Soul Hunting Forest

The next day, while Zhao Xuan was still sleeping soundly, Tang San woke him up.

"What is it?" Zhao Xuan asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He glanced at Tang San and saw that he was already dressed.

Tang San looked around. The students of the Seventh Dormitory were still fast asleep, and snores rose and fell throughout the room.

Tang San lowered his voice. "Teacher is taking us to hunt Spirit Beasts today."

"Spirit Beasts?" Zhao Xuan instantly woke up, excitement rising on his face.

"Master really said that?"

"When Teacher called me over yesterday, he told me about it. He said the Soul Hunting Forest is far away and told us to get up early." Tang San truthfully relayed Master's instructions to Zhao Xuan.

Zhao Xuan thought back. After lunch yesterday, Tang San really had been summoned by Master.

Thinking of that, he immediately rolled out of bed, quickly changed clothes, and said to Tang San, "Let's go."

The Soul Hunting Forest was four hundred li northeast of Nuoding City. It was a long journey, but it was the closest imperial Spirit Beast breeding ground to Nuoding City. There were quite a few ten-year and hundred-year Spirit Beasts inside, and even thousand-year Spirit Beasts deeper within.

Along the way, Master taught Tang San and Zhao Xuan much of the basic knowledge of the soul master world. After all, during the past six years, they had lived in a world almost entirely separate from soul masters and knew virtually nothing about their world.

"So once I obtain my First Soul Ring, I can become a soul master?" Zhao Xuan asked, his eyes shining with excitement.

"That's right. Even if your First Soul Ring is merely a ten-year Soul Ring, you'll still be a soul master!" Master nodded.

Zhao Xuan was rarely so full of anticipation. He wanted to know what kind of soul skill his bizarre martial souls would grant him. Then he thought about it—wasn't there a Master at his side, someone known as the foremost theoretician in the soul master world? Why not ask him?

Yet after Zhao Xuan raised the question, Master fell silent. He shook his head. "These two martial souls of yours have both appeared for the first time. The situation is rather complicated."

"They both appear to be Weapon Souls, but judging by their appearances, neither seems to possess any offensive power. However, the fact that they gave rise to Innate Full Soul Power means that at least one of them must be a martial soul of extremely high quality."

"But the problem is that both of your martial souls are new. There's simply no way to identify them..."

Zhao Xuan felt somewhat depressed. Even someone like Master, said to be unmatched in theory, found it difficult to help him. Did that mean he really had to take things one step at a time?

Master beside him was helpless as well. Theory was, after all, a viewpoint formed based on certain characteristics. Faced with something that was entirely unknown, even he could do nothing.

Regarding these two martial souls, he did not even know whether they belonged to the support type or some other category.

The atmosphere fell quiet for a moment, but Master soon moved. He took out a belt inlaid with twenty-four beautiful jade stones and handed it to Tang San. "Xiao San, take this."

One did not refuse a gift from an elder. Tang San accepted it instinctively. The belt was exquisite, more like a luxury item.

Tang San could not help looking up and asking, "Teacher, this is..."

Master explained, "This is a Soul Tool, a technology that has already been lost. It can use Soul Power as a medium to store items. Every jade stone on this belt can store one cubic meter of items, though only inanimate objects."

Tang San revealed a look of surprise. This thing could actually store items?!

Zhao Xuan could only look on enviously. After all, this was a gift from a master to his disciple.

Seeing this, Master rarely showed a smile. Then he took a strange ring from his robes and handed it to Zhao Xuan. "As for this, you can have it. Although this Soul Tool only has one storage space, it can store five cubic meters of items."

"However..." Master suddenly paused, then coughed a few times.

"If you become my disciple, I can get you a Soul Tool similar to Xiao San's."

Zhao Xuan's eyes widened. Master still had not given up on taking him as a disciple? He had even resorted to material incentives. Still, he truly had no interest in all that tedious knowledge.

Even so, he quickly accepted Master's gift.

"Master, I'll accept the gift. As for becoming your disciple... ahem, we'll talk about it later. Later..."

The two stared at each other, thinking in unison, Old fox.

After two days of travel, the three of them finally entered the bounds of the Soul Hunting Forest. After presenting their authorization at the gate checkpoint, they were allowed inside.

The Soul Hunting Forest looked no different from an ordinary forest. The woods were lush, and ancient trees towered overhead. Perhaps because he had not returned to nature in a long time, Zhao Xuan found the air especially fresh.

After entering the forest, even though they were only at its outer edge, Master became vigilant. He clasped his hands before his chest, then quickly spread them downward. "Come out, Luo San Pao."

With a puff, a stream of pale purple Soul Power separated from between Master's palms. Tang San sensed a surge of Soul Power from Master, and another living creature had appeared before him.

It looked like a dog, but its round body could just as easily have belonged to a pig. Its fur was pale purple, its little ears drooped down, and its large dark-blue eyes blinked gently, carrying a soft expression.

Upon seeing Master, it happily scampered over like a puppy. Its short tail spun wildly, while its plump rear swayed from side to side.

Zhao Xuan suddenly could not help laughing. If this had been his previous life, countless people would probably be sending comments across the screen.

"High-energy scene ahead, a treat for butt lovers!"

"Come out in front of me. I'll give you a buff!"

Two rings rose beneath Master's feet and circled around his body. Both were yellow, clearly hundred-year Soul Rings.

