area51novel Chapter 5 The Unopenable Stone Door
Chapter 5 The Unopenable Stone Door
Yan crossed his arms, his fiery red short hair particularly dazzling in the sunlight. He looked down at Lin Yu with a provocative expression.
"Let me see what you're really capable of!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a pink figure flashed in front of Lin Yu, shielding him tightly behind him.
"Yan! Are you crazy?!"
Hu Liena's face turned red with anger, and her fox-like eyes glared at Yan, completely devoid of her previous coquettishness, leaving only fury.
"Junior Brother is only six years old! His Martial Soul has just awakened, and he doesn't even have his first Soul Ring yet. How dare you, a one-ring Soul Master, say such things?!"
A barrage of questions came crashing down, leaving the previously aggressive Yan speechless.
He looked helplessly at Hu Liena, who was blocking his way, opened his mouth, and after a long while, managed to utter a sentence.
"Nana, I...I didn't mean that, I just wanted to..."
"What are you thinking? Trying to prove you're better than a six-year-old? How arrogant of you!" Hu Liena interrupted him mercilessly.
Standing to the side, Xie Yue silently held his forehead, looking like he couldn't bear to watch.
My younger sister is good in every way, except that she can be incredibly protective of her own.
And this Yan is also clueless.
Lin Yu, hiding behind Hu Liena, was quite calm.
Being protected by an eight-year-old girl does feel a little strange.
However, he also knew that hiding behind a woman wouldn't solve anything; on the contrary, it would only make people look down on him even more.
We must fight back.
Moreover, it should be done in a way that the other party cannot refuse, while also demonstrating your magnanimity.
He peeked out from behind Hu Liena, looking up at Yan, whose face was full of dissatisfaction.
"I accept your challenge."
His voice wasn't loud, it was childish, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.
Hu Liena was startled and quickly turned to look at him: "Junior Brother, don't be impulsive! You don't need to pay him any attention!"
Lin Yu smiled reassuringly at her, then turned to Yan again, continuing in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, "However, not now. Once I obtain my first spirit ring, I'll be ready to oblige at any time."
Although the specific abilities of the Ghost Gate Martial Soul are unknown, the deathly aura that can freeze everything when it awakens is enough to give this fire-playing kid a run for his money.
Yan was stunned for a moment, then a look of joy appeared on his face.
In his view, Lin Yu had no choice but to agree under pressure.
As for waiting for him to obtain his first spirit ring?
so what?
I am a member of the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, with extraordinary talent. How could I possibly lose to a mere beginner?
"Okay! It's a deal!" Yan readily agreed, as if he could already see himself displaying his divine power in the dueling arena, easily defeating Lin Yu, and winning Hu Liena's admiration.
He was determined to make Nana understand that he was the man most qualified to stand by her side!
(Xie Yue: Shall I leave?)
"You!" Hu Liena stomped her foot in anger upon seeing this.
She didn't expect Lin Yu to agree, which made her even more furious at Yan's aggressive behavior.
With the agreement already made, it was too late to say anything more.
She glared at Yan fiercely, grabbed Lin Yu's hand, and turned to leave.
"Let's go! Let's ignore these annoying guys!"
Lin Yu was pulled along by her, and he stumbled. When he turned around, he could see Yan's smug expression and Xie Yue's helpless shaking of his head.
childish.
What an energetic bunch of kids!
Hu Liena dragged Lin Yu along, walking angrily, completely ignoring Xie Yue following behind.
She stopped only when she arrived at an exquisite villa nestled among the green trees.
"Phew...this is it."
Hu Liena released Lin Yu's hand, and the anger on her face subsided considerably, replaced by a worried expression.
"Junior brother, you were too impulsive just now! How could you agree to his request!"
She led Lin Yu into the villa, looking around at the furnishings while chattering away.
"That Yan's martial soul is the Flame Lord, a power-attack type with extremely strong offensive power. He's nine years old this year, and his soul power is already at level nineteen. He could break through to level twenty at any time and become a Great Soul Master. You…"
Lin Yu listened quietly without interrupting.
It must be said that this villa is indeed quite nice, with its antique charm and complete facilities. The concentration of soul energy in the courtyard is also significantly higher than outside.
"...In short, you must not let your guard down!" Hu Liena said a lot, and finally, still feeling uneasy, she rummaged through her storage soul tool for a long time, pulled out a thick illustrated book, and stuffed it into Lin Yu's hand.
"This is the 'Illustrated Compendium of Soul Beasts of the Continent.' Although it's not complete, it records all the common soul beasts. Take a good look at it these next few days and think about which soul beast you want to hunt as your first soul ring."
She solemnly advised, "Your first spirit ring is of utmost importance to a spirit master; you must choose the one that best suits you!"
Lin Yu held the book, which was bigger than his face, and nodded: "Thank you, Senior Sister."
Looking at Hu Liena's face, which was full of concern, Lin Yu felt a slight stirring in his heart.
At least for now, she is not the love-struck saintess who would betray her sect and the entire Spirit Hall for a man.
Right now, she's just a slightly spoiled but kind-hearted girl who knows how to care for her fellow disciples.
"I'll be going now. Familiarize yourself with the surroundings. If you need anything, come find me at the top of Papal Hill!" Hu Liena gave a few more instructions before leaving, turning back every few steps.
