Chapter 1

In the early morning, a ray of sunlight rose from the east, crossing the undulating mountains, and fell upon the White Emperor City at the foot of the mountains, awakening this ancient city with a long history.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Early in the morning, a teenager, his hands wrapped in thick cloth strips, stood bare-chested under a black pine tree over ten meters tall in the White Emperor Martial Mansion, practicing his punches.

The heavy reverberations echoed around the black pine tree. After a long time of striking, a large section of the tree bark had caved in, and fragments stained with blood scattered in the air.

Crimson blood trickled from his cracked fists, a sight that was shocking, but he remained unmoved.

"Not enough strength, why, after more than a year of hard training, is my strength still stagnant?" The teenager, with eyes as dark as ink and a face as sharp as if carved by a knife, bit his lips and said to himself, "Am I destined to be a failure without a soul beast?"

"No, I can't give up. I don't believe that even if I squeeze out all my potential, I still can't break through the physical limit." Thinking of his adoptive father, who had passed away and who had been a great benefactor to him, the teenager's resolve grew stronger. He clenched his injured fist and continued practicing.

The teenager practicing punches is named Ye Chenfeng, a disciple of the Ye family, one of the four major families in the Purple Gold Kingdom. However, he is not a direct descendant of the Ye family but a child the Ye family had taken in.

Although Ye Chenfeng's status as an abandoned child is special, he once brought pride and glory to the Ye family. When he was six years old, during his talent test, he was found to have a shocking sixth-grade talent, which stunned the entire Purple Gold Imperial City.

In the Purple Gold Kingdom, most people lack the talent for cultivation, and a sixth-grade talent has not appeared in the entire kingdom for hundreds of years.

It can be said that if everything went smoothly, Ye Chenfeng, with his sixth-grade talent, would enter the sect for cultivation without any doubt, becoming a person above others, with an unlimited future.

It was precisely because of Ye Chenfeng's astonishing talent that the Ji family, one of the four major families in the Purple Gold Kingdom, was willing to take the risk of marrying into the Ye family, arranging a betrothal between their young princess, Ji Qingsnow, who has a fifth-grade talent, and Ye Chenfeng.

But fate played a cruel joke on Ye Chenfeng. When he was thirteen and underwent the soul beast awakening, it was unexpectedly discovered that his soul could not form a soul beast, a phenomenon that rarely occurs in a hundred years.

Possessing a sixth-grade cultivation talent, Ye Chenfeng was destined for a glorious future, but in the Soul Combat Continent, having a cultivation talent alone is not enough. Only by integrating the talent with the soul to form one's own soul beast can one transcend and become a soul practitioner.

Talent only determines the speed at which the soul beast absorbs soul power. Without a soul beast, no matter how high the talent, it is useless.

Just as Ye Chenfeng's life hit rock bottom and he became a laughingstock in the Purple Gold Imperial City, his adoptive father, who had raised him from a young age, died of a mysterious illness. He was also expelled from the Ye family and driven out of the house.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Chenfeng, who was gritting his teeth and practicing with all his might, turned pale, his sweat and mist blending together.

Feeling that his body was about to lose strength, Ye Chenfeng had to stop practicing, panting heavily.

"Ye Chenfeng, you are still so crazy about cultivation. Haven't you accepted your fate? Are you squeezing out your potential just to gain a false reputation? Without a soul beast, you are destined to be an ordinary person."

At this moment, a woman in a white floral dress, with long black hair draped over her shoulders, fair and delicate skin, and a cold and beautiful appearance, appeared behind him, speaking in a cold voice.

"I am no longer a member of the Ye family. My life and death are none of your concern." Ye Chenfeng lifted his head slightly, glanced at her, and replied indifferently.

The woman scolding Ye Chenfeng is named Ye Ziling, who has a third-grade talent and a soul beast, a weasel. At just sixteen years old, she has cultivated to the fourth-level spirit beast realm, making her a true genius in the White Emperor Martial Mansion and the pride of the Ye family in the imperial city.

With her extremely beautiful appearance, cold and beautiful demeanor, and unique aura, she stood there, her flowing sleeves capturing all the attention.

"You have grown, daring to speak to me like this?"

Hearing Ye Chenfeng's cold response, Ye Ziling's brows slightly furrowed, with a hint of anger.

