Douluo Dalu: Stealing Through The Heavens

The Mandala Snake did not stop. With a rustling sound, its scales scraped against the Blue Silver Grass on the ground as it slithered in an S-shape. In just a few breaths, it crossed nearly twenty meters and lunged at Zuzong with its massive jaws wide open.

"So fast!"

With a sliding move, Zuzong narrowly dodged the strike from the snake's enormous mouth. After a few backflips, he landed steadily behind the Mandala Snake.

Without much hesitation, Zuzong summoned his martial spirit, the Blue Silver Emperor, and formed a seal with his hands.

"Blue Silver Emperor—Activate."

"Blue Silver Emperor—Blue Silver Domain Activate: Small-scale Binding."

When Zuzong initially awakened his Blue Silver Emperor martial spirit, he also awakened the prototype of the Blue Silver Domain.

At the same time, the Blue Silver Domain granted Zuzong a camouflage skill (through changes in the Blue Silver Domain, the soul ring could be disguised, allowing for color transformation or even making the soul ring invisible to the opponent).

In addition, the Blue Silver Domain had three evolutionary stages, each granting an additional skill:

Blue Silver Range Binding (the second evolution skill of the Blue Silver Domain, which enables range binding)Universal Assimilation (the third evolution skill of the Blue Silver Domain, allowing assimilation and suppression. The suppression skill reduces all martial spirit attributes by 10%, including soul power release. The longer one stays within the domain, the stronger the suppression effect becomes. It can also release devouring golden threads to absorb the opponent's energy.)All-encompassing Absorption (the ultimate evolution of the Blue Silver Domain. In any area with Blue Silver Grass, the domain can convert the life force of all the Blue Silver Grass into any form of energy required by the Blue Silver Emperor, replenishing itself. As long as there is Blue Silver Grass, the Blue Silver Emperor's energy will never be exhausted. This energy conversion can include life force, soul power, or spiritual power. This ultimate domain effect allows the Blue Silver Emperor to achieve an invincible state in the forest when battling opponents of the same level.)

After three months of continuous exploration and training, relying on the advanced soul power control techniques acquired from the Itachi deity, Zuzong not only fully mastered the camouflage skill but also caused the domain to evolve a second time, gaining the skill: Blue Silver Range Binding.

Of course, with Zuzong's current soul power of a mere level 10, if he were to use large-scale binding, he would probably die before the Mandala Snake did. Therefore, he only used a small portion.

The ground cracked open, and dozens of thick Blue Silver vines spread out, binding towards the Mandala Snake.

Even the Mandala Snake, despite its quick reflexes, was caught off guard by the Blue Silver Emperor's vines.

However, the Mandala Snake was not one to be trifled with. Known for its strength, its nearly six-meter-long body writhed violently.

"Snap!" One by one, the Blue Silver Emperor vines broke under the pressure.

Zuzong couldn't help but exclaim, "Even the vines of the Blue Silver Emperor are still fragile without an attached soul ring!"

In just a few breaths, the Mandala Snake broke free from the Blue Silver Emperor's vines and charged toward Zuzong with great speed.

Zuzong remained calm and composed. A strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. A few breaths were enough for him to accomplish many things.

He didn't get entangled with the snake. Instead, he continued to jump backward in a peculiar posture, moving away from his original position.

The Mandala Snake moved faster and faster, closing the distance between it and Zuzong in a few breaths. Just as it was about to catch up and bite him, it found that no matter how it tried, it couldn't get any closer.

It turned out that seven kunai had been planted around the Mandala Snake, each connected by almost invisible black wires. Under the moonlight, they gleamed with a cold light.

These were steel wires that Zuzong had seen at the market in Notting City the day before. They were extremely sharp and sturdy.

The steel wires were fixed to the circular handles at the end of the kunai. Through Zuzong's superb kunai throwing skills, he set up a web trap around the snake.

The harder the Mandala Snake struggled, the tighter the steel wires became. Sparks flew as its hard scales scraped against the steel wires.

Although the steel wires were strong, they were just ordinary steel wires. The Mandala Snake's defensive scales were formidable. As the wires embedded in the scales and continued to rub, they showed signs of breaking.

"What strong defense. In that case, I have no choice but to use this move."

Zuzong closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again, his eyes turned blood-red. In his pupils, three tomoe rotated counterclockwise.

"Illusion: Sharingan."

This was the strongest illusion technique Zuzong could currently master.

As man and snake locked eyes, the pupils of the Mandala Snake began to change, gradually rotating to reveal the same three tomoe pattern as in Zuzong's eyes.

