened his eyes.
"It's done."
"Hahaha—!"
Master Ma burst into laughter.
"A thousand-year first ring! You actually did it, Little Chu! Do you realize what this means?! You've created history—the first ever! The entire Spirit Master world will change because of you! You'll be remembered forever!"
Taichu simply watched quietly until Master Ma finally calmed down.
"Let's test your spirit power," Master Ma said, pulling out a spirit power crystal.
Taichu placed his hand on it and released his spirit power.
The crystal flared with light.
"Level ten… level eighteen?!"
Master Ma was stunned.
Even absorbing a four-hundred-year spirit ring would usually only raise someone to level twelve at most.
Was a thousand-year ring really that powerful?
"Grandpa Ma, the spirit ring itself only raised my spirit power by four levels," Taichu explained calmly. "The rest came from my previous accumulation—using Whale Glue and daily cultivation."
"Oh—good, good," Master Ma said, sighing in relief.
For a moment, he had thought a thousand-year ring could grant eight full levels outright. If that were true, his decades of cultivation would've felt meaningless.
"Even so, four levels is still incredible," he added.
Those four levels alone would take some Spirit Masters one to two years—sometimes even three or four—to achieve.
"This unconventional absorption saved you at least a year of effort," Master Ma said emotionally. "Perhaps you really will become a great Titled Douluo someday."
Only half a year had passed since Taichu's Spirit Awakening, yet he was already level eighteen. With Innate Full Spirit Power, he would likely reach level twenty within another half year—and then absorb his second spirit ring.
A seven-year-old Spirit Grandmaster.
Unheard of.
"And if your second ring is also several thousand years old…" Master Ma shook his head. "If this keeps up and you don't become a Titled Douluo, I won't believe it even if you beat me."
"So," he asked, eyes gleaming, "what Spirit Ability did you gain?"
"I'll need Grandpa Ma to be my test subject," Taichu said with a smile.
"No problem—go ahead!"
The Mangekyō Sharingan emerged in Taichu's eyes.
A purple spirit ring rose around his body.
Their gazes met.
The ring flared.
"First Spirit Ability — Tsukuyomi!"
In an instant, the world around Master Ma shattered.
He found himself in a strange, unknown space.
"Grandpa Ma," Taichu's voice echoed calmly, "this is my first Spirit Ability, Tsukuyomi. It pulls the enemy into my illusionary world. Here, everything is under my control. Any pain suffered here is exactly the same as in reality."
"The duration depends on my mental strength and spirit power consumption. As long as I have enough spirit power, I could torture someone here for a year—and when the ability ends, only one second would have passed in the real world."
Taichu paused.
He hadn't expected it either.
What should have remained a Mangekyō Sharingan dōjutsu had completely transformed… into his very own Spirit Ability.