Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Chen Ming turned his head to look at the soul master with the Mountain-Splitting Axe martial soul. The honest-looking burly man gave a hearty laugh before making a rather less-than-honest request.

"I'm not a man with a lot of problems, nor do I worry about my descendants. I just have one little obsession."

"My hundred-thousand-year soul ring came from a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. After I hunted and absorbed the soul ring of a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear on my own, I encountered another massive Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear on my way out of the Star Dou Forest. This one claimed to be the king of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear clan—the strongest bear on the Douluo Continent—and called itself Bear Lord."

"I fought it back then, but I couldn't win. My Mountain-Splitting Axe couldn't even cut a single strand of its fur. Thankfully, I had some fortuitous encounters in my youth, and after using my trump card, I narrowly escaped death. I was chased to the edge of the Star Dou Forest before the Bear Lord finally turned back."

"It took me ten years to recover from those injuries, and I only managed to make further breakthroughs afterward. After spending decades, I finally reached the rank of a Super Douluo, all while holding onto a single obsession: to find that Bear Lord, strike it with my Mountain-Splitting Axe, and show it what my axe is made of. I wanted to defeat it head-on and crush its Dark Gold Dreadclaw."

"But after I became a Super Douluo, I spent nearly a hundred years searching. I practically turned the Star Dou Forest upside down. I found several hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, but I never found the Bear Lord. By the time I was nearing the end of my life, I found one more Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear."

"I had no other choice, so I killed that hundred-thousand-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, thinking it might lure the Bear Lord out for a fight. But after I devoured every last bit of that bear's meat in its den, I still didn't see the Bear Lord."

"I figured it must've gone into hibernation. It's said that the Bear Lord has the cultivation of four to five hundred thousand years and can sleep for hundreds or even thousands of years at a time."

At this point, the soul master's previously honest face twisted into one of frustration. "I trained hard for decades, fully prepared to risk my life to strike that bear, but I never got to meet the Bear Lord a second time before I died of old age."

"I was already at the brink of rank 99 back then, but because I couldn't resolve this obsession, I never broke through. I nearly died of old age in the Star Dou Forest. It was only when I had one breath left that I dragged myself to the Douluo Hall."

Chen Ming nodded, showing his understanding.

This was akin to a swordsman meeting the world's strongest swordsman in his youth, suffering a crushing defeat, and then training arduously for decades. Once the swordsman believed his skills had reached the pinnacle, he set out to challenge the strongest again, only to find that no matter what he did, the opponent was nowhere to be found. He even camped outside the opponent's home, fully prepared to give his life for the duel, only to discover on his deathbed that the world's strongest swordsman had been practicing a turtle-breathing technique and had been sleeping in some mountain cave all along.

That level of frustration was unimaginable.

"I don't expect that I'll ever get the chance to go out and strike that bear myself. I just want to pass this skill on to you. If you ever encounter the Bear Lord, give it a good hit for me and tell it this is a gift from the man with the Mountain-Splitting Axe martial soul from back in the day."

"Senior, this aligns perfectly with my goals. Just recently, when I went to the Star Dou Forest to hunt for a soul ring, that bear and a plant-type beast ambushed me. If it weren't for a rank 98 senior accompanying me, I probably wouldn't have escaped. Someday, I'll settle the score with the Bear Lord."

Chen Ming pounded his chest and promised.

"Good! When the time comes, give that bear hell!"

After everyone had finished speaking, all eyes turned to the Seven-Colored Lotus soul master. Under the group's gaze, the soul master made a small request.

"I've already mentioned before that I died because I failed to break through and ended up being chased down by the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon. My origin power completely collapsed because of it. My request is, in the future, could you use my Elemental Domain to deal with that dragon?"

"Uh… yeah, I know, it's a bit presumptuous." The Seven-Colored Lotus soul master chuckled awkwardly, realizing how unreasonable the request sounded.

During his lifetime, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon had been at rank 99 level. After his death, with his broadened perspective, he learned from the Angel God that the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King possessed the purest dragon bloodline and had already reached a level of power equivalent to a demigod. If not for the constraints of the world preventing soul beasts from becoming gods, it could've ascended to godhood multiple times over.

If the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King fought with all its might, even a third-level god might not be able to contend with it.

As for his current strength… it might have improved slightly since his death, but because he couldn't advance further, the improvement was limited. Even if he used his Elemental Domain, he couldn't see himself defeating the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King.

"Senior, I can only say I'll try my best. After all, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King couldn't even be subdued by the Angelic God's High Priest wielding the Angelic Sacred Sword. I'll need to reach a much higher level of strength before I can even think about it."

The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian… no matter whether it was in the second, third, or fourth Douluo eras, was unquestionably the strongest being below godhood. Even when its reputation faltered, its power remained undeniable.

Thinking about using the Elemental Domain to fight Di Tian, Chen Ming estimated that he'd need to be near godhood himself to have any chance.

"Just hearing that is enough. You can challenge the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King after you become a god," the Seven-Colored Lotus soul master nodded, brushing aside the matter.

"Who do you want to learn from first? Each of us has unique skills and paths. If you learn from us, you can take our techniques, but you can't follow our paths."

"As someone who's been there, I need to remind you: our paths are only suitable for us, not for you. Your talent surpasses ours. Your path must encompass ours but must never be confined by them."

"Our techniques are ours. Once you learn them, they're yours. What works best for us might not work best for you. If you can't recognize this and focus solely on power, I'd rather not teach you than let you be misled by us."

Hearing this, the other soul masters nodded in agreement.

"Your martial soul is different from ours, and so are your experiences. You can learn and use our skills, but you can't take them as your path," the Fire Phoenix soul master said empathetically.

She had realized this truth too late. In her youth, she had believed that the techniques passed down from her ancestor, the Ultimate Douluo, were unchangeable and perfect. She had reshaped her path to align with her ancestor's instead of adapting those techniques to suit herself.

By the time she understood this, it was too late. Even though she tried to adjust, she couldn't remove the influence of her ancestor's legacy from her path, ultimately stopping short of rank 99.

"A truly strong person forges their path. While later generations may follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, they're only imitating to grow stronger. Truly exceptional successors absorb the experiences of their predecessors, then kick them aside—by which I mean their paths and techniques—and use that foundation to carve out their path."

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon ancestor shared his insight.

"Those who forge their path are the truly strong ones. The thing that brings the greatest joy to predecessors is not seeing successors imitate them but seeing them surpass us after learning from us. If successors never surpass their ancestors, it would be the most terrifying thing in the world."

The Mountain-Splitting Axe soul master patted his chest and said seriously.

"."

The Super Douluo with the Blazing Lion King martial soul blinked awkwardly, unsure of what to add. After a long pause, he finally managed to squeeze out a line.

"Same goes for me!"