Soul Hunting Forest

The father and son immediately set off, their destination the Soul Hunting Forest, a hundred kilometers south of Spirit City.

Unlike the Star Dou Great Forest, the continent's largest Spirit Beast habitat, this Soul Hunting Forest belonged exclusively to Spirit Hall and was a place where it raised low-level Spirit Beasts.

Therefore, without Spirit Hall's permission, no Spirit Master was allowed to enter the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt Spirit Beasts. Violators would be severely punished.

As a Spirit Hall deacon, Liu Xuanfeng naturally had the qualifications to bring his son inside to obtain a Spirit Ring.

At the break of dawn, Liu Xinghan and his father arrived outside the Soul Hunting Forest.

After presenting the Spirit Hall deacon's permit for the guards to inspect and having it confirmed as valid, the two were allowed inside.

Outside the Soul Hunting Forest.

"Son, the Soul Hunting Forest is full of dangers. This isn't a game. Once we go in, you must not stray more than five steps from my side. Otherwise, if something happens, Dad may not be able to save you in time."

Liu Xuanfeng spoke with a grave expression.

Fortunately, this was a low-level Spirit Beast Forest. The Spirit Beasts living within mostly had ten-year or Hundred-Year cultivation, with thousand-year ones being rare and ten-thousand-year ones extremely uncommon. With his strength as a Four-Ring Spirit Ancestor, as long as he was careful, helping his son obtain a Spirit Ring would not be a problem.

If it had been the Star Dou Great Forest, he would never have dared to bring his son in alone.

"I know!"

Liu Xinghan nodded seriously.

Though he was young, his mental age was over thirty. Naturally, he understood that this was no joke.

Every day on the continent, countless people died in the jaws of Spirit Beasts while trying to obtain Spirit Rings!

Once they were ready, the two steeled themselves and entered the Soul Hunting Forest.

The forest was deep and shadowy, its trees lush and verdant, its weeds thick. All kinds of plants grew everywhere. At a glance, danger seemed to lurk in every corner, and they could not afford the slightest carelessness.

Suddenly, a blue-gray wolf Spirit Beast seemed to hear their footsteps and pounced out of the grass, its green eyes fixed directly on them.

Liu Xinghan stared intently at it. This was the first time he had ever seen a real Spirit Beast!

It was a giant blue-gray wolf the size of a calf, with sturdy limbs and fierce eyes brimming with bloodlust.

At his side, Liu Xuanfeng introduced it to his son. "Son, this is a Wind Wolf Spirit Beast with cultivation close to a hundred years. It isn't very intelligent, but it's highly aggressive."

As he spoke, the Wind Wolf leaped at them.

Liu Xinghan watched the shadow before him rapidly grow larger. The Wind Wolf Spirit Beast was already right in front of him.

He was terrified.

Although he had lived two lives and was mentally close to thirty years old, when had he ever seen such a scene? He was instantly stunned, badly frightened by the beast.

"Martial Soul Possession!"

In his panic, Liu Xinghan heard his father's voice.

Turning to look, Liu Xinghan discovered that his father had already completed Martial Soul Possession.

Liu Xuanfeng's Martial Soul was the Black Flame Demon Wolf, a top-tier Assault Type Beast Martial Soul.

After Martial Soul Possession, his body instantly grew a foot taller and became even more powerfully built. The muscles on his upper body bulged exaggeratedly, black fur grew over his skin, his hands turned into wolf claws, and black flames burned behind his head.

Two Yellow, Two Purple—two hundred-year and two thousand-year Spirit Rings rose around him. Liu Xuanfeng's Spirit Ring configuration was astonishingly the optimal one. The aura of an Assault Type Battle Spirit Ancestor burst forth violently.

Not yet thirty this year, Liu Xuanfeng was already a level forty-four Battle Spirit Ancestor. If he developed normally, reaching the realm of a six-ring Soul Emperor in his lifetime was practically guaranteed. He might even have a chance of becoming a Soul Saint.

