You have to understand that seeing blood and not seeing blood are two completely different experiences.
"Well, are you scared?"
Bi Ji asked with a smile.
"I'm fully prepared for anything," Su Yu replied firmly.
If he didn't even have this much determination, he would be unworthy of the power and advantages he possessed.
"Very good."
Bi Ji nodded in satisfaction.
"Then let's begin today's lesson."
As she spoke, she waved her hand toward the distance. Soon, a bright red, three-headed mastiff emerged from the dense forest.
Behind it followed a dozen similarly red-colored mastiffs, each carrying a soul beast in its mouth.
Upon seeing this three-headed mastiff, Su Yu immediately recognized it.
This was the Crimson King, one of the ten great ferocious beasts, whose true form was a Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Mastiff with a cultivation of around 300,000 years—roughly equivalent to a human Rank 96-97 Super Douluo.
In the original story, this Crimson King wasn't even as strong as the weakest Rank 98 Super Douluo, Xuan Zi, so it was still a bit far from reaching Rank 98.
The Crimson King dropped the three soul beasts from its mouth and respectfully bowed to Su Yu.
"Greetings, Young Master."
"Rise, Crimson King."
Su Yu accepted the bow without much change in his expression.
The Crimson King was different from Di Tian and Bi Ji. Those two had raised him from a young age, so their relationship was more personal, and he naturally addressed them as uncle and aunt.
But for the other soul beasts, he didn't mind how they addressed him.
He understood very well what his identity represented.
"Bi Ji, I've brought the soul beasts you requested."
Behind him, the dozen Scarlet Demon Mastiffs also dropped the soul beasts they were carrying.
"Thank you," Bi Ji said softly.
The Crimson King shook his head, nodded to the Auspicious Beast, and then glanced at Su Yu.
"If the Young Master has any need, just call for me. I'll always be nearby."
"Thank you," Su Yu responded calmly.
"This is merely my duty," the Crimson King said, bowing once more before leaving with the other Scarlet Demon Mastiffs.
After witnessing this, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at Su Yu with even more curiosity.
Even the Crimson King had to bow and refer to him as Young Master, while she, the Emperor Auspicious Beast, didn't even receive such treatment.
"Alright, let's begin our lesson," Bi Ji clapped her hands, drawing Su Yu's attention. She casually waved her hand, and a soul beast was drawn in front of Su Yu.
It was a baboon about a meter tall, covered in brownish-yellow fur, with brown eyes and unusually long arms. Its claws were sharp, and its canine teeth protruded from its lips, with a fierce glint in its eyes.
"This is a ten-year soul beast, a Wind Baboon."
"The Wind Baboon is a low-level soul beast, not particularly powerful."
"They can generally be distinguished by their height, fur color, and eye color."
"A ten-year Wind Baboon is typically under two meters tall, with brownish-yellow fur and brown eyes."
"A hundred-year Wind Baboon stands between two and four meters tall, with the same brownish-yellow fur and brown eyes."
"A thousand-year Wind Baboon exceeds four meters in height, its fur darkening to a deep yellow, and its eyes to a deep brown."
"Once it reaches the ten-thousand-year level, however, the Wind Baboon's size shrinks back to around two meters. At this point, its entire body turns dark yellow, and its eyes become black. Its speed, strength, defense, and attack power all increase dramatically."
Bi Ji pointed to the soul beast in front of them as she explained.
As she spoke, she summoned three more soul beasts.
These three beasts were similar to the Wind Baboon, but it was obvious they were at the hundred-year, thousand-year, and ten-thousand-year levels, respectively.
Su Yu carefully observed the differences between the four Wind Baboons, his eyes filled with curiosity.
So, this is the famous God-Slayer Wind Baboon.
If you were to ask which soul beast was the most notorious in Douluo Dalu 2, it had to be the Wind Baboon, which nearly achieved the feat of slaying a god.
Unfortunately, it fell just short of success.
If it had succeeded, it would have been a legend for the ages.
"Take a close look at the differences between them."
Bi Ji's voice came at the right moment.
Su Yu nodded and scrutinized the four Wind Baboons.
"The Wind Baboon's main attack method is to shoot white energy beams from its mouth to attack its enemies."
Bi Ji continued her explanation, while Su Yu listened intently and nodded along.
The Emerald Swan was a very unique soul beast, naturally inclined toward healing. Its healing abilities were incredibly strong, which made it easily followed and protected by other soul beasts.
Bi Ji, being the queen of the Emerald Swan clan, had countless soul beasts under her command. Her understanding of various soul beasts was unparalleled.
She explained things clearly and thoroughly, and Su Yu focused intently on learning, gaining a lot from the experience.
