The First Spirit Ring "Wind Baboon"

"Two little brothers, this is the middle of nowhere, and it's very close to the Star Dou Great Forest, where soul beasts appear. Are you here to hunt for soul rings? Do you need our help?" Beibei asked.

Xu Jie rose to his feet as well. "No need." With that, he took Huo Yuhao, bid the two farewell, and turned to leave under Tang Ya's astonished gaze.

"Beibei, when they took up attacking stances just now, it looked like only Xu Jie summoned his martial soul. But there weren't any soul rings on it. They aren't going to hunt soul rings like that, are they?" Tang Ya said in surprise.

"Probably. Two Soul Masters without soul rings going out to hunt soul rings could be in danger. How about we follow them and take a look?" Beibei considered for a moment before answering.

"Sure, sure, sure! Then we can have them join the Tang Sect!" Tang Ya said happily.

Beibei teased, "I think you only want to recruit Brother Huo Yuhao into the Tang Sect because his grilled fish is so delicious!"

Tang Ya chuckled. "Whether they join or not, we ate their grilled fish, so we ought to protect them a little!"

Xu Jie and Huo Yuhao were currently moving ahead at a brisk pace, unaware that Beibei and Tang Ya behind them were discussing bringing them into the Tang Sect.

Even if he had known, Xu Jie would never have let Huo Yuhao join the Tang Sect. After all, getting involved with a certain god would never lead to anything good. In the original story, after Huo Yuhao fell in love with two split entities, he did not even want to avenge himself anymore.

Besides, there was no real benefit to joining the Tang Sect! Take eye-training techniques, for instance—he had no lack of those. In his previous life, he had been a disciple of Wudang Mountain, and Zhang Sanfeng had developed quite a few cultivation methods in his spare time. Xu Jie had long since taught Huo Yuhao the Wudang Sect's eye-training method, the Wudang Eye-Brightening Skill, and the Wudang Eye-Brightening Skill could be cultivated anytime, anywhere.

Unlike someone's so-called Demon Eyes, which had restrictions on time and place.

And while the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill took a long time to cultivate, it was among the very best techniques in the original story. It did not require talent either; anyone could succeed through sheer practice. It was simply easy to learn but difficult to master.

As Xu Jie pondered, a wooden sign by the road ahead caught the two's attention.

"Fifty li ahead, you will enter the Star Dou Great Forest. Soul beasts inhabit the area. Exercise caution."

A trace of joy appeared on Huo Yuhao's face as he turned to Xu Jie. "Brother Jie, we're here."

Xu Jie glanced at the sign, worry stirring in his heart. "Yes, we're here. Let's hurry." He hoped the original story's crucial plot point would not be altered by him, this little butterfly.

Huo Yuhao gave an "Mm," and the two suddenly picked up their pace.

Beibei and Tang Ya, who were following behind them, were suddenly stunned to discover that they had lost track of Huo Yuhao and Xu Jie.

As the two advanced, the trees around them grew increasingly dense, and even the air became cooler with the growing number of trees.

Xu Jie and Huo Yuhao's expressions also became increasingly solemn.

Becoming Soul Masters was the only way forward for Xu Jie and Huo Yuhao. It was something they had to do. In truth, they did not need to be in such a rush. After their martial souls awakened, Xu Jie discovered that the force restricting the progress of his Nine Yang Divine Skill had vanished. They could have waited until Xu Jie had mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill before coming out to hunt soul beasts and absorb soul rings.

But this place held Huo Yuhao's great opportunity—the only million-year soul beast on the Douluo Continent. Better safe than sorry; missing it would truly be an immense loss. Therefore, Xu Jie had to take Huo Yuhao on this risk.

As they continued forward, Xu Jie suddenly sensed a trace of danger approaching. He turned his head and saw that Huo Yuhao's face had also taken on a hint of vigilance. A faint pale white had appeared in Huo Yuhao's blue eyes, indicating that he had activated his martial soul.

The two immediately stopped. Xu Jie summoned his own martial soul as well, and he and Huo Yuhao stood back-to-back, watching their surroundings warily.

Suddenly, a black figure flashed past and landed in the clearing before Huo Yuhao. Xu Jie immediately turned around and got a clear look at the shadow.

It was a baboon roughly one meter tall, covered in brownish-yellow fur. Its eyes were brown, and its arms were exceptionally long. Its sharp claws pointed at Huo Yuhao and Xu Jie as a fierce glint filled its eyes, and it roared loudly at them.

Huff!

The baboon instantly charged forward. Xu Jie stepped up and struck with a raised hand. Man and baboon collided—fist against claw—before both immediately sprang apart. After gauging the baboon's strength, Xu Jie retreated behind Huo Yuhao and said, "Yuhao, you handle it!"

This baboon was not very strong. Otherwise, it would not have been killed in return by Huo Yuhao in the original story. As for the current Huo Yuhao, he had already completed the first layer of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill. With his current strength, dealing with a Wind Baboon with several decades of cultivation was no problem.

Hearing that, Huo Yuhao said nothing more. He raised the White Tiger Dagger in his hand and stepped forward alone. Seeing this, the baboon kicked off with its hind legs and lunged straight at Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao swallowed hard, his nervous heartbeat pounding in his ears. This was the first time in his life that he had faced an attack from a soul beast. Though he had sparred with Xu Jie before, he was now facing a soul beast.

Vital spots, vital spots, vital spots... Huo Yuhao kept repeating in his heart as he moved forward and continuously clashed with the Wind Baboon. Each time, the White Tiger Dagger in his hand fell short of the Wind Baboon's body by a small distance.

Once again, just as the White Tiger Dagger in Huo Yuhao's hand was still some distance from the baboon's neck, the Soul Power within him surged rapidly upward and poured directly into the White Tiger Dagger. In an instant, the dagger released a foot-long white blade aura.

"Gurgle, gurgle." An object the size of a volleyball rolled across the grass, adding a streak of crimson to the blue-tinged green of the Blue Silver Grass.

"Bang!" The corpse before Huo Yuhao abruptly collapsed, and a white soul ring slowly emerged with the blood from the wound in its neck.

"I killed it!" Huo Yuhao was briefly stunned. Then, looking at the soul ring, a trace of joy appeared on his handsome young face.

Soul rings were necessities for a Soul Master's advancement. Huo Yuhao looked at the white soul ring but had no intention of absorbing it. Setting aside its low age, its attribute was entirely incompatible with his martial soul.

Huo Yuhao glanced at the baboon's corpse, then turned toward Xu Jie, intending to continue deeper with him. He knew Xu Jie's martial soul was the sun, so if Xu Jie were to absorb a soul ring, it should be one with a fire or light attribute. This baboon clearly was not a fire-attributed soul beast.

Moreover, its age was too low, making it unworthy of absorption. The higher a soul beast's cultivation, the more powerful the soul skill produced by its soul ring would be after a Soul Master absorbed it.

The white soul ring before them represented that the baboon had between ten and one hundred years of cultivation. Once a soul beast reached a hundred years of cultivation, the soul ring it produced would turn yellow; at a thousand years, it would turn purple; at ten thousand years, black; and at a hundred thousand years, red.