Martial Soul Rejection
22: C22 A Problem?
“Clean fur?
What does that prove?”
Su Yuntao asked, puzzled.
“Oh, use your head.”
Sisi rolled her eyes at Su Yuntao and chimed in, “An old, crippled soul beast that still manages to keep its fur clean and its body from being too emaciated—that can only mean it’s not having a hard life.
In fact, it’s probably doing quite ‘well’ for itself.”
“To achieve that, it can’t just be luck.
Most likely, it’s because its own strength is sufficient, or…
it has some special ability.”
Wang Teng nodded in agreement.
“Sister Sisi is right.”
“I think this dappled cat likely possesses a very practical soul skill that allows it to survive in this condition.”
“So, have you made your decision?”
“Are you really choosing this dappled cat soul beast?”
Su Yuntao confirmed one last time.
“Cats and tigers are similar—their forms and abilities have much in common.
Let’s go with it.”
Wang Teng made his decision.
“Alright then!”
“Whoosh—”
Before the words had fully faded, Su Yuntao had already leaped from the slope.
“Lone Wolf, possess!”
Midair, Su Yuntao completed his martial soul possession.
His body expanded rapidly, wolf fur covering him in an instant, his hands transforming into chilling claws.
On the slope, Sisi acted almost the moment Su Yuntao charged, providing support.
“Second Soul Skill: Golden Silk Net!”
She waved her delicate hand, and a large net woven from golden soul power, shimmering with light, materialized out of thin air and descended upon the dappled cat below.
The cat was old after all—its reactions were a beat too slow, and it had been ing just moments before.
Caught off guard, it was solidly trapped by the golden net.
“Mrrow?”
Shocked and enraged, the dappled cat instinctively swiped with its front claws.
“Rip—”
The sharp claws tore through, shredding most of the tough golden net.
However, Sisi’s second soul skill was quite durable—a portion of the net remained intact.
The cat was about to slash again when Su Yuntao descended from above, attacking.
“Second Soul Skill: Claw Assault!”
Su Yuntao’s crossed wolf claws, wreathed in blinding white light, slashed downward with tremendous force!
“Rip!”
The next moment, six deep, bone-exposing gashes appeared across the cat’s back, blood spurting.
“Mrrrrow—!”
The searing pain triggered the cat’s ferocity.
“Soul Skill: Tiger Pounces on Prey!”
The next instant, the cat’s previously gaunt body suddenly swelled in size.
Its grey-white fur stood on end, emitting a brief but powerful aura.
In that moment, the gravely wounded cat actually bore some resemblance to a fierce tiger.
“Such a powerful amplification soul skill!
No wonder…”
Su Yuntao was secretly astonished.
But his movements didn’t slow in the slightest.
He swung his wolf claws and lunged again.
The dappled cat charged back viciously.
“Clang!
Clang!
Clang!”
“Crack!
Crack!”
Wolf claws and cat claws clashed violently in the air, sparks flying, the screeching and clanging unending.
On the slope above, Sisi saw the battle below and immediately moved to support Su Yuntao.
She released her soul skills one after another, golden nets descending from the sky repeatedly.
These nets didn’t target the dappled cat—they fell around the combat zone.
Soon, Sisi’s soul skill constructs had completely sealed off all escape routes.
“First Soul Skill: Silk Binding!”
Finally, spotting an opening, Sisi flicked her fingers, and several white threads shot from her fingertips.
Silently, they wrapped around the cat’s intact left hind leg.
The cat, still locked in combat with Su Yuntao, felt its leg tighten suddenly.
Its balance faltered, its attacks going awry.
“Now!”
Su Yuntao’s eyes blazed as his crossed claws tore through the air once more.
A flash of light—
“Thwack!”
“Mrrrow—!”
Blood sprayed, and the dappled cat let out a dying wail.
Its limbs had been severed cleanly by Su Yuntao. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
Then its body crashed to the ground, only faint breathing remaining.
“Wang Teng, now!”
Su Yuntao gasped, looking up and shouting, “This cat’s soul skill is very practical—likely a full-range amplification type.
Absorb it—your chances are good!”
“Coming!”
Wang Teng responded, sliding down the slope and rushing to the dying cat’s side.
He raised his hand, but suddenly stopped, his brow furrowing deeply.
“What’s wrong?
Hurry—it won’t last much longer!”
Sisi had also come down and urged him.
Wang Teng withdrew his hand, his expression somewhat grave.
