Douluo Dalu: From Shinobi to Spirit Master

Ju Douluo paused, his fingers twitching as he discarded the chrysanthemum in his hand. The corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, his expression caught somewhere between disbelief and amusement.

"He's truly a newborn calf unafraid of tigers," Ju Douluo finally said after a long silence, his voice tinged with a mix of mockery and curiosity. "Does he think soul beasts can be handled as easily as some common thug intimidated by a blade?"

A fifty-year-old soul beast was no trivial opponent. For most soul masters, it was a formidable challenge, one that even low-level great soul masters often approached with caution.

Ghost Douluo chuckled softly, his gaze fixed on the young figure in the distance. "Should we intervene? Or let him taste the consequences of his overconfidence?"

"Let him suffer a little," Yue Guan said with a wave of his hand, irritation evident in his tone. "Break a few bones if he must. He needs to understand that the Star Dou Forest is no playground. But don't let it go too far. Hidden injuries could hinder his growth."

Yue Guan's lips curled into a sly smile. He could already imagine the boy trembling in fear as they descended, saving him in the nick of time.

"What do you think, Old Ghost? How long until he cries for help? I'll wager—" Yue Guan's words trailed off as he noticed Ghost Douluo's expression. His companion's mouth hung open in shock, an almost comical contrast to his usual stoicism.

"Hey! Don't tell me you're letting the kid die!" Ju Douluo leaned forward, alarmed, but as his gaze followed Ghost Douluo's, his jaw slackened, mirroring the same stunned expression.

"This... this isn't right," Ju Douluo murmured.

Bang!

A thick tree trunk splintered, its remains sent flying. The force shattered another tree before the debris finally came to rest. The clearing was a mess of broken branches and churned earth.

Standing in the chaos was a three-meter-tall Silverback Gorilla. It pounded its chest, its blood-red eyes burning with fury as it glared at a small figure reflected in its pupils—Su Chen.

Perched nimbly on a tree branch, Su Chen's silver hair danced in the wind, revealing a pair of ominous blood-red eyes. The single tomoe in his Sharingan spun slowly, locking onto the gorilla with an oppressive aura.

"Angry?" Su Chen asked, his tone light, almost mocking.

The gorilla's roar shook the forest. It grabbed a boulder and hurled it with immense force, the sound of its flight resembling a cannonball cutting through the air. But to Su Chen, the stone's trajectory slowed, every detail laid bare before his enhanced vision.

With minimal effort, he shifted his position. The boulder smashed through a tree behind him, leaving splinters in its wake.

"You're losing your edge," Su Chen quipped as he appeared on another branch, unharmed. His voice was a calm breeze amidst the chaos.

The gorilla, its body trembling with exhaustion, finally faltered. Blood dripped from numerous wounds inflicted by kunai that Su Chen had expertly thrown. Each strike had been deliberate, targeting its weak points with precision.

The beast collapsed, its once-mighty form reduced to a pitiable state. One eye was blind, its ears, nose, and mouth marred by hideous injuries. Even if it survived the encounter, the unforgiving Star Dou Forest would finish it off.

Su Chen landed lightly before the defeated beast. The sound of his footsteps drew its remaining eye upward, filled with a mixture of hatred and desperation.

"Still have fight left in you?" Su Chen asked, his tone carrying an almost pitying amusement.

The gorilla let out a final roar, summoning the last reserves of its strength to launch a desperate attack. It lunged, its massive jaws aiming to crush the boy's skull. But just as its jaws closed in, its body froze mid-air.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Blood burst from its flesh as sharp, blood-colored wires tightened around it. The steel threads, infused with Su Chen's control, sliced deep, binding the beast in an unbreakable grip. The gorilla's howl of pain echoed through the forest, but its struggle only hastened its demise.

Su Chen walked forward, his expression unchanging. Kunai in hand, he drove it into the gorilla's ear, silencing it with one clean strike to the brain. For good measure, he struck its heart several times until it lay completely still.

As the beast's life faded, a glowing white ring with faint yellow edges appeared above its body. Su Chen's gaze lingered on the ring, curiosity sparking in his eyes.

"So, this is a soul ring," he murmured, reaching out to touch it lightly. "Compressed energy with unique properties, mixed with soul energy. Interesting... but a ten-year soul ring isn't worth much."

He recorded the ring's patterns in his mind and turned away without absorbing it. Cleaning the battlefield of any traces, Su Chen left the clearing as calmly as he had entered.

High above, Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo remained frozen, their expressions a mix of disbelief and awe.