Douluo: From Internal Martial Arts to the Law of Heaven and Earth

Pulling herself up from the bed with both hands, Su Yuntao's eyes flickered as she fell into a brief moment of contemplation.

"Little brother, I want to go to the Great Soul Arena to fight, what do you think?"

Tang Shan was stunned for a moment; he really hadn't expected his elder brother's choice.

Su Yuntao raised her head, her eyes filled with fervor.

“Little brother, I’m only eighteen years old now, still young. Before this, I’ve mostly stayed in the area around Notting City and never been far away. If it weren’t for you, my life might have been just like this. At best, I could inherit my father’s position, and at worst, I would become an ordinary deacon in the Spirit Hall. But now it’s different. Since you came to my home, I’ve undergone earth-shattering changes: my strength has been soaring, and the possibility of reaching the second ring in a thousand years is something I never even imagined.”

Tang Shan fell silent for a moment. Only now did he truly realize how much he had changed the world. Ordinary martial soul awakeners who were originally on the same trajectory were now about to reach a level that they should never have been able to reach.

“I don’t have your comprehension and talent, but you’ve already shown me a glimpse of a vast future. So naturally I can’t give up and must climb to even higher peaks. Besides, the world is so big, I want to see it.”

A relieved smile suddenly appeared on Tang Shan's face, as if he had come to terms with something.

When Su Yuntao mentioned going to the Great Soul Arena, he was strongly opposed to it. After all, although there were normal Soul Battles besides the Death Soul Battles, it was never said that people couldn't die in normal Soul Battles. Let alone Soul Battles, look at the so-called "All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Battle Tournament"—the number of people seriously injured was countless. In the Peerless Stage, even with strong people watching over them, death became commonplace.

How could he bear to let his elder brother take the risk and participate?

From Tangshan's perspective, as long as he has his own plans, his older brother only needs to focus on his training. Reaching the minimum Soul Douluo rank shouldn't be a big problem, and the probability of being banned is also quite high. There's really no need to take any risks.

However, his elder brother's words not only changed his mind but also moved him. His elder brother was a human being, not a machine that could provide him with emotional resources. Naturally, he would have his own thoughts. He wanted his elder brother to always be by his side. On the surface, it seemed to be for his brother's safety, but in reality, wasn't it also a kind of selfishness—a selfish desire to bind a loved one to his side?

If my elder brother wants to venture out, then let him. Besides, the real Douluo Continent is so vast; it would be truly pathetic if he only focused his attention on the area planned in the original story. Why can't I travel across this continent myself in the future?

When the mind is clear, the world suddenly becomes vast.

"Brother, you go first. When I reach a certain age, I will also travel to the mainland."

Unexpectedly, Su Yuntao's face lit up with joy at his younger brother's support. He was confident he could get his father's job done, but his younger brother's was a different story. Tang Shan seemed easy to talk to most of the time, but both father and son could sense the unwavering determination he sometimes displayed.

“That’s all easy to talk about. Didn’t there come a group a few years ago called the ‘Golden Triangle’? The eldest brother also made a name for himself first.”

Tao patted his chest confidently, but his confidence was quickly shattered by Tang Shan.

"Big brother, what about Sister Sisi?"

Su Yuntao suddenly fell silent, clearly indicating that he hadn't considered this point at all.

Tang Shan patted Su Yuntao on the shoulder.

"Brother, I'm going to the rooftop to practice for a while. You should think it over carefully and tell her as soon as possible so she can make her own choice."

With that, Tang Shan pushed open the door and left.

……

The next morning, the group, fully prepared, gathered at the entrance of the town.

Tang Shan glanced at Su Yuntao's face. She was energetic and had a rosy complexion. He couldn't tell if she had already figured things out or hadn't made a decision yet. But as long as there were no problems with her current condition, that was enough. After all, entering the Soul Hunting Forest required maintaining a good condition.

Passing the rest of the hunting party, the three gradually approached the entrance.

Su Haichao took out the warrant from his pocket, and only after the soldiers guarding the entrance confirmed that it was correct did they allow him to pass.