“Just now, when I got close to it, my martial soul…
sent a very clear feeling of rejection.”
“This dappled cat might not be suitable for me to absorb.”
“What?”
Su Yuntao was stunned.
Having been a soul master for years and having assisted many soul masters in obtaining soul rings, this was the first time he’d heard of a martial soul “rejecting” a specific soul beast.
Sisi also looked puzzled.
“Your martial soul has requirements for soul beasts?
That’s unusual…”
“There’s no time to go into detail.”
Wang Teng stepped aside and looked at Wang Sheng.
“Big Brother, you do it.
We can’t waste this soul ring.”
Wang Sheng looked at the cat, its life force fading, then back at Wang Teng, and finally nodded firmly.
“Alright!”
He stepped forward and cleanly ended the cat’s suffering.
A bright yellow soul ring slowly rose from the corpse.
Wang Sheng sat cross-legged and began guiding the soul ring into absorption.
Su Yuntao and Sisi gathered around Wang Teng.
“Tell us exactly—what happened?”
Sisi asked with concern.
She and Su Yuntao had come to help Wang Teng hunt because they believed in his future and wanted to invest early.
But now that Wang Teng had encountered a problem with absorbing a soul ring, Sisi’s heart tightened.
Wang Teng extended his right hand—white light surged, and the peculiar white spinning top hovered quietly in his palm.
“My martial soul seems to have specific requirements for the types of soul beasts I can absorb.”
Wang Teng explained, his tone uncertain.
“When I approached that dappled cat just now, what my martial soul conveyed wasn’t desire, but a clear sense of ‘rejection.'”
“Type requirements?”
Su Yuntao stroked his chin, muttering, “That’s indeed rare.”
“Then which types does it ‘accept’?”
Wang Teng thought for a moment, recalling that vague sensation, and listed them: “Primarily tiger-types, leopard-types, pangolin-types, bat-types, fire-bird types, butterfly-types, and dragon-types.”
“Additionally, horse-types, deer-types, scorpion-types, and crane-types also seem acceptable, but the response isn’t as strong as the previous ones.”
Sisi let out a relieved breath and reassured him, “That’s not too bad—aside from dragon-types, which are harder to find, the other types can all be found in the Soul Hunting Forest.
It’s not hopeless.”
“Things are still okay, not too bad.”
“As long as we’re not looking for those top-tier soul beasts, we can still manage.”
Su Yuntao said with relief.
“Then from now on, we’ll keep an eye out for those types.”
Sisi concluded.
Wang Teng withdrew his martial soul and nodded, but his mind was churning with thoughts.
So…
my Spinning Top martial soul really does correspond to the Blast Spinning Tops from my memories.
Tigers, leopards, pangolins, bats, fire-birds, butterflies, dragons…
These are clearly the sacred beasts from Blast Spinning Tops.
The rules of this world are actually reflected in this way.
That’s fine—this gives me a much clearer direction for choosing each soul ring.
It’s just the dragon-type…
that will truly take some effort.
Wang Teng silently pondered various possibilities for his future soul ring combinations, saying nothing more.
Seeing this, Su Yuntao and Sisi didn’t press further.
They stood on either side—one keeping watch over Wang Sheng, the other alertly scanning their surroundings.
The valley returned to silence, broken only by the rustle of wind through the treetops and the rhythmic pulsing of soul power from Wang Sheng as he absorbed his soul ring.
Time passed quietly in the wait.
Wang Sheng’s martial soul was Battle Tiger, and absorbing this dappled cat’s soul ring was indeed a good match in terms of attributes.
However, Wang Sheng was ultimately of common birth, with only level-one innate soul power.
His daily physical training was far less intense than his brother’s, and his physique was average.
Moreover, this soul ring was a full three hundred and fifty years old.
So naturally, Wang Sheng found the absorption exceptionally difficult.
He sat cross-legged, eyes tightly shut.
Before long, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
His breathing grew heavy and rapid, his body trembling slightly from time to time.
“Big Brother, you have to pull through…”
Wang Teng silently prayed, his gaze fixed on Wang Sheng.
Time passed slowly in the quiet wait.
Three hours later, night had fully fallen.
A bright moon climbed to its zenith, casting silver light that bathed the valley entrance in a pale glow.
Wang Teng, Su Yuntao, and Sisi had long since cleared a small area nearby and lit a campfire.
The orange-red flames danced, dispelling the night’s chill and reflecting on their watchful faces.
