Chapter 7: No way, bro, you really made my soul ring get eaten?

I don't know if it's because the father and son have bad luck.

After searching a whole night, they only managed to find two lightning rabbits; one of them was only eighty years old, which Bai Ran certainly didn't want.

However, I've heard that lightning rabbit meat is incredibly tender, and making spicy rabbit with it would surely be delicious.

The other one, meanwhile, was three hundred twenty years old.

It was over a hundred years short of Bai Ran's ideal four hundred thirty years.

"Forget it, let's just take this one."

Bai Ran said he was a bit tired.

Three hundred twenty years is three hundred twenty years; anyway, he, who was well versed in the plot of Douluo Continent and later attained godhood, found even a difference of one or two hundred years, let alone one or two thousand years, utterly insignificant.

"Ranran, come over and give this lightning rabbit the final blow."

Old Bai said, pulling out a dagger he carried on his person, and was about to hand it to Bai Ran.

"Old man, why go through all this trouble?"

"It's just killing a rabbit; why use such a fine weapon?"

As he spoke, Bai Ran grabbed the unconscious lightning rabbit, and then there was a 'crack' as he twisted its neck to the right.

A soul ring as yellow as urine slowly surfaced from the lightning rabbit's body.

Immediately afterward, following Comrade Bai Liang's guidance,

Bai Ran summoned his Human Emperor Banner martial soul, preparing to guide this hundred-year soul ring onto his martial soul.

Wait, this adhesive feeling was like that of a spring breeze spirit.

Bai Ran felt something was off.

His eyes, which had been closed, opened.

At this moment, Old Bai's mouth hung wide open, as if he had seen something utterly unbelievable.

"Old man, what's wrong with you,

no, where is my soul ring?"

Bai Ran turned his gaze to his martial soul and discovered that his Human Emperor Banner had no yellow hundred-year soul ring attached, and the soul ring that had been floating above the lightning rabbit was gone as well.

"Ranran, do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"

After witnessing that extremely strange event, Comrade Bai Liang's first thought was the child's physical condition.

"No, old man, I feel fine."

"Well, if I had to say, the spicy rabbit you just made was pretty tasty, and this rabbit is bigger and fatter, so I'll eat it later."

As for feeling unwell, Bai Ran said it didn't exist.

"Really none? You should know, your martial soul actually ate the soul ring."

"If you feel unwell, tell your dad; he still knows a few healing-type soul masters."

"My martial soul ate the soul ring? Dad, do you want to hear what you're saying?"

"How could such an unimaginable thing happen to me?"

Bai Ran had just closed his eyes, fully concentrating on guiding the soul ring; not having witnessed this himself, he could not comprehend it at all.

"You don't believe me?"

"I definitely don't believe it."

"Then did the soul ring disappear?"

"If the soul ring disappeared, could it be because I failed to absorb it and it dissipated?"

"Alright, alright, you kid don't believe me, fine, I'll take you to catch another lightning rabbit."

……

This time their luck was better; in just half an hour they encountered a two-hundred-year-old lightning rabbit.

Old Bai knocked the rabbit unconscious and then handed it to Bai Ran to deal with.

Again came a 'crack'; this time he twisted its neck to the left.

"If my martial soul eats this soul ring, I'll then……"

Bai Ran summoned his martial soul.

All that could be seen was this white banner, which soon actively drew the soul ring over.

Bai Ran: "Steady." The next second, the soul ring merged into the banner.

The banner itself did not show any soul ring emerging.

Bai Ran: "Ah!!!"

"Hey bro, you really made my soul ring get eaten?"

"Today he dares to eat soul rings, tomorrow he'll dare to eat soul beasts, tomorrow he'll dare to eat soul beasts, and after that he'll dare to eat soul masters."

"Well, don't even say it; it totally matches the image of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner (Human Emperor Banner) in Bai Ran's mind."

"But since you ate the soul ring, that means I can't attach a soul ring to you."

"According to Douluo Continent's rules, that's equivalent to me never being able to break past rank ten in this lifetime? Just thinking about that possibility made Bai Ran panic immediately."

"One second he was a congenital soul power genius with full soul power, the next second he became a waste who could never break past rank ten for life—what a sense of disparity."

"Heave-ho, Bai Ran doesn't have Xiao Yan's passionate fervor to shout lines like 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully the young and poor.'"

"Ranran, you said if your martial soul could eat soul rings, what did you want to do?"

At this moment, Comrade Bai Liang was smiling as he looked at his foolish son in front of him.

"I just want to eat some spicy rabbit; is that not allowed?"

"Ah, old man, I feel like I'm ruined."

"Yo yo yo, you little kid, you're already sighing."

It's just that the martial soul ate the soul ring, right? Although this is quite strange, for you the benefits should far outweigh the drawbacks.

Bai Liang truly lives up to being an old comrade; he spotted the clue at a glance.

"My martial soul can't attach a soul ring—isn't that definitely a bad thing?"

I've decided: from now on I'll follow you, Old Bai, and work as a guard at the City Lord's Mansion; a monthly salary of ten gold soul coins will be enough.

Smack

As Bai Ran's words fell, his father slammed his hand hard onto his head.

Bai Liang: "You brat, if you dare to be a guard like your old man, I'll beat you to death."

"Ran Ran, from my old man's perspective, your martial soul should be absorbing the energy of soul beasts' soul rings and then condensing your own soul ring."

Bai Liang had seen such a thing recorded in the clan's archives.

The record reads: "The emperor within the banner disdains to bear fur and horns; the attachments produced by viviparous and egg‑laying offspring are devoured entirely, and the energy thus transformed ultimately forms a perfect‑age soul ring."

"There's also this."

Bai Ran: "Old geezer, compared to you I feel like a native rather than a transmigrator."

……

The next day, aside from resting, Bai Ran spent all his time with his father catching lightning rabbits.

Finally, upon catching the fifth one today—the sole four‑hundred‑year‑old lightning rabbit he had encountered.

After the Human Emperor Banner consumed this soul ring,

the Human Emperor Banner began to change, its color constantly switching between white and yellow,

on the flag's surface a rabbit pattern appeared.

A deep‑yellow soul ring began to condense and emerge on the Human Emperor Banner.

Its age is roughly four to five hundred years.

It slightly exceeds the maximum age that the first soul ring can absorb.

Still, it's yellow, so even if it shows up in the Soul Fighting Arena, others will only think you're a genius, not a monster.

As for the big shots, at most they'll give you a glance because you have a standard soul‑ring ratio, but they won't be surprised.

But if your first soul ring is a thousand years old? Well, sorry—I'll have to torture you to make you spill the secret of how your first soul ring can exceed that age limit, or better yet, dissect you to see what hidden secret lies in your body.

Don't say you have a background and that'll be enough.

Even if you rely on the Spirit Hall, once you step outside the protection of a Title Douluo, various sects' dead warriors will instantly send you tickets to another world.

……

(End of chapter)