Chapter 4: Theoretical Practice, the Douluo System's Greatest Treasure Trove
Swish, swish, swish! The sharp wolf claws lunged toward Su Haichao's throat with a startling sound of breaking air.
Crouching low, he charged.
His robust body slammed into the pouncing Gray Wolf; flesh collided with wolf hide, producing a dull thud.
Bang!
The Gray Wolf's body was sent flying by the impact. As it fell through the air, it let out a weak whimper, and the faint sound of shattering bones echoed from within its body.
Thud!
The body crashed onto the ground, and threads of dark red blood trickled from the wolf's mouth.
The loss of one life did not deter the pack; instead, it drove them into a greater frenzy.
Three Gray Wolves pounced simultaneously from the front, left, and right, targeting Su Haichao's chest, throat, and back respectively.
Watching this thrilling scene from the tree, Su Yuntao couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for his father.
Facing the overwhelming killing intent, Su Haichao remained calm. His second spirit ring flickered, and the wolf claws on his hands instantly lengthened as he swung them through the air repeatedly.
Instantly, streaks of energy-form claw marks shot out from his hands, striking the Gray Wolves in all three directions.
Second Spirit Ability, Claw Shadow: Mobilizes spirit power to erupt from the claws, forming an energy-form attack that can exert power away from the body.
Puchi!
Amidst flying flesh and blood, the energy-form Claw Shadows easily tore through the Spirit Beasts' defenses, leaving gaping wounds in their bodies.
"Dad! Watch out."
A hazy mist of blood shrouded Su Haichao's surroundings. Had the attacker not failed to conceal its presence and Su Yuntao not had the advantage of the high ground, the sudden burst of killing intent might have gone unnoticed.
A Gray Wolf with five tufts of white hair on its head had somehow already crept nearby unnoticed. Taking advantage of the moment Su Haichao's old strength was spent and his new strength had yet to arise, it bared its fangs. However, because it was attacking from behind, it didn't notice the smirk that had appeared on its target's lips at some point.
The purple thousand-year spirit ring suddenly shone, and a powerful aura instantly erupted from Su Haichao.
Third Spirit Ability, Amplification: Effect: Increases all attributes by 30%.
A simple skill with an extraordinary effect.
Empowered by the Spirit Ability, Su Haichao displayed a certain aesthetic of raw statistics.
Feeling the chilling killing intent from behind, he did not panic. Instead, he unhurriedly twisted his body, letting the sharp claws graze past his waist.
Spinning around, he swept out.
His waist muscles exploded like a coiled spring. With his left foot planted, the powerful force caused his entire body to spin rapidly.
His muscular right leg, covered in a thin layer of fur, suddenly swept toward the pursuing attacker.
Bang! Crackle!
The Gray Wolf, kicked flying, slammed violently into a large tree and crashed down from above. A series of branches snapped, and leaves fluttered everywhere. Even the thickest part of the main trunk showed signs of cracking, showing just how strong that sudden burst of power had been.
The Gray Wolf, which hadn't even had the chance to show off its might, was instantly silenced.
Five tufts of white hair, plus a small tuft that hasn't fully formed—this is just right for Yuntao.
Relying on his own practice of the Eye Health Technique and his deeper cultivation, Su Haichao quickly noted the Gray Wolf's key features even in a fleeting glance.
Seeing the creature struggle to stand only to collapse again with limp hind legs, it was clearly highly probable that its spine had been damaged, resulting in paralysis of its lower body.
Su Haichao dared not delay. If this wolf couldn't hold on and died, they might not have the luck to find such a suitable Spirit Beast again.
He rushed toward the Gray Wolf in a few strides while remaining cautious, staying alert to his surroundings to prevent further sneak attacks from Spirit Beasts.
Clearly, he was overthinking it. Once the other Gray Wolves saw their leader nearly kicked to death by the terrifying upright ape before them, they didn't dare stay a moment longer and scattered to save their lives.
After confirming there were no enemies nearby and that the wolf was indeed on the brink of death, Su Haichao waved his hand.
"Yuntao, come down. This wolf has five tufts of white hair on its head and another one nearly formed, meaning its age is very close to six hundred years. It's perfect for you in every way. Come down quickly, kill it, and absorb its spirit ring."
Seeing his father safe and sound, Su Yuntao breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly climbed down the tree upon hearing Su Haichao's words.
With a flash of light, Su Haichao took a dagger from the storage soul tool bracelet on his wrist and handed it to Su Yuntao.
Taking a deep breath, Su Yuntao was about to strike but then stopped.
"What's wrong? Can't bring yourself to do it?"
Seeing his son stop, Su Haichao couldn't help but feel puzzled. His son didn't seem like the indecisive type.
"No."
Su Yuntao shook his head. "I was just reminded of the advice my little brother gave me when he was talking about spirit rings and Spirit Abilities."
Hearing this, Su Haichao raised an eyebrow. "You mean the theory that a Spirit Master's consciousness can influence the effect of the resulting Spirit Ability?"
Su Yuntao nodded. "What do you think, Father?"
"You can give it a try. Just as Shan Zi said, even if your first spirit ring grants an offensive skill, it won't be very powerful later on. Instead, it's better to get a percentage-based amplification skill. If you want an offensive skill, you can wait until you absorb a thousand-year spirit ring. This also allows you to use this absorption to verify if the theory is correct. It's killing two birds with one stone."
