Soul Beasts in Soul Land could be described as nearly limitless. From a single Blue Silver Grass to natural elements, if someone could imagine it, then one could usually name at least one or two Soul Beasts related to it.
Yet there was one thing Wu Ling could not imagine a Soul Beast being connected to: weapons.
When Wu Ling had read novels on Blue Planet, he had not paid much attention to this. Only after crossing into this world and awakening the Unregistered Spirit Origin did he realize the problem.
For Spirit Masters with beast Martial Souls, whether it was weak Blue Silver Grass, the powerful Golden Holy Dragon, or even the Seraphim of the Cross lineage, one could find them or traces of their existence in this world.
If beast Martial Souls worked that way, then what about tool Martial Souls? What were those tool Martial Souls awakened from?
Could it be that whenever humanity invented a tool, this world would produce a Martial Soul based on that tool? Although Wu Ling had only read a little of Soul Land 3 and had not read Soul Land 4 at all, even from Soul Land 2 alone, he had never seen a Spirit Master awaken a spirit tool as their Martial Soul.
If weapon-type Soul Beasts really existed in this world, then choosing Spirit Rings would become ridiculously convenient for him.
But if weapon Soul Beasts truly existed, and someone awakened one as a Martial Soul, would that count as a beast Martial Soul or a tool Martial Soul? That was also a headache.
To research this question, Wu Ling had once searched through every Soul Beast encyclopedia in Spirit Hall, but he found no precedent. Rose had also reflected back to him that perhaps weapons, after being forged by humans, lost some innate quality and therefore could not become Soul Beasts.
Whatever the reason, Wu Ling had already given up on the idea of weapon Soul Beasts. But he had never expected that while chasing an Evil Spirit Master, he would encounter a Soul Beast that had only existed in his imagination: a sword Soul Beast.
After Allie's awakening, the straw-haired elder had said he would take Wu Ling to meet a certain lord. Following the idea that capturing the leader came first, Wu Ling agreed.
Then the straw-haired elder pressed a brick on the wall, and a stone door leading underground opened in the floor.
Wu Ling followed the straw-haired elder down a long spiral staircase. When the stone door at the end opened, a huge room appeared before him, and a double-edged sword inserted into a stone entered his sight.
The sword was seven chi long, comparable to Wu Ling's own long blade. Its blade was covered in dense red lines. Under the dim kerosene light, those lines looked like blood flowing across the steel.
Bold because he trusted his skill, Wu Ling walked in and looked around. Aside from that sword, there was nothing else.
"Where is the lord you mentioned? Did he go to the bathroom or something?"
The straw-haired elder answered from outside the door, "Lord Sword is right there. If you can kill Lord Sword, then the purpose of your visit will be achieved. Otherwise, there is only death."
After speaking, the straw-haired elder closed the stone door and sealed it with his own Spirit Power.
After hearing the elder's form of address, Wu Ling turned his gaze back to the sword. Then he probed it with Spirit Power. The result that came back shook him. That sword was actually a Soul Beast.
He did not even care about the sealed stone door anymore. Right now, he looked as if he were admiring the lover of his dreams. No, the Soul Beast of his dreams.
"Ten-thousand-year class. Above thirty thousand years, but not yet fifty thousand. Around forty thousand years, then. Perfectly within my planned limit of fifty thousand years. It really fits."
"And a Soul Beast of over forty thousand years should have strength somewhere between a level-sixty-five Spirit Daoist and a Spirit King. Generally speaking, Soul Beasts are stronger than Spirit Masters of the same level, and a weapon Soul Beast has no precedent at all."
"But according to the warning from Mind's Eye, I am in mortal danger against this thing. Still, if I use every card I have, my odds are about fifty-fifty."
"Most importantly, I have no worries behind me. I can use my power without restraint. Grandpa Ghost is here to cover me, after all."
"Although I have not been able to sense Grandpa Ghost since entering this place, that should be because of the environment. Since he allowed me to keep walking earlier, then with a Titled Sage's strength, there is no way he would lose track of me."
A person's state of mind could sometimes influence them greatly, just like the morale of armies in ancient wars. Wu Ling's current belief that he had no worries behind him allowed him to bring out power beyond his normal state.
As if sensing Wu Ling's aura, the sword erupted with a powerful presence of its own, filled with a thick scent of blood.
A thought entered Wu Ling's mind: One-on-one slaughter. Winner takes all.
Wu Ling laughed loudly. "Exactly what I wanted!"
His three Spirit Rings opened at once. He drew the long blade at his waist while using doubled Spirit Power to condense another long blade, which he threw to Rose inside his shadow.
Because his first Spirit Ring was only a hundred-year ring, even if Wu Ling used twice the Spirit Power to condense a long blade, the weapon's hardness would only be 1.5 times normal. It took four times the Spirit Power to condense a blade with double hardness. Past that point, the Spirit Power cost increased layer by layer.
Even so, he still insisted on condensing it. That alone proved how seriously he regarded the sword Soul Beast before him.
The sword floated in the air as if held by an invisible person. Then it shot before Wu Ling with lightning speed and slashed straight toward his face.
"Hey, hey, hey! Have you never heard the rule that you do not cut the face?" Wu Ling's mouth complained, but his hands were not slow. After blocking the sword Soul Beast's attack with his long blade, he reversed his grip and chopped at the sword's body.
Feeling the recoil through the blade, Wu Ling clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Seriously. I have practiced the blade this long, and this is the first time I have felt this helpless about having to cut the weapon instead of the user."
As he spoke, Wu Ling clashed with the sword Soul Beast again. This time, his expression suddenly changed during the impact.
Wu Ling exerted strength and used the force traveling through his blade to pull away from the sword. He raised his blade in front of him and looked. A visible nick had already appeared on the edge.
"Rose."
"Almost."
After receiving her answer, Wu Ling raised his blade and charged back in to clash with the sword again.
Although Wu Ling had Sasaki's sword skill enhancement, the sword was no weakling either. Each of its moves aimed straight for Wu Ling's vitals. Every attack was a killing strike. In this intense exchange, Mind's Eye was pushed to its maximum effect.
During another clash, the sword suddenly exerted force. Wu Ling's blade was cut halfway through. His gaze sharpened. He abandoned the blade with the flow of the strike, then gripped the new blade that extended from his shadow. In that instant, he recalled Ember into his body. The explosive increase in strength let him knock the sword flying.
When the sword stabilized itself in midair, a nick had appeared on its body as well. But before Wu Ling could feel pleased, the lines along the sword flowed, and the nick vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Wu Ling used that chance to separate Ember out again, keeping him ready for emergencies.
"Human, in terms of swordsmanship alone, I acknowledge you!"
"Since that is so, I will tell you my name. I am the Soul-Devouring Ghost Sword, a being that devoured thousands upon thousands of souls and gave birth to a spirit."
"Human, what happened just now was only the warm-up. Now, the true battle begins!"
As the sword's voice fell, a terrifying killing intent and blood aura surged toward Wu Ling like a tsunami, powerful enough to make even him shudder.