"When two flowers bloom, they bloom on separate branches."
June 18th
Deep within the Shaolin Mountains, Chen Yu and his grandson Chen Jianjun had arrived at a spot two days earlier that used to be home to a pack of Qingfeng Azure Wolves. But now, all the wolves were gone. The leftovers of their prey and bones told them the wolves had probably vanished over half a year ago.
With no other option, the two began searching for other wind-attributed soul beasts. However, after two days, they had found nothing suitable. Beasts in these rugged mountains weren't easily encountered. And even when they found one, the age wasn't right—either too old or too young. Finding one around 1,500 years old was simply a matter of luck.
"Jianjun, let's do this. We'll look around one more day here. If we still don't find anything suitable, we'll head to Daling Mountain tomorrow. It's taller and more treacherous than Shaolin Mountain and has more ravines—should be more flying soul beasts there," Chen Yu suggested.
The two talked as they walked to the edge of the forest.
"Alright, Grandpa. I'm sure I'll find something even better."
Before he finished speaking, a sharp eagle cry pierced the air. A flying figure shot toward them—it was a giant roc, its entire body bluish-green, with a violet-blue beak and claws.
"Jianjun, that's a mutated Windshadow Roc—a Lightning Windshadow Roc. Mainly wind-type, with lightning as secondary. You can judge its age by its wingspan. This one is about five meters across—around 1,600 years old. Perfect for you," Chen Yu explained.
The Windshadow Roc is an upper-class avian soul beast. It excels in flight and is vicious by nature. Its wind attribute gives it terrifying slicing power. The Lightning variant adds massive boosts to both speed and attack, placing it near the top of the avian food chain.
In the eyes of this beast, the old man posed no threat. It instinctively targeted Chen Jianjun, the more dangerous-looking boy.
"Perfect. It's better than the Swiftspark Sparrow or the White-headed Sea Eagle. Grandpa, let me handle this one."
"Alright. Grandpa will be watching," Chen Yu said as he retreated several meters.
Chen Jianjun's excitement surged. He activated his martial soul: the Seven-Kill Sword. The sword was 4 feet 3 inches long, 3 inches wide, with a 1-foot-2-inch hilt. Its blade gleamed with silvery-white edges and a blue spine. It gave off a crystal-like brilliance, exuding intense killing intent. Two yellow soul rings hovered around him.
"First Soul Skill: Sword Force!"
This was a buff-type skill that increased attack, strength, and soul power by 50%.
In a flash, the roc closed the distance. A gust blade shot from its wing, scattering dirt and grass.
Chen Jianjun activated Sword Shadow Body, a sword-shaped phantom appearing behind him. He twisted midair to dodge the strike and instantly countered with a slash. But the roc twisted to avoid it.
He threw his sword, aiming straight at the roc. In a split-second clash, the roc deflected it with a tap of its beak and retaliated by firing several feather blades from its wings.
Jianjun recalled his sword, blocked with a horizontal slash, and activated Sword Step. In just a few agile steps, he closed in and unleashed an overhead strike.
The roc responded with a violet orb from its beak, striking Jianjun's sword with a muffled bang. Jianjun was thrown back several meters, giving the best time to shoot into the sky and dive again from above.
"Second Soul Skill: Steel Sword!"
With his second yellow ring shining, the Seven-Kill Sword grew larger. Its blue glow intensified. This skill enhanced the sword's durability, sharpness, and killing aura.
"Slash!" Jianjun roared, leaping up. He swung down a half-moon-shaped blue sword beam, ferocious and razor-sharp.
The roc, now just 20 meters away, saw the slash and shrieked. Its wings flared, green light sparking around it.
Then—a massive cross-shaped wind blade howled toward Jianjun.
The two attacks collided, dispersing into wild energy waves. Jianjun stumbled back three steps—clearly at a disadvantage.
The roc soared high again and launched its ultimate move: a tornado formed from countless green energy feathers, three meters wide, imbued with slicing force. It spiraled toward Jianjun with deadly force.