After seeing Hu Liena off, Lin Yu closed the courtyard gate, and the world finally became quiet.
He casually tossed the heavy "Illustrated Compendium of Soul Beasts" onto the stone table, a headache washing over him.
Choosing a Soul Ring?
That's easy for you to say.
If you don't even know what attribute your martial soul is or what abilities it has, how can you choose one?
Should I tell people that my martial soul is a door and ask them to find me a soul beast with the attribute of a door lock?
Lin Yu shook his head, deciding that he still had to rely on himself.
He walked to the open space in the center of the courtyard, and with a sudden thought, he concentrated his mind.
The gray aura of death spread out again, and the surrounding temperature dropped instantly.
A miniature, half-person-high, shimmering image of a bluish-gray stone gate floated silently before him.
This is his martial spirit, the Gate of Hell.
Lin Yu leaned closer and began to observe carefully.
The door is mottled and cracked, and is carved with countless grotesque and twisted monster reliefs, so lifelike that they seem to be about to break free from the door at any moment.
Although these reliefs were frightening, they did not attract much of his attention.
What truly attracted him were the two more prominent sculptures standing on either side of the door.
A bull-headed human with a steel fork in hand.
A horse-faced human figure, holding an iron chain.
Ox-headed and Horse-faced!
Lin Yu's heart started pounding uncontrollably.
If this is really the Gates of Hell, then what lies behind the gate... isn't that the underworld?
If that were the case, things would get really funny.
Putting everything else aside, just the Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face alone—any one of them could probably sweep through the entire God Realm or Douluo Continent.
A crazy idea began to grow uncontrollably in his mind.
Or... should we push it open and take a look?
Once the thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.
He walked to the small gate of hell, stretched out his two chubby little hands, and pressed them against the cold door.
Then, with all his might, he pushed forward with a mighty jerk!
"Open it for me!"
The stone gate remained completely still.
Lin Yu's face turned red, but the stone door didn't make the slightest sound, as if it were one with the entire earth.
He refused to believe it, took a few steps back, took a running start, and rushed forward, slamming his entire body into the stone gate.
"Bang!"
"Aww!"
Lin Yu was thrown back by a huge recoil force and landed hard on his backside, almost bringing tears to his eyes from the pain.
This door is impossible to open!
He slumped to the ground, lost in thought.
Does it require absorbing a spirit ring to unlock?
Just then.
Knock, knock, knock.
A clear knocking sound came from the gate of the villa.
You're back so soon?
Lin Yu rubbed his buttocks and stood up, thinking that Hu Liena had returned again. Feeling uneasy, he wanted to give her some more instructions.
As he thought about it, he jogged over, unlatched the door, and opened the heavy wooden door of the villa.
Standing outside the door was not Hu Liena, whom he had expected.
Rather, it is a ghost.
Lin Yu froze completely.
Holy crap? Old ghost?
What's he doing here? Did he come to bring me some warmth?
What made his brain freeze even more was that under the ghost's wide black robe, he was carrying a huge stack of thick books, so many that they almost covered his upper body, making him look even more distorted and bizarre.
A powerful Title Douluo, one of the elders of the Spirit Hall, personally carried a pile of books and stood at his door like a librarian.
This art style is even more outrageous than his Ghost Gate Martial Soul!
Without saying a word or waiting for Lin Yu's invitation, the ghost walked straight past him into the room.
Lin Yu felt a biting cold wind brush past him, making him shiver involuntarily.
He quickly closed the door and turned to follow him inside.
The ghost walked to the stone table in the courtyard and slammed the large stack of books it was carrying onto the table with a loud thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Lin Yu leaned forward and, using the light, made out the covers of the books.
General Treatise on Necromancer Martial Souls
On the Resonance between Martial Spirit and Spiritual Power
……
Lin Yu swallowed hard and turned to look at the ghost beside him.
"Senior Ghost Douluo, these are..."
The ghostly figure shrouded in black robes seemed to turn towards him.
After a long while, the sound, like metal scraping, finally came out: "The Pope is usually very busy and probably doesn't have much time to teach you. You should read these books on your own first, so as not to bother her later."
Is this... giving someone special treatment?
"Thank you, senior." Lin Yu suppressed the turmoil in his heart and sincerely expressed his gratitude.
The ghost did not respond; it simply stood there silently.
Lin Yu then suddenly remembered that his martial spirit was still floating in the courtyard!
Oh no! I was so focused on studying it that I forgot to put it away!
He was about to retract his martial spirit when Ghostly Demon made his move first.
He flashed to the door and carefully examined the stone door in front of him.
"Were you trying to open it?"
"You saw it all?"
Ghost nodded, then raised his hand to try to push the door open, but just like Lin Yu before, no matter how much force he used, the stone door remained unmoved.
"Strange..." Ghost stroked his chin, curiously examining the stone gate in front of him.
"Senior, could it be because I don't have a spirit ring yet that this door can't be opened?" Lin Yu voiced his suspicion.
The ghost nodded almost imperceptibly: "That's possible. Your martial soul is very special. I've never seen it before, or even understood it. This might be the only explanation."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yu also fell into deep thought, but what he was thinking about was why this thing had become his martial soul.