Facing the pouncing Wind Wolf Spirit Beast, Liu Xuanfeng remained calm after Martial Soul Possession. He did not use a Spirit Ring skill. Instead, he bent down and slashed his claws precisely across the Wind Wolf's abdomen.

Rip!

The Wind Wolf was instantly disemboweled by that claw. It let out a miserable howl and crashed to the ground, breathing its last within only a few breaths!

An instant kill!

After releasing Martial Soul Possession, Liu Xuanfeng laughed. "So, son, wasn't Dad amazing?"

Liu Xinghan was speechless.

A Four-Ring Assault Type Battle Spirit Ancestor killing a Wind Wolf with less than a hundred years of cultivation in one blow—wasn't that perfectly normal?

It would have been abnormal if he could not kill it instantly.

Liu Xinghan's gaze fell upon the Spirit Ring that had risen from the Wind Wolf's corpse.

The pale white ring, tinged with yellow, emitted a faint glow as it floated above the Wind Wolf's body. This was the Spirit Ring indispensable to a Spirit Master's cultivation!

White represented ten years, while a yellowish tint indicated that the Spirit Ring was close to a hundred years. A completely yellow ring was a Hundred-Year Spirit Ring, purple represented a thousand years, black represented ten thousand years, and the legendary Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring was blood-red like fresh blood!

"Son, do you want this Spirit Ring?"

Seeing his son staring unblinkingly at the Wind Wolf's Spirit Ring, Liu Xuanfeng thought he wanted it and hurriedly said, "This Spirit Ring is close to a hundred years, but it isn't a good choice. A Spirit Master's First Spirit Ring should ideally be over a hundred years but under four hundred. The closer to four hundred, the better!"

"Dad, I don't want this one!"

Liu Xinghan shook his head.

Naturally, he had no interest in a Spirit Ring that had not even reached a hundred years.

Liu Xuanfeng pondered. "Right, son, what type of Spirit Ring should your Martial Soul absorb?"

Liu Xinghan was also stunned by the question.

Martial Souls were divided into Assault Type, Agility Attack Type, Control Type, and Support Type.

Different types of Martial Souls required completely different Spirit Ring attributes, so naturally the Spirit Beasts they chose were also different.

As for his Book Martial Soul, he still had no idea what it could do. He could not determine what type it belonged to at all, which made choosing a Spirit Ring difficult!

"Dad, how about we just pick a Spirit Ring with a suitable Year Limit? The purpose of this trip is to see how the Book Martial Soul reacts after gaining a Spirit Ring, isn't it? Any type of Spirit Beast should be the same!"

Liu Xinghan suggested.

"Fine, that's all we can do!"

Liu Xuanfeng nodded helplessly.

The outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest were mostly inhabited by Spirit Beasts under a hundred years. To find a Spirit Beast with cultivation around four hundred years, they would have to go deeper.

The father and son continued onward.

Boom!

A deafening crash caught the attention of the father and son as they searched for their target.

"Son, come here!"

Liu Xuanfeng led Liu Xinghan carefully toward the sound.

As they approached, the area before them was a complete mess.

Trees had crashed to the ground, while turf and soil flew everywhere.

There, two Spirit Beasts were fighting fiercely.

One was a ferocious tiger three meters long and two meters tall at the shoulder, flames blazing beneath its paws.

The other was a dark-gold giant bear no shorter than the tiger. The bear's golden fur shimmered with flowing light, its body was immensely muscular, and its arms were exceptionally long. Its right arm in particular had claws nearly two feet long.

The two beasts grappled together, their tiger roars and bear bellows deafening.

As Liu Xinghan watched their battle without blinking, his father beside him let out a shocked cry.

"This is... impossible. How could such a Spirit Beast appear in the Soul Hunting Forest?"

The disbelief in his voice showed just how shocked Liu Xuanfeng was.

"Dad, what Spirit Beasts are those?"

Liu Xinghan asked quietly.

Liu Xuanfeng snapped out of his shock, swallowed, and answered, "That is a thousand-year Flame Tiger, and a hundred-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear."