Douluo Continent: Starting from Tianshui Academy

Chapter 40 Two Thousand Year Ghost Leopard

Although the Soul Hunting Forest in the north of Notting City cannot compare to the Sunset Forest and Starry Sky Forest, it still has a wide variety of low-level soul beasts.

Ye Liangchen felt that the age of the soul beasts in this forest should not exceed 3 years, after all, these were only soul beasts raised by the empire.

In addition to the soldiers guarding the entrance to the Soul Hunting Forest, there is also the Spirit Hall Enforcement Team, which patrols the forest regularly to prevent poaching.

In fact, the enforcement team mainly aims to prevent those soul-hunting teams from illegally poaching. After all, in addition to soul rings and soul bones, the flesh, hides, and teeth of soul beasts are very valuable, and many free soul masters would take the risk.

"Awoo..."

"rustle…"

Deep in the forest, many soul beasts that had been around for ten or even a hundred years walked through the forest. Upon seeing Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing's intrusion, they all became alert.

"Meow..."

Zhu Zhuqing immediately summoned her martial soul, transforming into a cute yet fierce cat-eared girl, ready to deal with any attacks from soul beasts.

Ye Liangchen also took out a longsword from his soul tool, on guard against these soul beasts.

"Awoo..."

Suddenly, two ghost wolves, about three hundred years old, rushed out of the forest and roared as they pounced on the two of them.

These two Nether Wolves were about 1.5 meters long, about the size of a calf, and their bodies glowed with a yellow light, a hallmark of hundred-year-old soul beasts.

"Chen-ge, be careful."

"Netherworld Thrust"

Zhu Zhuqing immediately activated her first soul skill, transforming into an agile Netherworld Cat, her fingers turning into sharp claws as she swiftly reached for the two Netherworld Wolves.

"roar…"

Ye Liangchen unleashed a Tiger-Shaped Fist, his soul power transforming into a giant tiger claw that repelled the two Netherworld Wolves.

"Awoo..."

After being repelled, the two ghost wolves stood at a distance, baring their teeth and staring at the two, ready to launch a second attack at any moment.

"Zhu Qing, I'll assist you. Use these two hundred-year-old Nether Wolves to practice, but don't kill them, just drive them away. If you kill them, the smell of blood might attract other powerful soul beasts."

"Swish..."

Ye Liangchen quickly summoned the Goddess Martial Soul and activated the second Soul Skill, empowering Zhu Zhuqing.

"Blessings of Life".

A beam of green light shot out from Ye Liangchen's hand and surged into Zhu Zhuqing's body, instantly doubling her combat power.

"Brother Chen, your support soul skill is so powerful! I feel like my overall strength has increased several times over."

Zhu Zhuqing never expected that Ye Liangchen would have such powerful support skills; it was too unexpected.

"Give it a try!"

Ye Liangchen withdrew his martial spirit and spread his divine sense to guard against the rampage of the two hundred-year-old Netherworld Wolves within a radius of 100 meters, which also scared away the other soul beasts under 100 years old.

"Okay, Brother Chen."

"Swish..."

Zhu Zhuqing rushed over quickly, and in a flash, she was in front of the two hundred-year-old Netherworld Wolves, starting her "stomping the weak" mode.

"ha…"

"Awooo..."

As her strength increased, Zhu Zhuqing became bolder, and the two hundred-year-old Netherworld Wolves were forced to retreat in defeat in the face of her powerful strength.

"Awoo... Awoo..."

Three minutes later, the two hundred-year-old Nether Wolves slunk away, tails between their legs, and fled in all directions.

The Nether Wolf had hoped for a good meal today, but it unexpectedly ran into a tigress and was beaten so badly that it questioned its very existence.

"Brother Chen, what kind of martial soul do you have, that beautiful goddess-like spirit? I remember when you saved me, it seemed to have an entangling function, how come it has an auxiliary skill now?"

Zhu Zhuqing ran to Ye Liangchen's side and asked curiously. At this moment, she still possessed great strength and felt that she could fight against the Soul Sect.

"My Goddess Martial Soul has both offensive and support abilities. The support soul skill I just bestowed upon you is called Blessing of Life, which can increase all your attributes by 30% for 10 minutes."

"A 30% increase in all attributes? No wonder I felt my strength increase several times over. Brother Chen, your martial soul actually has both offensive and support abilities. That's amazing!"

"It's nothing, let's go! Let's continue our search for soul beasts."

"Oh well."

The two chatted as they headed deeper into the forest. Ye Liangchen planned to find a two-thousand-year-old Lightning Shadow Leopard for the kitten. After all, with his help, the girl's physical strength had been greatly enhanced, and with her current strength, absorbing a two-thousand-year-old soul ring wouldn't be a problem.

Millennium-old soul beasts are rare animals in the Soul Hunting Forest, and the two searched for a whole day but still couldn't find a suitable one.

"Zhuqing, let's stay here tonight and look for something more tomorrow. If we still can't find anything suitable, we'll head straight to the Star Dou Forest."

"Brother Chen, I'll follow your arrangements."

As evening fell, the two found a small cave of about three square meters and decided to spend the night there.

"Brother Chen, this cave isn't very big. Let's cut down some tree trunks and make a simple door to block the entrance, it'll be safer."

"Okay, no problem."

Without further ado, the man and woman worked together, and the work was not tiring. They used knives to cut down some tree trunks as thick as bowls, cut them into sections, and then found some rope to tie the tree trunks together to make a simple fence to block the entrance of the hole.

To make it even safer, Ye Liangchen also moved some large stones and built a wall outside the cave entrance.

Zhu Zhuqing sprinkled a layer of medicinal powder outside the cave entrance to prevent snakes and insects from getting close, and also placed many leaves outside the cave entrance to cover the entire entrance.

"Zhuqing, I didn't expect you to have so much experience in wilderness survival!" Ye Liangchen was also surprised by the kitten's skillful actions.

"Brother Chen, I went to the forest with my aunt before, and I learned all of this from her. As a Soul Master, you have to learn how to survive in the wild. At home, I was often suppressed by my sister and couldn't cultivate properly, so I had no choice but to run away to the mountains to hide and cultivate..."

Zhu Zhuqing also told Ye Liangchen some interesting stories about her survival in the wild, saying that people are often forced to do things their best.

"Let's eat some dry rations first. We can't cook tonight, so we'll just have to make do with some dry rations."

Ye Liangchen lit a fire, then took out a pot of water and some dry food from his soul tool for dinner.

"Don't worry, Brother Chen, I'm used to this kind of life."

Zhu Zhuqing felt that being with the person she loved, even just drinking water, was incredibly sweet.

"Awoo..."

"Squeak..."

In the stillness of the night, the cries of various spirit beasts echoed from the distance of the forest, sending chills down one's spine.

Ye Liangchen could even sense soul beasts passing by dozens of meters away from the cave entrance. Fortunately, the two of them had blocked the cave entrance beforehand, otherwise they might have been discovered by those soul beasts.

"Brother Chen, you go to sleep. I'll keep watch for you."

"Let's go together. The cave entrance is protected by a wooden door and stone walls, so we should be safe. We need to rest up and search for soul beasts again tomorrow."

"Okay, Brother Chen."

The two of them took out their sleeping bags, spread out their blankets, crawled in, and started sleeping.

Just as Ye Liangchen was drifting off to sleep, a figure suddenly slipped in, startling him awake.

"Little kitty! How did you get here?"

Looking at the kitten sitting next to him, Ye Liangchen was speechless. If this continued, problems would inevitably arise sooner or later.

"Brother Chen, I can't sleep alone. Can you chat with me for a bit?"

The kitten came up with a lame excuse and then lay down next to Ye Liangchen.

"Fine! Do as you please, but you can't take advantage of me!" Ye Liangchen waved his hand dismissively.

"Pfft...! Brother Chen, shouldn't we women say that?" Zhu Zhuqing was amused by this guy.

"Aunt Lan and the others once told me that boys should remember to protect themselves when they are out, especially when they encounter female hooligans."

After Ye Liangchen finished speaking, he moved to the side, leaving the kitten speechless.

"Brother Chen, are you taking me for a female hooligan?"

Seeing Ye Liangchen's expression, as if she were about to devour him, Zhu Zhuqing smirked, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to her side.

"Little kitty! You have no sportsmanship, you attacked us from behind."

Ye Liangchen felt that the kitten had gone astray; the quiet kitten of the past was gone.

"Brother Chen, don't talk, go to sleep!"

"Didn't you say you wanted to chat?"

"I don't want to talk anymore, I'm going to sleep."

Zhu Zhuqing held Ye Liangchen's arm tightly, feeling a sense of security. A smile appeared on her face, and then she gradually fell asleep.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, the two were awakened by a faint sound.

"Awoo..."

"Bang bang..."

The sounds kept coming from afar, mixed with the sounds of fighting.

"Brother Chen, it looks like there are soul beasts fighting."

"Let's go take a look; maybe we'll find a soul beast that suits you."

The two got up, walked out of the cave, found a stream, washed up quickly, and then quietly sneaked towards the direction where the soul beasts were fighting.

"Awoo..."

"Roar..."

When the two arrived at a valley a kilometer away, they found a ghost leopard and a wild boar fighting. Both of the spirit beasts were over a thousand years old, with the ghost leopard being 2000 years old and the wild boar being 2500 years old.

"Zhu Qing, if you can't find the Lightning Shadow Leopard, just kill that Ghost Leopard and make it your third soul ring."

Ye Liangchen decided to let the kitten absorb the soul ring of the 2-year-old ghost leopard, since her martial soul was the Netherworld Cat, which was similar in attributes to the ghost leopard.

"Brother Chen, it's your decision! I'll follow your arrangements."

The Ghost Leopard is a top-tier animal spirit ring, possessing immense strength and speed. Zhu Zhuqing also felt that this spirit beast might bring about different changes for her.