Meanwhile, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion yawned out of boredom as she watched Bi Ji's teaching.
She curled up, found a comfortable position, and soon fell into a peaceful sleep.
...
Time flew by, and the morning passed quickly.
In just one morning, Su Yu had learned about the characteristics, combat styles, and strengths of more than ten types of soul beasts, and he had memorized them all.
This kind of treatment was something no one else could have.
The kings of the Star Dou Forest personally captured soul beasts for his education. Who else could boast of such an experience?
What he saw and learned firsthand was far more detailed and clear than anything he could have read in a book.
Not only did he observe the soul beasts, but he also touched them.
He now knew exactly how their fur felt, how hard their muscles were, and how thick their bones were.
This was the privilege of being the Young Master of the soul beasts.
After finishing his morning studies, Su Yu ate two fruits for lunch, took a short break, and soon it was time for the afternoon session.
In the afternoon, it was time for practical combat training.
This time, no soul beasts were brought into the core area. Instead, Su Yu was taken out to experience real combat firsthand.
The key was authenticity.
The environment and soul beasts around him were the real deal.
Bi Ji led Su Yu to the outer regions, as that was where he could find opponents suitable for his current level as a soul master.
Su Yu walked through the jungle, while Bi Ji and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion restrained their auras and watched from a distance.
With Bi Ji nearby, she could rescue Su Yu at any time, so there was no need to worry about any real danger.
Su Yu walked alone through the forest, carrying a heavy iron hammer.
This hammer was one Su Yu had specially commissioned, weighing several hundred pounds.
There was no other choice—he had almost no combat experience, and he wasn't skilled with other weapons.
Rather than using something unfamiliar, he figured he might as well swing a hammer wildly. With his inhuman strength, the hammer could deal considerable damage.
As Su Yu advanced cautiously through the forest, his senses were on high alert.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, which only made him more vigilant.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a fleeting black shadow on the path ahead.
Su Yu tightened his grip on the hammer, his eyes becoming sharp and focused.
A chill ran down his spine. Instinctively, he dove to the right, while simultaneously swinging his hammer ferociously.
With a single swing of the hammer, a loud whoosh filled the air.
Although Su Yu didn't know any combat techniques and had no battle experience, his strength exceeded ten thousand pounds. Combined with the weight of the several-hundred-pound hammer, such a swing, if it connected, could kill even a Soul Elder instantly.
Of course, that was only if it hit.
Su Yu's powerful strike didn't connect with anything, and the strong inertia caused him to spin in a full circle.
Steadying himself, Su Yu gripped the hammer in his right hand, standing alert.
Turning his head, he saw a leopard-type soul beast, about two meters long and one meter tall at the shoulder, revealing itself in the spot where he had been standing.
The beast had brownish-yellow fur with purple leopard spots, and its black eyes were filled with a predatory gleam, its mouth full of sharp fangs.
This was a Lightning Leopard.
It was one of the dozen or so soul beasts Su Yu had learned about earlier that morning.
Judging by its size, this Lightning Leopard's age should be around two hundred years.
As its name suggested, the Lightning Leopard was as fast as lightning. It was an agility-type soul beast whose primary attack mode involved discharging purple lightning from its body and shooting electric balls from its mouth to strike its enemies.
Su Yu's mind rapidly recalled all the information about Lightning Leopards as his expression grew serious.
Meanwhile, the Lightning Leopard across from him bared its sharp fangs, letting out a low growl, its black eyes locked onto Su Yu.
Suddenly, the Lightning Leopard bent its hind legs slightly and pounced toward Su Yu with astonishing speed.
Su Yu stomped his right foot into the ground, creating a small pit, and swung his heavy iron hammer horizontally in a sweeping motion, aiming directly at the Lightning Leopard.
The iron hammer whistled through the air, creating gusts of wind.
Sensing the danger, the Lightning Leopard twisted its body mid-air, dodging to the side.
Then, as purple light flashed across its fur, arcs of electricity began to crackle over its body.
It opened its mouth, spitting out a ball of electricity about a foot in diameter, which shot toward Su Yu at high speed.
Su Yu's pupils contracted, and he quickly dove to the side, rolling to avoid the attack.
In that instant, however, the Lightning Leopard pounced again, its jaws wide open, aiming for Su Yu's neck.
If that bite landed, Su Yu would undoubtedly die on the spot.
At this critical moment, the Black Dragon Ring on Su Yu's hand flashed, and a large bronze cauldron suddenly appeared.
The Lightning Leopard had no time to avoid it and slammed headfirst into the cauldron.
Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Su Yu grabbed the cauldron by one of its legs and swung it directly at the Lightning Leopard.
