Spirit Beast Forest

Early the next morning, before the other Work-Study Students had even gotten up, Gu You and Tang San packed their luggage and hurried to Spirit Hall.

Ma Xiunuo and Su Yuntao drove the carriage, taking Gu You and Tang San toward their destination, the Spirit Beast Forest. Knowing the two had nothing on them, they had prepared durable foods such as cured meat and pickled vegetables in advance, along with three barrels of clean water.

Gu You and Tang San had not come completely unprepared either. Aside from the necessary water flasks and clothes, Gu You found quite a few weapons piled up while cleaning the storage room. He chose several better daggers and short swords and tied them around his waist.

Tang San did not bring any short swords, choosing only daggers. He also found several lightweight dining knives and sharpened them again. He discovered materials for setting traps amid the clutter and carried all of them with him as well.

Using the medicinal knowledge he had learned from the Tang Sect in his previous life, he gathered many herbs outside Nuoding City and made them into various ointments. He divided them into two small bags, keeping one for himself while giving the other to Gu You the previous night and explaining the uses of the different ointments.

GOOGLE searched TWKAN.

Seeing the two fully armed, Ma Xiunuo felt extremely satisfied. Every Soul Hunting trip was a dance on the line between life and death. No amount of caution was excessive.

It took two days to travel from Nuoding City to the Spirit Beast Forest. Over those two days, Ma Xiunuo continuously taught them various precautions and tricks for surviving in the Spirit Beast Forest. For example, unless necessary, they should not light fires at night; campsites should not be too close to the water; and the commoner tale that playing dead on the ground could save someone from a Soul Beast's jaws was false. Gu You and Tang San knew Ma Xiunuo was worried about them, so they carefully remembered everything he said.

Two days later, the group arrived at the outskirts of the great forest. Unlike what Gu You and Tang San had imagined, there was a human settlement outside the forest. Rows upon rows of houses filled the area, vendors lined the streets, and cries of hawking rose and fell one after another. A bustling atmosphere enveloped the group.

Noticing that the two looked somewhat unsettled, Ma Xiunuo smiled and said, "Is this different from what you imagined?"

"This is Hunting Soul Town. Usually, entering the Spirit Beast Forest means staying inside for nearly a week, so all kinds of supplies must be prepared. Towns like this gradually developed for that reason. Food, drinking water, medicine, weapons, armor, and other things can all be bought here, though the prices are much higher than elsewhere."

Ma Xiunuo rubbed Gu You's head and continued, "There are also Soul Master Teams. Soul Hunting usually requires forming a team with a complete range of Soul Masters. First, the Soul Beast is often far stronger than the Soul Master who needs its Soul Ring. Second, someone must stand guard while the Soul Ring is being absorbed, to prevent attacks from other Soul Beasts."

Tang San asked, "Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, do we need to buy any more supplies?"

"No," Ma Xiunuo said. "We have something good with us."

Ma Xiunuo held out his right hand. On his right index finger was a black ring engraved with mysterious patterns, with a small white gemstone set in its center.

"This is a Soul Tool. With this, we can easily carry all our daily necessities."

"What is a Soul Tool?" Tang San asked.

Ma Xiunuo explained, "A Soul Tool is a special item powered by Soul Power. Things we commonly use in daily life, such as lamps and devices that bring water into washrooms, are all Soul Tools. They are simply classified as auxiliary Soul Tools."

"The ring on my hand is a Storage Soul Tool. There are roughly three cubic meters of space inside it. By channeling Soul Power into it, you can freely store and retrieve items. But it cannot hold living creatures. Anything alive placed inside will die."

"This is the symbol of every Spirit Hall Branch Master. The one on my hand was passed down to me by the previous Nuoding City Martial Soul Hall Branch Master. When I retire, I will pass it on to the next Branch Master. Nuoding Spirit Hall is the lowest-level Spirit Hall, so the space inside this ring is only three cubic meters. The rings belonging to Branch Masters of higher-level Spirit Halls have much more space."

"Lastly, there are weapon Soul Tools. These Soul Tools can produce unbelievable effects through Soul Power. I heard that Spirit Hall possesses a sword-shaped Soul Tool. Once Soul Power is poured into it, it can unleash flying sword strikes. If used by a Title Douluo, it could even cleave through a mountain peak."

