Just Wanted to Pick Up Girls While He Had the Chance

After showing the order token to the guards, the group entered the Soul Hunting Forest together.

After walking only a few steps, Lin Manshan voiced his question. "Brother Xiao, I have a question. You're all students of the Intermediate Soul Master Academy, so why don't you have order tokens?"

"Of course, we were waiting for younger students like you who need help," Xiao Zizai blurted out without hesitation. He then puffed out his chest slightly and said seriously, "I've always been someone who enjoys helping others."

"Shouldn't that be younger female students? Brother A'man, don't listen to his nonsense. He just didn't apply for an order token because he wanted to take girls along while he had the chance." The boy beside him, who looked remarkably similar to him, ruthlessly stabbed him in the back.

Too bad none showed up... he thought.

Xiao Zizai's expression immediately stiffened.

"Have some respect. I'm your biological older brother."

The boy ignored him completely and began introducing himself. "Brother A'man, my name is Xiao Ziwang. My Martial Soul is a Pangolin, and my Soul Power is level 20. I'm the one who needs to hunt a Soul Ring this time. We're all roommates from the same dormitory. To be honest, I originally wanted a mentor to help me hunt the Soul Ring with the best possible age limit, but I was turned down. They even told me not to aim too high." At this point, he sighed helplessly.

"It can't be helped. That's just how it is for Spirit Masters born commoners. We have neither power nor influence, and most teachers at intermediate academies are nobles. Why would they be willing to take risks to help commoner Spirit Masters like us hunt Soul Rings with the best possible age limits?"

Xiao Zizai smiled bitterly as well. Commoner Spirit Masters who could cultivate to the level of Soul Elder or Soul Ancestor were already few in number, and most of them had joined Spirit Hall. Those willing to remain at an Intermediate Soul Master Academy as mentors were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. After all, they had all suffered more or less from noble oppression back when they attended the Primary Soul Master Academy. If they stayed, they would only fear being excluded.

Only academies affiliated with Spirit Hall, where commoner Spirit Masters gathered, were better. At least they did not have to live so miserably, right?

"Besides, my younger brother needs a Defense type Soul Ring. Brother A'man, you know so much about Spirit Beasts, so you should know that in a Primary Spirit Hunting Forest like this, Defense type Spirit Beasts with seven hundred years of cultivation are rare. Those mentors simply aren't willing to spend so much time helping us look for one. As for the Intermediate Spirit Hunting Forest, there are quite a few Thousand-year Spirit Beasts there. It's far too dangerous, so they're even less willing to go."

"So I could only bring my roommates to this Primary Spirit Hunting Forest to try our luck. We're all Soul Grand Masters. Although our Soul Power is only a little over level 20, with seven of us together, we still have a good chance."

"Heh. No matter how much you say, it doesn't change the fact that you wanted to pick up girls while you had the chance." Xiao Ziwang stabbed him in the back again.

Xiao Zizai, who had just worked up his emotions, immediately flew into a rage. "Can you stop bringing that up? I only made a suggestion. We made this decision through a vote by all of us. Dare you say that you didn't hope we might get lucky and run into a girl who happened to need a Soul Ring and had an order token?"

"If you dare, swear to heaven right now."

"Hmph, I won't lower myself to your level." Xiao Ziwang immediately turned his head away and fell silent.

"Brother A'man, ignore him. This guy has been a hopeless tsundere since childhood." Xiao Zizai turned to Lin Manshan with a beaming smile. "Come, let me introduce my brothers to you." As he spoke, he pointed them out one by one. "You can call this one Brother Pig. His Martial Soul is a Wild Boar, and his family raises pigs. This is Brother Dog, this is Brother Hoe, and this is Big Stick."

Lin Manshan smiled and greeted them one by one.

Once the introductions were over, Xiao Ziwang finally could not help asking, "Brother A'man, where do you think we should go next?"

Lin Manshan looked around at the increasingly shadowy forest, pondered for a moment, then turned to Xiao Zizai.

