Chapter 3: Thunder Roaring Hell Vine

Yu Tianyun stepped forward, heading toward his own home.

Before even stepping inside, he smelled a strong meaty aroma.

"Is Tianyun back?"

"Yeah, grandpa said I can go with dad tomorrow to obtain a Soul Ring."

"Mom, what dish did you make tonight that's so fragrant?"

"I made your favorites: braised beef, boiled beef, sweet‑and‑sour pork loin, and braised prawns. This time it's all hundred‑year Soul Beast meat, not the ten‑year grade meat you used to eat!"

A crisp, pleasant female voice came from the kitchen.

The woman was Yu Tianyun's mother, Yu Linglong, a side‑disciple of the Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect, childhood friend of Yu Xiaofeng; after marrying, they gave birth to Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianyun.

Soon, Yu Xiaofeng and Yu Tianheng each returned holding a jar of wine.

"Today Tianyun, you awakened your martial soul; we should celebrate properly. Your mother specially allowed me and your older brother to have some wine."

Yu Tianyun looked at his big brother. Yu Tianheng, ten this year, has attached two Soul Rings, so his physique already resembles a fifteen‑ or sixteen‑year‑old boy, about 1.7 m tall, all sinewy muscle, and can already drink; however, because mother Yu Linglong is strict, he rarely drinks, and only today, using the excuse of celebrating Yu Tianyun, dared to bring a jar home.

Yu Linglong glanced at her eldest son, then turned to Yu Tianyun and said, "Tianyun, don't follow your dad and big brother's drunken ways; drinking will stunt your growth, ruin your skin, and no girls will like you!"

Yu Xiaofeng laughed heartily, "Isn't this just a celebration for my son awakening his martial soul? I never drink normally, right Tianheng?"

"Yeah, mainly because Tianyun awakened his martial soul, we're happy and drinking," Yu Tianheng quickly nodded.

"Alright, come in and eat."

During the meal, Yu Xiaofeng asked, "Tianyun, what did grandpa say? Are we sure about hunting that kind of Soul Beast?"

"Grandpa agreed with my view, but if we haven't found suitable heavenly material before level 40, we must keep attaching Soul Rings from the sub‑dragon type Soul Beast, and for the first three Soul Rings, grandpa said it's best to attach a Thunder Tyrannosaur Soul Ring."

"My original plan was also to attach the Thunder Dragon Claw of a Thunder Tyrannosaur for the first Soul Ring, or attach an amplification‑type soul skill."

"So then we'll first go to the Thunder Tyrannosaur habitat to see if there's a suitable one; if not, we'll attach another lightning‑type amplification soul skill."

"Okay, since the old man agreed, we'll do as you said tomorrow."

The family continued chatting while eating; Yu Tianheng mentioned a new classmate at school, and that grandpa is still a Title Douluo.

Yu Tianyun instantly realized it was Dugubo's granddaughter—Duguyan. It seemed his big brother Yu Tianheng had just met her and didn't know when he could woo her. He hoped it would happen soon, so it would be easier to advance the plan of using the fairy herb through this connection.

The next day, Yu Tianyun and Yu Xiaofeng went together to a valley in the Star Dou Great Forest—Thunder Gorge.

Thunder Gorge isn't very large; it lies at the border of the outer and mixed zones of the Star Dou Great Forest, and it has the highest concentration of lightning‑type Soul Beasts, with Thunder Tyrannosaurs frequently roaming the area.

Two days later, the two finally arrived at Thunder Gorge.

Looking at the Thunder Gorge before them, Yu Xiaofeng tipped his head back, took a big gulp of wine, and said to Yu Tianyun beside him, "Tianyun, let me test you: how do you tell the age of a Thunder Tyrannosaur?"

Yu Tianyun blurted out, "A Thunder Tyrannosaur reaches a hundred years at about ten meters long and four meters tall; every hundred years a black stripe appears on its back. At a thousand years it's twenty meters long and eight meters tall, and every thousand years a purple stripe appears on its back."

"Not bad, our target this time is around six hundred years, with only six black stripes on its back."