Exactly. This was part of the future Tang Shan had planned for Su Yuntao. Regardless of whether high-level Spirit Masters knew about the theory of consciousness influencing spirit rings, and even though its validity was yet to be confirmed, he still gave Su Yuntao this suggestion.
Although it seemed like he was using Su Yuntao as a guinea pig, this experiment was different from a certain Grandmaster Gangzi's experiments.
Even if his experiment failed and resulted in a random Spirit Ability, it was certain that a wolf-type Spirit Beast was the most suitable for Su Yuntao's Spirit. One could say his experiment had everything to gain and nothing to lose.
But that certain Gangzi was different, having a life-type Blue Silver Grass absorb an animal-type poison spirit ring. Tang Shan could only say: I don't understand, but I am greatly shocked.
As for the possibility that the amplification skill might not be a rule-based amplification...
Tang Shan thumped his chest and declared: Based on my experience reading the Douluo trilogy and some documents in the Spirit Hall's archives, almost all amplification skills are rule-based Spirit Abilities.
This was what Tang Shan considered the most valuable and Heaven-Defying part of the Douluo Continent's Spirit Master cultivation system.
Just look at a certain Sea God; despite being a God King, he could still have all his attributes increased by 100% by a certain second-class god, the Nine Colored Goddess, using the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. This shows the high value of Douluo Continent's Spirit Abilities.
According to Tang Shan's original words: Who needs offensive skills? Amplification skills are the real deal. If one amplification isn't enough, how will you handle a full set of them?
Lacking combat techniques? Doesn't matter. I'll show you the beauty of raw stats. Watch me break all laws with pure strength, hah!
Jokes aside, Tang Shan's logic was very clear. Whether it was offense, defense, or amplification, only rule-based Spirit Abilities were truly valuable.
For example, the Spirit Ability Paragon Golden Body of a certain "hundred-thousand-year rogue rabbit, mother of many, and sheath of the Asura Sword"...
Or the Spirit Abilities Undying Body and Eternal Wound of the "Rakshasa, love-brain, Supreme Pontiff"...
In Tang Shan's view, any Spirit Ability that lacked a rule-based effect was essentially not worth obtaining. After all, those could be seen as the application of spirit power, physical strength, or mental force, and many such effects could be achieved by researching Self-Created Soul Skills.
Puchi! The sharp dagger plunged into the wolf's eye, piercing through to its brain—a single strike to a vital point.
The Gray Wolf leader gave a token struggle before completely losing its life.
Specks of yellow light gathered, finally coalescing into a bright yellow halo above the wolf's corpse—it was indeed a spirit ring nearly six hundred years old.
"Yuntao, adjust your state. Calm your heart and steady your mind."
Seeing Su Yuntao's impatient expression, Su Haichao quickly reminded him.
Su Yuntao didn't speak. He first closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, and soon his excitement settled.
With his Spirit possessed, he followed the mystical connection to draw the spirit ring over his head. It then rapidly shrank and descended, encircling Su Yuntao.
"Big brother, when you absorb the spirit ring, focus on taking in the spirit power while keeping your will firm. You can also silently chant 'amplification Spirit Ability' in your heart, and we'll see what Spirit Ability you end up with."
Recalling his little brother's advice, Su Yuntao didn't hesitate and firmly held the thought: "I want an amplification Spirit Ability, I want an amplification Spirit Ability..."
After confirming that his son's absorption of the spirit ring was proceeding without issue and that his state was stable, Su Haichao also breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that for spirit rings under ten thousand years, without the influence of a Spirit Beast's soul shock, it truly depended on the Spirit Master's own physical fitness.
Just as Su Haichao was about to rest while acting as a Protector, his attention was caught by a faint ripple of spirit power emanating from the nearly six-hundred-year-old Gray Wolf.
His expression changed slightly. He quietly scanned the surroundings for anyone else. After confirming there were no other Spirit Masters, he decisively cut the Gray Wolf's front right leg, which was emitting spirit power ripples, from the shoulder. He muttered, "I wonder how this leg tastes roasted... never mind, let's cut another leg and try."
With that, Su Haichao cut off the Gray Wolf's hind leg as well.
Then, he pretended to be a normal Spirit Master acting as a Protector, remaining alert to the surroundings.
Time ticked by, and before he knew it, a fine sweat broke out on Su Haichao's forehead, as if he were under some immense invisible pressure.
Although his physical fitness met the requirements to withstand the energy in the spirit ring, the sheer volume of the ring was still there. After nearly another hour, Su Yuntao finally completely absorbed the spirit ring, which was close to six hundred years old.
As soon as the absorption was complete, Su Yuntao jumped up. With his movements, popping sounds like firecrackers erupted from all over his body, and his height had increased significantly.
"Dad, little brother's theory was right! The Spirit Ability from my first spirit ring is an amplification type."
Hearing this, Su Haichao, who had secretly breathed a sigh of relief, was also quite curious and beckoned him over.
"Alright, we'll talk about the Spirit Ability's effects on the way back. This Spirit hunt was quite fast. Including the return trip, it won't take more than a week. I'm still a bit worried about Shan Zi being home alone. Let's hurry back."