Soul Power from rank one to rank ten is called a Soul Scholar. When awakening a Martial Soul, the stronger the innate Soul Power, the higher the cultivation talent, and the faster the cultivation speed. To reach rank ten immediately upon awakening requires an extremely high talent known as Innate Full Soul Power. Such a genius Soul Master, as long as their Martial Soul isn't too terrible, is bound to achieve great things in the future.
Although Huo Yuhao was the son of that Duke, he did not inherit a powerful Martial Soul. Otherwise, the Duchess would not have dared to hide things from the Duke, and the fate of Huo Yuhao and his mother would have been completely different.
Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul was an extremely rare mutation.
Spirit Eyes—this was Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul.
This Martial Soul belonged to an extremely rare category. It was neither a Tool Martial Soul nor a Beast Martial Soul, because once awakened, the Martial Soul itself was a part of the body, such as hands, feet, and so on.
Any Martial Soul of this type was extremely powerful, which was why the probability of their appearance was miserably low. Consequently, whenever one did appear, it was highly valued.
But, unfortunately, Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul had an additional exception.
The Spirit Eyes Martial Soul was, of course, located in his eyes. This was an extremely rare type, and under normal circumstances, Huo Yuhao would have become a highly valued individual. However, this Martial Soul had two fatal flaws that hindered his development. First, when his Martial Soul awakened, his Innate Soul Power was only at rank one. This meant his talent was extremely poor, and his cultivation speed would inevitably be agonizingly slow. The second point was even more lethal: his spiritual attribute was too rare, meaning that Soul Beasts with the spiritual attribute were equally scarce. Yet, for every Soul Master, every time their Soul Power increased by ten ranks, they had to hunt and kill a Soul Beast compatible with their attribute to absorb its Soul Ring and make a breakthrough.
A Soul Ring was not only necessary to break through bottlenecks, but it also provided a Soul Master with a unique skill, which was its most crucial aspect.
Bound by these two limitations, it could be said that changing his fate in this lifetime was a distant, near-impossible dream for Huo Yuhao.
Nevertheless, as the Duke's son, he still had access to a Soul Power cultivation method. It was just that cultivation would take him an incredibly long time due to his abysmal talent.
In the Duke's Mansion, even the young servants, once their Martial Souls awakened, would reach rank ten Soul Power and become Soul Scholars within three years at most.
As for Huo Yuhao, it wasn't until he was eleven years old, after five years of relentless effort, that his Soul Power barely reached rank ten. Furthermore, during these five years of unceasing struggle, his efforts were easily double or triple those of his peers!
After his mother passed away, Huo Yuhao continued to stay at the Duke's Mansion for another year. After all, he was still young; leaving recklessly would achieve nothing. Thus, he chose to stay, burying his hatred and grievances deep within his heart. Because of this, his mental maturity far exceeded that of his peers.
His mother had once taught him that if he wanted to stand out and have a future, his only path was to become a Soul Master. Even an ordinary Soul Master held a status far superior to that of a commoner.
Yesterday, after endless hardships and unremitting effort, his Soul Power finally reached rank ten. This was also the milestone he had set for himself—only after surpassing it would he leave the mansion.
Right now, he needed a Soul Ring, even if it was just the lowest-level Ten-Year Soul Ring! Only then would he be qualified to become a true Soul Master and possess a soul skill of his own.
On the Douluo Continent, the ranks of Soul Rings were classified according to the age of the Soul Beasts, divided into: Ten-Year Soul Beasts, Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, and Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
A Soul Master had to personally hunt and kill a Soul Beast in order to absorb its Soul Ring.
Huo Yuhao knew that if he continued to stay at the Duke's Mansion, it would be impossible for him to obtain a Soul Ring. No one here would ever agree to help him. Therefore, even though he knew that with his current strength, trying to hunt a Soul Beast would be a near-death experience, he had no other choice. Like a newborn calf that fears no tiger, he left the Duke's Mansion all by himself.
Heading north, he eventually reached the main road. Although Huo Yuhao was still young, his goal was to obtain a Soul Ring, so he had prepared all the essentials. Inside the small bag slung over his shoulder, besides a few changes of clothes, there were some dry rations, a small amount of money his mother had painstakingly saved over the years, and a short dagger. Most importantly, there was a basic map of the continent.
Both the Duke's Mansion and Xingluo City were located in the north-central region of the Xingluo Empire, whereas the place Huo Yuhao wanted to go to hunt Soul Beasts was located in the northern part of the Xingluo Empire—the Great Xingdou Forest, which bordered the Tianhun Empire. This forest spanned a vast area and was home to a wide variety of Soul Beasts, including many super Soul Beasts.
If anyone knew that Huo Yuhao, at only eleven years old and without any elders accompanying him, dared to enter the Great Xingdou Forest all by himself, they would surely laugh at his foolishness and overestimation of his own abilities. He didn't have a single soul skill; even if he encountered a Ten-Year Soul Beast, he might not necessarily win!
Along the straight highway, Huo Yuhao walked forward along the roadside. Although he was young, he was a Soul Scholar after all, so his physical stamina was much better than that of an ordinary adult.
As he walked, he gazed into the distance. If one looked closely, they would notice that his eyes instantly became crystal clear, with a faint, swirling glow visible within them.
Ever since his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul awakened, Huo Yuhao had noticed a distinct change in his vision. He could see extremely small and distant things, and his field of vision had instantly doubled compared to normal people.
As his Soul Power increased, his vision also steadily improved. It was because of this personal change that he believed his mother's words even more: he had to become a Soul Master.
"Mother once said that if I obtain my first Soul Ring, I will become a Control System Battle Soul Master. My Martial Soul isn't bad, it's just my talent that's a bit lacking. In that case, I will just have to work much harder than everyone else."
Having cleared his mind, Huo Yuhao cultivated as he walked. Along the way, he drank from spring water when thirsty and ate his dry rations when hungry. Every day, apart from the time spent traveling, the rest of his time was spent sitting in meditation. For someone his age, traveling three hundred li a day could be considered a miracle.
He only had seven Silver Soul Coins and five Copper Soul Coins on him, so he spent his money extremely sparingly.
After the war between the Douluo Continent and the Riyue Continent ended, the continent had unified its currency over a thousand years of changes. One Gold Soul Coin was equivalent to ten Silver Soul Coins or one hundred Copper Soul Coins.
In the past, to give him something a little better to eat, his mother would occasionally sneak him out to look for wild vegetables or fruit along the edge of the forest. As a result, he became familiar with quite a few types of plants. Often, reluctant to spend money on dry rations, he would pick wild fruit along the way to tide himself over.