Chapter 2: Taylor Wu

Jiangdao was the capital city of the famous Hua Kingdom. It was most famous for the rank 7 Elders Forest that was home to various powerful Rank 7 soul monsters, some of which had evolved to the monarch rank.

Many soul trainers traveled from far and wide in hopes of catching the Dusklight Wolves or Steelback Apes that were indigenous to this region. It could be said that the popularity of these two soul monsters was directly responsible for the kingdom's rise in the past few decades. And, the man responsible for the sudden rise in these soul monsters' popularity, was none other than Rao Taylor, winner of two Summit of the Braves. Through the immensely difficult, and life-threatening competition, Rao Taylor's main monsters were a Dusklight Wolf and Steelback Ape. These two monsters were of course supplemented by others, but they made an appearance in almost every fight. As a result, there were those who called Rao Taylor, Dusklight Wu, or Steel Wu.

As for Rao Taylor, to the world's shock, rather than continue on his soul trainer path, he decided to take a break and subsequently returned to his home kingdom. Through various channels, it became known that he retired to settle down with one of his close traveling companions who was pregnant with his child.

When Rao Taylor returned to the kingdom, he was granted a massive estate and all the honors by the various factions, and every street sang his praises. Primarily a reticent man, Rao Taylor, thanked the factions and then retreated into his new home, from which he barely made an appearance.

However, despite not showing his face in public, and rejecting all interviews, Taylor Wu's name did not leave the people's lips. There were even those who wondered if this sleeping dragon would one day vie for the city lord position.

It would have been enough if only the common people had these thoughts. Unfortunately, there were those in high positions who feared Rao Taylor's strength and thus wanted him dead and gone.

These maelstroms of emotions led to the tragedy that blotted the afternoon sky, as just over two years after Rao Taylor's return, the magnificent estate burned under the afternoon sunlight.

Crackle...

Within the burning estate, a handsome chocolate-skinned man clutched his chest and fell to a knee. The man's grey eyes glared at the soul monster formation that surrounded him.

Thirty-some soul pet trainers and over one hundred soul pets carefully surrounded the young man, locking down the formation to prevent any chance of escape.

"Ah, Dusklight Wu. Who would have thought you would meet your end like this." One of the younger men amongst the formation stepped out. He seemed to be in his early thirties and had eyes like a hawk's. The man wore a golden robe with a pair of crossed Steelback Ape arms depicted on the helm. He grinned as he examined the famed soul trainer. "You should have accepted my father's offer, don't you think?"

The fallen man revealed to be Rao Taylor, glared at the youth. "Bu Chen. Be it you or your father, I will never work for people who see soul monsters as tools." With a sneer, he spat out blood and then raised his hand. "Clear the way, Tyrant!"

Following, Rao Taylor's shout, a massive gold summoning circle appeared on the compound's floor.

"No!" Bu Chen's expression turned ugly when he saw the summoning circle. "Stop him!"

Ten Steelback Apes leaped forward at his command and readied heavy punches to obliterate the young man.

BOOM!

However, just before they reached Taylor, a massive force suddenly sent them flying back.

"Rooar!"

A 5-meter tall Diamondback Ape appeared in front of Taylor, swinging five-meter rod. It was the force from this rod that blasted away the other apes. The Diamondback Ape glared at the forces gathered in front and then turned to look at Taylor. Its eyes held a bit of melancholy as it knew they were outnumbered. More than likely, neither of them would make it out alive.

Sensing Tyrant's mood, Taylor weakly stood up and placed his hand on the Diamondback Ape's back. "We lived good lives, Tyrant. I'm sorry I brought this on you."

"Gruoo!" Tyrant grumbled and then pushed Taylor's hand away. It did not regret its life. Taylor had brought it from the edge of the jungle to not only travel the world but dominate wherever it went. "Gruoo!" Tyrant beat its chest and then turned to face the company of soldiers. It rotated the staff and then slammed it against the ground in an open challenge.

Come! It seemed to say.

Taylor, seeing the defiance in Tyrant's eyes, chuckled and then said, "Well, if we must go down, let's do so in one last hurrah." With those words, he began the incantation to summon two more monsters.