"I just don't want you to waste your time on someone like me, a failure." With that, Ye Chenfeng gave a self-deprecating laugh, turned around, and left without looking back.

Watching Ye Chenfeng's dejected back, Ye Ziling's anger dissipated, and she sighed softly, feeling sorry for him and for the Ye family.

"I still have fifty taels of silver, enough to buy some cheap medicinal herbs to treat my injuries."

After parting ways with Ye Ziling, Ye Chenfeng went directly to the medicinal herb shop in the White Emperor Martial Mansion to buy some cheap medicinal herbs to treat his injuries, to prevent old injuries from accumulating and damaging his meridians.

Entering the shop, Ye Chenfeng saw Qiao Jingyuan, a tall and graceful figure in a black lace dress, with light makeup and a charming appearance, buying medicinal herbs.

Qiao Jingyuan is the daughter of the wealthy Qiao family in White Emperor City. When Ye Chenfeng was at the height of his power, Qiao Jingyuan was very close to him. However, after Ye Chenfeng's soul could not form a soul beast, she gradually distanced herself from him and stopped interacting.

"Hey, isn't this the great genius of our White Emperor Martial Mansion? Why are you all bruised and battered again?" Just as Ye Chenfeng was about to bypass Qiao Jingyuan and buy a few cheap herbs to leave, a sarcastic voice sounded behind him.

Dressed in elaborate clothing, tall and handsome, Di Wanxian held a folding fan and entered with two attendants. When he noticed the tall Qiao Jingyuan, his gaze became intense.

"Are you into self-torture? If so, I can help you." Di Wanxian deliberately mocked Ye Chenfeng in front of Qiao Jingyuan to attract her attention.

Sure enough, upon hearing Di Wanxian's voice, Qiao Jingyuan, who had just picked two expensive herbs, slowly turned around, coldly glanced at Ye Chenfeng behind her, and then at the arrogant Di Wanxian approaching.

However, Ye Chenfeng and Di Wanxian clearly failed to capture her interest. After a brief pause, she turned back and continued selecting suitable herbs.

But as she turned, Ye Chenfeng quickly snatched the folding fan from Di Wanxian's hand and struck Qiao Jingyuan's buttocks hard.

Before the shocked Di Wanxian could react, Ye Chenfeng returned the fan to his hand and was about to leave.

Feeling something strike her buttocks hard, Qiao Jingyuan, who was selecting herbs, trembled, her mind blank, and a flush of red spread from her white neck to her entire face.

In the next moment, Qiao Jingyuan, enraged and embarrassed, turned around and saw the folding fan in Di Wanxian's hand. A surge of anger rose in her head, and without thinking, she raised her delicate hand and slapped Di Wanxian hard, gritting her teeth and saying, "Di Wanxian, do you want to die? Do you think I'll chop off your dog hand and cripple you?"

"No, no, Jingyuan, don't misunderstand. The one who hit your buttocks wasn't me, it was him. I was framed."

Seeing Qiao Jingyuan's fiery eyes, Di Wanxian shuddered and quickly explained.

"Di Wanxian, one must take responsibility for one's actions. Although Qiao Jingyuan and I are no longer friends, I would never do such a dirty thing to her." Ye Chenfeng stopped and said righteously.

"Damn it, you did this. Do you dare swear that you didn't hit Jingyuan's buttocks? Do you dare?" Hearing Ye Chenfeng's righteous accusation, Di Wanxian was so angry that he almost spat blood, with a strong urge to strangle him.

"Di Wanxian, whether or not you did this, you don't have to make such a fuss and embarrass her. You have no shame, but she does." Ye Chenfeng ignored Di Wanxian's menacing gaze and deliberately provoked him.

"You..."

Just as Di Wanxian, looking like he was about to attack, noticed the mocking gazes around him, Qiao Jingyuan, enraged, unleashed her soul power, forming her soul beast, a golden-winged bird emitting white light.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp sound of air friction rang out as Qiao Jingyuan's soul beast, the golden-winged bird, transformed into a golden light and struck Di Wanxian's chest, breaking several of his ribs.

"Pfft!"

A cloud of blood spewed from Di Wanxian's mouth. As a first-level spirit beast practitioner, he was severely injured by Qiao Jingyuan's soul beast, falling heavily to the ground, his vision blackening, and passing out on the spot.