Star Dou Great Forest, Obtaining the Fifth Ring (3)

You Chen's list of soul beasts for Di Wan had three tiers.

The first tier consisted of targets You Chen considered the most suitable. If they encountered one, it would not matter even if its cultivation was slightly below the desired level. The moment Di Wan found one, he would notify You Chen so that You Chen could precisely determine its age.

The second tier contained relatively excellent choices. This level of compatibility and soul beast quality would basically be a perfect target for ordinary soul masters. It was only because You Chen had such exacting standards that he placed them in the second tier.

The third tier consisted of choices You Chen could reluctantly accept if they were completely unable to find a soul beast from the second tier. But for ordinary elite soul masters, this level of compatibility was already about as good as their soul rings could get.

Anything below that—wind-attributed soul beasts that could provide decent soul skills but had no distinctive traits, unable to noticeably enhance one's martial soul or strengthen You Chen's particular abilities—might be considered prime choices in the eyes of ordinary soul masters, but You Chen had no interest in them at all.

With You Chen's personal abilities, he could even narrow down a target that perfectly matched his needs, practically tailor-made for him.

However, the Star Dou Great Forest was vast, and the number of soul beasts within it was beyond counting.

Even with Di Wan's abilities, finding a specific soul beast that met You Chen's age requirements was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

In the world of soul beasts, ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts were like the vast lower classes of ancient times—everywhere you looked. One batch died, and another immediately sprang up.

Thousand-year soul beasts were like constables, minor officials, and other grassroots personnel. Within a particular area, their numbers could be counted, but across the entire soul beast world, they were still merely expendable resources.

But Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were different.

Every Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was a regional overlord. If Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were feudal lords—Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and Cao Cao—then Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were Liu Biao, Guan Yu, Lu Bu...

This referred only to their approximate status, merely to illustrate the place Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts occupied in the food chain.

You could also say that Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and Cao Cao were several-hundred-thousand-year fierce beasts, while the likes of Liu Biao, Guan Yu, and Lu Bu were Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, with Lu Bu being the kind of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast with top-tier bloodline...

That was roughly the idea.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, killing certain Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts could even draw out the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts above them.

It was like killing Guan Yu and Zhang Fei—wouldn't Liu Bei fight you to the death?

In fact, they did not even need to be Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. A fifty- or sixty-thousand-year soul beast would be enough to make most soul masters hunting Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts suffer badly.

It was the same as with soul masters: any soul master who could reach a certain realm would not have a low-grade martial soul.

Soul beasts followed the same principle. Those that could cultivate to ten thousand years possessed, at minimum, the combat strength of a Soul King.

Those around twenty to thirty thousand years were comparable to Soul Emperors, while those above fifty thousand years were at least equivalent to Soul Sages.

The advantage of having a fast Soul Douluo like Di Wan lead the group was that they did not need to worry about being entangled by soul beasts over fifty thousand years old.

Even while bringing You Chen along, Di Wan could easily escape.

As long as they did not encounter a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, they would basically be safe.

Of course, "basically" meant there was still a small chance of disaster. But if soul masters wanted to advance, it was impossible to do so without taking even this much risk.

You Chen was merely cautious, not timid.

Rather, it was precisely because he was filled with ambition and desire that he proceeded with such care at every step.

About half a day passed, and the sky had already darkened. Di Wan slowed down once more and came to a stop in midair.

Even with You Chen's eyesight, he could already see the target from this distance.

Within a deeply concealed stream valley, dozens of semi-transparent creatures with what looked like green lotus leaves on their heads were leisurely conversing in a language only they could understand.

"A Wind Spirit Colony."

Wind Spirits were known as Fairies of Wind. As spirit- and phantom beast-type soul beasts, they almost never lived alongside other races, greatly reducing the risk of killing a young one only for an older one to come after them.

Moreover, they were in the second tier of the list You Chen had provided.

"So, how is it? Do you still want me to keep looking with you?" Di Wan asked.

You Chen shook his head. "A perfect choice can only be found by chance. Finding a Wind Spirit of this caliber in a single day is already an incredible stroke of luck. Even if we searched for another week, at best we would find something on par with it. If there are no other hidden leaders, then that leader should be the target that meets my requirements."

You Chen observed them for a while before quickly reaching his conclusion.

"They're all here."

Di Wan was concise as ever. "What characteristics does the leader you mentioned have?"

Naturally, You Chen would not explain to Di Wan that he needed to inspect the lotus leaves on the Wind Spirits' heads to determine their exact age. "The one with a faint pink tint in its body, the largest and chubbiest one."

"Got it."

The next moment, Di Wan grinned as a black soul ring suddenly lit up.

In an instant, fierce winds swept through the sky.

As spirits that called upon the wind and wielded wind-elemental power, the Wind Spirits immediately sensed the abnormality in the sky.

The largest Wind Spirit leader was the first to raise its lotus-leaf head.

It saw the endless gale converge in Di Wan's hand, condensing into a massive spear with only a faintly visible outline.

Sixth Soul Skill, Weapon Soul Skill—Storm Controller!

Whoosh!

The air seemed to let out a wail.

By the time the Wind Spirit leader looked up, it was already too late.

As two more soul rings lit up, Di Wan hurled the invisible spear.

The supersonic attack nailed the Wind Spirit leader in place before it could react at all.

Immediately afterward, the wind bindings that had originally wrapped around the spear suddenly exploded, creating a violent air blast. While dealing secondary damage to the Wind Spirit leader, the shockwave also blew the lower-aged Wind Spirits around it away.

Tap.

Di Wan stepped onto the shaft of the spear as it became visible, and the powerful fluctuations of his Soul Power became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The Wind Spirits, who had initially wanted to rescue their leader, sensed the overwhelming gap in strength and fled in all directions.

"Aren't you a little too violent?" You Chen remarked at just the right moment.

Di Wan raised an eyebrow and laughed. "But it's quick, isn't it?"

A Wind Spirit with more than twenty-four thousand years of cultivation could be easily defeated by the current Di Wan even without using soul skills, much less after he had used them.

With a bodyguard like this, it would be difficult for You Chen to have an accident even if he wanted one.

He smoothly landed the finishing blow, then began absorbing his Fifth Soul Ring.

After yawning, Di Wan found a stone stool and moved it beside a tree that was still intact, leaning against it as he sat quietly.

Compared with the effort of defeating the target soul beast, the half-day search had consumed far more of his energy and Soul Power.

Yet even as he silently recovered, his attention never left You Chen. At the first sign that something was wrong, he could immediately interrupt You Chen's soul ring absorption process.

Meanwhile, You Chen had once again entered the process of creating a "Self-Created Soul Skill."