A long exhale broke the night’s stillness.
Wang Sheng slowly opened his eyes.
Though fatigue lingered in his gaze, what dominated was the joy and exhilaration of success.
“I made it.”
Wang Sheng said, his voice a little hoarse, but the excitement in his tone unmistakable.
Then he stood, stretching his stiff limbs—a faint crackling sound coming from his joints.
“Congratulations!”
Su Yuntao and Sisi immediately offered their congratulations, smiles on their faces.
“Big Brother, how do you feel?
How much did your soul power increase?
What’s your first soul skill?”
Wang Teng hurried over, firing off questions in rapid succession.
Wang Sheng sensed the soul power circulating within him and smiled.
“I’ve broken through to level eleven, and I feel my foundation is solid—I might be able to push for level twelve soon.”
Mentioning his soul skill, his eyes grew brighter.
“As for my first soul skill, it’s a very practical amplification skill—it enhances my strength, speed, and reaction overall, though it consumes a lot of soul power.”
“I’ve named it ‘Starving Tiger Pounces on Prey.’ What do you think?”
“An amplification soul skill?
That’s great!”
Wang Teng was genuinely happy for his brother.
“From the description, it sounds like that final move the dappled cat used.”
“Exactly.”
Su Yuntao added a piece of firewood to the flames, sparks crackling up.
“Your first soul ring is over three hundred years—your starting point is already much stronger than ours back then.
And that soul skill we saw the cat use is definitely going to be very useful in real combat.”
There was a hint of nostalgia and envy in Su Yuntao’s tone—his own first soul ring had been a white ten-year ring, so he knew well the importance of a quality first soul ring.
“All this went so smoothly thanks to Brother Tao and Sister Sisi’s help.”
Wang Sheng sat back down by the fire and expressed his gratitude sincerely.
“Don’t thank us yet,” Sisi suddenly reminded him.
“Wang Sheng, have you checked the dappled cat’s corpse yet?
See if there’s a soul bone.”
Soul bones were extremely precious—even low-year soul beasts had a tiny chance of producing them.
Checking the corpse after every hunt had become a habit for soul masters.
“Oh, right—I’ll check right away.”
Wang Sheng slapped his forehead, quickly stood up, and returned to the cat’s remains, taking out his dagger to examine it carefully.
Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on their side.
The old dappled cat had not produced a soul bone.
“It’s normal for there to be none—soul bones don’t appear that easily.”
Wang Teng reassured him, taking a sizzling, fragrant rabbit leg from the grill over the fire and handing it to Wang Sheng.
“Big Brother, eat something to regain your strength.”
These wild game had been caught by Su Yuntao earlier.
Wang Sheng took it and ate heartily.
Having run around all day without eating, he was truly famished after such a draining experience.
While Wang Sheng ate, Wang Teng, Su Yuntao, and Sisi began discussing their next steps.
“Wang Teng, I’ve been thinking about the types of soul beasts you need, and I thought of a place.”
Su Yuntao poked at the fire with a stick, speaking thoughtfully.
“What place?”
Wang Teng pressed immediately.
He was the only one among the three who hadn’t yet obtained a soul ring, and he was anxious to cross this threshold.
“The Heaven Dou Horse Ranch.”
Su Yuntao spoke the four words seriously.
“Heaven Dou…
Horse Ranch?”
Wang Teng blinked—this was the first time he’d heard the name.
Even Wang Sheng, who had been gnawing on a rabbit leg, looked up with a puzzled expression.
“That’s right—the Heaven Dou Horse Ranch.”
Su Yuntao explained in detail: “As the name suggests, it’s the core institution of the Heaven Dou Empire dedicated to breeding and training military warhorses.”
“As you probably know, the main warhorse currently used by the Heaven Dou Empire’s army is a hybrid horse breed called ‘Horn-Scale Horse.'”
“This horse isn’t particularly aggressive, but it has excellent defense, outstanding endurance, and decent speed.”
“A high-quality Horn-Scale Horse on the market often sells for between five thousand and ten thousand gold soul coins.”
Pausing there, Su Yuntao looked at Wang Teng.
“And the Heaven Dou Horse Ranch is the breeding base for these Horn-Scale Horses.”
“It gathers the best mares selected from across the empire—though those are ordinary horses and don’t concern us.”
“What I want to say is that, in order to maintain and improve the breed, the ranch keeps various types of horse-type soul beasts of different ages and species year-round, used as studs for breeding.”