Sitting on a log, a young figure breathed heavily. In front of him lay a decapitated body, blood spilling from the neck.
"Illusion Talisman. Aura Talisman. Blockade Talisman." Three talismans were activated in quick succession. They would serve to hide my presence, erase any trace of aura, and block the surrounding space, making it harder for anyone to locate me.
"I killed someone." I looked at my hand, soaked in blood. There was something deeply unsettling about ripping someone's head off—especially when it was someone who was supposed to be my brother.
With the adrenaline wearing off, my body felt like a battlefield. Every movement came with searing pain, a result of the impact I had taken from the bear. But something unusual caught my attention: my body began regenerating on its own. Of course, there was a cost. The little spiritual energy I had left from the fight was being consumed rapidly.
"This regeneration ability is... abnormal." Intrigued, I thought about using my analysis skill. "So far, I've only been able to use this ability on physical objects. I tried applying it to my Martial Soul, but it didn't work. If I can't use it on my Martial Soul, why not try it on my own body?" The idea suddenly flashed in my mind. Over the years, I'd used it on countless objects, but never considered applying it to my own body. Maybe now was the time. Without wasting any more time, I activated the analysis skill on myself.
I spent the rest of my spiritual power to activate the full analysis, since I was in a relatively safe spot.
"Human Body: Dai Mubai. Full analysis available."
Dai Mubai
Level: 10 (Spirit Scholar)
Blessings and Curses detected in the body:
Blessing 1:
High regenerative capacity: your body consumes energy to regenerate wounds. No limit identified; with enough energy, it is possible to regenerate the body from a single drop of blood.
Curse 1:
A curse blocks 34% of your total physical capacity.
Blessing 2:
Your testicles have the ability to automatically absorb energy from heaven and earth, storing it. This energy can be released with ejaculation. The sperm, enriched by this energy, is extremely beneficial for other life forms. However, excess energy could lead to an explosion. Significant increase in Libido.
Curse 2:
As the years pass, the rate of energy absorption in the testicles increases.
Blessing 3:
??? A blessing was detected, but cannot be fully analyzed.
Curse 3:
??? A curse was detected, but cannot be fully analyzed.
I was stunned by the information revealed by the analysis.
"Blessings and curses... Is this because of the Golden Mushroom?" Until now, these blessings and curses had gone unnoticed since they had never manifested. I never expected to uncover something like this now.
Cold sweat dripped down my back as I read the descriptions. Blessing and Curse 2 particularly unsettled me.
"As I get older, the energy absorption speed increases. This could be an advantage, but if I exceed the limit... I'll explode. Losing my two 'golden balls' would be worse than dying." Just the thought of it made me feel pain.
Then, I noticed Blessing 1. Even if an explosion occurred, this regenerative ability would allow me to survive and even regenerate the lost part. Still, just thinking about it sent chills down my spine.
As for Blessing and Curse 3, nothing had been revealed. Still, I suspect they're related to my Spiritual Ocean. The analysis skill seems limited to physical objects, and the Spiritual Ocean is beyond its capacity.
My Spiritual Ocean, by the way, is unique. Over the years, I've realized I can store physical items in it and even cultivate some plants. This convinced me that it's one of a kind—a true little world. I'm sure no one else has anything like it.
Curse 3 remains a mystery, but there's no point in speculating about it now.
Sitting among the trees, I felt the ground tremble. In several parts of the Star Dou Forest, chaos reigned, and intense battles were underway. Today's war was much worse than I initially imagined.
I'm worried about Jiangqi and Teacher Qi. However, at this moment, I don't have enough spiritual power to help them.
"First, I need to recover." I closed my eyes to regain my soul power, trying to ignore the pain and fatigue.
As I leaned against the tree, a new tremor shook the ground. I looked down in surprise and saw the earth near the roots crack. Suddenly, a massive white Worm emerged from the soil. Just staring at it made my body feel heavy, as if a mountain were crushing me. The air around began to freeze, and layers of ice formed on my skin.
My Sharingan activated automatically in the face of imminent danger. Although I knew exactly who that creature was, I pulled out a Teleport Talisman, ready to use it if anything went out of control.
I activated the basic analysis skill:
"Gold-patterned Ice Worm. Age: +900,000 years."
I was puzzled. I was sure its name was Skydream Ice Worm, and it should have been 1,000,000 years old.
"Haha! Finally found a human with mental attributes." A voice echoed in my mind, overflowing with joy. "Unfortunately, I can't shed tears, but if I could, I'd surely cry tears of joy!" The cold emanating from the Worm grew so intense that even my hair started to freeze.
"You are incredibly strong." I sighed, tightening my grip on the Teleport Talisman, ready to use it at any moment.
"Haha! Admiring my greatness? Come on, be captivated by my magnificence!" It laughed, clearly proud. "But don't worry, I won't hurt you." After that declaration, the cold began to gradually subside.
"What do you want?" I asked in a low voice, my body still tense. Even though I suspected the reason for its appearance, I didn't expect to encounter it at this moment of vulnerability. It made sense, though; 3rd Rank talismans wouldn't be enough to hide my presence from such a powerful Soul Beast.
"No rush, no worries!" It laughed again, showing confidence. "Let me introduce myself. I am the personification of heroism and chivalry, the most intelligent and beautiful among all spirit beasts. My supreme power has been forged through over 900,000 years of training. I am the oldest Worm ever seen on the Douluo continent! You can call me Brother Daydream."
The Worm even puffed out its chest, proud of itself. But when I heard that it was over 900,000 years old, I concluded that it hadn't reached the 1,000,000-year state yet. This reminded me that we were still far from the time of Douluo Dalu 2, which I vaguely remembered occurring almost 10,000 years after Tang San became a god. In Chapter 0 of Douluo Dalu, Tang San mentions having spent just over 20 years in the Divine Realm, where one day equates to one year in the mortal world.
"Surprised? Moved? You're only the second human I've encountered after such a long time!" Despite being a Worm, I could see its smile. Thanks to my ability to see auras, I felt a tremendous purity from its aura, which caused my body to relax slightly.
"So, Brother Daydream, what do you want?" I asked with a slight smile, feeling more at ease with its pure aura.
"What do I want?" It laughed again, moving closer. "Listen closely: I want to become your Soul Ring. The first conscious Soul Ring in the history of this world!" It bent down even more, allowing me to see its brilliant eyes up close.
"Is that even possible?" I couldn't help but question. In the original, Daydream only became a conscious Soul Ring after reaching 1,000,000 years.
"Don't worry. I truly admire you. I watched your battle, and I believe the chances of success are very high. Let's start now, and I promise I'll be gentle. It won't hurt much. Finding you has undoubtedly been the luckiest thing that's happened to me!" The purity of its aura filled the surroundings, surpassing anything I'd ever felt before, even compared to the humans closest to me.
Daydream gently rested its head against my forehead, and an intense blue aura emanated from our bodies, spreading throughout the Star Dou Forest.
The impact was immense. All the 100,000-year Soul Beasts in the forest were alarmed. Daydream vanished, leaving the beasts enraged.
The conflict between the Star Luo Empire and the Spirit Hall was abruptly interrupted by the interference of the Soul Beasts. They swept the humans out of the forest and focused all their fury on the empires, especially the Title Douluo, whom they held responsible for Daydream's disappearance. This was the first large-scale invasion of the Soul Beasts ever recorded.
However, the powerful Soul Beasts ignored the real culprit, the 6-year-old child lying on the log, and focused their attacks on the empires. Thanks to the Talismans, the lower-level creatures were unable to locate the golden-haired boy, who remained safely asleep on the tree log while the conflict ravaged the continent.