After entering Thunder Gorge, the view instantly cleared. The environment here differs greatly from other parts of the Star Dou Great Forest; it is far more desolate, lacking tall dense trees and only low shrubs. Yu Tianyun clung tightly behind Yu Xiaofeng; although most of the area is populated by hundred‑year Soul Beasts, occasional thousand‑year ones appear, and Yu Xiaofeng's strength can easily dominate the region. Still, they remain cautious—Titanic Giant Ape Erming has been spotted in the outer zones in the original story! Even though Yu Xiaofeng is a Soul Saint, encountering a ten‑thousand‑year Soul Beast and having to fight while looking after himself could easily lead to mishaps.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, a white flash lit the cloud‑filled distant mountaintop, followed by a thunderclap from the summit; Yu Xiaofeng stared and said, "It looks like there's a vine plant on the summit?"

"Vine plant?"

Yu Tianyun was puzzled, then recalled that after twenty‑thousand years there is supposedly a plant‑type lightning Soul Beast, a super Soul Beast with a Thunder God bloodline—the Thunder Roaring Hell Vine.

"Could it really be the Thunder Roaring Hell Vine?" Yu Tianyun muttered. "If it's a Thunder Roaring Hell Vine suitable for my age, I must take it; it's far stronger than a Thunder Tyrannosaur, a super Soul Beast. And with a Thunder God bloodline, absorbing it might cause unexpected changes."

He immediately said, "Dad, let's go check it out; there seem to be no other Soul Beasts around the summit, maybe that vine plant is the one suitable for me."

"Then let's go see, but I think the Thunder Tyrannosaur Soul Ring suits you better."

Without hesitation, Yu Xiaofeng grabbed Yu Tianyun by the back of the neck and sprinted toward the summit. Yu Tianyun was helplessly hauled along.

A short while later, they stopped less than a hundred meters from the summit, looked around, saw no danger, and said, "Stay here a moment; I'll go check the situation."

"Okay, Dad, but next time could you not haul me while running? It's embarrassing."

"Fine, I won't haul you next time."

Having said that, Yu Xiaofeng ran toward the summit.

A short while later, a few explosions echoed from the summit; after a few breaths, Yu Xiaofeng returned as if nothing had happened.

"It's a lightning‑type plant; its Soul Power Fluctuation indicates it's under a thousand years old, yet its strength rivals ordinary ten‑thousand‑year Soul Beasts. I've already severely damaged it; you go up with me, cut off its root, and I'll assess its exact age based on the Soul Ring."

"Alright." Yu Tianyun's eyes glimmered with excitement.

At the summit, before them stood a plant about six meters long, resembling a whip with a root like a bamboo shoot, held motionless by Yu Xiaofeng's Soul Power suppression.

Yu Tianyun approached, drew a dagger from the Storage Soul Conduit on his wrist. The Storage Soul Conduit was a gift from Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen, with an internal space of twenty cubic meters.

The sharp dagger struck the vine's root but didn't sever it. Unexpectedly, the unassuming vine was extremely tough; after a dozen cuts on each side, the vine finally snapped, and yellow specks appeared, gradually forming a deep‑yellow halo.

Seeing the deep‑yellow halo, Yu Tianyun couldn't help but feel excited—could this be his first Soul Ring? "From the color it looks over five hundred years old, maybe six or seven hundred. Tianyun, do you know what kind of Soul Beast this is?" Yu Xiaofeng turned to the vine and asked.

"I once read in sect records about a legendary Soul Beast—the Thunder Roaring Hell Vine, a Soul Beast with a Thunder God bloodline," Yu Tianyun said excitedly. "The description of the Thunder Roaring Hell Vine matches this vine, its root like a bamboo shoot and its blue‑purple vines."

"Thunder God bloodline? Really? No wonder I had to use fifty percent of my strength to severely damage it."

"It's just that our Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Soul Master has high lightning resistance; other Soul Saints would have a hard time subduing it."

"In that case, Tianyun, absorb it quickly."

"Alright, this kind of Soul Beast is a rare encounter." Yu Tianyun immediately sat cross‑legged, closed his eyes, and began absorbing.

Yu Xiaofeng kept watch around them.

(End of chapter)