Star Dou Great Forest

Icefront City lay at the southernmost border of the Silves Kingdom, where three nations met.

War King Academy was not far from the Star Dou Great Forest, only a little over two hundred kilometers away.

Naturally, this had become the ideal place to obtain Soul Rings.

A hundred kilometers away lay the area where Soul Hunting Town was widely spread.

Since it was not far, they did not take carriages and traveled on foot.

On the afternoon of the first day, the group reached Soul Hunting Town and rested briefly.

Then they hurried onward at full speed and reached their destination on the second day.

Before them stood a magnificent Primeval Forest.

The trees around its perimeter towered into the sky, each standing at least twenty meters tall.

The majestic trees stood densely packed together, forming a thick green barrier that separated the forest from the outside world.

Layer upon layer of shadows covered the trees, while branches and vines sprawled everywhere. There was no path at all, nor could they see the forest's interior clearly.

As they approached the forest, a cool sensation washed over them. Refreshing life energy flowed into their lungs with every breath, seemingly nourishing their bodies and cleansing their souls.

"Stop here for now. Rest for an hour, then we'll enter."

The dean waved for everyone to halt.

The teachers were fine. This distance was nothing to them.

But the students were indeed somewhat out of breath.

They were merely first-ring Soul Masters who had yet to obtain their Second Soul Ring. Traveling one hundred kilometers a day for two straight days was already quite the challenge.

If they entered like this, exhaustion might cause them to overlook subtle dangers, resulting in casualties among the students.

The students rested while the teachers stood guard around them.

The dean and Lin Tianyang walked over to Fang Ling, who was drinking water nearby. "What kind of Spirit Skill do you want?"

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Ideally, a spatial one. I hope to gain a Teleportation Spirit Ability that can work with my Body Technique and make up for my lack of long-range attacks."

Spatial?

Both of them hesitated. Soul Beasts with that kind of Spirit Skill were rare.

And ones capable of teleportation were especially difficult to catch.

Seeing their predicament, Fang Ling did not insist. "If we can't find one, then anything that boosts Attack Power, sharpness, or hardness will do."

No matter which one it was, obtaining it would bring immediate improvement, and his Martial Soul would also gain corresponding growth.

Any of them would be good for Fang Ling.

He had the Stats Panel. His Soul Ring age could be increased!

Was that so?

The two began considering it. Lin Tianyang raised his brows and smiled at Fang Ling. "Alright. When the time comes, your teacher will definitely help you pick a powerful Soul Beast."

"Don't worry. With Shigong here, it's just a powerful Hundred-Year Soul Beast. As long as it isn't some ridiculously overpowered super Soul Beast, it'll be no problem."

The dean followed along with his son's words.

"Thank you, Teacher. Thank you, Shigong." Fang Ling was delighted.

Then, as if remembering something, he hurriedly took several bags of homemade jerky from the Frost Snow Ring.

"Have some. I made it myself, and it tastes pretty good."

It was emergency rations. Since the Frost Snow Ring had plenty of space, he had made several hundred catties of it.

He had also brought plenty of water.

The two accepted it curiously. They first sniffed it, catching its savory aroma, then took a bite.

It was dry without being tough, with just the right texture. It was delicious.

Lin Tianyang said in surprise, "You can cook? It's been a year. How did I not know?"

Fang Ling said, "I'm actually quite good at it. It's just that I was focused on cultivation at the academy, and I had money, so I didn't need to live as frugally as before. I got used to eating at the cafeteria."

"I see."

The dean stroked the tuft of white hair in front of his forehead and asked for another bag as a snack.

The teachers also each took a bag.

After resting, the two teams split up and headed in different directions.

There had been precedents showing that too many people could provoke a siege by Soul Beasts.

If it were a place like Soul Hunting Forest, where Soul Beasts were less aggressive, the strongest were only Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, and Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were exceedingly rare in the captive-bred Spirit Beast Forest, then it would not matter.

Let them surround you while you hunted yours.

But the Star Dou Great Forest was different.

As one of the continent's three major wild Soul Beast habitats, it covered a vast area and had complex terrain, including wetlands, swamps, rivers, lakes, and more.