"As expected, the Sharingan is always the nemesis of snakes. There is a reason Orichimaru is so obsessed and scared of it!"

[In the Naruto world, the Orochimaru sneezed: "Ha-choo! Is someone thinking of me?"]

Out of caution, Zuzong did not approach the Mandala Snake. He controlled the giant snake to open its mouth wide. A kunai infused with soul power shot precisely into the snake's mouth, piercing straight into its brain.

The nearly six-meter-long snake's body stiffened in an instant. The black kunai was completely embedded in the brain area through the mouth.

There was no defense in that area, just a lump of soft tissue.

In the next moment, the piercing pain caused the Mandala Snake to break free from the illusion.

The snake's body writhed violently.

Driven by its strong will to survive, the Mandala Snake went berserk, breaking free from the steel web in an instant. Dust flew across the ground, and wherever its sturdy body swept, whether it was shrubs or small trees, they were ravaged like being caught in a tornado. Branches shattered and scattered in all directions. However, its brain had been pierced.

After about half a stick of incense, the Mandala Snake gradually ceased its struggle.

Seeing the snake stop moving, Zuzong sat on the ground, panting heavily. It wasn't that he was pretending; he was truly exhausted.

Facing a soul beast as powerful as the nearly six-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake, his victory seemed effortless, but he had used his full strength. The initial Blue Silver (small) Range Binding consumed nearly half of his soul power, followed by the high-difficulty kunai throwing technique to set up the steel wire web, which exhausted much of his stamina and even caused minor muscle strain.

Lastly, he had to activate the Sharingan. If the illusion Sharingan had failed to control the snake, the outcome would have been completely different, as Zuzong's soul power was almost depleted.

Zuzong glanced at the unmoving Mandala Snake lying on the ground.

He muttered, "Who cares? I'm this far in. If I die, I die!"

Out of caution, he shot another kunai, this time at the snake's eye. "Crack!" Blood splattered as the kunai embedded deeply into the snake's right eye. The Mandala Snake remained still.

Only then did Zuzong relax. He approached, inserting the kunai fully into the eye socket. The Mandala Snake completely lost its life force.

A faint yellow light began to condense above the snake's body. Unlike the previous soul ring Zuzong had seen from Blanklin, the yellow ring produced by the Mandala Snake was darker than Blanklin's second soul ring and lighter than the third. Even without touching it, one could clearly feel the immense energy contained within.

Zuzong approached and raised his right hand, enduring the weakness of exhaustion (Zuzong's inner voice: "Depleted soul power is really uncomfortable!"), gathering his remaining soul power in his palm. Accompanied by a pale blue glow, the Blue Silver Emperor grew from his palm, emanating a faint life force that swayed gently with the fluctuation of his soul power.

Under the guidance of that pale blue light, the soul ring of the Mandala Snake slowly floated toward Zuzong.

Zuzong's first sensation was pain, excruciating pain.

It was probably incomparable to even the labor pain experienced by men on Earth in his previous life.

Zuzong truly couldn't understand how those transmigrator predecessors managed to obtain their first soul rings at the millennium or even ten-thousand-year level.

He was a cheat character, awakening the Blue Silver Emperor martial spirit that usually requires a level 50 reawakening to manifest, making his physique far superior to ordinary people. Additionally, he had acquired the Sharingan as his second martial spirit to enhance his spiritual power. Despite all this, absorbing a soul ring exceeding a hundred-year limit nearly killed him. Fortunately, he pulled through.

Two hours later, the sky was already beginning to brighten. The thin morning mist hung between the trees, accompanied by a faint chill. The forest was still covered by the vast treetops, making it impossible to see the sky. Only sporadic rays of sunlight peeked through the gaps in the branches.

The Blue Silver Emperor spirit had returned to Zuzong's body, and he slowly opened his eyes. Despite his heavy breathing, there was a faint glint of joy in his eyes.

A faint yellow ring hovered quietly above his head, completing its rotation every few seconds. The Blue Silver Emperor vine that extended from his palm was now covered with a layer of tiny, hard scales, shimmering with a faint purple glow.

Zuzong tightly clenched his fist, feeling the new power surging within him. He was finally one step closer to his goal.

Zuzong took a deep breath, withdrawing his Blue Silver Emperor, and slowly stood up.

"I've finally reached the 11th level of soul power and successfully obtained the first soul ring for the Blue Silver Emperor." He felt the resonance between the Blue Silver Emperor martial spirit and himself, and a sense of fulfilment welled up in his heart.

However, he didn't relax his vigilance. He surveyed his surroundings, recalling the path he had taken before to avoid danger. Zuzong made up his mind to leave this forest and return to his training grounds for further cultivation.