"Zhu Qing, let me tell you, I heard that there is a Title Douluo in the Spirit Hall called Ghost Leopard Douluo. His spirit is the Ghost Leopard, which is considered top-tier among beast spirits."

"Ghost Leopard Douluo? That's powerful!"

Upon hearing that the Spirit Hall actually had such a powerful figure, Zhu Zhuqing realized that the Ghost Leopard Spirit Soul was far more powerful than the Netherworld Cat Spirit Soul.

"This ghost leopard is 2 years old. Zhu Qing, the pills I gave you before have already given you a strong physique. Now you're going to challenge your limits. Do you have the confidence?"

Ye Liangchen directly stated the age of the ghost leopard, so that the girl could be mentally prepared.

"Brother Chen, since I met you, my strength has improved a lot. My power is at least twice as strong as before. I'm confident."

Upon learning of Ye Liangchen's extraordinary soul ring configuration, Zhu Zhuqing also wanted to challenge her own limits.

"Then let's wait for the right opportunity before making our move."

The two hid in a large tree, quietly watching the two soul beasts fight.

"Roar..."

"Bang bang..."

The battle scene of the two-thousand-year-old soul beast was extremely destructive. Within a radius of 100 meters, dust flew, rocks scattered, and many trees were broken.

An hour later, the wild boar finally lost ground, its belly torn open by the ghost leopard, leaving it barely alive. The ghost leopard was also in bad shape, its hind leg pierced by the wild boar's tusks, and one of its front legs bitten off. The battle ended in a draw, with both sides severely injured.

"Zhu Qing, make your move."

"clear."

The two immediately summoned their martial spirits and charged towards the two soul beasts.

"Blessings of Life".

Ye Liangchen used his second soul skill to support Zhu Zhuqing, instantly increasing her overall strength by 30%, allowing her to fight to her heart's content.

"Roar..."

Although the leopard had lost both legs, it still possessed considerable strength. Seeing two humans charging towards it, it was unwilling to accept its fate and opened its mouth, revealing sharp teeth, ready to counterattack at any moment.

"Whoosh..."

"Zhu Qing, torture the Ghost Leopard a bit. Don't kill it all at once. Torture it until it doubts the existence of leopards, then finish it off."

After Ye Liangchen killed the wild boar with a single sword strike, he remembered that soul beasts, when driven by extreme resentment, had a high chance of developing external soul bones, so he asked Zhu Zhuqing to give it a try.

"Brother Chen, don't worry!"

Although Zhu Zhuqing didn't know why she had to do this, she did whatever Ye Liangchen told her to do.

"Meow..."

"Roar..."

With Ye Liangchen's assistance, Zhu Zhuqing is now very powerful. In addition, the ghost leopard has lost both legs and its strength is almost gone. Therefore, Zhu Zhuqing completely overwhelmed the monster.

"Bang bang bang..."

"Awoooooo..."

Twenty minutes later, Ghost Leopard was covered in wounds, and Zhu Zhuqing launched the final blow, ending Ghost Leopard's life with a single strike.

"Replenish your soul power, get yourself into peak condition, and prepare to absorb this soul ring."

Ye Liangchen took out two Soul Power Pills and fed them to Zhu Zhuqing to keep her in top condition.

"Buzzing..."

As soon as Ghost Leopard died, the purple soul power gradually condensed into a large purple circle.

"Brother Chen, I'm starting now."

Zhu Zhuqing sat cross-legged on the ground, summoned her martial spirit, and began to absorb the two-thousand-year-limited spirit ring.

"Ahhh..."

The moment the purple soul ring was placed on Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul, a powerful force surged into her body, causing her to cry out involuntarily.

"Buzzing..."

"Zhu Qing, I've given you some assistance. Immediately mobilize the energy in your soul rings and integrate it into your physical body."

Ye Liangchen then used his Life Blessing Soul Skill to empower Zhu Zhuqing.

"Brother Chen, don't worry, I can handle it."

With the help she received, Zhu Zhuqing quickly used her powerful strength to suppress the energy in her soul and began to absorb the soul ring with all her might.

An hour later, a tiny droplet of blood appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's body. Ye Liangchen used his divine sense to perceive the condition inside her body and found that there was no major problem.

Zhu Zhuqing kept telling herself that if she wanted to break free from her fate, she had to become stronger.

Human potential is limitless; you won't know how much potential you have until you push yourself.

Zhu Zhuqing kept pushing herself, and after three hours, she finally succeeded in absorbing the power. A powerful aura erupted from her body, and she successfully advanced to the Soul Venerable level, with her soul power reaching level 32.

"Brother Chen, I did it!"

Zhu Zhuqing jumped up from the ground, threw herself into Ye Liangchen's arms, and cheered excitedly.

"Little kitty! Not bad."

Ye Liangchen knew the kitten would succeed. He had given this girl a cheat code before, feeding her Foundation Establishment Pills and Body Tempering Pills, and teaching her the complete Five Elements Divine Fist, making her physical body very powerful. A mere two-thousand-year soul ring was nothing to him.

(End of this chapter)