Bu Chen's eyes narrowed. He could not allow Taylor to summon more monsters! "Fire!" Following Bu Chen's command, several soldiers stepped forward and raised their respective firearms.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A wicked salvo of bullets zipped toward Taylor, threatening to skewer him.

"Gruoo!" Tyrant roared as it jumped in front of Taylor. It jammed its staff into the ground, crossed its arms to protect its head and chest, and then braced itself. Clang! Clang! Clang!

Surprisingly, these bullets which could rip through steel only glanced harmlessly off its body. This was not surprising. Firearms were rarely useful against any soul monster with rank 5 defense and above. Fortunately, they were still lethal against humans (assuming they were not wearing any armor.)

That morning, Taylor was not expecting to get ambushed, and so did not have time to put on his rank 9 armor. As a result, he was forced to rely on Tyrant to protect him from the bullets.

Bu Chen, too was not surprised that the bullets did not work. Indeed, his main purpose for the order was to force the Diamondback to be still for one second. Once he saw that his plan was effective, he grinned and then ordered, "Ice Fairy, use Ice Pick Assualt!"

A blue-beautiful fairy suddenly floated up from behind Bu Chen. She raised her dainty fingers, causing sixty ice bolts to appear in front of her. She then waved her hands, and those bolts zipped across the air and then crashed into the Diamondback Ape.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Tyrant could ignore the bullets, but the Ice Fairy's Ice Pick Assault was a genuine rank 8 technique. Although the ice bolts failed to pierce his skin, the cold energy seeped through and began threatening to freeze him to death.

"You did well, Tyrant." At this point, Taylor's praise drifted into Tyrant's head.

The ape, knowing it had completed its job, grinned as three summoning circles appeared around it.

A storm fairy gently flew out of the first summoning circle. As she appeared, a massive pressure descended. Deep black clouds quickly gathered above, as if foretelling a terrible premonition. The storm fairy was a mutated form of a water fairy with a secondary lightning attribute. During its evolutionary phase, Taylor boosted its lightning attribute to a main attribute and then added the wind attribute. Despite the heavy cost, it eventually paid off when his fairy evolved into a Storm Fairy. This soul monster played a massive role in Taylor's last Summit of the Braves championship victory.

Storm Fairy (Xiao Lu)

Species: Elemental Fairy

Rank: High Monarch

Stage: Phase 10, Stage 6

The storm fairy was followed by a terrifying 3-meters long Cloud-Stepping Tiger. The strange beast had a tiger's tell-tale brown and black fur, but clouds appeared beneath its paws that allowed it to 'fly' and attack from either the sky or land.

Cloud-Stepping Tiger (Demon)

Species: Beast Type (Wind)

Rank: High Monarch

Stage: Phase 10, Stage 8

The final monster was a two-headed Obelisk Python. In group battles, this was Taylor's scariest monster. The Obelisk Python was over 30 meters long, and stood and 3-meters tall. When it opened its mouth, the Obelisk Python could swallow most monsters in a single gulp. Its outlandish size, immense speed, and rock-like scales allowed it to barrel into the ranks of most enemy groups and rip them apart with ease.

Obelisk Python (Garo Garo)

Species: Beast-Type (Rock)

Rank: Peak Monarch

Stage: Phase 10, Stage 7

Bu Chens's gaze narrowed as he glared at the terrible monster formation. A full phase ten monster formation was scary enough, but a High Monarch formation was beyond unreasonable. It had to be understood that a single Phase 10 Monarch soul monster was enough to rule over many major cities, yet Taylor had more than four High Monarch Monsters. The formation was so absurd that it was akin to having a ticking time bomb in a region. It was no wonder Jiandoa's Emperor decided to uproot this tumor.

Generally speaking, most people would be frozen under the intense pressure emitted by five Monarch soul monsters. Bu Chen, however, was not one of those people. The proud prince raised his hand and then ordered, "Fifth Legion, unleash all soul pets! Show this traitor the kingdom's strength!"