Upon entering the forest, Tang Shan instinctively became more vigilant. This was not a civilized area; it was filled with various hidden dangers.

The formation changed at this point. Su Haichao led the way, Dean Su Yuan brought up the rear, and Tang Shan and Su Yuntao were in the center of the formation.

"Whose soul ring will you hunt first?"

Upon hearing Su Yuan's question from behind, Su Haichao and Su Yuntao subconsciously turned their gazes to Tang Shan, implying that they should go after Tang Shan first.

However, Tangshan clearly misunderstood the meaning, thinking that it was asking him to make the decision.

He pondered for a moment, then spoke.

“Let’s venture deeper into the forest and find the area where the thousand-year-old soul beasts are active. Big Brother’s martial soul is a lone wolf, so it would be best to find a thousand-year-old wolf-type soul beast. However, wolves are pack-like soul beasts, so it’s not easy to encounter one in the Soul Hunting Forest. As for me, any thousand-year-old power soul beast will do. There’s no such thing as original compatibility with a physical martial soul; as long as the attribute is power-type, that’s enough.”

Is this the true skill of a master and his disciple? The analysis is logical and well-founded, the thinking is clear, truly extraordinary.

Su Yuan was astonished as he watched from behind.

Su Haichao and Su Yuntao exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with helplessness.

"Then let's listen to Shanzi."

After making a decision, the team did not continue to wander around the outer edge of the forest, but instead headed towards the core area with a clear objective.

……

The hunting dogs, their tongues lolling out, stared with worried, greedy eyes.

Faced with the soul beasts gradually surrounding them from all directions, Tang Shan took the initiative to step forward.

"Dad, Dean Su, I want to give it a try."

"And me."

Su Yuntao was also excited. Although this was not his first battle, it was the first time he had faced a soul beast head-on, and he was already itching to go.

After glancing at the number of enemies, Su Haichao and Su Yuan exchanged glances for a moment and reached a consensus.

"Alright, these puppies are yours to keep an eye on. Don't be careless."

"Don't worry, they're just a bunch of ten-year-old soul beasts."

Tang Shan said something and charged at the enemy first.

"Little brother, let's have a contest to see who kills more."

Su Yuntao's eyes also showed excitement, and her martial spirit directly possessed her.

The body merges with itself, its body expands rapidly, and the muscle contours become prominent.

In the blink of an eye, Tang Shan, who was originally a bit naive, has transformed into a capable young man.

Wang Wang!

Amidst the incessant barking of dogs, a pack of hunting dogs pounced on Tang Shan, one of which deliberately ran behind him and attempted to tear open his anus.

Vibrant blood and qi surged through his body, and streams of power coursed through his limbs and bones; the surging soul power added to his arms, further increasing the force of his already heavy punch.

Bang! Crack!

The air exploded as a powerful punch slammed into the face of a hunting dog that was about to bite. Its neck and head could not withstand the immense force coming from above and were shattered cleanly.

Blood and white substance stained Tang Shan's fists, but he didn't care.

The "human fist" style of pulling a cart.

Tang Shan attempted to utilize the fist techniques he had learned from the Great Ape in the battle. The enemy was so weak, and with two Soul Masters guarding the area, if anything unexpected happened, he would at most suffer minor injuries. If he didn't try now and insisted on waiting to face a stronger enemy, wouldn't that be courting death?

He naturally grasped the forelegs of the hunting dog that pounced from behind, just as a driver would hold onto the handlebars of his chariot.

With a simple lift and a shake, the power of the hunting dogs behind him was dissipated.

Tangshan unleashed a burst of shoulder strength and leaned back.

With a series of cracking sounds, the chest of the other hound collapsed.

PS：求收藏、月票、推薦票、評論等，求一切。感謝DR真紅K的月票，感謝DR真紅K、書友20190219152221283、德克薩斯家族、書友20190527235453872、52HERTZ929、書友20170709004852881、戾餘伐等書友的的推薦票

Chapter 24: First Battle, Opinions on Hunting Soul Beasts

Long-term practice is a form of learning; life is found in the act of fighting.

What was once a simple and effortless action for a rickshaw puller, when performed by someone from Tangshan, revealed a chillingly deadly intent.

He bent over naturally, like an old farmer tilling the land, his sharp claws flashing past just above his head.

Tang Shan remained expressionless, stood up smoothly, and like an old farmer swinging his hoe, he clenched his fists and slammed them down, landing precisely on the hyena's neck and shoulder.

Crackle!

A series of cracking sounds rang out as the hyena's shoulder and rib bones shattered one after another. It was barely breathing and its life hung by a thread.

With a sweeping motion, as if a commoner were carrying water, he knocked the hyena that attacked from the side to the ground; his fist then slammed down like a heavy hammer, as if a blacksmith were forging metal, swift and ruthless.

The fist and foot techniques that Tang Shan displayed, in the eyes of Su Haichao and Su Yuan watching from the sidelines, had neither a sense of power nor beauty. They were clearly just the daily actions of ordinary people. However, these seemingly ordinary and simple actions brought about the annihilation of this group of ten-year-old soul beasts.

To be near them is to die, to touch them is to be injured; flesh and bone fragments fly together, and brains blend into the sky.

On the other side, Su Yuntao's movements were far less composed than Tang Shan's; instead, they exuded a ferocious, wolf-like ruthlessness.

His only century-old soul ring lit up, and his first soul skill, "Berserk," was activated, increasing his speed by 50% and his strength by 25%.

With this percentage increase, coupled with his increasingly powerful physique after long-term training, Su Yuntao's charge into the hyena pack resulted in a one-sided massacre.

The sharp wolf claws slashed down, instantly ripping open the prey's belly and crushing its burning heart; while swatting the hyena away with its other hand, it also tore through its throat, delivering a swift and deadly blow.

Killing, killing, and more killing—the fruits of long-term training are finally being fully displayed today.

Su Yuan raised an eyebrow and said, "Palace Master Su, your two children are truly remarkable, especially the one with the Body Martial Soul. The master's reputation is indeed well-deserved; he was able to cultivate such outstanding combat power from a quasi-Soul Master with a Body Martial Soul. And that seemingly simple and clumsy fighting style must be a self-created Soul Skill passed down from the master."

Faced with praise, Su Haichao didn't need to say much; he simply smiled brightly and nodded slightly in response.

“However…” Su Yuan paused, his tone becoming more hesitant.

"Old Su, just say what you have to say." Su Haichao frowned slightly, wondering what the other party was worried about.

Su Yuan sighed and said directly, "Very well, Palace Master Su, we've known each other for many years, so I won't beat around the bush. Weren't these two children a bit too brutal? If they could have used less force and left these soul beasts a way out, that would have been better. Otherwise, what will happen when soul masters have no soul rings to absorb in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Su Haichao's brows relaxed, and he looked curious: "Why would you have such a thought? This is not like your usual decisive and straightforward personality, Su Yuan."

Su Yuan pushed up his glasses and gave a wry smile: "This is the idea of ​​Yu Xiaogang, who is staying at my academy. Although his so-called top ten core competitive advantages of martial souls are nonsense and self-contradictory, I quite agree with his point about the protection of soul beasts."

A strange smile appeared on Su Haichao's face as he said, "Let the master's... disciple explain this to you."

He was so frustrated that he almost let it slip, but he stopped in time and didn't arouse Su Yuan's suspicion.

Amidst a series of explosive bursts of air, the lives of one soul beast after another vanished. When Tang Shan stopped again, there wasn't a single hyena standing beside him.

White light spots floated out from the beast corpse, condensed, and eventually formed ten-year soul rings.

At this moment, if Tang Shan wished, he could easily absorb a soul ring with a slight thought and break through his cultivation level, but he would never do that.

Every breakthrough in his cultivation level was a qualitative change in his martial soul, and he would never waste such a heaven-sent opportunity.

He took out water from the storage soul tool his father had given him and washed away the bloodstains on his body before slowly exhaling.

