Dai Mubai's Path and Chen Feng's Resolve

After listening to Chen Feng, Dai Mubai frowned.

Being walked like a dog was hardly a good thing. It greatly diminished his interest in the Gold Attribute path.

At that moment, Grandmaster spoke up:

"Actually, you don't need to overthink it. At the same level, it's perfectly normal for an Assault Type Spirit Master to lose to a control-type Spirit Master. The Gold Attribute path is a very good route.

"Although it will be restrained by control-type Spirit Masters, as long as your defense is high enough, they can only do their best to restrict your movement and will find it difficult to break through your defenses. This path is viable."

Dai Mubai fell silent for a while before asking, "What is the other path?"

He intended to weigh both options before making a comprehensive decision.

"For the second path, I recommend the Wind Attribute. Clouds follow dragons, and wind follows tigers. In my opinion, tiger-type Martial Souls are highly compatible with the Wind Attribute." Chen Feng raised his second finger.

"If you choose the Wind Attribute path, speed will no longer be a problem for you. You may even gain the ability to fly. I needn't explain the effect of giving wings to a fierce tiger.

"As for defense, while it may not be as tough and durable as a Gold Attribute White Tiger, if your control over Soul Power is high enough, you can also condense a layer of wind shield over your body. That way, you can use all your Spirit Skills to enhance your offensive power.

"But I'll say it again: State-type Spirit Skills and functional Spirit Skills are the best choices."

Dai Mubai fell silent again, comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the two paths and considering which suited him better.

Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing felt utterly relaxed. Thinking back on Chen Feng's advice for her, she felt the oppression and conflict that had weighed on her vanish without a trace.

At that moment, a wave of Soul Power rippled from within her body. Her Soul Power had actually risen by a level!

"Congratulations, Zhuqing," Chen Yun said with gratification.

"Thank you, Uncle Chen." Zhu Zhuqing smiled. She secretly glanced at Chen Feng, and her steps became noticeably lighter.

If all she had seen before had been darkness, then Chen Feng was a beam of light that pierced through it, bringing her precious hope.

And hope could shape a person's character. Perhaps Zhu Zhuqing had lost the chance to become the icy beauty from the original story, but that was not necessarily a bad thing.

Compared to Zhu Zhuqing, Dai Mubai, who had two paths to choose from, was clearly far more conflicted.

The advantages and disadvantages of the Gold Attribute path were obvious: high attack and high defense, but poor mobility. He would need to specifically devote Spirit Skills to making up for that lack of mobility.

The flexibility of the Wind Attribute path was not an issue, but its offensive and defensive capabilities were likely somewhat lacking compared to the Gold Attribute path.

"Can't I have both?" Dai Mubai began to indulge in wild fantasies.

"You can," Chen Feng said.

Before Dai Mubai could rejoice, a bucket of cold water was dumped over his head.

"As long as you have two Martial Souls."

"Isn't that obvious?" Dai Mubai said irritably.

He sank back into thought, but even after the group discovered traces of a Heavy Mud Horse and found one that was over four hundred years old, he still had not made up his mind.

"Brother Su, could I ask you to..." Chen Feng had just been about to ask Old Su to help him hunt the Heavy Mud Horse when Chen Yun spoke up.

"I'll do it. Consider it my thanks for guiding Mubai and Zhuqing."

With that, he immediately used Martial Soul Possession and charged toward the Heavy Mud Horse.

As a dignified Spirit King, Chen Yun naturally found dealing with a four-hundred-year-old Heavy Mud Horse effortless. In just a few moves, he pinned the plump, sturdy horse to the ground.

"Stab the dagger in here. It will let it suffer the least pain before it dies." Chen Yun pointed at the back of the Heavy Mud Horse's head and spoke calmly.

"Mm. Thank you, Uncle Chen." Chen Feng stepped forward with the dagger.

"It's nothing."

Chen Feng aimed the dagger at the back of the Heavy Mud Horse's head, but his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the horse's eyes.

At that moment, he seemed able to read the Heavy Mud Horse's panic and fear in those dark eyes.

Chen Feng's dagger stopped at the back of the Heavy Mud Horse's head as a sentence rose unbidden in his mind:

A gentleman, upon seeing a living creature alive, cannot bear to see it die; upon hearing its cries, cannot bear to eat its flesh.

Chen Feng did not think of himself as a gentleman, but when he was about to personally kill a living creature that had survived for over four hundred years and possessed a certain degree of intelligence, he could not help feeling reluctant.

In his previous life, he had mainly studied fossils—the field of prehistoric biological evolution. He had not conducted many experiments on living organisms, much less killed anything.

The Umbrella Crown Sunflower from before had been a plant, so it had been easier to accept. At least it could not move or cry out, which made Chen Feng feel somewhat better.

But horses were inherently spiritual animals, not to mention one that had lived for four hundred years. Looking into its eyes and hearing its cries felt completely different from facing an Umbrella Crown Sunflower.

Perhaps I shouldn't have chosen an animal Soul Beast as my target, Chen Feng thought.

Seeing that he could not bring himself to act, Chen Yun did not urge him. He simply watched quietly.

It was normal for people to feel compassion. Chen Yun did not think Chen Feng weak because of it. On the contrary, he thought he was a kind child.

What Chen Yun needed to do now was wait for the child to make a decision—a decision about life.

No one else spoke either. They simply waited in silence. Only Zhu Zhuqing, whose Soul Power had yet to reach level ten and who had no related experience, did not feel much.

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, revealed an expression of distress and lowered her head, not daring to look any longer.

After a moment of silence, Chen Feng looked into the Heavy Mud Horse's eyes and gently stroked the mane on its neck. "I swear that I will change this tragic state of affairs between Spirit Masters and Soul Beasts."

After saying that, he covered the Heavy Mud Horse's eyes with his left hand and suddenly exerted force with his right. The Heavy Mud Horse trembled once, then went still.

Chen Feng had stabbed the back of its head—more precisely, its brainstem. Destroying that area would cause immediate death and minimize the pain it felt.

A gleaming yellow Spirit Ring rose from the Heavy Mud Horse's corpse. Chen Yun stood up, gave Chen Feng a deep look, then walked away.

Only he had heard Chen Feng's vow just now. Strangely enough, although the one making the vow was merely a seven-year-old child, Chen Yun did not feel that he was simply indulging in fantasies.

Chen Yun vaguely had a premonition that the world of Spirit Masters might soon undergo a transformation.

Chen Feng brushed his hand over the Heavy Mud Horse's eyes, closing them, and silently apologized to the great horse.

He would most likely continue hunting Soul Beasts in the future in order to advance, but no matter what, he would never—and should never—regard such killing as something natural and justified.

As a Biologist, Chen Feng absolutely could not stand by and watch the diverse species of Soul Beasts head toward extinction. He had to change this.

And the first step of that change would begin with this Spirit Ring.