The range was huge—even Grandpa Chen Yu behind him was in its path.
"Second Soul Skill – Steel Sword Variant: Assault Across a Thousand Miles!"
Jianjun powered up his Sword Step technique, using Starstream Thunderstrike. His entire body glowed blue with soul energy forming a protective aura. His speed and offense soared as his sword shot toward the incoming tornado like a comet.
This showed that although Jianjun was a power-type assault soul master, he was also highly gifted—able to adapt and innovate his soul skills.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Their soul powers clashed again. A powerful shockwave blasted out, turning nearby trees into dust. And by the "undying in dust clouds" trope, Jianjun merely fell and spat a little blood—still alive.
Meanwhile, the roc, its wings tattered, charged once more. This time its cry echoed louder. Purple lightning now mixed into its green feathers—it had merged wind and lightning attributes, launching an even more devastating attack.
A fierce aura surged. Even Chen Jianjun's face turned grim.
"Jianjun, that's enough. This beast is using its ultimate move. You won't be able to stop it. Let Grandpa handle it," Chen Yu said calmly.
A deep purple soul ring shimmered around him—one of his six- to seven-thousand-year-old soul skills.
"Fourth Soul Skill – Sword Dance Lotus!"
A giant five-zhang-wide lotus appeared above the roc—shaped like a massive sword lotus, vast and sacred.
The tornado vanished. The roc was frozen midair, bleeding from its sudden halt. The sword lotus slowly descended and pinned the beast to the ground.
It was a locking suppression-type soul skill, both offensive and defensive. The roc was lucky it wasn't too high or it might've died on impact.
As it stared at the elegant, youthful-looking man before it—who had nine soul rings: Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Black—despair filled its eyes.
Yes, Chen Yu was one of the soul master's elite—the titled Douluo.
"Jianjun, rest a bit, then come finish it and absorb the soul ring." Chen Yu then pointed with two fingers, "Pop, pop"—creating gory holes in the beast's wings, crippling it.
This was the Chen family's Unparalleled Sword Finger, a secret skill akin to the Six Meridians Divine Sword.
June 19, Dusk
When Chen Yu and Jianjun returned home, the family was eating dinner.
"Father, you're back," Chen Xun and Ye Xiuxin rose to greet the old man.
"Grandpa! Hey big bro, did you find the Qingfeng Azure Wolf group?" Chen Xiaojun asked excitedly. From Jianjun's appearance, it seemed the hunt went well.
"Haha, didn't find the Azure Wolves, but we got something better—a 1,600-year-old Lightning Windshadow Roc."
"What?!"
"That soul beast's one of the rarest—top-tier for its age. A true king-type soul beast, just below the legendary 'super-class' ones. Your brother nearly lost his life. If Grandpa hadn't stepped in, I wouldn't have made it back," Jianjun said solemnly.
"Then I must congratulate you. What soul skill did you get? You look pretty satisfied." Xiaojun grinned.
"Haha, you bet. This top-tier third soul ring made my Seven-Kill Sword way sharper. My body's much stronger too. Even without activating skills, I can now cut through a tree thicker than two men. And when I do activate it, for ten minutes my speed, strength, and attack all double. It gives me wind and lightning attributes—slashing and paralyzing."
"Once I start training in Sword Control, Grandpa says this skill will make my sword even faster and stronger. Other than super-fast agility-types, even Soul Sect-level enemies may not dodge me."
"So strong!" Xiaojun exclaimed in awe.
Chen Xun laughed loudly, "Haha! Son, well done. A rare and powerful soul skill. Perfect for close or ranged attacks. Dual-attribute? That's rare indeed."
"Come sit, Jianjun. Eat first. I'll get you some more dishes," Ye Xiuxin said with a smile, walking to the kitchen.
"Alright, enough chatter," Xiaojun's eyes sparkled. "Did you bring the roc's body back?"
"Grandpa did. Why?"
"Mom! Tomorrow let's add two roasted roc wings to the menu—one secret-spice, one mild-spicy!" Xiaojun shouted toward the kitchen.
"..."