Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

Yan felt warm inside from Sister Liya's concern. He smiled at the older sister and then went to rest.

Nothing more was said that night. The next morning, after bidding farewell to Lake, Bart, and the children, Feng Lin and Liya led Yan into the Hot Spring Mountains.

After the three of them entered the mountains to avoid being seen by others, Feng Lin and Li Ya released their martial spirits and flew into the sky.

Feng Lin's Gale Eagle and Li Ya's Light Bird are both bird-type martial souls that can fly. Although Li Ya's Light Bird does not follow the agility-based attack route, it is still not a problem to carry a child and fly for a short time.

Feng Lin spread his wings and flew ahead, with Li Ya carrying Yan behind him. The three of them quickly ventured deep into the Hot Spring Mountain Range. After passing through a dense forest, the view ahead suddenly opened up, and the surrounding temperature rose considerably.

Yan gazed into the distance. The mountains there were towering and chimney-like, emitting plumes of smoke from time to time. It looked like a volcano. The area also had a rare volcanic landscape, with an extremely hot environment, a pungent smell, and strange rocks everywhere.

The location where Yan and his group were now was still some distance from that mountain peak, but the temperature was not low. The surrounding vegetation was much sparser than the dense forest landscape they had been in before, and it was somewhat similar to a semi-forest, semi-grassland landscape. There were also many soul beasts scattered around, including the fire-attribute soul beast that Yan wanted to hunt this time.

“Young Master Yan, there are many fire-attribute soul beasts in this area. Let’s search around here first and see if there are any suitable targets.”

Feng Lin surveyed the surroundings, his sharp eagle eyes lingering briefly in a few places before turning to Yan and speaking. Yan naturally had no objections to this, so Feng Lin and Liya lowered their wings and landed back into the forest.

"Squeak..."

Just as they landed, the surrounding trees suddenly rustled, accompanied by the cries of a group of monkeys. Yan quickly turned his head to look in the direction from which the noise came.

Accompanied by a series of squeaking noises, figures appeared on the treetops. These creatures with fiery red fur were extremely fast, and after circling through the treetops, they surrounded Yan and his companions from multiple directions.

This was a group of soul beasts resembling macaques, with fiery red fur. They all looked similar, the smaller ones being about half a meter tall and the larger ones over a meter tall. They squeaked and chirped as they swarmed around, seemingly regarding Yan and his companions as prey.

After taking a look, Feng Lin recognized the spirit beast and turned to Yan to ask, "This is a Crimson Fire Monkey troop, which is a pretty good fire attribute spirit beast. The monkey king leading it is probably three hundred years old. Should I take action?"

"No need to kill them, just drive them away. The spirit rings I need can be slightly younger, but the quality must be high, preferably from top-tier fire-attribute spirit beasts."

Yan shook his head. He didn't think much of these gregarious Crimson Fire Monkeys. These squeaking creatures didn't seem like spirit beasts with any powerful spirit skills, not to mention that they were all young, the oldest being only three hundred years old. What was the point of having such spirit beasts?

"roll."

After receiving Yan's answer, Feng Lin no longer hesitated. He no longer concealed his soul power and unleashed his full martial soul power as a five-ring Soul King. Instantly, a gust of wind arose, causing sand and stones to fly and overturning the monkey troop. The surrounding trees swayed, and the many Crimson Fire Monkeys realized they had kicked a hornet's nest. One by one, they hurriedly fled.

"Ow..."

"Ow..."

"Ow..."

Just as the Crimson Fire Monkey was frightened into fleeing in all directions by Feng Lin's display of strength, the howling of wolves echoed from the surrounding forest, and a group of crimson fire wolves charged towards them at an extremely fast speed.

The Red Fire Monkeys were caught off guard and many didn't have time to climb the trees, resulting in numerous deaths at the hands of the wolves. After their initial panic, the Monkey King led a group of older Red Fire Monkeys in a counterattack. The wolves, of course, wouldn't let them escape, and a bloody battle ensued between the two groups.

"let's go."

Yan glanced at the two tribes fighting, then waved to Feng Lin, who had an indifferent expression, and led the three of them, along with Li Ya, who was feeling rather nauseous, toward the mountain peak they had observed earlier.

Yan instructed Feng Lin to hold back against the Crimson Fire Monkeys simply to avoid pointless killing. For example, killing unconscious spirit beasts to teach disciples when they clearly couldn't absorb spirit rings would result in the spirit rings being wasted.

