Chapter 9: First Real Battle — Instantly Slaying a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
"What a strange yet handsome young man!"
Wearing a water-blue dress and possessing a delicate, pretty face, Shui Yue'er pointed at Wang Li's retreating figure and spoke.
So many great beauties right in front of him, yet he didn't even spare them a glance—was he even a man?!
But precisely because of that, this young man was simply overflowing with personality. She loved him to death!
"Yue'er, can you fix that lovestruck habit of yours already?"
"Don't freeze up every time you see a handsome guy!"
"…"
A group of beauties pointed at Shui Yue'er, teasing her one after another.
"He really is very distinctive, though…"
Shui Yue'er straightened her back and argued earnestly.
"So what if he's distinctive? He's clearly not interested in you," Xue Wu said softly, the corners of her lips lifting.
Hearing that, Shui Yue'er's beautiful eyes widened. Her face instantly turned pale, and the light drained from her gaze.
The other girls, however, were completely used to this and paid no attention to the now "colorless" Shui Yue'er.
After a short while, she would recover on her own.
---
By this time, Wang Li had already left the city. Taking out the map once more, he confirmed his direction and headed toward the Sunset Forest.
In just a single day, Wang Li arrived at the outskirts of the Sunset Forest.
This was his first time entering a soul beast forest!
Towering ancient trees blocked out the sun, plunging the forest into shadow.
Within the gloomy woods, bleached bones could be seen everywhere.
Wang Li cautiously stepped into the Sunset Forest, observing his surroundings with vigilance at every step.
This was a proper natural forest—the largest one within the Heaven Dou Empire.
Though it could not compare to the Star Dou Great Forest, the soul beasts here were still far from easy to deal with.
Despite possessing sixty levels of soul power, he was, at present, merely a one-ring quasi–Soul Grandmaster.
"Awooo—"
Before long, waves of wolf howls echoed around Wang Li.
His already tense heart tightened even further.
Moments later, more than a dozen Nether Wolves surrounded him.
Wang Li had never systematically studied soul beast knowledge, but… the version of himself within the simulator had killed plenty of soul beasts—especially during the second simulation.
Their appearances, names, and approximate ages were all vaguely described.
Though not listed in detail, he could still identify them.
"One hundred–year Nether Wolf, one.
Ten-year Nether Wolves, thirteen."
Wang Li recognized the Nether Wolves and roughly gauged their age.
"My first real battle, and it's already a siege?"
He murmured, then instantly activated his martial soul!
Both hands transformed into tiger claws. From his spine, a scorpion-like tiger tail extended outward.
His body grew several inches taller, and his already solid muscles visibly swelled.
As the martial soul manifested, no soul ring appeared—because his first martial soul still possessed none.
"Awooo… awooo—"
The wolf king let out another howl, tinged faintly with sorrow.
This "human" gave it an extremely dangerous feeling!
This target was too tough—retreat!
In an instant, the dozen-plus wolves fled as quickly as they had arrived!
Wang Li: "..."
He had no idea how much psychological trauma the aura of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Martial Soul had inflicted on those Nether Wolves!
"Uh… they just ran?"
Wang Li stood there, completely dumbfounded, before withdrawing his martial soul.
He remained rooted in place, pondering for a long while.
As one of the apex predators, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's aura alone was enough to terrify weaker soul beasts!
Ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts might lack intelligence, but they were far from stupid.
If their instincts told them they couldn't win, staying would just be suicide.
After composing himself, Wang Li continued toward the core region of the Sunset Forest.
His target was not a hundred-year or even a thousand-year soul beasts.
It was soul beasts over twenty thousand years old—true ten-thousand-year soul beasts!
The deeper he ventured, the denser the forest became.
Even at noon, visibility was extremely low!
Flickering motes of light and dancing ghostly flames added a sense of mystery to the forest.
"Again… as expected of a natural forest!"
Wang Li sighed. Along the way, he had encountered several groups of soul beasts.
Every single time, the moment he released his martial soul, the opponent fled without hesitation.
It made him look downright ridiculous!
Of course, all those who fled were ten-year or hundred-year soul beasts.
"Rustle, rustle—"
The sound of movement brushing against fallen leaves reached Wang Li's ears.
The next moment, an enormous "spider" appeared before him.
This "spider" was as tall as a small house. When its eight legs spread out, they reached six to seven meters in span!
"A ten-thousand-year Pit Demon Spider!"
Wang Li's pupils contracted sharply. He hadn't even encountered a single thousand-year soul beast, yet he had skipped an entire tier and gone straight to ten thousand years?!
"Hiss—hiss—"
The Pit Demon Spider hissed as it examined the prey before it, ready to launch an attack at any moment.
Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Li thrust out his right hand, transforming it into a Dark God Terror Claw.
The Dark God Terror Claw stretched nearly three meters long, radiating a dark golden glow.
At the same moment he unleashed it, Wang Li completed his martial soul possession.
He slashed toward the Pit Demon Spider with a simple, straightforward strike.
"???"
As a ten-thousand-year soul beast, the Pit Demon Spider possessed high intelligence.
It never expected this human cub to dare strike first!
"Hiss—!"
The Pit Demon Spider screeched again, its body flickering as it dodged Wang Li's attack and lunged straight at him.
Between hunter and prey, their roles were not meant to change.
At the instant the Pit Demon Spider closed in, Wang Li gave a wicked smile. The killing intent in his eyes seemed almost tangible.
Pff—!
A scorpion-like tiger tail pierced straight through the Pit Demon Spider's body, nailing the ten-thousand-year soul beast firmly to a tree.
"???"
The Pit Demon Spider was confused—utterly bewildered.
It could not understand how a human without soul rings could be this powerful!
It died with its eyes wide open.
Instant kill. A true instant kill!
In just a single exchange, Wang Li—possessing only one soul ring—relied on his sixty-level physique and soul power, combined with the terrifying traits of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Martial Soul…
…and directly annihilated a ten-thousand-year Pit Demon Spider!
"So… I'm already this strong?"
Wang Li murmured, realization dawning on him.
After three simulations and countless rewards, he could no longer be measured by the standards of ordinary soul masters.
Dark Demon Evil God Tiger martial soul.
Ice and Snow Spirit martial soul.
Dark God Terror Claw external soul bone.
Rank 60 soul power.
Rank 60 physique.
And a God level soul ring!
Let alone a mere ten-thousand-year Pit Demon Spider— even an ordinary Soul Saint, if careless, could be instantly killed by him!
Wang Li did not withdraw the "Evil God Hook," as it was continuously absorbing the Pit Demon Spider's soul power and flesh.
All of it was refined into the purest soul power and fed back into Wang Li.
The Pit Demon Spider's body rapidly withered, eventually leaving only an empty shell.
"Hm?"
Wang Li withdrew the Evil God Hook and looked at the husk with a puzzled expression.
The Pit Demon Spider was already dead—so why was there still a fluctuation of soul power within its shell?
As if realizing something, Wang Li's eyes lit up.
He scraped at the shell twice with his Dark God Terror Claw, revealing a bone emitting a black glow.
"Such good luck?"
Wang Li withdrew his martial soul and Dark God Terror Claw, picked up the bone, and muttered to himself.
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End of Chapter