The beast was sent flying over ten meters, crashing to the ground and rolling several times.
Su Yu dashed forward, leaping into the air, and brought his hammer down with all his might, using his full strength of ten thousand pounds.
With just one strike, the Lightning Leopard's skull was crushed, its brains spilling out, and its life ended immediately.
Only then did Su Yu put away his iron hammer, breathing heavily, his heart still pounding.
In that intense moment, he had truly felt the threat of death.
That's why his counterattack had been so fierce.
It was purely an instinctual response to the life-threatening danger.
Now, as his rationality slowly returned, Su Yu realized that he might have gone a bit too far.
In one move, he had killed the Lightning Leopard outright.
As the Lightning Leopard's life faded completely, a yellow soul ring began to rise from its body.
Seeing that Su Yu had won the battle, Bi Ji led the Three-Eyed Golden Lion over to his side.
Looking at Bi Ji as she approached, Su Yu opened his mouth.
"Aunt Bi, I…"
"Young Master, I understand what you're trying to say. There's no need to worry. This is training—a life-and-death struggle."
"In a life-and-death battle, it's either you live or I die. If you hesitate, then what's the point of the training?"
"As long as you're not killing indiscriminately, it's fine."
Bi Ji smiled gently.
In the world of soul beasts, killing each other was common.
Killing a few soul beasts here and there wasn't a big deal.
The problem wasn't with killing soul beasts but with doing so without reason or slaughtering senselessly.
What was truly detested was not simply killing soul beasts but killing them under the guise of righteousness to appear just.
Besides, Su Yu's role was to bring hope to the entire soul beast race, not to be concerned with the life or death of just a few soul beasts.
"I understand now, Aunt Bi."
Hearing Bi Ji's words, the concerns in Su Yu's heart slowly faded.
After all, he was human, so he had been worried about how Bi Ji and the others might feel.
But since Bi Ji had said this, he was able to put his mind at ease.
"Ha ha ha!"
Just as Su Yu finished speaking, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at him, covering her mouth with one paw, and began laughing.
Su Yu was confused, not understanding what was going on.
Bi Ji smiled gently, lifting her delicate hand to brush the fallen leaves from Su Yu's hair and wipe the dust from his face.
"So messy!"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion raised her head proudly and said.
She was, of course, referring to how Su Yu had been rolling around on the ground, trying to dodge the Lightning Leopard's attacks.
Su Yu smiled slightly, not minding at all. After all, he knew he lacked real combat experience.
"Shall we continue?"
Bi Ji asked.
Su Yu nodded.
"Alright, let's keep going."
Bi Ji smiled, leading the Three-Eyed Golden Lion away again.
Su Yu resumed his training. Before long, he encountered a hundred-old Elephant Rhinoceros.
Unlike the Lightning Leopard, the Elephant Rhinoceros was a defense-type soul beast.
Its skin was thick, its muscles tough, and it possessed immense strength.
Most soul masters would struggle to break through their defenses.
But Su Yu was excited by the challenge.
The one thing he didn't fear was strength and defense types.
It was the fast, agile types that he was wary of.
Su Yu charged forward with his hammer, and after several attempts, he managed to find an opening and pummel the hundred-old Elephant Rhinoceros into submission.
This was the most satisfying fight Su Yu had experienced yet—bashing such a sturdy target felt exhilarating.
After defeating the Elephant Rhinoceros, Su Yu soon encountered another opponent.
This time, it was a Tiger Demon Cat with over five hundred years of cultivation.
Su Yu didn't recognize the specific species, but he could tell it was a cat-type soul beast.
Cat-type soul beasts were typically agility attackers, known for their incredible speed.
What Su Yu feared most were agile soul beasts like this.
The battle quickly began, with Su Yu swinging his hammer with great force.
But the Tiger Demon Cat was incredibly fast, and Su Yu's hammer couldn't even graze it.
The beast moved like a shadow, putting immense pressure on Su Yu.
"A Tiger Demon Cat with five hundred years of cultivation—looks like the Young Master has met his match this time."
Bi Ji observed the battle from behind a tree.
Su Yu's strength was not weak at all, and his attacks carried immense power. If he could land a single hit, the Tiger Demon Cat would likely be finished.
But the difficulty lay in landing that hit.
Though the Tiger Demon Cat's defense was average, its speed was truly remarkable.
Su Yu was swinging his hammer at thin air, and at this rate, no matter how much stamina he had, it wouldn't last long.
"This guy is such a brute, all he knows is swinging wildly."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion commented.
To her, Su Yu's fighting technique was painfully crude—it was truly hard to watch.