Following Bu Chen's roar, several dozens of Steelback Apes, Dusklight Wolves, and Earth Fairies burst out from summoning circles. For the purpose of synergy and training, the army forced its soldiers up to the Spirit Soldier rank to use these three monsters.

The known Soul Trainer ranks were as follows: Soul Apprentice, Soul Student, Soul Soldier, Soul Master, Soul King, Soul Ruler, and finally, Soul Emperor. Within each Soul Rank, there were ten stages called nodes. Each Soul Rank allowed the soul trainer to summon a single monster, and a soul trainer could store a soul monster after unlocking three Soul Nodes. In short, a soul trainer could store three soul monsters and summon one per rank.

Taylor had summoned four soul monsters, which meant that he was at a minimum, a Soul Master. That was an unbelievable achievement for a 28-year old. Especially when one considered that all his monsters had been strengthened to the Monarch rank.

Taylor jumped onto Demon's back, and then yelled, "Go! Scatter them!"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Without needing any further encouragement, Taylor's soul monsters charged into the rushing soul pet army and then unleashed a frantic slaughter! The soldiers' soul monsters tried their best. They kicked, clawed, tore, and fired energy bolts at Taylor's monsters, but these soul monsters were not Monarch ranked for show.

Demon jumped through the air and then tore off the soul pets' heads. Many monsters tried to catch him each time, but the Cloud-Stepping Tiger would just emit clouds to block their vision, which then allowed it to escape unscathed to wreak havoc elsewhere.

With Demon taking over Taylor's protection, Tyrant was freed to rampage to his heart's content. The Diamondback Ape kicked up his staff and then descended upon the soldiers like a monkey god. Tyrant's rapidly spinning staff reaped the lives of soul monsters like wheat. But the most egregious part of this Diamondback Ape was the fact that despite having a cheat-like defense, it often displayed exquisite martial arts-like footwork to dodge monster pets and subsequently unleash devastating counterattacks.

Xiao Lu provided support. The storm fairy was like a tactical general as she watched over the battlefield. Whenever one of Taylor's monsters seemed to fall into a tricky situation, she would send a maelstrom or wind curtain to alleviate the pressure. Naturally, the soldiers' soul monsters recognized her as a major threat and thus tried to attack her. Unfortunately, not a single soul monster could break through the 9th rank Tornado spell that revolved around the patient general.

None of these monsters compared to Garo Garo in pure destruction though. The Obelisk Python didn't even need techniques. It reaped lives just by slithering through the enemy formation.

Unfortunately, just when it seemed like Taylor would breakthrough, hundreds of soldiers poured in through the gates. As a result, soon, they were surrounded by more than 1000 soul monsters.

Taylor's Monarch monsters were indeed powerful, and if they wanted, they could use their ultimate moves to clear out these mobs in seconds. Taylor looked to the sky with a grim expression. For a while now, he could feel several powerful auras overhead. He estimated they were at the Soul Master level, and there were even a few Soul Kings mixed in. Taylor knew these people were waiting for his monsters to exhaust their strength before swooping in for the kill.

Taylor revealed a bitter smile. It seemed he was destined to die here. However, he did not mind, as long as 'they' got away. If these Soul Kings wanted to waste time, he would happily play with them. His mind made up, Taylor directed his soul monsters to rush at the soul monster army. Even without techniques, dozens of soul monsters perished with each attack.

Hundreds of soldiers fell to the ground, clutching their chests in pain. Whenever a contracted soul monster died, its trainer's soul suffered a terrible backlash. Not only did it cause searing pain like having an arm forcefully ripped out, but it also injured the trainer's soul, resulting in them being unable to sign a soul pact for a minimum of six months.

Most of these soldiers didn't just lose one or two souls, but rather all three, causing them to crumble to the ground. Some directly passed out, others convulsed, and the slightly stronger ones groaned and writhed on the ground.

Taylor's gaze was heavy as he looked at the fallen soldiers. These men and women did nothing wrong except being born in the wrong kingdom. By destroying their soul pets, Taylor was single-handedly destroying the livelihoods and futures of countless trainers. Unfortunately, Taylor could not afford to have mercy. He also had people that needed his protection. For their futures, he had to steel his heart and be ruthless this once.