"Xiao San, didn't you want to know what my martial soul is? This is my martial soul. You can call it Luo San Pao, or simply San Pao."

Luo San Pao seemed to understand Master's words. Its large eyes turned toward Tang San, and there was even a hint of ingratiation in its gaze.

"Little San Pao, come here." Zhao Xuan loved cats and dogs, and Luo San Pao's appearance made him smile.

San Pao seemed hesitant. Its little eyes actually turned to Master. Only after Master nodded did it happily run toward Zhao Xuan on its short legs.

San Pao was not small at all. It was a full one and a half meters long, and its body was heavy and bulky. Yet Zhao Xuan had been born with tremendous strength, so lifting San Pao, who stood much taller than him, posed no problem at all.

Held in Zhao Xuan's arms, the little fellow kept licking his cheeks with its tiny tongue, making Zhao Xuan laugh happily.

Seeing Zhao Xuan having so much fun, Tang San could not help shaking his head and raising his questions to Master.

Master answered Tang San's questions as they headed deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest.

Suddenly, San Pao jumped down from Zhao Xuan's arms and stared toward a patch of bushes, making rumbling noises from its mouth.

Master quickly shielded Tang San and Zhao Xuan behind him and explained, "San Pao has a keen sense of smell. He must have discovered something."

The bushes rustled, and a figure leaped onto a tree. It appeared to be a cat, watching them warily.

Master let out a breath of relief and said casually, "Just a ten-year Striped Cat? San Pao, let's go. Don't disturb it."

Tang San and Zhao Xuan kept turning back every few steps, curiously examining the strange cat. It was their first time seeing a Spirit Beast, so they could not help finding it fascinating.

Along the way, Tang San and Zhao Xuan had their eyes opened. These Spirit Beasts came in every conceivable shape and form—if one could imagine it, it existed.

But Master did not let Tang San or Zhao Xuan obtain any of them, because they were all merely ten-year Spirit Beasts.

"Every Soul Ring is critically important to a soul master. A powerful Soul Ring can provide many benefits in return. Especially you, Zhao Xuan—although your martial souls are unusual, you must not settle carelessly."

"By the way, have you decided which martial soul you'll attach a Soul Ring to?" Master asked. Along the way, he had also taught Zhao Xuan how to make the best use of his two martial souls.

Zhao Xuan thought for a moment. "The phone."

"Very well." Master nodded.

After searching for half a day, they encountered quite a few Spirit Beasts that met their requirements, but Master did not rush to act. He patiently continued searching.

Master chose a depression in the ground as their campsite. The terrain around it was complex, surrounded by numerous towering trees.

The sky gradually darkened, yet the forest was anything but quiet. Insect chirps, bird calls, and even the roars of wild beasts rose and fell around them.

Suddenly, Luo San Pao stood up and began making urgent rumbling noises in one direction.

The three immediately became alert and looked that way. Amid the dark summer woods, more than a dozen ghostly green points of light were approaching them.

"Shadow Wolves. This might be troublesome." Master's voice was low, but he did not appear panicked. He had already seen that these were merely ten-year wolf pups.

Zhao Xuan's eyes lit up. He had not exercised in a long time. Perfect!

"Master, leave them to me." Before Zhao Xuan had even finished speaking, he shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Master's calm expression instantly changed. His face went pale with fright as he hurriedly shouted, "Zhao Xuan, come back! It's dangerous!"

In an instant, cold sweat covered Master's forehead. How could this child be so reckless?!

Tang San reassured him from the side. "Teacher, don't panic. Xiao Xuan is very strong."

Master was about to send Luo San Pao forward to assist when Tang San's words made him pause. He looked at him strangely. Though he had not known Tang San for long, he knew his disciple was steady and would not speak without reason.

So Master stopped and looked ahead.

On the other side, the six Shadow Wolves had intended to surround and hunt their prey, only to see a small figure charging straight at them. They froze for a moment, then flew into a rage.

"Awooo!" The six Shadow Wolves howled furiously. Their momentum was rather intimidating, but in Zhao Xuan's eyes, they were all show and no substance.

With a tap of his toes against the ground, his figure vanished from where he stood. Yet several cracks strangely split open across the earth.

Master had been watching the entire time, and his expression froze at the sight. What... was going on?

Zhao Xuan, who had vanished from his spot, appeared before one Shadow Wolf. Before it could react, he threw a fierce punch.

Bang!

The Shadow Wolf flew backward as though struck by a truck speeding at eighty miles an hour. Beast blood splattered everywhere as it slammed into the trunk of a great tree.

The tree shook violently, while the Shadow Wolf on its trunk had already become a lump of mangled flesh stuck to the bark.

Tang San beside him was also dumbfounded. Was Xiao Xuan this fierce now? Or had he simply never used his full strength when sparring with him before?

He secretly made up his mind that he would never spar with Zhao Xuan again.

The remaining Shadow Wolves were scared out of their wits. Howling miserably, they fled in panic, but escaping from Zhao Xuan was not so easy. Before long, only several piles of minced flesh remained on the ground, along with the white Soul Rings floating above them.

After finishing, Zhao Xuan walked back with a satisfied look. "Not bad. That was just enough to warm me up."

Tang San and Master instinctively took two steps back, looking at Zhao Xuan with fear in their eyes. "Could he be a humanoid Spirit Beast?!"