Chapter 9 (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The green caterpillar looked at the dragon on the paper, then at its ordinary self on the other.

“Huh?”

Even if it was only six or seven years old in terms of intelligence, it was suspicious of the huge difference between the two paintings.

However, Wang Che knew that it had only hatched two days ago, so its understanding of this world was very limited.

This was the most suitable time for the soul pet enlightenment stage.

Wang Che did not want to distort the truth, but he wanted the little one to hold a concept in its heart.

Wang Che coughed and pointed at the drawing with his paintbrush.

“Do you think I’m lying to you?” Wang Che sneered as he looked at his soul pet.

“Ssss!” The green caterpillar nodded.

He smiled and continued, “Then, do you want to be like this when you grow up?”

As he spoke, he jabbed at the dragon in the canvas.

The bug glanced at the art of the beast, nodded, then shook its head.

It was obvious what it was feeling; the caterpillar wanted it to work, but didn’t think it would be possible.

The soul pet’s instincts told it that the creature in the painting was a powerful one that belonged high above, superior to all living things.

They were from different worlds…

“Well, let me tell you a story next.”

This time, Wang Che pointed at the generic green caterpillar on the other piece of paper and said, “A story about this.”

The green caterpillar straightened its body and looked at Wang Che obediently, eyes filled with curiosity.

“Once upon a time, there lived a green caterpillar. It often looked toward the boundless sky and the sea, with a distant and unattainable hope – to fly and swim.

“So, it told the other soul beast companions what it thought.”

Listening to the beginning of the story, the green caterpillar’s eyes became focused.

It began to look up at the sky; the little one yearned for that too.

“But, it was too weak.”

Wang Che continued to paint as he spoke. “It was the target for all soul beasts to pick on.”

Drawings of the various soul beasts began to materialize on the drawing paper, bullying the green caterpillar.

“The swallow caught it and swooped into the air, mocking it by saying, ‘Look, it doesn’t even dare to open its eyes in the air, yet it wants to fly in the sky?’

“The fish swept it into the sea and scoffed, ‘Look, you can’t even breathe underwater, and you want to swim in the sea?’

“The flame cat laughed and used its fire to burn the green caterpillar. The thorn grass used its blade of grass to whip it. Even insect’s sharp antennas were used to poke it…

“They all laughed at it. It was so feeble, yet still dreaming…”

Wang Che explained as he drew, and at the same time, he observed the green caterpillar.

“Ssss! Ssss!”

Wang Che’s painting skills were exceptional. Although the story seemed like a fairytale, the green caterpillar listened attentively and the image was very vivid in its mind.

It was already furious, eyes turning red and tail pounding the leaves.

He continued, “The green caterpillar was very upset, but it didn’t know how to become stronger. What could it do?

“Coincidentally, a human Contract Soul Master appeared. He saw the injured insect and did not despise it. Instead, he signed a soul contract with it.”

The green caterpillar’s eyes sparkled in awe.

“After the Contract Soul Master learned of the green caterpillar’s thoughts, he did not ridicule it, but instead, he encouraged it.

“Furthermore, in order to fulfill the green caterpillar’s wish, the Contract Soul Master formulated a teaching plan and began to train it.

“Run 1000 meters a day, do 100 sit-ups a day, 100 pull-ups a day, another 100…”

Wang Che’s eyes lit up as he drew several unique actions on the canvas.

“In the beginning, it couldn’t even complete one-tenth of the training, but after a month, it was already able to fully execute these tasks every day accurately. It felt that it had become much stronger.

“Then, it encountered the same soul beasts that had tormented it before…”

Wang Che decided to stop as he put down the drawing board. The story was as simple as that, and he decided to stop.

“Ssss!”

The green caterpillar crept anxiously to Wang Che’s side and stared at him with anticipation.

It was too immersed in the tale.

“You want to know the rest of it? First, you have to train.”

Wang Che added seriously, “Otherwise, you too will be bullied by the soul pets in that story.”

“Ssss!” The green caterpillar’s eyes seemed to be burning with flames, as if it could see itself being the victim in the paintings.

It straightened itself, and its blood seemed to be coursing with fury through its body.

Wang Che’s words made the caterpillar bitter yet excited.

“If you want to know if it managed to defeat those soul beasts…” Wang Che trailed off as he gestured at the painting of the movements. “…then you’ll have to train according to the methods on this scroll.”

His soul pet was only six or seven years old, so he did not need to explain an overly complicated story.

Such a simple and straightforward tale already maximized the fighting spirit in this little one’s heart.

Furthermore, the actions shown on the canvas were not simple.

It was a unique cultivation technique called the Beast Origin Skill.

As the name suggested, this was the most basic and widespread technique for demonic beasts in the cultivation world.

When these creatures absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they mostly cultivated their bodies first. However, their physiques were different from that of humans. There were all sorts of unusual matters.

This technique was the most extensive and suitable for the majority of regular demonic beasts. It was a record of thousands of special body tempering stances from various creatures.

By practicing these body tempering stances, they could rapidly take in the spiritual energy into their bodies.

There were no side effects.

In Wang Che’s previous life, it was regarded as a treasure by countless demonic beasts, even if it was only the most basic skill.

Of course, he had made some modifications to it based on the physique and characteristics of the green caterpillar.

He gathered several body-forging postures that were suitable for insects and drew them out on the canvas.

‘The essence of a soul pet is similar to a demonic beast. Of course, the internal structure is still very different… but I’ve improved the Beast Origin Skill, so it should be suitable for a green caterpillar.’

Wang Che thought to himself, ‘If I can succeed, not only will this little one be able to swiftly assimilate soul power, it will also strengthen its body simultaneously.’

This was an experiment.

In the future, he would definitely awaken his martial soul and cultivate his soul power.

However, could modified cultivation techniques be used with soul power?

This could be tested through soul pets.

Soon, the enthusiastic insect began to move itself according to the movements portrayed on Wang Che’s drawing.

It would straighten its body and use its tail to anchor itself onto the ground as it looked up at the sky, standing upright.

It could also twist its body into knots. Its head and tail were connected to each other as it circled the tree branches.

…

Almost as soon as the green caterpillar had started its regimen, Wang Che could clearly feel the soul power between heaven and earth briskly flowing into his soul pet’s body.

“It worked!” Wang Che exclaimed, nodding slightly, as if everything was within his expectations.

He was naturally delighted.

Based on his current understanding of this world, there were no cultivation techniques present, but there were similar replacements, such as the Soul Guiding Skill.

Different soul pets had their own distinct ones.

However, if one wanted to develop a Soul Guiding Skill, they would have to pay a considerable price. It could even be a danger to the soul pet’s life.

Therefore, they were rather expensive.

Not only that, soul pets were also required to wear a set of soul devices.

Only then would they be able to fully unleash the effects of the Soul Guiding Skill.

This way, the soul pet’s soul power absorption speed would undergo a qualitative change.

Not surprisingly, these were costly too.

According to what Wang Che knew, the Soul Guiding Skill for a young soul pet like the Cuckoo Bird had a starting price of 50,000 to 60,000 dollars, while a specialized set of soul equipment cost over 100,000 dollars.

Moreover, the soul power cultivation speed was only 1.5 times faster.

As for the green caterpillar, it was too bad, but they did not have a Soul Guiding Skill.