Chapter 106: A Letter from Star Dou

Wang Rui had always thought that soul beasts were a truly tragic existence.

Unlike humans, whose souls remained whole after death and gradually faded over time, a soul beast's soul would split apart upon death. Some of it would dissipate immediately, while the rest would condense with its internal energy into a soul ring or be absorbed by a soul master. If not absorbed, the energy and remaining soul fragments in the soul ring would eventually fade away as well.

A soul master's martial soul functioned like an interface specifically designed to receive the power of soul rings, integrating external energy into the body.

The energy from the soul ring helped the soul master break through bottlenecks, while the soul beast's remaining consciousness within the ring formed a soul skill. Soul skills did not require arduous practice or familiarity—once obtained, they could be used instinctively, as they were originally the soul beast's natural ability imprinted into its very being.

By absorbing the soul ring, the soul master directly inherited this instinct.

The only form of resistance a soul beast could muster was the so-called "soul shock"—which was practically useless. Beast souls were innately weak, and almost any adult human's spiritual power was strong enough to withstand such a futile struggle.

If a soul beast possessed an exceptionally strong soul or had experienced extreme emotions before death, part of its remaining soul and energy could form a solid crystal shaped like human bones—a soul bone.

Leaving aside the fact that soul rings seemed to exist solely for human benefit, the very idea that the crystallized remains of a soul beast's body would take the form of human bones… Although it was merely a setting created by the author of this world, Wang Rui now lived in this reality, and he refused to believe that such a twisted law of nature had developed without interference.

Like soul rings, soul bones contained remnants of a soul beast's consciousness, which recorded the beast's strongest skills and allowed a soul master to absorb them.

Secret soul bones, however, were different. They were formed through a special process that condensed the soul rings of hundreds or even thousands of low-level soul beasts that wouldn't normally produce soul bones.

Through this secret method, energy was refined, and the lingering fragments of soul beast consciousness within those rings were imprisoned.

Those tiny glowing birds that Wang Rui had just released…

They were all imprisoned souls trapped within this secret soul bone.

They were called Gray-Bellied Spirit Sparrows, a species of soul beast as weak as the Iceworm. Aside from producing soul rings, they were no different from ordinary sparrows.

Due to their limited potential, it was rare for them to reach high cultivation levels. Even reaching the hundred-year threshold was difficult, let alone the thousand-year level. They lived in flocks on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, and in their tiny pea-sized brains, all they ever thought about was eating and chirping.

They were utterly useless aside from being cute. Wang Rui even found them annoying, as these little creatures were naturally drawn to the aura of an Auspicious Beast like himself. If he didn't actively drive them away, they would swarm around him, singing incessantly—making him look like some kind of escaped Disney princess.

For humans, hunting them was effortless. The moment they sensed danger, their instincts would drive them to huddle together and flee. All it took was a Soul Grandmaster—or even a Soul Master—to release a stronger aura and startle them into clumping together.

These foolish creatures probably never even understood why the predator this time never seemed to get full.

Their lifeless bodies were squeezed together, forming a soul bone that eventually ended up in Wang Rui's hands.

The world of Douluo had no concept of reincarnation, and these broken souls weren't strong enough to persist. Soon, they would all fade away, like dew under the morning sun.

But at least, in the end, they had found freedom. They could finally rest.

It was time to go home.

As he watched the glowing cloud of bird souls drift toward Star Dou Forest, Wang Rui closed his eyes and silently thanked Electrolux in his heart.

Outside the window, a sleek, well-groomed swallow also stared blankly in the same direction.

"I'm going out for a walk," Wang Rui exhaled deeply and murmured.

With that, he got up and left the room.

Standing by the window, Huo Yuqing watched as Wang Rui stepped downstairs and called out something. A familiar-looking rain swallow landed on his shoulder, and she fell into thought.

"Snap out of it, Xiaobai," Wang Rui said flatly.

Lost in thought, Bai Chenxiang snapped back to reality. She flapped her wings and landed on his shoulder.

"…They finally went home," the swallow chirped softly after a long pause.

Even though she had once been human, there were times when she, too, loathed humanity's endless greed.

A beast and a bird followed a small path toward Sea God Lake, passing by Jiang Lan along the way.

"That direction… is the new student dorms?" Wang Rui turned his head, narrowing his eyes at the purple-haired girl's back as she entered the freshman quarters. "She's getting quite close to Wang Dong…"

A mysterious figure outside the original storyline was approaching Wang Dong. Jiang Lan's fate was unreadable, and Wang Rui wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"What information does the sect have on this Jiang Lan?" he asked in a low voice.

"I was just about to report on that," Bai Chenxiang replied. "Although I hate to admit our intelligence network's shortcomings, we don't know much about her… We only know that she's nominally Yan Shaozhe's adopted daughter, yet he seems wary of her. She has a thunder-type martial soul, possibly Ultimate Thunder.

"The first time she appeared publicly was three years ago when Yan Shaozhe brought her back from Sea God Island. Over the past three years, she either attended classes, stayed in her room zoning out, or worked as a referee at the Soul Dueling Arena."

"That's it?" Wang Rui asked incredulously.

With their network of small soul beasts for surveillance and their connections with the Silvermoon Chamber of Commerce, the Beast Sect's intelligence web covered nearly the entire continent—except for a few highly restricted areas.

Yet, despite all that, they had so little information on Jiang Lan? It was absurd.

"Was there anything unusual during the time she first appeared?"

"Sea God's Pavilion held frequent meetings, Shrek Academy purchased more lightning-attribute materials from the chamber of commerce, and…" Bai Chenxiang hesitated before adding, "A fourth-year lightning-attribute girl, who was supposed to enter the inner court, dropped out. She hasn't returned to Shrek, and our people are still searching for her."

"I suspect all of these events are connected to Jiang Lan… but beyond that, it's hard to investigate further. After all, sneaking onto Sea God Island is extremely risky."

"I understand," Wang Rui said, rubbing his temples. It had been a long time since something genuinely troubled him. As an Auspicious Emperor Beast, he rarely felt things were this tricky. Jiang Lan's mystery gave him an ominous feeling.

"You don't need to follow up on Jiang Lan anymore," he decided. "I'll face her sooner or later."

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Yeah," Bai Chenxiang sighed, her voice laced with frustration. "Bear Lord is causing trouble… The most talented cub in his favorite great-granddaughter's litter has gone missing, and he wants you back in Star Dou to find it."

Bear Lord's actual words were much harsher, but Bai Chenxiang had softened the message as much as possible.

Wang Rui: "…"

"Tell him to screw off," he said irritably. "I told him to raise his cubs in the sect's affiliated city, but no—he wanted them to be 'free' in the forest. Well, the forest is huge. If he can't keep track of his own cubs, why should I? He has Myriad Demon King right there, who manages all the surveillance in the forest. If he's not asking him and coming to me instead, he's just being spoiled."

"Well… he did ask Myriad Demon King, but he said he couldn't find the cub…"

Before she could finish, Bai Chenxiang's voice trailed off.

She and Wang Rui both turned toward Sea God Lake.

A thick white fog had suddenly engulfed the waters, obscuring the outline of Sea God Island.

And within that mist, a blood-red light was rapidly approaching the shore.

(End of Chapter)