It contained a great variety of Soul Beasts, and they occasionally wandered beyond the forest's boundaries. They were highly aggressive.

Even Thousand-Year and Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts occasionally appeared along the outskirts.

Legend had it that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts existed deep within the forest.

Fang Ling knew it was not a legend. The Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape were both there.

There might be even more hidden deeper within.

But none of that had anything to do with this trip, so there was no need to consider it.

Even the outskirts were already dangerous enough. If too many people caused unrest, they might all end up buried here.

Even the powerful dean, a Soul Emperor, was no longer as carefree as usual. He had become much more cautious.

Their formation was simple.

The teachers stood on the outside, those with strong Soul Arena records stood in the middle, and those with weaker records stayed inside.

Fang Ling was the strongest, so naturally, he stood near the outer edge of the middle.

After arranging their formation and discussing how they would escape if anything went wrong, they began moving forward.

The terrain within the Star Dou Great Forest was extremely complex. There were no paths in the forest, only branches and vines everywhere.

The dean had the highest cultivation and was the strongest, but he had to remain vigilant at all times in case of unexpected danger.

Naturally, the task of clearing the way fell to Lin Tianyang.

He gripped the Flowing Wind Blade, and a fierce Wind Blade shot through the air, swiftly carving out a path dozens of meters long.

Fang Ling followed closely behind, watching in all directions and listening carefully, using his fastest reactions to stay alert to everything around him.

Primeval forests contained countless poisonous creatures. Even with his limited knowledge, he knew of quite a few kinds.

The Mandala Snake Tang San had absorbed as his First Soul Ring was merely an insignificant species here.

There were Human-Faced Demon Spiders, Green Scale Red Ring Snakes, Unicorn Vipers, Plague Lizards, Blood-Drinking Leeches... too many to count.

If one were hiding somewhere and suddenly struck, even a Soul Ancestor teacher would have a hard time dealing with it.

They encountered no accidents. After traveling only a short distance, they came across two Soul Beasts confronting each other.

One was a pitch-black mountain goblin with blue and dark purple fur. Its hind legs were relatively thin, and it moved on all fours.

Its fangs were sharp, its face vicious, and a faint red glow flickered in its eyes, giving it a bloodthirsty air.

Opposite it stood a creature resembling an ostrich.

Vine-like feathers covered its body, and its beak was long and pointed. Judging by the dried blood on its beak and the sharp serrations along its edges, it was also a vicious species.

"A three-hundred-year Raging Mountain Goblin and a seven-hundred-year Vine Feather Sharp Beak Bird." After identifying them, the dean waved for everyone to stop.

They had not gone far before encountering Soul Beasts fighting. What a great start.

"The Raging Mountain Goblin has enough combat power, but its age is a little low. Its Frenzy Spirit Skill also has serious side effects. The most important thing in battle is rationality, so I don't recommend hunting this kind of Soul Beast."

The dean lowered his voice as he explained to everyone, then ordered his son to make the capture.

"Tianyang, go. Just scare off that mountain goblin. Cut off the bird's wings, pointed beak, and feet, then bring it back to me."

Lin Tianyang observed briefly, then blew away the fallen leaves on the ground.

After confirming there were no venomous snakes or naturally formed hidden traps beneath them, he charged forward through the leaves.

The dean continued explaining to the group.

"Vine Feather Sharp Beak Birds aren't particularly aggressive. Though they are carnivorous, they usually hide among the trees and launch surprise attacks with their hard beaks while charging. This one seems to have injured feet, which is why the mountain goblin caught it."

"Is that Soul Beast meant for me?" Fang Ling walked over to his side.

From the description, it suited his nature quite well.

"No. This Soul Beast isn't very strong, and it isn't worthy of a combat genius like you. It's more than enough for them, though."

The dean did not hide it from anyone. Geniuses naturally received preferential treatment.

"Shigong said he'd find you a good one. I've got some ideas now. I remember several places that may have Soul Beasts suitable for you, so don't be impatient."

"Alright, thank you, Shigong." Fang Ling suppressed the excitement in his heart.

His gaze fixed on the incredibly fast battle ahead.

What Spirit Skill and what specialty would his new Soul Ring grant him?

I really can't wait.

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