"This Taylor was hiding so much strength." Bu Chen gritted his teeth as he watched the carnage from afar. The young man had no doubt that he would be crushed to pieces if he dared to face Taylor in a head-on clash. Perhaps the only person in their generation who could defeat Taylor was his elder brother, Bu Lu. The thought of his arrogant elder brother caused Bu Chen's expression to turn even uglier. "Hmph. I'll finish this well. Let's see who father praises when I'm do―"

"Your Highness. The Fox is in custody. Bringing her over."

Bu Chen's eyes lit up in excitement when he received the information over the radio. He burst out in laughter and then called out to Taylor, "Hey, Rao Taylor! Did you think you were the only one stalling for time? Stall! Stall more! It's already useless anyway!"

Taylor's heart sank. There was only one thing that could make Bu Chen this confident. The young man's eyes suddenly turned savage as he jabbed his finger at the prince. "If you lay a finger on her!"

"If I lay a finger on her, what!?" Bu Chen was clearly enjoying himself, especially when he saw Taylor's wretched expression. In all his years under this man's shadow, this was the first time he saw real panic in his eyes.

Scree!

Bu Chen and Taylor looked to the skies at the time as a Stormbird swooped down from the skies. The magnificent creature folded its five-meter long wings as it dropped in front of Bu Chen.

Tak.

A man in tight, dark-blue robes covering his entire face and body jumped down from the bird's back with a woman in his arms. The woman was stunningly beautiful. Just a glance was enough to steal a man's heart away. Her lustrous pearl-like eyes glistening with tears made one want to comfort her.

However, there was something odd about this woman. A pair of fox-like ears protruded from her head, and twin, bushy tails floated behind her. It did not take the soldiers nearby to realize this was a beastman!

Beastkin were a savage fusion of man and soul monster. No one was certain how the first beastman was born. Some suggested a man slept with a soul monster. Other theories suggested a soul monster evolved to take human form. There were many theories, but one thing was certain, beastkin were dangerous.

First-generation or pure-blooded beastkin were savage creatures that lived in the wild. Like soul monsters, they could rise in phases, stages, and ranks, and learn innate special techniques to ensure their survival against the soul monsters. These humanoid beastkin were more in tune with their beast side and often lived according to their instincts. Most notably, first-generation beastkin could not sign soul pacts with soul monsters.

Second-generation beastkin, or hybrids, were born from the illegal consummation of humans and beastkin. These second-generation hybrids could sign pacts with soul monsters, but did not have the ability to innately learn techniques like the first generation. Instead, they had to study technique manuals like humans. Unfortunately for the second-generation, their beast souls often threatened to overtake their human side. To keep them at bay, second-generation hybrids needed to cultivate faster to retain their sanity. Soul Apprentice at 5, Soul Student at 10, Soul Soldier at Fifteen, Soul Master at 20, Soul King at 25.

Once a second-generation missed any of these deadlines, they would lose their sanity and devolve into a mindless beastman. These mindless monsters would then inflict great damage on surrounding towns. It was still okay if the second-generation failed at the Soul Apprentice level, but a mindless Soul King was a terrifying catastrophe.

Two cities were leveled to the ground by a hybrid Soul Master who just missed the cut-off for Soul King. If the capital didn't quickly send over a few Soul Kings, even more lives would have been lost.

Ironically, aside from achieving the strictly recommended cultivation levels, second-generation beastkin could also retain their sanity if they entered a soul pact with a human. That's right. Humans could sign hybrids into soul pacts, but not the other way around, which resulted in many beastkin being hunted down in order to increase a human's strength.

To make matters worse, beastkin and hybrids were recognized in many kingdoms as dangerous subspecies and were thus given very little rights. Furthermore, marriages or sex between humans and beastkin or hybrids were strictly prohibited because according to research, hybrids comprised 70% of children conceived from human-beastmen relations. Some experts estimated that if left unchecked, the human race could go extinct in a few centuries due to the beastman dominant gene.

