[Host is enjoying the Wine from their Gourd Martial Soul! + 10 Points!]
Sheng wiped his mouth after lowering the Gourd from his lips, sighing happily with a grin. "Pwah~ I wasn't expecting the wine in my gourd to be so nice! The System knows me well, tastes more like a sweet wine than anything inherently alcoholic!"
It had been a few days since Shen had left Cha Village behind, beginning his journey through the wilderness. Obtaining Freedom points was far easier than he realised, though he definitely noticed that the gain rate of them could be rather slow. The ten points he just obtained from drinking from his Martial Soul was his first ten point increase, he'd only get one or two points from other actions- likely because they weren't considered big enough.
Still, little things added up, and with those last 10 points...
Physique: 5
Control: 5
He now had a physique on par with an average adult male- non Soul Master, of course- which would be a great help with hunting animals for meat- as well as obtaining his first Soul Rings.
Yes- Rings.
Normally, people cultivated multiple Martial Souls one at a time. The reason why was simple- first was to temper their physique in order to contain the stress of multiple Martial Souls at once. The second was that by raising one Martial Soul to the limit they could then fill their second Martial Soul with Hundred-Thousand Year Soul Rings.
However, Sheng lacked that limitation. Thanks to his System, he could increase the age of his Soul Rings so long as he had enough points, along with his physique. This meant that problems that would plague original users of multiple Martial Souls didn't apply to him- so long as he made sure his Physique and Mental Power was strong enough before adding too many Soul Rings.
Sheng reached into his bag and pulled out a very helpful book he'd purchased for ten points from the System Store- Encyclopaedia of Soul Beasts: What They Are, and their Special Features.
With this book, he was able to study about Soul Beasts to find the best ones possible for his Martial Souls.
He'd decided to start with his Stone Staff Martial Soul for his first Soul Ring.
While the Golden Cloud would also be a good choice, the Stone Staff would more directly help in combat and killing ability. The Golden Cloud would be the second to receive the Soul Ring, followed by the Wine Gourd.
As Sheng looked through the book, he idly thought about what it was he wanted out of his first Soul Ring.
The First Soul Skill one obtained often ended up falling out of use due to the low age of the Soul Ring- you'd almost never see a Titled Douluo use their First Soul Skill against another Titled Douluo.
However, Sheng resented such a notion- all skills must be usable, they must all have purpose.
That was why he was looking for a skill that would allow his staff to replicate the feats of Sun Wukong- to grow and shrink his staff at will.
Not only would such a Soul Skill still be useful even at the stage of Titled Douluo, but it would also provide him with a long ranged way of attacking very early on and that was something that couldn't be neglected or underestimated.
The problem was finding a Soul Beast capable of giving him what he needed.
And, after all his research, he believed he'd found a candidate for it- the Burrowing Earth Worm.
It was a Soul Beast that usually lived underground and would come up to feed every so often before retreating. They had short life cycles, meaning that they would usually never surpass 400 years in cultivation- the same with most Worm Martial Souls. This made it an ideal first soul ring for him- since 423 was around the minimum that could be safely absorbed.
The unique ability of the Burrowing Earth Worm was its ability to grow and shrink its size in order to eat larger prey- such as wolves, ox, and so on.
And this skill only improved with age... According to the book, there a Burrowing Earth Worm that was able to reach a thousand years of cultivation was able to grow up to 50 meters and attempted to swallow a Soul Beast- though it failed and was killed in the attempt.
If this was the case, then there was a chance that the Spirit Skill obtained might be a special type- a Growth-Type that became more powerful the higher the Soul Power that Sheng possessed.
Of course, even if it didn't, he'd still be able to raise the Soul Ring's age with Freedom Points.
On top of that, the Earth Worm should be compatible with his Martial Soul. Both held the 'Earth' Attribute, so it should also improve the durability and hardness of his Stone Staff.
There was also a chance he might obtain the Earth Worm's flexibility, another excellent benefit to his Stone Staff. Of course, that was unlikely and would be a mere side benefit compared to everything else.
"Alright, it's decided- my first Soul Ring will be the Burrowing Earth Worm," he murmured. "Golden Cloud's Soul Ring... I'll worry about it after."
He sighed and took another swig from his gourd, savouring the taste of the wine.
It was a shame he didn't have access to Whale Rubber- an extremely potent tonic with strong Yang or Body Energy that was able to drastically improve one's physique.
However, he pushed it out of his mind. While it would help improve his physique, it generally only helped better in the earlier stages. Right now, he could still use ten points to increase his physique by one point, and he had no good way of melting and storing it for proper use anyway.
Rather than focus on the opportunities he didn't have, he should focus on the potential opportunities he did have.
The Ice-Fire Well belonging to Dugu Bo- exchanging for a book on immortal herbs would help him identify them, and he'd easily be able to replace Tang San in curing both Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan. Though that was also assuming this was early enough in the timeline for such a thing, he had no idea when he was- only that Spirit Hall was still around.
He would have to check once he reached the next town.
Which meant his next purchase from the System Shop was clear- the Map. While he did know how to Navigate a map and was doing just fine with a normal one, having one from the System interface would make things easier!
Sheng clapped his cheeks and shook his head. "Focus," he murmured. While he wasn't in one of the forests that were teeming with Soul Beasts, many still lived in normal forests too- they were just generally weaker.
What he needed to do now was try and find a Burrowing Earth Worm. From the book's information, they tended to feed during the night- when the cloak of darkness made it easier for them to go unseen.