Looking at the blood everywhere, Tang Shan was surprisingly calm, without the disgust he had expected. He didn't know if it was because of his strong adaptability or his resilient willpower.

"Little brother, you're still the best. I'm completely convinced of my defeat this time." Su Yuntao deactivated his martial soul possession, tidied himself up briefly, patted Tang Shan on the shoulder, and the two brothers walked back arm in arm.

"Shanzi, your Uncle Su has some doubts. You should talk to him about it." Su Haichao smiled and raised his chin, signaling Su Yuan to ask quickly.

Su Yuan glanced helplessly at Su Haichao and asked the same question again, this time in a much more tactful tone.

Ultimately, Tangshan is still just a child. If there are any problems, they can be corrected gradually later. There is no need to be overly critical.

After hearing the question, Su Yuntao's expression was quite peculiar, and she did not interrupt.

After listening to the inquiry and understanding the "master's" claims, Tang Shan's lips twitched slightly, and his eyes darted around.

After clearing his mind, he raised a finger and said seriously, "Dean Su, I also asked my master this question before. My master only asked me two questions back then. Now, I'll ask Dean Su the same question."

Upon hearing that it was a question from a master, Su Yuan immediately became serious: "Tang Shan, please speak."

In his view, this was not Tangshan asking questions, but rather a wise old man having an indirect dialogue with him through Tangshan.

"First, these soul beasts are actively trying to kill us. Is there anything wrong with killing them all?"

These words left Su Yuan speechless for a moment. From a subjective point of view, it was perfectly reasonable for him to fight back and kill the other party who wanted to kill him.

"Killing too many will affect the subsequent acquisition of soul rings by soul masters, which is not a good thing." Dean Su's rebuttal lacked confidence, and he clearly felt that it was untenable to let the soul beast go based on this alone.

"Secondly, Dean Su, is it that carnivorous soul beasts consume more food each day, or that we soul masters hunt more soul beasts?"

This question completely stumped Su Yuan. Yes, even if a Soul Master has a great need for Soul Beasts, it is still far less than the daily food intake of a carnivorous Soul Beast. Moreover, many carnivorous Soul Beasts will discard leftover food when resources are plentiful, causing even more waste.

Based on this calculation, excluding differences in appetite, an average carnivorous soul beast would need to eat at least three other soul beasts per day, which would amount to thousands per year. Given this, the number of carnivorous soul beasts in the entire soul beast region would be enormous.

This is Tangshan's fundamental view on hunting soul beasts.

Later, due to the depletion of life cores, the improvement of the environment by human soul tools, and the rise of the Spirit Pagoda, soul beasts on Douluo Star perished. Tang Shan had not personally experienced this matter, so he could not make a rash judgment.

But to say that overhunting by humans was one of the factors contributing to the extinction of soul beasts is laughable to Tang Shan—why don't soul beasts take that into account? How many of their own kind do they consume every day? You can't count the ones they eat as a reduction, and only consider the ones killed by humans as overhunting.

Tang Shan would not actively slaughter soul beasts for the sake of soul bones, but if a soul beast came to him seeking its death, he would not show any mercy.

Furthermore, it wouldn't matter if these soul beast corpses rotted away after he left, but most of the time, after the soul master absorbed the soul ring and left, the remaining beast corpses would "mysteriously disappear." Where these corpses went was truly puzzling.

“Old Su, do you understand now? Even the strongest soul beasts don’t worry about the size of their herds, so why should we humans, who only hunt for soul rings, worry about them?” Su Haichao patted Su Yuan on the shoulder, signaling him to come back to his senses.

Su Yuan rubbed his cheeks with a wry smile and said self-deprecatingly, "I really lost my mind. I knew that Yu Xiaogang was not even a true master and had little real talent, but in the end, I was still influenced by his ideas. Yes, the soul beasts themselves don't even know how many of their own kind they consume every day, so why should we soul masters worry about them?"

Listening to Su Yuan's indirect praise of the master, Tang Shan was so embarrassed that he scratched his toes on the ground, feeling utterly helpless.