Rao Taylor knew about these laws, but could not help but fall in love with Hua Xun. Hua Xun was a second-generation beastkin. Her father was unknown, but her mother was a variant of fox beastkin. Hua Xun joined Rao Taylor when he first began his journey across the realm disguised as a human child.

Initially, Hua Xun intended on using Taylor to temporarily travel, and then dump him when she found something more interesting. However, as fate would have it, she ended up not find anything more interesting than the boy beside her. Days turned to Months, turned to years. Hua Xun's feelings for Taylor evolved from fascination to adoration, and eventually love as they both matured from children to adults.

Rao Taylor likewise fell in love with the mischievous but loving Hua Xun, and eventually proposed to her by a beautiful waterfall. At the time, Hua Xun confessed her true identity and wept, but Taylor took her hand in his and swore to always love her regardless of what she was.

A few weeks later, Taylor officially married Hua Xun in a temple. The duo chose to settle down in order to reduce the public's eye on them, and also limit the chances of getting caught by their enemies.

Unfortunately, somehow, Hua Xun's true identity got out, and Taylor's enemies swiftly swooped in to deliver capital punishment.

That led to the current situation.

Taylor's eyes trembled as he stared at Hua Xun. His heart bled in pain but he could not muster the strength to raise his hand. He knew that Bu Chen would not hesitate to rip out her throat if he made a threatening move. Since he could no longer fight, Taylor ordered his soul monsters back to his side, and then looked at Hua Xun. "How is he?"

Hua Xun smiled and then nodded despite her tears.

Taylor needed no more words. The truth was that he and Hua Xun already bore a child two years ago. Taylor had been buying time for Hua Xun and the child to escape while he kept the soldiers occupied.

Unfortunately, Hua Xun was captured, but as long as that child lived, then Taylor's life would not have been in vain.

Bu Chen saw the relief in Taylor's eyes. Knowing why Taylor was relieved, Bu Chen angrily glared at the black-robed man. "Where is the child!?"

The black-robed man shook his head. "There was an abnormally powerful Star Dusklight Wolf. It killed everyone and escaped with the child. But, it was heavily injured, so I'm certain some other soul monster will feast on its corpse before long."

Bu Chen cursed. "Useless!" But, when he saw the beauty in his arms, he smiled and then looked at Taylor. "How about it? If you give up now, I will let her live."

Taylor frowned. "Are you telling the truth."

A sinister smile curled up Bu Chen's lips. "I swear on the kingdom."

Taylor looked at Bu Chen, and then at the figures hidden in the sky. He sighed loudly and then looked at Hua Xun with a pitiful smile. "Either way, I'm going to die today. At least, you should live. Maybe one day you will see Roa Wu."

Hua Xun shook her head. She wanted to speak, but her lips were tightly bound by the black-robed man's soul technique.

Taylor revealed a wry smile and then sat on the ground. He looked at each of his monsters and then took out a gourd and a small bowl from his spatial ring. "We have had a million adventures together, but I'm afraid it is time to say goodbye." The young man slowly filled up the bowl and then raised it to the Cloud-Stepping Tiger. "Thank you for saving me at Mount Guoren." With those words, he undid the soul pact. A sharp pain splintered Taylor's soul as the pact was removed, but as if oblivious to the pain, Taylor swallowed the drink and then turned to the Obelisk Serpent as his soul rapidly healed.

Taylor smiled as he toasted the Obelisk Serpent. "Remember not to eat too much," he joked as he undid another soul pact. "Xiao Lu, return to Mount Storm. No one can challenge you for Storm queen now―ugh!" Taylor coughed up blood as he undid their pact. Even with the Eternal Spring wine healing his souls, he still suffered an intense backlash from each pact he rescinded.

Finally, Taylor's eyes watered as he looked at the Diamondback Ape. Tyrant was Taylor's first soul monster. It had accompanied him around the world and back. Together they had faced countless challenges, defeated numerous foes, and defied the worst of odds. Unfortunately, today, all their legends would come to an end.