"Brother Xiao, you and the other seniors are all Soul Grand Masters. I assume you've been to this Soul Hunting Forest before. Do you know which direction has a water source?"

He then explained, "A pangolin is a defense-type Martial Soul with scales. Among the Spirit Beasts that can be found in this Primary Spirit Hunting Forest, the most suitable ones should be Scaled Beasts and Ironclad Crocodiles. Both kinds of Spirit Beasts live near water. Their defenses are extremely strong, and their strength is remarkable as well."

"Ironclad Crocodiles and Scaled Beasts?" Everyone's eyes widened at once. Xiao Ziwang looked equally incredulous. "I've heard those two Spirit Beasts are very powerful. Can we beat them?"

"We definitely have no hope against Thousand-year ones. Their jumping ability is too strong, and we can't outrun them, much less hunt them. But seven-hundred-year ones should be possible. Compared to Hundred-year Spirit Beasts, Thousand-year Spirit Beasts undergo a qualitative leap in strength." Lin Manshan smiled. "Scaled Beasts and Ironclad Crocodiles are both reptilian Spirit Beasts. Their limbs are thick but short. Because of their body structure, they cannot move sideways. Their limb strength is limited at the hundred-year level, and their jumping ability is average. As long as we make good use of this weakness and prepare properly, catching them should not be difficult."

At this, Xiao Ziwang was clearly a little excited, his face flushing slightly.

A seven-hundred-year Soul Ring, and one from such a powerful defense-type Spirit Beast. A commoner Spirit Master like him actually had a chance to absorb one.

More importantly, after absorbing it, he would definitely be stronger than his shameless older brother!

"Alright, then it's settled." Xiao Zizai clapped his hands sharply. "As for water, I remember there's some to the east. According to the academy mentors, that river leads all the way to the center of the forest. However, for safety's sake, I suggest we start from the outskirts and slowly make our way inward."

"Maybe we can even find a suitable Spirit Beast for Brother A'man along the way. After all, Spirit Beasts need to drink water too. I remember Thousand-pound Ants are pretty common."

"I think that works too." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Thus, the group adjusted their direction and headed east.

With Lin Manshan's special soul-sensing ability, the group did not encounter any sudden danger along the way. During the journey, Lin Manshan also taught them about various Spirit Beasts, taking the opportunity to sense the soul strength of Spirit Beasts of different ages.

After all, he had never entered a Soul Hunting Forest before, nor had he ever seen a real Spirit Beast. He could use this opportunity to familiarize himself with his soul-sensing ability. If he could use it skillfully in the future to find Spirit Beasts with suitable cultivation ages based on their soul strength, that would be extremely useful.

After circling through the outskirts for nearly half an hour, the group finally reached the riverbank. Rather than a river, it was more like a stream, strewn with round stones and roughly two meters wide, winding deep into the forest.

Because of the stream, the giant trees on both sides did not completely block out the sunlight. Lin Manshan looked up and, judging from the angle of the sunlight, determined that it was around three in the afternoon. It was not too late yet.

The group continued onward along the river.

They did indeed see quite a few Thousand-pound Ants along the way, but their cultivation ages were all too low.

Although Thousand-pound Ants possessed immense strength, they had no real means of attack and were slow as well. In any Spirit Beast Forest, they were prey for other Spirit Beasts, and they even killed one another. Like Blue Silver Grass, they were numerous but had low cultivation ages, earning them the title of trash Spirit Beasts.

As they walked, the sun slanted farther west, and a layer of orange-red color gradually spread across the riverbed.

"Hmm? There seems to be one with a suitable cultivation age. Is it a Thousand-pound Ant?" Lin Manshan suddenly sensed a Spirit Beast about three hundred meters ahead whose soul strength was around four hundred years.

Ever since he had poured most of his Soul Power into his Martial Soul, his sensing ability had weakened somewhat. Three hundred meters was already his limit, but in this Primary Spirit Hunting Forest, it was enough.

The distance was too great, so Lin Manshan could not make a fuss. He could only continue following the group without showing any reaction.

After all, discovering a Spirit Beast three hundred meters away was sharper than even a dog's nose.