"Unfortunately, the methods for making Storage Soul Tools and weapon Soul Tools have been completely lost. Although everyday Soul Tools have not been lost, their blueprints are gone as well. Only a small number of people have preserved the crafting methods through oral transmission."

"With your talent, if you join Spirit Hall, at worst you could become the Branch Masters of the Spirit Halls in the capitals of the two great empires. The Storage Soul Tools you receive would be much larger than mine." Although the two had rejected him, Ma Xiunuo still hinted at the benefits of joining Spirit Hall, hoping they would join and have a smoother path to growth.

"Wow, that's amazing." Gu You understood what Ma Xiunuo meant, but still refused, answering in an exaggerated tone that was obviously fake.

"You brat." Ma Xiunuo had no way to deal with Gu You and could only laugh as he scolded him.

Meanwhile, in Spirit City.

"Your Holiness, this is the list of Martial Souls awakened by children this year." In an empty yet magnificently decorated hall, a thin man with sunken eye sockets entered and respectfully presented a scroll of paper to the woman seated on the ornate throne at the far end of the hall.

The woman was none other than the current Pope of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong. She wore a long ceremonial gown of brilliant gold, its dazzling fabric glittering with precious light and adorned with more than a hundred red, blue, and gold gemstones. The Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown atop her head shone with countless rays of light, while she held a Scepter of Imperial Power nearly two meters long and embedded with innumerable gems. Her fair skin and nearly flawless beauty made her seem utterly extraordinary. Especially the invisible nobility and holiness radiating from her—without unwavering willpower, one might feel the urge to worship her from the depths of one's heart upon first seeing her.

The woman reached out and took the scroll. The man said, "There were many children whose Martial Souls were awakened by Spirit Halls across the lands this year, so compiling the statistics took a long time. Please forgive me, Your Holiness."

The woman said indifferently, "No matter."

The man lowered his head. "Thank you, Your Holiness."

After a pause, he continued, "A total of 365 children awakened with level-seven Innate Soul Power this year. Among them, three possessed Innate Full Soul Power. What is noteworthy is that all of them were awakened at Nuoding Spirit Hall within the Heaven Dou Empire."

"Oh?" Bibi Dong became curious. "All of them?"

"Yes." The man lowered his head even further. "The Martial Souls of the three children with Innate Full Soul Power were the Ultimate Conductor Tyranno, the Soft Bone Rabbit, and Blue Silver Grass."

"Blue Silver Grass?" The woman chuckled. "Blue Silver Grass can awaken with Innate Full Soul Power? And what is this Ultimate Conductor Tyranno?"

"Yes. According to the information in the report, the Soul Master responsible for the awakening carefully examined it, and it indeed appeared to be ordinary Blue Silver Grass. As for the other child, the name Ultimate Conductor Tyranno was chosen by the child himself. According to the report, that Martial Soul possesses potential comparable to a top-tier Beast Martial Soul."

"Blue Silver Grass... If that theory is true, could that child be..." Bibi Dong murmured to herself.

Then she asked the man, "Where are those three geniuses?"

Cold sweat appeared on the man's forehead. "Th-they all refused Spirit Hall's invitation." Just as Bibi Dong was about to frown, the man immediately added, "However, the Nuoding City Martial Soul Hall Branch Master submitted a confidential letter and expressed his hope that it could be delivered directly to you, Your Holiness."

After saying that, the man took a letter from his robes and gently handed it to Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong frowned as she read the letter, but her brow gradually relaxed. Smiling, she said, "A genius? This child is quite confident."

"Gui Mei."

"Yes, Your Holiness."

"Go tell the person in charge of the Martial Soul Daily that if they receive any articles in the future from someone named Gu You in Nuoding City, they are to submit them to me for review first. Go."

"Yes, Your Holiness." With that, the man turned and left the hall.

In my setting, Bibi Dong had guessed that Tang San was Tang Hao's child. After all, Qian Xunji had killed the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Beast right after she gave birth. The age matched, the Martial Soul matched, and even the talent matched. Aside from not realizing he possessed Twin Martial Souls, Bibi Dong should have figured out everything else. Lastly, please continue to support with recommendation votes and bookmarks.