"In that case, I'll hunt down a couple of Soft-Boned Rabbits for my meal, then wait tonight," he decided easily, swapping his Wine Gourd for his Staff as he began to look for his prey.
Soft-Boned Rabbits were usually very weak spirit beasts- not every soft-boned rabbit could become Xiao Wu after all. Xiao Wu and her mother happened to befriend the likes of creatures with great potential that would go on to become 100,000 year Soul Beasts- allowing them to cultivate until they became the same level as well.
Most Soft-Boned Rabbits only reached around 100 years before being devoured by other creatures- and they didn't particularly become strong until around the 10,000 year mark, and even then, their strength was more focused on speed than anything else.
It was only once they reached 100,000 years that their strength truly soared to become worthy of a Soul Beast- even if they were among some of the weakest simply due to their inherent nature.
Tracking the Soft-Boned Rabbits was easy enough, he found a family of three and- without hesitation, he mercilessly killed all three with his staff. Each received a brutal smack on the head that killed them instantly.
He watched curiously as the three bodies lay on the ground, and white soul rings slowly emerged over their bodies.
This was his first time killing a Spirit Beast, and so it was his first time seeing the Soul Rings forming like this. He could feel like they were trying to reach out to him, like they were trying to naturally become part of his Martial Soul.
He just snorted and put away his staff, grabbing the three bodies and draining their blood before he left the area behind- the smell of blood would no doubt attract more animals and Spirit Beasts, better he keep away from them.
With dinner secured, Sheng pulled out a knife and began dissecting the rabbits and roasting their meat over a fire. It was a shame he didn't have any salt to bring out the flavour, but that was just how it went.
As he enjoyed his meal, he began to think once again since he had some time until night.
About what Soul Rings would suit his Wine Gourd.
Despite his Gourd being a 'Trash' Martial Spirit, it still had its own benefits. It was able to recover his Soul Power when he drank from the Gourd, though only a small amount. So, his first thought was perhaps he could absorb 'Life' Attribute Soul Rings with his Gourd to make it a healing item.
There was also the possibility of turning his Gourd into a Sealing Item by absorbing Soul Rings with the Space Attribute.
He would start by focusing on Life Attribute and see how things went afterwards. Even the seemingly innocent Wine Gourd could become a trump card if he managed it correctly.
"Blue Silver Grass it is," he snorted jokingly. He would look at more Life Attribute spirits in his book later, for now he finished off his meal and had to wait until night.
So, he climbed up into a tree and began to watch the clouds- relaxing and enjoying himself.
[Host is making efficient use of time by enjoying themselves with cloud watching! + 3 Points!]
His lips curled into a smile. Really, this System was perfect for him- just relaxing and doing whatever he wanted got him points so easily. Of course, he knew that he'd likely get more points as he got stronger and found other things that interested him- drinking from his Gourd was proof of that.
Maybe he could take up wine tasting as a hobby? Thoughts for later.
After watching the clouds for a while, Tian Sheng finally opened up the System Store and this time he took a more thorough look at the things available within it.
And even he was surprised by just what he could buy from it.
Body-Type Martial Soul: Spiritual Eyes (Black) - 50,000 Points
Beast-Type Martial Soul: White Tiger (Purple) - 30,000 Points
Tool-Type Martial Soul: Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda (Black) - 50,000 Points
Tool-Type Martial Soul: Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda (Red) - 100,000 Points
Weapon-Type Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer (Red) – 250,000 Points
Soul Gathering Pill (Purple) - 10,000 Points
Yearning Heartbroken Red (Black) - 80,000 Points
He had only quickly found what he needed before, but now he understood- his System Store truly contained everything. Martial Souls, Pills, even the fabled Immortal Herbs that resulted in the Shrek Seven Devils all becoming Gods.
He rubbed his chin slowly as he looked and- yes, he could even buy Soul Rings... With all that in mind though he resolved to only buy Soul Rings if he either obtained enough to buy Hundred-Thousand Year ones, or he wasn't able to find a suitable Soul Beast for one of his Martial Souls.
As for the Martial Souls- he immediately dismissed the Tool and Weapon-Type Martial Souls. He already had those and was determined to raise them through his own Merits. At most, he would have Six Martial Souls- one of each type as Body, Beast, Weapon, Tool, Plant, and Food.
He already possessed Weapon, Tool, and Food. Therefore, only Body, Beast, and Plant were options.
And among those three, Body was the one he was most interested in. Since Body-Types were literally one's own body, it meant that absorbing Spirit Rings would also strengthen the body in turn.
And so, he filtered out the options.
Body-Type Martial Soul: Body (Black) - 50,000 Points
Body-Type Martial Soul: Eyes (Yellow) - 800 Points
Of all the Body-Type Martial Souls, those two stood out to Sheng the most. The entire body was an amazing Martial Soul, but he considered the Eyes as the second best one if one didn't have their entire body as a Martial Soul.
Huo Yuhao had demonstrated that with his Spiritual Eyes.
Rather than the body though, he favoured the Eyes. Not only was it cheaper and more accessible, but his body could be continuously improved through the system anyway which slightly- though only slightly- diminished the value of the Body Martial Soul.
"800 Points," he grinned. "Alright, it's decided... I'll be the first Quad Martial Soul user on the continent."
Sheng's laugh of amusement echoed through the forest, patiently waiting until night fell for his first true test.