In his view, this behavior was quite brainless. It could have been explained clearly with words, but instead, they insisted on making meaningless and random demonstrations.

Of course, it's one thing for him to stop Feng Lin from casually slaughtering the Crimson Fire Monkeys, and it's quite another for the Crimson Fire Monkeys and the Fire Wolf pack to start a war. The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is the rule of this region, and they have no reason to interfere in the battles between the soul beast clans.

"With so many soul beasts gathering here, it seems we can wait a bit."

Just as Yan, Feng Lin, and Li Ya were about to leave the forest, they noticed more soul beasts converging in this direction. It was probably the strong smell of blood that had attracted more soul beasts. They immediately changed their minds and decided to wait and see if they could find a suitable target.

Liya, carrying Yan, leaped onto a high tree branch. Just as she landed, a fiery red shadow darted out from a tree five meters away, fleeing the forest as if its life depended on it, and rushed towards the blood-soaked battlefield. It quickly snatched the corpse of a Crimson Fire Monkey and left the battlefield.

"This fire leopard is quite agile, which is a good choice, but it's a bit young, less than three hundred years old."

Feng Lin's eagle eyes swept across the area and spotted the spirit beast. It was a fiery red leopard with no stray hairs and a bright red sheen. It was a high-level spirit beast, definitely much stronger than the Crimson Fire Monkey and the Fire Wolf.

"The Lava Hound is quite old, which is suitable for the Flame Lord, but it's a pity that the quality is a bit low. It's too difficult to have top quality with dual attributes."

More and more spirit beasts gathered in this forest, many of which were fire-attribute. Yan looked down and saw many hundred-year-old spirit beasts, among which a spirit beast called the Lava Hound caught his attention.

Lava Hounds are spirit beasts that possess a small amount of earth attribute in addition to fire attribute, and their blood is as viscous as magma. They are inherently social spirit beasts, fast and strong. Although they lack ranged attack methods, they are fearless and possess extremely high-temperature flames, making them suitable for the original fire and earth dual-attribute fire lord.

A typical lava hound is about 1.2 meters long, while those over a hundred years old can be over 1.8 meters long and can breathe fireballs. Among the group Yan discovered, there were even lava hounds that were over three meters long, which was quite fitting in terms of the age of their first spirit ring.

This group of lava hounds was incredibly fast, unleashing fireballs that sent ripples across the ground like lava. This sudden chaos made the battle even more disorganized.

Chapter 14 Fiery Lion

"Hooho..."

Deep within the dense forests of the Hot Spring Mountains, a chaotic battle erupted, drawing numerous soul beasts into a fierce carnage. The intense stench of blood finally attracted the overlord of this region. Accompanied by the roars of lions, crimson figures galloped from the distant grasslands.

"This is a pride of lions, a pride of fire lions."

On the branches of an ancient tree, Feng Lin, who had been hovering in the air for a while, slowly descended to Yan's side and pointed to the grassland in the distance. "This flat grassland between the mountains is home to many soul beasts, among which lion-type soul beasts are the most revered."

Although this Flame Lion is not as powerful as a top-tier Soul Beast, it still manages to be considered a high-level Soul Beast, and its Lion King bloodline far surpasses that of ordinary high-level Soul Beasts.

Yan did not answer immediately, but continued to gaze into the distance. Accompanied by a series of lion roars, a group of large cats surrounded by fiery red light appeared in front of Yan.

Feng Lin was introducing some information he had gathered, "Young Master Yan, this small plain is said to have once been home to a Golden Lion King, and there are many lion-type soul beasts here, so it is called Golden Lion Plain."

"Golden Lion Plain lives up to its name; there are many lion-type soul beasts here."

Yan glanced around and nodded. At this moment, the rushing fire lions had joined the battlefield. Among the many soul beasts, a fiery red figure stood out.

This is a fiery lion king. As it runs swiftly, the distinctive mane of a male lion spreads and flutters, and its fiery red fur appears even more majestic and powerful under the illumination of the flames around its body.

It was over three meters long and one and a half meters tall at the shoulder, with very well-defined muscles. Its crimson eyes exuded a cold aura. After a roar, it flew over and easily knocked down a group of soul beasts with a few swipes of its claws.

As the Flame Lion King ran, flames rose continuously from its body, the intense heat causing the area around it to distort.

"Unfortunately, only the Flame Lion King that has undergone a transformation can barely be considered a top-tier soul beast, but for a Flame Lion to undergo a transformation into a Lion King, it needs at least a thousand years of cultivation."

Despite the immense power of the flames, Yan could only reluctantly turn her gaze away and continue searching for other targets.

The Flame Lion, a soul beast, must have a thousand years of cultivation to transform into a top-tier soul beast, the Flame Lion King. Even if this lion king has only just crossed the thousand-year threshold, it has at most twelve hundred years of cultivation.

However, for Yan, who was preparing to absorb his first spirit ring, this level of cultivation was far too high. Forcibly absorbing it would be tantamount to courting death.

He had considered this when he came to the Hot Spring Mountains to obtain a spirit ring. According to the Spirit Hall's data, a spirit master's first spirit ring should ideally be from a spirit beast that is slightly older than four hundred years, with an average limit of around four hundred and twenty years.

Of course, each Soul Master's physique and Martial Soul are different, and the limits they can withstand will vary, but generally only by a few decades.

Yan's martial soul quality is not low. In addition, he has paid attention to training during this period of time. An adult's soul will is more resistant. Even with these advantages combined, it can only slightly increase the limit by twenty or thirty years. He can probably make a move on soul beasts under four hundred and fifty years old.

Yan had conducted research using the AI ​​Dawn, aiming to make the most of every opportunity to absorb a spirit ring to complete the transformation and evolution of his martial soul. The slight difference in years was not the key factor; the key was the compatibility between the spirit beast and the martial soul, as well as the quality of the absorbed spirit beast.

Here's an example: which is stronger, a 100-year-old Titan Giant Ape or a 400-year-old Wind Baboon? Undoubtedly, the former. If an ordinary Soul Master had to choose, they would most likely want the Titan Giant Ape's Soul Ring, because its quality is higher.

However, there are some exceptions. For example, someone who already possesses a martial soul similar to the Wind Baboon would likely gain more benefits from choosing a 400-year-old Wind Baboon, as the two have a high compatibility and are more compatible. Of course, in terms of value, the Titan Giant Ape is still superior.

Therefore, when a Soul Master chooses a Soul Ring, the first thing to consider is its compatibility with the Martial Soul, then its quality, and finally its age.

Of course, this refers to the case where the three data are not much different. If one is 90,000 years old and the other is 100,000 years old, then a titled Douluo would most likely make a different choice.

Even the most compatible 90,000-year-old spirit ring might not grant you a domain or spirit bone, but a 100,000-year-old spirit beast could very likely grant you a domain skill and would almost certainly drop a 100,000-year-old spirit bone. The potential gains are too great to resist!

However, none of the above matters much to Yan now. Spirits of 90,000 or 100,000 years are too far removed from his current state. What he needs now is a suitable first spirit ring, preferably from a top-tier fire-attribute spirit beast. If it has something like extreme fire... well, he would definitely turn around and run away.

The ultimate fire-attribute soul beasts are basically at the level of Titan Giant Ape and Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. These top-tier soul beast emperor species are comparable to ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts in a hundred years. If the three of them wanted to fight them head-on, they would be courting death. Of course, they need to plan carefully.

"Roar~~~"

Just as the pack of fire lions surged into the dense forest, a lone lion king's roar echoed from the other side of Lion Plains. As crimson flames rose, a large area of ​​the air turned red, followed by a deep, furious roar, and a crimson light flashed.

"This is a top-tier soul beast, the Crimson Flame Lion, over four hundred years old... It probably has five hundred years of cultivation. What a pity."

Feng Lin was initially surprised to find this soul beast, but after careful observation, he felt quite regretful. It was a top-tier soul beast, the Crimson Flame Lion, one of the most powerful lion-type soul beasts.

Although the Crimson Flame Lion cannot compare to the legendary Golden Lion with golden bloodline, it is still an extremely powerful fire-attribute soul beast with strong fire attribute control, power, and innate bloodline.

Unfortunately, the Crimson Flame Lion in front of him was already over 2.5 meters long and probably had more than 500 years of cultivation. If Yan were to risk absorbing it, the probability of failure would be very high.

"This is the Lion King competition! Let's wait and see if any golden lions or something will appear."

Yan was very satisfied with the scene they had created. When they climbed to the treetops, they added a fire, threw out some prepared herbs, spread the smell of blood, and emitted a strange fragrance that attracted fire-attribute soul beasts. It seemed to be working very well.

"Roar~~~"

Just as the Flame Lion King and the Crimson Flame Lion roared in succession, another lion's roar rang out from another direction in the Golden Lion Plain. Accompanied by soaring flames, a giant lion with a fiery red body appeared.

This is a male lion that is about two meters tall. Its fiery red fur is extremely beautiful. Just by standing there, you can feel that its whole body is engulfed in flames.

The moment the lion appeared, Yan's expression changed. After observing it closely, he made a decision: "The Flaming Demon Lion looks to be at most a little over four hundred. Uncle Lin, let's not wait any longer, this is the one."

The Flame Lion, a fire-attribute, is an incredibly powerful master of flames and one of the soul beasts in the world of soul beasts, possessing the bloodline of a king.

If the Crimson Flame Lion is considered a top-tier lion clan below the Golden Lion, then the Blazing Demon Lion is a challenger to the Golden Bloodline, possessing the potential to threaten the Golden Lion King.

Chapter 15 First Soul Ring

In the dense forest outside the Golden Lion Plain of the Hot Spring Mountains, three different types of fire-attribute lion spirit beasts—the Flame Lions, the Crimson Flame Lions, and the Blazing Flame Demon Lions—unexpectedly encountered each other. Due to Yan's arrangements, these lion spirit beasts faced off head-on.

In order to find a suitable soul beast in the Hot Spring Mountains to obtain a soul ring, Yan did a lot of research, including how to attract a powerful fire-attribute soul beast.

When the Crimson Fire Monkeys attacked them earlier, Yan had Feng Lin do some tampering. Originally, the fight between the Crimson Fire Monkeys and the Fire Wolves wouldn't have attracted so many soul beasts, but with the strong smell of blood and the effects of the drugs, many fire-attribute soul beasts were driven by instinct to come over.

The Golden Lion Plain is not located in the heart of the Hot Spring Mountains. Although there are thousand-year-old soul beasts, the number of powerful soul beasts is very limited. However, it should be related to the legendary Golden Lion King. There are many lion-type soul beasts in this area, and many of them have powerful bloodlines, with fire attribute being the main one.

Because of Yan and his group's scheming, this chaotic battle evolved into a standoff between the lion clans. However, the soul beasts were not very patient, especially in this standoff. Before the three lion clans could hold back for long, they launched a major battle.

"Roar~~~"

The Flame Lion pack had a numerical advantage, and the Flame Lion King was a thousand-year-old soul beast. Naturally, it would not be polite to these two challengers who were only a hundred years old. With a roar from the Lion King, many young male lions with a cultivation of over a hundred years rushed out.

The Flame Lion is a rather formidable spirit beast, excelling in both melee and ranged attacks. Their age and cultivation level are actually quite easy to discern; their size and the flames they emit are readily apparent.

When the Flame Lion unleashes its soul power, dazzling flames rise from each one. The biggest difference between ten-year, hundred-year, and thousand-year Flame Lions lies in the color of their flames: ten-year Flame Lions are pale red, hundred-year Flame Lions are crimson, and thousand-year Flame Lions are orange.

In the arena now, there is only one orange flame, while the other dozens are crimson. More than ten hundred-year-old flame lions charged toward the positions of the Crimson Flame Lion and the Blazing Demon Lion. As they charged, their mouths opened wide, and bursts of dazzling crimson flames shot out.

Faced with the challenge from the Hundred-Year Flame Lion, the Crimson Flame Lion simply opened its mouth wide, and a pillar of fire, like magma, shot towards the numerous Flame Lions.

A strange scene unfolded at that moment. The crimson pillar of fire suddenly dispersed into more than ten beams in mid-air, engulfing the numerous flames spewed out by the fire lions before regrouping and growing more than twice its original size. Then, it swept across the numerous fire lions charging towards it in a peculiar arc.

"Boom boom boom..."

Wherever the magma pillar passed, bursts of flame erupted. Even with their strong fire resistance, these hundred-year-old fire lions could not escape being devoured by the flames and were quickly wiped out.

The Crimson Flame Lion possesses powerful fire control abilities, capable of manipulating the surrounding fire elements to their fullest extent. Even though it is only a little over five hundred years old, it still absolutely crushes these century-old flame lions.

The Crimson Flame Lion displayed its incredible fire control, while the Blazing Demon Lion was even more straightforward and brutal. With a deafening roar, endless flames swept across the wasteland.

"Aww~~~"