Tyrant stabbed its pole into the ground and then sat down opposite Taylor. It grunted and then gestured with its hands for something. Taylor, understanding the Diamondback Ape's request, revealed a wry smile as he took out a giant gourd and a meter wide bowl.

Tyrant grunted as it grabbed the gourd and then emptied the wine into the bowl. This, of course, was not the Eternal Spring wine. In fact, it was the cheapest of wine available at any run-down inn in the Hua Kingdom. However, this was the first wine that the unruly Tyrant shared with Taylor. Ever since their first drink, the duo made it a habit to share a bowl every night. Of course, Tyrant drank 90% of the alcohol or Taylor would die of alcohol poisoning.

Taylor chuckled as he watched Tyrant raise the bowl and then drain most of the contents into his belly. Seconds later, Tyrant looked to the side and then grumbled as it passed the bowl to Taylor.

Taylor, with practiced hands, accepted the bowl and then slowly finished the alcohol. "You're right, Tyrant." Tears poured down the young man's eyes, mixing with the drink. "This gourd is particularly salty."

Tyrant roared and then wiped the tears running down its eyes. It rose to its full height and beat its chest. It did not want to end the pact. It wanted to die with Taylor.

However, Taylor shook his head. "You can't die. Go find Fang. If possible, please train Wu-er. Lead him on the path to becoming better than me. Teach him the importance of friendship and companions." Taylor revealed a bitter look as he stared at the skies. "If I had friends I could trust, we would not have ended up surrounded and alone. Teach Wu-er to become a greater man than his father"

Tyrant grunted and then knelt in front of Taylor. It then stood up, picked up its staff, and crossed its arms. A second later, its brows scrunched, as Tyrant felt its pact with Taylor shatter into nothingness.

Having released his main soul monsters, Taylor then proceeded to take his time releasing the rest of his soul monsters.

When a soul trainer died, any soul monster in their soul spaces, perished along with them. Taylor did not want any of his monsters to die along with him, so he slowly undid his pact with them one by one. Each pact undone, allowed him to summon the next monster.

The soul trainers surrounding Taylor watched in shock as the young man released his monsters from their pacts. Even until death, Taylor continued to shock the world. No man had ever done something like this before. It was unprecedented!

Once a soul pact was removed, the soul would be damaged. This meant that no soul monster could be summoned with that soul. That was common knowledge.

However, before their very eyes, Taylor was using the incomparably rare and precious Eternal Spring wine to heal his soul after each pact was broken.

"Hey Hey! That's fourteen soul monsters!"

Suddenly, someone shouted in shock. Only now did the soul trainers realize the oddity. Fourteen soul monsters meant that Taylor had five souls! Five souls was Soul King! Taylor was a Soul King at just under 30 years! This was a once-in-a-generation talent! Such a man could definitely have raised his own kingdom city in a few years! And not a small one at that!

Unfortunately, this shining star was destined to burn out here under the evening sky.

Blood seeped out of Taylor's mouth as he weakly looked over his soul monsters. Even with the Eternal Spring wine, removing fourteen pacts in a go took a massive toll on his body. Taylor guessed he didn't have long to live so he weakly smiled and then said to his soul monsters, "Hey, Xiao Lu and the rest; help your brothers and sisters get to their homes safely, alright?

The Monarch ranked monsters let out reassuring roars, and then slowly left the compound with the other soul monsters. Many trainers eyed these powerful monsters but eventually decided not to risk it. Phase 10 Monarch fights were capable of leveling cities. There were six phase 10 Monarch Soul Monsters in Taylor's monster squad. If they unleashed their full powers as a group, Jiandao would be wiped off the map even if they perished.

None of the trainers could carry that sin and responsibility on their heads.

As a result, the soul monster formation received no obstruction as they made their way out of the city and into the woods, where they eventually disappeared from sight.

Meanwhile, back at the Rao Estate, Taylor revealed a weak, bloody smile as he said to Hua Xun, "Live. Live on until you find Rao-er." With those words, Taylor's body shook one more time and he finally dropped his head for the last time.

And so, in the second week of the third month of the calendar year 2502, the youngest recorded Soul King, Rao Taylor, perished under the silver moonlight.